BZZZT—WHOOSH—

Suddenly, Wu Shan released his right hand. The loosed arrow flashed past like a black line, cutting ripples into the air.

Before he could even see it, he heard a loud BANG in the distance. When he turned to look, white ripples radiated from a central impact site on the black Wall, a point no larger than a grain of rice. It was as if a massive boulder had been dropped into a pool of black water; the entire surface was covered in ripples that lingered for a long time.

"See that little white dot in the center? The closer you hit, the more power it registers, and the bigger the ripples," Wu Shan said, slowly exhaling a stale breath. He handed over the Black Flood Dragon bow. "You try."

"Okay."

Mimicking the form he had just seen, Jiang Qiu took an arrow and rested it on the thumb of his left hand, which gripped the bow’s riser. He drew a deep breath, stared at the distant white dot, and couldn’t help but furrow his brow.

’How do I even aim?’

TAP...

A large hand lifted his right elbow until it was level with his chest and shoulders. "From now on, lock your arm in this position. You need to shoot the same way every time to aim consistently and adjust your point of impact.

Go ahead."

HUFF~

Jiang Qiu planted his feet a Half-Step apart, one in front of the other, and puffed out his chest. With a HUM, he drew the thick bowstring to the right side of his chest. His body’s entire Strength surged toward his right thumb like a dam breaking. The blood vessels in his flesh instantly roared and boiled, as if a raging fire had suddenly been set to dry tinder!

The moment the blood-red patterns and the attached Red Pearls on the bow’s limbs began to glow, he couldn’t tell if he was pulling the string or if the string was pulling him. Every muscle in his body felt like a steel rod being twisted into knots.

This sensation of his muscles and tendons twisting felt just like when he first learned the first eight forms of the Ancient Martial Spear Technique—the Block, Parry, and Thrust!

TWANG—WHOOSH—

The thick string snapped taut, and the Post Arrow tore through the air. It struck the junction between the upper-right corner of the black Wall and its protective steel plating with a THUD. Faint white ripples appeared, then vanished in the blink of an eye.

[Archery Practice x1]

[Ancient Martial Arrow (Novice)]

[1/100]

"HUFF... HAH..." Jiang Qiu let out a long breath, rubbing the pads of his thumb and forefinger together as his blood surged like a fountain. ’Drawing this bow once feels like I’ve had a tendon ripped out...’

"Don’t rest your index finger in front of the string. When you release, it’ll slap your finger and throw off the shot. Guaranteed.

Also, feel the qi pathways of the Circulation Qi Technique as you draw the bow. Master the rhythm. Again."

At Wu Shan’s shout, Jiang Qiu grabbed another Post Arrow from the quiver, nocked it, and took a deep breath.

DRAW—

He brought his elbow level with his chest and drew the string into a half-moon. A breath sank from his chest as the drawing force centered on the pad of his thumb. The patterns on the bow flared to life, and the two Red Pearls spun like deep-sea turbines, endlessly devouring the Qi Blood in Jiang Qiu’s body. His blood boiled like a Pebble thrown into scorching oil.

He held his breath, perfectly still, until the instant his right hand relaxed. A lungful of stale air erupted from him as, with a WHOOSH, the arrow’s shadow leaped through the air. It struck the vast black Wall with a THWACK, creating white ripples like a small stone dropped into water.

[Advanced Archery Training x1]

[Ancient Martial Arrow (Novice)]

[2/100]

[Iron Flesh]

[502/1000]

"HUUH~"

Jiang Qiu exhaled sharply and stared down at his arms. Veins bulged and jumped like little snakes, and his muscles felt like iron tongs clamped shut. A prickly heat crawled up his back like red ants.

Each draw of the bow was a full-body explosion of power. ’Even though I tried to hold back, I’m already feeling tired after just two arrows.’

’Is this how the Qi Blood Bow is used to kill monsters?’

At that thought, Jiang Qiu plucked out a third arrow and nocked it with a CLICK. His brow furrowed in concentration, squeezing out a sharp glint from the depths of his eyes.

’Adjust one part left, two parts up.’

DRAW—

WHOOSH—

[Advanced Archery Training x1]

"HUFF—" Jiang Qiu’s right arm trembled, and his face turned slightly pale as a large bead of sweat rolled down his cheek. "HAH—"

"That shot was only five meters from the white dot. Your Talent for the Archery Dao isn’t bad," Wu Shan said, his hands clasped behind his back. He glanced at the dissipating white ripples in the distance before looking back at Jiang Qiu, who was wiping away his sweat. "However, you can’t draw this Qi Blood Bow too many times in a row. The Iron Flesh Realm is just the minimum level needed to pull it. Draw it too much, and your body won’t be able to take it.

The normal sequence is to train with a traditional bow first, then spend a few months transitioning to the Qi Blood Bow. But you don’t have much time, so we have to jump straight to the Qi Blood Bow.

Rest for a bit. Meditate on that feeling of your body’s Strength bursting and burning when you draw the bowstring. Try to connect that sensation to the moves you use when practicing your Ancient Martial Spear Technique. Training with the bow might even improve your Mastery of the Ancient Martial Spear Technique.

After you reach Mastery in any Weapon Dao, it’s very difficult to improve through ordinary training. The core becomes learning by analogy and having life-or-death epiphanies. This is exactly what the members of the Prodigy Program need to do.

I’m not the best at teaching archery, so you practice on your own for now. Do your best to get a feel for how to improve. I have to go teach the regular class their Ancient Martial Spear Technique..."

"Okay."

Watching Wu Shan’s retreating back, Jiang Qiu picked up another Post Arrow and nocked it. He closed his left eye, opened his right, and focused his mind to adjust his position, visualizing a broken, blurry trajectory for the arrow.

He adjusted his elbow slightly to match the simulation, pulling lightly on the string. The patterns on the bow’s grip glowed faintly, but the light was dim.

"If I don’t draw it to a certain point, it lacks the pressure that extracts Qi Blood. It doesn’t count as practice."

Muttering to himself, Jiang Qiu continued to adjust his drawing posture.

Once his stamina had recovered, he drew the bow with a HUM.

WHOOSH—

[Advanced Archery Training x1]

...

[Ancient Martial Arrow (Novice)]

[41/100]

Watching the white ripples on the far Wall spread past the small white dot, Jiang Qiu wiped the sweat from his face, his chest heaving. ’I’ve landed several shots in a row just about three meters from the white dot now.’

’Archery practice is even more exhausting than spear practice. By the end of the day, I feel like I’ve had all my blood drained. But that feeling of long-range explosive power is also incredibly satisfying. The arrowhead is as ferocious as a spearhead.’

’And my progress is fast. If I maintain today’s intensity, I should reach the Novice level the day after tomorrow.’

At this thought, Jiang Qiu lifted his trembling, engorged right arm and glanced at his left, which tightly gripped the Black Flood Dragon bow hanging at his side. ’If I keep this intensity up tomorrow, will the muscles and bones in my hands just snap?’

CLICK—

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening interrupted Jiang Qiu’s thoughts. The sound of footsteps, TAP, TAP, TAP, seemed to land on his very heart. He turned to see Wu Shan with a deeply furrowed brow. "A message came from Director Zhao. General Mo, who’s in charge of the Prodigy Program, is willing to give you a chance. But there’s only one spot."

"Only one spot?" Jiang Qiu’s brow knitted. "You mean it’s not just for me?"

"Remember that prodigy from First High I told you about? The one whose application for the Prodigy Program was rejected by the Martial Education Department," Wu Shan took a shallow breath. "General Mo found out about it. He said the Prodigy Program isn’t something you can just walk into; even exceptions have to follow the rules.

Basically, the student from First High failed just to get his application considered, while you get a chance to participate directly. That’s against regulations and would weaken the authority of the rules.

But Director Zhao recommended you strongly, and General Mo is interested in you too, so he decided to give you a chance. To be fair, he has to give that other student a chance as well. In one day, the student from First High will come here to challenge you. Whoever wins will earn the qualification to enter the Prodigy Program."

Jiang Qiu breathed a sigh of relief.

’This shouldn’t be too hard. Even with all the restrictions on Spear Technique duels between students, like not being able to use killing blows like the Soaring Dragon Thrust.’

’I still have Spear Sense, Powerful Penetration, and Copper Transformation, don’t I?’

Thinking of this, Jiang Qiu casually wiped the sweat from the corner of his mouth. "A whole day. No need to rush."

"No. It’s very urgent," Wu Shan’s face was like Cold Iron, his dark eyes reflecting Jiang Qiu’s panting figure holding the bow. "The focus of the duel won’t be on Spear Technique. It will be on archery!

After all, you’ve both reached Mastery in the Spear Dao, which is on par with the students in the Prodigy Program. The difference in your Spear Technique won’t be that great.

But archery is different. If your foundation isn’t solid, you’ll need unparalleled Talent just to catch up once you’re in the Prodigy Program.

First High has been the top feeder school for outstanding students for years. Their faculty keeps getting better, and they’re a huge institution. They can afford to train over two hundred excellent students every year. They even have a special Archery Dao class to give extra training to talented students who want to learn the bow.

Your opponent’s name is Liu Yong. He failed to get into the Prodigy Program back in middle school because he messed up during the evaluation. Afterward, he joined the Archery Dao class and started showing remarkable Talent. Now he’s hailed as First High’s number one genius, and it’s highly likely he has already reached the Novice level in Bow Technique!

If he hadn’t reached the Novice level in Bow Technique, he wouldn’t have dared to apply for the Prodigy Program right before the college entrance exams, even with his Mastery of Ancient Martial Spear techniques.

Only with Mastery in the Ancient Martial Spear and the Novice level in Bow Technique can someone even hope to keep up with the geniuses in the Prodigy Program. Anything less would disgrace the Program’s name and waste the Military Department’s time and resources!

But you just touched a Qi Blood Bow for the first time today. How could you possibly reach the Novice level in less than two days?"