Foot Archery

Huo Shan swept his gaze across the field and found that many familiar faces were indeed present. The martial examination was held only once every three years, so the martial artists of Big Stone County all took this county examination extremely seriously. As long as they were of age and registered in the county, whether martial arts school disciples, escorts, disciples of prominent families, household guards, or independent martial artists who had rushed back from elsewhere, they had all eagerly signed up. Of course, those who knew their strength was too lacking had given up and merely came with their teachers to watch the excitement. Eligibility also had to be reviewed; those over the age limit, without the proper household registration, or with criminal records could not apply.

What surprised Huo Shan somewhat was that the chief examiner seated on the reviewing platform was not Cheng County Magistrate, but a bearded military officer wearing a robe with civil and military sleeves. So this is Xu Commandant. Xu Commandant had kept a low profile ever since coming down from the prefectural city and had never appeared publicly. Who would have thought he would become the chief examiner? Cheng County Magistrate was the deputy examiner. There were also eight proctors and several official attendants assisting them.

Seeing that Xu Commandant, rather than the county magistrate, was the chief examiner, many martial instructors showed surprised expressions. Zhao Feng remained calm. When Xu Commandant had been suddenly assigned here, he had already sensed there was something going on. Now, he was even more glad that he had not joined any patrol unit.

"The atmosphere and scale of this county examination are different this time," eldest senior brother Shi Mao muttered to himself.

He had taken the county examination once three years ago. It had clearly been far less solemn and valued than this one; there had even been only three proctors.

Huo Shan nodded at that. It seemed the rumors that the imperial court intended to sweep away the old and bring in the new, while rectifying officialdom, were not groundless.

At that moment, three gongs rang across the drill ground. A proctor rode his horse to the center and loudly announced the rules for the first archery and horsemanship test. "All candidates, listen up! For the foot archery test, each person gets ten arrows. Hitting the target with six arrows counts as passing; eight or more counts as excellent. For mounted archery, each person gets six arrows and must hit moving targets while riding at full speed. Three hits count as passing, while five hits count as excellent. Any arrows not fired before time runs out will count as misses! The use of any mechanisms to assist with force or aiming is forbidden. Violators will be expelled from the examination grounds immediately!"

Several hundred candidates answered in a roar. A foot archery range had already been marked out on the western side of the drill ground. Fifty paces beyond the line, thirty vermilion wooden targets stood in a row. Their bullseyes were around four inches across, which was actually quite large.

"For this archery and horsemanship test, ordinary martial artists generally aren't very skilled at it. Relax," Huo Shan told his disciples.

Even if one failed both mounted and foot archery, they would not be eliminated. Instead, they would receive an overall score, which would later be combined with the result of the second test, the arena matches.

If everyone performed poorly, they would still effectively be starting from the same line.

At that moment, the soldiers brought over thirty standard one-stone ox-horn hard bows and placed them on a table.

The several hundred candidates received their numbered tags and went up in batches to shoot.

Zhao Feng said nothing, his eyes fixed on the range. At fifty paces, he was confident in both foot and mounted archery. There was no real difficulty for him. But it was different for most other martial artists.

After watching several rounds, he saw that whether they were at the Open Force or Hidden Force level, most failed to qualify. Only a small number passed, and those who reached excellent were rarer still.

Most independent martial artists focused on advancing their cultivation and practicing fist techniques. They did not place much importance on archery and horsemanship. Moreover, aside from the children of a few great clans and wealthy households, most people lacked the means to practice regularly.

Yet archery and horsemanship were a traditional subject of Great Yan's martial examinations. It was said that the founding ancestor of Great Yan had possessed peerless mounted archery, able to pierce a willow leaf from a hundred paces away. Thus, the archery and horsemanship test he had established had never been abolished.

Soon, it was the Huo Family Martial Arts School's turn. Third senior brother Wang Yu drew first. Of his ten arrows, only three hit the bullseye. The rest either missed entirely or struck the edges.

"Failed!" the official attendant overseeing the test announced coldly.

Then came Zhou Xue and two Open Force disciples. As expected, all of them failed.

What surprised him somewhat was eldest senior brother Shi Mao.

Seven of his arrows hit the bullseye. He had passed.

"Your eldest senior brother has taken the martial examination more than once and practiced archery for many years. This result is no surprise," Huo Shan said with a smile from beneath the shade canopy.

Next, Chu Fan took the field. Of his ten arrows, only four hit the bullseye, and he failed to qualify. Although everyone's results were more or less the same, Chu Fan was, after all, the youngest Hidden Force martial artist in Big Stone County. He had also personally slain Flying Centipede and been publicly commended throughout the county by the magistrate. When this result came out, many strange looks turned toward him. So you have weaknesses too.

Chu Fan's face reddened. Having been praised and admired for so long, he disliked this feeling of frustration immensely.

Huo Shan was not surprised. Chu Fan had devoted most of his efforts to stance training and fist practice, only practicing archery in his spare time. Failing was nothing unexpected. But as long as he achieved a good ranking in the later arena matches, he could still make the list.

Next, Wei Yuan stepped up. He had always practiced archery as well, and recently he had undergone intensive training, holding onto a slim hope of passing.

However, after ten arrows, only five had struck the bullseye. "I was just short," he said helplessly as he walked back to Zhao Feng's side.

"Junior brother Zhao, just keep a calm mind when you go up. Even if you fail, it's nothing. Everyone's about the same," he consoled Zhao Feng.

Soon, Zhao Feng drew his lot and took the field.

"There will be more variables in the second arena-match event, so I must get a good score in archery and horsemanship. It'll be safer that way." He had only recently entered the Hidden Force realm. If he encountered veteran Hidden Force martial artists from major martial arts schools or great families in the second event, he could still lose. Therefore, he needed to score more points in the first event.

Zhao Feng picked up the ox-horn hard bow and stood at the starting line. He spread his feet shoulder-width apart, his left foot slightly forward and his knees bent. His left hand held the bow steady while three fingers of his right hand hooked the string. His gaze locked onto the bullseye fifty paces away like a hawk's.

He nocked an arrow and slowly drew the bow. The muscles in his arms bulged, their sharply defined lines visible beneath his coarse cloth martial outfit. The bowstring stretched into a full moon, and the bow trembled faintly with a low hum.

Whoosh! The first arrow tore through the air with a piercing whistle and struck the center of the bullseye with perfect accuracy, sending vermilion wood chips flying.

Zhao Feng immediately drew a second arrow and repeated the motions of nocking, drawing, and aiming.

His rhythm was as steady as a mountain. Every draw used even force, every release was crisp and clean. His arrows chased one another like shooting stars, flying one after another toward the bullseye.

"Hit! Hit! Another hit!" Five consecutive arrows struck the bullseye, and the surrounding candidates could not help bursting into cheers. Though they were competitors, they applauded him from the bottom of their hearts.

At the edge of the drill ground, Xue Xiangling was looking around when the cheers from the foot archery area caught her attention. Her gaze turned and landed on the valiant young man.

"Why is it him?" Xue Xiangling said in surprise.

Zhao Feng had come to take the martial examination too? A mere Open Force martial artist had come to compete? He was overestimating himself.

She had come today partly to cheer for her brother and partly to observe the performances of several young Hidden Force experts she thought highly of. One of them might even become her future husband.

But when she looked more closely, Zhao Feng had already struck the bullseye five times in a row, leaving her surprised once more.

Was it luck, or...

At that moment, Zhao Feng drew his bow again.

"Junior brother Zhao only needs to hit one more arrow to pass!" Wei Yuan said.

Whoosh! In the blink of an eye, the sixth arrow flew out. Thud! It struck the bullseye solidly.

"He's passed!" Both Huo Shan and Wei Yuan let out a sigh of relief. Although Huo Shan did not think Zhao Feng could make the list, a standout performance would still bring great honor to both Zhao Feng and the martial arts school.