Chapter 4: Martial Artist?
“Cough, cough.”
The coughing snapped Chen Fan back to reality. The limping man fixed him with a stare and remarked offhandedly, “That bow you’re holding is just a basic model. Beyond thirty meters, it’s barely effective against low-tier beasts. And you’ve only drawn it once. Look—” He jerked his chin toward the doorway. “See those spear carriers outside?”
Chen Fan glanced out and nodded.
“They all started with archery too. Some even used the second-tier sixty-jin bow.” The man snorted. “Meant nothing. Most quit within three days.”
He eyed Chen Fan’s bow. “Take my advice – learn the spear like them. At least you’ll stand a chance against beasts in the wild.”
“Thanks, Uncle Zhang. But I’d still like to try.”
Chen Fan’s gaze lingered on the progress bar for [Basic Archery] in his system interface. The urge to max it out burned in his veins.
“Suit yourself.”
The man shrugged, unsurprised. Stubborn youths never changed. After a few more draws, the boy’s arm would be screaming for mercy. Then he’d learn.
“Uncle Zhang,” Chen Fan ventured, “could I test those other bows?” He wondered if stronger bows accelerated skill progression.
“Be my guest.” The man gestured at the wall. “Second bow’s sixty jin, third’s eighty, fourth’s a hundred, fifth’s two hundred, sixth’s three hundred. Pick your poison.”
“Th-three hundred jin?!” Chen Fan’s eyes locked onto the massive black longbow at the end – nearly his own height. That required single-arm strength matching a draft horse.
“Scared you, eh?” The limping man’s lips twitched. “There’s even five-hundred-jin war bows out there. Kill an armored rhino from a kilometer away, those can.”
“Armored rhino...” Chen Fan murmured. The memory surfaced – a mid-tier apex beast, its hide deflecting small-caliber rounds. “Uncle Zhang, are you an Awakener?”
In this world, Awakeners stood atop the food chain.
“No.” The man shook his head. “Martial artist.”
“Martial artist?” Chen Fan blinked.
“Awakeners are one in ten thousand. For us regular folk?” The man tapped his thigh. “The world’s changes broke our limits. Temper the body, forge the bones – that’s the martial path. Zhao Family Fort’s got a man who draws that three-hundred-jin bow. Proper martial artist, he is.”
Chen Fan inhaled sharply, sensing new horizons. “Does our camp have any?”
“None like Zhao’s champion. But the Wei brothers can handle hundred-jin bows. Top hunters here.” The man’s face clouded. “Though they’ll likely leave soon.”
“How do martial artists compare to Awakeners?”
“Mud to clouds.” The man grimaced. “Fresh Awakeners? Easy prey. But once they master their powers?” He snapped his fingers. “Gone. That Zhao champion – could he stop bullets? Awakeners do. High-tier ones shrug off artillery. Erase towns with a gesture. Different realms entirely.”
Chen Fan gaped. Awakeners were that monstrous?
His system probably favored martial arts. Yet according to Uncle Zhang, it was a dead-end path for talentless commoners. Was that true?
“Enough questions.” The limping man lobbed the sixty-jin bow at him. “Try this.”
Chen Fan set down his forty-jin bow. Halfway through the draw, his face flushed crimson. His right arm shook violently. At three-quarters draw, he collapsed forward, gasping.
The limping man smirked. “Eighty-jin next?”
“N-no thanks.” Chen Fan forced a smile, eyeing the higher-tier bows. Not yet. But with enough attribute points...
The man tossed him a quiver. Outside, he demonstrated archery basics at a twenty-meter target. “Three rules: front wrist flat, drawing elbow level, both aligned with shoulders. Foundation’s everything.”
Twang! His arrow thudded into the clay wall.
“Practice here today. Ask if stuck.” The man turned, ears pink – poor archery skills being why he guarded the arsenal.
Chen Fan nodded, noting the errant shot. He assumed position: feet shoulder-width, left hand gripping the bow. First formal lesson – nerves tingled.
A deep breath. Draw. Squint. Align sight to target.
The bow creaked at full draw. His right shoulder screamed. Release.
Whiff! The arrow buried itself in dirt.
Chen Fan shrugged. Only prodigies scored first tries. His real focus was the system prompt:
[Basic Archery: LV0 (3%)]
Progress +2%
Forty-nine more shots. Just forty-nine. Then... Level 1.
