At this moment, underneath the stone statue, a collection of figures had gathered, among them the Gentleman Sect’s Lord Wind and his party. Additionally, Daluo Heavenly Palace’s Shangguan Hong, the previously seen Fire Saint Son, and Ice River Saint Child were also present.
There were also Xue Lingzi, Fei Yue, and others. Clearly, everyone harbored intentions for that silver bow, as could be seen in the surprise and excitement in their eyes.
Even when Ye Xuan entered the hall and approached, no one paid him any attention, as everyone’s focus was solely on the thunder bow, hardly ever straying away.
Suddenly, a low shout burst forth from Xue Lingzi’s mouth. Almost instantaneously, the four people dashed out, heading straight for the silver bow in the hands of the stone statue.
"Stop him! That precious bow is ours!" Lord Wind exclaimed, his expression changing dramatically as he shouted fiercely.
Shangguan Hong too issued a decisive order on the spot.
The powerhouses from the Gentleman Sect and Daluo Heavenly Palace mobilized almost simultaneously, then lunged towards the silver bow held by the stone statue.
And their actions naturally caught the attention of other powerhouses. Instantly, everyone realized that the silver bow in the hands of the stone statue was the ultimate treasure. They all became hot-eyed, and their figures suddenly shot forward.
The entire hall was plunged into complete chaos at that moment.
Ye Xuan observed the mayhem, the light in his eyes flickering slightly, before he sought an opportune moment to insert himself into the fray.
Among the crowd, Xue Lingzi reacted the fastest, and therefore was the first to approach the silver bow. However, as he neared the statue, two extremely fierce gusts of wind suddenly viciously targeted a vital spot on his back.
Within those gusts, a formidable and upright aura was contained. Clearly, the ones targeting Xue Lingzi were none other than Lord Wind and Qin Yuan, two elite experts of the Gentleman Sect.
Faced with the joint attack from the two, Xue Lingzi’s expression sank. Yet he did not turn back, shaking his sleeve, a blood light burst out abruptly, colliding fiercely with the two fierce attacks.
Unperturbed by the chaos behind him, Xue Lingzi countered Lord Wind and Qin Yuan’s offensive. He then leaped onto the statue’s massive arm.
"Xue Lingzi, since you’ve entered the Evil Dragon Temple, you’ve already gained quite a lot. It’s better not to be too greedy. Let this item go for our Gentleman Sect," Lord Wind said with a faintly dark expression. After entering the Evil Dragon Temple, most of the spoils had ended up with Xue Lingzi and others like Ye Xuan and Fei Yue, who had also benefited greatly. By comparison, even he had little to show for it, leaving him somewhat discontent.
"Give it to you? Why should I? Everyone wants it; let’s rely on our own abilities," Xue Lingzi replied with a cold laugh.
A severe look flashed in Lord Wind’s eyes, and then his figure suddenly blurred, transforming into a gust of wind and speeding towards the location of the thunder bow.
However, though Lord Wind was strong, there were many who hindered him, like Shangguan Hong, Golden Raging Saint, Ice River Saint Child, and others from the Daluo Heavenly Palace, all equally covetous of the thunder bow, and unlikely to permit Lord Wind to succeed easily.
The struggle among the various factions was extremely fierce, with roars and yells resounding without cease.
"The opportunity has come."
Ye Xuan seized the moment amidst the three-way struggle, quickly darting towards the stone statue to grab the thunder bow in its hands.
"Hehe, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Kid, nice idea, but unfortunately, you’ve encountered this old man."
Snatching the silver longbow was not going to be easy. As Ye Xuan reached for it, a laugh suddenly rang out. Then, Ye Xuan’s gaze sharpened, and he saw a flicker of light and shadow at his side. An old figure emerged out of nowhere, ghostlike in its appearance.
This person was the Fifth Grade Martial Venerate Elder from the Daluo Heavenly Palace, the same one who was fooled by Ye Xuan during the scramble for the Dragon Saliva Fruit. Holding a grudge, he had been looking for a chance to retaliate. Almost no one had noticed Ye Xuan’s arrival, but he had, and a thought emerged in his heart to use this opportunity to eliminate Ye Xuan.
Ye Xuan merely glanced coldly at the Elder and, without even looking, swept his sword out horizontally.
The sword light struck the Elder from the Daluo Heavenly Palace. The Elder initially wore a joking smile, but very soon, the smile on his face stiffened. In the next instant, the Protective True Essence before him was crushed by the Sword Qi, and he was sent flying backwards in a frenzy.
The current Ye Xuan, after advancing, had long since transformed and was no longer the same person. The Elder had made a grave mistake in assuming Ye Xuan would be as weak as before.
"The treasure is mine!"
Originally, Ye Xuan would have been the first to obtain the thunder bow, but the Elder had delayed him, allowing someone else to get ahead of Ye Xuan and seize the bow first.
The one who gripped the thunder bow was the Ice River Saint Child. At this moment, his face was painted with ecstasy, and he was in a state of extreme excitement.
However, just as the Ice River Saint Child’s palm touched the silver longbow, a deafening sound of thunder erupted within the great hall. A thunder dragon emerged from the silver thunder bow, releasing an incredibly violent force of thunder.
The thunder dragon roared, blasting the Ice River Saint Child’s palm apart. The shockwave sent his entire body flying backward.
The followers of the Daluo Heavenly Palace hastily caught the Ice River Saint Child. They were shocked as they looked at the suspended thunder bow in mid-air. Seeing the completely charred palm of the Ice River Saint Child, they couldn’t help but feel their scalps tingle.
Who would have thought that even someone of the Ice River Saint Child’s strength could be injured by an unclaimed weapon to such an extent? If it had been anyone else, wouldn’t they have been blasted to smithereens?
At this point, even Lord Wind, Xue Lingzi, and others refrained from acting recklessly.
Amidst the many spectators, Ye Xuan suddenly reached out and firmly grasped the floating thunder bow.
Upon witnessing this scene, Lord Wind, Yang Wei, and others did not express surprise but instead laughed, their eyes filled with intense mockery, without the slightest concern.
Xue Lingzi shook his head. He didn’t understand what Ye Xuan was thinking. The lesson from the Ice River Saint Child was still fresh in their minds. Even they didn’t dare to touch the thunder bow again, so wasn’t Ye Xuan’s action simply seeking humiliation? He would only end up injured for no reason.
And indeed, as soon as Ye Xuan grabbed the thunder bow, a tremendously violent force of thunder swept over from the bow, wildly ravaging his arm. In just an instant, the clothes on Ye Xuan’s arm turned to ash, and his veins bulged alarmingly.