Rise from a Low-class Family to Martial Artist

Chapter 270: Chapter 80: Unerring Arrows, Origins of the Serpent Shadow (Part 2)

Shen Ge was well aware that Senior Brother Lin appearing ten feet away definitely meant he had been discovered, as he was the only one nearby.

Shen Ge spoke up, but Lin Chen, ten feet away, remained silent, simply drawing his bow and nocking an arrow. Seeing this, Shen Ge’s pupils contracted slightly, and his figure suddenly shifted swiftly from side to side, using the forest trees as cover, but his eyes remained fixed on Lin Chen.

Upon witnessing the moment Lin Chen released the arrow, he too moved, but this time not to the left or right, but leaping high into the air.

Against an archer, the most feared position is being at a high point, as this turns one into a live target for the archer.

However, there was a trace of complacency on Shen Ge’s face. His choice to leap upward was a result of meticulous judgment.

After Senior Brother Lin had eliminated most of the trainees, the forest had returned to silence. In fact, Shen Ge had encountered Senior Brother Lin several times afterwards, but Lin Chen had not shot another arrow. It was not out of leniency due to them both being from Raozhou Prefecture—that could only mean one thing: Senior Brother Lin had a limited number of arrows.

Most likely, Senior Brother Lin had only twenty-nine arrows, and once he missed one, it would count as a failure.

Although this guess seemed far-fetched, requiring twenty-nine arrows to hit twenty-nine people in a forest where it was easy to hide, considering that Senior Brother Lin couldn’t be viewed with common sense, and that the instructors had set such assessment rules, it wasn’t impossible.

Having formed this hypothesis in his mind, Shen Ge thought of a strategy to counter it.

Hiding was absolutely impossible for a two-hour period.

But as long as he made Senior Brother Lin miss a shot, he would win, since Senior Brother Lin had no extra arrows left.

The moment Senior Brother Lin appeared, he fell into the plan Shen Ge had carefully designed. Senior Brother Lin would absolutely not expect that he would choose to leap into the air as a final move.

Bam!

As a sharp pain emerged from his chest, Shen Ge couldn’t understand how Lin Chen had figured it out.

”Junior Brother Shen... fitting for a fellow townsman, afraid to let Senior Brother fail the assessment, ultimately letting Senior Brother win by going easy.”

Lin Chen’s words as he departed made Shen Ge’s mouth twitch, but in the next moment, his pupils contracted urgently, and a guess surged in his mind: Could it be that he had indeed speculated with the heart of a petty man?

Senior Brother Lin, when he saw him with that last arrow, was originally planning to go easy; otherwise, he wouldn’t have aimed at the sky.

It was just hitting by chance, while he, being self-righteous, ended up getting hit instead.

Otherwise, how could it be explained that Senior Brother Lin aimed towards the sky with that arrow, as Senior Brother Lin could not possibly have known what he was thinking?

With this thought, Shen Ge’s face showed a trace of remorse.

...

...

”Instructor Jia, the disciple luckily completed it.”

Outside the forest, Lin Chen smiled at Jia Nanzhu, whose face showed an ungrudgingly satisfied smile towards Lin Chen.

He believed Lin Chen could achieve it, but originally thought Lin Chen would have to try several times before succeeding, which was why he had given Lin Chen three days. Unexpectedly, it was completed on the first attempt.

”How did you manage to do it? Solely relying on those secret technique manuals I gave you wouldn’t have been this easy.”

”In the disciple’s residence, there’s a notebook left by a senior, which mentions many details on acupoint operation and exertion. By observing the subtle movements of my junior brothers, I also observed their breathing rhythm, and finally made predictions.”

Lin Chen answered truthfully, but omitted a bit; in the relatively dark places like the forest, his [All the Way Black] enhanced his comprehension and perception. Comprehension improved his mind’s response and analytical abilities, while perception allowed him to see the actions of the junior brothers more clearly.

Just like the previous final arrow shot at Junior Brother Shen, Junior Brother Shen was very smart, showing almost no flaws in subtle movements, but at the last moment, there was a detail of abdominal contraction—an indication of Qi being raised. Junior Brother Shen practiced the Cloud Burning Palm, which among its techniques includes a move where one leaps high into the air.

After hearing Lin Chen’s explanation, Jia Nanzhu was speechless. It sounded easy but was difficult to do.

Predicting an opponent’s moves and directions is something many martial artists have thought about, but very few can achieve. The reason lies in the difficulty of making predictions in the blink of an eye, which is a significant test of one’s cognitive abilities.

This is a flawless uncut gem!

At this moment, Jia Nanzhu felt glad he resigned from his position as deputy head of the Military Affairs Hall to come to the Special Training Ground.

Lin Chen was worth the visit!

”As I said before, if you could complete this task within three days, I would give you a gift. Follow me.”

Jia Nanzhu turned around, and Lin Chen quickly followed behind.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Yu Fei, Shen Ge, and others looked dejected, facing Senior Brother Du, whom they secretly referred to as the ”venomous mouth.”

”Useless bunch, Lin Chen had only twenty-nine arrows, and with all twenty-nine of you hiding in the forest, you were still all hit. Even twenty-nine pigs would do better than you in the forest!”

Some trainees were indignant, and Du Yong sneered, ”What, think I’m wrong?”

”Senior Brother Du, your words are too harsh. If there were twenty-nine pigs, Senior Brother Lin wouldn’t even need twenty-nine arrows.” A trainee retorted defiantly.

”Right, which is why you worthless lot are only on par with pigs!”

Shen Ge: ...

Yu Fei: ...

Senior Brother Du’s mouth was really venomous, clearly waiting here just to provoke their rebuttal.

”Go and pass through the trial, each of you must go through it ten times without stopping!”

Upon hearing Du Yong’s words, many people’s faces changed instantly. Going through the trial ten times meant getting severely injured ten times.

”Let’s go!”

On the contrary, Yu Fei and several others left with calm faces.

”Senior Brother Shen, what’s their situation?”

”They are all top trainees from various prefectures, but the gap between them and Senior Brother Lin is widening. They’re holding in a lot of frustration.”

Shen Ge watched Yu Fei and the others leave, understanding that they must be feeling uneasy inside.

Even when they first entered the Special Training Ground, Senior Brother Lin defeating the four of them alone wasn’t as big a blow as getting hit with one arrow.

If Senior Brother Lin could shoot multiple arrows, it would be easier to bear, but Senior Brother Lin had only twenty-nine arrows, and he hit every single time.

Although Senior Brother Du’s words were a bit venomous, he wasn’t wrong; in the eyes of Senior Brother Lin, they probably were no different from pigs.

...

...

In a bamboo grove, Jia Nanzhu held a small, fingertip-sized transparent bottle containing a drop of blood.

”Bring over your Snake Shadow Bow.”

Lin Chen obediently approached with the Snake Shadow Bow, and Jia Nanzhu’s expression was stern: ”Grab hold of the bow tightly in a moment.”

”Yes.”

Jia Nanzhu uncorked the bottle he was holding. Initially, Lin Chen was puzzled, but a few moments later, his pupil shrank suddenly, and his right hand grasped the Snake Shadow Bow more tightly.

The Snake Shadow Bow was shaking!

It trembled violently, as if attracted by something and wanted to escape his grip.

Pop!

Jia Nanzhu recapped the bottle, and the Snake Shadow Bow returned to calm. Lin Chen lifted his eyes to Jia Nanzhu’s hand holding the bottle and asked, puzzled, ”Instructor, is the blood in this bottle related to the Snake Shadow Bow in my hand?”

”Indeed, the blood in this bottle and your bowstring come from the same family.”

”Snake monster blood?” Lin Chen had a hypothesis, but given that Instructor Jia called it a gift, it was likely not an ordinary snake monster, at least a strong one among snake monsters.

Back when he encountered that snake monster, even after smashing it into a pulp, the Snake Shadow Bow had no reaction.

”It’s not snake monster blood, it’s flood dragon blood.”

Jia Nanzhu said casually, pleased with the surprise in the young man’s eyes, showing a smug smile after revealing the secret.

It’s always been him who was shocked. Now it was Lin Chen’s turn to be amazed.

”Originally, I wasn’t certain, but now I am: this bow’s real name should be the Dragon Shadow Bow, and its bowstring should be crafted from flood dragon tendon.”

Dragon tendon!

A flood dragon is also a dragon!

Lin Chen looked at the Snake Shadow Bow in his hand, no, the Dragon Shadow Bow, unable to fathom that the bow he whimsically chose from the Tier-C Treasure Vault could have such a prestigious origin.

”I didn’t just bring this drop of flood dragon blood to verify whether this bow was made from flood dragon tendon. This drop of blood is a gift for you.”