Trap

Chen Feng said gravely, "Wang Hu, what are you doing here?"

He immediately tightened his grip on the bow in his hand and drew an arrow with the other. His heart sank.

For a village nestled against the Black Mountain, living off the mountain was the way of things. Running into others in the mountains was perfectly normal.

But seeing Wang Hu and his men appear, Chen Feng felt a surge of anger—these people had clearly been tailing him.

Wang Hu chuckled lightly. "Heh, what are we doing?"

"Chen Feng, you've got a tough life, boy. Even the Demon couldn't eat you."

"But since you dared to mess with Old Master Huang's affairs, you'll be lying in bed from now on!"

Chen Feng's face darkened. "You were sent by Huang Lao Si."

Wang Hu sneered. "So what if we were?"

"Make your move. Grab him."

Yang Hao and Yang Bao sneered in unison. "Fine."

Then they charged straight at Chen Feng.

Yang Bao even laughed loudly. "Haha, Chen Feng, with your Lousy Archery, I suggest you put down that bow and surrender now. It'll save you some pain later."

Neither of them took Chen Feng seriously. As they watched him nock an arrow, their eyes held nothing but contempt.

They already knew all about his archery skills—complete amateur level.

They even mocked him inwardly, thinking that even if they stood still and let him shoot, he probably couldn't hit them.

With that in mind, they moved even faster.

"You!"

Chen Feng was both shocked and furious.

He never expected these men to come at him with the intent to kill from the start.

"Get back."

The longbow in his hand was drawn to its full tension in an instant.

Then he loosed an arrow.

The one in front was Yang Hao. Seeing Chen Feng right before him, he still felt scorn.

But the next moment, when Chen Feng's arrow aimed at him, a jolt of alarm shot through him.

Before he could react, he only saw a flash of Dark Light.

Then a stabbing pain in his throat.

He stumbled and crashed to the ground.

[You have killed an enemy. Your Basic Archery proficiency +5.]

Chen Feng's eyes lit up. "Killing enemies gives this much proficiency?"

He immediately nocked another arrow and aimed at the other man, Yang Bao.

Yang Bao had been charging forward with an excited expression, but the instant he saw Yang Hao's throat pierced by an arrow, shock flooded his heart. "How is that possible?"

Even his steps faltered for a moment.

In that instant, he saw Chen Feng raise his bow and shoot at him again.

He tried to speak.

The next moment, with a chi sound, his neck stung.

Thump.

He too crashed to the ground.

[You have killed an enemy. Your Basic Archery proficiency +5.]

Chen Feng held his longbow, having killed two men in succession.

A smile of joy and relief spread across his face. He let out a breath. "That weak?"

Then he looked toward Wang Hu in the rear.

At that moment, Wang Hu couldn't help but step forward.

Watching his two underlings get shot dead by Chen Feng in the blink of an eye, Wang Hu's expression turned extremely grim. His voice was icy. "I didn't expect you'd secretly trained your archery to this level."

"No wonder you managed to come back alive before."

Wang Hu kept cracking his knuckles, his expression dark.

Chen Feng held his longbow, aiming at Wang Hu, and sneered, "So what if I did?"

"Now, it's your turn to die."

His face twisted into a cold smirk.

Since they dared to come after him, Chen Feng saw no reason to hold back.

With a wave of his hand, the arrow left the bowstring and shot straight toward him.

But then, the next moment—

Bang!

A dull thud.

Chen Feng's expression shifted slightly.

Wang Hu had actually crossed his arms in front of his throat the instant the arrow flew, blocking it directly.

It was only then that Chen Feng noticed a layer of iron coils wrapped around Wang Hu's forearms.

His face darkened. He didn't linger.

He quickly turned and dashed toward another part of the forest.

At that moment, a thought surfaced in his mind.

A martial artist!

Even if Wang Hu wasn't a full-fledged martial artist, he had definitely trained.

With Chen Feng's current abilities, in this cramped terrain, he probably couldn't hold off Wang Hu.

Behind him, Wang Hu sneered, "So what if your archery is good? In the end, you're just an ordinary man!"

"Chen Feng, I'll skin you alive and grind your bones to settle this hatred!"

He charged straight after Chen Feng.

Ahead, Chen Feng ran while firing arrows behind him.

Wang Hu was fast, but having to dodge Chen Feng's shots slowed him down somewhat.

"No good. Wang Hu's reaction speed is quick. I can aim wherever I want, but he can still block it," Chen Feng thought to himself.

Behind him, Wang Hu had stopped rushing, a cold smile on his face. Chen Feng's archery was decent, but arrows were limited. In these woods, once the arrows ran out, Chen Feng would be a lamb for the slaughter.

Just then, Chen Feng ahead loosed another arrow.

Wang Hu sneered again, raising his hands to block at his throat.

But then—

Shhk!

A tearing sound followed.

"Ahh!"

Wang Hu let out a pained scream.

This time, Chen Feng hadn't aimed for his lethal throat or heart—he had shot straight into his calf instead.

"You bastard!"

The arrow pierced through his calf, the searing pain igniting Wang Hu's fury. With a roar, he snapped the arrow shaft in half.

Then he chased after Chen Feng like a madman.

He never expected that, in this dense forest, Chen Feng's arrows could thread through the tangled branches and hit his leg.

[You have hit a Skin Refining Realm enemy. Basic Archery proficiency +6.]

Chen Feng's expression grew grim. He could use the terrain to slow down and evade Wang Hu's pursuit for now.

But Wang Hu's ferocity still exceeded his imagination.

And Wang Hu had clearly trained—his speed and strength were greater. At this rate, Chen Feng would be caught before long.

Just then, however—

A new update flashed on the panel.

[You are running swiftly through the forest. You have awakened the skill: Running.]

[Skill: Forest Running (Beginner Progress 3%)]

In that instant, Chen Feng felt a surge of techniques flooding into his mind.

His eyes lit up.

He could awaken a skill just from this?

Without another thought, he began weaving rapidly through the forest.

As his proficiency grew, Chen Feng could feel himself becoming increasingly skilled at forest running, mastering more techniques along the way.

And throughout this process, he kept using arrows to counterattack.

Because Chen Feng had discovered that when he used arrows, he didn't actually need to kill—just hitting Wang Hu gave him more proficiency than dealing with the Yang Hao and Yang Bao brothers.

If Basic Archery leveled up once more, he felt certain he could directly kill Wang Hu.

A guess formed in his mind: "Is it because Wang Hu is a martial artist?"

Otherwise, there was no way Wang Hu could block his attacks.

In the time that followed, Chen Feng continuously used arrows to strike at Wang Hu.

At the same time, he also set up small traps.

As several of these small traps were crushed by Wang Hu, new notifications refreshed.