Chapter 7: Archery

Ji Xinghuo decided to walk when he went out this time.

Chang’an’s city planning is excellent, separating pedestrians from vehicles. Most cars travel on elevated superconducting roads, leaving few vehicles on the ground. The ground roads are also closed off and occupy a small area.

Therefore, spaces between buildings have been transformed into continuous city parks filled with a large number of trees and flowers. The greenery is lush, and the environment is beautiful.

However, Chang’an has a really large population.

The Qishan District is quite remote. It’s now past two in the afternoon, and yet, Ji Xinghuo encounters many pedestrians as he walks along the park trail.

Some stroll leisurely, chatting; others rush by in powered shoes, zipping past.

Couples sit together in secluded flowerbeds, whispering sweet nothings.

There are more people walking alone like Ji Xinghuo. Having lived in this community for years, he occasionally nods to acquaintances.

But that’s about it.

Ji Xinghuo doesn’t know them, and they don’t know him. Polite yet distant.

Ten minutes later.

Ji Xinghuo arrives in front of a venue several stories high with a sign outside stating “Qishan Wutong Archery Range.”

“I’ve arrived.”

He sends a message at the entrance.

Soon, a tall, slim, long-haired young man rushes out of the archery range, exclaiming with surprise, “Xinghuo! I thought you were joking. You really came!”

“Yunhai.”

Ji Xinghuo smiles too, touches fists with the other, and they share a quick hug.

Lu Yunhai is an old classmate and one of his best friends from university days, someone he used to meet almost daily before graduation.

On that graduation trip, Lu Yunhai brought his girlfriend along too.

“How have you been?” Lu Yunhai asks with concern, remembering Ji Xinghuo once talked about having trouble sleeping after the trip.

“It’s resolved.” Ji Xinghuo smiles mysteriously, “I couldn’t be better now.”

“Oh?”

Lu Yunhai steps back to take a closer look, first doubtful then shocked, “You’ve become a mutant?”

Ji Xinghuo nods.

“Damn!” After his initial surprise, Lu Yunhai feels it makes sense. Admiration fills his face as he thumps Ji Xinghuo’s shoulder hard, “I knew it! You were meant to become a mutant. If you hadn’t taken this step years ago, Wu Qifeng would’ve remained arrogant until graduation.”

Wu Qifeng was also a classmate, both a friend and a rival.

However, Wu Qifeng was talented, succeeding in fusing with a different species in his freshman year. His career template as a ‘Gravity Warrior’ made him a standout during their college years.

“Which career template did you choose?” Lu Yunhai asks curiously.

“Ranger.”

“Why a ranger?” Lu Yunhai is puzzled.

He knows Ji Xinghuo well and had never heard him mention choosing a ranger, a far cry from what he expected.

“Weren’t you aiming for ‘Titanium Cobalt Draconian’? Why give up?” Lu Yunhai can’t help but shake his head, “You haven’t been rejected for exceeding the mutant limits, have you? That would be a shame.”

Titanium Cobalt Draconian is a unique career owned only by the Asia-Pacific Community. It’s among the top career templates globally due to its rarity and superior strength.

Any Titanium Cobalt Draconian is guaranteed to be a super mutant in the future.

In terms of power potential, rights, and social status, Titanium Cobalt Draconian far surpasses the ranger. There’s a world of difference between them.

“I didn’t apply. I just changed plans,” Ji Xinghuo doesn’t elaborate much.

Seeing Ji Xinghuo reluctant to discuss further, Lu Yunhai tactfully changes the subject, “Ranger’s not bad, no worries about employment.”

Then, realization dawns on him, “No wonder you came to see me!”

“Who else would I go to if not you, working in an archery range?” Ji Xinghuo spreads his hands.

The main weapon for rangers is the bow and arrow.

For a ranger, at least until advancing to super mutant status, seventy percent of their strength lies in archery skills, which must be diligently practiced.

From his childhood, Lu Yunhai practiced archery, becoming skilled quickly. He was the vice-president of the archery club in university.

In his sophomore year, Lu Yunhai attempted to fuse with a different species to become a ‘Hunter,’ a career close to that of a ranger and also centered around using a bow and arrow, complete with battle pets, akin to a hunter.

Unfortunately, Lu Yunhai’s fusion attempt failed.

But he didn’t give up. After recovering, he started working part-time off-campus, saving money for a second attempt at species fusion.

After graduation, Lu Yunhai officially became an archery coach.

Wanting to learn archery, Ji Xinghuo immediately thought of his good friend and since it was close to home, it would surely boost Lu Yunhai’s performance.

Hearing that Ji Xinghuo wanted to learn archery made Lu Yunhai quite proud.

“You always refused to join the club back then and now you have to pay me for lessons. Regretting it now, huh?”

Ji Xinghuo is momentarily annoyed, “You have to give me a discount.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll give you the best price,” Lu Yunhai, having had his fun, feels better, “Follow me.”

He leads Ji Xinghuo into the archery range.

Along the way, they encounter colleagues and students who greet Lu Yunhai as “Coach Lu,” showing his status within the archery range.

“You’re doing well,” Ji Xinghuo teases.

“Of course,” Lu Yunhai boasts, “Even though I’m not a mutant, my archery skills rank in the top five here, maybe even top three. Only the head coach is decidedly better than me.”

Ji Xinghuo is curious, “Is the head coach that skilled?”

“Definitely,” Lu Yunhai replies with respect, “Like you, our head coach is also a ranger but a super mutant. People clamor to learn from him, and many are mutants themselves. A single lesson costs tens of thousands of Asian yuan, and his schedule is snapped up the moment it’s released.”

Ji Xinghuo nods.

Being a super mutant, whatever job they do commands an exorbitant income.

According to public data from the Star Realm Department, the Asia-Pacific Community had over 150,000 super mutants last year, out of a national population of 5.6 billion. The low ratio highlights their rarity and value.

For any super mutant, making money is never difficult.

Lu Yunhai quickly registers Ji Xinghuo for a membership, asking, “Different types of bows, different courses and prices. Which do you want to learn? Traditional, light, or compound?”

“Compound.”

Ji Xinghuo doesn’t hesitate, not even asking about price differences.

Lu Yunhai nods unsurprised.

That’s the choice of most rangers. Simple reasons: compound bows are the most powerful, fastest, and most accurate.

Although traditional and light bows have some advantages, compound bows’ massive power difference is hard to mitigate.

There’s also a competitive recurve bow, but due to its many accessories, it’s impractical for carrying and maintenance; thus, it’s rarely chosen by rangers and is generally used by enthusiasts in sports competitions, a very niche choice.

The light bow is essentially a competitive recurve bow stripped of most accessories.

Some traditional bows are also recurve bows.

“The beginner course for the compound bow covers twenty lessons, one lesson per day, totaling 6000 Asian yuan.”

Lu Yunhai lowers his voice, “I’ll give you a seventy percent discount.”

“Thanks a lot.”

Ji Xinghuo knows that even with promotional discounts, the archery range wouldn’t reduce prices to thirty percent. It must be Lu Yunhai covering some of the cost himself.

He silently notes the favor.

“Why thank me? We’re beyond that,” Lu Yunhai grumbles as he registers Ji Xinghuo for the course and handles the payment, “Let’s start now.”

The archery range occupies several floors of the building, each floor featuring a spacious shooting range.

They head to the third floor, where most of the shooting positions are already occupied, some by individuals practicing alone, others by instructors teaching.

Lu Yunhai chooses a shooting position, asking, “Shall I get the bow? Do you want a hunting bow or a target bow?”

Compound bows are subdivided into two types.

There’s no difference in structure between a hunting and a target bow.

The hunting bow, designed for ease in complex terrains like forests and tunnels, is slightly smaller and usually has a higher draw weight for increased power; the target bow, typically used in open areas, is larger and often has a slightly lower draw weight to enhance accuracy as targets are generally further away.

Of course, the techniques for both types of compound bows are largely similar, and many bows on the market are versatile, accommodating both styles.

Ji Xinghuo is familiar with these basic concepts of archery.

“I’ll take the hunting bow.”

Lu Yunhai then asks, “What draw weight?”

“70 kilograms,” Ji Xinghuo estimates before responding.

Draw weight is the force needed to pull a bow, the higher the draw weight, the greater the power. However, over a century ago, the unit of measure was changed to kilograms, which everyone found more intuitive.

70 kilograms translates to about 155 pounds in the old system.

“Damn it!”

Lu Yunhai looks envious, cursing under his breath.

It usually takes years of practice for an ordinary person to pull a compound hunting bow of this draw weight, and they need to be very strong. But Ji Xinghuo, a beginner, is starting with such a high draw weight.

He himself has practiced archery for many years and normally uses a 60-kilogram draw weight.

“Being a mutant is awesome.”

Lu Yunhai, often dealing with mutants at the archery range and somewhat accustomed to it, quickly goes to fetch a compound bow, “Let me adjust the settings first.”

A bow must be tuned to match the shooter’s physique to perform optimally.

First, the draw length.

Ji Xinghuo is 1.8 meters tall, but his arm span is 198 centimeters. According to the formula, his draw length is 79 centimeters, which is the distance between the gripping hand and the string hooking hand when the bow is fully drawn and the posture feels most comfortable and the force is most efficiently applied.

After adjusting the draw weight and aiming parameters, Lu Yunhai hands over the bow, “Try if it fits.”

Ji Xinghuo takes it.

This compound hunting bow has an axle-to-axle length of 85 centimeters, and the handle is made of aluminum alloy, a common hollow structure. The bow limbs are crafted from carbon fiber composite materials, making the entire bow very light, weighing less than three kilograms. Ji Xinghuo feels almost no weight holding it with his strength.

Although rangers use bows, many accessories are omitted.

Yet, this compound bow still retains an aiming device, a five-pin sight, as well as a drop-away arrow rest, stabilizer, string stop, and string splitter.

These are small, durable accessories that significantly aid in shooting.

“You participated in an event at the archery club in your junior year. You remember the basic archery movements, right?” Lu Yunhai asks.

“Of course,” Ji Xinghuo nods.

Lu Yunhai points at a target opposite, “Shoot an arrow for me to see.”

Ji Xinghuo stands sideways to the target, picking up a training arrow and placing it on the bow at the right side arrow rest, using the Mongolian shooting method. He hooks the bowstring with his thumb, his index finger securing the thumb, and looks at the target thirty meters away.

All these unconventional design choices serve one purpose: real combat!

To shoot arrows with the highest lethality at the fastest speed and frequency.

Ji Xinghuo’s gaze locks onto the target, the eight-centimeter diameter yellow bullseye at thirty meters seems as close as if it were within reach.

An intuition surfaces in his mind; he feels he can easily hit the desired spot.

The All-Seeing Star Pupil is in effect, more accurate than “precise.”

He takes a deep breath.

Then, with his left hand pushing the bow and his right hand drawing the bowstring powerfully, the 70-kilogram draw weight poses no particular challenge; he draws it smoothly.

The compound bow features one bowstring and two bow cables, which are simultaneously under tension when pulled. As it approaches full draw, the eccentric cams at both ends of the bow come into play, reducing the effort needed to hold the draw by eighty percent, instantly making it easier and stabilizing his hands further.

The “peep sight” installed on the bowstring is pulled to right in front of his right eye. His vision passes through the peep hole to the second pin of the sight and the distant bullseye, aligning all three into a straight line.

In reality, Ji Xinghuo considers the sight and peep sight mere decorations in his eyes.

Without these aids, he can aim just as accurately.

Snap!

A soft sound.

Ji Xinghuo releases the arrow. It turns into a black line and swiftly buries deep into the target.

“Bullseye!”

Lu Yunhai shouts out the score, disbelief in his eyes.

Ji Xinghuo knew at best he had touched a bow a few times before, and his knowledge of archery was just some basics he picked from Lu Yunhai.

Although the archery motion was smooth, it had many mistakes, typical of a novice.

Yet, it hit the target, and it was a bullseye!

“Just dumb luck,” Lu Yunhai grumbled, “Shoot another arrow.”

Ji Xinghuo smiled, picked up a second training arrow, and in one fluid motion, he nocked, hooked, pushed the bow, lowered his shoulder, aligned, pulled the string, settled his stance, aimed, and released, ending in a poised finish.

Snap, a bullseye!

Before Lu Yunhai could speak, Ji Xinghuo rapidly shot three more arrows, each faster than the last.

Bullseye! Bullseye! Bullseye!

Lu Yunhai was dumbstruck, looking at the five arrows lodged in the target’s center, forced to believe Ji Xinghuo had made five consecutive bullseyes.

He’d been teaching several new Rangers at the archery range for years, but none had shown such precision without practice like Ji Xinghuo.

“Your first merged ability wasn’t ‘Precision’, was it?” Lu Yunhai speculated.

The order of abilities merged in a career template isn’t fixed.

Usually, the core ability is merged first.

Though rare, some superhumans, due to personal preferences or other reasons, choose to merge non-core abilities first.

“I merged with Thousand Clever Hands,” Ji Xinghuo balanced an arrow on his fingertip, it never tipping over, and said with a smile, “Could it be I’m a born archer with top-tier shooting talent in the world?”

“You never mentioned…”

Lu Yunhai’s sentence trailed off midway.

His pride in his professional skills was unexpectedly challenged by his friend. His first instinct was to object, but after thinking it over, he solemnly acknowledged, “That’s possible. Okay, you’re awesome! Seems like there was a reason for choosing Ranger.”

“But this was just a thirty-meter fixed target.”

“You’re still far from a top-tier archer.”

“You’ve got a lot to learn about archery and compound bows.” Lu Yunhai adopted the confident posture of a coach.

Ji Xinghuo nodded humbly, “Please teach me, Coach Lu.”