Chapter 169: Breakthrough After Breakthrough

Outside the Huishui County hall, the dockside open ground was packed with dense swarms of venomous snakes.

Under the suppression of realgar powder and the Snake Elder’s lingering intimidation, they chose to lie low.

They did not dare approach the hall, yet they did not dare leave.

After dozens of breaths, many players from Warring States Game Studio saw their Hundred-Step Piercing Yang advance in realm.

Outside the hall, the ground was carpeted with snakes pierced through by arrows. It looked like a forest of shafts rising from a pool of serpents, a spectacular sight.

Wangchuan had no time to admire it. Bow in hand, he kept firing without pause.

He had begun attempting three arrows at once.

It was extravagant and wasteful, but he discovered that when he released three arrows in a single breath, as long as two hit, he still gained experience.

If all three struck their targets, he gained 2 experience points in one shot.

The speed of improvement skyrocketed.

After finding this shortcut, Wangchuan called two Weapon Room assistants to supply him with arrows. After firing three at a time for a while, he began loading four arrows at once…

Soon, the system notification rang out.

Ding!

“Five-Finger Rapid Shot has advanced from ‘Minor Accomplishment’ to ‘Practice Makes Perfect.’ Reward: +1 Strength, +1 Agility.”

“Next realm: ‘Entry-Level Mastery.’”

Wangchuan froze for a split second.

Evenly distributed attributes…

That meant when he reached the next realm, he would gain 1 Strength, 1 Agility, and 1 Stamina…

Not bad.

His Strength would soon break through forty, while his Stamina was the one that lagged behind.

Five-Finger Rapid Shot had helped him again.

There were still countless snakes on the docks.

Probably several thousand remained…

And just now, another wave had surged up from the river.

“My Hundred-Step Piercing Yang is about to break through to ‘Practice Makes Perfect’—ha!”

“This is amazing!”

“Who would have thought the Five Poison Sect came to deliver experience?”

“My Strength is already seventeen, I am close to breaking into an official martial artist!”

“I have eighteen Strength! Hahahaha!”

“Congratulations!”

On the rooftop, people were already celebrating.

They were truly exhausted.

Sustained high-intensity drawing of bows was brutal on the arms.

But Wangchuan did not stop.

On the one hand, his Stamina was high enough to endure it. On the other, he could shoot with both hands. If one arm failed, he would simply switch.

As long as the snakes were still here, he refused to waste this once-in-a-lifetime chance.

He kept firing.

Four arrows at a time, raining down in volleys.

After Five-Finger Rapid Shot reached Practice Makes Perfect, his fingers grew even more dexterous. The distribution of force between the arrows became smoother, and his connection to each arrow felt tighter. He could almost sense the condition of each target his arrows were aimed at…

TWANG!

The instant the arrows left the string, the four shafts wavered slightly.

A tiny difference led to three hits and one miss.

Experience +2.

It was not perfect, but it was still excellent.

Again!

Wangchuan continued drawing and releasing.

By now, most of the inner disciples on the rooftops had collapsed from fatigue.

Only a small group—Chen Ergou, Zhao Heiniu, Wang Yuehui, Bai Yuhui, Hong Kaibao, and a handful of others—kept shooting, continuing to harvest snakes for experience.

From Practice Makes Perfect to Entry-Level Mastery required only 500 experience.

Before long, Wangchuan heard the system prompt again.

Ding!

“Five-Finger Rapid Shot has advanced from ‘Practice Makes Perfect’ to ‘Entry-Level Mastery.’ Reward: +1 Strength, +1 Agility, +1 Stamina.”

“Next realm: ‘Integration.’”

In an instant, Wangchuan felt his understanding of archery deepen. He pinched four arrows between his fingers, nocked them smoothly, and sent them flying.

All four struck four separate snakes with precision.

His draw became smoother.

His attacks became more decisive.

Even his accuracy rose noticeably.

“Beautiful.”

Zhao Heiniu’s praise came from nearby.

Wangchuan flashed a grin.

He knew he was still far from Captain Bai’s astonishing, almost divine archery, but landing four arrows on four targets at close range was already terrifying in its own right.

At close distance, four Armor-Piercing Arrows striking the same target—each dealing 45 to 65 attack with +1 armor piercing—meant the enemy would need at least an Entry-Level Mastery defensive technique plus full armor to survive. Otherwise, a single exchange would cripple them, or even kill them outright.

“Keep going!”

“Let us see if I can push toward ‘Integration.’”

Wangchuan’s eyes burned with intensity.

Although the number of snakes on the dockside ground was steadily shrinking, chances like this were rare. He had to drive Five-Finger Rapid Shot’s experience as high as possible.

TWANG!

TWANG!

His firing remained smooth as he harvested the remaining targets.

As time passed…

The sky gradually brightened.

With the Snake Elder dead and no commands forthcoming, the surviving snakes began to retreat.

What remained on the dockside ground was a gruesome mess—dense snake corpses and upright arrow shafts everywhere. Four pythons, seven or eight meters long, were especially eye-catching.

“They are retreating.”

“The snakes are retreating.”

“Haha…”

“Hall Master, it is safe.”

Everyone was exhausted.

Wangchuan summoned his Status Panel.

Five-Finger Rapid Shot’s experience finally settled at 782/2000. There was still a distance to Integration.

But what surprised him was that Archery had climbed to 4029/5000—only a little over nine hundred proficiency short of Perfect Mastery.

That meant he had killed nearly four thousand venomous snakes in one night.

Excellent.

Wangchuan suppressed the wild joy in his chest, drew a deep breath, and issued an order.

“Everyone who fought tonight—each of you will receive five taels of silver as a reward!”

“Thank you, Hall Master!”

The inner disciples erupted in cheers, not at all surprised.

Meanwhile, the guards from Qingfeng Escort Agency stared in shock.

They had merely taken part in one defensive action—listening to the commotion above, moving supplies around—and they were getting five taels of silver.

“Thank you, Escort Leader!”

Those who recovered first shouted loudly.

“Thank you, Escort Leader!”

The rest followed, elated.

Wangchuan continued issuing orders.

“Wang Yuehui, open the gates and lead the brothers to clear the docks.”

“Chen Ergou, explain the precautions to the escort agency brothers. Do not let anyone get bitten.”

“And you—send a carrier pigeon message to the Gang Leader immediately. Tell him the hall was attacked, that we repelled and killed more than ten Five Poison Sect disciples, and that we shot the Five Poison Sect’s Snake Elder!”

As he said those final words, a burning heat flashed in Wangchuan’s eyes.

He suddenly leapt down from the rooftop, landing amid the dense carpet of snake corpses.

Nearby, a venomous snake that was not quite dead yet flashed a vicious, feral gleam and snapped at Wangchuan’s calf.

The snake shuddered.

Its fangs broke on the spot.

With Practice Makes Perfect Iron Shirt and a layer of leather armor, how could a mere snake pierce him?

Wangchuan could not even be bothered to look at it. His blade swept out, cleaving it in two. Then he drifted toward the river in a few light bounds, reaching the place where the Snake Elder’s corpse had fallen.

A Third-Rank martial artist…

Surely he would be carrying something valuable.

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