Chapter 89: I’ll Let You Shoot an Arrow First

Chapter 89: Chapter 89: I’ll Let You Shoot an Arrow First

"You..."

Jianng Hongfei choked on his words, his expression quite a sight.

He thought indignantly, "What does he take me for? A servant? I busied myself for over an hour and threw away the Jianng Family’s dignity, and it’s only worth two hundred taels of silver?"

"A total of forty thousand, one hundred taels of silver was collected here," Jianng Hongfei said. "Among them, only Liu Zhi’s three hundred taels were a bet on you to win. The rest are all betting on you to lose!

"When the time comes... you will have to pay out four thousand taels!"

"On one hand, I lose four thousand taels. On the other, I earn forty thousand taels. Do you really think I’ll lose?" Lu Yuan closed the lid, grabbed the silver, and left without another word.

Jianng Hongfei’s mind went entirely blank. He wondered what Lu Yuan meant.

"You’re still too green," Chen Qiang said, patting Jianng Hongfei on the shoulder before following Lu Yuan.

"Me? Green?" Jianng Hongfei was bewildered, though his expression remained incredibly colorful.

He thought, "Can Lu Yuan really win? Without being able to use a Profound Weapon or a Hidden Weapon, he can win? If he does, I’ll write my name backward!"

* * *

"Lu Yuan, it’s about time. Don’t keep everyone waiting," Sunx Jin said, walking out with a saber and a round wooden shield.

"Sure." Lu Yuan held a Longbow in his hand, with two Long Sabers hanging from his waist and a quiver slung across his back.

"Is that Lu Yuan?"

"He looks so young! I heard he’s not even sixteen yet..."

"He really isn’t... Where does he get the confidence to fight Sunx Jin?"

"I was a little worried at first, but now..."

"I bet too little earlier! I should have put down a thousand taels of silver!"

The surrounding crowd murmured in discussion.

Three to four hundred people had gathered at the scene. The vast majority were Eighth-Grade Martial Artists, with a few at the Seventh Grade, and even two at the Sixth Grade. Some of them had seen Lu Yuan before, but most were laying eyes on him for the first time. Today, Lu Yuan was finally, truly making a name for himself in the Demon Suppression Bureau—the kind of fame where people actually recognized his face.

Despite his martial arts training hardening the contours of his jawline, his fifteen or sixteen-year-old face still looked somewhat tender and youthful. On one side was a boy not yet sixteen who had only condensed his Gang Qi a few days prior. On the other was Sunx Jin, a man in his twenties, an elite who had honed himself in the Demon Suppression Bureau for over four years, and a martial artist at the Eighth Grade Peak.

The disparity between the two was far too massive and obvious. The bystanders couldn’t help but feel that Sunx Jin was bullying a child. It was a bit shameless. Even if he won, there would be no glory in it. Of course, the silver they were about to earn still smelled sweet.

"Lu Yuan is holding a bow and arrows. Is he skilled in archery?"

"Maybe, but no matter how good his archery is, he’s finished on this training ground."

"Yeah, a bow is a long-range lethal weapon. It’s only advantageous at a distance and on open ground. At close range, he’s totally screwed!"

"Distance wouldn’t matter anyway. Sunx Jin is at the Eighth Grade Peak. Whether it’s his reaction time, his speed, or the power of his True Gang, he is far beyond anything Lu Yuan can compare to. With one charge, he’ll be right in the kid’s face in just a few steps."

"Look, Sunx Jin even prepared a shield. He obviously knew Lu Yuan was good at archery and made specific preparations. Sunx Jin is being overly cautious; there’s no need for that."

"Agreed. If it were me, a single saber would be enough."

"I wouldn’t even use a weapon."

Anyone who had been to school knew that students with the most stationery were usually the poor performers. The same logic applied to the dueling ring; those with the most equipment were typically the weak links. Lu Yuan’s heavy loadout didn’t intimidate anyone.

"First, let me explain the rules," Wang Zhong said with a smile, stepping between the two combatants. "Rule number one: in a duel between Eighth-Grade Martial Artists, the use of a Profound Weapon is forbidden!" As he spoke, he shot a pointed look at Lu Yuan.

He wondered, "Do you even have one?"

Sunx Jin also smiled, looking at Lu Yuan with anticipation, hoping to see the boy panic. Unfortunately, Lu Yuan remained unfazed.

Sunx Jin thought, "What’s going on? Did he already know? Has he accepted his fate and is just pretending to be calm?"

"Rule number two..." Wang Zhong held up two fingers. "The use of a Hidden Weapon, poison, quicklime, or other underhanded methods is prohibited!"

This was another subtle jab at Lu Yuan, as Wang Zhong knew the boy had learned the Cloud-Brushing Hand and could wield a Hidden Weapon. In truth, it wasn’t just Lu Yuan; Sunx Jin was also adept at using a Hidden Weapon and had relied on poisons and hidden projectiles to assassinate many a Demonic Martial Artist. In the Demon Suppression Bureau, any means necessary were permitted for the sake of the mission. Therefore, Wang Zhong felt that Lu Yuan should consider himself lucky regarding this rule.

"Rule number three..." Wang Zhong’s expression grew serious. "In internal Bureau duels, taking a life is strictly forbidden. Violators will face severe punishment!

"Do you understand?"

"Understood!"

"I understand!" Sunx Jin and Lu Yuan replied.

"If you have any non-compliant equipment, please hand it over now. Otherwise, using it during the duel will result in an automatic forfeit!" Wang Zhong gave his final warning. With so many experts present, even if they had brought forbidden items, they wouldn’t be able to use them anyway.

Neither Lu Yuan nor Sunx Jin moved.

"Let me add one more point," Chen Qiang said, stepping into the ring. "In a match between an archer and a martial artist, a starting distance of at least fifty meters should be established!"

He was fighting for this condition on Lu Yuan’s behalf. It was, of course, entirely justified. The environment played a crucial role in combat.

"Fine by me," Sunx Jin smiled and turned to walk outward. For him, covering fifty meters would take less than a breath. Lu Yuan would be able to fire two or three arrows at most, so it didn’t change the outcome.

Lu Yuan also turned and walked in the opposite direction, stopping when the distance was roughly right before turning back around.

RUSTLE.

The spectators quickly retreated and scattered, some even finding cover. Previously, they hadn’t known an archer was involved. For Lu Yuan to dare challenge Sunx Jin, he definitely had to possess some real skill. If stray arrows came flying toward a dense, unavoidable crowd, a tragedy might occur. However, the men of the Demon Suppression Bureau were all experts, confident that they wouldn’t fail to block a stray arrow.

CLANG.

Sunx Jin drew his saber with one hand and raised his shield with the other, fully prepared.

SWISH.

Lu Yuan pulled out four arrows in a single motion. He clamped three between the exposed fingers of his bow hand and held the last one separately in his right hand. This was the standard grip for rapid-fire archery.

"I’ll let you take the first shot!" Sunx Jin called out, his voice brimming with arrogant provocation.

"Alright!" Lu Yuan didn’t stand on ceremony. In an instant, he nocked an arrow and drew the bowstring back to its absolute limit.

Originally, he had only planned to draw a half-bow for his first shot, prioritizing rapid-fire speed. But since Sunx Jin wanted to show off, then...

WHOOSH.

The arrow released, tearing through the air in an instant. Its speed far exceeded everyone’s imagination, even shocking the observing Seventh-Grade Martial Artists like Wang Zhong and Chen Qiang. It was like a fleeting phantom of light!

Sunx Jin’s pupils violently contracted as he hastily shifted his wooden shield.

BANG.

The shield—crafted from three-hundred-year-old ironwood and sturdier than ordinary metal—was instantly pierced through. The arrow continued its trajectory straight toward Sunx Jin. Of course, after having the majority of its kinetic force absorbed by the wooden shield, its lethality was greatly diminished. Even so, the sheer impact sent Sunx Jin stumbling backward.

He frantically dodged.

SLICE.

A long, bloody gash was torn open across his right shoulder. He hadn’t managed to evade entirely and took a hit. In that split second, he hadn’t even had the time to condense his Gang Qi; his reaction had been just a beat too slow.

Lu Yuan’s first arrow had drawn blood!

The surroundings instantly plunged into dead silence, the air itself seeming to stagnate. Wang Zhong, Chen Qiang, and the rest of the spectators were caught entirely off guard. They never expected the duel to open in such a manner.

Yet, this was merely the beginning.

Lu Yuan had already prepared for a four-arrow volley, so he naturally wouldn’t let such a perfect opportunity slip by. In fact, the moment he loosed his first arrow, he had already predicted Sunx Jin’s exact reaction based on the trajectory and force.

Therefore, just as Sunx Jin stabilized his footing and snapped his head back around, the second arrow wasn’t just being fired—it was already closing in, a mere ten meters away from his face.