"This sniper rifle wasn't my idea. I suppose it's the masterpiece of some ancient blacksmith! It's just that I happened to have the weapon's design blueprints stored in my memory."
Mu Qingling explained casually.
She couldn't possibly explain that the sniper rifle's design blueprints were actually obtained with the system's help.
Elder Han pondered for a moment, his curiosity about Mu Qingling's mysterious methods growing.
Possessing blueprints for such ancient divine forging weapons, he still couldn't fathom Mu Qingling's origins.
Under the extensive search of the mechanical crows, Xin Ci quickly discovered the remaining death row inmates.
With each shot of the sniper rifle, over fifty more death row inmates fell to the ground.
Checking the white jade bracelet, he noted that with 127 kills, he remained in first place.
However, the second and third place individuals, wearing blue ghost masks, had kill counts remarkably close to his.
Both had eliminated nearly a hundred people.
Xin Ci felt a touch of surprise. He hadn't expected the second and third place contenders to be so swift in eliminating death row inmates. He couldn't afford to relax.
Thus, he put away the sniper rifle and planned to relocate to continue hunting death row inmates.
However, at that moment, he heard an unusual sound and felt a surge of powerful true essence fluctuation.
Xin Ci turned his head slightly and saw a lightning arrow imbued with thunderous energy streaking through the void, rapidly approaching him.
The astonishing aura made Xin Ci's pupils contract. He immediately moved to dodge the thunderous arrow.
Unfortunately, the lightning arrow was too fast. Fortunately, it wasn't aimed directly at Xin Ci but instead shattered the corner of the cliff where he stood.
RUMBLE!
The violent explosion caused rocks to crack and boulders to tumble.
Xin Ci lost his footing and plummeted down the cliff.
He quickly retrieved the Sixteen-Star Moon Chain from his spatial ring and, during his descent, used the chain to wrap around the trunk of a towering tree, barely halting his fall.
However, two more thunderous arrows whistled towards him. Without a second thought, Xin Ci used the chain to swing into the dense forest of Ghost Vine Valley.
Those two arrows directly shattered the rock face, and the falling boulders crushed numerous trees, demonstrating the astonishing power of the arrows.
Xin Ci, hidden within the dense forest, quickly concealed himself. The power of the thunderous arrows sent a shiver down his spine.
Weren't they supposed to be eliminated if they used their true essence?
Why could the other party not only use true essence but also wield the power of a true artifact?
Xin Ci was perplexed.
Elder Han transmitted a message to explain, "The opponent is likely using a true artifact that consumes spirit stones. Such artifacts only need to be filled with spirit stones to unleash powerful effects, without requiring the use of their own true essence."
"There are such true artifacts?!"
Xin Ci exclaimed in surprise.
But what he wanted to know more was who was attacking him.
Calming himself, he reasoned that possessing such a powerful true artifact meant the attacker was likely of no ordinary background, possibly another assessor.
Judging by the power of the thunderous arrows, this person's kill count must be considerable.
Xin Ci recalled checking the top ten rankings on the white jade bracelet earlier; the second and third place masked individuals had kill counts nearing a hundred.
Could these two be working together, possessing this formidable true artifact, which explained how they managed to catch up to his kill count?
However, their target had now shifted to him, yet Xin Ci still couldn't locate them.
The four mechanical crows conducted an extensive search of the surroundings but still found no trace of the two.
Xin Ci couldn't help but furrow his brow. With the search range of the mechanical crows, it was impossible for them not to be found.
However, in the next moment, the image displayed by the small formation disk suddenly vanished. It appeared one of the mechanical crows had been destroyed.
Yet, before the visual feed disappeared, Xin Ci noticed that the thunderous arrows seemed to materialize out of nowhere, suggesting that the two possessed some special treasure that concealed their presence.
Seeing the mechanical crows destroyed, Mu Qingling's heart ached in the spiritual space.
These things were expensive and difficult to manufacture!
Damn it, who destroyed the mechanical crows?!
However, Mu Qingling couldn't help but worry for Xin Ci, as the opponent's thunderous arrows were not to be underestimated.
While she could foresee events and prepare weapons like the sniper rifle for the male lead, the world's Heavenly Dao will created obstacles, leading to unforeseen individuals hindering the male lead's progress through the original plot.
These two were likely such individuals, and they possessed several special true artifacts that could unleash their power without consuming internal true essence.
This meant Xin Ci might struggle to defeat them relying solely on the sniper rifle.
Deep within the dense forest not far from Xin Ci, two individuals wearing blue ghost masks stood on a tree about ten meters high. One was a man, the other a woman.
The slightly shorter woman spoke to the person beside her, "Brother, how is it? Did you hit that detestable little runt?"
"No, that person isn't simple. They managed to dodge two Wind Thunder Arrows. They do have some skill."
The man held a long-range telescope produced by the Luo Fei Merchant Association, gazing towards Xin Ci's location.
This brother and sister pair, despite not having any visible means of concealment, were unnoticed by passing birds, ground-walking assessors, or death row inmates.
They could evade the mechanical crows' detection so easily thanks to the Dust-Concealing Robes they wore. Under the cover of this treasure garment, they were like invisible beings, difficult to detect.
This brother and sister duo were royalty from the Canglan Dynasty, named Li Fulong and Li Fulan.
Li Fulong looked at his younger sister, Li Fulan, and said, "Fulan, teaching that person a lesson is enough. Our priority is still to eliminate the death row inmates. There's no need to waste time on him."
"I refuse! Who told that detestable little runt to kill so many death row inmates with that strange weapon, more than both of us! And worse, that little runt stole my kills!" Li Fulan pouted, displeased.
An hour earlier, Li Fulan had been hidden in a tree, waiting until over a dozen death row inmates gathered together. Her Wind Thunder Bow was nocked and aimed at them.
Unexpectedly, Xin Ci, from his position on the cliff, used his sniper rifle to steal the kills.
Since Li Fulan was wearing the Dust-Concealing Robe, Xin Ci hadn't spotted her and thought he had gotten lucky, having gathered over a dozen targets to eliminate.
This caused Li Fulan to have worked in vain and wasted a high-grade spirit stone used to power the Wind Thunder Bow.
This grievance was etched in Li Fulan's mind.
Li Fulong found his sister's vengeful nature and her need to vent her anger quite troublesome.
But considering the entire Canglan Dynasty doted on this little princess, Li Fulong had no choice but to indulge her.
"You... I really don't know what to do with you. Fine, give him another lesson, but remember to keep it within limits and show mercy. Don't take a life..."
"I know, I know, Brother. You're so long-winded!"
Li Fulan pouted and waved her hand, interrupting Li Fulong's nagging.