Why Question Him?

Back home, Jiang Qiu soaked himself in hot water once more. The muscles throughout his body gradually relaxed, but the hands buried against the bottom of the tub still would not stop trembling, especially his right arm, where the veins throbbed visibly.

Just as Liu Zili had said, thirty training sessions a day was already the limit in the Iron Flesh Realm. He had done forty-one on his first day and thirty-five today. His body could not take it.

Copper Skin, Iron Flesh, Steel Bone, Jade Tendon—the amount of blood qi within each physical realm was roughly the same. Unless one had been born with exceptionally abundant blood qi, no one dared repeatedly expend it at such intensity to fire arrows.

But the challenge was imminent. Even if he overtaxed his body, he still could not keep up with the progress required for Ancient Martial Arts Archery.

He still needed to resort to some unconventional methods.

With that thought, Jiang Qiu flexed his fingers. His elbows, arms, and spine loosened as though made of earth, then he casually picked up the towel hanging over the edge of the tub, dried the water from his hands, grabbed the phone from the chair, and tapped away at the keyboard.

"To get started with Ancient Martial Arts Archery, all I need is to persistently shoot arrows with the Blood Qi Bow. Since I lack blood qi, then I'll replenish it."

As he muttered, he typed out a message.

[Jiang Qiu: Teacher, can you still get Blood Boil Liquid? Could you bring me two doses first? Once I get the income from the Practical Training Hunt, I'll pay you back.]

A moment later, his phone vibrated.

[Wu Shan: I can bring you Blood Boil Liquid, but you need to remember two things. First, it is a stimulating emergency treatment drug, and repeated use will damage your body. Second, its effect of forcibly replenishing blood qi only lasts a few minutes, and the Military Department inspectors will be watching.]

[Jiang Qiu: I'm not planning to use it during the challenge. I just want to buy some in case of emergencies.]

The reply came as soon as the message was sent.

[Wu Shan: Fine.]

"Phew."

Jiang Qiu let out a soft breath and glanced at the time.

[April 3, 2125, 19:31]

The moon crossed the night sky, and the streetlights went out at dawn.

No.8 Middle School slowly filled with students entering through the gates from every street. Those in black shirts filed into the Elite Training Hall in groups, then passed through the transition zone empty-handed.

Along the corridor outside the archery range, students from every venue stood in scattered clusters, their discussions rising and falling without end.

"Everyone from all eight venues is here. Looks like the teachers at every venue notified us last night?"

"Tell me about it. The Practical Training Hunt ended two days ago, and I didn't even know the school had applied for the Heavenly Prodigy Project for Brother Jiang. There wasn't a single word about it."

"Your information is outdated. A friend from No.1 Middle School sent me the news the day before yesterday. Their school forum has exploded. No one knows where the rumor leaked from, but they're all talking about Liu Yong coming to challenge Brother Jiang today."

"Damn, they're discussing it on their school forum? Let me see." Zhang Shan's thick brows twitched as he pulled out his phone and entered No.1 Middle School's forum. Sure enough, there was a pinned post—"A genius from our school, Liu Yong, will challenge a student from No.8 Middle School for an additional Heavenly Prodigy Project slot!"

A student from No.8 Middle School.

After reading it, he drew a deep breath. Fury smoldered in his tiger-like eyes. "Who the hell wrote this post? They don't even know Brother Jiang's name? They just wrote, 'a student apparently surnamed Jiang'?

"And some of the comments are fucking stupid too. They say No.8 Middle School is bragging, that no one could single-handedly turn the tables on a Minor Beast Tide during the Practical Training Hunt. If there was such a person, it only meant he hadn't encountered any high-level Demon Beasts!

"What? Does Brother Jiang need them to question him?"

"Stop yelling. Comments like those are only a tiny minority. Most of them are already speculating whether Liu Yong can claim one of the Ten Great Heavenly Prodigies titles after entering the Heavenly Prodigy Project." Li Si gave a derisive snort and curled his lip. "That's the real bragging. How many of the Ten Great Heavenly Prodigies throughout the years came from the Outer City?

"Even if he really snatches a Heavenly Prodigy Project slot, he still won't be able to compare with the geniuses in there."

"Fuck, Li Si. From the sound of it, even you think Brother Jiang will lose?"

After Zhang Shan shot him a vicious glare, Li Si felt gazes from every direction lock onto him like a pack of wolves. A chill ran down his spine, and he smiled awkwardly. "No, don't look at me like that. Of course I support Brother Jiang.

"But isn't entering the Heavenly Prodigy Project all about gaining those abundant resources to pursue Dual Cultivation of Spear and Bow?

"No.1 Middle School has an archery class that teaches archery. For our group, this is our first time even stepping into the corridor outside the archery range. How are we supposed to compete?

"Honestly, even if Brother Jiang can't improve in archery, with his mastery of the spear, he won't be inferior to Liu Yong in the college entrance exam even without joining the Heavenly Prodigy Project. He has a very good chance of making the top hundred!"

Zhang Shan snorted. "Don't talk about the future. I believe Brother Jiang can beat Liu Yong today!

"Why does No.1 Middle School get to monopolize the best resources in the Outer City? Every one of their students acts arrogantly because of their talent, as if No.8 Middle School is some village well and we're frogs at the bottom of it.

"Brother Jiang is a genius who killed a Demon Plant in a single move! Yet they treat something they haven't seen as a rumor?

"Even if Brother Jiang's archery is inferior to Liu Yong's, he'll still show him what Cold Light Spear Shadow is, and what true, peerlessly domineering spear mastery looks like!"

"That's exactly what I think too!" Li Si clenched his fists. "Otherwise, why would I be waiting here? The teachers didn't force us to come watch—damn it, you just spat all over my face!"

The commotion surged like a flood, yet it could not force open the steel doors of the archery range.

Drip.

A bead of sweat struck the floor inside. Jiang Qiu's right fingertips twitched and jerked, while his pale cheeks quivered faintly.

Ancient Martial Arts Archery (Not Started)

86/100

From six o'clock to eight o'clock, he had fired ten arrows in succession. For two hours, he had forcibly drained every last drop of blood qi from his body. His blood vessels seemed like detonator wires, and his heart hammered as though counting down.

"Phew—"

"Hah—"

Jiang Qiu drew in a long breath as he looked upward, then bent over and exhaled. His clothes were soaked through at the abdomen, clinging to his trembling stomach.

"Sure enough, I can't continuously draw the bow at high intensity. My right arm already feels like it's about to shatter. One tug of the tendons and bones, and they'll snap.

"Without replenishing my blood qi, firing one more arrow will probably cause damage my body cannot recover from."

As he muttered, Jiang Qiu wiped the sweat from his face and looked toward the two staggered rows of red armor. "From two hundred meters away, whoever shoots through the most pieces of red armor and lands closest to the marker in the center of the armor wins in archery.

"Once one has basic mastery of archery, they can shoot through three or four pieces of red armor. The deeper one's understanding of the Blood Qi Bow, the more condensed the blood qi at the arrowhead becomes, and the more pieces it can pierce through..."

The power of the Blood Qi Bow depended on one's control over blood qi rather than the quantity of blood qi. If one trained archery well, it could more or less improve one's understanding of other Weapon Grand Dao paths, such as the spear path.

Likewise, mastery of spear techniques and control of force could also strengthen one's comprehension of archery. The two complemented each other.

This was what every genius in the Heavenly Prodigy Project needed to achieve—Dual Cultivation of Spear and Bow.

Training in two Weapon Grand Dao paths with twice the effort was difficult and heavily tested one's talent. Those who could accomplish it were all exceptional individuals. That was why it was called the Heavenly Prodigy Project, and why the selection had already been completed in middle school.

Jiang Qiu knew he could not yet compare to those dual-cultivation geniuses in the Heavenly Prodigy Project, but if all he needed to do was defeat Liu Yong, it was not impossible!

Click—

The steel doors opened, and the one-eyed man appeared in the doorway, holding two vials of medicine.