Section 104: Peacock, Peacock [Second Update]-Invincible War God(Fang Xiang)

"Such keen intuition." A tall man in the crowd suddenly whispered.

Beside him, a man with a handlebar mustache nodded, looking somewhat surprised. "It is the first time I have seen a young fellow with such formidable intuition."

Both men possessed great strength and could tell at a glance that the reason Tang Tian was able to land a punch on Yu Mingqiu was not because of speed, but intuition. Tang Tian had utilized his advantage perfectly; aside from his initial charge, his subsequent movements were all small-scale dodges and interceptions, allowing him to push his gift for intuition to its absolute limit.

People with such powerful intuition were rare, and those who could consciously maximize its potential in the heat of battle were rarer still.

"Yu Mingqiu still needs more tempering," the tall man remarked with a hint of dissatisfaction.

"He has been suppressed for too long," the handlebar-mustached man replied. "But he does not lack the will to fight."

The tall man agreed with this sentiment. "It is a pity we did not see Shangguan Qianhui. I am rather curious to see just how formidable she really is."

"How formidable could she possibly be?" The man with the mustache sounded dismissive. "Look at how young she is."

"Do not underestimate her. Do not forget, that item is in her hands," the tall man reminded him.

"True, though she isn't here. Hmph!" The man with the mustache then added, "Let us continue watching. Yu Mingqiu is quite well-attuned to this armor."

"I actually think that boy who looks a bit foolish is quite impressive," the tall man said, raising an eyebrow.

"He is Shangguan Qianhui's man. Give it up," the man with the mustache said coldly.

The tall man shrugged. "I was just saying."

***

Pop, pop, pop. The jade armor plates covering Yu Mingqiu’s forearms shattered one after another, floating around his arms. Each plate transformed into a ray of light and submerged into his body.

Dozens of light beams continuously poured into Yu Mingqiu.

Tang Tian narrowed his eyes, staring at the man before him. He could clearly feel Yu Mingqiu’s aura climbing steadily, yet he still did not make a move.

His gaze was locked onto the armor Yu Mingqiu wore. Uncle Bing had told him this was the armor of the Pavo constellation. Their engagement had been brief, and the only reason Tang Tian had been able to gain the upper hand earlier was that Yu Mingqiu had not expected his intuition to be so incredibly sharp.

However, in Tang Tian’s eyes, Yu Mingqiu was still very clumsy with this equipment.

It seems he only just obtained this armor recently...

All distracting thoughts vanished from Tang Tian’s mind. He stared intently at Yu Mingqiu, his slightly narrowed eyes radiating absolute calm.

In the midst of battle, Tang Tian seemed like a different person. His mind was exceptionally active, yet strangely composed. Things that had been unclear were rapidly becoming sharp and distinct in his thoughts.

Qianhui is not here... Uncle Qian and the others are in danger... Someone is plotting in the shadows... There is someone behind Yu Mingqiu...

A faint, hidden thread of logic became clear in his mind.

These people actually dare to target Qianhui...

As Tang Tian narrowed his eyes further, the calm slowly faded, replaced by something called danger—like storm clouds gathering quietly and swiftly.

Then, I will crush him completely when he is at his strongest!

Almost instantly, this thought sprang forth from Tang Tian’s heart. That calculated thinking quickly blurred, replaced by instinct, yet his intuition told him this was an excellent plan.

Since that is the case... then let me allow you to die with dignity!

Tang Tian withdrew his gaze and stood straight. If Yu Mingqiu had been relying on other methods, Tang Tian might not have been so certain. But when it came to armor, Tang Tian felt no fear at all.

Tang Tian suddenly spread his arms wide.

***

Tang Tian’s actions immediately caught the attention of many.

Yu Mingqiu’s strength had exceeded everyone’s expectations, and the sudden emergence of Tang Tian had surprised them even more. Compared to the dashing and powerful Yu Mingqiu, Tang Tian looked utterly unremarkable. That was why, when Shangguan Qian said Tang Tian was Shangguan Qianhui’s man, the crowd had erupted in an uproar.

Against the backdrop of Yu Mingqiu, Tang Tian looked too ordinary, so ordinary that he had no standout qualities. It was only when he struck and injured Yu Mingqiu that people began to take this seemingly slow-witted youth seriously.

Some had understood the extent of Tang Tian's skill, but the vast majority had not.

As Yu Mingqiu’s aura surged, Tang Tian’s actions became particularly eye-catching. Everyone was curious to see how this seemingly dim-witted youth would deal with Yu Mingqiu.

"Hmm?" The tall man in the crowd suddenly let out a soft exclamation. He straightened his back, his eyes fixed firmly on Tang Tian.

"What do you sense?" the man with the mustache asked, his voice quick as he stared unblinkingly at Tang Tian.

"There is a fluctuation!" the tall man said with a grave expression. "A very intense power fluctuation!"

"It’s armor!" the man with the mustache exclaimed in shock.

Almost as soon as he spoke, Tang Tian roared from within the arena: "Peacock!"

"Peacock!"

Tang Tian’s roar echoed in everyone’s ears, as if countless people were shouting at once.

A layer of blue light snaked up from Tang Tian’s toes at a speed visible to the naked eye, spreading along his body until it covered his outstretched arms. In the blink of an eye, a suit of blue feather-like armor appeared on Tang Tian.

The blue was breathtakingly beautiful, with feather-like plates slightly flared. Perched on the swept-back shoulder guards was a proud, cold peacock. The three delicate, crimson-threaded feathers on its brow trembled in the air, and its head was held high, its eyes filled with unmasked arrogance.

Boom!

A murderous aura erupted, suddenly shooting into the sky like a volcanic eruption.

Tang Tian narrowed his eyes. Almost simultaneously, the peacock on his shoulder also narrowed its eyes; they shimmered with a silver light, like silver pupils, adding to its cold, lethal presence.

If Jing Hao were to see this peacock, he would surely be shocked, for it was even more powerful than before. During the battle against the Black Soul, the peacock had saved Tang Tian’s life. When he heard Jing Hao mention that the association possessed secret techniques to nourish and strengthen treasure spirits, Tang Tian had not hesitated to spend a thousand points to purchase one.

This technique was called the [Treasure Nurturing Record].

The method to strengthen a treasure spirit was not complex: feed the spirit soul cores, then use one's own martial spirit as a flame to refine the treasure spirit, helping it purge impurities from the soul cores. This had two benefits: it made the treasure spirit more powerful while also refining it to be purer. Furthermore, it allowed the treasure spirit to become more aligned with the owner's own martial spirit. In this way, the connection between the treasure and the owner would be much tighter, allowing the owner to unleash even greater power.

Tang Tian currently had several thousand points at his disposal; these points had come easily, so he spent them without the slightest hesitation.

Crucially, his own martial spirit was immensely strong. Achieving a Silver-rank martial spirit at the fifth-tier level was something most people could not even imagine. This Silver-rank martial spirit had quickly proven its power, and the peacock was now much stronger than before. More importantly, the communication between Tang Tian and the peacock had shifted from faint and blurry to increasingly clear.

Although both were Bronze-rank armors, the Peacock Blue was clearly far superior to Yu Mingqiu’s jade armor.

***

"What a formidable piece of armor!" the man with the mustache said, shocked, though he frowned. "It is the Pavo constellation. Has the Pavo constellation ever produced anyone powerful? Armor of this caliber cannot belong to a nobody."

"I seem to recall that a figure appeared in the Bright Martial Association in the past—Ghost Claw—who used Pavo constellation armor," the tall man said quickly, his gaze never leaving Tang Tian.

"Is this fellow from the Bright Martial Association?" The man with the mustache frowned even deeper. If Tang Tian had ties to the Bright Martial Association, matters would become much more complicated.

A behemoth like the Bright Martial Association was a source of immense trouble if one got entangled with them.

"Likely," the tall man agreed, finally processing the implication. "The Bright Martial Association’s research into treasure spirits is unparalleled. Look at the peacock’s eyes; they shimmer with silver light. It has definitely been tempered."

"What a nuisance. It looks like Yu Mingqiu has met a formidable enemy." The man with the mustache clearly no longer favored Yu Mingqiu.

"Indeed," the tall man said, equally surprised by this turn of events.

The brows of both men furrowed into knots.

***

Yu Mingqiu stared blankly at Tang Tian, who looked like a completely different person before him. This idiot-like guy actually had armor!

A surge of jealousy instantly burned through his heart like a wildfire.

Armor even stronger than his own!

How could such a person deserve armor better than his?

Bastard!

Yu Mingqiu’s eyes turned bloodshot, and he glared at Tang Tian with boiling murderous intent. A voice whispered uncontrollably in his mind: *As long as you kill this guy, you can have this powerful armor. As long as you kill him, you can make a royal return. You can make everyone remember your name...*

*Just kill this person!*

Yu Mingqiu’s eyes became increasingly violent; years of living like a failure had twisted him. He was desperate to announce his return, to prove his strength, but...

Everything was being blocked by this guy in front of him!

Die!

Only by killing this guy!

I can get everything I want.

Pop, pop, pop. The jade armor plates on Yu Mingqiu continued to shatter, turning into light and sinking into his body. A look of pain crossed his face, but his aura climbed at an alarming rate.

Tang Tian watched his opponent calmly, shaking his head inwardly. Ever since he bought the [Treasure Nurturing Record], he had gained a systematic understanding of treasure spirits.

The difference between a treasure and other objects lay in its spirit. The higher the grade of the treasure spirit, the higher its sentience; they possessed joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. For the exact same treasure, the difference in power displayed depending on whether the spirit was close to you or distant was like heaven and earth.

From the [Treasure Nurturing Record], Tang Tian had learned one word: Trust.

You must trust your treasure. The more you trust your treasure, the more powerful it becomes, and the better your synergy will be.

And Yu Mingqiu had already lost trust in his own armor.

It was truly a waste of such fine equipment. Tang Tian looked regretfully at those rays of light; within them was the sorrow of the armor’s spirit.

A person like this did not deserve to possess such armor.

Then let it all end.

Tang Tian withdrew his gaze, crouched low, and his spread arms suddenly clenched into fists!