The Spear and the Shield

Han Li turned his head to glance at Sect Leader Wang. Wang Juechu’s expression was dark and heavy. He was conferring in low tones with three unfamiliar men beside him, all of whom bore a weathered look in their eyes that spoke of long experience. It seemed they, too, found the golden light on the dwarf a troublesome matter.

The Brilliant Gold Elder’s harsh, grating laughter rang out again. He threw his head back until his nostrils pointed at the sky, then bellowed arrogantly: “This Elder will stand here without moving. Attack me all you like. If anyone can break this master’s Indestructible Body, I might just spare your miserable lives!” He followed this with another round of mocking laughter.

These words enraged the Seven Mysteries Sect disciples who still harbored some fear of the golden shield. Several of the more martially skilled men immediately tried to rush out from the crowd toward the dwarf, but Sect Leader Wang stopped them with a gesture.

Wang Juechu waved his hand, recalling the Protector who was still standing on the field. Then he spoke a few low words to the burliest of the three men beside him. The man nodded, then stepped forward with a deliberate, steady gait until he stood before the dwarf.

The dwarf looked up at the man before him, whose face was covered in a thick, bushy beard. A malicious glint flickered in his eyes.

He had been mocked his entire life for his stunted, deformed body. Anyone tall or powerfully built stirred a special hatred in him, and this man fit that description perfectly. The Brilliant Gold Elder was already considering which brutal method he would use to torture his opponent.

This bare-chested man was one of Wang Juechu’s three martial uncles. Despite his full beard and rough appearance, which might suggest a simple brute, he was actually well past sixty years of age. A renowned and fearsome general of the Seven Mysteries Sect in years past, he had slaughtered countless enemies. Faced with this strange golden barrier, he would not act rashly.

He carefully studied the golden light, then looked at the Brilliant Gold Elder within it. A grin split his bearded face. He reached out two fingers and gave the golden shield a light tap, producing a clear clang.

This casual, almost dismissive gesture enraged the Brilliant Gold Elder. “You reckless fool!” he said in a sinister tone. “Are you in such a hurry for this immortal master to send you to your next life?”

The man’s expression did not change. Instead, he took a single step, circling around to the dwarf’s side. With another step, he was behind the dwarf’s back.

And so the man began to circle the Brilliant Gold Elder. His strides grew wider, his pace faster. In the blink of an eye, his figure became a blur, impossible to track clearly.

The Brilliant Gold Elder grew dizzy from the relentless circling. Rage flared hotter in his chest. Without a second thought, he reached into his robe, as if to pull something out.

The bearded man, still in mid-stride, noticed the movement.

He suddenly opened his mouth and let out a long, piercing roar. The sound was like a dragon’s cry, then a tiger’s howl—deep, resonant, and sustained. It shook the ears of everyone on Sunset Peak, and even the leaves on the nearby trees trembled.

The Brilliant Gold Elder, caught off guard by the roar, felt his limbs go weak. His hand was already inside his robe, but for a moment, he could not pull it back.

A series of sharp, crackling pops suddenly erupted from the bearded man’s body. The sound of joints snapping was crisp and clear, growing faster and faster until it resembled a string of firecrackers, for a moment drowning out even his own roar.

When the man completed another circle and came to a stop directly in front of the dwarf, the roar and the joint-popping ceased simultaneously.

As the dazed onlookers shook off their stupor, they saw that the man’s body had somehow swelled to more than twice its original size. The muscles on his chest and arms bulged prominently, gleaming darkly like forged iron. Standing next to the dwarf, he seemed like a giant.

Taking advantage of the brief respite, the Brilliant Gold Elder finally managed to pull a long, narrow wooden box from inside his robe. The box was pitch black, with a talisman sealed across it, suggesting the contents were held under restraint.

Before the dwarf could tear the talisman off, the giant-like man extended a hand the size of a winnowing fan and drove a heavy, brutal punch into the golden shield. The golden light shuddered and deformed violently, causing the dwarf to stagger. He could not maintain his balance long enough to tear the talisman off cleanly.

A flicker of alarm crossed the Brilliant Gold Elder’s face. He knew the power of his golden shield intimately. If this man could deform it with a single punch, how immense was his strength? The carelessness in his heart evaporated. He tore at the talisman more frantically.

Rip! The talisman finally came free.

A look of triumph had barely begun to spread across the Brilliant Gold Elder’s face when a series of heavy thump thump impacts hammered against the shield in rapid succession. His body shook with each blow. He could no longer keep his footing and fell hard onto his backside.

He now saw that the bearded man had begun a storm of relentless, furious attacks against the golden shield, using both fists and feet. The shield of light was warping like dough under the assault, bending inward and bulging outward with every strike. The golden sheen trembled, seeming on the verge of shattering.

Witnessing this, the Brilliant Gold Elder’s face changed dramatically. All pretense of immortal master composure was gone. He fumbled frantically, trying to form hand seals and chant an incantation. But in his panic, he made one mistake after another. Nothing happened. The black box lay motionless in his hand.

Jia Tianlong, watching from the rear, was dumbfounded.

He was speechless, partly from the Brilliant Gold Elder’s idiotic behavior, but more so from the shock of seeing this martial uncle of Wang Juechu’s in action. He had personally tested the dwarf’s golden shield before. It was truly impenetrable—impervious to blade and fire alike, as hard as diamond. Yet now, under this man’s fists and feet, the shield was trembling like a leaf, easily bent and deformed.

It was unbelievable. This man’s martial skill was unfathomable!

The thought of the other two men beside Wang Juechu, who were likely just as formidable, caused Jia Tianlong to feel a pang of regret for the first time. He regretted agreeing to the deathmatch so readily. Now he understood why the other side had been so confident in demanding a fight to the death. With three monsters like these as their backbone, he would have been eager for a blood duel too.

Thinking of this, Jia Tianlong looked at the dwarf, who was clearly losing ground. He began to consider whether he should send someone to assist this arrogant immortal master before he could even use his famous Flying Sword Art, and died a fool’s death.