Heavenstone Archery

Fu Shaoping could feel that he had grown considerably closer to Old Zhan.

Under Old Zhan,

he faced almost no restrictions.

Moreover,

Old Zhan kept public and private affairs separate and never thought of stealing his credit. Just like the ten ninth-rank merits this time-Old Zhan had taken none for himself and credited every last one to Fu Shaoping. Where else under heaven could he find such a good superior?

After entering the Hundred Households Office,

Fu Shaoping went straight to Chief Banner Chen.

Sure enough, just as Old Zhan had said, the man asked whether he was willing to join the hunting reserve team.

Citing his meager strength and his bedridden mother, who made it impossible for him to leave Green Ox Town for long, Fu Shaoping politely declined the offer.

Chief Banner Chen looked steadily at Fu Shaoping and said,

"A filial son, I see. You earned merit by helping me slay the fish-headed men this time. Aside from the official rewards, is there anything else you would like?"

There was a bonus like this, too?!

Fu Shaoping had not expected it.

His thoughts raced.

The Ethereal Steps he currently practiced allowed him to evade enemies, while Tiger Roar Fist suited close combat, but he had no martial art for attacking at range. Although he also wanted to replace his cultivation method with a second-rate one, he knew that if he actually asked, Chief Banner Chen would likely think he did not know what was good for him. After pondering a moment, he said,

"Sir, I've heard that our hunting team's archery strikes true a hundred times out of a hundred and sweeps all before it. Might I have the honor of learning a little of it?"

"You're an interesting one. You don't want to join the Alchemy Hall, yet you keep running to the Earthfire Hall every few days. Now you're unwilling to join the hunting reserve team, but you want to learn archery."

At those words,

a chill instantly ran down Fu Shaoping's spine.

It seemed the man wanted to recruit him into the hunting reserve team not because of his recent meritorious performance, but because he valued his pill-refining skills. After all, having a dedicated alchemist on the hunting team would be like giving wings to a tiger!

It seemed there truly were no walls in the Hundred Households Office that kept the wind out.

He would have to act even more cautiously from now on.

Chief Banner Chen glanced at the commandant behind him. The commandant immediately understood and entered the study, soon returning with a yellowed book. Chief Banner Chen handed it to Fu Shaoping.

"This Heavenstone Archery is a second-grade martial art. Take it home and return it to me in three days. How much you learn will depend on your own ability."

A second-grade martial art?!

Fu Shaoping was both shocked and delighted.

He immediately thanked him and accepted Heavenstone Archery with both hands!

After Fu Shaoping left the courtyard,

the commandant standing behind Chief Banner Chen said somewhat indignantly,

"Sir, since that brat doesn't know what's good for him and refuses to join our hunting team, why lend him Heavenstone Archery? Exchanging merit for this second-grade martial art would cost twenty eighth-rank merits!"

Chief Banner Chen merely smiled without explaining.

As far as he knew,

Fu Shaoping had an exceptional talent for pill refining. He had become a pill-refining apprentice before even turning sixteen, so becoming a true alchemist in the future should be well within his reach.

Why not use a copy of Heavenstone Archery to earn a favor from a future alchemist?

Besides,

in just three days,

he doubted Fu Shaoping could memorize the thirty-six key principles of Heavenstone Archery. Back then, he himself had spent a full three months barely committing the illustrated manual's principles to memory. In a mere three days, Fu Shaoping would be doing well to remember one or two. Without the Heavenstone Archery illustrations to consult, getting a foothold in the art would be harder than scaling the heavens.

After leaving the chief banner's inner courtyard, Fu Shaoping went straight home.

He brought Zhou Pan'er over to study the Heavenstone Archery illustrations with him. At first, he thought of copying the book, only to discover that whenever he raised his brush and tried to set it down, his mind went completely blank about every stance and movement. He could not copy it at all.

Moreover,

the moment he closed the book,

the moves he had clearly just committed to memory vanished without a trace. This Heavenstone Archery could actually only be practiced while consulting its illustrations. In the end, even working together for an entire night, the two of them only barely managed to memorize the first of the thirty-six key principles.

This wouldn't do!

At this rate,

he would never memorize Heavenstone Archery in three days.

Fu Shaoping glanced at the Treasure Mirror in his sea of consciousness.

A line of text flashed in the Treasure Mirror:

Heavenstone Archery: First Glimpse (5/100)

He had to advance Heavenstone Archery to the beginner stage before returning it. Once he reached that stage, he would remember all thirty-six key principles. After that, it would simply be a matter of practicing daily to improve his proficiency.

And his only way to do that was

to use his fate attributes!

"Looks like I'll have to make a trip to the prison."

Early the next morning,

Fu Shaoping hurriedly ate a bowl of breakfast Zhou Pan'er had prepared and went to see Uncle Zhan before the Mission Hall opened.

Eating the tofu pudding Fu Shaoping had brought him, Uncle Zhan asked with a smile,

"What brings you here so early today?"

"Uncle Zhan, I only completed one mission last month, and I really feel bad about it. I'd like to finish a few more this month, so could you help me pick up a criminal case today? Even one involving a martial artist is fine, as long as they're below the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm."

"Shaoping, have you broken through to the third level of the Body Tempering Realm?"

"Yes. I took a few extra packets of Blood Qi Powder last night and was lucky enough to break through."

"Truly young and accomplished!"

Old Zhan was both envious and delighted.

He remembered that barely over two months had passed since Fu Shaoping entered the Body Tempering Realm. That meant he was breaking through a level a month-something only the scions of aristocratic clans could manage. Still, he had also heard that Fu Shaoping had become a pill-refining apprentice, so with sufficient Blood Qi Powder to support him, it made sense.

Old Zhan tilted his head back and slurped down every last bit of tofu pudding in his bowl.

"All right, wait here for good news. Whatever it takes, I'll snag you a mission today."

Although Old Zhan never forced Fu Shaoping to take missions,

he received a commission for every mission Fu Shaoping completed. Naturally, the more of such a good thing, the better.

Old Zhan rose and limped toward the Mission Hall with his cane.

About a cup of tea's time later,

Fu Shaoping heard the tap-tap-tap of a cane outside the door and immediately opened it to welcome him.

Seeing Old Zhan beaming, he immediately knew there was good news.

Old Zhan did not keep him in suspense and said directly,

"The moment the Mission Hall opened, I rushed inside and finally managed to snag you a decent mission. It's a criminal case. Here, take the case file and have a look."

"Uncle Zhan always comes through!"

Fu Shaoping accepted the case file with a smile.

He opened it and read.

The culprit was a hunter from Longfeng Village.

The hunter's name was Qi Dashan, and his cultivation was at the Body Tempering Realm Second Level. He had followed in his father's footsteps, inheriting his late father's hunting permit and hunting in the Qilian Mountain Range ever since. With a wife, children, and a warm kang bed waiting at home, he lived comfortably and counted among Longfeng Village's wealthy households.

But there was one flaw in this otherwise perfect picture.

Neither of the two children Qi Dashan's wife had borne looked like him.