High Martial Arts: Invincible Starts from Basic Archery Chapter 796 - 619: Do You Really Think She’s a White Lotus?

Gong Bo roused himself from the stupor, confronting a boundless expanse of pure whiteness.

"Where am I?"

In bewilderment, he scanned his surroundings, "Is this Heaven? Or perhaps Hell?"

He pondered his own fate; he had never been a virtuous soul and bore the guilt of numerous killings. Should a realm exist for the departed, Hell seemed his rightful place.

Yet this sight bore no resemblance to the infernal depths.

Might it be that sinners like him were destined for the celestial realms instead?

"This place is neither Heaven nor Hell."

From within the swirling white fog, a towering silhouette gradually materialized.

Fury burned fiercely in his gaze.

"Who might you be?"

Gong Bo creased his forehead; the man's features stirred a vague recognition, as though encountered in some distant memory.

In the instant that followed, his eyes bulged wide, and with a quivering tone, he uttered, "You're the Thunder Emperor?"

"Indeed, that's me."

Approaching Gong Bo, the Thunder Emperor gazed downward at the figure slumped on the floor.

"Does that mean I'm in the Awakened Association?"

Disbelief gripped Gong Bo.

"I'm still alive?"

"Naturally, you're alive."

The Thunder Emperor regarded him steadily, "But the reality you face now might prove even tougher to swallow than dying."

Stunned briefly, Gong Bo then sensed his strength had plummeted by over ninety percent. Previously, summoning a fiery dragon spanning tens of meters came effortlessly, yet now even conjuring a soccer ball-sized fireball demanded great effort.

Hit by sudden clarity, he burst into laughter while declaring, "Gong Bo, you never imagined you'd wind up in such a state, did you? Hahaha."

As the laughs echoed, tears traced paths down his cheeks.

The Thunder Emperor observed in silence, refraining from any interruption.

He grasped the agony of having nearly everything stripped away.

Deep down, though, he yearned to strike Gong Bo down on the spot.

Eventually, the chuckles faded, and Gong Bo lifted his gaze to the Thunder Emperor, stating, "It was him who brought us to this place, wasn't it? Besides, live captives hold more worth than corpses. Defeated by such a foe, I harbor no grudges. No surprise he confronted us boldly; our arrogance was blinding. Looking back now, I truly wish for a burrow to hide in."

At these words, the Thunder Emperor inquired, "In what manner did he overcome you?"

Chen Fan had shown up beforehand, offering scant details before delivering the pair into his care and departing shortly.

Thus, the details of the clash piqued his interest greatly.

"If my judgment holds, he unleashed the ultimate technique of the Holy Spirit Swordsmanship, the Twenty-Third Sword."

"The Twenty-Third Sword!"

The Thunder Emperor's eyes flared open, his breathing growing ragged.

"That fabled Twenty-Third Sword?"

"Precisely. Once he executed it, immobility seized me utterly, like time itself had frozen, leaving me helpless as sword qi lanced through my brow before darkness claimed me."

Lingering dread colored Gong Bo's recounting.

Though survival had returned to him, the memory alone set his frame quaking uncontrollably.

Such utter helplessness and hopelessness defied comprehension for the uninitiated.

"Legends claim the Twenty-Third Sword can indeed bind space and time, yet none have ever wielded it successfully. Has he actually mastered it?"

Shock rippled through the Thunder Emperor.

He wondered inwardly: against this technique, what odds of success would he possess?

With a shake of his head, he concluded; only direct confrontation would reveal the truth.

Undeniably, he harbored no desire to clash with such an adversary except in dire necessity.

Regaining his poise, his eyes settled upon Gong Bo.

"Did the Elder Council dispatch you to pursue him?"

A bitter laugh escaped Gong Bo at the query, "Yes, to be exact, it was the Su Family."

The Thunder Emperor's eyes sharpened, "You're certain it was the Su Family?"

"How could I doubt it?"

Gong Bo replied, "Lacking the Su Family's support, how could Yu Jianqiao and I have risen to our current stature? Or put another way, the Su Family groomed countless individuals; Yu Jianqiao and I merely stand out as the finest."

His smile masked a profound resentment gleaming in his stare.

For their so-called grooming resembled the brutal rearing of poisonous bugs rather than nurturing with fine sustenance.

Over scraps of provision, these souls clashed savagely, slaying kin to endure; survivors alone earned the Su Family's regard.

The virtuous rarely outlasted the fray, and those who did could scarcely claim virtue.

"For what purpose did they groom you?"

"Groom us for what?"

Gong Bo scoffed, "Obviously, to serve their ends, especially those ventures teeming with mortal peril."

"Then, the slaughter of the Song Family and the other noble houses was also a scheme by the Su Family to incriminate Chen Fan, with you executing it?" The Thunder Emperor's tone chilled further.

He held no fondness for the Song Family or the other noble lineages.

Still, innocents lingered among them, few perhaps, but present nonetheless.

Indiscriminate death claimed them, their essences siphoned dry in the most barbaric fashion.

"Not quite."

Gong Bo denied with a headshake.

"The purge of those noble houses stemmed from Yu Jianqiao's scheme to bolster his might; I joined to ensure no fugitives slipped away. That said..."

A wry chuckle escaped him, "We've undertaken plenty of like missions, mostly on the Su Family's orders. That's the core of their grooming, even targeting figures like you."

Tilting his head upward, he fixed his gaze on the Thunder Emperor.