Dawn of a New Era

There's still a lot of room for improvement!

"Nonsense. The province doesn't know the situation. I just happened to complete a significant national task, so I became a role model. But this is a state secret, and it's not appropriate to talk about it," Chen Shouyi said with a nervous smile.

But even so, Mrs. Chen looked delighted and said, "Really? Did you get a certificate or anything? Quickly, take it out and show us."

"Mom, given the current situation in the country, do you think they'd give out certificates? They just held a recognition meeting, that's all!" Chen Shouyi quickly replied.

Something like the Godslayer Medal is, of course, not something one can show.

It would be too shocking for the parents.

"Not even a certificate!" Chen Dawei said somewhat disappointedly. He wanted to keep it as a family heirloom.

Chen Xingyue suddenly and unexpectedly asked, "So, bro, you're at least a Martial Artist now, right?"

Chen Shouyi noticed the hint of dangerous sparks in Chen Xingyue's eyes on her expressionless face and said awkwardly, "Well... actually, I only just recently became a Martial Artist."

Chen Dawei coughed, interrupting, "You guys chat; we're going to sleep first!"

Mrs. Chen chuckled secretly and said, "You two don't stay up too late, go to bed early too!"

Chen Shouyi immediately sensed something ominous and quickly said, "Uh, after sitting on the train for two days, I'm exhausted. I'll take a bath first!"

He said, picking up the briefcase and heading upstairs.

"Bro, we haven't seen each other for a month; let's chat for a while, okay?" said Chen Xingyue sweetly from behind.

"What do we have to talk about? It's so late. Let's talk about whatever it is tomorrow morning!" Chen Shouyi quickened his pace as he spoke, taking a few quick steps to get to his bedroom and open the door.

...

"Bang!"

Listening to the dull sound of the door closing from upstairs, Chen Xingyue gritted her teeth silently.

Hmph, he clearly became a Martial Artist in May and kept lying to me.

Even conspired with mom and dad to keep it from me.

Although I know he's doing it for my good, not wanting me to take risks as a Martial Artist.

But when I think about it, it really makes me angry!

...

The next day, Chen Xingyue got up early.

But she was still a step too late; her brother went out before dawn.

She stomped her feet in anger!

What kind of brother is this, acting so shamelessly?

She still wanted to ask about her own strength!

Too infuriating.

If you have the guts, don't come back every day!

...

Of course, Chen Shouyi wasn't avoiding his sister.

Now he could suppress his sister with just his pinky; what's there to fear?

It's just a paper tiger with a loud roar but no real power!

He simply didn't want to waste time on sleeping and delay his archery practice.

The Martial Artist exam in the Capital City was a huge blow to him and a complete loss of face.

He was determined to practice archery well and compensate for his weakest point.

...

The alternate world was getting colder and colder.

The real harsh winter had already arrived.

The temperature here had dropped to minus forty degrees Celsius.

The knife-like cold wind was recklessly blowing through the desert, and the originally soft sandy ground had now frozen into a hard, solid tundra.

After putting the Shell Lady in her warm little nest, Chen Shouyi practiced the Horizontal Training 36 Styles in the cold wind over a dozen times, sweating profusely as a warm-up.

Before practicing, he checked his attribute panel.

His swordsmanship level had reached "Expert: 3"

But his archery level was a pitiful "Mastery: 11"

The gap between the two was too big.

Chen Shouyi guessed that martial artists were probably at an expert level, and even large martial artists might be at this level!

The main reason was still that he hadn't had enough practice time.

From when he began archery, it had been a year at most.

His swordsmanship reached the expert level, thanks to achieving marrow training level, allowing for precise control over his body's strength.

But there's no shortcut in archery.

Although precise control of strength can allow for quick entry-level progress in archery, to progress further, it requires constant, year-in, year-out, hard practice.

...

Chen Shouyi started from a standing, towering deadwood, took two hundred steps before stopping.

"It should be a hundred and fifty meters now!" Chen Shouyi thought as he looked at the distance.

He threw a large arrow pouch on the ground, then opened it. It was full of arrows, at least three hundred in number.

He drew one, notched it to the bow, pulled the string, and released it with his fingers.

With a "boom", the arrow instantly grazed the huge withered tree in front with a diameter of five meters and flew out of sight.

"I guess my hands are a bit stiff."

Chen Shouyi immediately rubbed his hands, jumped in place a few times, and drew another arrow to the bowstring.

This time, he got serious, took a few seconds to aim before releasing the string.

This time he adjusted and hit the target, but missed by about two meters.

"Damn, the wind is too strong here."

Feeling the three to four-grade cold wind here, Chen Shouyi couldn't help feeling a bit agitated.

He shot ten arrows consecutively.

Only eight barely hit the trunk, the rest flew out of sight.

"This shouldn't be." Chen Shouyi looked at the meager hit rate, feeling out of sorts, unable to accept it: "I'd be better off shooting randomly by feel. During the exam, I could hit a small target nine out of ten times, and with such a large target now, it should be a guaranteed hit. This time I aimed so carefully, yet the accuracy declined so drastically!"

Chen Shouyi hesitated for a moment and then shook his head, dismissing the anxious thoughts from his mind:

"No, this method is completely wrong, not orthodox. Skyscrapers rise from the ground, and the foundation of everything is the most important.

I'm not a Martial Artist right now; I'm a beginner archer. I must be patient, not anxious, and train step by step. Now is the time to make up for lost lessons, I can't be laughed at again."

Chen Shouyi moved from one hundred and fifty meters to one hundred meters.

Not long after, he moved from one hundred meters to fifty meters, and then to twenty meters.

From drawing the bowstring fully, to pulling it halfway, and finally pulling it only a quarter.

This way, the arrows wouldn't be damaged or deformed, and each arrow could be reused.

"Bang bang bang..."

He was ultimately not a novice, and his intelligence far surpassed ordinary people. Plus, with precise control of his body's strength, he quickly mastered the knack of shooting. Soon, within twenty meters, he could hit every target flawlessly, shooting exactly where he aimed.

He didn't immediately increase the distance, but continued to practice at this range. After several hours of practice and reinforcement, he could hit even a coin-sized target flawlessly, before extending the distance back to fifty meters.

The accuracy of his shooting dropped sharply at once, but he continued to practice patiently.

Chen Shouyi kept shooting, from the alien world's noon to dusk, and from dusk to night, not feeling tired at all. Except for taking a break to eat, and practicing the Horizontal Training 36 Styles for half an hour, he spent the rest of the time focusing on practicing archery.

Before leaving, he had improved his shooting accuracy at fifty meters to seven or eight out of ten.

...

The evening sun slanted to the west, dyeing the sky a red hue.

Chen Shouyi left the spatial passage, riding his bicycle and merging into the stream of bicycles.

It was rush hour, and the roads were filled with off-duty workers.

He checked his attribute panel and found his archery had increased from Mastery: 11 to Mastery: 13.

So fast!

Just one day of practice.

Maybe it won't take long before reaching expert level.

Chen Shouyi closed the attribute panel, invigorated, and gave a strong pedal to his bike's pedal.

Suddenly, with a "snap," the bike chain broke into two pieces, and Chen Shouyi dismounted with a blank expression.

Sigh, the quality of bicycles these days is too poor.

...

"Not only did your chain break, but the pedal is broken too and a few gear teeth are gone." Finally, it was Chen Shouyi's turn, and the bicycle repair shop owner said, "If it weren't for the frame still being intact, I would have thought it was in an accident."

"Can you fix it?"

"I can fix it. How about you leave it, and come pick it up tomorrow?" the old craftsman said. "Don't worry, I can give you a receipt. Bicycles are expensive these days, an average person would need a few months' salary to buy one."

"Never mind then!" Chen Shouyi replied, thinking that if he had to wait until tomorrow, he might as well buy a new one.

With that, he walked out.

"Hey, you don't want your bike?"

"Forget it, it's yours now!" Chen Shouyi said without looking back.