My Cultivation Starting from Archery

"Just a box of lamp oil?"

Chen Sansi didn't believe it.

He re-examined the Linglong Jade Box, confirmed there was nothing else inside except the self-destruction mechanism, and that there were no secret compartments.

The Witch God Sect, Xiang Tingchun, the Martial Arts Halls.

Was this the thing that all these forces were desperately fighting over?

According to Chen Sansi's summary, neither the Martial Arts Halls nor Xiang Tingchun necessarily knew what the Immortal Treasure was; the only one with insider knowledge, the Witch God Sect, were all tight-lipped and refused to divulge anything.

It definitely couldn't be this simple.

Chen Sansi went to the doorway of the kitchen, scooped out a very small amount of lamp oil with his finger, and gently applied it to the wooden log used for splitting firewood. Then, he found a Fire Stick and blew a tiny flame onto it.

"Boom——"

The moment the tiny flame made contact with the lamp oil, a fiery red blaze erupted violently, as if a fire dragon burrowed out from the void, instantly climbing to a height of two to three meters.

In just a few breaths, the wooden log was reduced to ashes.

You should know, this log was half a meter in diameter and thirty centimeters high. Normal flames would struggle to light it, and if it wasn't split open, burning it completely to ash would likely take a full day and night!

Even at a distance of two steps away, Chen Sansi felt he was almost roasted!

What sort of power was this?

What kind of animal fat was this, that the flames it burned with were so terrifying!

"Definitely not a common item," Chen Sansi admitted, somewhat shaken.

The substance was powerful, but why were they so desperate to get it?

To use as a weapon?

He weighed the iron box, half the size of a palm in his hand.

So little of it, how many times could it be used?

That shouldn't warrant such a scramble, right?

Chen Sansi judged that the fire must have another purpose.

He inspected the Linglong Jade Box once again, and after repeated confirmations, concluded.

Indeed, there was nothing else.

It seemed the method of using the flame might lie in the hands of the Witch God Sect.

That... was a dead end for now.

A small disappointment welled up in Chen Sansi's heart.

However, the fire was very powerful, and it could indeed come in handy at a critical moment.

As for its true purpose, that would have to be figured out one step at a time.

"My current goal is to become a Selected Point and enter the Eight Camps."

"I need to enhance my strength as soon as possible!"

Chen Sansi tidied up the items, preparing to rest well for the night, to rejuvenate.

He was only a windowpane away from a breakthrough.

...

The next day, at the military camp.

Chen Sansi drank a bowl of Replenishing Essence Soup and, while his Qi-blood was at its peak, picked up the long spear and practiced the soldier's basic spear technique he had already mastered.

It was noon, and the sun was high in the sky.

Suddenly, a thundering sound of breaking the air rang out on the empty Martial Arts Arena.

It made the nearby soldiers turn their heads to look.

Under the sunlight, every movement of the reed leaf gun reflected blinding golden light off its tip. As the long spear swung faster and faster, the golden lights began to connect with each other.

From a distance, it appeared as if a Golden Snake was wildly dancing in the void or as if a golden brush was painting majestic landscapes, creating an urge in onlookers to draw closer. Yet, the continuous fierce sounds of the air being torn apart reminded everyone that this wasn't a beautiful scene, but a lethal martial technique!

The long spear whistled, the figure moved swiftly.

The scene of flashing lights lasted for the time it would take half an incense stick to burn.
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Then, at a certain moment, everything suddenly stopped.

All the golden light converged to a single point and, at a speed invisible to the naked eye, landed on the training post of the Martial Arts Arena.

"Bang——"

The Training Post, as thick as an adult man's shoulder and two meters high, exploded outwards from the point of impact, scattering wooden splinters and chips all around, flying far before landing in the ground like a rain of arrows.

Curious soldiers who loved excitement nearly got hit by the flying splinters and collapsed on the ground, thoroughly shaken.

The youth slowly withdrew his spear, his defined and toned muscles glossed with sweat. Under the autumn sun, his body appeared enshrouded in steaming white vapor, as if he had emerged from flames.

Small achievement!

Two strands of Qi-blood turned into four, merging into the limbs!

[Cultivation Technique: Soldier's Basic Spear Technique (small achievement)]

[Progress: (0/2000)]

[Utility: Gun Movement Swift, amazing endurance, robust Qi-blood, Blood Birth Phenomenon]

The newly added effect confused Chen Sansi for a moment.

Blood Birth Phenomenon.

Does it refer to the blood undergoing some change?

He tried to mobilize his Qi-Blood, and noticed that his blood was exceptionally hot. Compared to before, each surge of Qi-Blood had more explosive power.

Could it be related to the Bone Training Realm after Blood Refining?

"Congratulations, Chen Qigu!"

Many people came up to congratulate him.

Fang Zongqi said with emotion, "Such talent really makes the rest of us envious!"

"It's just that I've spent more silver,"

Chen Sansi said modestly: "If I hadn't hunted for money to buy medicines, my breakthrough wouldn't have come this quickly."

"What you say, isn't hunting a skill too?"

Fang Zongqi was even more envious.

As martial masters who had achieved Great Success in Blood Refining, they could naturally pull the heavy bow with ease.

But being able to pull the bow didn't necessarily mean they could shoot accurately.

Even after spending a lot of time training, they wouldn't reach too high a level, let alone achieve Hundred-step Piercing and hit targets they could hardly see.

Some things really are determined by talent.

Chen Sansi sought out Wang Zhi in private to ask about his upcoming cultivation problems.

"You've broken through again?"

Wang Zhi almost spat out the wine in his mouth.

At this moment, his heart was no longer purely happy, the astonishment far outweighed it.

Less than a month into Martial Arts, and he had already walked a path that takes most people many years, or even their entire life to travel. Heaven truly wasn't fair.

"Hundred Households Wang."

Chen Sansi asked, "Is there anything I need to be wary of after achieving Great Success in Blood Refining and is there a connection to the Bone Training Realm?"

"Not bad insight,"

Wang Zhi said, holding his wine bowl and explaining, "Blood Refining is, as it suggests, training the blood.

"After achieving Great Success, the Qi-Blood flows through the entire body, and then you can start Bone Training.

"Only with high-quality Qi-Blood can the bones and flesh forged by the blood be better in the future.

"This is also why I gave you the Haoran Breathing Skill in the beginning.

"Blood Refining is the foundation, and without a solid foundation, you're starting at a loss.

"You should be able to feel it, among those of the same realm as you, there are very few who are a match for your Three Unions; as you progress, the gap will become even wider."

'Refining bones with blood...'

Blood indeed plays a crucial role in the upcoming realms.

Chen Sansi wasn't sure if the "Blood Birth Phenomenon" was exclusive to his proficiency panel, so he didn't bring it up for the time being, planning to see the effects first.

"You kid, you're really something,"

Wang Zhi calculated with his fingers, "Your cultivation speed is fast enough, our garrison is about to receive a large batch of medicinal materials, and you are likely to start Bone Training before next spring."

Chen Sansi picked out the key point from his words: "Is the garrison about to receive medicinal materials soon?"

"Heh, don't even mention it."

Wang Zhi found it interesting, took a sip of wine, and said, "Yesterday at Eight Treasures Building, those old bastards from the Martial Arts Halls were acting all haughty, saying the garrison was confining them, and they wanted to find someone to petition against us.

"But this morning, they changed their tune completely.

"They declared they would fully support our Lord Thousand Households' campaign against the barbarians next year.

"Once the Four Great Martial Arts Schools agreed, the local squires and rich merchants also had to fork out money.

"This time, we're going to strike it rich."

Chen Sansi was skeptical.

From the sounds of it, had Xiang Tingchun succeeded in getting leverage over the Martial Arts Halls?

But with the item in his hands, why would the Martial Arts Halls obediently follow orders?

Unless...

Xiang Tingchun was playing a game of bluffing!

Quite a calculation, not afraid of being exposed at all.

That afternoon, close to dusk, Wang Zhi's words came to fruition.

Disciples from various Martial Arts Academies came in droves, pulling carts and delivering countless supplies.

"The warehouse for medicinal materials is on the left!"

"Grain to the right!"

"Isn't the quantity here incorrect? You're short by two hundred stones of grain, make sure it arrives before sundown tomorrow!"

"..."

The chief storekeeper led several clerks, verifying the quantities of supplies cart by cart.

The long-unused warehouses of the military camp were being utilized once more, and the grain storehouses were filled to the brim so much so that the sacks were almost spilling over.

Consecutive poor harvests?

The big households had plenty of grain.

"Buzz—"

The assembly call was sounded, and the Order Officers summoned everyone to the Martial Arts Arena, proclaiming that Lord Thousand Households had an important announcement to make.