Dragon's Origin

Chapter 325: You Are Not (Part 1)

A clear and piercing gunshot shattered the tranquility of the night, echoing across a significant portion of the capital.

The instant they heard the sound, the two guards outside the main house of the Exquisite Pavilion immediately turned to face Wang Sheng, drawing their weapons and preparing for action.

Unfortunately, their reaction, swift as it was, only came after the gunshot. The problem was that the muzzle velocity of a sniper rifle bullet is faster than the speed of sound.

The sound of metal colliding was so sweet, so clear, and so plainly told everyone inside and outside the house exactly where the high-speed .404 special armor-piercing round had struck.

The Exquisite Pavilion Master felt no killing intent, nor did the two guards, but it was as if a sword's edge had flashed before the Pavilion Master's face. The sword did not land on his face, but on the shield decorating the wall.

That shield was no ordinary shield, but the work of a deceased Grandmaster. It possessed excellent protective capabilities while also being highly ornamental and artistic, making it a rare masterpiece among shields.

The hallmark of a Grandmaster, the reason they become Grandmasters, is that the shield had an array inscribed upon it. This array did not require the wielder to continuously input spiritual Qi; in fact, under certain circumstances, it didn't require any input at all.

The array on the shield would passively absorb the force of an attack to activate itself. In this situation, the passively activated array could negate at least 30% of the attacker's power and spiritual Qi attack, coupled with the inherent hardness of the formidable metal shield itself, providing the wielder with ample protection.

In the Exquisite Pavilion Master's mind, the worst-case scenario after the clang was that whatever hidden weapon had struck the shield would be deflected and fall to the ground, and the shield would also fall from the wall due to the force of the impact, nothing more. Although this shield was hung on the wall, it had blocked attacks from seventh-realm experts at least a hundred times since its creation.

Attacking the shield, what was this person trying to express? The Exquisite Pavilion Master sneered, 'Naive!'

However, the Exquisite Pavilion Master did not hear the sound of the shield falling to the ground, which he found somewhat amusing. In fact, the shield being knocked off was the worst-case scenario, but now the opponent's so-called "attack" hadn't even achieved that.

The Exquisite Pavilion Master wanted to laugh. From his position, he could hear the direction of the gunshot, directly facing his window. Was this meant to be a warning?

Suddenly, the Exquisite Pavilion Master thought of a question, a question that suddenly drenched him in cold sweat. He hadn't heard the sound of the hidden weapon that struck the shield falling to the ground, what did that mean?

With difficulty, as if turning a rusty bolt, the Exquisite Pavilion Master slowly twisted his neck and turned towards the wall with the shield.

The wall was there, the shield was there, and nothing seemed different. There was no fallen hidden weapon on the ground, nor on the shield. However, the Exquisite Pavilion Master's sweat was already streaming down his cheeks.

At the very center of the shield, where a gemstone had originally been embedded as an ornament, the gemstone was gone, replaced by a dark hole. The edges of the metal shield seemed to have a faint, dark red hue. As the Exquisite Pavilion Master, having seen countless blacksmiths at work, he could immediately recognize that it was caused by high temperatures.

The sweat on the Pavilion Master's head flowed like a stream. He had just been mocking the person using hidden weapons to warn him as a joke, but now he realized that it was indeed a warning, and he himself was the joke.

Standing up, the Exquisite Pavilion Master walked to the shield, reached out, and took it down from the wall. Then he saw the hole in the wall. The hole went straight through to the outside, obviously piercing through the shield and then the wall. Judging by the angle, it must have been shot from the upper-left to the lower-right, and the hidden weapon should have been embedded in the ground.

This shield, which the Pavilion Master had always believed to be indestructible, had actually been pierced by some unknown hidden weapon? With the Exquisite Pavilion Master's knowledge, he couldn't even imagine what an armor-piercing round capable of penetrating 300mm of homogeneous steel was like. As for the passive protective array, the bullet had pierced the shield before the array could even activate; the array simply couldn't react in time.

If this mysterious hidden weapon had been aimed at his head instead of the shield, what would have been the result?

Although some experts could use spiritual Qi to defend against very powerful hidden weapons, this required at least a seventh-realm cultivation. In fact, the Pavilion Master did not have such cultivation, and even if he did, he couldn't possibly use spiritual Qi for protection at all times.

At this moment, the Exquisite Pavilion Master remembered the legend that Marquis Changsheng, Wang Sheng, had a weapon that could take lives from miles away. Could this be it? It was said that Dai Si of the Dai family died from this weapon.

He had actually walked along the edge of death. If Wang Sheng had wanted to, his head would have already been a smashed watermelon.

The funny thing was, the two guards outside were only paying attention to the direction of the sound. Their vigilance was sufficient, but he had almost died in the room, and they were completely unaware. How ironic!

Wang Sheng had blatantly stated his position. No matter what, the Exquisite Pavilion Master had to visit Marquis Changsheng early tomorrow morning and offer an explanation in person.

Wang Sheng slept soundly that night, while the Exquisite Pavilion Master spent a night in terror.

Early the next morning, the Exquisite Pavilion Master personally arrived at the gate of the Marquis Changsheng's mansion, announced his identity, and requested an audience with Marquis Changsheng.

Hearing that the Exquisite Pavilion Master had arrived, Steward Wang was startled and quickly reported to his lord. However, Wang Sheng was clearly not the kind of person to rush to greet him. He slowly and deliberately washed and tidied himself before coming out to meet the guest.

This wasn't Wang Sheng's first time seeing the Exquisite Pavilion Master, but it was the first time at such close range. The man, in his forties, was gentle and refined, looking like a middle-aged scholar. Outwardly, he displayed at least a sixth-realm cultivation.

To show his sincerity, the Exquisite Pavilion Master did not bring any guards, coming alone. Upon seeing Wang Sheng, he rose and bowed slightly. After all, this was Wang Sheng's home ground, and Wang Sheng himself was the Marquis Changsheng personally appointed by the Emperor. No matter how strong the Exquisite Pavilion Master's influence or how much money he had, he was just a commoner.

"You are not the Exquisite Pavilion Master!" Wang Sheng suddenly laughed, saying to the Exquisite Pavilion Master who had come to his door.

The Pavilion Master's eyes widened, looking at Wang Sheng in bewilderment. He had been using the identity of the Exquisite Pavilion Master for over a decade, negotiating business, meeting Grandmasters. No matter the occasion, he was the one who appeared. Wang Sheng was actually accusing him of not being the Exquisite Pavilion Master upon their first meeting, on what basis?

"You don't have the aura of someone who controls one-tenth of the world's wealth," Wang Sheng explained very directly. "Therefore, you are not the Exquisite Pavilion Master."