The Divine Martial Stars

“Watch carefully. I’ll do a second demonstration!”

Li Mu drew the bow again. When the Magic Moon Shot attracted enough frosty moonlight, he loosened the string; a shot of silver light sprinted out and disappeared into the darkness.

A loud thud was heard from a distance.

Needless to ponder, everyone knew it was the sound produced by the fall of the zombie-like freak after being hit by the arrow up in the air.

Given that the pasture Goddess of Martial Arts had made her name on the pasture and became the candidate for the Virgin Goddess of the Wolf Temple, the strikingly magnificence of the mental cultivation method of the Heart Heavenly Shot was evident. Thus, she was certain that once that arrow was shot, that zombie-like freak had no chance to survive.

‘When you’re targeted by the marvelous Heart Heavenly Shot, how can you escape?’

The Goddess of Martial Arts was very clear about the terrifying power of that marvelous archery.

In particular, she could tell that the skill of that man wearing the silver smiley-ghost mask had reached the second out of the three phases depicted by the Heart Heavenly Shot, which were the Individual Shot Phase, the Heart Shot Phase, and the Heaven Shot Phase respectively. That was not an attainment a man could have within a couple of days’ practice. The man had definitely been dabbling in that art for ages.

“A third demonstration is coming. Attention!”

Li Mu fitted the arrow to the string and drew the bow for the third time.

The Magic Moon Shot was bent as he spoke.

That time, Li Mu decided to exhibit the highest phase he had mastered in the Heart Heavenly Shot. The pouring moonlight soon assembled to the string of the Magic Moon Shot like dancing snowflakes. On the bow itself, ripples of moonlight were gleaming, while the old, bizarre, moon-shaped pattern was swirling, and a deluge of mystical symbols was fluttering out of the bow. An immense hexagon star magic formation appeared indistinctly. At last, a strip of the moonlight condensed into a massive arrow, which slowly surfaced from the hexagon star magic formation.

Behind the silver smiley-ghost mask, Li Mu activated his Third Eye.

The old man called Green Spider, who was hiding in the darkness and slowly backing away like a monkey locked by a night-vision device, was captured clearly by the Third Eye. Li Mu’s Heart Arrow clicked and an arrow was fired.

The power of the moonlight was awoken.

A colossal light arrow that was dozens of meters long flashed out and streaked across the dark sky.

“Aargh…” The scream of the old man called Green Spider sounded from the darkness. A broken arm, accompanied by a squirt of blood, dropped from the void. A strip of blood appeared on the ground. The marks of a drizzle of blood started from the exit of the alley and stretched afar until it vanished in the darkness.

‘Hmmm?’

Li Mu was slightly surprised.

‘That shot failed to take the life of that freak?’

‘Seems that he’s got a certain wicked treasure that can block a lethal blow for him.’

Buried in his thoughts, he put away the Magic Moon Shot and gazed down condescendingly at the pasture people. Eventually, his eyes were fixed on the pasture Goddess of Martial Arts. Li Mu then urged, “Well, now will you tell me what Brother Guo is to you?”

“How do you know of Uncle Guo?” pressed the pasture Goddess of Martial Arts in turn.

But that question actually explained the relationship between her and Guo Yuqing.

“We met by chance like patches of drifting duckweed and found each other quite agreeable. So, we did the eight-kowtow ceremony and became sworn brothers,” Li Mu said, “Since you address Brother Guo as Uncle Guo, he must be a brother of your father, am I right?”

The pasture Goddess of Martial Arts replied, “My name is Guo Qingyan.”

Li Mu understood the whole thing at once.

“Haha, turns out that you’re my nephew… Whee! Haw-haw, haw-haw.” Li Mu could not help breaking out laughing. The peerless whiz image that he had set up before was not ruined by his last frivolous remark, while his devious taste in jesting was exposed.

The pasture Goddess of Martial Arts looked rather embarrassed.

The Junior Chief of the Moon-shooting Tribe and the pasture Army Advisor went speechless as well.

The scene abruptly changed from solemn to ridiculous.

Nevertheless, Li Mu was correct. In terms of the standing in the family, Qing Yan, the Virgin Goddess, was surely his niece.

“Senior, thanks a lot for stepping up and helping us out.” The Junior Chief of the Moon-shooting Tribe cupped his hands in gratitude. No matter what, if it weren’t for the timely arrival of the masked man who later fended off the enemies with three shots, his army and companions would have probably died.

“Senior?” Li Mu said, “Don’t, don’t call me that. I’m way younger than you.”

At that, the Junior Chief of the Moon-shooting Tribe did not know what to say.

“Where is Uncle Guo? Is he… okay?” inquired Guo Qinyan, the Goddess of Martial Arts, with a hint of hesitation and nervousness.

“He is doing well. Good appetite, pretty healthy, has a son and a daughter. Emm, he is in the Qin empire. If you want to visit him, I can take you there.” Li Mu answered briefly, without getting to the details.

Guo Qinyan was obviously a little tempted.

However, she looked around at her companions and stifled her yearning. Then, she said resolutely, “I have to go back to the pasture to deal with some important issues… Senior, could you inform me of your residence? When I finish with the pasture issues, I’ll come back and invite you to visit Uncle Guo together. How does that sound?”

Li Mu nodded. “Good. Tonight was quite eventful. The situation in Chang’an is also unpredictable. You’d better not stay here. I’ll escort you until you leave the city.”

‘One should stick to the end once he undertakes a good deed.’

‘Now that she is Brother Guo’s niece, I will absolutely see them safely out of the city.’

“Senior, thank you!” uttered the pasture Army Advisor, overjoyed.

The rest of the pasture warriors also looked blissful.

With such a peerless master who had unfathomable power accompanying them, it would be no problem to leave the city of Chang’an unscathed. They did not need to remain in a state of apprehension anymore. How blessed they were!

“Thanks, senior.” Guo Qinyan also manifested her gratitude.

“Well, sweet niece, call me uncle!” Li Mu could not stop sniggering. ‘The family standing does say so. After becoming Brother Guo’s sworn brother, now I have such a beautiful girl as my nephew. Seems that she is even a little older than me. Haha, it’s so funny!’

Guo Qinyan lowered her head and ignored that remark.

Needless to say, she preferred not to.

‘A moment ago when the Junior Chief of the Moon-shooting Tribe called him ‘senior’, the man with the silver smiley-ghost mask declined him and claimed to be the younger one. And his voice does sound like that of a young man. But now, he is asking me to call him uncle… This guy is sort of detestable!’

The pasture Army Advisor soon commanded the rest to collect the bodies of the killed warriors and the female Wolf Warriors.

That night, the pasture force had suffered a huge loss. Half of the elites the Junior Chief of the Moon-shooting Tribe brought there had lost their lives. Twelve of the forty-six female Wolf Warriors were also killed in that battle. That loss had laid a heavy load on the mind of every surviving pasture warrior.

“We still have some men in the city.” The pasture Army Advisor pointed out.

Li Mu suggested, “Then, let’s join them first.”

The Junior Chief of the Moon-shooting Tribe, the Virgin Goddess, and the others all agreed. They trusted Li Mu very much, and that was not only because he defeated the zombie-like freak and the old man called Green Spider, but the complete and impeccable Heart Heavenly Shot skill Li Mu displayed. They were perfectly convinced that Li Mu was an honest man, because if it were the otherwise, that pasture legendary figure could not have passed the Heart Heavenly Shot and the Magic Moon Shot on to Li Mu.

About half an hour later, they met the reinforcing troop waiting at a distance as planned.

“Through which city gate should we break out?” The pasture Army Advisor set his eyes on Li Mu.

Li Mu did not give him a straight answer but complained, “How troublesome it is to go through the city gate!”

“Umm, what about climbing over the walls?” proposed the Junior Chief of the Moon-shooting Tribe.

Li Mu shook his head and said, “That’s also a big effort.”

“Then, how on earth can we get out of the city?” snapped the pasture Goddess of Martial Arts with a stony face.

Li Mu said rather mysteriously, “I certainly have an idea… Let me see…”

He leaped to the tip of a high tower nearby. After taking a look in all directions, he jumped down and said, “Come with me.”

When they covered several zigzagging alleys, they arrived at a market square. In the daytime, that market square was crowded with people, which was the most boisterous place in town. But right then, at the dead of night, it was completely empty, and no trace of a man could be seen there.

Li Mu said, “Send some soldiers to guard the place.”

The pasture Goddess of Martial Arts and the others all looked mystified. They wondered what game the masked man was playing. Even so, out of trust, she still ordered the pasture warriors to station at the spots all around the square.

Against the moonlight, Li Mu started measuring the square with his footsteps. Upon finishing the measuring, he began doing some complicated calculation with his fingers, looking quite enigmatic. At last, he marked an exotic hexagonal pattern with a diameter of around six meters and stood in the center, flicking his fingers to produce lines on the ground that were composed of the many dots created by the flicking wind.

“This is… a warlock star formation?” asked Guo Qinyan, the Goddess of Martial Arts, incredulously.

Li Mu looked back and smiled at her as he praised, “My niece is really smart!”

Guo Qinyan’s exceptionally stunning features instantly revealed the symptom of freaking out.

‘Why on earth did Uncle Guo take this annoying guy as his sworn brother?’

The pasture Army Advisor and the Junior Chief of the Moon-shooting Tribe also did not know whether they should laugh or cry.

‘This hero with unfathomable power is nice in any aspect except for his disrespectful and cynical demeanor… Are all the powerful experts who have raised above the mundane like this? We seldom see the icy Virgin Goddess put on that expression after being teased.’

A while later.

Li Mu carved a rather intricate and bizarre pattern that resembled crop circles within the hexagon. Then, he placed six fist-sized jade pieces at each of its angles.

After that, Li Mu conjured a seal which drew the power of the moon into the six jade pieces.

At once, the lines etched on the ground started glinting in silver, as if the moonlight were trickling along the lines. That beautiful sight was dazzling. When every single curved pattern was filled by the silvery moonlight, the earth trembled slightly and the light rippled. Soon, a curious Transmitting Array emerged.

“Step into this array and you will be directly transported to the outside,” Li Mu explained, “The exit is in a band of wild woods which is thirty miles away from the city.”

The pasture Army Advisor rejoiced at the news. He said cheerfully, “Once we’re out of the city, the rest is quite simple!”

Qing Yan, the Virgin Goddess, just stared at Li Mu with a disbelieving look.

‘He is not only professional in martial arts but also a warlock… Since he can fetch a Transmitting Array so effortlessly, his magic cultivation must also be above the Natural Realm, right? He has reached such a high level in both fields, perhaps ‘freaking genius’ is not suited to describe him anymore, is it? But how come I never heard of such a man before?’

As she was absorbed in thoughts, the pasture Army Advisor and the other leaders had started arranging the soldiers to go into the array first and retreat to the safe place.

It was the way of the pasture people that once they believed in a man, their trust would never waver.

Eventually, about a hundred pasture soldiers had all been transported to the outside, leaving only the Junior Chief of the Moon-shooting Tribe, the pasture Army Advisor, and the Virgin Goddess at the square.

“Senior, thank you so much for helping us.” The Junior Chief of the Moon-shooting Tribe and the pasture Army Advisor both cupped their fists in salute.

Li Mu chuckled and said, “If you really want to thank me, give me some practical benefits. Don’t just pay me lip service…”

The two instantly were dumbstruck.

“This is weird!”

Li Mu casually waved them down and snorted, “Look at you, putting on that face once I said I wanted something practical. Never mind, never mind. You can go now, but leave her with me.” Li Mu pointed at the Virgin Goddess who was standing beside him.