My Cultivation Starting from Archery

"Is it over?"

Just as Tang Yingke had slain a Poisonous Beast with his sword, he saw the leader, an old ape, pierced by several arrows and collapsing from the tree; the rest of the ordinary soldier apes were wiped out completely, not a single one escaped.

'You're lucky to be alive.'

Chen Sansi watched the direction in which the Princely Heir and the others had left, his gaze cold as ice.

Ever since arriving in Liangzhou, he had tried not to offend anyone, giving proper respect where due and offering toasts when appropriate, thoroughly abiding by the rules.

But the trees want to stay quiet while the wind keeps blowing.

He just wanted to test quietly, hoping to get a good ranking in Selected Point, but this group had to come looking just to make trouble for him.

And some even harbored the intention of taking their lives.

There really was no more patience left!

It wasn't just because of Bai Thingzhi.

It was also because of Yan Changqing.

In the court as an official, what mattered was taking sides. Even if he wished otherwise, he would inevitably be associated with the Yan Party to some degree and would naturally be targeted by the other faction.

And the higher the office one holds, the more one has to show allegiance.

Holding such an office is genuinely unfulfilling.

That arrow Chen Sansi had just shot was loosed at random; it hit the target by the sound of it, but what a pity it didn't hit a vital spot, leaving the bastard alive.

Things had come to this point; there was no need to keep backing down anymore.

After all, in the next Selected Point, offense would be given anyway; he certainly couldn't abandon the chance for the Princely Heir's True Inheritance just because he feared offending people.

And this time, they had attacked first. With the rules of the Governor Mansion in place, they could only pretend nothing happened outwardly. That arrow, no matter what, has been taken for free—it would have been a waste not to shoot it.

"Brother Tang?"

Sun Buqi stabbed a soldier ape to death and looked at the newly joined young master: "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing..."

Tang Yingke sheathed his sword: "I came up to the mountain to hunt, heard some noise and came over to check it out. I saw you were being ambushed by Poisonous Beasts and wanted to help, but it seems you didn't need me."

He was somewhat regretful.

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This young Mr. Chen's archery was really somewhat exaggerated.

He had taken out all those soldier apes so quickly and efficiently.

If he had known, he wouldn't have come out to get involved.

"You came hunting alone?"

Even Bai Thingzhi sensed something was not right: "That princely son or whatever, is he also following along? Is it him who's set us up?!"

As he spoke, he carried his knife to look around nearby but failed to find anyone.

"No, no, no!"

Tang Yingke hurriedly explained: "It has nothing to do with the Princely Heir and the others, I really did come up the mountain alone."

"Brother Tang, what are you afraid of?"

Sun Buqi said through clenched teeth: "I will talk to my father when I get back, to cancel their Selected Point qualifications!"

"Bu Qi, you shouldn't make false accusations."

Tang Yingke's expression became serious, and he spoke loudly: "The Princely Heir and the others really aren't here, I really was just passing by. Since you all are okay, I will take my leave first!"

After saying that, he turned to leave, and when he passed by Chen Sansi, he stopped to give a fist salute, then quickly disappeared into the woods.

"He's the son of the Minister of Rites."

Sun Buqi introduced: "Brother Tang is different from the Princely Heir and the others, he's not a bad person; it's just that being born in the Capital City, he couldn't help but be influenced by them, or else his father would also be implicated."

Chen Sansi naturally wouldn't care about this.

After all, he had stood up and offered them help.

Not all children of government officials were of the same stripe.

All these were just interludes.

The main thing was that the goal of hunting Exotic Beasts was achieved.

The Luotian Mountain Range did indeed have abundant resources. Just one day up the mountain and he effortlessly hunted an Exotic Beast, not like the resource-scarce Tiger Head Mountain where they had to stir up the whole city searching for a White Deer, nearly failing to find it with hundreds of people.

It seemed he still couldn't avoid heading up the mountains frequently in the near future.

Consider it archery practice.

[Skill: Archery (Great Success)]

[Progress: (750/2000)]

After achieving great success in Tracking and Concealment, the Qi Observation Skill that followed was beyond any earthly technique.

What effects could it have after enhancing Archery to Great Success and reaching the next breakthrough?

Chen Sansi stood in a high spot, surveying the terrain, observing which mountain peak seemed more likely to be inhabited by Exotic Beasts, so as to narrow the search scope for his next trip to the mountains.

Suddenly.

He saw a surge of dense black Qi billowing and raging in the deepest part of the mountain range, as if a black sea was hidden deep in the mountain.

Before Chen Sansi had a chance to take a closer look, the black Qi disappeared without a trace, and he couldn't tell if it really vanished or if it was just too far away to see.

After all, his Qi Observation Skill only had a range of about two hundred steps, and the direction from which the black Qi emerged was likely the deepest and core area of the Luotian Mountain Range.

"Shanshi, that place is off-limits."

Sun Buqi emphasized: "Beyond Thirty Layers of Mountains, it's the most dangerous place in the whole Luotian Mountain Range. It's almost entirely filled with Poisonous Beasts, and some are even more terrifying than martial artists in the Profound Image Realm, nearly like the mythical creatures from legends!"

Chen Sansi remembered hearing about a giant python that was hundreds of zhang long.

Could it be that the black Qi was emitted by the python?

Unlikely.

That black Qi clearly seemed to emanate from the earth.

The black Qi and the blood Qi from the Poisonous Beasts seemed somewhat similar, but it was obviously much more powerful—in comparison, the blood Qi seemed like a diluted version of the black Qi.

Could the emergence of numerous Poisonous Beasts in the Luotian Mountain Range over the last twenty years be a result of being influenced by the black Qi?

"There are such formidable Poisonous Beasts?"

Bai Thingzhi found it hard to believe.

After all, the Xuanxiang Realm was just a step away from Martial Saint, basically considered elite combat power among humans.

"There might be even more powerful ones,"

Sun Buqi said seriously, "It's best not to rush into the Xuanxiang Realm. Besides, there are not many Exotic Beasts inside; mostly there are Poisonous Beasts, from which you can't gain any benefits."

It was certainly too peculiar.

Chen Sansi fell into deep thought.

It seemed the Emperor Longqing's order to plant Spiritual Grain throughout the country was a matter of the last twenty years or so.

Could there be some connection?

Otherwise, why hadn't there been talk of "tribute" before?

Considering the increasing number of Martial Saints and the emergence of existences above Martial Saints.

It sounded like the entire world was undergoing changes. Simply put, their cultivation was too low-grade; they weren't on a level that would affect them personally, so they were completely unaware.

When all is said and done, still too weak!

If he were an existence above Martial Saints, he'd be qualified to pursue such Immortal Traces. For now, it was best to focus on cultivating, sort out the Selected Point matters, and not be overly ambitious.

"Let's go down the mountain,"

Chen Sansi came down from the mountain peak, picked up the Saber-Toothed Tiger, and led the two others back through the night. When he asked if they wanted to share some of the meat, they both refused outright.

"General, how could I have the face to accept?"

Bai Thingzhi said with guilt, "Even though I led the way, in the end, it was Mr. Chen who found the cave and personally shot the beast. I hardly provided any help. Besides, about the matter with the soldier-monkey, it was I who implicated Mr. Chen. If Mr. Chen insists on giving me part of the tiger meat, I'd rather die from a head injury!"

"I've got even less to say,"

Sun Buqi stated, "The Saber-Toothed Tiger is a supplement for Refining Organ Martial Artists, and I only excel in Bone Strengthening Skill, so it's useless in my hands."

"Alright then,"

Chen Sansi didn't insist unnecessarily.

He indeed needed the tiger meat to enhance his cultivation.

The group accelerated their pace and emerged from the Luotian Mountain Range after daybreak.

Qian Xun was already waiting for a long time.

Chen Sansi carried the Saber-Toothed Tiger, mounted his horse, and returned to the estate ahead of schedule.

Si Qin and Mo Hua had gotten up early to work. When they came out to open the door, they were frightened by the huge bloodied beast with protruding fangs like swords, scampering to hide far away.

In the courtyard, Chen Sansi dissected the Saber-Toothed Tiger with his Zhen Yue Sword. Just the heart alone was enough for two or three meals, not to mention the other highly nutritious parts. For the next half a month, he wouldn't have to worry at all.

After eating the half-cooked tiger heart boiled in water, he suddenly felt a strong killing intent rising in his heart. Along with the Refining Organ Treasure Medicine and Spiritual Grain, the potent effects of these three elements intertwined within his body, making it feel like it was about to burst open. It was only when he took up his reed long spear and practiced his spear technique that he gradually felt more at ease.

Once he started practicing, he lost track of day and night, tirelessly continuing.

For eight consecutive days,Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Chen Sansi spent every morning training battle formations in the military camp, practicing martial arts from the afternoon into the late night. Sleeping no more than two hours a day, eating hastily with a few bites of Saber-Toothed Tiger meat. As long as training didn't kill him, he pushed himself to the limit.

With the skill of Qi Observation,

he could see that during his practice, he continually absorbed the chaotic energy of the world. All kinds of energies were involved, except for the sky-blue energy from within Exotic Beasts.

Moreover, he couldn't control what kind of energy he absorbed, it was more of an indiscriminate collection.

[Cultivation Technique: Unity Spear Technique (Expert)]

[Progress: 910/1000]

"Just a little bit left!"

"As soon as daylight breaks, the Selected Point examination will officially begin."

"Luckily, the first day doesn't require combat. By tomorrow or the day after, I'll surely break through to small achievement."

"..."

[Skill: Commanding Soldiers (Small Achievement)]

[Progress: 0/2000]

[Utility: Mainstay, Training Soldiers Skillfully, How Can It Be Said I Have No Clothes]

[How Can It Be Said I Have No Clothes: On the battlefield, soldiers share a life-and-death unity; morale greatly increases, formations are executed to their ultimate potential, overall combat power increases by more than thirty percent]

Unity in life and death!

Combat power increases by thirty percent.

Don't underestimate thirty percent; it could compensate for a disparity in realms to some extent. On the actual battlefield, the effects would likely be shockingly significant, not to mention that his troops could hold formation till death.

Chen Sansi was fully confident about the first battle formation assessment.

No matter how the competition went, he definitely wouldn't be eliminated. Even if he didn't secure the Champion Leader position, he would at least be Class A!

"Old Xu has improved again!"

Chen Sansi marveled.

Even just leaving things as they were, proficiency was rapidly improving lately.

All thanks to Xu Wencai.

He heard that the old scholar had been working tirelessly for the assessments lately.

Who would have thought he'd discover such talent in Po Yang County?

Leaving aside other uses, the fact that idle proficiency could enhance his skill in commanding soldiers made it incomparable to others.

"Brother Shi,"

Gu Xinlan personally dressed him, then along with Si Qin and Mo Hua, they saw him off, almost as if they were family seeing off someone to a college entrance examination.

In fact, the Selected Point was akin to martial examination.

After five days of assessments, it would determine how many resources each person could receive, how fast one will be promoted, and most importantly, whether one will secure the top position and become the final True Disciple of Sun Xiangzong.

Once outside the Chen Mansion,

Chen Sansi whistled, and Qian Xun arrived in response. He mounted his horse and galloped straight to the Eight Camps.