NABC Chapter 39: The Great Dragon Collapse is Complete, its Power Spreads Ten Feet!
Chapter 39: The Great Dragon Collapse is Complete, its Power Spreads Ten Feet!
The following day, the Zhenguan Army's Waqiao Camp.
Wu He stood in the shooting range, the wind and sand swirling slightly, holding a ten-stone bow in his hand.
"Advance payment"
[Martial Arts Skill Already Paid in Advance: No-Return Arrow Technique (Beginner)]
[The arrow flies like a shadow, hitting the bullseye from a hundred paces away; wherever the eye can see, the arrow will surely strike.]
[Next Stage Advancement: Minor Mastery of the No-Return Arrow Technique]
With mind and eyes united, they cut through the wind silently, arriving first despite being the last to strike.
The essence of martial arts entered his mind, and Wu He carefully pondered it.
A moment later, he drew his bow and nocked an arrow.
The Ten Stone Bow was a heavy bow used in the army, extremely heavy. Wu He used the fiery tendons in his back to exert force, his muscles bulging, and his strength was so great that he pulled it to a full moon shape.
The target, a hundred paces away, appeared small in his field of vision, and it was his first time drawing a bow and shooting an arrow, but Wu He felt no awkwardness whatsoever.
The moment he nocked the arrow and aimed, it was as effortless as a seasoned archer who had been immersed in archery for years.
call out!
Then the attack suddenly tensed up, and the feathered arrows flew out with a whoosh, piercing through the red circle in the center of the target with a thud, and breaking off against the bluestone wall.
[Progress Completed (Beginner's Guide to Arrow Return): 1/100]
Wu He smiled wryly.
He then continued to shoot several more arrows at this distance, and every single one hit the bullseye, truly demonstrating his ability to hit the bullseye from a hundred paces away.
And when he increased the distance to 150 steps, his hit rate remained at 80%.
The greater the distance, the lower the hit rate.
Wu He seemed to understand something and murmured, "The beginner-level No-Return Arrow Technique has no special effects. It only allows me to have an extremely high hit rate by using specific breathing and bow-drawing methods. It would take an ordinary person at least several or even more than ten years to master it."
"The Liao Dynasty's archery skills are indeed extraordinary."
He sighed slightly.
The Khitans were known for their bravery and skill in battle, especially their superb archery and horsemanship, which gave them a significant advantage on the battlefield.
Otherwise, the numerous northern expeditions of previous dynasties would not have all ended in failure.
"With this archery skill, we will have another way to defeat the enemy in future battles."
Wu He was very satisfied. He had a vivid memory of the battle with the Khitan woman. The combination of the crossbow and gauntlets was extremely deadly.
Once my archery skills improve, they will be of great use in battle.
After finishing their mission and lingering in the camp, Wu He learned from Liu Baoze the details of Zhao Guangyi's arrival the previous night.
Just as Li Bo had said, Zhao Guangyi and the two disciples from the Celestial Master's Mansion had the same goal: to investigate the Khitan shamans' disturbances on the border.
Because it's not just Xiaoheishan; several similar places have been discovered in other areas over the past few days.
This had already drawn great attention from the imperial court. Early in the morning, Zhao Guangyi and his entourage left Xiongzhou City. Their destination was kept secret, and only generals like Guo Guiyuan knew the details.
This caused much discussion among the soldiers in the camp.
Some say they went to capture a Khitan shaman, while others say they went to Zhuozhou in the north to gather information.
There were even rumors that this matter concerned the fate of the Great Zhou Dynasty's dragon vein, and that the Celestial Master's Mansion and the shamans were about to engage in a battle of magic.
In short, this matter has caused quite a stir.
Besides that, there was another matter that made the camp quite lively.
Selection of Imperial Guards.
Zhao Guangyi's arrival undoubtedly proved that there would be a selection of imperial guards soon, which made many soldiers quite excited.
Soldiers longed to become Imperial Guard soldiers, and officers longed to become Imperial Guard officers; they were all secretly putting in their best effort to train, just to seize this opportunity.
At noon, Wu He appeared at the Curious Things Shop in the eastern part of Xiongzhou City.
Several days passed, and no one mentioned the matter of Little Black Mountain anymore. It was time to open the wooden box.
Following Li Bo's instructions, he found the blind shopkeeper of the Curious Objects Shop and paid him five taels of silver to solve the puzzle.
Because he is known for only seeking wealth, there is no need to worry about him leaking secrets.
But what Wu He found inside after opening it left him speechless.
It was a small black jade bottle containing a small amount of dark blue-green liquid. It was very viscous and had a foul odor. When Wu He got close to smell it, he immediately felt nauseous, as if he were facing a pair of size 45 sweaty feet.
"What is this thing?"
Wu He looked distressed, finding it hard to believe that this was the same thing Wen Xin had described as comparable to a century-old treasure.
When it was presented to Li Bo, he examined it for a long time but couldn't figure it out. He just frowned and said, "It looks like some kind of poison."
"Poison? Can flesh and blood essence be used to make poison?"
"Nothing is impossible; poison and medicine have been inseparable since ancient times."
His dark, thin face looked quite solemn as he slowly said, "I don't know exactly what it is either; I'm afraid we'll have to ask a doctor to find out."
Wu He held it thoughtfully, his mind subconsciously turning to Wen Qiaoniang.
But then he gave up on the idea.
After all, she is now living in Xichun Hall and getting so close to Wen Xin, Wu He really can't feel at ease.
Perhaps the only solution is to personally capture a few Khitan shamans and ask them.
For the next few days, life was normal.
At the end of February, the earth warmed up, and the gradually warming breezes drove away the remaining cold air.
Wu He stood on the training ground, his upper body bare, his angular muscles steaming with hot sweat. As he practiced his punches, his muscles bulged, exuding an explosive sense of power.
[Progress completed (Minor Mastery of Dragon Smash): 198/200]
"Heh~ Heh~"
Wu He was panting heavily. After glancing at the She Tian Ce, he gritted his teeth and persevered once more.
He had been practicing for two hours straight, and his legs were already sore. The vital energy and blood in his body were also exhausted to the extreme, and his muscles were tingling and twitching from overexertion.
But we can still fight!
[Progress completed (Minor Mastery of Dragon Smash): 199/200]
……
[Progress completed (Great Mastery of Dragon Slayer): 200/200]
boom!
When the last bit of blood and energy in the chest cavity is exhausted, the last bit of progress is finally filled.
Wu He immediately sat down on the ground as if a thousand-pound weight had been placed on him, panting heavily and sweating profusely.
Looking down, he saw that his body was covered in a deep red color, a sign of his blood and qi boiling from overexertion in his practice.
It was tiring, but worth it!
Wu He lifted the hem of his shirt at his waist and wiped the sweat from his face.
"Advance payment"
[Advance payment already made: Mastery of the martial art "Collapse Dragon Force"]
[His muscles and tendons transformed into the true form of a coiled dragon; his punches were like a blue dragon overturning the sea, their power reaching ten zhang (approximately 33 meters).]
[The current progress needs to be completed before the next stage: Bone Strengthening Martial Arts can be advanced]
The Book of Heavenly Debt shone brightly, and in an instant, Wu He heard the sound of muscles being pulled wildly, and the flesh beneath his skin bulged violently.
Layer upon layer of waves, like rows of dragon scales turning.
Ten seconds later, the advance payment was completed.
Wu He swallowed hard, the saliva sliding down his parched throat, his eyes filled with intense surprise.
He then stretched his body slightly, appearing incredibly flexible and resilient, as if all his muscles had become one, allowing him to use them with complete ease.
Especially the back, which undulates like a dragon's spine when it thrusts upwards.
"Great Perfection of Dragon Collapse, Late Stage of Flesh Refining".
Wu He threw a casual punch, without any technique. The blood and energy he had just recovered entered his right arm, triggering a chain reaction that caused the muscles along the way to automatically tense up and exert force.
Like waves converging and overlapping, each powerful strike creates a thunderous roar when the fist strikes out, unleashing a torrent of powerful wind that stirs up sand and dust within a ten-zhang radius.
"Really strong."
Feeling the surge of power, Wu He smiled knowingly. He then quickly used his remaining military merits to buy ten-year-old wolf meat and returned to the Desire Immortal Pavilion to cook and eat, replenishing the enormous energy consumed during his training.
The firelight reflected on his face as he enjoyed his meal, but Wu He began to worry about the next meal.
I've used up all my military merits these past few days trying to exchange them for these precious beast meats.
In addition to daily expenses such as medicine, his savings were rapidly dwindling.
The further you go, the greater the expenses of martial arts training will become. If you don't find a way to increase your income, you won't be able to keep up.
"Oh, right."
Suddenly, Wu He remembered the rumors circulating in the camp earlier that day.
"General Guo's chronic illness has been difficult to cure. Doctor Wen said that he needs a hundred-year-old blood ginseng as a medicinal guide to treat the disease. There might be some on Baicao Mountain in the north of the city. Let's go and look for it tomorrow and try our luck. If it works, it will be a great achievement."
"I'll also use my newly learned archery skills to hunt. With my current strength, dealing with ordinary ten- or twenty-year-old treasure beasts shouldn't be a problem. If I can actually get something out of it, that would be even better, as it would save me a lot of money."
"Secondly, the practice of the No-Return Arrow Technique cannot be done in isolation; hunting may be a good way to make progress."
He made some plans in his mind, and then took out the black jade bottle from his pocket. In the past few days, he had tried to subtly ask Wen Qiaoniang about it, but he had not gotten any useful information.
The longer it goes on, the more curious I become about it.
"Never mind, keep it for now, it might come in handy someday."