Chapter 17: Jiang Liu'er: Could I be a genius at archery?

    Jiang Liu'er had long lost count of how many times he'd muttered "Amitabha Buddha, forgive this sin" - all he knew was the bone club felt unnervingly natural when crushing human skulls.

    The more he chanted sutras...

    ...the smoother his strikes became.

    When vicious prison-breakers tried to kill him, he had no choice but to disable them.

    Now bursting through the encirclement, Jiang dove into mountain woods.

    He wasn't fleeing, but hunting the hidden archer.

    Even amidst battlefield roars...

    ...his cultivated senses detected bowstrings creaking.

    This was cultivation's gift!

    Moving soundlessly, Jiang spotted the archer within minutes - perched atop a pine with a quiver full of arrows.

    From this vantage, each shot meant a dead soldier.

    During Jiang's momentary glance upward, another arrow claimed an officer's life.

    As Jiang prepared to climb, the archer suddenly swiveled towards him, bow drawn.

    'Spotted!' Jiang dodged sideways as an arrow tore through his sleeve.

    No blood drawn.

    The archer nocked three arrows simultaneously.

    'No ordinary man moves this fast!' Jiang realized.

    This was a trained killer.

    Jiang smashed one arrow, dodged the second, blocked the third against his chest - the bone club repelling the deadly tip.

    Circling to the archer's blind spot, Jiang scaled the tree like an ape.

    A metallic shing! signaled drawn steel.

    The archer knew close combat was inevitable.

    As Jiang reached the crown...

    ...a blade flashed toward his eyes.

    He leaped upward, the sword slicing beneath his feet. While falling, Jiang swung his club downward.

    The archer raised his sword to block.

    In that heartbeat...

    Jiang remembered transferring magic to Hu Yuyu - could he channel it into the bone club?

    Power surged through the weapon.

    The strike carried mountain-crushing force!

    The archer's tempered blade shattered. Jiang diverted the club's path at the last moment, smashing the man's shoulder instead of skull.

    "AAAAH!!"

    Two more blows shattered both knees. The archer fell, bones cracking on impact, body convulsing.

    Checking the man's pulse, Jiang sighed. "No killing." His eyes locked on the war bow - a massive military-grade weapon requiring Herculean strength.

    "Stay still and live. I'm borrowing this," Jiang declared, snatching the bow.

    The quiver held forty arrows.

    Mimicking the archer's stance, Jiang struggled until he used his foot against the bow's belly for leverage. Even at 70% strength, the draw weight proved staggering.

    His first shot pierced a bandit's buttock.

    "AAARGH!!" The man collapsed.

    "Am I... a natural?" Jiang wondered.

    Another arrow shattered a charging bandit's kneecap.

    Thud!

    Another foe down.

    ...

    "HAHA! Your pitiful forty guards can't stop my 260 warriors!" The gaunt prisoner in the cage laughed, earlier despair gone. "Surrender now, or die!"

    "Sir! Let me kill that traitor!" A young guard seethed.

    "Emperor's orders - he must reach Chang'an alive!"

    The prisoner sneered, "You have one incense stick's time to reconsider..."

    Twang!

    An arrow grazed the prisoner's cheek, embedding in a rebel's arm behind him.

    "MY FACE!" The prisoner touched bleeding skin as rebels began falling - knee shots, shoulder wounds, each arrow crippling without killing.

    "AMBUSH! THEY HAVE ARCHERS!"

    Another knee shot.

    Jiang smirked, nocking arrows. Knee strikes immobilized better than kill shots.

    When a rebel leader in rattan armor rallied troops...

    Thunk!

    An arrow pierced his throat.

    Chaos erupted as twenty rebels fell. The last rattan-armored commander took a knee-shot, sealing their rout.

    ...