Chaotic Dance

Gu Qingshan opened his eyes, silently drew out two arrows, nocked them on the bowstring, pulled the string back with his fingers, and gently released it.

The two arrows shot out, tracing twisted arcs through the air, and firmly pinned a leaf to a branch.

Arc-shaped arrow paths!

Gu Qingshan's heart leaped. It was just as he'd thought.

That made his attacks unpredictable.

"Guiding them with Spiritual Power..."

Gu Qingshan murmured to himself and tried using "Swallows Fly in Pairs" again.

The two arrows split off in opposite directions, swept around row after row of trees in wide arcs, and finally struck a rabbit sprinting a hundred meters beyond the woods.

Even Gu Qingshan, whose experience in his previous life had been extraordinary, was deeply captivated by this archery technique.

This was an archery technique of Human Race generals.

Gu Qingshan walked back and forth once, pondered for a moment, then raised his bow.

Rapid Shot activated!

Swallows Fly in Pairs activated!

He drew his longbow again and again, sending arrow after arrow flying wildly, each veering off target.

Gu Qingshan frowned and fell into deep thought.

"Swallows Fly in Pairs" was a good skill, but why couldn't he fire it repeatedly? Did such a powerful skill need a pause between shots?

No, that didn't make sense.

He tried again, but still couldn't do it.

Swallows Fly in Pairs was a superb archery technique, but once he started firing rapidly, he couldn't guarantee his accuracy.

No, that wasn't it.

As if possessed, Gu Qingshan kept trying. Without realizing it, he began incorporating "Steadfastness" as well.

Half an hour later.

The two arrows turned into gray streaks, like flying snakes come to life. They traced twisted arcs through the air and both pierced the same leaf.

The arrows' trajectories were completely unpredictable. Combined with the speed of his rapid shots, anyone facing Gu Qingshan's arrows would be dazzled, with no idea how to dodge them.

Gu Qingshan nodded slightly and lowered his Military Bow.

So it really could be done. It all came down to whether you could quiet your mind, ponder it, and practice your skills.

Ding!

The system's voice rang out without warning, startling Gu Qingshan.

A message appeared on the circular halo representing "God of War Skill" on the War God Operating Interface.

Player Gu Qingshan combined three archery skills and created a new archery skill: Chaotic Dance.

Chaotic Dance (Beginner): Fires five arrows in rapid succession, attacking the target along unpredictable arcing paths.

It was possible to do that?

Gu Qingshan's mouth fell open. He stared fixedly at the words "(Beginner)," unable to speak for a long while.

If there was a beginner level, there had to be higher levels.

He hadn't expected to create a skill that could grow.

As he stood there in shock, a line of tiny, firefly-like text appeared on the God of War Interface.

Growth-type skills are extremely rare. Please keep honing your skills and raise their levels as soon as possible.

That was right. The power of ordinary skills depended only on how much Spiritual Power you channeled into them; their might changed according to the amount.

Growth-type skills were different.

They were special skills that could evolve continuously. As the player's understanding of the skill deepened, its power would gradually increase, until it reached the heavens.

They were rare skills that could not be sought out, only chanced upon.

In the later stages of the game, once a growth-type skill had evolved to its peak, it was acclaimed as a "demigod skill."

Everyone envied, resented, and hated those who possessed growth-type skills.

Gu Qingshan drew a breath and solemnly raised his bow.

Chaotic Dance!

Twanging five times in succession, five swift streaks shot out, dancing like dragons and snakes!

The arrows seemed to have come alive. They traced entirely different paths through the air, dodged every obstacle in their way, and all embedded themselves in a branch two hundred meters away.

Gu Qingshan froze, completely dazzled by his own shot.

After a while, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "System, can I combine other ordinary skills and keep creating growth-type skills?"

The God of War Interface paused, then another line of tiny, firefly-like text appeared:

Understanding others' skills is only the foundation. Helping players continuously create growth-type skills is the true purpose of God of War Skill.

Gu Qingshan sighed and murmured, "I had it all wrong. So this is the true value of God of War Skill."

He looked at the row of black holes at the bottom of the War God Operating Interface. Only "God of War Skill" was lit up.

Yet this one feature alone had already left him utterly shaken.

If one day, all his skills were growth-type skills...

It was simply astonishing.

Gu Qingshan gripped his Military Bow tighter, suddenly feeling more confident.

He now had growth-type skills and Soul Power. Both were extremely special things.

Using Soul Power to raise his level and skills was more worthwhile than using experience points.

At least for now, judging by the Soul Power required to master the Military Body Refining Qi Method, he needed only a few points to level up.

Gu Qingshan could level up entirely with Soul Power, instead of painstakingly accumulating experience points like the other players in his previous life.

In the later stages of the game, the experience needed for each level was always a terrifying amount, restricting the players' growth in strength.

Besides that, there was the God of War Interface, which could create growth-type skills from scratch.

Gu Qingshan suddenly felt that he could go farther than he had in his previous life.

Having unexpectedly returned to this life, Gu Qingshan had been weighed down by a crushing, urgent sense of pressure.

This was the Lost Era, a chapter of the game's history in which no players existed.

Ever since his rebirth, everything had been tinged with an eerie strangeness, unlike his previous life. Many things he had never heard of were happening silently.

Even monsters like the Faceless Giant, nearly invincible Chaos Seeds, had appeared.

Gu Qingshan vaguely sensed death drawing closer to him, step by step.

This instinct was innate. It had saved his life countless times in his previous life.

Now, his only option was to grow stronger with everything he had. Then, when death came in the near future, he might find a sliver of hope for survival.

Gu Qingshan sighed and swept his gaze over the God of War Interface, settling on his skill bar.

So far, the skill bar contained three skills: "Steadfastness," "Rapid Shot," and "Chaotic Dance (Beginner)."

Swallows Fly in Pairs had disappeared, completely replaced by Chaotic Dance.

Unlike the first three skills, "Chaotic Dance" required more Spiritual Power to control the arrows' trajectories, and it was still only at the "Beginner" level.

That was no big deal. The more powerful a skill was, the more Spiritual Power it consumed.

Next, he would need to spend more time honing this skill, striving to raise Chaotic Dance's level as soon as possible.

Gu Qingshan quickly packed up, preparing to leave.

Not far away, Demon Beasts had caught the smell of the Python Demon's blood. Their howls were drawing closer and closer.

Pff!

Without warning, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood.

Gu Qingshan's eyes widened in surprise, and he couldn't help spitting out two more mouthfuls of black blood in quick succession.

Gu Qingshan wiped away some blood and held it beneath his nose to sniff.

A faint, fishy stench.

Poison.

How could he have poison in his body for no reason? And why was he coughing it up?

Gu Qingshan didn't dare be careless. He circulated his Spiritual Power through every part of his body and carefully examined himself.

Nothing was wrong with any part of his body. Nourished by the Python Demon Gall, it was even continually renewing itself.

Even the Spiritual Power in his dantian was more fluid and easier to control than before.

That was the effect of the rare Python Demon Snake Gall.

Thank goodness.

It seemed he had still been poisoned by the Python Demon during their fight.

Gu Qingshan was now truly at a loss for words.

That demon python really was no ordinary beast. It had poisoned him without him even realizing it.

If they had kept fighting, it was anyone's guess who would have emerged victorious.

Fortunately, he hadn't gotten caught up in the fight and had killed his opponent at lightning speed.

If he hadn't eaten the rare Python Demon Snake Gall right after killing it, he wouldn't have discovered the poison for a while. Who knew what might have happened afterward?

As expected, rare Demon Beasts all had a hidden trump card.

Gu Qingshan's heart filled with dread.