The Human Emperor

Chapter 395: Suspicion

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

"Wang Chong, what are you doing?"

Zhao Qianqiu stopped several steps away, a flabbergasted look on his face. When they had interacted before, Wang Chong had never been so respectful.

"Many thanks to Teacher. If not for Teacher, Wang Chong might have died on his journey back to the capital," Wang Chong sternly said.

"Haha, and I thought that this was some big deal. Rise, rise. You're the student that I'm most proud of. In this training camp mission, did you really think I was completely unprepared?"

Zhao Qianqiu heartily laughed, not taking Wang Chong's words too seriously.

Wang Chong said no more, and used this opportunity to stand back up. What he believed and how his mind had changed were naturally different from what Zhao Qianqiu imagined.

But there was no need to say these things.

"Come, come, come! Quickly, sit down. How are you doing? Has your body recovered?" Zhao Qianqiu asked.

After rescuing Wang Chong from the forest and sending him back to the Wang Clan, Zhao Qianqiu had not paid him a visit. It was not appropriate for a training camp instructor like him to involve himself in the conflict between King Qi's Yao Clan and King Song's Wang Clan.

Military men were military men, and it was best for them to not involve themselves in political matters. This was also an unwritten rule in the army. Truly pure soldiers kept as far from politics as possible.

Moreover, by delivering Wang Chong to the Wang Clan, he didn't need to pay a visit and would still be treated very well. This was also a reason Zhao Qianqiu had been at ease and not gone over to inquire as to Wang Chong's well-being.

A noble clan of ministers and generals like the Wang Clan undoubtedly had more resources than a military instructor like him!

Wang Chong sat himself on a chair and replied, "I'm doing well. I've basically fully recovered, with no after-effects."

Wang Chong's injuries primarily arose from that arrow. The destructive energy attached to it had inflicted terrible damage on him.

A normal person wouldn't be able to recover in two to three months. However, Wang Chong had bought the Gold Organs, so his critical internal organs were far stronger than average.

Thus, it had not even taken a month for Wang Chong to move on his own without any impediments.

"Then it's fine. I've been rather worried all this time, so nothing could be better."

While speaking, Zhao Qianqiu returned to his own seat. With a wave of his large sleeve, a silhouette like an arrow flew toward Wang Chong.

Wang Chong's palm almost subconsciously snatched at it. He looked down and saw that it was a book rolled up into a tube.

The book was not open, but Wang Chong could still see the words 'Dusk Stallion' on the front. He instantly tensed up. As expected, Zhao Qianqiu's voice resounded in his ear: "The training camp mission. You weren't here, but we already agreed to the terms. This is the Halo of Dusk Stallion that you wanted. Take it and study it well. If there's something you don't understand, you can come and ask me, but don't get your hopes up. It's said that this technique is very difficult to cultivate. I also haven't cultivated it before, so I won't be able to guide you much."

"Many thanks, Teacher!"

Wang Chong was elated. In an instant, he felt like there was a great weight in his hands. Although he had taken a great risk and had almost died in the forest, he had finally managed to obtain the most precious, and at the same time most underestimated, technique in the entire training camp.

In his last life, the Halo of Dusk Stallion had been neglected in the training camps and practically no one had learned it. But he had finally managed to do something that no one in his past life had been able to do.

The Halo of Dusk Stallion finally belonged to him.

In this instant, Wang Chong tightly gripped the book in his hands while his heart leapt with joy.

He put away the Halo of Dusk Stallion book, then suddenly asked, "Right, Teacher, when you were rushing over that time, did you see any groups of people?"

"What's wrong?"

Zhao Qianqiu's brow rose as he asked this question. Wang Chong's inquiry seemed to be implying something. He had clearly sensed something.

Wang Chong did not hide anything, and explained what he had felt while he had been hiding underground. Although it was one group of people who had been pursuing him that day, what happened afterward made it clear that there had been other groups.

Although all these people had been targeting him, each group had its own methods, making it obvious that they weren't together. Moreover, the number of people meant that there had not been only two groups.

Even when counting in King Qi and the Yao Clan, Wang Chong couldn't understand where these groups had come from.

And King Qi and the Yao Clan were clearly together, right?

Why did they need to split into two groups?

Upon returning, Wang Chong had begun to seriously contemplate the matters of that day, and the more he thought, the more strange it felt. Alas, the state of his body at the time left him incapable of investigating.

"This…"

After hearing Wang Chong's recount, Zhao Qianqiu furrowed his brow and said, "We also investigated the area where you were hiding. The footprints on the ground were extremely messy, and more than one group of people could make. Moreover, we began moving far earlier than you imagined. In that period of time, we really did see other people, but we were quite some distance from them, and the moment those people saw us, they began to keep their distance. There was simply no opportunity to get a close look."

Zhao Qianqiu revealed a pensive expression.

The sneak attack on Wang Chong seemed like a simple assassination, but Wang Chong's recount changed things.

But as this matter touched upon politics, the purely military man that was Zhao Qianqiu felt his head ache. He could come up with the idea of letting out tigers in the middle of the night to train his students, but complex political problems like these left him helpless, as much as he wanted to help.

"…But that arrow you spoke of—I did find that!"

Zhao Qianqiu suddenly got up and, under Wang Chong's flabbergasted gaze, walked to the wall of the room and opened a secret compartment, extracting from it a certain item.

"An arrowhead?"

Wang Chong looked doubtfully at the object in Zhao Qianqiu's hand. It was nothing more than a black arrowhead, as long as a knuckle.

"We found this at the place where they ambushed you. It's just the arrowhead. The rest of the arrow was taken away by someone else. We only managed to turn up this arrowhead after repeatedly searching the area, digging it up out of the dirt ten-some zhang from where you were wounded. If we hadn't kept searching that area to find your whereabouts, we would never have been able to find it. Based on our speculations, this should be the remnants of that iron arrow that heavily wounded you."

Zhao Qianqiu walked over and gave the arrowhead to Wang Chong.

Wang Chong gravely examined the arrowhead. There was essentially nothing left of the arrow shaft. The only thing in his hand was the bare black arrowhead.

At first sight, this arrow seemed to be very ordinary, no different from any other arrowhead. But upon careful inspection, Wang Chong immediately noticed something different.

The surface of the arrowhead had a few tiny veins, the remnants of inscriptions. The blackness of the arrowhead and the minuteness of these traces had made them very difficult to notice.

This was not all. Wang Chong carefully examined it again and made a few more surprising discoveries. The arrowhead had been made from very special materials. It had certainly not been made from ordinary refined iron, nor had it been made from Xuan metal, and it certainly hadn't been made from a metal like Wootz Steel.

Wang Chong had forged quite a few Wootz Steel swords, so he was now very sensitive to the weight of metal.

At the moment, he was the only person able to get his hands on Wootz Steel, and it was out of reach for anyone else. Thus, this metal's quality was clearly inferior to Wootz Steel.

Based on the weight, Wang Chong could sense that this metal's quality lay between refined iron and Xuan metal. It was very close to Xuan metal, but there was also something different. It seemed to contain something else.

"…While you were recovering, we carefully examined it. This arrow was made with a mix of refined iron, Xuan metal, and some other type of special metal powder. The arrow itself also underwent a special forging process, causing the interior of the arrowhead to be somewhat looser. You were probably also able to notice this."

Zhao Qianqiu shot a glance at Wang Chong.

Wang Chong nodded. Indeed! He had already noticed that this arrowhead was slightly lighter than actual Xuan metal arrowheads.

"This method will undoubtedly decrease the toughness of the arrow. It's precisely because of this that once this arrow hits something hard, the arrow will splinter. The arrowhead will break off from the arrow shaft and they will land in different places.

"That's not all. The method will greatly increase the speed at which Stellar Energy circulates through the arrow, allowing a master archer to better exert their strength and improving the damaging power of the arrow. In short, this is a unique arrow technique that relies on the archer's Stellar Energy to inflict injuries, not like ordinary arrows, which rely on the sharpness of the arrow to pierce the vital points of the foe.

"If struck by this sort of arrow, even if it's not at a vital point, one will still probably be severely wounded. And someone proficient in this sort of unique technique is no ordinary master archer. If we start our investigations from this point, we can definitely find out who shot this arrow at you!"

Zhao Qianqiu finally gave his conclusion.

He had not been sitting back in this period of time. He had found many more clues from this arrowhead, and by following them, he could definitely find the person who had ambushed Wang Chong.

As for the two or three different groups of people that Wang Chong had described, he truly knew nothing.

Wang Chong was quiet. He already understood what was going on. Although that arrow had been extremely formidable and even had sharpening inscriptions carved on it, it had struck the Heart Fortification Mirror of the Tibetan cavalry.

The three hundred Tibetan cavalry had all been heavy cavalry. For the sake of defense, they had inscribed layer after layer of toughening inscriptions on their Heart Fortification Mirrors.

When that metal arrow struck his Heart Fortification Mirror, it splintered under its own power. It was only because of this that Zhao Qianqiu had been able to find the arrowhead.

Finding so many clues from this arrowhead was already a surprising harvest for Wang Chong.

"Many thanks, Teacher."

He chatted with Zhao Qianqiu in that hall on the main peak of Kunwu Training Camp for a while, then bid farewell and left. He had delayed his advance into the True Martial realm long enough. If everything was ready, he could finally begin his charge to the True Martial realm.

After leaving the main peak, Wang Chong went straight back to Deflecting Blade Manor.

Wang Chong had a training chamber for his personal use there. Moreover, unlike the training camp, Deflecting Blade Manor belonged completely to him.

Charging into the True Martial realm here was by far the safest option.

"Huang Qian-er, stand guard for me!"

After saying this, Wang Chong stepped into his secret chamber.

Wang Chong's heart was loudly thumping, bursting with anticipation.

The Halo of Dusk Stallion was finally in his hands…