My Cultivation Starting from Archery

"Are you certain, all of them?"

Fang Qingyun repeated the question.

He had several exchanges and conversations with Mr. Xu recently and found him quite agreeable. Indeed, the man possessed considerable talent; it was only a pity that his background limited his perspective, requiring him to relearn much. Nevertheless, given time, Mr. Xu would undoubtedly accomplish great things.

Adding Tang Ruoshan to that, even if his meridians were damaged, he could still be of use, but as for the others, there was little understanding.

"I am certain!"

Chen Sansi's voice boomed.

Not far away, General Zhao of Liangzhou glanced over and reminded kindly, "Young man, my soldiers from Liangzhou may not compare to the Eight Camps, but they are all battle-hardened."

"Please excuse me, General Zhao."

Chen Sansi bowed with his hands clasped: "I was merely speaking out of habit about my former comrades."

"There's nothing to excuse,"

General Zhao said indifferently, "I just don't understand. Everyone else desperately selects the elite, yet you search for disadvantages. What's the rationale? Even the simplest protective formation requires five hundred men. Do you have enough?"

"Just enough."

When Chen Sansi crossed the river, he had just over four hundred men and there was a group responsible for aiding the civilians crossing the river, adding up to just over five hundred, most of whom were now temporarily assigned as service soldiers in the Eight Camps.

This was also in accordance with the rules.

Which general did not have their trusted personal soldiers?

Any Selected Spear General, if they had their subordinates, could pull them into battle.

This could even better demonstrate the true level of their leadership.

However, the Selected Spear Reserve Generals came from throughout the Great Sheng Dynasty's capital and thirty-six states, a significant portion of them had never fought in wars and had no subordinates, while others were from too far away to call over.

Therefore, for fairness in the assessment, those without their own troops could freely choose from the Liangzhou Guard Station.

"General Fang."

Chen Sansi continued, "In this selection, I plan to use my original subordinates throughout. If their performance meets the mark, is it possible for them to stay in the Eight Camps, promoted to warriors?"

"Of course."

Fang Qingyun confirmed, "Their initial assignment to service duties was simply because I was unfamiliar with their specific qualities. If they truly can make it from beginning to end, it proves their quality is no issue, and naturally, they can be promoted to warriors."

"Brother Chen, you're being foolish!"

Yan Changqing rushed over to intervene, "You absolutely mustn't! How could you use the disbanded soldiers you brought from Po Yang County in the selection assessment? If the formation breaks, they'll be eliminated in the first round and end up joining the Deputy General's draft, which would make it hard for them to get a command position again!"

Po Yang.

A mere small county in the countryside.

The quality of the garrison soldiers in the rural areas of the Great Sheng Dynasty was something everyone knew about, though they wouldn't say out loud; it was crystal clear in their hearts.

In many places, up to half the payroll was fraudulent, and even arrows and weapons had been sold for money.

It was only in recent years that Sun Xiangzong moved to Liangzhou and started rectifying the North, gradually reducing the fraudulent payrolls, but the combat effectiveness remained painfully low.

"Brother Chen!"

Yan Changqing whispered in his ear: "I know you are loyal, but even in consideration of your former subordinates, you should understand one thing: as long as your Selected Spears achieve a good ranking and you establish your standing in the Eight Camps, you can bring them up sooner or later."

"Mr. Yan, you needn't worry for me."

Chen Sansi spoke frankly, "I use my old subordinates mainly to save the time needed for acclimation, and I have confidence in them."

In fact, Po Yang County was one of the better places. Xiang Tingchun harbored great ambitions and, since assuming the role of Households, had always strived to maintain rigorous military discipline despite the inherent corruption.

It was not until a great battle later on that a significant change occurred, forged by fire; those who survived now possessed some real capabilities.

"Ah, this is realizing the advantages of a good reputation."

On another side, Yin Hanwen intentionally spoke loudly, "To carry through with pretense as decency and righteousness, aren't you afraid of ruining your own future?"

"Can't help it, hypocrites, they're the best at winning people's hearts!"

Wen Qiushi chimed in, deliberately for everyone nearby to hear.

"Actually, I think it's not about pretense."

Among the many Selected Spear Generals, there were also many who understood the reality.

One relatively slim young man murmured softly, "That Mr. Chen, who risked his life to ferry the civilians across the river, how could he be pretending?"

"Tang Yingke, whose side are you on?"

Yin Hanwen stared at him, "Siding with them, have you gone mad?"

Tang Yingke immediately shut his mouth.

Since the Immortal Crane Tower, he had been following Cao Fan and several others, clearly also a young master from the capital.

"He won't say it, so I will!"

Bai Thingzhi burst out swearing, "You all are hypocrites, yet can't stand to see someone else being noble? What rubbish! And that Princely Heir, I heard last night that his troops were all transferred from the capital, why even bother competing? Just let him win already."

"Hiss, here we go again…"

Chen Sansi really felt somewhat powerless, mouths were on other people's faces, what could he do.

Cao Fan's people, all transferred from the capital?

Obviously, regardless of the place, absolute fairness was unachievable.

Any reserve General from an impoverished background who could command the elite of Liangzhou was already considered fortunate.

Moreover, deploying formations was only the first assessment; there were many more aspects to come.

The one with the best overall score would be the True Inheritor.

"You scoundrel, how dare you offend the Princely Heir?!"

Yin Hanwen was livid, ready to draw his weapon on the spot.

Princely Heir Cao Fan stopped him, not angry, but his voice was ice-cold, "You're called Bai Tingzhi?"

"I have not changed my name, nor have I changed my surname!"

Bai Tingzhi stood straight.

"A fine example of not changing one's name or surname."

Cao Fan turned his head to look at Chen and Yan, sinisterly said, "Bai Tingzhi, you really are a good dog that bites for its master. It's a pity that your master isn't me, and you've also chosen the wrong master. Do you think they can protect you?"

"You don't need to threaten me!"

Bai Tingzhi said fearlessly, "If Your Highness wants to take action, you can do it now!"

"Enough."

Fang Qingyun slowly interjected to stop their argument, his voice still very light, yet it carried an inexplicable authority, "Settle any differences in the competition arena. Anyone who dares to fight privately will be disqualified from the Selected Spear."

The two then ceased.

The Selected Spear Generals dispersed.

Chen Sansi also met his subordinates he hadn't seen for several days in the Martial Arts Arena temporarily assigned to him.

As time had passed, naturally, these people had also improved in their realms.

Zhu Tong and Wang Li had just recently begun their Bone Training.

The rest had also each made progress.

"Rest assured, sir!"

Everyone was full of confidence, "In terms of cultivation, we might not compare, but when it comes to setting up formations and coordinating, who can surpass us? Those standing here have all crawled out from piles of the dead!"

"That's right. No matter the formation, we can learn it the fastest."

"..."

Wang Zhi made a guarantee, "Sansi, just leave it to me and Xu Wencai. We won't need nine days, in just five days we can train the Four Gate Base Formation so it's ready for the battlefield."

That was what was said.

Of course, Chen Sansi still needed to stay personally and watch until the afternoon, confirming there were no problems before he took up a long spear and arrow and went up the mountain.

In the meantime, he had also learned about Bai Tingzhi's background.

He was from You State's Guangling County, his father was a Scholar, and he himself loved Martial Arts. After voluntarily joining the army, he was discovered to be a genuine Vajra Body. He had also suffered oppression; people wanted to steal his Selected Spear slot and he killed them directly, offending many locals.

Luckily, the Selection Officer arrived in Guangling and took him away so he could be unharmed.

To this day, Bai Tingzhi was an entry-level practitioner of the refining organs skill.

Absolute genius.

His speed of cultivation was nearly as fast as Chen Sansi's, it's just that his interpersonal skills were somewhat reckless; as soon as he arrived, he offended many people, even if he didn't want to recognize this subordinate, others probably would.

This time going hunting in the mountains, Sun Buqi and Bai Tingzhi were both there.

Sun Buqi held a bow, with a huge case on his back, not knowing what was inside.

Using this chance, Chen Sansi just happened to break through his "Traceless Tracking" to see what effects it would have after reaching great success, who could have thought that hunting skills could also be used in military warfare?

"Qian Xun, you're going too; what are you going to do while I hunt?"

He looked at the approaching White Swan Horse, gently patting its head, "You just want to go out and play, don't you? Go ahead, find me at the foothill of the Luotian Mountain Range before it gets dark."

Qian Xun nodded his head, running off joyfully until it vanished without a trace.

"Sansi."

Sun Buqi, watching the horse fly off, "There is something off with your horse, it definitely qualifies as an Exotic Beast."

Chen Sansi seized the opportunity to ask, "Are there such things as Exotic Beast Horses?"

"Naturally, there are,"

Sun Buqi nodded, "But they're extremely rare, and their appearances are also different from ordinary horses. For example, my eldest senior brother's Fire Horse, which has blood-red eyes and steams with heat all over its body when it runs, coupled with its all-red fur, looks just like it is on fire; hence its name.

"Your white horse, on the other hand, looks nothing unusual at a glance, so how can it run so fast? It could well be some kind of mutant that you've come across."

Chen Sansi had always been curious.

No matter how exceptional a treasure horse, traveling a thousand miles a day is the limit, needing who knows how long to rest before it recovers, and it might even die from exhaustion.

But not Qian Xun.

Since leaving Po Yang, going all the way to You State, it hasn't stopped galloping at full speed, no matter how tired; it just needed to eat some fodder to recover.

Moreover, as the Skill of Horse Control improved, Qian Xun's speed continued to increase.

If this continues, will it eventually start flying?

Xiang Tingchun, at the beginning, did indeed give him a good mount.

Now looking at it, the White Swan Horse was initially hard to tame and unwanted for a reason; its bloodline is different. Ordinary taming methods obviously did not work, initially, he struggled for a long time before he could subdue Qian Xun, spending more time than on Martial Arts training. Experience more tales on empire

"We've arrived.

"Through the forest ahead lies the First Layer Mountain of the Luotian Mountain Range.

"The Luotian Mountain Range spans tens of thousands of miles, comprising a total of sixty-six layers. To find an Exotic Beast, you'd have to reach beyond the Seventh Layer Mountain. Even for us trained in Martial Arts, it would take over a day's travel; we'll definitely have to spend the night on the mountain."

Sun Buqi was extremely excited, "When I left home, my father knew I was going mountain hunting with you. He not only did not scold me for not carrying out my duties but also told me to bring this over for you.

"I was so happy I almost forgot about it!"

As he spoke, he took off the wooden case from his back, placed it on the ground, and slowly opened it. Inside lay a large bow that hadn't been assembled yet but appeared to be quite old.

But Chen Sansi could tell at a glance that the material was extraordinary, like the Exotic Beast, simply not available in the market, and its draw weight, probably terrifyingly strong.

"A bow my father used when he was young."

Sun Buqi presented, "Fifty stones; try stringing it and see."