Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Wholehearted Agreement
A two hundred-pound hard bow, unless you stand several hundred meters away, is a target-killer; no target can withstand a single arrow.
But the stronghold is only about two or three hundred meters wide. Thus, Chen Fan and Zhang Ren had to take the targets out of the stronghold.
Gu Ze hesitated for a moment but ultimately followed.
He needed to see it with his own eyes to believe it.
Once outside the stronghold, they saw nothing but overgrown weeds, with no wind at all in the air, dead silent.
Chen Fan placed the target about five or six hundred meters away, then ran back, positioning his left foot forward, right foot behind, raised the longbow, aimed at the heart of the target, and slowly drew the bowstring.
Gu Ze looked at Chen Fan, then at Zhang Ren’s serious face, and finally looked towards the distance.
What a joke, the target, to him, was just a tiny black dot, could they really aim and hit it?
The bowstring slowly drew back, muscles bulging in Chen Fan’s arms, veins visible, but throughout he remained perfectly steady.
Though it seemed long, it was barely a second or two before the bowstring was fully drawn, looking like a full moon.
Gu Ze held his breath, his throat feeling constricted, unable to utter a word.
Then a sound louder than firecrackers rang out.
A meter-long arrow, as thick as two fingers, shot out like lightning.
In less than two blinks of an eye, a crisp sound came from where the target was five or six hundred meters away, the arrow shot through the target and flew past.
"So fast."
Chen Fan couldn’t help but marvel.
With the hundred-pound bow he used before, the arrow’s speed was around a hundred meters per second, which he could barely see.
But this two hundred-pound longbow’s arrow speed was near the speed of sound, even he could only see a blurry afterimage.
"Indeed very fast, similar to the speed of a regular handgun bullet."
Zhang Ren commented from the side.
"?"
Gu Ze stared at them dumbfounded.
That crisp sound, he heard clearly, was indeed the sound of the target being pierced, hitting a target five or six hundred meters away—what terrifying archery.
Yet these two were nonchalantly discussing the arrow’s speed, as if not hitting the target was the unexpected situation?
Chen Fan glanced at the skill panel:
[Basic Archery: Level 6 (45.5%)]
The recent battle at Li Family Stronghold increased his [Basic Archery] proficiency by forty-five percent.
This means this arrow increased proficiency by 0.3%.
Just one ordinary arrow could increase proficiency this much, not bad, filling up the remaining proficiency would take just over a hundred arrows.
Of course, given his physical strength, he can shoot about twenty arrows a minute, which is roughly his limit. If he were to use rapid fire, the triple shot would likely exhaust him.
"Uncle Zhang, why don’t you give it a try?"
Chen Fan handed over the bow and arrow, "I can help you correct any mistakes."
"Alright."
Zhang Ren took the bow and arrow, recalling Chen Fan’s posture earlier, aimed at the target.
"Uncle Zhang, you’re too tense, your body is too stiff, and your hands are shaking slightly..."
Chen Fan corrected his posture as he spoke.
Zhang Ren felt a bit embarrassed, but he couldn’t deny Chen Fan’s archery skills.
After adjusting his posture, Zhang Ren released his fingers, and shortly after, another crisp sound came from the distance.
Apparently, he hit the target.
Zhang Ren took a deep breath and pulled out a second arrow from the quiver.
Gu Ze watched from the side, feeling somewhat ashamed.
He thought his archery wasn’t the best but still pretty decent. However, according to Chen Fan, many of his mistakes were those common to newcomers. If not corrected soon, they could become habits, limiting his future archery skills.
Hearing this, Gu Ze’s forehead started to sweat. Can he still change now?
After about ten minutes of guidance, Zhang Ren moved aside to practice alone. Knowing and doing are miles apart; only practice can bridge the gap.
"Uh, Chen Fan."
Gu Ze seized the opportunity, stammering, "Can you also give me some pointers?"
After speaking, he felt nervous, not daring to look into Chen Fan’s eyes, fearing rejection.
After all, they’ve known each other for less than two days, and he had arrogantly vowed to surpass the latter. Now, he was proactively seeking guidance.
It seemed a bit unreasonable.
"Sure."
However, Chen Fan immediately agreed.
"You... you agreed?"
Gu Ze raised his head, pleasantly surprised.
Chen Fan couldn’t help but laugh, "Why, did you think I would refuse?"
Gu Ze stayed silent, but his facial expression betrayed his thoughts.
Chen Fan patted his shoulder, saying, "We are from the same stronghold, aren’t we?"
"Yes."
Gu Ze nodded heavily.
Indeed, since this morning, the Gu Family Stronghold no longer exists.
"Chen Fan, thank you. I admit your archery skills are far better than I imagined. But one day, I’ll surpass you."
He said firmly.
"Great, I’m looking forward to that day."
Chen Fan smiled.
Having goals is always good if it can drive Gu Ze to grow and become stronger constantly.
However, Gu Ze’s comprehension is far worse compared to Zhang Ren. The latter would not repeat mistakes after one or two correction attempts.
Gu Ze, on the other hand, always went back and forth on mistakes, feeling quite embarrassed.
Chen Fan remained patient; archery, like spear technique, is easy to start but hard to master.
Maybe you can hit the target from ten meters away, but fifteen meters might be challenging, let alone hundreds of meters away. Shooting a target requires considering many factors.
After about twenty minutes of teaching, Chen Fan returned to his position, focusing on the [Meteor Arrow Technique].
Skill proficiency: 0.
The arrow he shot earlier increased [Basic Archery] proficiency slightly.
But [Meteor Arrow Technique] proficiency hasn’t changed.
"So, improving Meteor Arrow Technique proficiency requires rapid fire."
Chen Fan thought of this and raised the longbow, aiming at the target.
"Bang!"
A loud explosion sound!
Gu Ze glanced over, feeling a bit envious. Before he could think further.
Another sound, a third sound.
"!"
Gu Ze’s eyes widened instantly. What was happening? How many times had the sound repeated?
"Huu huu..."
Chen Fan’s chest heaved, his arms shaking uncontrollably. Indeed, a three-shot rapid fire with a two hundred-pound enhanced bow was close to his limit. A quadruple shot might be too much unless he unleashed the power of Qi and Blood.
But there’s no need, and he didn’t know how to invoke it.
However, at that moment, he seemed to hear the sound of liquid flowing inside his body, like a small river, flowing smoothly.
As it flowed through his chest, his breathing stabilized somewhat. As it flowed through his arms, the trembling reduced significantly.
"It’s blood circulation!"
His eyes lit up.