The Foundation of One's Stand

Inside the No. 9 Archery Field.

One figure practiced archery tirelessly, while another figure watched from the side.

The former was naturally Hong Ming, whose training progress was somewhat painful to witness.

After half a day of training, he only managed to graze the edge of the target on the rare occasion that luck was on his side.

Li Mo was accustomed to this; between observations, he never forgot to correct mistakes and offer guidance.

"Li Mo, when did a newcomer arrive at our camp? How come I didn't know?"

Just then, a soldier noticed the situation in the archery field, walked over slowly, and greeted Li Mo.

The newcomer was Yu Bin, a close friend of Li Mo and a member of the Third Battalion, just like Hong Ming.

Li Mo recognized the voice without turning his head and replied, "Team Leader Han arranged for him to be brought to me this morning."

"That's not right, I recall our battalion isn't short on men lately!" Yu Bin looked puzzled.

Li Mo shook his head slightly: "I'm not clear on that."

"Could it be another connection hire, shoved into our Third Battalion?" Yu Bin speculated.

The practice of swapping friends and relatives between battalions was nothing new; he was long used to it.

Without dwelling on it, Yu Bin looked at Hong Ming, who was shooting, and asked curiously: "Li Mo, how is this guy's talent for archery? How does he compare to Shen Lin, whom I'm training?"

"Compare him to Shen Lin? If you're here to show off, just say so; no need to beat around the bush!" Li Mo shot Yu Bin a sideways glance.

In the entire Third Battalion, who didn't know that Shen Lin, whom Yu Bin had been training recently, possessed extremely high archery talent, far beyond the reach of ordinary people?

When he had previously replied to Hong Ming about the person who set the record of hitting the target ten times out of ten, Shen Lin was among them.

"Haha, I'm just looking out for you. After all, if he's a connection hire and truly has that kind of skill, why would he need to pull strings?"

Yu Bin ignored Li Mo's reaction, assuming the lad was just envious and jealous, and his smile only widened.

After a long silence, Li Mo sighed and shook his head, commenting: "Hong Ming is nowhere near Shen Lin!"

Martial arts emphasize innate talent, and archery is no different; Hong Ming clearly did not fall into that category.

After teaching him for this half-day, one could say their skill levels were not just unrelated—they were worlds apart.

"Oh? The gap is that big? Then I'm afraid you'll have to pray for your own luck." Yu Bin offered a word of comfort.

Yet, to Li Mo's ears, this comfort sounded more like gloating.

He glared at Yu Bin, deciding he wouldn't bother speaking to him for at least half an hour.

But the silence was broken in an instant: "Alright, stop sulking. There's an archery competition at the No. 9 Archery Field; let's hurry over and take a look."

"An archery competition? What's there to see?" Li Mo had no interest.

Yu Bin, however, pushed Li Mo away without giving him a choice. Helpless, he had to call a halt to Hong Ming's training and bring him along.

So-called archery competitions were one of the leisure activities for archers, much like a friendly spar.

They weren't sparring with fists or footwork, but with their archery skills.

Occasionally, there would be a wager involved to increase the stakes, drawing a crowd of spectators.

Before long, the three of them arrived at the No. 9 Archery Field. Even before they entered, they saw people arriving one after another from all directions.

The entire Third Battalion seemed to have been stirred by this competition, flocking to the scene.

Not knowing the situation inside, they heard waves of cheers and applause like a roaring sea as they walked.

They had arrived a bit late; by the time they entered, the archers were already competing.

Standing in the field were two young men holding Black Stone Bows. Hong Ming recognized one of them.

It was Shen Lin, who had entered the Preparatory Camp at the same time as him!

As for the other person, he was a stranger, but judging by the whispers spreading through the crowd, it wasn't hard to guess that this man was a veteran from the Archery Battalion.

"No wonder you were rushing me; so it's Shen Lin competing."

Seeing Shen Lin among the competitors, Li Mo looked enlightened; he knew Yu Bin had ulterior motives.

Glancing at him, he pondered for a moment: "But if he's competing against Zhao Qing now, I'm afraid his skills aren't up to par, are they?"

"Just wait and see. What if he surprises us?" Yu Bin smiled mysteriously.

Hearing this, Li Mo raised an eyebrow and said no more, though his gaze toward the field became a bit more focused.

Hong Ming, listening from the side, felt a strange sensation and couldn't help but feel curious.

He soon noticed that this archery field was more spacious, with the standing position about thirty paces from the target.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Just as they were watching, a whistle blew. Two arrows left their bows in succession, streaking toward the target like electric arcs.

The arrow on the left had been fired first, but it only held the lead for a split second before the arrow on the right surged ahead, overtaking it in an instant.

The gap was so minuscule that only a handful of people in the field could perceive it, and it did not affect the final result.

The arrow on the right not only struck the target first but pierced the dead center, its precision far surpassing the one on the left.

The winner was decided!

The crowd in the field seemed caught off guard by this result; after a brief silence, an uproar erupted.

Even Li Mo, who had been warned beforehand, felt deeply surprised. His pupils constricted almost imperceptibly as he muttered, "Good lad, he's actually reached the entry level of Piercing Willow Archery!"

The two major criteria for reaching the entry level of Piercing Willow Archery were a distance of one hundred meters and a one-hundred-percent accuracy rate.

Shen Lin had already achieved the former, and while he had only fired one shot for the latter, it had hit the bullseye; even if he hadn't fully mastered it, he was likely not far off.

"You fellow, you've struck gold!" The envy in Li Mo's eyes as he looked at Yu Bin was impossible to hide.

Yu Bin thoroughly enjoyed his companion's flattery, his mouth stretching wide enough to reach the back of his head.

At this moment, he actually became humble: "It's just standard, really. It's all thanks to his talent; I'm just adding icing to the cake."

Li Mo: "..."

He suddenly had the urge to beat this smug fellow to a pulp!

He restrained himself, choosing to understand.

If it were him who had trained such a gifted archer as Shen Lin, he would certainly be even more insufferably proud than Yu Bin.

Shen Lin had only been in the Archery Battalion for a month at most; at this rate, given time, he would surely reach minor completion, and even major completion was within reach.

If the lad could truly refine Piercing Willow Archery to major completion, then their Third Battalion's treatment and status within the entire Archery Battalion would inevitably rise, and they would all share in the glory.

Ever since Shen Lin displayed entry-level Piercing Willow Archery, the entire archery field became his stage.

He shone like a meteor in everyone's vision, and when it ended, he exited in a blaze of glory, surrounded by the crowd like stars around the moon.

On the return journey, Li Mo earnestly exhorted Hong Ming: "You saw the archery competition just now. Don't slack off when we get back; practice diligently and strive for entry level as soon as possible. The Archery Battalion is not like the Preparatory Camp; we are always on standby here. The more strength you gain now, the less blood you'll shed on the battlefield later, and the higher your chances of survival!"

His tone was sincere, every word heartfelt—this was genuine, hard-earned experience and words from the bottom of his heart.

After a pause, Li Mo added a reminder: "Oh, right, our Archery Battalion doesn't issue bows and crossbows; you'll need to go to the shops in the military town to purchase your own."

"I understand, thank you for the reminder, Brother Li." Hong Ming nodded heavily, indicating he would keep it in mind.

He didn't need Li Mo's warning; he would practice his archery diligently from now on.

This was the foundation for his future standing in the Archery Battalion; he could not afford to take it lightly!

However, the premise for his hard work was different from others—it was primarily for solidifying traits.

To his disappointment, after searching for several laps, he didn't find a single trait related to archery.

The following days were the same, all without result.

The only good news during this period was that he had finally managed to engrave Piercing Willow Archery onto his panel.