570: Chapter 570 Once high and mighty, now a sitting duck

Li Ergou shook his head and said nothing.

He took aim again and fired another shot.

This time, the light grazed the old man's ear, singeing a lock of hair.

The old man was so terrified that he collapsed onto the ground, his face as white as paper. His lips trembled, and he even forgot to pick up the whisk that had fallen from his hand.

Only then did Li Ergou lower his gun, grinning with satisfaction.

"Beautiful!" Zhao Tiezhu shouted from below the stage. "Li Ergou, your marksmanship is getting better and better!"

Li Ergou turned back and laughed, "Of course! The Sect Master taught me!"

Xu Ruyu stood on the high platform, looking at the excited Disciples, feeling a sudden wave of emotion.

A few months ago, these people were still being ridiculed and ostracized in the Taihu Clan, treated like stray dogs.

Now, they held Spiritual Artifacts and practiced their marksmanship on the people of the Righteous Path Alliance, making them scurry away in terror.

Those people were once existences they looked up to, members of great Righteous Path Sects they couldn't afford to offend—Disciples and Elders of the Tianxuan Sect, Tianji Sect, Tianquan Sect, and the North Pole Ice Soul Palace.

And now? They were targets.

Sun Xiaohua, wearing Source Energy Armor, stepped out from the crowd and took a step toward the light screen.

She didn't have a gun; she didn't need one.

The Array Pattern on the battle armor lit up, with silver-white light flowing over her breastplate, bracers, and greaves.

She raised her hand toward a Cultivator who was running away inside the light screen, spread her fingers, and then suddenly clenched them.

An invisible force erupted from her palm, striking the Cultivator's back through the light screen.

Like a stone being kicked away, the person tumbled several times across the Martial Arts Arena before slamming into a stone pillar, coughing up a mouthful of blood and becoming still.

"Did you knock him out?"

Xu Ruyu asked.

Sun Xiaohua blushed and whispered, "I just wanted to try that 'Kinetic Impact' the Sect Master mentioned... I didn't control the strength well."

Xu Ruyu smiled.

"It's fine, just practice more. Next."

Zhou Xiaolian was also wearing battle armor. She wasn't as violent as Sun Xiaohua; she simply activated the speed Array Pattern and ran several laps around the Martial Arts Arena outside the light screen.

Her speed was like a silver flash of lightning. The people from the Righteous Path only saw a shadow flickering outside the light screen, so fast they couldn't tell what it was.

Someone pulled out a Magical Artifact and tried to attack the shadow, but the artifact bounced back upon hitting the light screen, nearly hitting the attacker instead.

Zhao Yan, watching from the side, felt his hands itching to join in and walked up to Xu Ruyu.

"Sect Master, I don't have a Spiritual Artifact. What should I do?"

Xu Ruyu glanced at him.

"Use your fists. Punch toward the inside of the light screen. It doesn't matter if you can't break through; just let them see you punching."

Zhao Yan didn't understand why, but he did as he was told.

He walked up to the light screen, took a deep breath, and smashed a fist against it.

The light screen brightened for a moment and then dimmed.

The Righteous Path Alliance Cultivators inside heard the noise and looked over, seeing a shirtless, scar-covered brute frantically throwing punches at the light screen.

Punch after punch, each one heavy and powerful, making the light screen buzz and hum.

Those people retreated a few steps in fear. Someone instinctively touched their own face, as if afraid the fist would pass through the light screen and smash into them.

Zhao Yan threw a dozen punches, then turned back and grinned at Xu Ruyu, "Sect Master, that felt great!"

Xu Ruyu didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

This blockhead.

Leng Ningshuang and Ning Caihe stood at the back of the crowd, not stepping forward.

They didn't need to practice this; their swords were their best weapons.

But as they watched their excited Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters, the corners of their mouths turned up slightly.

Qingyan squatted at the front of the crowd, her chin resting on her hands as she watched Zhou Daniu practice on the targets, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

Her little pouch had been emptied last night, not a single Spirit Stone left, so she had no weapon to use today.

But she wasn't worried. Her Sect Master Brother said everyone would get a chance, and she would have hers.

Outside the Martial Arts Arena, the sound of gunfire and laughter was constant.

Inside the light screen, the people of the Righteous Path Alliance slowly recovered from their initial panic and began to organize a defense.

Some propped up their Protective Spiritual Light, some hid behind stone pillars, and some lay flat on the ground, not daring to move.

Ancestor Xuan Yin stood in the center of the crowd, his face ashen.

He watched the excited Hehuan Sect Disciples outside the light screen, pointing their strangely shaped Spiritual Artifacts in his direction. With every point, someone would fall.

"Enough!"

He roared, his voice echoing over the Martial Arts Arena.

The gunfire stopped.

Everyone looked at him.

Ancestor Xuan Yin pointed at the people outside the light screen and shouted sternly, "Xu Ruyu, what the hell is the meaning of this?"

"If we were fighting with real blades and spears, we could afford to lose; it wouldn't be unfair."

"But keeping people in a cage as living targets—do you even consider yourself a member of the Righteous Path?"

Xu Ruyu stood on the high platform, looking at him through the light screen, and smiled.

"Ancestor Xuan Yin, I never said I was a member of the Righteous Path."

"I am the Sect Master of the Hehuan Sect. Whether the Hehuan Sect is righteous or evil is for you to decide."

"If you say it's righteous, it's righteous; if you say it's evil, it's evil."

"But regardless of righteousness or evil, I have won and you have lost. As losers, you must have the awareness of losers."

"You didn't think that after leading a mob to besiege my Hehuan Sect and failing, I, Xu Ruyu, would treat you like honored guests, did you?"

"Ancestor Xuan Yin, keep dreaming!"

Ancestor Xuan Yin's lips trembled, but he couldn't find the words to speak.

Xu Ruyu didn't look at him again, turning instead to the Disciples.

"Continue. While the other side hasn't come to ransom them yet, take this opportunity to practice your skills."

In an instant, the sound of gunfire rang out again.

Zhou Daniu ran out of Energy Crystals, swapped in a new one, and continued firing.

Li Ergou fired two more shots; one blew off a Cultivator's hat, and the other snapped another Cultivator's sword.

Zhao Tiezhu finally got his chance. He shouldered a Thunder Roar Cannon and aimed it at the light screen. Before he even fired, people inside were already scrambling for the corners.

"Sect Master, can I fire?"

Zhao Tiezhu asked loudly.

"Fire."

Xu Ruyu said.

Zhao Tiezhu pulled the trigger.

"Boom!"

A beam of light three times thicker than that of a qi-breaking gun erupted from the muzzle, passed through the light screen, and slammed into a stone pillar at the edge of the Martial Arts Arena.

The stone pillar shattered instantly, sending debris flying and showering several nearby Cultivators.

Those few were scared out of their wits and scrambled away on all fours.

Zhao Tiezhu scratched his head sheepishly.

"Sect Master, I wanted to hit someone, but I missed."

"It's fine, just practice more. Stone pillars don't move, but people do. Hit the pillars first, and once your aim is true, then target the people."

Zhao Tiezhu nodded and shouldered the cannon to aim again.

As noon approached, Xu Ruyu told the Disciples to stop.

It wasn't because they were tired, but because the people inside the light screen had run out of places to hide.

People were hiding behind every stone pillar in the Martial Arts Arena, crowded into every corner, and some even looked like they wanted to crawl into the cracks between the stone slabs.

Ancestor Xuan Yin's face had turned from ashen to a ghostly gray. He stood there, surrounded by the light screen on all sides, above him, and even the bluestone floor beneath him offered no escape, no place to hide.

Xu Ruyu stood on the high platform and called all the Disciples back.

"That's enough practice for today. After you go back, maintain your Spiritual Artifacts and charge your Energy Crystals. We'll continue tomorrow."

Zhou Daniu held his qi-breaking gun, reluctant to let go.

"Sect Master, are we still shooting tomorrow?"

"Yes. We'll keep shooting until people from their Sects come to ransom them."

Zhou Daniu's smile broadened.

"That's great! I haven't had enough practice with my marksmanship yet!"

Li Ergou also walked over and showed him his Chuanyang Gun.

"Sect Master, my scope is a bit loose. Could you help me tighten it?"

Xu Ruyu took it, looked it over, pulled a small screwdriver from his storage ring, and gave it a couple of turns.

"There."

Li Ergou took it back, aimed it at the light screen, and nodded with satisfaction.

Sun Xiaohua and Zhou Xiaolian walked over in their battle armor, their faces covered in sweat but their eyes shining brightly.

"Sect Master, I can run so fast in this battle armor. Can I wear it to go gather herbs on the Back Mountain?"

Xu Ruyu thought for a moment.

"You can. Just don't go too far, and stay within the range of the Grand Array."

Sun Xiaohua gave a happy hop, the Array Pattern on the battle armor flickering.

Zhao Tiezhu walked over carrying the Thunder Roar Cannon, smoke still drifting from the muzzle.

"Sect Master, the recoil on this cannon is really strong. My shoulder is completely numb."

"You'll get used to it. Tomorrow, don't carry two of them; just fire more rounds, and you'll gradually adapt."

Zhao Tiezhu nodded and walked off with the cannon.

The crowd gradually dispersed.

The Grand Elder walked up to Xu Ruyu, watching the retreating backs of the Disciples.

"Sect Master, are you training troops?"

Xu Ruyu nodded.

"Something like that. In the Cultivation World, the rules are decided by the strong."

"We aren't strong right now, but the things in our hands are."

"These things can turn us from the weak into the strong."

The Grand Elder fell silent.

Xu Ruyu patted him on the shoulder.

"Grand Elder, you should go rest too."

"This afternoon, I still need to teach them how to use the scope for rangefinding and how to calculate windage."

"You'll need to be there to supervise."

The Grand Elder nodded and turned to leave.

Only Xu Ruyu remained by the Martial Arts Arena.

He stood on the high platform, looking at the light screen. The Righteous Path Alliance Cultivators inside were still trembling.

He didn't know how long these people would be confined—maybe a month, maybe a year, or maybe until their Sects scraped together enough Spirit Stones to ransom them.

None of that mattered anymore.

What mattered was that the Hehuan Sect had survived.

And it was doing better than ever before.

The sunlight shone on his face, feeling warm and pleasant.

He stretched and headed toward Ningyin Hall.

Xiao Nianyin should be waking up about now.

He wanted to go back and see her—well, really just to see her... hehe...