Draw bow, notch arrow, pull string.
Bathed in the morning light filtering through the wooden lattice window, Lin Xi meticulously repeated the same movements over and over again.
This time, he held the bow in his right hand and drew the string with his left. After slowly and carefully completing fifty repetitions, he finally set down the black longbow and black-feathered arrows, removed the two pale-gold finger guards from his left hand, and gently massaged his sore, swollen arm.
After dozens of breaths, a clear bell rang out from the New Student Hall of the Warfare Department. Lin Xi put away the bow and arrows, stored the finger guards in a small black cloth pouch inside his sleeve, then pushed open the door and stepped outside. He waited under the veranda until Tang Ke and Li Kaiyun emerged, and the three of them made their way with practiced ease to the western dining hall on the first floor. They sat at the same table as Bian Linghan and others, had breakfast, and then exited the New Student Hall.
This was the third day he and Bian Linghan were receiving special training from the Windwalkers. It was also the first day the rest of the regular courses began. Word had it that by evening, various student societies would arrive to recruit new members in front of each new student dorm.
Lin Xi and that middle-aged man from another world shared a simple idea: since they were here, they had no choice but to live well in this world—and live splendidly.
Since there was no avoiding becoming a student at Qingluan Academy and taking on responsibilities in this world, then having a few secret cards kept close to the chest wasn't a bad thing.
Instructor Tong had advised him to give up the idea of training to use both hands for archery, saying it was a waste of time. But Lin Xi knew very well that even though his innate talent was ranked "two," he could still shoot far more arrows than others at his level. More importantly, it didn't actually waste that much time.
After training with his left hand, he would then train with his right. With his current physical state, he could draw the bow at most fifty times regardless.
And this was only an ordinary hundred-pace hardwood longbow. According to Instructor Tong, Windwalkers pursued assassination in a single instant. So in the future, their bows would be powerful enough to be barely manageable, capable of unleashing terrifying arrow force.
With such bows, one likely couldn't even draw them more than a few times a day. In the end, the real limit was soul force.
Soul force was the foundation of all cultivators in this world. Thus, every new student at Qingluan Academy began with soul force training. After a few days of soul force courses, once students had begun to grasp the basics, the Warfare Department would switch to a cycle: one day of soul force, one day of martial techniques, one day of mounted archery, and one day of wilderness survival. The remaining four days were for elective courses, repeating week by week.
The schedule was packed, with barely any breaks. But in truth, most lectures only lasted half a day, giving students nearly half their time to choose freely what to pursue.
Today's course was martial techniques.
…
Just like the first soul force class, the first martial techniques lesson was held in the same valley—with the purple-flowered slope, flowing creek, and the grass-roofed hut lined with bamboo mats.
Standing beneath a willow by the stream was a black-robed instructor no one in the Warfare Department had seen before. He was a middle-aged man, pale-faced, clean-shaven, with a cold, expressionless look. His robe bore the same dual insignias as Instructor Tong: the Thorn Emblem and the Falling Star Emblem.
"My name is Xu Shengmo. Starting today, I'll be your martial techniques instructor."
As the new students of the Warfare Department arrived, the pale-faced Xu Shengmo snapped a willow branch from the tree beside him and gestured for everyone to gather on the open space before him.
He spoke without any facial expression, as if wearing a white mask.
Lin Xi's brow twitched. Xu Shengmo seemed to glance at him, and in that gaze was pure coldness—his pupils had a slight yellow tinge, which even made Lin Xi feel a flicker of killing intent.
To show such an attitude toward his own students… the man gave off the impression that he held no love or pity for living things, treating them like the willow branch he casually broke off.
"What are martial techniques?"
Without any unnecessary introduction, Xu Shengmo suddenly asked this in a completely emotionless tone.
"Lin Xi!" Before anyone could answer, Xu Shengmo suddenly called Lin Xi by name.
Startled, Lin Xi thought for a moment and replied, "Martial techniques… are the skills used to defeat others?"
"As a Warfare Department student, you actually needed time to think over such a basic question—only to get it wrong." Xu Shengmo didn't even look at him. He turned to the others, still expressionless. "Martial techniques are, of course, the skills to kill."
The coldness in his words and expression made every student's heart turn icy. Tang Ke, beside Lin Xi, imagined himself facing such an opponent—and in just that instant, a heavy weight pressed on his chest. The fear made sweat bead on his back.
By the creek, under the willow, all was silent.
"Lin Xi, I trust you won't refuse to cooperate and help illustrate my point," Xu Shengmo's gaze landed on Lin Xi again, voice chilly.
Lin Xi frowned, but Xu Shengmo offered no chance to refuse. "Come. Use any method to attack me with full force."
…
Lin Xi stood before Xu Shengmo, suddenly compressed his stance, and lunged with a punch aimed at the man's abdomen.
He knew even if the punch landed, it wouldn't hurt Xu Shengmo. So he gave it his all, without holding back in the slightest.
But just as he struck, a willow branch lashed out—snapping hard across his arm.
Though thin, the branch struck with such pain that Lin Xi let out a stifled cry, the pain deep into the bone. His body curled up, frozen in place.
…
The contorted pain on Lin Xi's face and the sharp crack of the lash made the surrounding students gasp, their arms tingling in sympathy. Xu Shengmo, however, only sneered coldly.
"I told you to attack with full force. You're still able to fight—this is just pain. If this alone stops you, you'd already be dead in real battle. Keep going!"
Gritting his teeth, his right arm now partially numb, Lin Xi feinted and struck with his left toward Xu Shengmo's chest.
Crack! Another precise lash across his left arm sent that side of his body slumping.
Yet even as he crumpled, Lin Xi threw a vicious kick toward Xu Shengmo's groin.
To strike like this while already curled in pain chilled the onlookers to the bone. But Xu Shengmo again merely flicked his wrist—crack!—and struck Lin Xi's leg.
Lin Xi fell, kneeling on the ground, body trembling. Even his rivals, like Mu Shanzi and Qiu Lu, felt no glee—only a shiver of fear and relief it hadn't been them.
Then, to everyone's shock, just as Lin Xi clutched his ankle as if to soothe the pain, he suddenly snatched a stone from the ground and hurled it at Xu Shengmo, leaping to follow with another kick.
It was underhanded—but undeniably fierce.
Xu Shengmo's face remained blank. With a wave, he struck the flying rock with his willow branch.
Crack!
The branch shattered into splinters, the rock rebounded and struck Lin Xi square in the chest.
His face turned snow-white. His kick had almost landed—less than a foot from Xu Shengmo—but he collapsed, unable to connect.
…
"Lin Xi, are you alright!?"
Hua Jiyue rushed to help him up. Straightforward and unafraid of others' opinions, she froze in place when she saw that Lin Xi couldn't even breathe, trembling and pale. She feared touching him might worsen his injuries.
Seeing how harshly he'd struck, her heart couldn't help but burn with quiet anger toward the instructor.
"Soul force allows you to endure pain beyond normal limits," Xu Shengmo said flatly, not even glancing at Lin Xi. He tossed aside the broken branch and continued coldly, "I can easily defeat or even kill all of you—because I'm faster and stronger. In the face of absolute speed and strength, fancy techniques are meaningless. Many academies teach flashy but useless moves. Here at Qingluan Academy, I will only teach you to become faster, stronger, and to kill more efficiently. If you must learn technique, it will only be to identify weak points in the human body that yield better results."
Still not sparing Lin Xi a glance, he concluded, "Qingluan Academy students build combat instincts through constant real battle."
"The essence of martial technique… is endless fighting?"
Finally able to breathe, Lin Xi felt as if he'd danced with death. Bitterly smiling in his heart, he thought—fast, precise, and lethal techniques? Isn't that just beating all over again...