Reaching the Heavens

Why is challenging opponents of a higher level exclusive to geniuses?

Because it's too rare; it might require a perfect alignment of timing, location, and people to happen even once.

So, every time it occurs, it signifies the birth of a legend!

Is Ning Rong a genius?

Absolutely not. She's just a freshman at the Second Level of Body Tempering, and she hasn't shown any particular special abilities.

Wen Buqing is certainly not a genius, but he's definitely not mediocre. At the peak of the Fourth Level of Body Refinement, his defense is already incredibly strong; ordinary arrows can't even pierce his skin!

But today, Ning Rong, at the Second Level of Body Tempering, defeated Wen Buqing, who was at the peak of the Fourth Level of Body Refinement, using the advantage of her bow and arrows!

This wasn't a secret duel. The fight took place in the school cafeteria, with over a thousand students watching!

Therefore, this news instantly exploded throughout the entire school!

Anyone could see that Ning Rong herself didn't have much strength; she relied entirely on the bow in her hand. The bow's structure wasn't complicated either, which is why, in less than half an hour, the blueprints for this bow had spread throughout the entire school.

By three or four in the afternoon, some people had already built actual models!

"Thwack!" Seeing the arrow embedded half a foot into the target, Zhang Feiran was somewhat surprised. "It's about twice as strong as a normal bow!"

"More than that!" Zhang Feiran's attendant, Wang Xiangnan, said, "I couldn't build an identical bow in time. I made this one temporarily, and I didn't use the most suitable materials. The parts aren't positioned correctly either. Even so, it still doubled the power of the bow and arrows!"

"Is that so?" Zhang Feiran looked at the longbow in his hand. "This design doesn't seem complicated, yet it has such power. Why didn't anyone think of it before?"

"It's said that the inventor of this type of bow is named Yang Ning. He invented many things even when he was still a mortal! He also has a title: the Yue Kingdom Prodigy." Wang Xiangnan continued, "After Yang Ning entered Ascension Academy, he spent the first month reading books. The second month, he was nowhere to be seen except for meals. So, he was working on this!"

"When you mentioned the Yue Kingdom Prodigy, I knew it!" Zhang Feiran's eyes lit up. "I only knew he was good at writing poetry; I didn't realize he was also so skilled at Artifact Forging?"

"Yes, you were busy cultivating before, so you wouldn't know. Months ago, he famously said that cultivation is inherently about craftsmanship. If one cannot study craftsmanship, what's the point of cultivation?" Wang Xiangnan said seriously. "It seems he truly loves Artifact Forging!"

Zhang Feiran patted Wang Xiangnan's shoulder. He knew his attendant came from a family of Artifact Forging Masters and had been practicing Artifact Forging since childhood. He thought Wang Xiangnan was already very talented.

He didn't expect someone to produce such an astonishing work within just two months of school starting. This must have been a blow to him!

"However," Zhang Feiran looked at the longbow in his hand, "if it can double a person's strength, then as long as they have a bow, won't everyone be able to challenge opponents of a higher level? Speaking of which, will everyone start practicing archery in the future?"

"Perhaps the number of people practicing shields will also increase!" Wang Xiangnan said.

He wasn't particularly skilled at archery, but who couldn't make a shield!

An hour later, Zhang Feiran arrived at the classroom and found that the scheduled teacher hadn't shown up; someone unfamiliar had taken their place.

"Hello everyone, my name is Luo Yunyue!" The teacher was tall with a ponytail, presenting a very neat and capable image.

As if he had encountered something joyous, he had a smile on his face the entire time. "I just received the news: from now on, archery class will be elevated from a secondary subject to a primary one. As for the reason, some of you may already know, but I still need to state it: first-year freshman Yang Ning has invented a new type of bow that can quadruple a person's strength!"

"Four times!" The classroom erupted in cheers.

What did four times mean? The strength of someone at the Third Level of Body Tempering to the Fourth Level of Body Refinement would increase significantly, but it would only be about tenfold.

Further on, strength would continue to grow, but not with such dramatic increases.

Wouldn't this be equivalent to having a level-up just by holding a bow?

Moreover, a person's defense wouldn't increase exponentially like their strength, because the physical body has its limits.

Beyond the Fifth Level of Body Refinement, defense increases relied entirely on the Qi and Blood Field. After the Qi Refining Stage, defense relied entirely on Mana.

However, neither the Qi and Blood Field nor Mana were particularly effective against the point-piercing attack of an arrow.

Otherwise, why would Sword Cultivators always be so powerful in every version!

Zhang Feiran understood why this teacher was so happy. The surname Luo meant he was from the Luo Family of Nanlin, a family that specialized in archery!

Meanwhile, Wang Xiangnan looked at the newly added Bow and Arrow Design and Manufacturing on the course schedule and was also stunned.

In addition to that, on the servant side, there was Archery Evasion and Countermeasures.

For the maids, Xu Shi saw Ning Rong's archery skills and decisively set up an archery course. The textbook's name was also very imposing: Path of the Arrow God.

Yang Ning already had some fame among the students, and now, with this new development, he instantly made countless people recall him.

When all the students discovered that the course schedule had changed because of a bow, it caused an even greater sensation!

From then on, the persona of Yang Ning, who loved Artifact Forging and was a genius in Artifact Forging, began to be firmly etched into everyone's minds.

The Dean of Ascension Academy, Fang Zhuo, also learned about Yang Ning. It was he who ordered the course schedule change.

"Yang Ning!"

He also possessed a pulley bow, and it was more faithful to the original design than the one Wang Xiangnan had temporarily modified.

It even used Spirit Materials. If it hadn't been for the temporary crafting without considering material compatibility, it wouldn't have been impossible to forge a Spirit Artifact.

"To be able to invent such a bow, and also the Curved Shaft Plow, Water Wheel, Catapult, Horseshoe, Saddle, and Wrought Iron Method!" Fang Zhuo naturally had Yang Ning's file, as he had entered Ascension Academy as an attendant.

He just hadn't looked at it carefully before. It wasn't until the pulley bow made its debut today that Fang Zhuo realized he might have recruited a talent!

A talent in Artifact Forging!

He wasn't just excellent today; he had always been excellent!

"But," Fang Zhuo frowned, "he was on Wei Daocheng's ship!"

Wang Yi had already issued an order: everyone on Wei Daocheng's ship was to die, which naturally included Yang Ning.

It's such a shame for a talent like Yang Ning to die!

He's only in the Body Refinement Realm, yet he can invent something this revolutionary. What will he be capable of once he reaches the Qi Refining Stage?

Fang Zhuo then thought of the other side of the scale: Lin Tianheng!

Which is more important: an order from a Golden Core cultivator, or a talented Artifact Forging Master?

"Perhaps he's good at invention and creation, but so what? Spirit Artifacts are different from Mortal Artifacts, let alone Dao Artifacts. A new Dao Artifact might require the effort of a Sect for decades, even centuries," Fang Zhuo mused. No matter how many pulley bows there were, they wouldn't matter to a Golden Core cultivator one bit!

But what if?

What if?

After pondering for a long time, Fang Zhuo simply put away the pulley bow, summoned a black zither, stepped onto it, and flew south with the melodious sound of the strings.

Qi Refining cultivators are extremely fast, but even so, it took Fang Zhuo over two hours to reach his destination.

This was a place where mountains vied for dominance. The terrain was magnificent and precipitous, with numerous high peaks, layers of mountains, stretching for hundreds of kilometers. The mountain peaks mingled with seas of clouds, the forests were lush, streams gurgled, ancient trees towered, waterfalls cascaded, and mountain flowers bloomed, creating a spectacular scene.

But what was even more awe-inspiring were the streaks of vibrant rainbow light atop the mountain peaks, reflecting bursts of Daoist sounds that pierced the heavens. Flying cranes, treasure gourds, and flying swords crisscrossed among the mountains, along with various magic treasures and the colorful cultivators seated atop them.

This was once the foremost Sect of Tai Heng, now the second-greatest Sect in the world, the mountain gate of the Taiheng Sect, one of the Ten Immortal Dao Sects.