SUPREME ARCH-MAGUS - Chapter 953 - 953: Bounty?!

Muni Naga then took thin, curved plates of tempered shell, smoothed and flexible, and began building interior channels that would hold and rotate arrows as they picked.

He shaped the inner chambers into simple slots, but into a double spiral structure, so arrows would never touch each other, never stick, and could flow in and out smoothly even during high-speed motion.

Each spiral took a full day to form and fuse.

By the time both spirals were done, he had already spent five days without sleep, his breath steady, his hands never shaking.

The next part was the quiver’s mouth — the place from which arrows would fly out.

He carved the top edges into curved flares, polishing them with fine sandstone to ensure zero friction. He used a bone-tipped tweezer, carefully threading each strand into place over six hours for each quiver.

When done, the quiver mouths glowed faintly, releasing a breeze with every breath.

“Good,” Muni Naga murmured. “Now you’ll never jam. Not even in confusion.”

He then carved Kent’s spirit signature, based on the blood the boy had offered earlier, into the inside of the leather. When Kent wore these, the quivers would link with his pulse — no need for command or gesture. A thought would be enough.

Lastly, he embedded a hidden socket into the bottom of both quivers — a thin chamber where spell tokens could be inserted.

While all of this happened…

Kent did not move.

Did not speak.

Did not open his eyes.

His mind was deep within the Three-Faced God’s breath, reaching across forgotten plains of light and shadow, one prayer at a time.

Sometimes, he trembled.

Sometimes, tears leaked from his closed lids — not from pain, but from something deeper: the burden of meaning, the echo of a god that did not speak, only watched.

The divine bow remained untouched beside him — floating. Waiting.

And Muni Naga, glancing once toward the praying boy, saw the faint shimmer of white-gold aura building around Kent’s still body.

–

Immortal Living Pool Academy…

The golden sun sat high above the soaring towers of the Immortal Living Pool Academy, but its light failed to reach the shadowed depths of Bu Dong’s heart.

Inside the Elder Pavilion, an old man bowed deeply, his robes still dusted with morning dew and anxious breath.

“Master Bu Dong,” the elder reported, “We’ve searched the endless forest, the Kulu nations, and the Eastern plains. There is no trace of Kent.”

Bu Dong didn’t reply immediately. His expression was unreadable—like a pond covered in ice, deceptively calm yet dangerously deep. He stared at the elder with eyes that once ordered armies and crushed rebellions.

“And yet,” Bu Dong said, voice cold and heavy, “a boy who lost everything and almost at death bed able to vanish like smoke. Either the heavens protect him… or something greater does.”

The elder remained silent, sensing that even one wrong breath could ignite fury.

“If left alone,” Bu Dong continued, his voice now sharper, “he’ll return. And when he does, he won’t come as a boy—but as a calamity. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Master,” the elder whispered. “What… shall we do?”

Bu Dong’s eyes narrowed. “Double the bounty. Spread his name across all bounty halls from the Human Root Continent to the Thousand Sect Sea. Alive or dead… I want his head.”

The elder bowed again and swiftly departed, leaving the chilling silence behind.

Bu Dong sighed. The wind from the high cliffs howled through the open windows, whistling like a ghost reminding him of a mistake long buried.

He turned and walked through the pavilion’s inner sanctum, his steps slow but filled with latent pressure. Soon, he arrived at the gates of a floating mountain fortress, nested at the peak of a divine mountain—his private castle carved from celestial iron and sealed with ancient formation scripts.

Within the training hall, blades clashed.

A youth in blood-red robes slashed a black-bladed saber through the air, every movement radiating destructive qi. With a final swing, the wind howled as the Yama’s Fang, a weapon rumored to be forged from the tooth of a Netherworld Beast, carved a crescent into the marble floor.

Lee Dong, son of Bu Dong and future hope of the Immortal Living Pool Academy, wiped the sweat from his brow.

“Still not sharp enough,” he muttered, lowering his weapon.

“You have time for sweat,” Bu Dong said from the doorway, “but none for remorse?”

Lee Dong turned and gave a respectful nod. “Father.”

“Tell me,” Bu Dong’s voice lowered, “why you failed to kill Kent?”

The question cut deeper than Yama’s Fang.

“I—”

“Spare me!” Bu Dong roared, slamming his palm into the jade wine table beside him. The entire slab exploded into dust, scattering like broken pride across the floor.

“You had him!” he shouted. “You stood before the world. He was humiliated. Crippled. And yet you tried to toy with him like a headstrong idiot!”

Lee Dong clenched his fists. “I didn’t hesitate! He was stronger than I expected… and unpredictable.”

Bu Dong stepped forward. His pressure flared. Mid Heaven Magus Realm. The air grew heavy.

“You are my son!” he growled. “The child born to rule! And yet one boy with no background threatened your legacy in front of every sect and clan elder!”

Lee Dong’s teeth clenched. He wanted to yell, to strike back, to prove he was still worthy. But in front of his father, pride was a luxury he couldn’t afford.

“I will kill him with my own hands,” Lee Dong finally said.

“No,” Bu Dong said, calming. “You won’t get that chance again unless the heavens are foolish. I have placed a bounty across the five realms. Assassins will hunt him like wolves chasing a crippled deer.”

“Is it necessary for a bounty?” Lee asked.

Bu Dong’s brow furrowed.

“Then you understand why I must eliminate him now,” Bu Dong said grimly. “The longer we wait, the higher he climbs. And the moment he returns, the first thing he’ll do… is take our heads.”

Lee Dong nodded.

“I won’t underestimate him again.”

Bu Dong gave him one last look, then turned to leave.

“Good,” he said. “Because if you do, no amount of bloodline or status will protect you. Remember this—even stars fall when lightning strikes.”

The wind howled once more, as if echoing the approaching storm.

–

Tq guys for the Golden-Tickets!