I Have a Golden Crow-Chapter 678 - 479 Cold Ashen Arrows

After dropping Little Rich Lady off at Mr. Li's mansion, Du Yu drove back to Xishu Garden.

In the days that followed, Du Yu spent all his time in the Sea Realm, undergoing special training in short blade techniques.

Firethorn Tree was absolutely delighted with Du Yu's visits to ask for guidance~

As payback, Firethorn Tree put in a whole lot of effort, torturing Du Yu to within an inch of his life...

Little Tai Sui off to the side just stood there dumbfounded!

Clearly he, the silly one, was also getting trained with his master,

But why did it always seem like Firethorn Branches on Master's side were swinging faster and slapping way harder?

"Ah~~~" Du Yu let out a miserable screech, his Demon Breath Battle Robe vibrating wildly, feeling a burning pain on his butt.

"Pa!" The Firethorn Branch cracked down like a whip, slamming the ground so hard it made your scalp tingle!

Firethorn Tree: Scream! Go on, scream again?

"Whoosh~"

Coupled with the sound of tearing through the air, the branch came swinging again.

Du Yu kept stepping back, holding the East Persian Short Curved Saber horizontally in front of him.

With a crisp "pa".

The end of the branch smacked the short saber, the force so intense that Du Yu's palms went numb.

General Level·Firethorn Tree, whether it's power or speed, it's just too savage!

This branch wasn't just hitting— it was wrapping and restraining the blade too.

In an instant, Du Yu went from blocking with his saber to grappling with the Firethorn Tree head-to-head.

The focus of the battle immediately shifted to a tug-of-war over the short curved saber.

"Easy there, Brother Tree, you're a General!" Du Yu yelled, using his other hand to grab the silver hilt with both hands and cling on tight.

"Whoosh!" Another branch lashed out.

Firethorn Tree: Yeah, yeah, I got it~

"Blow!" Du Yu had to free his left hand to launch a Wind-Fire Pillar at the tree branch attacking from the left.

Human-Pet Combined Skill·Ghost Firefly Blow!

"Pa!" The Firethorn branch didn't even slow down.

The branch actually smashed right through the Wind-Fire Pillar, and while it was at it, wrapped up Du Yu's left wrist.

"Whoosh~" Another branch attacked from Du Yu's right.

Damn it,

You think you're hot stuff just because you have so many hands?

Du Yu gripped the saber tight with his right, and the Demon Soldier Array suddenly lit up under his hands.

First Array·Fire Curved Saber!

"Fwoosh~" Raging flames instantly engulfed the blade, gathering frantically onto it.

The originally short saber suddenly extended outwards.

The curved blade reached all the way from straight in front of Du Yu to his right side.

With a satisfying metallic clang, the attacking branch was finally stopped—caught on the flaming blade.

Firethorn Tree: Exactly, like that!

The more you struggle, the more excited I get...

Then, Du Yu got completely shell-shocked!

Over a dozen Firethorn Branches all attacked at once, making it absolutely clear they were bullying Du Yu for having too few hands.

"Qing, Master Qing?" Du Yu jerked his head around, stammering out the words.

Firethorn Tree: Hm? Lady Boss is back?

In the midst of showing off its might, Firethorn Tree's branches, which had been whipping around crazily, all froze mid-air.

Taking advantage of the tree's moment of distraction, Du Yu struggled free from the bindings and bolted.

Firethorn Tree: ???

Little Fen Yang giggled: "Silly Firethorn~ Dumb Firethorn~"

"Golden Crow Great Power was right!" Du Yu shouted as he ran towards the Moon Arch, his hands waving around behind him.

Second Array·Flying Fire Arc!

He unleashed wave after wave of Flame Scythe Arcs, bombing the pursuing branches in a wild barrage.

However, such resistance wasn't very effective, and did basically nothing to stop the chasing branches.

"Alright, alright, I'm already inside the Dust Spirit Garden!" Du Yu yelled, and as he passed through the Moon Arch, he suddenly spun and slashed crosswise.

"Tss!"

"Tssss..." Du Yu drew an "X" within the Moon Arch.

With the roar of igniting flames, two fire lines hung midair.

Third Array·Suspended Fire Arc!

"Boom!"

Countless branches jammed together, surging like a flood of giant pythons, the scene utterly overwhelming!

The densely packed branches scratched and screeched as they shoved into the Moon Arch!

As for the once-mighty "X"-shaped Suspended Fire Arc, it was completely smothered by the leaves and branches.

"Oh woah?" Little Fen Yang laughed gleefully, "Du Yu's gonna get his butt whipped again!"

"Ha…ha! You wish!" Du Yu flipped his palm, watch and learn as this prince pulls off a tactical retreat!

"Fwoosh~"

Just as Du Yu was about to be swallowed by the ocean of branches, the Mountain and Sea Bell flashed and vanished.

Firethorn Tree: "..."

He… he just left?

Was I too rough?

Firethorn Tree, looking heartbroken and dejected, let its endless branches droop to the ground.

Du Yu, come back, I promise I'll be gentler… Wait up!

The sagging branches suddenly perked up with new energy.

Master really did leave, but Little Tai Sui is still in the courtyard!

That's right, that's right!

Little Little Chi Bear, here I come!

At the same time, in Prince Du's Mansion.

Du Yu suddenly materialized in the living room, plopping himself onto the sofa with a sigh, "Man, that's seriously brutal… Huh?"

Golden Leaf suddenly poked him in the shoulder, making Du Yu jump.

The golden leaf twisted, pointing toward the front door.

Curious, Du Yu walked over—there was a huge box sitting by the entryway.

"What's this?" Du Yu absentmindedly fiddled with Golden Leaf, taking a step forward.

Golden Leaf's reply told him: the security guys dropped it off, and Golden Leaf brought it inside.

"Let's open it up." Du Yu gripped the Golden Leaf, shoving it forward.

The gentle leaf suddenly grew sharp like a boxcutter, slicing the packing tape open.

Once the golden stem teased the items out, Du Yu remembered.

Wasn't this the clothes Little Mengnan bought for him?

There were six pieces in total, all autumn-winter styles.

Side note: a few days ago, after Du Yu's earnest advice, Little Rich Lady regained a bit of sanity and didn't buy 20 of the same outfit.

After coming home, the girl spent even more time and energy hand-picking the styles she liked.

"Uh." Du Yu looked weirdly at the white sweater handed to him.

It was roomy and cozy-looking—a total homebody vibe.

The only issue: it came embroidered with a big Wind Witch cartoon.

So is this chick buying the clothes for herself or for me?

I don't even have a Wind Witch… right.

The clothes arrived, what's today's date again?

Du Yu told Golden Leaf to fetch his phone. One glance at the screen—it was already January 2nd, just after 10 a.m.

He immediately checked his notifications—sure enough, a payment alert!

Seventy grand!

"Tsk tsk~" Du Yu mumbled, "Work hard, earn money.

This way, Master Qing will just keep getting richer~"

He opened the Demon Spirit Atlas, scrolling to find Master Qing in his friends list.

Their last chat was still stuck on the "Rotten Wood Dragon Fish advancement" topic days ago.

"Hmm..." Du Yu looked at Master Qing's avatar, feeling a bit forlorn.

It's been more than half a month since they'd seen each other,

This woman—

Zero signs that she's thinking about him!

If you don't reach out, she just totally ignores you...

Du Yu plopped onto the floor, opened his wallet app, and stared at his 883,000 savings.

Clenching his teeth, he instantly transferred 800,000 over to her.

Let's see if you say something NOW!

Du Yu hugged his phone, leaning against the wall, just staring at the chat window dazedly.

After waiting forever, Master Qing neither messaged him—nor accepted the money.

She must be busy at work?

Du Yu left the chat and scrolled through his messages, seeing a couple from Lin Shihao.

One every day, damn that's dedication.

Du Yu mulled it over—ignoring people constantly wasn't cool, after all.

The pain of getting the cold shoulder—he'd just felt it with Master Qing.

Finally, in a fit of kindness, Du Yu shot back a reply.

Didn't expect to, but the second the message went through, Lin Shihao called.

"Hello?" Du Yu turned on speakerphone.

He tossed the phone to Golden Leaf, and at the same time beckoned a tangerine-colored sweater over.

This one was embroidered with a cute little Fire Fox, the design extra cutesy.

"Thank goodness, you finally replied!" Lin Shihao's voice sounded a bit heartbroken on the line.

"I was in seclusion, cultivating." Du Yu chuckled.

Lin Shihao's tone was helpless: "I was starting to think you weren't even gonna show for the exams."

Du Yu: "No way. I'm out here aiming for the top spot, dude."

"Good, good." Lin Shihao let out a huge sigh of relief—he really had been worried Du Yu would skip out.

"Told you, Du Yu's definitely gonna show up. Look at you—keep it together!" Suddenly, a girl's voice cut in on the line.

Du Yu was surprised. That voice sounded awfully familiar?

Was that Liu Juncai?

The girl sounded pretty scolding—totally blunt, too.

Thing is, given their family backgrounds, their interactions were always pretty chill and polite.

So for Liu Juncai to talk like that…

Actually means they're close, in a way.

So, Shaohai's two main leaders finally got together, huh?

"Heh." Lin Shihao laughed awkwardly, "Juncai and Junxing are here at our Ancient Pine Tower.

We've been running formation drills these past days, you free?

Let's meet up and talk about the exam stuff?"

Du Yu sounded hesitant: "Uh..."

Liu Juncai snatched the phone: "Let's meet, Du Yu.

I know you're busy, but we've got some exam info."

Du Yu instantly perked up: "Oh?"

Liu Juncai: "You ever heard of the Cold Ashen Arrow?"

Du Yu arched an eyebrow: "I know about the Cold Lake Sword."

"Not the 'jian' for swords, 'jian' for bow and arrow." Liu Juncai laughed, "Han as in 'cold', Jin as in 'ash'.

Cold Ashen Arrow is a fire attribute Demon Soldier Realm over in Icefield Province.

But for decades, the government's never opened it to the public—this is the first I've even heard of it.

If not for this exam, I probably would've never known such a Demon Soldier Realm existed."

"An arrow?" Du Yu blinked.

In terms of bows and arrows, Demon Soldier Bows are the most common in this world.

But Demon Soldier Arrows? Nobody ever hears of those!

After all,

The arrows fired by Demon Tamer archers are spirit arrows conjured by their Demon Soldier Bows.

"Yup." Liu Juncai said softly, "Let's meet in person—you'll see.

And don't blame Lin Shihao for losing his cool,

This exam site is crazy unique: brutal environment, super complicated setup."

"Alright." Du Yu nodded. "Let's do today afternoon, you pick a spot and send me the location."

"Great, see you this afternoon." Liu Juncai laughed in farewell.

"Oh, is Sister Shiwei with you?" Lin Shihao cut in.

"Yeah, we're together."

Lin Shihao: "Make sure to bring her!"

"Okay, I'll ask her." Du Yu replied softly and hung up.

"Cold Ashen Arrow, fire attribute." Du Yu fired up his search engine and gave it a whirl.

But there was nothing on the web about the Cold Ashen Arrow.

"Ha~" Du Yu raised his eyebrows.

If it's a Demon Soldier Realm, then that means this arrow is already on the Road to Heaven.

Bet this one's definitely a big deal.

So… how did the Great Xia manage to keep an arrow like this secret?

And why would Great Xia hide it?

No doubt, the Seven Provinces and One City's finals are open for the whole nation to see.

Which means, after this event, the Cold Ashen Arrow will be seen by everyone.

So then,

Why did Great Xia choose this exact moment to reveal the Cold Ashen Arrow to the world?