Bows and arrows

"Youlin, you've raised a fine son."

The neighbors came to offer their congratulations, and Zhao Youlin grinned from ear to ear, generously sharing some mountain produce with them. He also had Tian Cuihua give them some dried meat, and sent gifts to the Village Head's home as well.

Zhao Feng did not stop him. He would spend most of the year away from home studying martial arts, and his family needed people to lend them a hand. Besides, in these troubled times, once envy and jealousy took root, people could do anything. A few small favors were necessary.

With all these supplies, his parents and sister-in-law could live better for a while. The brand-new cloth alone would make several new outfits for everyone in the family. Once he had more money, he would help them out again.

"Wife, Cuihua, stew a fish tail and stir-fry a couple of dishes. My youngest and I are having a drink." After Li the Landowner sent his people over, the great stone weighing on Zhao Youlin's heart finally fell away. His youngest really was a Martial Master. Even Li the Landowner had sent gifts to their door-how could it be false?

The next day, his eldest aunt, Qian Shi, came to borrow grain, but Zhao Youlin refused her outright. Ever since he had been humiliated when he tried to reclaim those five taels of silver, he had given up on his eldest brother's family.

"What's so great about that? My Sheng'er is a Martial Master too. Once he passes the Martial Examination, let's see if you don't turn green with envy."

Smelling the stewed meat wafting from Zhao Youlin's home, Qian Shi left in a jealous fury.

When the holiday for the Empress Dowager's birthday ended, Zhao Feng left five taels of silver at home to pay off their debts, cover their taxes, and meet other living expenses. He knew that the two taels his mother and sister-in-law had scraped together earlier had come from begging relatives in their maiden families, pleading with everyone they could.

Then, beneath his family's gratified yet reluctant gazes, he left home and returned to the county town to continue studying martial arts.

Although he had succeeded in his gate breakthrough and become a bright strength Martial Master, his master, Huo Shan, and the core disciples still considered his potential limited. He was merely a little better off than when he had been invisible to them.

The Martial Arts School had four core disciples: Eldest Senior Brother Shi Mao, Second Senior Brother Wei Yuan, Third Senior Brother Wang Yu, and Fourth Senior Sister Zhou Xue. All four came from wealthy families. With no shortage of nourishing food or Medicinal Nourishment, they had all broken through to hidden force one after another.

But apart from Wei Yuan, the others hardly interacted with him.

Huo Shan occasionally gave him pointers, but most of the time he trained hard on his own, sometimes sparring with Wei Yuan.

After Zhao Feng and Wei Yuan sparred for a while at the Martial Arts School, they rested and chatted.

"Junior Brother Zhao, you'll start escorting cargo this month. Why don't you come to our Wei Family's Weapon Forge first and pick out a weapon to defend yourself?" Wei Yuan said.

"All right."

That afternoon, the two arrived at the Wei Family's Weapon Forge. As soon as they entered, a wave of scorching air struck their faces, and the clanging of hammers on iron rang incessantly in their ears.

The wall covered in sabers, swords, and other weapons left him dazzled. These truly were troubled times ruled by the Martial Dao. Apart from armor and powerful crossbows, civilians were not forbidden from owning weapons.

"Junior Brother, you know our Eight Extremes Lineage has more than just fist techniques, don't you?" Wei Yuan asked with a smile.

"I do. Our Eight Extremes Lineage uses sabers, swords, spears, staffs, twin halberds, and more."

"That's right. The most powerful and famous of them is the Six Harmonies Great Spear. It sweeps across all six directions, and paired with the close-range, hard-hitting attacks of the Eight Extremes Fist, the two complement each other perfectly. But in our Eight Extremes Lineage's tradition, you can only learn the Six Harmonies Great Spear after achieving major mastery of the Eight Extremes Fist," Wei Yuan said.

"So the perfection stage of the Eight Extremes Fist is the Six Harmonies Great Spear?" Zhao Feng asked in surprise.

"Exactly. Once you reach that level, you'll understand the realm where fist and spear become one. But in our entire Martial Arts School, only Master Huo has reached perfection and mastered the Six Harmonies Great Spear," Wei Yuan said.

Zhao Feng nodded. With his panel, he should be able to reach perfection too, but he had no use for a great spear just yet.

He knew no saber or sword techniques either. His gaze settled on a Horn Shortbow hanging on the wall. He stepped forward and tested it; it was a standard one-stone heavy bow.

"I'll take this," Zhao Feng said.

"A bow? You know archery?" Wei Yuan asked in surprise.

"My ancestors were hunters, so I know a little," Zhao Feng said casually. His family background was easy enough to investigate, so he might as well admit it openly.

Wei Yuan did not give it much thought, but still had him pick out a steel saber for self-defense.

Big Stone County served as a distribution hub for goods. After the Wei Family's cargo was unloaded at the docks, it was distributed from Big Stone County to neighboring counties and several towns.

Zhao Feng's first escort trip passed without incident, and he returned safely. After all, with so many guards and Martial Masters supporting them, ordinary bandits and displaced refugees did not dare cause trouble.

In the open space outside the riverside row houses, Zhao Feng drew his bow and nocked an arrow. Whoosh! Thunk! The feathered arrow buried itself firmly in a homemade target atop a pile of rubble fifty paces away.

[Archery minor mastery (567/2000)]

With a bow in hand again, he resumed his archery practice. As his progress increased, so did his proficiency. Killing Leopard Lord last time would have been much easier if he had had a bow.

This heavy horn bow, made for battlefield use, had an ox-sinew string and three-edged arrowheads. Its killing power far surpassed a hunter's bow. He could not neglect his archery; it might serve an unexpected purpose in the future.

When Zhao Feng arrived at the Martial Arts School, "Senior Brother Zhao!"

"Hello, Senior Brother Zhao!"

A crowd of unfamiliar faces greeted him, while a few more familiar ones had disappeared.

"Even Senior Brother Yue left. He's a bright strength Martial Master!"

"With no hope of breaking through to hidden force, he might as well become the head guard for a wealthy household, or an escort at an escort agency, and earn more money. Better than wasting his time here."

Hearing their discussion, Zhao Feng remained unmoved and leaped onto the Plum Blossom Stakes to continue training.

[Eight Extremes Stake Skill minor mastery (256/1000)],

[Eight Extremes Fist minor mastery (220/1000)]

Although he was still a long way from breaking through to hidden force, the benefits of nourishing food had been obvious over the past few days. Beef now made up most of his meat intake, with occasional tiger meat, bear meat, and Treasure Fish already accelerating his progress noticeably. The Vitality Powder also had a clear effect.

If I could get more tiger meat, bear meat, and Treasure Fish, along with Medicinal Nourishment made from treasure medicine and more medicinal baths, my progress would increase even more noticeably, Zhao Feng thought.

So making money remained his top priority.

His monthly allowance, one packet of Vitality Powder each month, and the one Treasure Fish and three jin of tiger and bear meat supplied by the Wei Family could only cover his most basic nutritional and medicinal needs. After breaking through to bright strength, he could feel that his appetite had grown considerably, as had his need for nourishing food and Medicinal Nourishment. If he wanted treasure medicine and more tiger meat, bear meat, and Treasure Fish, he would have to find another way.

As he pondered this, Huo Shan's delighted laughter suddenly rang out from the rear courtyard.

"Excellent, excellent! Hidden force at just seventeen! You're the youngest hidden force Martial Master in Big Stone County! I, Huo Shan, have taken in a fine disciple." His laughter carried throughout the entire Martial Arts School.

"Who's he talking about?" one disciple asked in confusion.

"Could it be... Senior Brother Chu!" Another disciple suddenly remembered something.

His words struck like thunder out of a clear sky, and everyone's expression changed dramatically.

Although bright strength and hidden force were only one minor realm apart, an immense gulf lay between them. Hidden force was the Inner Force unleashed after opening the Conception and Governor Vessels, invisible from the outside. This force, driven primarily by internal movement, was often subtle and deadly, making attacks more efficient and concealed. In terms of damage, Inner Force penetrated from the body's surface straight to the bones and internal organs, inflicting far more serious injuries.