So Scary

Bang!

An arrow soared through the air for hundreds of meters, striking the bullseye with a powerful spiral energy that almost instantly shattered the target.

Another target was quickly set up, and once again, from hundreds of meters away, it was torn to pieces by a single arrow.

"Truly impressive skills."

Su Bei admired as he lowered his bow. After the craftsmen at the Military Department repaired it, the longbow in his hands had transformed completely. What was once obscured by Wen Xiangwei now appeared remarkably ordinary, revealing its true colors.

The bow had a faint golden hue, looking exceptionally vibrant. It wasn't made of metal but rather a type of wood that was incredibly resilient; it felt surprisingly light in his hands.

Liu Shan watched Su Bei shoot those two arrows, now thoroughly convinced.

On the first day of practicing archery, Su Bei struggled to hit the target even within fifty meters, which had made Liu Shan laugh.

By the second day, he easily hit targets at a hundred meters, and Liu Shan began to hesitate.

On the third day, Su Bei was hitting targets at three hundred meters as if the arrows had a homing signal, leaving Liu Shan in disbelief.

By the fourth day, he could even shoot arrows infused with spiral energy. This was truly extraordinary.

In just three days, he had grasped the fundamentals of archery.

Yet, despite this, Su Bei still sighed and claimed that his talent for archery was rather mediocre, which frustrated Liu Shan to the point where he felt like he could battle him for three hundred rounds.

But to be fair, Liu Shan had also noticed Su Bei's dedication. He had been at Wuji Martial Hall every day, shooting thousands of arrows without seeming to need any rest, almost like a machine.

After shooting a few thousand arrows on one day, he would return the next day as if nothing had happened, shooting with reckless abandon—he hardly seemed human.

And this was just archery; he also engaged in other forms of training every day. Liu Shan even joined him for sparring sessions—though he held back most of his strength, it was still effortless for him to overpower Su Bei.

Strength can conquer skill.

This was one of the happier aspects of Liu Shan's days.

As a Third-order Blood Qi Martial Artist, it didn't sound good to bully a Quasi-Martial Artist, but he did recognize Su Bei's strength—forget about Quasi-Martial Artists; he hadn't seen many First-order Body Cultivation Martial Artists who could match Su Bei's talent.

"Liu Ge, let's go."

Originally, they were supposed to head out early in the morning to the Military Department, but since the longbow had just been repaired, they decided to test it in the training ground.

At that moment, Su Bei was dressed in the Military Department's standard gear, tall and imposing, with a light purple spear slung over his back. Though young, he had an air of maturity about him, his deep-set eyes exuding calmness. From the side, he looked robust, radiating an overwhelming masculine charm.

Liu Shan secretly envied Su Bei's physique but said, "Aren't you going to try the spear?"

"No need."

Su Bei smiled as he ran his hand along the spear, "I've already gotten familiar with it."

This spear was also the secret treasure weapon that Li Xiongshan had promised him, arriving today. It was entirely light purple, measuring two meters and eighteen centimeters, imbued with a mysterious aura. This treasure had no special traits other than its hardness, and Su Bei had taken a liking to it as soon as he held it.

He wasn't picky about weapons; as long as they felt right, he was satisfied.

Before long, the two arrived at a landing pad where a lightweight shuttle was quietly parked.

Due to the presence of exotic beasts, ordinary aircraft were insufficient for long-distance travel and often resulted in disastrous crashes. Thus, shuttles were developed.

While lightweight shuttles had average power, they could reach speeds of up to three Mach during overclocking, making them intimidating to most exotic beasts.

According to Liu Shan, these shuttles were standard gear for powerful individuals, with many strong fighters owning their own, making them true luxury items.

He was fortunate to experience this, thanks to Li Xiongshan.

Li Xiongshan hadn't come along but had warned him not to be deceived by the flashy and cunning individuals from other military departments. Su Bei certainly understood the stakes.

Leaders like him were rare; he wouldn't engage in such antics.

"Be careful."

Once aboard the shuttle, he waved to Liu Shan outside. In the next moment, the shuttle launched into the sky, instantly breaking the sound barrier and soaring into the clouds.

Within just a few breaths, it had become a mere black dot in the sky.

Meanwhile, at the Jinnan Military Department airport, someone was waiting, feeling quite bored.

"Do you think this Su Bei is reliable? The captain hasn't given us much detail. I heard there are quite a few people trying to push their way in, but the captain refused them all."

"I see the other four have been training together for a week already. This guy is the last to arrive. The captain seems happy every day and even asked us to pick him up. He's not usually this easygoing."

Another person chimed in, "Who knows? The squad leader hasn't even finalized the team yet. They say they're waiting until everyone is here before making a decision."

"Looks like it'll be chaotic again."

"The new guy is from the martial arts evaluation, but that doesn't mean much; he doesn't have any background. I hope he's not a softie; he'll have a hard time here."

"Have you heard? There have been significant fluctuations at the Shattered Battlefield, and it might open early."

The martial arts evaluation is known to be designed for ordinary people, so it does carry some weight, but compared to those raised in powerful families from a young age, it certainly falls short.

The person frowned, not out of schadenfreude.

He was genuinely a bit worried.

They were originally part of the Jinnan Pioneer Army's ranks, and this incident at the Shattered Battlefield happened to fall within their jurisdiction.

Naturally, the responsibility for training a few Quasi-Martial Artists fell to them. As a result, each one that came was indeed impressively strong, but they were also quite wild and hard to tame. The ones recommended by their own Military Department were somewhat better, but the others... well, they were mostly subdued in the end.

It wasn't that they were difficult to manage; it was just that everyone knew this was a great opportunity, and no one wanted to appear weaker than the others.

The tactical training was going well enough; military training was still useful, but it lacked the cohesion of a team, with a bit of a vibe where no one wanted to submit to anyone else.

For now, they were managing fine, but if they were to enter the battlefield and any disagreements arose, they might end up fighting their own battles.

"Anyone who can make it here at this point isn't simple. Each one has terrifying talent, and perhaps only Su Bei is on a similar level. This is the result of various factions pulling together, and it benefits him."

"Anyway, the basic tactics have been trained well enough; anything beyond that is out of our hands."

"Here they come!"

While the two were talking, a Shuttle appeared on the horizon, rapidly approaching the airport before quickly landing.

A tall young man stepped out of the Shuttle. After saying something to the pilot, he turned and walked toward the two.

With long strides, head held high, he exuded immense confidence.

However, the longbow and spear slung across his back gave off a somewhat mixed impression, causing the two to feel a bit uneasy.

"Su Bei?"

Su Bei nodded in acknowledgment.

"Wang Zelu." Wang Zelu, the one who had spoken first, extended his hand for a brief shake with Su Bei. "We are responsible for picking you up. Let's head back to the Military Department."

Noticing that both men wore the rank of lieutenant, Su Bei didn't hesitate to address them respectfully as squad leaders. After all, he didn't understand the ranks well, so this way he was sure not to make a mistake.

Although their auras were not overtly strong, Su Bei sensed that they were likely on par with Liu Shan, both being Third-order Martial Artists.

This level could be considered the backbone of the Military Department, as they were the most numerous and also quite down-to-earth.

The three quickly got into the vehicle.

Not long after they got in, Wang Zelu asked, "Su Bei, are you from Tianhu?"

"Yes, I grew up there." Su Bei replied while observing the Jinnan Military Department, realizing it was indeed much larger than the Tianhu Military Department.

"Your Spear Technique and Archery are quite good?" Zhao Fei asked, turning to him.

Su Bei felt that if he claimed to have mastered his footwork and Spear Technique, and perfected his Fist Technique, it might easily be misunderstood as boasting.

So he toned it down a bit: "I'm just starting with Archery, and my Spear Technique should suffice, but my Fist Technique is my strongest."

"Well, you seem... well-rounded?" Zhao Fei said, somewhat nonchalantly.

It was rare for someone who had only recently become a Quasi-Martial Artist to have mastered even one weapon, let alone two, and then there was also the Fist Technique...

What a mixed bag.

Zhao Fei added, "But if you use a spear, you might get along well with our captain."

Su Bei asked, "Oh?"

"You'll understand when you get there." Zhao Fei didn't elaborate further.

It was already a surprise that he was willing to ask a couple of questions; the two had spoken very little during the drive.

On one hand, it was due to their personalities; on the other hand, to put it bluntly, one was a Third-order Martial Artist and the other a Quasi-Martial Artist, and the disparity in their statuses was too great.

To put it bluntly, a Third-order Martial Artist could probably crush a Quasi-Martial Artist with a single move.

Not everyone was like Liu Shan or Li Xiongshan.

Wang Zelu glanced at Su Bei and said with a hint of envy, "You're quite lucky. The four who came here have top-notch talent and strength. As long as you can keep up with them, you'll earn some military merit."

"That could save you a lot of effort."

Su Bei didn't think much of it and nodded, "Thanks to the Military Department."

"Don't be too humble."

Wang Zelu saw Su Bei's calm demeanor and assumed he was being modest, explaining, "Just to give you an idea, each of these four has achievements in taking down Level One Exotic Beasts!"

Su Bei nodded in agreement:

"That talent is indeed quite frightening."