Chapter 13: Champion

Chapter 13: Champion

The 300 advancing contestants were divided into five groups of 60, each led by a referee to their respective competition venues.

Ji Xinghuo was assigned to the third group, where Lu Yunhai happened to be a referee. As they passed by, Lu Yunhai greeted Ji Xinghuo with a cheerful smile.

"Coach Lu, do you know each other?" Fang Yinping, who was also in this group, asked curiously upon seeing their interaction.

"Miss Fang, we're university classmates," Lu Yunhai quickly replied, his tone respectful. "I helped him sign up for the course; he's only been learning archery for three weeks."

"Really?" Fang Yinping was surprised.

She couldn't help but re-evaluate Ji Xinghuo.

For a beginner to have such a high level of archery skill implied an extremely high talent for marksmanship, surpassing most rangers. If it weren't for her own fusion of the Thousand Spirit Dexterity and Precision, as well as years of practice, she wouldn't be confident in beating Ji Xinghuo.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Ji," Fang Yinping said with a smile. "Please don't take this morning's little misunderstanding to heart."

Ji Xinghuo hadn't taken it seriously anyway. "Miss Fang is overthinking it; it's a minor matter."

Fang Yinping nodded and returned to prepare for the competition.

After she left, Ji Xinghuo asked, "What's the story with this Miss Fang? She seems quite famous."

"She's the daughter of one of the shareholders of our archery hall," Lu Yunhai replied in a low voice. "Miss Fang used to practice at our hall often, but recently she's been away competing in other places, which is why you haven't seen her. She's an excellent archer; the director has guided her many times. She's participated in five Shoot-the-Leaf Cups and won twice."

"No wonder," Ji Xinghuo murmured, understanding.

"Miss Fang is cheerful and easygoing; she's well-liked in Chang'an's archery circles," Lu Yunhai added with a laugh.

"What does that have to do with me?" Ji Xinghuo asked, perplexed.

"Haha, I'm just saying," Lu Yunhai said casually.

As they spoke, they arrived at the venue for the fourth round of the competition, and Lu Yunhai rejoined the other referees to officiate the event.

This round involved shooting at a moving target 50 meters away, with each contestant taking the field one at a time.

Ji Xinghuo surveyed his surroundings.

The venue was spacious, and the weather was pleasant, though it was summer. The temperature on Mount Zhongnan was not as hot as in the city, and the contestants waited in the shade of the trees, watching as the first contestant, whose name had been called, took the field.

There was a one-minute preparation time.

Beep!

A buzzer sounded, and a drone took off from a flat area 50 meters away. The drone's speed was not too fast, roughly equivalent to a person's running speed. Hanging below it was an 80-centimeter ten-ring target, flying along a fixed route.

This was the moving target, and there was only a two-second window to shoot; any longer, and the attempt would be invalid.

Pa!

An arrow struck the target but missed the bullseye.

The contestant on the field had nocked a second arrow and released it at the target as the first arrow flew, not pausing between shots. Five seconds later, a second drone with a target flew by, and the contestant quickly aimed and fired.

Five drones with targets flew by in sequence, each five seconds apart, at a distance of 50 meters, and their flying speed increased with each pass.

The contestant fired all five arrows in less than half a minute.

"39 rings!"

The screen at this end of the venue immediately displayed the score, which was not very high. The contestant shook his head and walked off the field.

The second contestant soon took the field, and each contestant's time was brief.

With each successive arrow, the shots became more challenging, and the scores naturally decreased, averaging between 35 and 40 rings.

Soon, it was Ji Xinghuo's turn.

Pa pa pa pa pa!

Five crisp, decisive shots, released in one smooth motion, each arrow hitting the bullseye.

"50 rings!"

The contestants watching from under the trees exclaimed in surprise. This was the first perfect score of the fourth round, and many inquired about Ji Xinghuo's background, but no one recognized him.

However, they didn't pay it much mind, as Fang Yinping took the field and also scored a perfect 50 rings.

The fourth round concluded.

In Ji Xinghuo's group, four contestants achieved perfect scores.

Due to the tight schedule, the referee promptly led this group to the next venue for the fifth round. This round also involved shooting at moving targets, but the distance had increased to 70 meters, and the archers had to shoot downward from a high position to a lower one.

The venue was on a hillside, with the contestants gathered at the top of the slope and the targets at the halfway point, with occasional gusts of wind blowing by.

The shooting difficulty had increased again.

The contestants who went before struggled, and half of them scored below 30 rings after shooting all five arrows.

Ji Xinghuo's luck wasn't great.

As he took his turn, a strong gust of wind blew across the hillside, causing two of his arrows to hit the ninth ring, and he ultimately scored 48 rings.

In the sixth round, the target distance increased to 100 meters, and the archers had to shoot upward from a low position to a higher one. The venue shifted to the bottom of the slope, while the targets were on the mountain.

The contestants faltered one by one, and few scored above 30 rings.

After the three rounds, the contestants waited for the results to advance to the next stage.

The total scores from these three rounds were tallied, and the top 32 contestants would advance to the seventh round.

The results were quickly announced and displayed on the screens set up around the venue. Ji Xinghuo quickly spotted his name, ranked third with a total score of 139 rings.

"I only ranked third?" Ji Xinghuo exclaimed in surprise. The difficulty level of these three rounds had been quite high, and he was amazed that someone had managed to score 143 rings, securing the top position.

The second-place contestant had also scored two rings higher than him.

Fang Yinping had also advanced, scoring 138 rings and tying for fifth place.

Ji Xinghuo turned to observe the weather. Outdoor shooting was heavily influenced by the climate, especially the wind, and a slight misjudgment could result in a miss.

With these uncertain factors, no one could guarantee a championship win, and it all came down to performance on the day.

The top ten contestants all had a chance.

At that moment, a broadcast echoed through the valley, announcing, "Please gather at Target Field 9, all 32 advancing contestants. The seventh round will commence in fifteen minutes."

Ji Xinghuo hurried over to the designated area.

Not only the advancing contestants but even those who had been eliminated remained as spectators, eager to witness the final competition.

Target Field 9 was set up on a hundred-meter-high cliff, but the slope was gentle, and guardrails were installed, making it safe.

A flat area and a viewing platform had been constructed at the edge of the cliff, providing ample space for over a thousand spectators.

The remaining four rounds would take place here.

When Ji Xinghuo arrived, most of the seats in the viewing area were already occupied, including Master Yang Tianqing and several other archery hall directors, who were chatting casually.

"Please come forward," a chief referee standing on a protruding platform on the cliff called out. The ground in front of him had marked shooting positions, and the 32 contestants stood several meters away, maintaining their distance.

The chief referee quickly explained the rules.

In the airspace outside the cliff, dozens of drone targets were flying at different speeds and trajectories within a certain area. When the contestants were ready, one of the drones would flash a bright red light for one second, and the contestants must shoot within that second.

Ji Xinghuo had watched videos of this round before, but being there in person was vastly different.

With so many spectators, it was inevitable that he felt nervous.

"Number 76, Ji Xinghuo!"

In this round, the order of appearance was determined by the registration number drawn at the time of sign-up, and Ji Xinghuo had the smallest number among the 32 contestants, so he was the first to take the field.

Ji Xinghuo walked forward a few steps and stepped into the shooting area.

All eyes were on him.

"Hu..."

Ji Xinghuo held the compound bow in his left hand and nocked an arrow with his right, taking a deep breath.

Instantly, the slight tension he felt dissipated, and his mind became calm and focused. His eyes scanned the area between fifty and seventy meters outside the cliff. In the depths of his right eye's pupil, the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil reflected the movements within that area with crystal clarity.

The flow of the wind, the scorching sunlight, and the constantly flying drones formed a vivid picture in Ji Xinghuo's mind, as if it were imprinted on his brain.

"Get ready," the chief referee shouted.

Ji Xinghuo glanced at the ten-second countdown with his peripheral vision, and as soon as the timer reached zero, a buzzer sounded.

Beep!

Ji Xinghuo pulled the string with force, maintaining the drawn bow posture, his eyes scanning the dozens of drones that swarmed like a school of fish, moving swiftly.

Suddenly, one of the drones lit up.

An arrow shot out almost simultaneously, turning into a black line that hit the target.

Bullseye!

Ji Xinghuo didn't bother to check the result of that shot. In his right palm, he held four more arrows, and the Thousand Spirit Dexterity technique came into play, his fingers nimble and quick like a butterfly flitting through flowers as he nocked another arrow, his thumb pulling the string, ready for the next shot.

Another drone lit up, this time at a distance of almost seventy meters but at a lower height than the cliff platform.

Ji Xinghuo instantly adjusted his angle and shot downward.

Pa!

Bullseye!

He quickly nocked the third arrow, maintaining his rhythm. As the third drone lit up, he released the arrow, followed by the fourth and fifth, completing the round.

All five arrows hit the bullseye!

The hundreds of spectators in the stands were stunned, and several seconds passed before they erupted into astonished exclamations.

The archery hall directors exchanged surprised looks.

Master Yang Tianqing noticed the logo of his archery hall on Ji Xinghuo's clothes and gave him a few curious glances, wondering when his archery hall had gained such a talented archer.

Hitting five consecutive bullseyes at random targets between fifty and seventy meters was an extremely challenging feat.

The contestants who followed Ji Xinghuo all made some mistakes to varying degrees. It wasn't until Fang Yinping took the field that the second perfect score of 50 rings was achieved.

Ji Xinghuo was once again the first to take the field.

He fired off five arrows in quick succession.

And once more, he achieved a perfect score of five ten-rings!

Now, everyone knew that this unfamiliar archer was the top seed for the championship, and the other well-known and talented shooters couldn't match his incredible consistency.

Ji Xinghuo instantly became the center of attention.

He noticed that Master Yang Tianqing had called over one of the coaches from his archery hall and was asking him some questions quietly.

In the ninth round, with only eight contestants remaining, each one who advanced to this stage would receive a cash prize, so everyone was in high spirits.

The shooting distance for this round increased to 100 to 120 meters.

Typically, shooters below the Super Mutant level would see their accuracy drop significantly at distances beyond 100 meters.

Ji Xinghuo was no exception.

Even with the assistance of the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil, limited by the performance of the "Yi Feng" and his own mutant level, he hadn't trained for such long-distance shooting, and in the end, he couldn't maintain his perfect score, achieving only 42 rings after firing five arrows.

But this was still enough for him to advance to the top four, and he did so in first place.

Onto the tenth round.

The distribution area for the random targets expanded severalfold, ranging from 50 to 150 meters. The airspace outside the cliff was filled with drones, totaling over 200, a spectacular sight.

The shooting window was also halved to just half a second.

The contestants had to shoot a total of ten arrows.

This round tested the shooters' reactions, techniques, the bow's range, and their ability to maintain focus. An ordinary person wouldn't be able to score a single ring. Even for mutants, without proper training, it would be challenging to score more than 10 rings, and most of the shooters present fell into this category.

The order of appearance for the final round was determined by the scores of the ninth round, with the lowest scorer going first.

"Birch."

The first contestant to take the field was a well-known shooter in the Chang'an archery circles.

The one who had scored 143 rings in the elimination round.

Birch was a mid-level ranger who used a traditional bow. He stuck nine arrows into the ground next to him and, standing at the shooting position, took a deep breath before raising his bow and notching an arrow, his eyes focused on the area outside the cliff.

Beep!

With a soft sound, Birch began shooting rapidly, pulling arrows from the ground and firing them into the air at the drones.

After shooting all ten arrows, Birch looked like he had his energy drained, his entire body slumping.

"55 rings!"

Birch shook his head, dissatisfied with his performance.

The second contestant to advance to the top four performed even worse, with three arrows missing the target or not released within the time limit, scoring only 25 rings, so frustrated that he nearly threw his bow.

Next up was Fang Yinping.

She had also consistently advanced to the top four, and her performance in the ninth round was second only to Ji Xinghuo.

Ji Xinghuo watched as she fired arrow after arrow, each one hitting its mark, and with decent ring scores. In the end, she tallied 61 rings, temporarily taking the lead.

Fang Yinping was pleased with her performance and waved to the audience, accepting their cheers.

As she passed by Ji Xinghuo to leave the field, she whispered, "Good luck!"

Ji Xinghuo nodded slightly.

Standing at the shooting position, he was calm and collected, knowing that he had already won the championship and that all that was left was to go through the motions.

However, the audience didn't know this, and they felt nervous on his behalf.

Beep!

As soon as the buzzer sounded, Ji Xinghuo released the first arrow. Many spectators hadn't even seen the result of the first shot when he fired the second one.

Even though the drones were flying faster and their trajectories were more complex and covered a larger area than in the previous three rounds.

In the face of the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil, these differences hardly mattered.

Ji Xinghuo's face remained calm as he smoothly shot off all ten arrows.

Each arrow hit the lit-up drone targets, but limited by his strength and control, he couldn't hit the bullseye every time. To the spectators, his movements were pleasing to the eye, fluid and graceful, like a machine designed solely for archery.

"72 rings!"

The head referee announced the score loudly, and it also appeared on the large screen.

A champion had been decided!

"Wow..."

The audience rose to their feet, applauding enthusiastically.

Even Fang Yinping had to admit defeat, as this was the best tenth-round score in the history of the "Shoot-the-Leaf Cup."

The award ceremony began shortly after, with Birch receiving the third-place prize, followed by Fang Yinping in second place. The prizes were presented by the directors of the two archery halls.

The champion's award was presented by Master Yang Tianqing himself.

The Super Mutant was all smiles as he held a golden trophy in the shape of an archer and announced to the crowd, "I now declare that Ji Xinghuo is the winner of the 15th 'Shoot-the-Leaf Cup'!" He handed the trophy to Ji Xinghuo and said with a smile, "Congratulations."

"Thank you, Master Yang," Ji Xinghuo replied, holding the trophy in one hand and raising it for everyone to see, prompting another round of applause. Someone took a photo, and then the competition came to an end.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end