The Treasure Mirror evolved

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

The Treasure Mirror flickered faintly.

[Attribute: 2]

The reason he had not advanced straight to the fifth level of the Body Tempering Realm-

Was the Spring Hunt rewards Nie Xiaoqi had just revealed. He intended to go all out. To take first place in the Spring Hunt, the simplest, most direct approach was to improve his cultivation and Heavenstone Archery.

In little more than a month, his Heavenstone Archery-

Would hardly be able to improve much.

His cultivation, however, was a different matter. Besides assigning points through the Treasure Mirror, he had plenty of other ways to improve it. Taking pills, for instance. He currently had six Stone Origin Pills on hand.

If he took all of them-

He should be close to breaking through to the fifth level of the Body Tempering Realm.

Besides-

More importantly-

He could also head into the mountains to hunt demonic beasts and absorb their blood essence. That way, he could improve his cultivation while honing his hunting skills, killing two birds with one stone.

However-

Before heading into the mountains to hunt-

He first needed to improve his Heavenstone Archery.

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

The Treasure Mirror flickered faintly.

A line of text flashed into view:

Heavenstone Archery: beginner (30/100)

Fu Shaoping silently willed it to add points.

The next instant-

His vision blurred.

Then he found himself inside the Treasure Mirror.

An archery target stood in the distance within the Treasure Mirror, with a bow and arrows placed a hundred and twenty paces away from it.

"What is this?"

After the Treasure Mirror's third rune had lit up-

Rather than directly adding points to his martial arts as before-

This time, it had given him a place to practice, as though he were physically there.

Fu Shaoping immediately nocked an arrow and drew the bow, wasting no time.

As time passed-

He became able to hit the target every time from a hundred and twenty paces away.

At that moment-

Another bow and arrows flashed into existence a hundred and fifty paces from the target.

Thousands upon thousands of shots followed.

At last-

When he released his final arrow-

It struck dead center!

"I did it!"

Fu Shaoping cheered.

Immediately afterward-

His vision swam.

When he focused his eyes-

He was back in the Alchemy Chamber.

Only now, with every movement of his hands, he could feel that he was a seasoned master archer, as though he had spent more than a decade practicing archery.

This feels completely different from adding points before!

It felt more real.

And the memories left in his muscles were indeed more deeply ingrained.

Fu Shaoping glanced at the sky outside. It had not changed at all, which meant time outside had practically stood still while he was inside the Treasure Mirror. Or perhaps more than a decade within the Treasure Mirror had passed in the mere flick of a finger outside.

He looked at the Treasure Mirror again.

The Treasure Mirror flickered faintly.

A line of text flashed into view:

Heavenstone Archery: minor mastery (40/100)

To his surprise-

After adding two points-

His Heavenstone Archery had leaped straight from beginner to minor mastery, and was even approaching major mastery!

As he was now-

His accuracy against prey a hundred and fifty paces away was nearly forty percent. Even among all the members of the Hunting Team, that was a respectable level.

His archery had reached minor mastery.

All he lacked now was a good bow!

Fu Shaoping pushed the door open and headed straight for the Hundred Households Office's Hall of Myriad Treasures.

Junior Banner Zhuo greeted Fu Shaoping warmly at the Hall of Myriad Treasures. Fu Shaoping wasted no words and immediately said:

"Sir, I'd like to exchange merit points for the Hou Yi Bow. How many would I need?"

As long as he won the Spring Hunt Competition-

He could advance smoothly to Commandant.

He could replenish his merit points afterward.

Although Old Zhan could now help him pick missions, he was not going there himself, after all, and there were things he could not spell out too clearly. For him, becoming a Commandant and choosing the most suitable missions from the many available would undoubtedly work better.

Moreover-

Once he advanced to Commandant-

Not only would he have Martial Suppression Guards under his command, he would also gain greater access to the Hundred Households Office's core interests. So far, he had not even met the Hundred Households Commander.

"Shaoping, are you sure you want to exchange merit points for it?"

There was no one else around.

Junior Banner Zhuo did not mince words.

He said at once:

"If you really want the Hou Yi Bow, I can hold it for you. You can buy it once you've earned enough Origin Stones by refining Blood Qi Powder. Once you spend these merit points, they're gone. They aren't as easy to earn as Origin Stones."

"Sir, I need the Hou Yi Bow urgently."

Fu Shaoping could not conveniently reveal the matter of the Spring Hunt.

Seeing that Fu Shaoping had made up his mind, Junior Banner Zhuo did not press him and answered honestly:

"The Hou Yi Bow costs three hundred Origin Stones. If you exchange Ninth-Rank Merits for it, you'll need fifteen."

Fifteen Ninth-Rank Merits.

In the past, he could never have come up with that many.

But he had just been awarded twenty for the Endless Cliff Village case. Together with his previous eight, he would still have thirteen left after buying the bow.

Fu Shaoping readily handed his Town Martial Token to Junior Banner Zhuo.

"Sir, sorry for the trouble. Please deduct them."

"You've saved up enough merit points?"

Junior Banner Zhuo was quite surprised.

Because-

As far as he remembered-

Ever since Fu Shaoping had joined, he had either been in seclusion cultivating or in seclusion refining pills. He had hardly taken on any proper missions.

How had he managed to save up fifteen Ninth-Rank Merits?

Only the individual knew how many merit points he had. Apart from that, the Cloud Ink Stone could check them during promotions at the Personnel Hall.

Ordinarily-

When exchanging items in the Hall of Myriad Treasures-

They could only deduct the points.

If the Town Martial Token held enough merit points, the Flower-Kou Stone would flash green. If there were not enough, it would flash red. Beyond that, the Flower-Kou Stone would not display the exact remaining amount.

Junior Banner Zhuo took Fu Shaoping's Town Martial Token and lightly swiped it across the Flower-Kou Stone. A brilliant green light shone out, showing that Fu Shaoping had enough merit points to pay fifteen Ninth-Rank Merits.

As he personally handed the Hou Yi Bow to Fu Shaoping-

Junior Banner Zhuo narrowed his eyes slightly.

It seemed the young man before him was not only an accomplished pill refiner, but also highly capable at carrying out missions. His promotion to Commandant was just around the corner!

Fu Shaoping accepted the Hou Yi Bow with both hands.

The Hou Yi Bow had been forged from cold netherstone. The moment he held it, a chill spread through his hands, calming his restless heart. It clearly had some ability to focus the mind and settle the spirit.

Fu Shaoping was even more satisfied.

He then spent all the Origin Stones he had on a quiver and five Darklight Arrows forged from dark granary iron. Only then did he leave the Hall of Myriad Treasures, thoroughly content.

When he reached the rear compound-

Old Zhan's eyes lit up at the sight of the Hou Yi Bow on his back.

He took it for a look, tried drawing it fully, and nocked a Darklight Arrow. As soon as he released his hand, the arrow shot out with a whoosh, astonishingly fast and powerful.

Old Zhan clicked his tongue in admiration.

"Shaoping, this bow was worth every bit you paid! Its draw strength is remarkable, and its explosive power is second to none. Paired with your Darklight Arrows, even a ninth-level Body Tempering Realm expert caught unprepared and without any protection could meet a bitter end on the spot. You couldn't ask for anything better for hunting!"

Old Zhan was genuinely happy for Fu Shaoping, as though he himself had acquired a fine bow.

Meanwhile-

He glanced around.

Then he said:

"Shaoping, since you've just wrapped up a major case, those above have said you won't need to carry out your mandatory monthly missions for the next three months. Would you still like me to check the Mission Hall for you every day?"