Chapter 252
Shakuni left hastily after paying the fee.
Hebe stared at his retreating figure, her fingers tapping lightly on the table.
She did not like the Kauravas, nor did she feel anything for the Pandavas —to be precise, she had no special feelings for the Bharata of this era.
Therefore, considering all factors, Shakuni is ruthless, vicious, and intelligent, making him a suitable chess piece.
Now all we need to do is wait for Drona's disciples to return after completing their studies.
Time flies, and before we knew it, it was time for the exam.
Arjuna arrived at the training ground early, eagerly anticipating his duel with Karna.
The bloodline inherited from Indra, the God of Gods, is indeed extraordinary.
When Arjuna resolved to hone his archery skills, he transformed that talent into power.
Drona once publicly stated that even in the Vedic Age, Arjuna would have been an unparalleled archer.
"Even in the Vedic Age, the only archer who could rival Arjuna was probably Rama."
This is Drona's assessment.
Among the crowd, Duryodhana was so jealous that his face distorted and his plasmolysis occurred.
However, Arjuna did not show much joy on his face.
He recalled the scene where Karna reached out and froze him in place.
It's as vivid in my memory as if it happened yesterday.
Arjuna later consulted his teacher and learned that there are "Three Channels and Seven Chakras" in the human body, also known as chakras.
When the chakras are functioning properly, a person is healthy; when the chakras are dull, a person is prone to illness; when the chakras are damaged, a person is not far from death.
Arjuna gradually realized that the technique Karna had used was not as "casual" as she had described.
This is a technique that can only be used with an extremely deep understanding of the chakras!
While Arjuna was deep in thought, Drona had already announced the questions for the exam.
These tests were nothing special for Arjuna —he drew his bow and fired fifteen arrows with precision and speed, hitting every target that Drona had thrown.
You pass!
"Excellent, Arjuna!"
Drona rushed over and hugged him excitedly, "You have mastered my Vedic Archery! Without a doubt, you will become the best archer in the world."
Arjuna clasped his hands together in gratitude to Drona.
As the exam drew to a close, those who passed gradually stood behind Drona, while those who failed remained anxiously in place.
"I'm sorry, children."
Drona said, "You failed my first graduation, so you can go back now."
There were about thirty people who left in this group, all of whom were Kauravas.
Arjuna received a separate compliment from Drona after the exam, but he still seemed quite unhappy.
"What is the third brother doing?"
Looking at Arjuna, who was sitting by the roadside with his bow in his arms, Yudhishthira said, "Ever since you talked to Karna that time, the third brother has been acting very strangely."
Bhima sighed, "What else could it be? Refusing to admit defeat."
Arjuna was fully expecting to settle things with Karna today, but little did he know that she hadn't even come to take the exam.
Is it really that free, my friend?
Yudhishthira shouted a few more times, Arjuna remained unmoved.
The four brothers exchanged glances, and each saw helplessness in the other's eyes.
Since things have come to this, let's go to the cafeteria for a meal first, and bring some back for Arjuna later.
As the sunlight gradually moved from the center of the sky to the west, a figure gradually appeared at the end of Arjuna's gaze.
The newcomer walked slowly, with a calm expression, and a pair of sun-shaped gold earrings swayed slightly.
What's most eye-catching is her extremely fair skin and her head of white hair.
"You're here to take the exam, aren't you, Karna!"
Arjuna, carrying his bow, emerged from under the tree and shouted at Karna.
"I went to get food."
Karna calmly replied, "I passed Professor Drona's dissertation yesterday."
"Teacher Drona didn't test your archery skills?"
"I studied the Vedas, so of course the exams were also related to the Vedas."
Karna shook his head. "Archery has nothing to do with me."
Seeing Karna about to cross the examination hall without stopping, Arjuna finally rushed over impatiently and blocked her way.
"Do you dare to have an archery contest with me?"
Arjuna retorted, "Anyone who doesn't dare is a coward who brings shame to their parents."
Karna had already walked past, but upon hearing Arjuna's voice, he stopped and turned back.
A gust of wind swept across the grassland, one black, one white. Two classmates, about the same age, looked at each other.
"Are you saying that if I don't agree to your duel today, you're going to insult my parents?"
Karna spoke calmly, his face revealing neither joy nor anger.
"I haven't thought that way."
Arjuna quickly distanced himself from the situation.
"Raise your bow and arrow."
Karna selected a bow from the armory, drew the bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed it at Arjuna.
"Aren't you going to shoot at the target?"
Arjuna greatly alarmed.
"Raise your bow and arrow."
Karna gradually increased his strength.
The long arrow, with its arrowhead removed, trembled slightly, and the wooden bow creaked.
Chapter 310 Arjuna: It's so painful, so painful.
The wooden bow was drawn to its fullest extent, and the arrow, though its tip was gone, remained perfectly straight.
The two were five meters apart, but Karna's arrow was not aimed at the bullseye; instead, it was aimed directly at Arjuna's shoulder.
Arjuna felt a faint stinging pain in the targeted area of his body. He had no doubt that even without an arrow, a hit would still cause him considerable pain.
"Pick up your bow and arrow!"
When Karna urged her for the third time, her face was no longer calm, but cold and disgusted.
"I only want to compete with you in archery—"
Collapse!
The bowstring snapped open, and the arrow in Karna's hand flew away!
Arjuna's breath almost stopped. He instinctively turned to the side and drew his bow in the instant he dodged!
Call out!
At this moment, Karna had already fired his second arrow.
The two arrows, stripped of their arrowheads, collided in mid-air, making a snapping sound.
Immediately afterwards, the sounds of collisions, breakages, and crashes continued incessantly, creating a sound like a torrential downpour.
Vedic Archery! Karna really can Vedic Archery!
But Arjuna could think no more at this moment—he gritted his teeth and shot the arrow with all his might.
With eyesight no longer sufficient to discern the details of the opponent's arrow trajectory, one can only rely on intuition to fire blindly, taking into account all factors such as wind, air, sunlight, and shadows, and then instinctively choosing the most correct direction.
Arrows, arrows, and more arrows!
The storm and roar they created could be heard even hundreds of meters away.
"This... this is Arjuna's power?"
Duryodhana stood blankly in the open space at the entrance of the cafeteria, unaware that the food in his hand had fallen to the ground.
At that moment, a shattering sound seemed to echo deep within Duryodhana's heart.
He finally realized that Arjuna was indeed Indra's son.
This is a realm he can never reach!
What made Duryodhana even more Duryodhana was that Arjuna was subtly at a disadvantage in the archery contest!
Damn it!
Although Duryodhana disliked the Pandavas, Arjuna's status as Indra's son was undeniable.
To be able to suppress Arjuna in Vedic Archery... either Karna is the reincarnation of Rama, or Karna is a descendant of Mahadeva Shiva.
But is that even possible?
Duryodhana stared at the torrent of arrows, he could no longer think.
The Pandavas also experienced difficulty breathing and a numbing sensation in their minds.
"How did you manage to come back alive?"
Yudhishthira subconsciously asked the Bhima.
"Big brother, you're still worried about this? Hurry up and save third brother!"
In desperation Bhima uprooted a small tree about the size of a bowl from the roadside and was about to rush into the storm of clashing arrows.
However, before he could make his next move, a hand landed on the Bhima's shoulder.
At some point, the power emanating from the Vayu subsided, and the Bhima turned around in astonishment.
Drona was standing beside them. "Don't disturb them."
"But, teacher!"
"Arjuna is already at a disadvantage!" the Bhima cried anxiously.
Drona said nothing, his expression grave as he watched the two men exchanging fire, searching for an opportunity to intervene.
Everyone could see that Arjuna in bad shape, not to mention himself.
Why was he suppressed by Karna? The reason is actually quite simple.
Arjuna himself knew this, but he couldn't express it.
The advantage of bows and arrows lies in their range, especially in Vedic Archery.
But when Karna faced him in a shooting duel from five meters away, he completely negated the greatest advantage of the Vedic Archery.
Not to mention, Karna was still closing in step by step—at this point, the distance between the two was less than three meters.
Arjuna's eyes widened in fury, but Karna's face remained impassive despite Arjuna's horrified gaze.
Boom!
The outcome of this duel came abruptly.
Although Arjuna's longbow was not Divine Bow, it was a fine weapon that Drona had personally crafted for him.
Karna's bow was merely an old bow that had been used by many people in the arena—after firing hundreds of arrows, the bow finally broke as expected.