High Martial Arts: Invincible Starts from Basic Archery Chapter 4 Martial Artist?

"Cough, cough."

Chen Fan was snapped back to the present by the sound of coughing. The man with the limp observed him, speaking with an air of indifference. "Listen kid, that bow you're gripping is merely the most basic model. Once you go past thirty meters, it lacks the killing power needed to take down Low-level Fierce Beasts. Furthermore, you've only managed to pull it back once. Take a look."

He gestured with a nod toward the area outside. "You see those folks over there with the spears?"

Following the man's gaze, Chen Fan looked out and nodded in understanding.

"When they first arrived, they also began their training with bows. A few even attempted the second-tier bow, the sixty-pounder. But what was the result? They couldn't last more than two or three days before giving up."

The man glanced down at the bow in Chen Fan's hands and added, "Just a bit of advice: you'd be better off practicing spear techniques like the rest of them. That way, if you run into a Fierce Beast in the wild, you'll actually possess some level of fighting strength."

"Uncle Zhang, I appreciate the guidance, but I'd still like to give this a shot."

Chen Fan looked at the progress bar next to Basic Archery on his status panel, a spark of resolve igniting within him.

"Have it your way, then."

The limping man didn't seem particularly shocked.

Young people were always the same, refusing to quit until they finally hit a wall. Once he fired a few more arrows and found he couldn't even lift his right arm, he would understand the hardship.

"Uncle Zhang, would it be alright if I tried out those other bows?" Chen Fan asked, wearing a slight smile. He had a hunch: perhaps using a more powerful bow would accelerate the progress of his Basic Archery skill.

"Sure."

The man with the limp answered without any delay. "The second bow is sixty pounds, the third weighs eighty, the fourth is a hundred, the fifth is two hundred, and the sixth reaches three hundred pounds. Which one do you want to test?"

"Th-three hundred pounds?"

Chen Fan's eyes shifted to the black longbow on the far right, which stood nearly as tall as he did. If it was three hundred pounds, did that mean a person needed at least three hundred pounds of single-arm strength just to draw the string?

"Does that number scare you?"

The man with the limp gave a wide grin. "Forget three hundred pounds; there are Battle Bows weighing five hundred pounds that people can actually draw, capable of taking down an Iron Armor Rhinoceros from a full kilometer away."

"Iron Armor Rhinoceros..."

Chen Fan whispered the name. Based on his memory, that creature was a peak existence among Mid-level Fierce Beasts, possessing a hide said to be tough enough to deflect small-caliber bullets.

"Uncle Zhang, is such a person an Awakener?" he asked, following his natural curiosity.

In this world, after all, the Awakeners were the ones who stood at the absolute top.

"No."

To his surprise, the limping man shook his head. "He is a Martial Artist."

"A Martial Artist?"

Chen Fan's eyes grew wide with astonishment.

"The chance of becoming an Awakener is one in a million. For the average person, it is nearly impossible to fight against Fierce Beasts without relying on modern weaponry. However, the silver lining is that as the world evolves, it seems the physical limits of humanity are also being shattered."

The man with the limp spoke as if to himself. "These individuals temper their flesh and harden their bones, achieving a level of strength that surpasses the ordinary. This is what defines a Martial Artist. In Zhao Family Castle, just a few kilometers from our village, there is a man who can draw that three hundred-pound Battle Bow. He is a Martial Artist."

Chen Fan inhaled deeply, feeling as though a new door was swinging open before him. With excitement in his voice, he asked, "Are there any Martial Artists here in our camp?"

"Not of the caliber found in Zhao Family Castle, but we have those who can handle a hundred-pound Hard Bow. Take the Wei Brothers, for instance; they are both skilled archers and serve as the core strength of our Hunting Team. Though, they likely won't stay in this place for much longer."

The limping man let out a sigh, a look of concern clouding his face.

"And how do Martial Artists compare to Awakeners?" Chen Fan pressed further.

"They are far behind."

The man with the limp looked him in the eye. "A Martial Artist might easily kill a newly awakened Awakener. However, once an Awakener masters their superpowers, slaying a Martial Artist becomes as simple as flipping over one's palm. For example, can that man in Zhao Family Castle stop a bullet? No. But an Awakener can. Some high-level Awakeners don't even fear heavy weaponry. With just a motion, they can wipe out an entire town. They simply aren't on the same level."

Chen Fan's jaw dropped slightly.

Were Awakeners truly that formidable?

He had a sneaking suspicion that his system was linked to Martial Arts. Based on Uncle Zhang's description, the path of a Martial Artist seemed like a consolation prize for commoners, one with a very low ceiling.

Was that really the case?

"Alright, enough with all the questions," the man with the limp said with a frown of disapproval, tossing a sixty-pound bow down from the wall.

"Give this a try."

Snapping back to his senses, Chen Fan set aside the forty-pound bow and attempted to pull the sixty-pound Hard Bow. His face flushed crimson halfway through the draw, his right arm shaking violently. By the time he had it most of the way back, his strength failed him, and he had to let go.

This body of his was still quite weak.

The man with the limp flashed a knowing smile. "Do you still want to have a go at the eighty-pounder?"

"No, that won't be necessary."

Chen Fan shook his head with a self-deprecating smile, his eyes lingering on the other bows.

He might lack the strength now, but that didn't mean he always would. Once he gathered enough Potential Points in a few days, he would be able to master this sixty-pound bow, and eventually, all the others.

Following this, the limping man handed him a quiver full of arrows and led him outside.

Standing on the open ground by the entrance, the man drew a bow and notched an arrow. Aiming at a target twenty meters away, he demonstrated the standard stance. "When you draw and fire, you must remember the 'three flats': your front wrist must be flat, your rear elbow must be flat, and both your wrists and elbows should be level with your shoulders. This is the core posture."

With a sharp "whoosh," the arrow flew and thudded into the earthen wall right next to the target.

The man with the limp looked back at Chen Fan casually. "Spend the day practicing here. If you run into trouble, just ask me."

"Understood, Uncle Zhang."

Chen Fan nodded, staring at the arrow embedded in the wall.

"Mm."

The man with the limp turned away, his aged face turning slightly red. He wasn't actually much of an archer himself; if he were, he wouldn't be stuck guarding the warehouse.

Chen Fan took up the bow and arrows, planting his feet shoulder-width apart. He gripped the bow in his left hand and notched an arrow with his right. Being his first time practicing archery formally, he felt a wave of nervousness.

He took a long, deep breath.

Slowly, he pulled back the bowstring, squinting an eye to line up the sight with the target's center.

The string creaked as it reached its full extension. A heavy tension pulled at his right shoulder. Then, with a sudden motion, his three fingers released the string. With a "whoosh," the arrow shot forward.

Predictably, it missed the target entirely.

Chen Fan had expected this outcome. Only a true prodigy could hit a bullseye on their very first attempt, and he was realistic about his own abilities.

In truth, the miss didn't bother him much.

A moment later, he focused his thoughts, and the attribute panel materialized before him. A smile spread across his face at what he saw.

[Basic Archery, LV0 (3%)]

This meant that even though he missed, that single arrow had increased his progress by 2%.

If he could repeat this forty-nine more times, his Basic Archery would level up to Level 1!