A Thunderous Start

"What? A three-shot consecutive burst!?"

"What kind of monster is this?"

"There's an archery technique like that?"

The onlookers instantly erupted into an even fiercer discussion.

But Li Yi turned a deaf ear. He took out another three arrows, drew his bow, nocked them, and aimed at the targets in the sky.

Arrow-Fighting Art!

Having already combined the two-shot burst with the Arrow-Fighting Art, merging the three-shot burst with it was as easy as turning his hand for Li Yi now.

Empowered by the Arrow-Fighting Art, the three arrows shot out in an instant, splitting toward different targets in midair and striking all three moments later.

"What? What kind of archery is that!?"

Watching from the side, Zhang Lin was utterly shocked.

He had once seen an archery prodigy use the powerful technique of a three-shot burst. But making all three arrows hit separate targets at once—this was simply unheard of!

It defied all common sense!

This was no longer genius. This was a monster!

A chill ran through Zhang Lin's body, but when he recalled Cao Li's orders, he gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

Sima Cao Li had given the order long ago. If he failed to complete it, the consequences would be unthinkable.

At the thought of those consequences, Zhang Lin's gaze sharpened. His blood and vitality immediately surged through his body like boiling water.

In an instant, veins bulged across Zhang Lin's arms. He drew the five-stone bow in his hands to its full extent, firing two-shot bursts one after another. They instantly became a rain of arrows that slaughtered the birds before him.

Zhang Lin had originally been faster than Li Yi, but now the hand with which he fired arrows even trailed afterimages, vastly surpassing Li Yi's speed.

"Has Zhang Lin lost his mind? He's actually using a secret art like Bloodburst!"

Wu Chuansheng, watching from the side, immediately recognized that Zhang Lin had used a secret art from the Breathing Method, raising his strength and other abilities to a level beyond his current realm.

Though it could increase one's combat power for a short time, it would also inflict tremendous damage on the body.

Old Zhang, who had sold Li Yi the Army-Breaking Bow earlier, had damaged the meridians in both hands by using a secret art. He could never draw a bow again.

Otherwise, with his archery, even with a lame leg, he would still have been a formidable archer!

He would not have fallen into obscurity after retirement, living in seclusion in Sweetwater Alley and drowning his days in drink.

Zhang Lin's abnormal state did not draw Li Yi's attention.

At that moment, Li Yi had entered a state where heaven and earth fell away, leaving only himself.

Draw the bow, loose the arrow. Draw the bow, loose the arrow...

In Li Yi's mind, there were only these few thoughts.

The outcome of the assessment, the coercion from the Household Office and Cao Li—all of it had been cast to the back of his mind.

Anyone knowledgeable would have recognized at a glance that Li Yi had entered a state of enlightenment.

With every shot, Li Yi felt that the Army-Breaking Bow was no longer a bow, but his own hand; the arrows at his waist were no longer arrows, but his own fingers.

At that moment, bow and arrow became one with Li Yi.

Man and arrow as one!

This was an exceedingly lofty realm of archery.

Had Li Yi opened his skill panel at that moment, he would have seen the experience for his Archery skill steadily increasing.

No one knew how long passed—so long that the only sound left in the camp was Li Yi shooting arrows, without the slightest other noise.

"Empty?"

Li Yi reached toward his waist and grasped at nothing.

The arrows in his quiver were gone?

Li Yi came back to himself and saw that every arrow in his quiver had been fired. Before him lay countless fallen birds, twitching on the ground.

When he looked again, he saw Zhang Lin's face was flushed red and both hands were trembling uncontrollably.

"Are you all right?"

When Li Yi stopped shooting, Wu Chuansheng and Han Jia rushed over, looking at him with concern.

The sincere concern on their faces warmed Li Yi's heart. He instinctively hid his hand inside his sleeve.

"I'm fine. I was fortunate enough to gain some insight just now, and my archery has improved a little."

Li Yi gave a brief explanation, then turned his gaze toward the veteran responsible for the assessment.

The squad leader at the head of the group kept shifting his gaze between Li Yi and Zhang Lin, his eyes filled with shock.

"Veteran Zhang Lin, targets hit: one hundred and nineteen!"

Gasp!

Everyone sucked in a sharp breath.

In this assessment group of ten, there were five hundred targets in total—fifty per person. Only by hitting at least half could one pass.

Yet Zhang Lin had not only hit all fifty of his own targets, he had even snatched away other people's targets.

As everyone stood stunned, the strange expression on the squad leader's face did not fade.

After taking a deep breath, the squad leader shouted:

"New recruit Li Yi, targets hit: one hundred and twenty-two!"

With the squad leader's announcement, the grounds fell deathly silent. But the next second, the entire camp erupted.

Countless cries of "Holy shit!" rang without end.

New recruit Li Yi had actually edged out the veteran Zhang Lin, a Body Tempering third-level cultivator who had used a secret technique, by a narrow margin!

And he had crushed him in archery, Zhang Lin's greatest specialty!

"Li Yi, you've really got it in you!"

Upon hearing the squad leader announce the result, Wu Chuansheng instantly let out a breath of relief. Grinning, he cursed fondly and punched Li Yi.

"Luck, luck. It was all luck."

Defeating Zhang Lin also made Li Yi breathe easier.

At his side, Han Jia saw everyone discussing Li Yi's almost godlike triple shot. His eyes rolled, and he suddenly cried out:

"[Cloud-Piercing Arrow] Li Yi!"

"[Cloud-Piercing Arrow] Li Yi!"

Han Jia was born with immense strength, and his voice was thunderous as well. With that shout, he drowned out the clamor of the crowd.

Under Han Jia's deliberate lead, the new recruits all instinctively began shouting along with him.

The title [Cloud-Piercing Arrow] Li Yi thoroughly resounded throughout the military camp.

Watching Han Jia rally the crowd, Li Yi revealed a satisfied smile.

Han Jia had a good eye after all. The cultivation experience Li Yi had taught him had not gone to waste.

With Li Yi's dazzling performance before them, the remaining contests became dull and tedious. About an hour later, the moving archery assessment came to a complete end.

By then, the results of everyone taking part in the assessment had also been tallied.

The squad leader stood before the crowd, a trace of shock still lingering on his face.

"The top scorer in the first item of this new recruit assessment—archery—is Li Yi!"

First in archery! Li Yi!

Hearing the squad leader's declaration, no one was particularly surprised.

When Li Yi had performed the triple shot and Arrow-Fighting Art, everyone had known that first place could belong to no one but him.

For a time, whether they knew him or not, everyone came forward to congratulate Li Yi.

Behind a distant tent, Song Qi watched Li Yi, who was shielded by Wu Chuansheng and Han Jia. His brows were tightly furrowed, and his expression was rather grim.

"I never expected Li Yi to possess such talent in archery. I must report this matter to Sima Cao!"

Perhaps because of [Scout Concealment], Li Yi vaguely felt someone spying on him.

But when he swept his gaze toward where Song Qi was, he found nothing.

After accepting everyone's congratulations, Li Yi returned to the tent.

After taking off and putting away the Army-Breaking Bow, quiver, and the rest, Li Yi felt utterly exhausted.

But when he recalled that state during the assessment, where he had become one with everything and nothing, he grew immensely excited and hurriedly opened his skill panel.

[Archery (Proficient): 290/1600]

[Effect: Draw a five-stone bow; can be combined with a Breathing Method; has mastered Gale Arrow]

"I never expected that my match with Zhang Lin would not only push me into the Proficient realm, but that I'd also gain so much experience during that moment of enlightenment!"

Li Yi was immensely satisfied as he looked at the skill panel.

According to the panel, if his Archery skill leveled up again, he would be able to infuse the power of the [Gale Breathing Method] into his arrows and unleash even more powerful archery techniques.

By Li Yi's estimation, this Gale Arrow was probably something akin to a combat technique—a breakthrough in the level of power itself.

For a moment, Li Yi felt even more driven, to the point that he wanted to head out and continue his archery training right away.

But the moment that thought arose, his expression darkened.

While comprehending the triple shot and firing arrow after arrow, Li Yi had defeated Zhang Lin—but the old injury in his arm had flared up again.

The web between his right thumb and forefinger was now slightly split, and his meridians had also suffered some damage.

To a certain extent, Li Yi's combat strength had been affected.

"Forget it. I'll cultivate my Breathing Method first. Archery is a means of self-defense, but the Breathing Method is the foundation!"

After cultivating for this period of time, Li Yi's progress in the Breathing Method had also been quite rapid.

[Gale Breathing Method (Beginner): 187/200]

[Effect: Keen Hearing and Sharp Sight, Blood and Qi Like a Wolf]

After cultivating for a while longer, he would be able to raise the Breathing Method to the proficient level.

Li Yi's own blood and qi had also grown increasingly vast through his unceasing cultivation. By his estimation, he was now only one step away from the first stage of Body Tempering—the Blood Strengthening Realm.

Perhaps at any moment, with a shiver, he would poke through that layer of window paper and break through to the first level of Body Tempering, the Blood Strengthening Realm.

The Blood Strengthening Realm was the starting point of cultivation. After entering this realm, the clearest sign was that one's blood and qi would grow stronger, while both strength and physique would improve.

After applying the Little Spring Breeze Powder to his wound, Li Yi gathered his focus and began cultivating the Breathing Method.

Who knew how much time had passed? When Li Yi opened his eyes again, the sky outside had already darkened.

Hearing movement inside the tent, Wu Chuansheng lifted the entrance flap and strode in, his face brimming with smiles.

The moment he saw the smile on Wu Chuansheng's face, Li Yi was instantly thrilled as well.

"How did it go?" Li Yi asked in a low voice.

In response, Wu Chuansheng pulled a small pouch from his robes and handed it to Li Yi.

"This is your share. Fourteen taels in total!"

During the first portion of the newcomer assessment, someone had secretly opened a betting pool, wagering on who would take first place in the archery competition.

Li Yi had great confidence in his own ability, so he used the Army-Breaking Bow as collateral. With Wu Chuansheng's help, he scraped together a sum of silver and placed a bet on himself to take first.

When Zhang Lin had scored one hundred rings earlier, the look Wu Chuansheng gave him had been to confirm it with Li Yi.

Taking the pouch, Li Yi directly pulled out four taels of silver and handed them to Wu Chuansheng.

"Brother Wu, if you hadn't run around handling everything, I wouldn't even have had the money to bet on myself. Take this share and buy yourself some wine!"

Whether it was buying the bow or raising funds, Wu Chuansheng had enthusiastically helped him. He ought to be given this money.

He couldn't let his brothers run themselves ragged for nothing!

Only when everyone made money together could things last for the long haul!

After some back-and-forth, Wu Chuansheng finally accepted the silver.

After putting away the money, Wu Chuansheng looked at Li Yi and said solemnly:

"The second assessment has been announced!"