Supreme Electromagnetic Tyrant

Chapter 28: Chapter 12: Shooting the Leaf Cup



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Three days later.

Ji Xinghuo, wearing the Power Shoes Zhong Ming gave him, was gliding swiftly along the park pathway.

Roller assemblies installed in the soles, driven by miniature motors, could reach speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour. The intelligent control system inside the shoes could not only maintain balance but also sensitively perceive the force exerted by the wearer, assisting in controlling speed and direction.

If you wanted to walk, you would walk; if you wanted to stop, you would stop; the operation was simple, the motions smooth.

Power Shoes were the go-to choice for short-distance travel!

In less than three minutes, Ji Xinghuo arrived at the Wutong Archery Hall on Mount Qi.

The archery hall was exceptionally lively today, not only because it was the weekend but also because the "Leaf Shooting Cup" competition was taking place.

Most of the people coming and going carried bow cases on their backs, gathering in small groups chatting.

Like Ji Xinghuo, they were all competitors.

"Yunhai."

Ji Xinghuo paused, the rollers retracting into the soles, turning them into normal sports shoes.

As he entered the archery hall, he spotted Lu Yunhai amidst the crowd, dressed in a referee's outfit, very eye-catching.

Many students were gathered around Lu Yunhai, consulting him about the competition.

When Lu Yunhai heard someone calling him, he turned and saw Ji Xinghuo approaching. "How are your preparations?" he asked.

Ji Xinghuo nodded and gave him a confident smile.

Over the past few days, he had specifically increased his archery practice, particularly focusing on targets moving beyond fifty meters and random targets, gaining somewhat greater control.

"You understand the tournament structure, right?" Lu Yunhai confirmed once more.

"Of course."

On the day of his registration, Ji Xinghuo had received the "Leaf Shooting Cup" competition procedures and had read them over carefully at home.

There were a total of ten rounds, increasing in difficulty with each round.

The first three rounds were group stages, spread out across seven archery halls co-hosting the event. Competitors were grouped and in the span of a morning's time, nearly 3,000 participants would be narrowed down to the top 300 with the best scores, entering the fourth to sixth round knockout stages.

During the afternoon's knockout stage, competitors would converge at an archery field outside Chang'an, competing over three rounds to decide the top 32.

From the seventh to the ninth rounds, half of the competitors would be eliminated each round.

The remaining four would then enter the tenth round to vie for the ultimate championship!

The entire tournament was just one day long, incredibly compact.

Lu Yunhai said a couple of words before he left, his duties as one of the referees being quite demanding that day.

Ji Xinghuo found a corner to sit in the archery hall and took out his Composite Bow to calibrate it once more. The "Leaf Shooting Cup" emphasized practical combat; sights were permitted, but stabilizers could not be attached, and each shot had to be executed within the stipulated time, otherwise, the score would be invalid.

He observed the other competitors around, over 80% of whom, like him, were using Composite Bows, but most were Precision Bows rather than Hunting Bows.

After all, in a competition, lethality was irrelevant and Precision Bows had the advantage.

The remaining 20% of the competitors wielded both Traditional Bows and Light Bows, with dozens of different models and shapes combined. There were also many unconventional types of bows that were hard to recognize.

Using Traditional Bows and Light Bows required higher archery skills. Those who dared to compete with these two types of bows were not lacking in strength.

Several popular competitors used Traditional Bows.

They were surrounded by fans, continuously signing autographs.

However, having only learned archery for two to three weeks, Ji Xinghuo didn't know anyone in this circle besides Lu Yunhai, and nobody knew him either.

"The competition is about to begin."

The archery hall's speaker announced, a woman's voice saying, "Competitors, please proceed to your respective fields according to your groups."

There were over four hundred competitors at the Wutong Archery Hall on Mount Qi, divided into five groups, each assigned to a floor of the archery range.

Ji Xinghuo went to the fifth floor and the seventy to eighty competitors in his group arrived one after another.

A few referees were maintaining order.

"The first round of shooting will now begin," one referee announced loudly. "The competitors called by name and number, please come forward, four at a time, to stand in the designated shooting area. Please everyone remain quiet to avoid disturbing the competitors in the field."

The room quickly fell silent.

Four competitors' names were called by the referee, and they lined up, with the targets for the first round fifty meters in front of them. Each had a timer by their side.

"One minute to prepare."

Competitors had one minute to get ready to shoot, and as soon as the time was up, they had to release their first arrow within three seconds; then another ten seconds to prepare for the second shot; with each interval followed by ten seconds downtime and a subsequent shoooting within three seconds until all ten arrows were shot.

The minute passed quickly, and with the sound of the buzzer, a three-second countdown began.

Pop pop pop...

The strings of the bows vibrated in unison as the four competitors released their first arrows almost simultaneously.

Three minutes later, the group completed their ten-arrow round.

Ji Xinghuo looked at the targets across from him. The first round was the easiest, but perhaps because it was the initial round and nerves were high, of the four competitors only one scored a perfect hundred, the other three scored between ninety and ninety-seven.

From their frustrated expressions, it was obvious they had not performed as expected.

The referees tallied the scores and recorded the results.

"The second group, please step up."

Group by group, the competitors completed their ten-arrow round. Ji Xinghuo noted that most scored around ninety-five points, with few reaching a hundred.

Not surprisingly, those competitors with outstanding performances were mostly Mutants, some like himself Rangers, others Hunters.

Half an hour later.

Ji Xinghuo heard his name and, along with three other competitors, stepped up.

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All the contestants' gazes converged, but they were focused on the female contestant beside Ji Xinghuo, who seemed quite famous as many recognized her.

"One minute to prepare."

Ji Xinghuo was calm in spirit as he pulled out an arrow and placed it on the "Yi Wind," waiting for the preparation time to end.

Beep!

At the sound of the buzzer, he swiftly released his first arrow, thwack!

Ten ring.

With a glance of peripheral vision, he noticed the target beside him also hit the ten ring, almost in sync with his own shot.

Only then did Ji Xinghuo pay attention to the person next to him, but he didn't let it distract him, and as soon as ten seconds passed, he shot his second arrow.

Ten ring.

Ten ring.

Ten ring...

Ji Xinghuo's hands were both fast and steady, like those of a well-programmed mechanical hand, with each drawing and releasing action identical, not a single deviation.

After ten arrows, he had scored 100 rings.

When the referee confirmed the ring count, a wave of admiration erupted from the sidelines; in this group of four contestants, three had achieved full rings, and the remaining one was not far behind with a score of 99 rings.

Ji Xinghuo exchanged looks with the other full-ring contestants, nodded in acknowledgment, and then left the field.

It took one hour for all contestants to finish the first round of shooting.

Immediately following was the second round.

This round targeted seventy-meter stationary targets, considerably upping the difficulty, and all contestants' scores slipped to varying degrees compared to the previous round, averaging around 80 rings.

Of course, the mutants with outstanding archery skills still maintained a high standard.

Ji Xinghuo's second round score was still 100 rings.

In the third round, the target distance was extended to a hundred meters, significantly raising the difficulty, causing many contestants to miss the target entirely, with most scoring below 50 rings.

Ji Xinghuo still hit full rings!

After three rounds of shooting, the number of contestants who still managed 100 rings could be counted on one hand, most of them mutants, and thus Ji Xinghuo attracted some attention.

"Let's get acquainted."

The female contestant from his group approached him and introduced herself, "My name is Fang Yinpeng, from Chang'an, an intermediate-level Ranger."

She was about thirty years old with a spirited face, standing at roughly one meter sixty-five with a well-proportioned figure dressed in a white archer's outfit, and carrying a Light Bow on her back, exuding a competent demeanor brimming with vigor and agility.

Ji Xinghuo shook her hand briefly and then let go, nodding as he introduced himself, "Ji Xinghuo, primary-level Ranger."

"Mr. Ji is quite young!"

Fang Yinpeng had already sized him up a few times and laughed, asking, "With such a high level of archery, how come I've never heard of you before?"

She had already pegged Ji Xinghuo as a formidable competitor in this contest.

Ji Xinghuo answered truthfully, "I only began learning archery not too long ago and this is my first competition."

Fang Yinpeng was taken aback, a flicker of displeasure crossing her face, clearly disbelieving, thinking Ji Xinghuo was fobbing her off with a lie.

"Then I wish Mr. Ji a good ranking." With those words, Fang Yinpeng turned and left.

Ji Xinghuo watched her retreating figure and shook his head helplessly.

I was telling the truth...

After the first three rounds, the contestants had a clear idea of whether they could advance.

Most of them came for the excitement and to witness the skills of high-level archers, not really expecting to move on to the elimination rounds, so they left the archery hall after completing three rounds.

Ji Xinghuo waited at the door for half an hour until Lu Yunhai finally finished his tasks, and the two went to have lunch together.

Lu Yunhai asked, "How did it go with the scores?"

Ji Xinghuo picked up his new phone, which he had had for only a few days, and showed the brightly lit screen to him; it displayed the competition results and the notice for advancing to the elimination rounds.

"I just knew you wouldn't have any problems!"

That afternoon.

An hour after resting at home, Ji Xinghuo set off for Zhongnan Mountain in the southern suburbs of Chang'an, arriving at an outdoor archery field built in a valley.

The venue was large, with a towering screen erected by the entrance of the gathering point, showing the promotional video for the "Shoot the Leaf Cup." Under the screen was the main stage, and each shooting position in the field was equipped with a floating camera for live broadcast, giving the event a very formal atmosphere.

The three hundred contestants who had made it to the elimination rounds arrived one by one.

At two o'clock in the afternoon.

Seven archery hall owners ascended the main stage, five of whom were mutants.

Ji Xinghuo immediately noticed Yang Tianqing, the owner of the Wutong Archery Hall that Lu Yunhai often mentioned to him. Yang Tianqing was a Super Mutant, with professional templates also as a Ranger, possessing extremely refined archery skills, and formidable strength—he was only visible to those enrolled in his courses.

Yang Tianqing had an average build, neither tall nor short, his hands empty, yet anyone could tell he was not an ordinary middle-aged person.

His gaze was incredibly sharp, like blades.

Many contestants below recognized Yang Tianqing, watching him curiously, yet not daring to meet his gaze.

Ji Xinghuo took a couple of looks and then turned away.

"Good afternoon, archers!" Yang Tianqing stood on the stage, speaking on behalf of the seven archery halls with some opening remarks to encourage competitors to give their best and strive for ranking. The reward for this competition was substantial; the top eight would receive prize money, with the champion winning 200,000!

This was more than in previous competitions, and although the contestants were not surprised, many were motivated by the prize money.

"Let's begin."

Without further ado, Yang Tianqing announced the start of the fourth round of shooting, and contestants entered the field in new groups drawn by lot.


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