Hidden Dragon

Fang Moqi lost. An arrow struck his back, and according to the rules, he would be declared dead.

The arrow that ended the fight was made from a branch, sharpened to a point like a long pencil.

Wood couldn't pierce steel plates, so although the arrow hit his back, it didn't break through his armor and bounced off onto the ground.

Still, a loss is a loss. Without the steel plate, Fang Moqi would have died just now.

But even though Fang Moqi lost, he had no idea how he lost. Where did that arrow even come from?

It was an elusive arrow, inexplicably hitting him from behind, yet Lan Mu was clearly in front of him!

Unless someone else attacked him, how could an arrow from behind hit him?

"When? How did you do it?"

Fang Moqi pulled the arrow from his left rib, quickly treated the wound, and sat on the ground, asking expectantly.

Lan Mu walked over with a smile and said, "Just now. I shot an arrow from the treetop. You didn't know?"

Fang Moqi froze. He knew. It was the sound of the bowstring that had misled him.

It was the sound of an arrow being shot, but he didn't see the arrow. Instead, it drew his attention, allowing the suddenly landed Lan Mu to sneak-attack him.

"At that moment, I shot this arrow, then immediately landed and shot the second arrow from the front. You were misled by my first arrow, so you didn't fully dodge the second one."

Fang Moqi listened to Lan Mu's explanation. He understood the words, but it was impossible!

How did the arrow that disappeared earlier get behind him?

Lan Mu smiled, picked up the wooden arrow from the ground, nocked it on his bowstring, and shot it into the sky.

The arrow flew dozens of meters, seemingly about to embed itself in a tree trunk. Suddenly, it changed direction, weaving through branches, tracing a bizarre arc in the sky, and then turned back, flying behind the two of them before finally landing in Lan Mu's hand.

The entire trajectory of the arrow was mind-boggling. It traced an Ω-shaped path in the air.

"Here, it's that simple. I call it Orbit Arrow. What do you think?"

Fang Moqi couldn't hear Lan Mu's words at all. He was completely immersed in the trajectory he had just witnessed. He had never seen such an elusive arrow!

Fired first, then delayed, circling in the sky, and finally attacking from behind the enemy.

Could such a surreal arrow even be shot? It was inhuman!

Fang Moqi stared blankly at Lan Mu, his lips twitching for a moment before he finally said dejectedly.

"I concede."

He had no choice but to concede. After practicing archery for over a decade, he was doing well just to maintain his sanity in the face of this prodigy.

Next, Lan Mu helped Fang Moqi back. The wound on his left rib wasn't too serious. In the final moment, Lan Mu had controlled the wind to slow the arrow down; otherwise, Fang Moqi would have been pierced through.

If an arrow could be accelerated, it could also be decelerated. The Elf's archery talent was too powerful. The more practical combat experience Lan Mu gained, the more surprised he was by his use of the bow and arrow.

On the way back to the riverbank, Fang Moqi asked another question.

"Lan Mu, you were watching me and locking onto my presence in the forest earlier. Was that you?"

Lan Mu was taken aback. After thinking for a moment, he admitted, "Yes."

Fang Moqi's eyes lit up. "That aura, like a ferocious beast, was you? Why couldn't I find you?"

"That's because you're too weak. I just hid well," Lan Mu chuckled.

Fang Moqi was speechless. He couldn't refute it. Although his instincts told him the answer was unreliable, the fact remained that he couldn't detect the other person.

"Although I don't know why your stealth abilities suddenly became so powerful, your reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance skills are undoubtedly up to par."

"From a practical combat perspective, you far surpass me. Even Gates is nowhere near you. I am truly convinced."

Lan Mu's mystery and power had conquered Fang Moqi. After defeating him three times in a row, Fang Moqi, despite giving his all, hadn't even managed to land a single arrow on Lan Mu, which clearly indicated a vast difference in skill.

"Lan Mu, are we friends?"

Lan Mu looked at Fang Moqi, who had suddenly become serious, and was momentarily stunned. "Yes, didn't I say so?"

Fang Moqi smiled and said, "Actually, besides my own will, I was also entrusted by someone to test your strength, which is why I requested this kind of duel."

Lan Mu's eyes widened. "Entrusted by someone? Who?"

"Shen Qing Tang. He's the head of Group 93 at the Hidden Dragon base. Officially, he's an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, but he's actually affiliated with the Hidden Dragon base and is responsible for investigating and exploring certain extreme regions," Fang Moqi said seriously.

Lan Mu stared at him for a long time before finally speaking. "The country is targeting me?"

Fang Moqi was taken aback. "That's not what I mean. The country's higher-ups are busy with too many things; they don't have time to focus on you."

He explained, "You really haven't heard of Hidden Dragon? It's a top-secret organization that reports directly to the ********. I don't know exactly what they do because I'm not a formal member of Hidden Dragon; I'm just a temporary worker."

"Because I'm the best hunter in the country, Professor Shen often asks me to assist them in their work, which usually involves investigating mysterious regions and conducting some scientific research projects."

Lan Mu breathed a sigh of relief. "So it's a national secret research institution?"

"No, as far as I know, investigation and exploration are only part of Group 93's work. Hidden Dragon also has Groups 91, 92, 94, and 95, each responsible for different tasks, but I don't know the specifics."

Lan Mu blinked and asked, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Fang Moqi said, "Professor Shen, that is, Shen Qing Tang, knew about you after you defeated me the first two times. He hopes I can assess your combat capabilities. If possible, he wants to get in touch with you... he probably wants you to become a temporary worker like me."

Lan Mu remained silent. He instinctively felt a sense of repulsion, a feeling that this was an attempt to recruit him, like becoming a secret agent.

Seeing he wasn't speaking, Fang Moqi continued, "It's fine if you don't join. Just come with me to E Province then. We're gathering on the 3rd of next month to head to Shennongjia. Professor Shen wants to meet you or something. If you're unwilling, then forget it."

Lan Mu asked, "It's not mandatory?"

"Mandatory? You're not their employee, nor are you a government official. What right do they have to force you? You're not obligated to meet him."

"Huh? Weren't you sent by Professor Shen? Why are you saying this?"

Fang Moqi laughed, "Originally, I was planning to find a way to bring you there. But now that you're my friend, let them go to hell! I'm just a temporary worker anyway. If they have the guts, they can fire me? I don't rely on this job to eat."

Lan Mu burst into laughter, "You were so serious at first, I thought you were going to arrest me."

"Arrest you for what? You haven't broken any laws. Right, if you do go, there's something I need to give you a heads-up about."

"What is it?"

"The method you use to control arrows, is it internal energy?"

Lan Mu let out a sound of surprise. Internal energy? Like in wuxia novels?

"Uh... why do you ask?"

Fang Moqi raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me it's just archery. I don't believe any archery can perform such unbelievable movements. Do you have superpowers? Hmph!"

Lan Mu quickly said, "I don't have superpowers... Um, it's internal energy! I have a kind of energy within me, you can call it internal energy."

Fang Moqi's eyes lit up. "So it really is internal energy? What are its uses?"

Lan Mu thought, since he'd already displayed such astonishing archery skills and was being mistaken for having internal energy, he might as well let the misunderstanding continue.

So, Lan Mu leaped up and landed on a tree, his feet standing vertically on the trunk, his body parallel to the ground, defying gravity.

"Well, just some minor functions. And there's more..."

Lan Mu jumped down and, wrapping his hand with Natural Power, drew a line in the dirt. When he pulled his hand out, it was spotless.

"See? Not much use."

Fang Moqi exclaimed, "And this is still 'not much use'? Is your speed also granted by internal energy?"

"Yes," Lan Mu admitted. As he spoke, his hand blurred into an afterimage, quickly drawing an arrow from Fang Moqi's quiver and shooting it in less than a second.

Fang Moqi nodded. "How did you train to achieve this?"

Lan Mu thought, How should I know? I'll just make something up.

"Uh... I just trained like that. Didn't Shaolin Temple release their Yi Jin Jing? I practiced according to that, and that's how I achieved this."

"Are you f***ing kidding me? It's that simple?" Fang Moqi almost spat out blood.

Lan Mu wasn't sure what kind of world this was. Now there was a top-secret organization called Hidden Dragon. Who knew if supernatural beings existed?

If there was a superpowered individual like him, perhaps there were others in the world.

Furthermore, judging by Fang Moqi's reaction, internal energy didn't seem to be fictional. Could there really be martial arts masters?

With too little information, Lan Mu could only probe, "Brother Fang, in that Hidden Dragon organization, how many people know internal energy? I haven't been practicing for long, I'd like to learn from them."

Fang Moqi's eyes widened. "How many? None! Let alone Hidden Dragon, there isn't a single one in the entire world!"

Lan Mu was stunned. "Really?"

"Nonsense, internal energy disappeared hundreds of years ago. It's a legend. And you, kid, are now the only living legend!"

Lan Mu nodded. He hadn't expected internal energy to have disappeared so long ago. If he had just admitted to having it, wouldn't that make him the only person in the world who knew internal energy in hundreds of years?

He had intended to use internal energy to cover up his superpowers, but internal energy turned out to be even rarer!

"Oh my... Brother Fang, you have to keep this a secret for me."

Fang Moqi laughed. "I can't keep it a secret. Professor Shen already suspected you had internal energy. The main reason he wants to meet you is to see you, this 'giant panda'."

Lan Mu frowned. "I don't have to go, right!"

Fang Moqi chuckled. "Fine, if you don't want to go, then don't. But Professor Shen and the others are research fanatics. If you try to hide, it'll only make them more interested."

"..." Lan Mu looked at Fang Moqi and said, "Why do I feel like you're still forcing me to go?"

Fang Moqi said, "Internal energy might be rare, but it's ultimately not widespread anymore. You might be an exception. They'll at most want to understand internal energy through you. After all, it's just a legend. They need a real-life example to truly understand it."

"Of course, no one can force you. After all, you cultivated internal energy through your own abilities. It doesn't harm society, nor does it harm the country..."

Lan Mu's brow furrowed. He hated these research fanatics the most.

Suddenly, Fang Moqi burst into laughter, pointing at Lan Mu and mocking him, "You're too timid. Don't panic, I'll handle this for you."

"It's simple. I can tell them you don't have internal energy, and just conceal the Orbit Arrow. Since internal energy has been gone for hundreds of years, they'll only suspect you're a special case."

"Oh? You scared me. Let's do that then." Lan Mu punched Fang Moqi.

Fang Moqi said in the end, "However, your combat victory over me is hard to hide. If you're willing, you can be a temporary worker, serving the people. If you refuse to go, people from the National Security Bureau will contact you. After all, you're too powerful and haven't registered with the Hunter Association, making you a social hazard."

"Huh? This... I'll consider it."

Lan Mu thought about it. By the 3rd of next month, he'd likely have undergone his third transformation and be in the mandatory transformation period.

The transformation target was random. Who knew what kind of monster he'd turn into.

"But I don't have time. Actually, after returning to Malai this time, I'll be leaving in four days. You guys can go back first."

Fang Moqi was taken aback and asked, "Why? Aren't you coming back to the country with us?"

"No, unless you can wait for me for seven days. I have something to take care of for seven days."

Fang Moqi said, "Today is the 23rd. Four days from now is the 27th. Seven days after that will be the 3rd!"

"Fine! I'll wait for you to return to the country together!"

Lan Mu said, "But aren't you supposed to go to E Province on the 3rd?"

"We gather on the 3rd. We'll officially enter Shennongjia around the 4th or 5th. If I can make it in time, it's no problem for me to go a bit later."

"But at the latest, it's the 3rd. I have to rush back to the country by dawn on the 4th."

Lan Mu could only say, "Alright."

"Let's agree on a place. If I can make it back, I'll accompany you to Shennongjia."