My Cultivation Starting from Archery

```

"They didn't chase us?"

Chen Sansi doubted whether he was hallucinating.

More than ten thousand foot soldiers, followed, perhaps, by another three thousand cavalry.

Just like that...

They let them cross the river?

"Boom—"

A loud noise thundered.

Chen Sansi saw from afar, about twenty miles away, it seemed as if someone was thrown into the sky and then fell back down, scattering like beans!

"Bang!"

"Who is Chen Sansi?!"

Another loud noise followed.

It was as if an Earth Dragon had turned over, and the entire riverbank trembled violently.

What seemed like a mountain crash-landed, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a general in shining armor. From the look of the armor, it was from the Sheng people.

"It is I."

Chen Sansi dismounted and bowed with his hands clasped, his breath somewhat unsteady.

"You have already returned? Sister Li was worried in vain; quickly cross the river," he said.

Lv Ji sized him up and noticed Sun Buqi next to him: "Younger martial brother, you're here too. How are your injuries?"

Sun Buqi's clothes were already ragged, soaked with blood from head to toe. He used his long spear as a crutch, supporting himself with difficulty, not even taking a glance as he said, "It's none of your concern."

"Hmm, it's good that you're alright," replied Lv Ji, who seemed accustomed to this. He turned to look at the black dots in the distant sky, his expression turning stern: "Oh no, master!"

"Bang—"

Yet another leap, shaking heaven and earth.

He could leap nearly a hundred zhang each time; in just a few breaths, he had disappeared from view.

Sister Li?

If this person was Sun Li's senior martial brother, then the master he mentioned...

Sun Dushi?

Chen Sansi looked towards where the ten thousand pursuers should have been coming from, his gaze growing more complex.

One person, to withstand over ten thousand barbarian bandits?

Is this really a human?

And there was Sun Li's senior martial brother.

One leap is over hundreds of zhang, what kind of realm is that?

The Meridian Passage Realm certainly does not demonstrate such strength, so it must be Mysterious Phenomenon, more like the legendary Martial Saint.

In Po Yang County, they were like frogs at the bottom of a well, only able to see a mere corner of the vast heavens.

Would their future opponents all be at this kind of level?

Chen Sansi thought about himself again.

Indeed, still far too weak.

But it's impractical to aim too high; set a small goal for now, reach Refining Internal Organs Perfection as soon as possible, then move on to Hua Jin.

"Plop—"

"Old Xiong, Old Xiong!"

"Dog Scrap!"

"Silly Chun!"

"Wu Da, Wu Da!"

"..."

Finally reaching the riverbank, with no pursuers behind them.

The brothers could no longer hold on, tumbling down to the ground one after another.

The initial thousand men, had now...

Become only four hundred!

Most of these four hundred were utterly exhausted, many collapsing unconscious on the spot.

Zhao Kang was covered in blood: "Sir, the brothers have all fallen, how do we cross the river..."

"Sir!"

"Mr. Chen!"

"..."

Upon the grand and turbulent surface of the Hongze River, suddenly, a few small boats appeared, then dozens, then hundreds, countless simple clothed figures standing on the boats, waving at them.

"Let's cross the river."

Chen Sansi breathed a sigh of relief.

With the help of hundreds, thousands of civilians.

These last four hundred men could finally lie flat and cross the river.

"Brother Shi!"

Gu Xinlan and Sun Li rowed a boat quickly over.

"How come you're bleeding so much..."

Gu Xinlan was biting and tearing, ripping off pieces of her dress's sleeves, preparing to use them for emergency bandaging.

"A minor injury."

Chen Sansi's cloth armor was already so tattered that it barely held together, his appearance now worse than a beggar's, blood mixed with grime covering his exterior, indistinguishable whether it was his enemy's or his own."

"My lady, Mr. Chen here singlehandedly killed five Refiners!"

Zhao Kang vividly remembered, saying, "If it weren't for that, we would all have died at Yellow Earth Ridge!"

This was too terrifying.

He hadn't been practicing martial arts for long.

Among those barbarian leaders, at least two were at the small achievement in Refining Internal Organs, but they couldn't withstand a single blow from him.

Keep in mind, this was during a fierce encirclement.

Otherwise, they might not have lasted even three rounds!

That means, Chen Sansi could now take on five Xiang Tingchuns!

"How many?"

"Five!" Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire

Sun Li also turned pale, hastened to take out a porcelain jar from her bosom, containing scar-removal ointment Chen Sansi himself had previously mixed for her. It was very effective for treating external wounds, and she was ready to apply it personally.

"Sister, what about me..."

Sun Buqi, who followed from beginning to end, was also full of wounds, but seemingly, nobody cared about him.

"Sister, I'm really okay."

Chen Sansi had only shallow wounds on his body, merely some cuts and bleeding here and there, which wouldn't take more than a few days to heal, even though it looked rather scary.

Fortunately, he relied on his Iron Bone Copper Skin trait; an ordinary person would have been minced into pulp by now.

His worst injuries were internal.

Taking on the Meridian Passage was no joke, and later he was hit by heavy weaponry, slightly damaging his internal organs.

But it was no big problem, a few days of rest would be enough for recovery.

"Hmm..."

When Sun Li touched the wounds, she recoiled like she had been electrocuted, then she handed the ointment to Gu Xinlan: "It's better if Sister applies the medicine for you."

"Really, it's not necessary, let's talk about it after we get back."

```

Chen Sansi lay on the deck, watching the riverbank grow increasingly distant and the fading commotion in the distance.

"Did they really hold them back?"

"That's no longer my concern."

In any case, he had won.

It was just that the other prefecture cities, counties, and villages in Yunzhou, as well as the millions of other civilians and soldiers guarding the borders, were probably not so lucky.

So many matters.

Chen Sansi had no energy left to think about them.

"I'm so tired, Sister Lan, I'm going to sleep for a while."

In the past two months, he had hardly slept well.

Now, at last, he could rest properly.

—

Capital City.

Imperial Palace.

"It's snowing!"

"Heaven blesses us with auspicious snow!"

"The Emperor is virtuous indeed!"

"Go and report the good news!"

"..."

Vermilion high walls, golden bricks, and sparkling tiles.

Snow from the sky blankets everything in white, dressing it all in silver.

With this year's belated heavy snow, joy enveloped both inside and outside the Imperial Palace.

"Master!"

"It's snowing!"

"..."

A dozen eunuchs from the Ritual Supervision, wearing thick and warm red cloaks, knelt in unison outside the palace gates. Above their heads, the massive plaque bore the gilded characters "Longevity Palace."

Despite being in the Imperial Palace, there were almost no ostentatious decorations visible. Both the architecture and decor were restrained. The layout seemed more akin to a Taoist temple than a palace.

Only those who knew their craft could appreciate that every timber here was worth its weight in gold, and each tile was invaluable. Constructing such a palace must have taken an extraordinary amount of time, labor, and wealth.

The eunuchs knelt before the doors, unmoving, quickly becoming covered with ice and snow as if they were sculptures made of ice.

Inside the great hall.

There was no Dragon Chair here, only high altars shrouded with layers of cyan-gray curtains, barely revealing the silhouettes of figures sitting cross-legged inside, their true faces hidden, only silence pervading as if the hall itself were amidst the frozen lands.

"Your Majesty, I know you bear the worries of the entire world, but please, do not rush and harm Your celestial body."

A court official in a scarlet robe knelt on the ground, his words earnest.

Next to him, an old man sat on a small stool instead of kneeling, speaking slowly, "Your Majesty, judging by the time, Mr. Huang should be returning soon."

Still silence.

"A great victory—"

"A great victory in the Northwest!"

"A great victory in Yunzhou!"

Only when the urgent and clear voices announcing the joyous news entered the hall, did the entire Longevity Palace suddenly feel as warm as spring.

"Your humble servant pays respects to Your Majesty, long live, long live, forever long live!"

An old eunuch with youthful features and white hair, dressed in a black uniform, rushed into the hall, exhausted from the journey. He knelt heavily on the ground and performed a deep kowtow, then without any further words, he took out a petition and read aloud:

"On the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Eight Camps in Liangzhou greatly defeated the Tuoba Clan at Moqiu, annihilating over thirty thousand of the enemy, beheading ten commanders, and capturing innumerable supplies and provisions. As a result, the other three nomadic tribes on the grasslands crumbled without a fight, retreating over three hundred miles overnight, back into the depths of the grasslands."

"On the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, the Youzhou Army arrived in Yunzhou, and An Ding Prefecture was saved from peril. Soon after, Xuanwu Camp and Vermilion Bird Camp led the Liangzhou Army into the battle, reclaimed the entire territory within seven days!"

Behind the curtains, the authoritative voice carried a hint of urgency.

"What else is there?"

"This is a letter written by hand from the Great Khan Tuoba, seeking peace, and he requests Your Majesty to read it personally!"

Mr. Huang knelt on the ground, took out an exquisitely crafted box, and carefully presented it just outside the curtains.

A large hand reached out from within the curtains and swiftly snatched the box away.

"Click."

The sound of the box opening echoed.

Moments later, for the first time in twenty years, everyone present heard the Emperor burst into laughter, a sign of immense pleasure.

Emperor Longqing's voice was exuberant, "In this matter, Yan Liang is the chief contributor, but the rest have also made great contributions, and they shall all be rewarded, all be rewarded!"

"Master."

Mr. Huang stood up with permission, bent at the waist, and said, "There is one more small matter that I have not yet fully reported."

"Speak."

Mr. Huang spoke slowly and evenly, "Chen Sansi, the Captain Chengxin from Yunzhou, is still alive. Not only did he survive, but he also rescued tens of thousands of civilians from Po Yang County. In the end, to cover the civilians' crossing of the river, he and slightly more than a thousand men held off five thousand Iron Cavalry and even cut down several enemy generals of the same realm, proving himself to be invincible and brave.

"At the critical moment, Sun Xiangzong took action personally.

"With a single thrust of his spear, Sun Xiangzong penetrated one thousand eight hundred armors and routed nearly twenty thousand barbarian bandits."

"Pierced one thousand eight hundred armors?"

The relatively young official in the crimson robe sneered, "Just the mention of his name makes me angry! Your Majesty, I suspect that the deaths of Magistrate Xue and Magistrate Ji in Po Yang may have been the work of Sun Xiangzong!

"That Sun fellow is a dying flame in the wind, yet he still dares to play the hero. I think he's grown tired of living."

"Your Majesty."

Mr. Huang lowered his voice, "Initially, your sacred edict intended to promote Chen Sansi to a position in the Capital City. Now, by a twist of fate, he has ended up in the Governor Mansion. Your Majesty, should we still reward him, or issue another decree for his reassignment?"

"Rewarding him is a certainty, but there's no need to call him back."

The voice behind the curtains resumed its untroubled tone, "I, am very fond of this brave young man.

"But if Sun Xiangzong is willing to act, it shows he likes the boy too, perhaps enough to pass on his True Inheritance. If we were to recall him now, wouldn't we be ruining his opportunity for nothing?

"Yan Liang, what are your thoughts?"

"In response to Your Majesty,"

Elder Yan spoke with a weighty voice, "Considering the last letter from Xue Yuping, Chen Sansi shows great respect for Your Majesty. He accepted everything granted by the imperial decree on the spot. With proper grooming, he may become a useful talent in time.

"Moreover, Princely Heir Cao Fan might not be quite to Sun Xiangzong's liking.

"How about we leave him in the Governor Mansion for now, to see how far he can go?"

"Hmm, do as Yan Liang suggests!

"Besides, the act of helping civilians cross the river should not only be rewarded but also proclaimed to the whole world. Let the people everywhere see that my servants are all such righteous individuals!

"Did you just mention that it is snowing?"

The curtains were lifted, revealing the face of the True Dragon.

Emperor Longqing, though an elderly man with years upon him, surprisingly still had mostly black hair on his head, and he walked with a firm and steady gait. If not for the scent of decay that emitted from him, one could almost believe in his ability to rejuvenate.

He went to the entrance of the Longevity Palace and watched the snow fluttering down from the sky, feeling emotional, "Such an auspicious heavy snow. With this snow, good news has been coming one after another. Well then, with the end of the war, I can finally close off in peace. You may all withdraw."

Upon hearing this, almost everyone knelt down at the same time.

"Congratulations to Your Majesty, joyous tidings to Your Majesty!"

"After this battle, our great Dasheng empire shall last for a thousand, a myriad of generations, thriving forevermore!"

"And Your Majesty will surely attain Immortality!"

"The next time we see Your Majesty, we shall likely have to address you as Immortal."

"Emperor Wan Shou, Emperor Wan Shou!"

"You lot just know how to flatter me. Hurry up and withdraw, don't disturb my meditation."

Emperor Longqing swept back to his palace with a wave of his sleeve.