H Station

Professor Shen sounded surprised on the other end of the phone. Was it really okay to ask such a serious question?

"Internal energy? Xiao Fang, why did you suddenly ask about that?"

Fang Moqi sighed. "I met someone today. He shattered everything I thought I knew about this world."

"Oh? How so? Does he have internal energy?"

"Not exactly..." Fang Moqi recalled. "He was just too astonishing. The only thing I could think of was the internal energy from legends."

Professor Shen asked curiously, "What exactly happened?"

Fang Moqi then recounted the whole matter, starting from the match and describing every detail from beginning to end.

"...That was what happened. I saw it with my own eyes. His arrow formed a perfect arc and turned!"

"Professor Shen, you know how long I trained in archery. If I could make an arrow turn as I wished, no one in this world could dodge my arrows!"

"Back then, I had no choice but to force the mosquito into a certain path before shooting it. Even so, I needed three arrows to hit it. But he only needed one!"

"What does that have to do with internal energy?" Professor Shen said. "Perhaps he has some unique archery technique that lets arrows fly in an arc. As long as he could predict the mosquito's next flight path, killing one with one arrow would not be impossible."

"No! Professor Shen, if it were merely making an arrow curve, I might be able to figure out a way to do it myself. But shooting mosquitoes is different. After training for so many years, I know their flight paths are impossible to predict. When an arrow is about to hit one, it senses the disturbance in the air and flies off along an unpredictable path. So there are only three ways to hit a mosquito."

"The first is speed! Speed beyond its ability to react!"

"The second is a wide enough range! Even if it reacts, it cannot evade!"

"The third is forcing its movement, forcing the mosquito to fly along the path you want it to take!"

Fang Moqi let out a long sigh. "Yet that Lan Mu used a fourth method!"

"You mean..." Professor Shen realized something.

"Yes. The arrow he fired was probably noticed and dodged by the mosquito. Then he made the arrow rapidly change course, forming a bizarre arc that finally intercepted and killed it."

Professor Shen exclaimed, "How is that possible? Are you sure you saw correctly?"

"It's extremely likely! I trust my own judgment! After all, it wasn't once, but three times! He fired three arrows at once and killed three mosquitoes! Without absolute control over drawn arrows, that would be impossible." Fang Moqi sounded certain.

"Once the bow is drawn, there is no turning back... How exactly did this Lan Mu do it?" Professor Shen murmured.

"No matter how hard I think, I can't figure it out. Could the internal energy of legend achieve something like that?" Fang Moqi asked.

"To be honest, Xiao Fang, I don't know whether internal energy could do it either, because internal energy vanished from this world long ago."

Professor Shen said wistfully, "From the pre-Qin era through the Sui, Tang, and Two Song dynasties, there were records of internal energy and qi force. Some ancient books mentioned them, and from the fragments preserved in those texts, we can see that it was most prosperous during the Two Song dynasties. More than half the ancient texts discussing internal energy came from that period. But from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties onward, and even afterward, it disappeared entirely. Only internal force remained."

"Internal energy and internal force are two different things. One is energy; the other is a special method of exerting force."

Fang Moqi asked in confusion, "Why? Why was there no internal energy in the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties?"

"I don't know!" Professor Shen said. "It was as though internal energy suddenly vanished. After the Battle of Yamen, things that may once have been real... became legends."

"Xiao Fang, that is why I don't know what miraculous uses internal energy truly had. Those ancient texts only let me speculate that it could at least greatly enhance the human body's capabilities. Beyond that, there was the ability to release qi force, but I don't know what other uses qi force might have either."

"There simply is no subject to observe. No conclusion can be made."

Fang Moqi murmured to himself, "Did his hand speed come from internal energy? Did his curved arrows come from qi force?"

Professor Shen suddenly said, "Fang Moqi, I want to meet him."

"Professor Shen, do you want him to be like me?"

"Yes, Xiao Fang. Whether he truly has internal energy or not, those curved arrows and hyper-speed arrows alone mean he could help us no less than you can." Professor Shen considered it, then added, "How about this? Aren't you going to Malay? Probe him carefully while you're there."

"I would have done that even if you hadn't said so! I suddenly really want to exchange shots with him!" Fang Moqi said excitedly.

"Oh, you haven't exchanged shots with him before? Then do you think he's stronger than you?" Professor Shen asked.

"It's hard to say. He keeps too low a profile. With such inhuman archery, he's only a reporter. What a waste of talent." Fang Moqi said, "If I truly want to test his real combat ability, I'll have to exchange shots with him personally."

"You know this, Professor. Even if his firing speed and arrow speed both surpass mine, and even if he has that strange arrow-control technique, I still might not lose in an exchange of shots. Only a life-and-death contest like that can reveal who is truly stronger in actual combat."

Professor Shen said, "An exchange of shots in a life-and-death contest! It reminds me of your match with Gates back then. A contest of mind and body, a clash of life and death! Hahaha!"

"...Please don't bring that up, Professor Shen..." Fang Moqi was reminded of a painful memory and closed his eyes heavily.

"Mm, let's leave it at that for now. If his combat experience is lacking, I'll have Xiao Luo approach him and find a way to study his archery. If he defeats you, bring him to see me on September 3."

Fang Moqi suddenly understood. "If I lose, you'll have him join us in going to Shennongjia?"

"Yes. We need people like him."

Lan Mu rode back in Du Yu's car. Before getting in, he glanced at Ye Jinghong wandering around near the club. Seeing that Ye Jinghong paid him no attention at all, with all his attention focused on Fang Moqi, Lan Mu relaxed.

By the time they returned to the new house, it was nearly dinner in the afternoon.

The place looked completely refreshed. The refrigerator, computer, and other items had already been delivered, and Cheng Ming was adjusting something.

As for Su Yue, she silently prepared dinner. With a real kitchen now, her movements were more practiced and convenient.

"Huh? Brother Mu, you're back! Come look at what I made!"

Lan Mu set down his shoulder bag and walked behind Cheng Ming with a smile. Cheng Ming was fiddling with the computer.

A website was displayed on the screen. It was the country's most famous video website, where people could watch videos and livestream. From officially licensed content to private creations, it had every kind of video imaginable, along with its distinctive scrolling comments.

Anyone could have their own space on the site to post audio and video content. Whether it was original work or reuploaded material, as long as it was exciting enough and explosive enough, it could receive the attention it deserved.

Thousands of studios across the country, along with major entertainment companies, had established a presence on the site. With its massive user base, it was a fiercely contested ground for online publicity and product promotion.

The site was called "HenTai," abbreviated as "H," though netizens had conventionally come to call it H Station.

Cheng Ming showed Lan Mu the account he had just registered as an uploader and said,

"Brother Mu, our studio has officially joined H Station too. When do you think we'll be able to make our first original work?"

"I'm leaving the country to film tomorrow," Lan Mu said. "Stay here and get the studio completely set up. Also, get in touch with our old classmates."

"Besides that, put my earlier promotional copy in the profile. Advertisements need to go in the most visible place!"

Cheng Ming nodded, then said, "But our studio's name isn't impressive enough! Look at everyone else's studios..."

"Brother Mu, our studio hasn't been verified yet, so we can still change the name. How about we rename it?"

Lan Mu noticed the account name: Lan Cheng Studio. He had come up with it himself. H Station was full of studios and entertainment companies, each with a more impressive name than the last—names like China Sound Society or Allheaven Shift.

By comparison, Lan Cheng Studio looked weak just from the name alone.

But after thinking it over, Lan Mu realized he had no talent for naming things, so he let it go.

"No need to change it! We'll keep this name!"

"As long as our work is good enough, our studio will definitely become renowned throughout the industry."