Chapter 208 – The Nine Great Epics of Tianyuan

The selection date for the Dragon Court Competition was gradually approaching. However, unlike the Hero Festival, this competition wasn’t a carnival for lords.

This was a serious military competition, a military exercise!

Rising lords like Wuji and Kongming, who were relatively confident in representing Taixuan, were giving their all in the final sprint. For them, this was both an honor and a pressure.

If they failed in the Dragon Court Competition, it wouldn’t just affect themselves, but also Taixuan!

Failure was absolutely not an option!

They were preparing for battle.

Meanwhile, Mu Yuan began recalling the exploration teams that had ventured over two hundred kilometers into the wilderness and set up camps outside.

He had to ensure that on the day of the military exercise, all his elite soldiers were within the territory’s boundaries. Only then could the lord bring his own troops into the simulated battlefield one by one, in the form of consciousness.

“This time, not only the Undead Legion and Treant Legion need to participate in the battle, but the Garrison Legion must also make an appearance.”

Especially the Garrison Legion…

Compared to the former two, the Garrison Legion’s Rank and grade were much lower.

Currently, the two hundred combat troops with main force organization had barely achieved all Rare Three Stars. Those who had reached Outstanding One Star were even fewer, with only a few squad leaders in the legion receiving such treatment.

Besides having low Ranks and grades, the Garrison Legion also lacked combat experience.

After all,

their main responsibility was patrolling and guarding the territory, with few opportunities to face monsters directly. Occasionally, some elites from the Garrison Legion would form hunting teams to go out, but they mostly faced weak enemies.

“Speaking of which, the Treant Legion has even less combat experience. Their slow movement speed and massive size prevent them from going out casually on normal days. Only when facing a real major battle is it worth their effort to take the stage.”

Both legions needed training.

The simulated battlefield provided the opportunity.

While Lord Mu pondered, he opened the panel and scattered beams of evolution light one after another.

「Prompt: You have evolved one Outstanding One Star troop ‘Fearless Knight’.」

「Prompt: You have evolved one Outstanding One Star troop ‘Valiant War Steed’.」

「Prompt: You have evolved two Outstanding One Star troops ‘Holy Light Priest’.」

「Prompt: …」

With this, the ten-member Sisterhood had achieved the treatment of all members being Outstanding.

Among them, the leader Laney was an ‘Holy Light High Priest’ of Outstanding Three Stars grade, now having reached Elite Rank, with extremely abundant Holy Light power.

Mu Yuan glanced at the Human Race Evolution Points.

By nightfall, he could evolve another Epic.

He/she would be the ninth Epic General of Tianyuan Territory.

“This spot…”

According to the Human Race evolution sequence, the person after Lu Liu was Sophia.

Firstly, Sophia had outstanding talent and remarkable potential; secondly, her Rank was quite high, second only to Isloria, Xiliu, Dolai, and Deadbone; thirdly, Sophia was extremely capable, single-handedly managing Blue Star affairs in perfect order, leaving Boss Mu with no worries; fourthly, Blue Star affairs relied entirely on Sophia’s handling, she deserved to possess stronger power.

However,

“If I want to bring Sophia to the military exercise, she would have to return from Blue Star to Tianyuan Territory, which would affect the operation of Blue Star Company. There’s no need for that.”

Her responsibilities at Blue Star were more important.The territory was not lacking a minor general like Sophia.

Since that was the case, Sophia’s evolution would be slightly delayed, and this slot would be reserved for…

Mu Yuan pondered and gradually decided on the candidate.

…

Tianyuan Territory, the eastern hilly lands.

The ground was rugged, with towering rocks and mountains.

In a low-lying area, a human-shaped target stood erect. The target gleamed under the sunlight, yet there was no sign of anyone drawing a bow to snipe from the surroundings.

Two hundred meters, four hundred meters, a thousand meters…

There were no shooters to be found anywhere.

Around the low-lying area, the terrain rose to form high slopes, where boulders and fallen logs were scattered haphazardly, and sporadic trees grew among them. Two thousand meters to the west of this area, the trees gradually thickened, forming a dense forest.

Within the forest, a sharp sound suddenly emerged, like the whistle of a sharp weapon slicing through the air.

In the next moment—

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

One arrow after another, linked head to tail like a long snake, shot out from the forest. As they approached the high slopes, the arrows defied inertia, curving upward and continuing to fly close to the ground.

The sharp wind carved a clear and striking trail across the earth.

The arrows were still flying.

Time seemed to slow down.

They skimmed the ground, swerving, leaping, diving, shifting sideways… maneuvering around one boulder and fallen log obstacle after another, before finally descending from above and striking the human-shaped target in the low-lying area.

The first arrow shattered the head portion of the human-shaped target.

Before the fragments could scatter,

the second arrow pierced through and shattered the fragments.

Then came the third, fourth, fifth…

Eight consecutive arrows pulverized the fragments flying from the shattered head of the human-shaped target, without harming the torso below in the slightest.

The last arrow seemed to have missed, flying past the human-shaped target and disappearing into the half-person-tall grass in the distance.

Boom—

The grass exploded, scattering countless blades, and a headless green-skinned goblin inside thudded to the ground.

In the sky, a War Falcon circled, taking in everything, and shared these scenes with someone over two thousand meters away.

Here, on a thick, thirty-meter-tall tree, the Archer Commander ‘Seventeen’ crouched halfway, wiping the slight sweat from her forehead.

“At a distance of two thousand eight hundred meters, I can hit the target accurately.”

“But the energy attached to the arrows isn’t enough. Arrows of this level probably can’t even kill a goblin commander in one shot.”

“Ah, I’m still too weak.”

Seventeen was somewhat troubled.

She had arrived in the territory early and was one of the most senior members, second only to Deadbone, Dolai, Bone Two Three Four, and Asun, and was of the same cohort as Lu Liu.

But now, she was struggling more and more. Even with desperate cultivation, it was hard to keep up with the others.

Seventeen also understood that there were differences in talent between people, and such gaps couldn’t be bridged by effort alone. Besides, while she was working hard, weren’t General Deadbone, General Dolai, and the others also putting in effort?

Perhaps their diligence even surpassed her own.

“Moreover, if my arrows are to exert stronger destructive power, I have to rely on external tools. Only by using precious, ranked arrows do I have the ability to kill stronger enemies. And if I face some powerful or major foes…”

I’d have to bring out rare-grade arrows!Such arrows were crafted by Master Li using the leftover rare treasure fragments from forging Treasure Armor and artifacts, at her request.

Even so, a single arrow was incredibly valuable, let alone being consumable items.

Her own territory was not wealthy—how could she further strain its already tight finances?

Seventeen possessed only three such arrows in total, and to this day, she had not used a single one. She would rather employ her ‘Meteor’ skill, burning her own energy, mental strength, and willpower, than expend these precious arrows.

“Could I develop a skill that ensures both range and accuracy while significantly boosting destructive power?”

“Ahhh, where should I even begin?”

She was deeply troubled.

She had considered seeking advice from the Lord or the Undead General, but they were both extremely busy. Disturbing them with such a minor matter felt inappropriate.

The other commanders were also occupied. After hesitating for a while, Seventeen ultimately decided not to trouble anyone and pondered the problem alone.

She meditated for one month, then two, yet still found no path forward.

“Huh? The Lord!”

She jolted in surprise, only then noticing the Lord standing under a tree not far away.

Wait—when did he arrive?

She hurriedly stood up, wiped the sweat from her palms, and prepared to bow.

But before she could complete the gesture, she heard:

“The organization has decided—you are the next candidate for Epic Tier.”

“Ah? What!”

Having just risen from a half-crouch, Seventeen’s eyes widened, her mouth slightly agape, frozen in place.

Her mind went completely blank.

The next moment,

she plummeted headfirst from the thirty-meter-high tree.

Thud—

…

After all, Seventeen was a powerful warrior. Without Mu Yuan needing to catch her, she executed a mid-air double twist and landed steadily.

“Me? I’m the next Epic?”

She pointed at herself, then lack of confidence crept in, “I’m not cut out for this, am I?”

“No, you are. I say you are.”

Mu Yuan stated.

Admittedly, Seventeen’s natural talent wasn’t outstanding, and her battle achievements weren’t particularly notable—but this was related to the current circumstances.

As the deputy commander of the Garrison Legion and a skilled archer, Seventeen excelled most in defensive battles, leveraging terrain advantages to rain arrows down upon enemies from elevated positions.

The lethal potential a powerful archer could unleash in city defense was truly terrifying.

Back during the novice trial period, the Great Sun Lord had briefly topped the golden rankings relying on a formidable Professional Tier Sharpshooter.

At that time in Tianyuan Territory, Seventeen hadn’t yet broken through to Professional Tier and couldn’t significantly influence the battlefield. Later, as Tianyuan Territory grew stronger, few monster tides managed to reach the territory’s front lines, so Seventeen rarely had opportunities to showcase her full capabilities.

But this was only temporary.

The Eternal World periodically experienced Crimson Mist tides and monster outbreaks—that would be Seventeen’s moment to shine.

Given the right conditions for output, she was an undisputed squishy-killer.

Although, she herself was also squishy.

She possessed the weakest survival and self-preservation capabilities among all the territory’s commanders—far inferior to Bone Two, Bone Three, Sophia, and others.

But deployed in the right place, she could be a royal flush.

She had also worked hard enough. Though she hadn’t created any powerful skills, she had pushed her Mind Arrow talent to its limits.

She deserved an evolution slot.

That night,Within the City Lord’s Mansion, Miracle’s radiance descended as if stars were twinkling in the night sky, illuminating her figure.

Amidst the glow, Seventeen’s ponytail fluttered fiercely, her eyes sparkling brilliantly.

“Ding!”

“Notification: Your troop unit ‘Seventeen’ has bathed in evolution radiance and evolved into the Epic One-Star lifeform ‘Polar Star Arrow’, awakening the Epic Skill ‘Myriad Arrows Artifact’…”

The blazing white radiance gradually faded.

Behind Seventeen, ripples appeared in space, spreading outward to both sides.

First update…

(End of chapter)