Chương 21: Light Feather Bow Technique
Biên tập viên: Henyee Translations
"My father is in the study, I will take you over there."
The young man led Xu Ning into the study.
The young man went inside first. "Father, Xu Ning is here to visit you."
"Xu Ning? Let him come in."
Xu Ning heard Tao Yunmeng's voice from the inside.
After that, the young man came out. "Xu Ning, go on in."
Xu Ning thanked him, handed the gifts in his hand to the young man, and walked into the study.
"Uncle Meng."
Xu Ning saw Tao Yunmeng, who was sitting at the desk with a glowing lamp.
Behind him was a bookshelf full of books.
Tao Yunmeng's mighty and fierce physique contrasted with the book in his hand.
"Xu Ning, sit."
Tao Yunmeng put down the book in his hand and greeted Xu Ning.
There was a smile on his face, his eyes full of admiration for the younger generation.
Tao Yunmeng had a good impression of Xu Ning.
Since Xu Ning practiced the Gale Knife Technique to the intermediate realm alone, Tao Yunmeng remembered Xu Ning's outstanding talent.
During their subsequent conversation, he had also noticed that Xu Ning was a humble and polite person.
Afterwards, this young man took risks to save others. He was courageous and righteous. This further strengthened his opinion of Xu Ning.
Hence, Tao Yunmeng was pleased to see Xu Ning visit him.
"What have you been up to lately?"
Although Xu Ning came to ask for help, it was Tao Yunmeng who took the initiative to speak.
"Practicing the internal skill and going into the mountains to collect medicine."
Xu Ning answered truthfully.
Tao Yunmeng nodded. "Internal skills are the foundation of practice. You must take it seriously. Although the cultivation of internal skill is difficult, you will benefit greatly after you improve. Don't feel discouraged just because your advancement is slower than practicing external skills."
Tao Yunmeng did not ask Xu Ning's progress, instead he gave some suggestions.
It had only been more than 20 days since Xu Ning obtained the internal skill booklet. He thought it would be impossible for Xu Ning to have any meaningful progress in his internal skill.
"Noted, Uncle Meng."
Xu Ning didn't tell him the fact that he had been promoted to the muscle bone realm.
He would expose his strength when it was necessary in the future.
"How's the income from going into the mountains and collecting medicine? If the income is mediocre, I can ask someone to arrange some lucrative jobs for you."
Tao Yunmeng knew that Xu Ning's family background was poor, and practicing martial arts required expensive medicinal materials and even spirit medicine from time to time.
"The income is not bad, but it is a little troublesome when I encounter beasts in the mountains."
Xu Ning answered truthfully.
"How so?"
Tao Yunmeng guessed that this was Xu Ning's reason for visiting him.
"When I encounter beasts, it is quite troublesome to escape. If I fight it directly, I could easily be injured in a close fight." Xu Ning explained why he was here, "I came to you this time because I want to learn an archery type external skill."
"Learn archery skills?"
Tao Yunmeng's eyebrows slowly tightened.
"Yes, Uncle Meng."
Xu Ning nodded.
Tao Yunmeng put down the book in his hand, tapped his fingers on the table a few times, and raised his eyebrows. "Xu Ning, you have to know that, since you have already cultivated an external skill to the intermediate realm, you should put more energy into your internal skills. External skills are not the fundamentals. Learning one more external skill will not bring a qualitative improvement in your strength."
"Generally speaking, those who practice a second external skill are those who can no longer improve their internal skills. If you do not practice internal skills, you are wasting your talent."
Tao Yunmeng's tone was quite sincere.
"Uncle Meng, I know."
Xu Ning said, "However, practicing archery is important to surviving in Yunze Mountains. Only by protecting myself can I obtain resources and lay the foundation for practicing my internal skill. Also, practicing archery will not delay the progress of my internal skill."
Tao Yunmeng heard his words and went silent for a moment. He felt that Xu Ning's words were reasonable.
He finally agreed. "Well, in that case, I will teach you archery."
"Thank you Uncle Meng."
Xu Ning quickly got up and thanked him.
Tao Yunmeng waved his hand and exhorted. "But you have to remember, you should only touch the surface of archery, but do not delve into it, as it will delay your internal skill progress."
"Understood, Uncle Meng."
Xu Ning answered.
Tao Yunmeng went out of the study room, leaving Xu Ning to wait.
After a while, Tao Yunmeng returned, holding an old book in his hand.
"I bought this from a down-and-out warrior when I was younger." Tao Yunmeng explained, "I was still in the village's hunting team then. I learned archery to defend myself in Yunze Mountains, but I only practiced it to the elementary realm."
Tao Yunmeng put the book in Xu Ning's hands.
Xu Ning grabbed it. The words "Light Feather Bow Technique" were engraved on the cover.
"Thank you Uncle Meng."
Xu Ning thanked him again.
After receiving the archery technique as he wished, Xu Ning made some small talk with Tao Yunmeng.
Tao Yunmeng taught Xu Ning some life lessons during their conversation.
He quite admired the young man.
Xu Ning also had a humble attitude towards studying. Although Tao Yunmeng's lessons were not particularly useful, he still gained a lot of knowledge.
After that, Xu Ning bid farewell to Tao Yunmeng.
Once again, Xu Ning received help from the Tao Village predecessors.
…
Yunze Mountains.
Inner circle.
This place was filled with beasts and not a single human in sight—it was full of danger.
A young man with a knife tied on his waist and a bow in his hand, ran between the steep slopes of the jungle, and behind him, a leopard the size of a tiger chased frantically.
The leopard was extremely agile and could easily avoid various obstacles.
But even so, it was not getting closer to the young man.
'After I got promoted to the muscle bone realm, my body became stronger. My explosiveness and endurance is not the same as before.'
The young man chased by the leopard was Xu Ning.
Although there was a beast chasing after him, Xu Ning's facial expression was still relaxed. He did not feel much pressure.
This was completely different from his first encounter with the black wolves.
'Is it tired yet…'
After running for a long time, Xu Ning noticed that the leopard behind him was moving a little slower.
This leopard had poor endurance.
'In this case, I should take the initiative.'
Xu Ning ran to one side of the hill, and soon he reached the high ground.
Xu Ning turned around and looked at the leopard.
After seeing that its prey suddenly stopped, the leopard slowly froze.
It bared its teeth and its eyes looked fierce. There was a whining sound in its throat.
'Light Feather Bow Technique…'
Xu Ning drew his bow and shot an arrow.
Prior to this, Xu Ning had already promoted his Light Feather Bow Technique to the elementary realm.
This consumed 4 units of energy, so he had 2 units of energy remaining.
Whoosh!
The arrow flew at the leopard.
The leopard suddenly felt a sense of danger. Its beast instincts allowed it to quickly dodge and avoid Xu Ning's arrow.
However, just after the leopard felt that it had avoided the dangerous situation, another arrow flew over.
This time, it was three arrows!
The three arrows flew towards the leopard, one after another.
This was the result of Xu Ning's archery technique practice.
The biggest feature of the Light Feather Bow Technique was that the arrows were shot forward quickly, making it difficult for the enemy to avoid.
The leopard let out a whine.
Its voice was high-pitched. It was clearly different from the roar of most beasts.
Xu Ning shot out three arrows consecutively, missing only one of them.
One arrow hit the leopard back, and the other scratched the leopard's shoulder.
The leopard finally realized that its prey had become a predator.
Almost without hesitating, the injured leopard began to flee.
But Xu Ning obviously did not let it go this easily.
He ran down from the high ground. With the help of inertia, he jumped several meters per step, moving at an extremely fast pace.
Xu Ning shot more arrows as he ran.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The arrows flew in the air.
Although the leopard was injured, it remained flexible, allowing it to dodge most of Xu Ning's arrows.
Even though only a few arrows hit the leopard, it was still greatly injured.
The leopard's movements slowed down, and Xu Ning caught up.
Xu Ning switched to his knife.
After a few slices, the leopard was killed by Xu Ning.
'It's a shame that there are holes in its fur.'
Xu Ning pulled out the arrows from the leopard and put them back into his quiver.
His previous shootings emptied out his quiver.
Then, Xu Ning took out a small knife and began to cut the fur.
Chương 22: Black Armored Guards
Biên tập viên: Henyee Translations
Afternoon.
Xu Ning began to head back to the Tao Village with the cut leopard fur.
He was walking towards the Tao Village.
Xu Ning saw that group of people on horses, galloping out of the Tao Village.
They were dressed in black armor and black clothes, with swords and long knives tied to their waists.
Looking at them from a distance, their movements were uniform and coordinated, and their horses moved at the same speed.
It gave off a strong oppressive vibe.
"Are they… the Black Armored Guards?"
Xu Ning looked confused.
Last time when he followed Tao Yungang into the city to escort the carriages, he caught a glimpse of the Black Armored Guards.
This was why Xu Ning was able to recognize them.
"What are the Black Armored Guards doing at the Tao Village?"
His predecessor had lived in the Tao Village for several years, but he had never seen the Black Armored Guards visiting.
"Could it be that something big happened recently?"
Xu Ning had some guesses in his heart, but he did not draw any conclusions.
Soon, he reached the gate at the entrance of the Tao Village.
They were guards from the village that patrolled around the entrance.
"Xu Ning, you're back. What did you bring back this time?"
As soon as Xu Ning walked over, a big man with a beard greeted him with a smile.
Xu Ning left the village every other day, so the guards at the entrance were well aware of who he was. Not to mention the story about him helping Tao Yungang and defeating Zhan Sandao, more and more people had begun recognizing him.
"I brought back a piece of leopard skin."
Xu Ning responded with a smile. "It's just a pity that I shot a few holes in the leopard skin with my arrows."
"That's not bad, much better than us guards standing around here all day."
The guard laughed as he spoke with a tony of envy.
Most of the Tao Village's guards were ordinary people, only a few people had external and internal skills.
Their daily work consisted of looking intimidating, so their income was rather low.
"By the way, just now I saw a group of people coming out of the village, and they looked like the Black Armored Guards?"
Xu Ning asked.
"Yes, it was the Black Armored Guards."
The guard said, "We were all surprised when they came. We haven't seen the Black Armored Guards before. They said they wanted to see the Clan Head, and we didn't dare to refuse."
"What were the Black Armored Guards doing in the village?"
Xu Ning asked.
"This I don't know…"
The guard shook his head.
"Hmm…"
When Xu Ning heard this, he did not ask any more questions.
After some more small talk, Xu Ning went to the hunting store in the village and sold the leopard coat.
…
Old clan church.
Nearly ten people were sitting in the hall.
They did not look young, even the youngest had some gray hairs on his head.
Everyone seemed to give off their own aura. They were obviously martial arts masters.
These people were the highest decision-making members of the Tao Village, the clan elders of the Tao family.
"Everyone is here?"
Sitting at the front was a spirited old man.
Although it was winter, he was still wearing a thin shirt. His exposed forearms were packed with muscle.
He was the contemporary Clan Head of the Tao Village, Tao Jingxing.
"All here."
The clan elders sitting below were on high alert, with their eyes all turned towards Tao Jingxing.
"I called everyone here today to tell you all something."
Tao Jingxing's voice was not loud, but he had an overwhelming aura. "Just now the Black Armored Guards Captain Xia Yuanxing came to the village to meet with me."
"Xia Yuanxing?"
When the clan elders heard the words, some were surprised, while some were calm.
Obviously, some people already knew that the Black Armored Guards had come by, while others did not have a clue.
"Clan Head, what is Xia Yuanxing doing here?"
Tao Jinglu was the one that spoke.
He had previously given Xu Ning and others the Spring Breeze Tactic cultivation technique.
Everyone heard Tao Jinglu's question.
Although some people knew that the Black Armored Guards had come here, Xia Yuanxing only met with Tao Jingxing alone. They did not know the specific content of the meeting.
Tao Jingxing didn't answer immediately. He rubbed his fingers and paused before speaking, "Xia Yuanxing said that the Black Armored Guards is going to select talents from the Tao Village."
'Selecting talents from the Tao Village?'
"Um…"
All of the clan elders were surprised when they heard this.
They looked at each other before looking at Tao Jingxing again.
"Clan Head, the Black Armored Guards never recruit people from our local area? Why did they suddenly change their mind?"
The one who spoke was a bald old man with a white beard on his chin.
Everyone agreed with the bald old man's words.
After the collapse of the previous dynasty, each state capital fought with each other. There were disputes between the state capitals, sects, and families.
Finally, 30 years ago, the Source Sect quickly rose up and became the true leader of State Feiyun.
Subsequently, the Source Sect established the Black Armored Guards in Yunying City, the state capital. They were dispatched to various places in the State Feiyun to control the jurisdiction of various places, and became the de facto ruler.
During the 30 years, the Black Armored Guards in Kangyun County had changed members, but new members were all sent from abroad, with none of the locals being recruited.
Everyone knew the reason for this.
After ending the chaos in State Feiyun and achieving unification, in order to maintain independence, the Black Armored Guards always drew a clear boundary with local and state.
They were a veteran force in Kangyun County. The Tao Village had always been guarded by the Black Armored Guards.
However, there was an understanding between the two. The Black Armored Guards never bullied the Tao Village, but if there was an order, the Tao Village would obey quietly.
This was not only true for the Tao Village, but also the Song Village and the Tan Village, the other two big villages in Kangyun County.
However, the balance between the two in the past 30 years was broken because of what Tao Jingxing had said.
If someone in the Tao Village entered the Black Armored Guards, then the boundary between the two would be diluted, and the Black Armored Guards would formally merge with the local forces.
"When Xia Yuanxing informed me of this, I also felt shocked."
Tao Jingxing explained, "Xia Yuanxing didn't say the reason directly. He just said that the situation is unstable, and it is inconvenient to recruit new guards. So, now is the time for them to find local talent."
"Clan Head, what are the selection criteria for the Black Armored Guards this time? How many people will be selected?"
A gray-haired old woman asked.
She had a wrinkled face and looked quite old, but her eyes shined with brilliance and astuteness.
This old woman's name was Tao Jingfang. She was the oldest person of the Tao Village and the only female clan elder.
She did not get married all her life. She had dedicated her life to the Tao Village.
"Sister Jingfang."
Even the Clan Head Tao Jingxing was polite to Tao Jingfang. "Xia Yuanxing said that they want to select 20 people in the Tao Village. The selection criteria are broad: the best young men between 14 and 18 years old would be selected into the Black Armored Guards."
"The best young men between 14 and 18 years old?"
Tao Jingfang's expression changed a little. "This is poaching the young backbones of the Tao Village."
"How could we let this happen?"
Tao Jinglu quickly said, "If we send our talents to the Black Armored Guards, what about the Tao Village? The future of our Tao Village lies in these young people."
Tao Jinglu's remarks aroused the support of all the clan elders present.
Faced with the emotional elders, Tao Jingxing furrowed his eyebrows and said, "Silence!"
Suddenly, the noisy old clan church quieted down instantly.
Tao Jingxing's majesty and power as the Clan Head was clear.
After seeing that everyone's emotions calmed down, Tao Jingxing's tone became calm again. "Everyone, I understand your concerns. At first, after Xia Yuanxing said this, I was also angry."
"But he made a promise to me afterwards." Tao Jingxing continued, "Xia Yuanxing said, after entering the Black Armored Guards, they would enjoy the right to stay in Kangyun County forever. Moreover, when the selected person reaches 40 years of age, they could make their own decision on whether to stay in the Black Armored Guards or return to the Tao Village."
"That's better!"
After hearing Tao Jingxing's follow-up explanation, all of the clan elders were intrigued.
Although the young people in the village would join the Black Armored Guards, they would not leave the local area—they would stay in Kangyun County.
Moreover, after reaching 40 years of age, the selected candidates could decide to stay or leave. If they ever returned to the Tao Village, they could still become the backbone of the Tao Village and lead the way to the future.
Now it seemed like sending talents from the Tao Village to the Black Armored Guards was reasonable.
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