14: Archery

The two left the house and walked towards the small stream on the east side of the village.

The village was already awake in the early morning. They met several early-rising villagers on the road, all of whom greeted Chen Linsheng warmly.

"Linsheng, going out with Hunter Zhang so early?"

"Yes, I'm going to learn some skills from Uncle Zhang," Chen Linsheng replied with a smile.

His gaze swept across the open space in the village, and sure enough, he saw many half-grown boys, and even a few young men, earnestly picking up pebbles and Throwing them at distant tree trunks and dirt mounds, shouting as they did so, seemingly trying to replicate Chen Linsheng's heroic feat of repelling the Yamen Runner with a single stone that day.

Seeing this, Chen Linsheng couldn't help but smile knowingly.

Arriving at the stream, the terrain was open, and the water flowed gurglingly. On the opposite bank stood a crude target made of straw and wooden planks, covered in arrow holes both old and new.

Chen Linsheng immediately understood why Hunter Zhang had brought him here.

Hunter Zhang led him to a spot about fifty paces from the target, patted his shoulder, and said:

"Linsheng, when starting out, we won't focus on accuracy. If you can reliably shoot the arrow onto the target, that counts as success. I originally thought I'd have to teach you the basics of gripping the bow and nocking the arrow, but that Flying Locust Stone technique you used yesterday... Tsk, the power and precision were strong enough. It seems you were born for this line of work, so let's skip the basics and get straight to the point."

After speaking, Hunter Zhang smoothly drew an arrow from his quiver, nocked it onto the bowstring, and took a deep breath. The bow was drawn taut like a full moon. With a "swoosh," the arrow left the string and firmly lodged itself in the distant target, missing the central Bullseye by only half a finger's width!

Chen Linsheng was slightly surprised; Uncle Zhang usually kept a low profile, but his Archery skills were so exquisite.

Achieving such accuracy at fifty paces with a Hunting Bow like this was certainly not the result of a single day's effort.

Seeing the surprise on Chen Linsheng's face, Hunter Zhang revealed a slightly complacent smile on his tanned face: "Come, try it. Don't use too much force yet, just get a feel for it."

Chen Linsheng accepted an arrow from Hunter Zhang.

He naturally spread his feet, lowered his waist and hips, nocked the arrow, drew the string, and released the bow—

The exquisite control over physical strength brought by the [Cleaver Technique (Major Achievement)], combined with the force application techniques granted by [Throwing (Major Achievement)], made his posture as standard as an old veteran's, even though this was his first time handling a bow and arrow.

At the same time, the extraordinary eyesight provided by [Tracking (Major Achievement)] allowed him to clearly capture the subtle texture of the Bullseye fifty paces away.

"Twang!"

The bowstring vibrated, and the arrow shot out like a black bolt of lightning!

"Thud!"

With a dull impact, the arrow lodged itself with perfect precision in the dead center of the Bullseye, its fletching trembling slightly from the immense force!

Hunter Zhang's eyes widened and his mouth hung slightly open. After a long pause, he slapped his thigh heavily, exclaiming emotionally, "Good heavens! My goodness... Linsheng, you truly are... a born marksman! I, Old Zhang, have been hunting for twenty years, and I've never seen anyone hit the fifty-pace Bullseye the very first time they touched a bow!"

Chen Linsheng smiled, offering no explanation, his gaze already fixed on the spirit book that had appeared in his mind.

[Skill: Archery (Initiate)]

[Progress: (10/100)]

[Divine Effect: Stable Aim, Quick Eye and Hand. Able to hit stationary targets, and the speed of drawing the bow, aiming, and shooting is superior to ordinary people.]

"It appeared, just as expected!"

Chen Linsheng was excited, and looking at the ten points of progress, he understood.

The spirit book's determination of proficiency was not based on simple repetition; it seemed linked to the inherent difficulty of the skill and the effectiveness of its execution.

Just like when he first gathered that moon shade flower, because it was a main ingredient and required high standards for harvesting, he gained a significant amount of proficiency in one go.

And later, harvesting that crimson blood fruit directly caused the [Herb Gathering] skill to surge by 100 points of proficiency!

Clearly, completing higher-difficulty operations or handling more valuable targets resulted in greater rewards.

At this moment, Hunter Zhang recovered from his shock, his tone carrying an unprecedented fervor:

"Linsheng, it would be a waste to only practice on stationary targets with your talent. How about this: starting tomorrow, if you have time, come into the mountains with me! Hunting in the mountains requires a lot of knowledge—not just Archery, but also setting traps, identifying animal tracks, and stealthily approaching... I will teach you all these methods!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Linsheng's eyes immediately lit up.

Having many skills is never a burden!

Learning one more skill meant gaining one more measure of strength and one more way to handle danger.

Furthermore, hunting itself could provide meat and extra income.

"Great! Uncle Zhang, it's settled then! I'll come find you early tomorrow morning!" Chen Linsheng agreed without hesitation.

"Haha, good! Wonderful!" Hunter Zhang laughed heartily.

For the rest of the morning, Chen Linsheng single-mindedly practiced his Archery by the stream.

He started with the most basic repeated drawing of the bow, feeling the subtle changes in the force exerted by his waist, back, and arms. Then came continuous shooting: stationary targets, targets at different distances, and even attempting to shoot at the reeds swaying by the stream, moved by the current.

Under the augmentation of the Divine Effects [Stable Aim] and [Quick Eye and Hand], his rate of progress was astonishing.

Every successful shot brought a clear feedback of proficiency increase.

His previously awkward movements quickly became fluid and natural, and his control over the bow strengthened at a visible rate.

As the sun approached noon, Chen Linsheng drew the bowstring again, locking his gaze onto a thin branch a hundred paces away that was swaying slightly in the wind.

"Swoosh!"

"Snap!"

The arrow sliced past, and the thin branch immediately broke!

At the same time, the spirit book in his mind violently shook, and brilliant light flowed across it!

[Skill: Archery (Minor Achievement)]

[Progress: (0/800)]

[Divine Effect: Hitting a Willow at a Hundred Paces, Rapid Continuous Arrows, Listening to the Wind to Determine Position. Able to accurately hit high-speed moving targets, capable of rapid continuous shooting, and able to determine the location of distant targets using sound.]

A more profound comprehension flooded his mind. Knowledge about how to predict moving trajectories, how to nock arrows faster for continuous shooting, and how to use subtle differences in the sound of the wind to determine distant movement was instantly mastered.

A sharp glint flashed in Chen Linsheng's eyes, and a surge of heroic spirit rose in his heart.

"Hitting a Willow at a Hundred Paces, Rapid Continuous Arrows... Good! Very good!"

He felt that during these ten days before heading to the Martial Arts Academy, he definitely had the chance to push a certain skill to the unprecedented Realm of Perfection!

"I wonder just how powerful the Divine Effect at the Perfection level will be?"