Chapter 1866 (Raw 1877): Competition at the Drill Ground, Part 1
This seemingly peaceful family banquet actually had deep undercurrents. Monarch Yu successfully changed the tempo to his liking.
This made the entire Long Clan hold some enmity for Xiao Chen, eyeing him coldly.
While Xiao Chen was there, he found it somewhat strange. However, he did not overthink it.
When Lan Luo’s first brother saw this situation, he shook his head in his heart but held his silence.
“Long Yan, have the cultivation and practice of the Long Clan disciples been neglected in the days I was not around?”
Just as the family banquet approached its end, the Soaring Dragon Marquis looked at Lan Luo’s first brother and questioned him in a serious voice.
“Since the beginning of the dynasty, my Long Clan has been famous for its warriors. We have never forgotten the teachings of our ancestors. Lord Father, you may inspect us at any time. The disciples of the Long Clan never slack off or even dare to do so,” Lan Yan answered confidently without fluster.
The Soaring Dragon Marquis nodded in satisfaction. “Everyone is born with different talents, comprehension ability, and foundations. We cannot force these things, and I do not require them, either. The members of my Long Clan can have a trashy start, but we cannot have lazy people.”
The Soaring Dragon Marquis looked around before fixing his attention on Long Yan. Then, he continued, “After the family banquet, I will test everyone at the drill ground. Those who can catch my eye will be rewarded. However, if the reverse is true, I will not punish them. I will only punish you, Long Yan.”
Long Yan obeyed, not paying these stringent conditions any mind.
When the Long Clan disciples in the hall heard what the Soaring Dragon Marquis said, they showed excited expressions, filled with anticipation.
Everyone had a competitive heart. Furthermore, there was a potential reward from the Soaring Dragon Marquis. It would be hard not to get excited.
“Monarch Yu and Xiao Chen, you’ll come along as well, right?”
The Soaring Dragon Marquis looked at Xiao Chen and Monarch Yu, issuing an invitation. While these words sounded casual and easygoing, his tone precluded rejection.
“I’ll be glad to. My father always told me that the Soaring Dragon Marquis is strict with his family teachings. You have been a pillar of the north for so many years already. I will be sure to observe carefully.” Monarch Yu smiled faintly, facing him calmly.
Xiao Chen thought for a while. He had been preparing to leave after the family banquet was over.
However, the Soaring Dragon Marquis’s invitation made things difficult for him.
“Xiao Chen, Luo`er has told me about your matter. I contacted the Hidden Spirit Temple’s abbot last night. They will send people over to come and pick up the little monk Yan Chen. At the same time, they asked me to convey their thanks to you and that the Hidden Spirit Temple owes you a favor,” the Soaring Dragon Marquis said softly; he seemed to have guessed what Xiao Chen was thinking.
When the Soaring Dragon Marquis said that, he shocked all the Long Clan disciples. They all revealed expressions of extreme incredulity.
Monarch Yu’s words had already caused their impression of Xiao Chen to dive. They all felt that Xiao Chen was just a country bumpkin new to the Central Great Realm.
Furthermore, Xiao Chen was sectless and factionless. There was no need to pay him much mind at all.
There were simply too many such people.
In the entire Great Thousand Realms, everyone took the Central Great Realm as a glorious place. This was the center of the Martial Epoch. The four dynasties, the many empires, and overlords directed the direction of the Martial Epoch from here.
As the family of the Yanwu Dynasty’s Soaring Dragon Marquis, they set their sights high and were hard to criticize.
This was because they had the capital to do so. No matter where they went outside the Central Great Realm, they would all be able to receive the highest level of treatment.
However, right now, a casual word from the Soaring Dragon Marquis shocked them.
The abbot of the Buddhist sect’s Hidden Spirit Temple, someone who did not care about mundane matters, actually said that the Hidden Spirit Temple owed Xiao Chen a favor.
The strength of the abbot aside, the Hidden Spirit Temple itself was an existence that surpassed a Rank 7 sect. It had an even longer history than that of the dynasty.
The Long Clan members were naturally shocked to hear that such a Holy Land actually acknowledged owing Xiao Chen a debt of gratitude.
At the same time, they all felt unconvinced. How could such a person get the Hidden Spirit Temple to owe him a favor?
All those here were proud people. When they heard these words, they could not help feeling competitive.
Even Monarch Yu’s ever-calm expression showed a small change. As he looked at Xiao Chen, his face appeared rather strange.
“Master is coming? Hehe! This is really great.”
The little monk had been staring at the fine food and wine on the table, which he could not partake; all he could do was drool. On hearing the news, he felt very excited and happy.
Given the situation, Xiao Chen could not reject the Marquis’s invitation and could only agree.
The family banquet ended, and the group of people went to the Marquis’s Residence’s drill grounds.
A drill ground needed to be extremely large since it was normally used to train the army and was a key military installation.
However, it would be more accurate to call the Marquis’s Residence’s drill ground a martial arts training field. It was just that the Soaring Dragon Marquis, who ruled this area, was the royal court-appointed general who guarded the borders.
All the members of the Long Clan were used to seeing this martial arts training field as a drill ground. This was also due to the Soaring Dragon Marquis’s character.
Along the way, Long Yan purposely slowed his footsteps to walk with Xiao Chen.
“Xiao Chen, do you know why my father specially invited you to the family banquet?”
Xiao Chen had long noticed the strangeness. If the Soaring Dragon Marquis wanted to meet him, they could just meet in private.
There was no need to meet during the family banquet. However, Xiao Chen did not mind, so he did not ask about it.
Since Long Yan was willing to explain, it would be great.
“Would Brother Long please dispel my doubts?”
Long Yan’s gaze landed on Monarch Yu. At this moment, Monarch Yu was saying something to Lan Luo. His expression looked sincere, but Lan Luo never responded warmly.
“Monarch Yu?”
“That’s right. It is because of Monarch Yu. He is the son of a duke, a relative of the emperor. He has a noble identity, and his comprehension ability and talent are even more incredible. He appears easygoing and has a good reputation.”
“Then?”
“Then, there is no then.”
Long Yan smiled faintly and did not say anything more, leaving directly.
This confused Xiao Chen even more, making him frown slightly.
“Big Brother, this fellow must be doing it on purpose, stopping halfway. There is nothing more annoying than that!” the little monk said, feeling frustrated.
Xiao Chen said softly, “Just take it easy. We will deal with the situation as it comes. I won’t stay here for long. After sending you off, I will leave immediately.”
Xiao Chen looked past many things, not paying them any mind.
When everyone reached the drill ground, the Long Clan disciples impatiently sought out weapons suitable for them and started practicing.
Lang Yan accompanied his father on a tall platform, observing the performance of the Long Clan disciples below.
All the Long Clan disciples were indeed extraordinary.
Xiao Chen looked around. The lowest-level cultivator here was at least early-stage Star Venerate. Many were even late-stage Star Venerates.
As for Long Yan, Xiao Chen estimated that he had already broken through the constraints of Star Venerate and was a Holy Venerate, due to his older age. He was an outstanding talent among the Long Clan’s outstanding disciples.
Xiao Chen coincidentally discovered an archery range in the drill ground, where several Long Clan disciples were currently using bows to shoot arrows.
This archery range was rather elaborate.
There were formations on the ground that either increased or decreased gravity, which was a great test of the archer’s strength.
The archery range could also simulate all sorts of harsh environments; Starry Heavens, forbidden seas, lava lands, glaciers, and many more were easily achievable.
“Great archery skills. Another ten points!”
[TL Note: In archery, the target board actually has eleven rings, but the points only go from one to ten. One point starting from the outermost ring and every ring further in has one more point. However, the second innermost ring is already ten points. As for the innermost ring, it is also ten points. So what is the purpose of differentiating them? Only the innermost ring is called a bull’s-eye, and it is one of the methods of deciding a draw. It has no impact on the scoring. The Chinese for ten points here is literally “tenth ring”; bull’s-eye is different, literally translated as the “board heart” or “board center.”]
“Incredible. Third Brother truly lives up to your reputation as the top archer among my Long Clan disciples. Your archery skills are improving. Even under twentyfold gravity, you still firmly scored ten points from ten kilometers away.”
The Long Clan disciples surrounded a youth, praising him endlessly.
Just at this moment, Monarch Yu and his escorts walked over. The group immediately egged Monarch Yu to take a shot as well.
“Those of the royal clan’s bloodline have to be skilled in the Confucian six arts from childhood. I believe Monarch Yu’s archery skills should be extraordinary.”
[TL Note: The Confucian six arts are rites/etiquette, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy/literacy, and mathematics.]
That third brother of Lan Luo, Long Hua, also said in admiration, “That’s right. Monarch Yu, let us take a look and widen our horizons.”
Monarch Yu replied softly, “I have not mastered this skill yet and do not dare to embarrass myself here. Feng Tian, go show the Long Clan disciples what you are capable of.”
“I obey.”
An escort walked out from behind. Then, he took the bow from Long Hua. After finding stable footing, he casually shot an arrow.
A piercing screech rang out, and a strong wind blew throughout the drill ground, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Boom!”
This arrow directly shattered the target board, which was specially made with divine materials. The arrow continued screeching as it flew another ten kilometers and struck a second target board. Ten points!
This small show of skill shocked everyone.
“Sorry, I damaged your Long Clan’s target board.”
Feng Tian appeared slightly arrogant as he returned the bow to the somewhat dispirited Long Hua. As Long Hua held the bow, he appeared disappointed and frustrated.
Earlier, Monarch Yu said that he had not mastered the skill yet and did not dare to embarrass himself. However, he casually sent out an escort, and it resulted in an easy victory.
Was this not saying that Long Hua had not mastered this skill but still dared to embarrass himself here?
The other Long Clan disciples did not empathize with Long Hua. They only felt even more admiration for Monarch Yu. Just the escort already had such skills. This was truly amazing for them.
Monarch Yu smiled faintly and strolled to another area in the drill ground. The group of Long Clan disciples quickly followed.
Now, only the somewhat bitter Long Hua remained in the empty archery range.
Just as Long Hua wanted to leave from frustration, he discovered that another person had appeared at the archery range at some point in time.
Xiao Chen held the Long Clan’s specially refined Goose Dragon Bow and pulled on the drawstring, testing it out.
Honestly speaking, Xiao Chen was not an expert archer. He did not learn any archery formally, just from experience. All he had were some unorthodox tricks.
This was Xiao Chen’s first time in a proper archery range, and he was not used to it.
Seeing the way Xiao Chen held the bow, Long Hua started smiling. With one look, it was clear that Xiao Chen was an amateur.
Indeed, when Xiao Chen shot out the first arrow, the gravity pulled the arrow down midway, and it wobbled, then fell to the ground.
“To think that he dares to embarrass himself with such skills.” Long Hua let out a mocking laugh as he turned away.
Just as Long Hua was about to leave, he heard a ‘dang. This was the sound of an arrow striking the bull’s-eye, a sound that Long Hua was extremely familiar with.
When Long Hua turned around, he discovered that Xiao Chen’s second arrow had struck the bull’s-eye without any deviation at all.
Standing at the side, the little monk cheered while clapping.
“Dang! Dang! Dang!”
After Xiao Chen familiarized himself with the Long Clan’s specially made Goose Dragon Bow, all his arrows struck the bull’s-eye. Every arrow struck the nock of the one before it and split the previous one all the way through before reaching the bull’s-eye.
There was a total of ten shots fired; after the first, all of the rest struck the bull’s-eye. Xiao Chen’s movements were fluid and smooth.
When Long Hua saw this scene, his expression turned severe as he said, “Disgusting. He is clearly skilled at archery, yet he pretended to be new to it in front of me. He was pretending to be a pig in order to eat a tiger, trying to make a joke of me. He is truly a narrow-minded and extremely shameless person.”
“Haha! Little Benefactor, you are really incredibly stupid. The one who defeated you is the one who is purposely hiding his strength. It has nothing to do with my big brother. My big brother is only new to an archery range and was not used to the specially made bows of your Long Clan,” the little monk said with an expression of disdain.
“What do you mean?” Long Hua asked, feeling confused.
