Full Level Archery After Two and a Half Years of Practice

[Full Level Archery After Two and a Half Years of Practice] Holy Radiance Calendar, Year 1003, Month of the North Wind (November).

Emerald Kingdom, Black Mountain Province, Lake County, Blackwater Valley.

The river valley plain lay draped in silver, wisps of smoke rising among scattered, low wooden cottages.

On higher ground stood a rather unimposing castle built against the mountain. Its collapsed towers and battlements all spoke of its owner's decline.

On the slope outside the castle, a cute Snow Rabbit foraged amid withered grass half-buried in ice and snow, while remaining alert for predators.

Seventy meters away, a youth in a white fur coat, white wool cap, and brown snow boots hid behind a crooked tree, blending into the vast expanse of white snow behind him.

He slowly reached out, drew his bow, and nocked an arrow. It was a military bow, not an ordinary hunting bow.

Then came the whistle of an arrow tearing through the air. The Snow Rabbit fell at once, its head blown apart by the iron arrowhead.

[Archery Proficiency +1]
[Archery: First Order (9999/10000) → First Order (Limit)]

"Roast rabbit for dinner."

Levi licked his lips and, with a thought, opened his Proficiency Panel.

Levi Snake
-----
Archery: First Order (Limit)

Horsemanship: First Order (Limit)

Noble Dance: First Order (Limit)

Basic Combat: First Order (Limit)

Basic Swordsmanship: First Order (Limit)

...

Looking at the Proficiency Panel in his mind, Levi's lips curved upward.

"Even Archery, the hardest skill to improve, has reached its limit. Now, within the effective range of my bow and my field of vision, any prey I set my eyes on can be hit without fail. Looking across the Kingdom's history, my archery would be enough to call me a Master Archer. And I'm only a Knight Squire with two and a half years of practice."

"In two and a half years, I've trained all five fundamental arts required of a Knight Squire—riding, archery, dancing, combat, and swordsmanship—to their limits. I've more than completed the task, and my physical conditioning is nearly complete. I should be qualified to learn a Breathing Technique."

"Only by learning a Breathing Technique can I become a true Knight and barely preserve my life in this world, where war, natural disasters, and human calamities never cease, where the strong prey on the weak, and where supernatural powers may even lurk in the shadows."

"After all, the original owner of this body may have been killed by an [Evil Spirit]."

Levi was not a native of this world.

Three years ago, at the first Millennium of the Holy Radiance Calendar, he had reincarnated into the body of this noble child. His Golden Finger was the Proficiency Panel in his mind.

From the original owner's final memories before his death, he had been fishing in the Blackwater River when he caught a female corpse dressed in white. Her eye sockets were hollow, her hair hung loose, and her face was pale and bloated. Water still sprayed from her swollen skin. She resembled an Evil Spirit described in this world's folk legends: a Water Nymph.

Then the original owner had fallen into eternal darkness, until Levi took over his body.

Later, Knight Fred, the Baron's retainer, discovered him soaked from head to toe and sleeping by the riverbank. Beside him lay a foul-smelling clump of water weeds, rotten fish, and shrimps. He was also muttering strange dream-talk that sounded like an incantation, things such as, "I don't have an air force."

This true Knight still believed that Young Master Levi had gone mad with frustration after failing to catch any fish, lost his mind, and tried to go into the water to catch fish himself, only to fail and end up in that state.

Naturally, Levi had not told anyone about encountering the Evil Spirit. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to explain how he had survived such an encounter.

But that Evil Spirit had become a psychological shadow over Levi. Even now, he did not dare go near the Blackwater River.

In fact, based on what Levi currently knew, legends of Evil Spirits had existed since ancient times. It was simply that most people had never seen one.

It was like the legends in this world about "wizards," extraordinary beings capable of wielding wind, thunder, earth, and fire. No one had ever seen one either.

Even Knight Fred, who had traveled throughout the Emerald Kingdom in his youth and seen much of the world, regarded wizards as nothing more than legendary beings.

"Wizards... what a noble and mysterious profession. No matter how strong Knights are, they're merely stronger ordinary people. Compared to wizards, it's like the difference between martial artists and immortals."

Levi felt a longing in his heart. Most legends did not arise from nothing, so after witnessing the real existence of an Evil Spirit, Levi firmly believed that wizards must exist in this world. They could not be as simple as the fictional legendary tales told by Bards.

But he also knew that, with his current abilities, pursuing wizards was too illusory. He could gaze at the stars, but his feet still had to remain on solid ground.

Therefore, from the age of ten, Levi had continuously trained in the five knightly arts. Now, with the help of the Proficiency Panel, he had trained all five arts to their limits in less than three years.

Levi was confident that most Formal Knights—even someone like Sir Fred—were not better than him in the basic five knightly arts, especially in the archery that Levi took such pride in.

Twelve-year-old Levi was now one meter seventy-five tall. He looked strong and muscular, broad-shouldered and thick-backed. Other than the youthful immaturity on his face, he was stronger in every way than many adult men.

In this other world with extremely underdeveloped productivity, most malnourished commoner men who grew up eating Black Bread were not as sturdy as Levi.

This was a backward age where cold weapons reigned supreme. A powerful body, combined with Knight plate armor weighing dozens of pounds, offered an advantage in battle that frail bodies could never match.

Now, everything was ready except the Breathing Technique.

A Breathing Technique was not something that should be learned as early as possible. If one's physical condition was insufficient, forcing oneself to practice it could result in bodily damage at best, or Cultivation Deviation at worst.

That was also why Knight Squires were required to learn things like Basic Swordsmanship and Basic Combat to strengthen their bodies before becoming Knight Pages.

In high spirits, Levi picked up the Snow Rabbit from the ground and turned toward home.

At the foot of the slope, a silver-haired middle-aged Knight watched Levi with a broad smile and spoke in an incomparably gratified tone.

"If the master were still alive, he would surely be very happy to see your archery."

This was Knight Fred. His enemies and retainers called him the Serpent Vulture Knight. Before the Baron's death, he had told Levi that Fred was a man he could trust completely.

And that was indeed the case. For Levi, the time he had spent with Fred far exceeded the time he had spent with the Baron.

Therefore, in a sense, the bond of teacher and student—or master and servant—that had formed through his daily life with Knight Fred was deeper than his bond of blood with the Baron.

"Sir Fred, you flatter me. What I've done is still not enough. I want to learn a Breathing Technique and become a true Knight as soon as possible. Winter has arrived, and the long night is upon us. Wandering Knights or bandits from the wilderness may invade our territory at any time and threaten our safety. I cannot live under your protection forever."

"After my father died, we lost Tulip Territory in the south, where spring lasted throughout the year, and Storm Territory in the east, rich in mineral resources. The barren and remote Blackwater Valley is our last home."

"I am the Snake Family's only bloodline. For the sake of the Snake Family, I must become stronger!"

"Glory belongs to the Black Snake! And I am ready!"

Levi wore an unwilling expression, clenched his fists, and did his best to act.

The Candle-Holding Black Serpent was the Snake Family's crest, which was why the Snake Family was also known as the Black Serpent Family.

His father, Baron Sode Snake, was not only the Black Serpent Knight, one of the feared Northern Seven Horsemen and a genuine Great Knight, but also the Earl of Tulip Territory and the Lord of Storm Territory. Compared to Blackwater Valley, where winter lasted for nearly half the year and made agricultural development difficult, Tulip Territory and Storm Territory were far more prosperous.

Levi had been born in Flower City of Tulip Territory. The climate there was humid, the plains broad, and the soil fertile, making it exceptionally suitable for settlement and development.

Although Storm Territory was often struck by violent storms, it was extremely rich in mineral resources and was also a treasured land.

Before Levi turned ten, the Black Serpent Knight had been at the peak of his power. He commanded five thousand soldiers and, relying on the treasure land of Storm Territory, possessed five hundred fully armed, fierce Cavalry. In this world of backward productivity, some weaker Dukes might not even have such forces.

But all of it had been built upon the personal might of the Baron, a Great Knight.

If Knights were renowned martial experts who dominated one region in a wuxia world, then Great Knights were figures who stood above an entire era, their might shaking the whole martial world.

Only the exceedingly rare Legendary Knights—legendary figures like Lionheart Knight Rhine, Golden Knight Greck, Blood Knight Brad, and Snowflake Knight Freier—could stand above Great Knights.

Beings like Legendary Knights occupied a position in this world similar to founding patriarchs or martial legends. Most of the time, they could only serve as the ceiling of power in stories.

Thus, at his peak, the Black Serpent Knight had stood at the summit of this world's openly known power structure.

Yet three years ago, after answering the call of the Emerald Kingdom and the Holy Radiance Church to launch the Millennial Holy War against the coastal Tuva Empire, he never returned.

In the end, Levi received only the unbelievable news that the Baron and every warrior under his command had died on the battlefield.

According to Kingdom law, noble titles were hereditary. The Baron's three territories should have been inherited by Levi, his only son, but before the inheritance could be completed, it had to be certified by a special envoy dispatched by the King.

Under the witness of the envoy appointed by the Emerald King, Levi became the new master of the Baron's three territories, at least in name.

In reality, given the circumstances at the time, Levi had taken the initiative to return to the remote and barren Blackwater Valley, the place where Baron Sode had first risen to power. This territory had previously been managed by Knight Fred.

Meanwhile, the Bloody Earl and the Silver Gauze Earl, who had long coveted his father's lands, took practical control of Tulip Territory and Storm Territory with the tacit approval of their master behind the scenes, the Black Mountain Duke. The Kingdom also turned a blind eye.

Although the law declared every lord's territory sacred and inviolable, in reality, the Emerald Kingdom's feudal system had completely changed by this point.

Open and covert struggles between lords were commonplace. Levi disliked the feeling of being watched by others, so he voluntarily gave up the two hot potatoes of Tulip Territory and Storm Territory and presented them to the Black Mountain Duke.

As the Duke of Black Mountain Province, the largest territory in the north, and the oldest and most mysterious Great Knight among the Northern Seven Horsemen, the Black Mountain Duke had long wanted to enter the south and expand his influence. Levi's "prodigal son" act pleased the Black Mountain Duke greatly.

A common man was innocent, but possessing a treasure invited disaster. In Levi's view, without a Great Knight and enough fully armed elite Cavalry to deter external enemies, occupying Tulip Territory and Storm Territory would be no different from seeking death.

With the Proficiency Panel, he might as well withdraw safely and return to this little mountain hollow of Blackwater Valley to be a minor, shabby lord.

Levi had no desire to become a king or dominate the world. He only wanted to quietly practice a Breathing Technique, use the Proficiency Panel to steadily become a Knight, a Great Knight, and perhaps even a Legendary Knight, before following the trail of wizards.

After all, from what he currently understood, only wizards might be capable of granting him immortality. Only wizards could truly fear none of those supernatural creatures, demons, and monsters.

But though that was what he thought inwardly, Levi still had to put on the proper appearance before Knight Fred, his father's most trusted retainer.

Moreover, knightly training required vast resources and wealth. Scholars could be poor, but martial artists could not; this world was no different.

Thus, Levi's plan was clear: learn a Breathing Technique, become a Formal Knight as quickly as possible, develop his territory and earn money to support his training, then, after gaining enough strength to protect himself, travel through the Seven Kingdoms and begin his journey to seek wizards.

The middle-aged Knight Fred silently listened to Levi's youthful ambition. A gratified smile appeared on his weathered face. "Baron Levi, my master, you are indeed ready now. Please follow me."

(1: New book release. I humbly ask for Follow-up Reads, Recommendation Tickets, and bookmarks. Even if you are letting chapters accumulate, please try to turn to the latest chapter every day. Under Qidian's current recommendation system, Follow-up Reads determine whether a book lives or dies. If you are reading on QQ Reading, please try to read on Qidian during the new book period as well. Thank you.) (2: For the convenience of readers, non-main characters in this book will often be referred to by their family crest or nickname rather than complicated Western names that are hard to remember, such as the Black Serpent Knight and the Black Mountain Duke.) (3: Some background settings in this book may draw on Western medieval history, but this is Mystical Fantasy, not history. Please do not mind the details.)