Back on Earth, it is said that bows have existed since the start of recorded history, around the time when the Shang Dynasty came to be. The invention of bows allowed the people of ancient times to hunt prey from a distance while staying safe. As bows continued to improve, they turned into longbows, composite bows and crossbows, all weapons that were actively used in hunting and war.
It can be said that until the advent of firearms, no manner of melee weapons, spears, swords, sticks or knives, could replace the position and importance of bows.
Do you not see so many legends of bows in mythology, in ancient chronicles, in folklore and novels? The importance of bows needs no emphasis.
Far in the east, in a war between two countries, the English longbowmen easily beat an enemy with superior numbers. Meanwhile, in China, in a great gamble shrouded by mist, the weak Shu nation, lacking in ammunition, borrowed a hundred thousand arrows from its enemy with decoy straw boats. The strategist who accomplished this feat and who led the Shu to victory was immortalized as a legend.
Even in the age of firearms, in a world where everyone has a gun, light crossbows and composite bows still had their use. They were easy to carry around and extremely silent, making them perfect for assassination.
It might seem like there are no firearms in Heaven’s Martial World, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, the Empire has had special musketeer squads for a long time now. However, martial artists were the dominant force in this world. Their skin was strengthened with soul energy, making them incredibly tough. In particular, those who were Martial Colonels or stronger could form soul armor of their own. The firearm projectiles couldn’t even leave a scratch on such armor, let alone penetrate its defenses.
But what made the bow and arrow different from firearms?
The size of the arrows meant that martial artists could imbue it with far more soul energy. On the other hand, manufacturing bullets that had a similar capacity for soul energy was extremely expensive. The bow and arrow were superior in many other aspects, making them the long-ranged weapon of choice for most martial artists.
The teenager with the bow had a bow as his martial soul. Naturally, that gave him a tremendous understanding of the bow and excellent archery technique. He also had sharp instincts and sufficient experience in combat. Even so, he still couldn’t inflict any significant damage on Wun Fan. The teenager could hardly believe it. He thought to himself, He’s just a novice Martial Mortal, but he can dodge like that? It’s amazing. His aura weakened for a moment but then recovered completely. What kind of trick is this?
However, he continued to pull the bow with all his strength. He was determined to kill the enemy and avenge the victim. There was nothing he hated more in this world than rapists!
The three arrows on his bow were accumulating a large amount of soul energy, so much so that the soul energy was starting to manifest. They turned into three strange beasts, with features reminiscent of tigers, wolves and lions. The beasts snarled ferociously on the bowstring as they glared at Wun Fan. They were eager to hunt him.
“Lethality: Song of the Magical Beasts,” said the teenager. He instantly let the arrows loose once they had accumulated enough soul energy. Green light sliced across the air when he let go of the bowstring. The arrow was astonishingly fast and howled like a symphony of beasts as it flew. The three arrows devastated everything in their path as they travelled forward. Over twenty trees were razed in an instant.
Boom!
As the trees collapsed to the ground, Wun Fan’s sixth sense activated again. He felt a shiver run down his spine. He immediately exhausted all of his soul energy in a single move. He raised his hand and shouted, “Lethality: Dragon’s Might, Fierce Blast!”
A dome-shaped barrier was erected in front of him, firmly standing guard against all invaders!
The three magical beasts arrived in the blink of an eye and crashed against Wun Fan’s martial technique. A violent reaction was created and a tremendous shockwave rippled outward. The three arrows faded instantly, but the aftershock was not to be underestimated. Wun Fan was blown away by the tremendous force, crushing several smaller trees along the way. He finally came to a stop when he crashed into a large tree.
“Ugh!” he cried. His shoulder blades were fractured and his organs were damaged, his liver in particular. His ribs could not soften the impact sufficiently and Wun Fan immediately felt dizzy.
“Kid!” said Old Lei. He immediately tried to summon Emperor Shennong’s Flame to take control of Wun Fan’s body. However, Wun Fan stopped him with a shout, “No! I can still hang in there! Give me aether, Old Lei!”
“You…” said Old Lei. He knew Wun Fan’s stubborn personality. Forcing him to back down would only have the opposite effect. There was nothing Old Lei could do but to fulfill his duty as the spirit of the Spiritstartler Ring. He pulled out aether from the ring and introduced it into Wun Fan’s body.
Fortunately, the only thing that the Spiritstartler Ring wasn’t lacking in was aether.
Wun Fan took this opportunity to channel soul energy to his back and soothe the pain. At the same time, he spat out the mouthful of blood in his throat and came to his senses. He remembered his old man’s teachings from back then…
The old man was holding onto a silver cylinder with both hands. A steel cable with a pointed anchor was hidden inside the cylinder. It was a grappling hook that could be attached to walls. Compressed gas was contained inside the cylinder, and used to eject the grappling hook. Once the pointed anchor was embedded into a wall, a small button would cause hooks to emerge from the anchor and latch on firmly to the surface. Press another button and the steel wire would be reeled in, pulling the user forward. This method could be used to quickly move across short distances.
Wun Fan even remembered his old man bragging, “I’m not bragging, but back then when I was surrounded by several archers, it was this grappling hook that helped me cross two hundred meters and kill them in a matter of seconds.”
The memory made Wun Fan remember his last sparring match with Wun Ching Yeung. He came to a sudden realization. He understood what he needed to do. His mind turned quickly as he started to come up with a concrete plan. He stared at the teenager with the bow, anger burning in his heart and killing intent swirling in his eyes.
“Intermediate Martial Scholar, was it?” said Wun Fan as he licked his lips. He said in a confident tone, “Old Lei, immediately replenish my meridians once I exhaust my soul energy later!”
“Got it!” replied Old Lei, still as concise and direct as ever.208Please respect copyright.PENANA2cI4IZ9S2d
“Idiot,” said the teenager when he saw Wun Fan block his arrows. Did he really think he was powerful when he was just a novice Martial Mortal? The teenager took out another three arrows and glanced at the last three in the quiver. He smiled coldly and said, “Six arrows are all I will need to kill you!”
Wun Fan endured the intense pain all over his body and jumped backward. The teenager shouted angrily when he saw this, “You dare to run?” He then immediately channelled soul energy to his feet and chased after Wun Fan.
Wun Fan felt his back hurt tremendously as the two of them continued their game of cat and mouse. The blood circulation in his body wasn’t the best. His vision was getting blurry. He suddenly tripped on his own feet and fell over. Wun Fan barely got up and started crawling forward on his knees, slow as a slug.
The teenager saw his opportunity and drew his bow. He channelled fifty percent of all his soul energy into the arrows for another attack as he shouted, “Lethality: Song of the Magical Beasts!”
The three arrows left the bowstring and rushed forward, even faster than the previous volley. Because of his Wondrous Archery martial technique, the teenager’s senses were significantly enhanced, along with his arm strength. However, when he looked at Wun Fan, he saw the boy flash a mischievous smile full of malice.
Wun Fan had a bad habit of flashing that mischievous smile whenever he put one of his schemes into motion.
“Lethality: Dragon’s Draw, Forceful Attraction!” cried Wun Fan. However, his target this time was not the enemy, but a large tree instead. He exhausted nearly half of all his soul energy, trying to pull the tree towards him. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew that it was impossible for him to uproot a tree like that.
His true plan was to make use of the reaction force!
Wun Fan was using his arms as the silver cylinders and his martial technique as the grappling hook. He grabbed onto a tree and pulled with all his strength. The force wasn’t enough to pull the tree towards him, but the reaction force caused Wun Fan to shoot forward like a cannonball. His silhouette flickered through the trees and he appeared beside the large tree with a smile on his face.
The three magical beasts hit the spot where he had been standing the very next second, blasting a massive crater into the ground. The crater was dozens of meters wide!
Wun Fan leaned against the tree and spat out another mouthful of blood. It seemed like he wasn’t used to that intense reaction force. His entire body was in agony. He tried to conjure his soul energy to stabilize his breathing and his wounds. He had to ensure that his injuries didn’t affect what he was about to do.
Meanwhile, the teenager with the bow was dumbfounded at Wun Fan’s actions. He didn’t imagine something like that was possible!
Wun Fan caught his breath. His eyes gleamed as he smiled his mischievous smile and said, “My turn.”208Please respect copyright.PENANA8NDBwHjVEa