Archery Technique Practice

The sect proper was basically its own city, and the training fields were the size of an entire district. They were divided into different sections for sparring and challenges, practicing with different weapons, and of course, practicing techniques. The Guide map hadn't delineated the area beyond those categories, so I had to ask directions to the field to practice archery techniques.

To my surprise, there was actually a line to use the archery technique practice equipment. I was the third person in it, but still—and there were 8 people practicing. The elder in charge explained that in situations like this, when someone started waiting, everyone practicing would be given one more hour, then they'd have to move for the next people. If there were fewer people waiting than practicing, those unranked in the Outer Court dueling rankings would be moved first. "Only two of the disciples practicing right now are ranked, so the wait will be about fifteen more minutes."

Ranked…basically the Outer Court Disciples who are considered the 1,000 strongest in the Outer Library. I should read that section more thoroughly once I've accepted my first mission. I might need to add getting into the rankings to my overall to-do list if doing so can get me prestige, which can lead to attracting a backing.

It's quite a balancing act, though. Distinguishing myself like that could attract backing, but it will also attract enemies. I should gather more information about how strong the ranked disciples are, then act accordingly. After all, disciples in the 8th Earth Realm can attempt to join the Inner Court whether they're ranked or not, so there's a danger of running into someone more content with ruling a hill than climbing the mountain.

With my head filled with thoughts like these, the waiting period passed quickly. Of course, I made an effort to not get so lost in my head that I didn't observe what sort of techniques the 8 people practicing were using. A couple were also practicing Spirit Arrow, but I saw one technique that appeared to consume a shot arrow to emit a blinding flash of light as it reached the target, two more people using a similar one that created an explosion, though the explosive bursts from when a Spirit Arrow struck a target successfully seemed stronger than these mundane explosions.

Two of the techniques being displayed more genuinely piqued my interest. One formed a black bolt similar to the Spirit Arrow as the bow was drawn back, but the moment it was shot, it vanished and what looked like a black lightning bolt struck the target. The bolt always struck home, no matter how the training puppet tried to dodge, and it seemed to be on an especially evasive setting compared to the others. The other also consumed a normal arrow, but with each successful hit, the training puppet reeled as if struck repeatedly rather than just once. "What are those two techniques?"

"Those are the two ranked disciples, using those," said the elder, "they're both Spirit Rank techniques. The one on the left is using Thunderstroke Shot. It can't be evaded by any Earth Rank cultivator, but it's highly dependent on the user's Resolve to do any damage. The disciple on the right is using the Ninefold Shot technique, probably the most difficult Spirit Rank technique to learn for archers. It makes a single arrow strike like nine."

"Hmm…could it be combined with the Spirit Arrow technique? I bet the results would be dramatic."

"Combining techniques like that? It would be very difficult. Sure, the result would probably be a half-step from a Heaven Rank technique, but it would probably be less effort to actually learn a Heaven Rank technique."

"Hmm." Not long after that, the elder shooed 3 of the others away and let those waiting step up. Two of them left and the other sat and cultivated, waiting for another turn. I took my first few shots at a stationary target. Like with the Lamentation Bow, Spirit Arrows did not arc, and they shot much faster than a bullet. This was with shooting them from an ordinary bow, so I had to wonder if firing a Spirit Arrow from the Lamentation Bow would have an additive effect on speed, penetrating power, or both. Experimenting a little, I found that they shot just as fast no matter how I drew the bow—as long as I drew it back at least a couple inches and put intent to fire into the release, the Spirit Arrow would fire.

After that, I trained with a puppet that would try to avoid my shots. On top of more realistic battle conditions, I practiced switching from a minimum draw with the Spirit Arrows to nocking and firing an arrow normally.

I was getting better at keeping track of time without a clock—at least when I wasn't poring over something fascinating—so I knew it had been about 3 hours when the elder hollered at me, "Hey, it's time for others to go now!" I nodded and stepped back behind the training area. It was just as well, since I was getting pretty winded. I was putting half a billion Qi into each shot, and after a few thousand shots I'd made more than a dent in my cultivation base. It would recover without me doing anything, or I could cultivate to restore it even faster. For now, I had another errand, then I planned to get my first sect mission.

It was a bit unusual for a new disciple to go to the Treasure Hall before the Mission Hall, but I had to think it'd take pretty bad luck to run into a circumstance where I was turned away before I could mention I had an Ascended Beast core to sell. However, Shokoya contacted me on the way. "I'm about to go to the Concentration Garden for a while to hopefully finish learning Steel Piercing Thrust. How's things going on your end?"

I summarized my training with Spirit Arrow and shared my thoughts on the idea of trying to make the Outer Court Rankings. "I can handle gathering information," said Shokoya, "I'm sure there are missions related to working at the dueling courts. I'll take one, and try to find out about anyone in the rankings to watch out for."

"Won't that disadvantage your cultivation, not being able to go out and get monster cores and Qi from the Experiential Physique?"

"Not really. The entire sect is built on a Class 5 Qi Density hotspot, even better than the Outworlder Labyrinth. I'll save up merits with on-sect jobs and rent an Immortal Cave to get the maximum effect."

"Do your best to stay out of trouble, then. You probably won't be able to get out of dealing with arrogant pricks if you actually work at the dueling courts."

"No risk, no gain. Besides, I have some experience in dealing with that sort—though I am wary of the ones in this world taking it to further extremes."

Guess the Dive Studio he worked at wasn't as friendly as mine. "Ok, good luck to you."

"And you."