’If a bone breaks, there are medicines to mend it. If a tendon snaps, it can be reattached. If your blood runs dry, Blood Boiling Liquid isn’t the only way to replenish it.’

’But if I don’t give my all in today’s challenge, then I’ve already lost!’

VMMM—

The bow was drawn into a half-moon, its string trembling with tension.

The blood in his entire body boiled like a sea of fire. His muscles felt like steel bars twisting together. A great fire ignited in his heart, sending a scalding current shooting through his limbs and bones, causing his temperature to skyrocket.

Jiang Qiu’s jet-black eyes were ringed with a web of bloodshot veins, a single point of white starlight dotting their centers. The hair on his forehead slowly lifted, buoyed by the steam rising from his sweat.

At that moment, he stood at the center of everyone’s attention. With a resounding TWANG, he let go. A corner of his sweat-soaked black shirt was lifted an inch by the rush of air.

WHOOSH—

The black shadow of the arrow shot across the field. With a THUD, it struck the white dot, instantly sending out a shocking white ripple. Nearby, Wu Shan’s right eye widened, his index finger twitching.

Liu Yong’s pupils shrank, and his fists clenched with a muffled crack.

A muscle in Liu Qi’s brow twitched, and his jaw tightened.

The wrinkles around Zhao Gongzheng’s eyes smoothed as they opened wide. A light like the dawn shone in his cloudy gaze.

In the spectator area, the hearts of the students from the eight training grounds all trembled. A rush of blood filled their chests and surged into their throats before bursting out in a unified roar: "Brother Jiang is a beast!"

"He hit it! Holy shit, Brother Jiang hit it!"

"Even Liu Yong didn’t hit it, but Brother Jiang did!"

It was just a warm-up before the official challenge, and he had only hit the target once after more than a dozen shots, but they were already cheering and shouting as if they had won.

[Advanced Archery Training x1] 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

[Ancient Martial Arrow (Initiate)]

[Features: Pillar-like Qi Blood, Armor-Piercing Arrowhead]

[0/500]

"Haaa—" Jiang Qiu bent over, hands on his knees, panting like an old farmer under the scorching sun. "Hah... hah... hah..."

[Archery Transformation]

[Blood Circulation]

[Features: Channel Through Meridians, Qi Blood Circulation]

Countless streams of blood surged from his heart, coursing through his winding meridians and scouring the ridges and folds along the walls of his blood vessels.

As he performed Qi Absorption, his tensed left arm went limp, like a block of salt dissolving in hot water. His fingertips twitched. On his right arm, the minute fracture in the bone was forced together by the surging blood flow, as if an invisible hand had pinched it shut with a HUM. The supports holding his blood channels erect snapped into place with a CRACK!

Hooo...

He exhaled a long stream of hot air, clearing some of the stifling pressure in his chest. Jiang Qiu’s eyes brightened. ’The Qi Blood that dissipated and went to waste after I drew the bow is cycling back with my breath, nourishing my body from the inside. The Qi Blood I thought was completely depleted seems to have accumulated a little again.’

He slowly clenched his right fist, then used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat from his face. His burning gaze swept past Liu Yong’s gloomy face before turning to Zhao Gongzheng and Liu Qi. "My apologies, Director Zhao. Sorry for the delay. I’ve finished my bow practice."

"Good. You should rest for a bit and recover some Qi Blood," Zhao Gongzheng said, letting out a soft breath, the corners of his lips turning up slightly. "Liu Yong, do you need any more practice shots to get the feel of it?"

...

Meeting that sharp, eagle-like gaze, Liu Yong’s cheek twitched. He unclenched his fist. "No need."

"Captain Liu, please continue inspecting the field."

"Mm," Liu Qi said, his brilliant gaze fixed on Jiang Qiu as he exhaled a long-held breath. "What Director Zhao and General Mo said really wasn’t an exaggeration. To have such astounding determination in the Archery Dao... Whether hitting that aiming point was luck or not, his perseverance is already extraordinary."

He gave a slight nod, his brows suddenly furrowing. "However, those fourteen consecutive shots must have completely drained his Qi Blood. His body can’t handle another dose of Blood Boiling Liquid right now. He’s an arrow at the end of its flight.

"Even if he rests a bit and builds up some Qi Blood to draw the bow, can he really compare to Liu Yong, who’s still in his peak condition?"

After a pause, Liu Qi sighed softly. "Perhaps we should just tell him not to force it. Even if the challenge is called off, seeing a student who, before even beginning his formal training, dares to draw a Qi Blood Bow fourteen times in a row has already made this trip worthwhile for me.

"If General Mo knew about this, he would certainly take notice of him. Even if we can’t give him sufficient training opportunities now due to large-scale resource reallocation, if he comes to the Military Department in the future, his prospects will be limitless..."

"No."

Zhao Gongzheng cut off Liu Qi’s last words with a resonant voice, the light of the sky glinting off his glasses. "Jiang Qiu hasn’t said he gives up, so the challenge isn’t over."

"This is meaningless. I can already see he has excellent potential, but his current condition is poor. He can’t compare to Liu Yong," Liu Qi said, shaking his head. "If the challenge hasn’t started, it’s not a loss. But if they really compete, a defeat will be a true defeat.

"Besides, with his talent, he won’t do poorly even if he stays at Eighth Middle School to practice the bow. You know as well as I do, all that talk about an extra spot in the ’Prodigy Program’ was just a way to motivate Liu Yong and him under desperate circumstances.

"He won’t be able to pass the subsequent Military Department tests anyway. It would be better not to compete..."

"Captain Liu, please inspect the field."

The sharp interruption cut Liu Qi off. He met Zhao Gongzheng’s gaze—as intense as an eagle soaring through a gloomy sky—and the X-shaped scar on his face twitched. He sighed to himself. ’Just as stubborn as all those years ago.’

He ambled over to the basket of Conical Arrows and casually pulled one out, making a motion as if to bend and pull it. Suddenly, a red stream of light flared up like a flame in his hand, enveloping the entire arrow.

Confirming there were no special marks that would disrupt the flow of Qi Blood...

"Brother Jiang, Brother Jiang, how are you feeling now? Can you still draw the bow?!"

Zhang Shan led the students from Training Ground Eight out of the spectator area, swarming around Jiang Qiu as he sat on a bench. "You’ve drawn the bow fourteen times without even being an initiate! Brother Jiang, your constitution is amazing! But your Qi Blood must be running low. Maybe we should just call off the match?"

"Yeah, Brother Jiang! You’ve only been handling the Qi Blood Bow for less than three days, and you just hit that spinning white dot from two hundred meters away! You’re even more awesome than Liu Yong!"

"Even though this wasn’t the official challenge, you’re still better than him, Brother Jiang! In a month or two, you’ll probably completely surpass him in Bow Technique!"

Surrounded by a spray of spittle and hot breath, Jiang Qiu shook his head, flinging a few drops of sweat from his chin. "If I don’t compete today, then what was the point of drawing the bow at all?"

"Jiang Qiu... tissue."

A small packet of white tissues was suddenly offered to him. Jiang Qiu looked up and met a pair of sparkling, clear eyes. "Thanks."

"Mm."

Liu Zili withdrew her fair, slender right hand and quietly slipped out of the noisy crowd. The shouts of Zhang Shan and the others filled the air: "This is all Liu Yong’s fault! What’s the point of this challenge? How can he even compare to our Brother Jiang? Damn it, I get pissed just thinking about it. Now that Brother Jiang’s Qi Blood is depleted, we’re just letting him get off easy!"

Students from the other training grounds also gathered together, brazenly discussing how unfair the challenge was and voicing their indignation on Jiang Qiu’s behalf.

"Hmph."

Not far away, Liu Yong averted his gaze. He stood alone behind the two-hundred-meter line, holding his Great Bow, his upper lip pressed tightly against his lower. A dark light swirled in his eyes. ’A bunch of whiners. A challenge is a battle. He was the one who insisted on struggling before the match even started, exhausting his Qi Blood by drawing the bow fourteen times in a row, and now they’re calling it unfair.

’Am I, the great number one prodigy of First Middle School, supposed to wait until Jiang Qiu is in his best condition and beg him to compete with me?’

He lifted his chin, his lips pursed slightly. ’So what if he hit one arrow? Is that something to be so proud of? I’ve hit the target no less than a hundred times during my training!

’Besides, I’m already an initiate in Bow Technique and have mastered thirty percent of Qi Blood circulation. My body is in peak condition. On what grounds can he, with his nearly exhausted body, compete with me in armor penetration?’