Chapter 211: Gale Thunder Archery's Second Breakthrough

Chapter 211: Gale Thunder Archery's Second Breakthrough

Three days later, the moonlight shone from the sky, reflecting countless silver scales on the lake's surface.

Bang!

Jiang Ning released an arrow, and it flew like a rainbow, piercing through the sky before disappearing into the distant lake.

【Essence Energy】: 721.11

【Technique】: Gale Thunder Archery+ (First Breakthrough 2000/2000) (Attribute: Gale Thunder Breath)



"Huff—"

Jiang Ning glanced at his panel and exhaled a breath of turbid air from his stomach.

After three days of diligent practice, the experience points for Gale Thunder Archery were once again full.

He had now met the requirements for breaking through in Gale Thunder Archery.

Over the past three days, Jiang Ning couldn't remember how many times he had drawn the bowstring or how many times he had exhausted his Gale Thunder Force.

Each time his Gale Thunder Force was depleted, he could only enter the lake to speed up his recovery.

The larger the area of his body in contact with the water, the faster his recovery would be.

With his entire body submerged, his recovery speed was more than ten times faster than on land.

Relying solely on the water's restorative properties, he was able to draw the bow hundreds of times a day, exhausting his Gale Thunder Force again and again.

At the same time, while recovering in the water, he didn't waste time but took the opportunity to practice his fist techniques underwater.

Improving the Five Animal Fist would enhance his Qi and blood, which was the foundation of his martial arts.

Now, as he looked at the display on his panel, the hardships of the past three days turned into a moment of joyous harvest.

The experience points for Gale Thunder Archery were completely full, and he only needed to consume 200 Essence Energy points to achieve the second breakthrough in Gale Thunder Archery.

Jiang Ning glanced at his panel once more.

【Essence Energy】: 721.11

【Technique】: Gale Thunder Archery+ (First Breakthrough 2000/2000) (Attribute: Gale Thunder Breath)



Jiang Ning's heart was now free of any hesitation.

Breakthrough!

His mind moved.

In an instant, his Essence Energy points rapidly decreased.

In the blink of an eye, the total amount of Essence Energy points decreased by a full two hundred points.

【Essence Energy】: 521.11

The Essence Energy points on the panel froze at this moment.

A moment later, Jiang Ning was slightly startled.

After several breaths, he didn't feel any changes in himself.

Unlike the first breakthrough of Gale Thunder Archery, when he closed his eyes and saw the power of Gale Thunder in the void.

The next moment, Jiang Ning immediately looked at his panel, specifically at the Technique section.

【Technique】: Gale Thunder Archery (Second Breakthrough 0/3000) (Attribute: Gale Thunder Breath, Mind Arrow Technique)



"Mind Arrow Technique?" Jiang Ning muttered.

He looked at the description on the panel.

【Mind Arrow Technique】: Using the mind as a guide, shoot arrows at will.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning was startled again.

"Using the mind as a guide?" His eyebrows furrowed slightly, and a look of confusion flashed in his eyes.

He whispered to himself, "Let's give it a try!"

Instantly, a white light flashed in Jiang Ning's hand, and an arrow appeared.

He drew the bowstring.

Bang!

As he released the bowstring, the arrow instantly broke through the air and disappeared into the dark night sky in the blink of an eye.

But at that moment, Jiang Ning slightly opened his eyes, revealing a look of surprise.

As the arrow flew out, he instantly saw another perspective, the very perspective of the arrow piercing through the air.

From this viewpoint, he could clearly perceive everything ahead.

Time seemed to slow down.

Suddenly, the arrow's speed remained unchanged, easily breaking through the sound barrier, but Jiang Ning noticed that the arrow deviated from its path according to his mental intent.

Although the deviation wasn't significant, over a distance of several li, a slight deviation could result in a huge difference.

Then, Jiang Ning's mental intent moved again.

The arrow, which had originally pierced through the air a li away on the lake surface, suddenly slanted downward and quickly plunged into the water.

As the arrow entered the water, its speed rapidly decreased.

Sizzle—

It wasn't until Jiang Ning's mental intent guided it that the arrow pierced through a half-zhang-long fish, and its momentum finally came to a complete stop.

As he withdrew his gaze, Jiang Ning couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

The seemingly ordinary effect brought him unexpected joy.

Mind Arrow Technique, this was a replica of the sword-wielding combat in the realm of immortals and martial arts.

An arrow that could change direction held a completely different meaning from one that couldn't.

Once the arrow was released, its direction was fixed.

This arrow technique, when facing a strong enemy, would only have the effect of a sneak attack, especially under the clear skies and bright daylight.

With a range of several li, even if the arrow was fast, it would take a breath or two from the moment it left the bowstring to when it hit the target.

In such a situation, if the enemy discovered it, they could easily dodge the arrow's lock-on by moving sideways a single position.

Subsequent arrows would have almost no chance of hitting the enemy.

Because, just like him now, given a moment, he could cross a distance of over ten zhang.

The disparity between them was such that, even with vigilance during the day, it would be impossible to avoid an arrow attack from a distance.

Distance and one's speed could easily dodge arrows from afar.

But now, Jiang Ning remained unmoving.

He had mastered the Mind Arrow Technique.

Jiang Ning could use his heart's intention to guide the arrow, altering its trajectory in mid-air without affecting its speed and power.

Only under such circumstances could the true terror of archery be fully demonstrated.

Given an open space, with one arrow, he could easily suppress dozens of equally powerful opponents, making any appearance a death sentence.

Under the guidance of the Mind Arrow Technique, it was difficult to evade his deadly arrows.

With the mastery of the Mind Arrow Technique, the terror of archery would be fully unleashed.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Jiang Ning's heart filled with joy.

That night, when he confronted Liu Linmen, if he had mastered this Mind Arrow Technique, Liu Linmen would not have had such an easy time.

It would have been impressive enough for Liu Linmen to escape unscathed, let alone attack him.

Arrows on their original trajectory could be considered lifeless.

But with the Mind Arrow Technique, arrows became living entities, guided by his heart's intention.

Once arrows possessed the spirit of living beings, their threat became truly lethal.

Even the so-called sword-wielding enemy-slaying technique couldn't compare to the terror of his current Wind Thunder Arrow Technique.

The next moment, Jiang Ning drew his bowstring again.

He effortlessly pulled the longbow to its limit.

The Wind Thunder Force silently infused the arrow.

Boom—

The arrow left the bowstring, breaking through the sound barrier.

In the blink of an eye, it vanished into the pitch-black night, only to reappear four li away, breaking through the sound barrier once more.

After traveling another two li, the arrow's momentum gradually weakened, and it quickly pierced the lake's surface.

Even in the dark and open lake, Jiang Ning, having mastered the Mind Arrow Technique, could clearly see where the arrow had landed.

His other perspective synchronized with the arrow as it tore through the air.

"This arrow is at least two to three times more powerful than my Wind Thunder Arrow Technique before my second limit-breaking! My strength has increased by at least one level."

Jiang Ning retrieved his longbow, muttering to himself.

Then, with a light push off the ground, he sent pebbles flying, and his entire body soared like a soaring roc towards the lake.

Mid-air, the wind blew against his robe, creating a gliding effect as he smoothly descended.

Boom—

As he landed on the lake's surface, he stomped his foot, causing the lake to erupt, and the counterforce instantly neutralized the momentum from his leap.

Jiang Ning then walked on the water's surface, swiftly heading towards the shore.

The night was deep, and the bright moon hung high above.

He had to hurry back to sleep.

He had tried it before; every night's sleep was the deepest relaxation and restoration for his body.

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No matter the method, nothing could replace the benefits of sleep for the body.

Even at this stage, with his body in excellent condition, he maintained his nightly sleep routine.

It was a form of enjoyment and the greatest help for his body.

Reaching the shore, Jiang Ning discreetly observed his mansion.

Sensing the calm presence of his brother, sister-in-law, and their child in the room, Jiang Ning felt relieved and left.

These days, he checked on his brother's family every night before feeling at ease.

Not staying at home was his way of protecting his brother's family.

If he lived there and Liu Linmen sneaked in during the night, it would be truly dangerous.

No one knew better than himself that the attack on Liu Linmen that night was his doing.

Moreover, that night, the Earth King's Phantom Soul had found him and marked him, a mark he was still unaware of.

As Lin Qingyi had said, even if Liu Linmen didn't know the culprit, opening a Heavenly Eye and seeing Jiang Ning would reveal the mark left by the Earth King.

The truth would be exposed, and it would be inevitable for conflict to arise between him and Liu Linmen.

Once conflict emerged, the greatest danger would be to his brother's family, who were still ordinary people.

That's why Jiang Ning chose to stay at Xie Xiao Jiu's home instead of his own.

As long as Liu Linmen couldn't find him, he couldn't be sure who the culprit was that night!

After all, the Earth King's Phantom Soul had been injured by Lin Qingyi after finding Jiang Ning.

The injury to the Phantom Soul required immediate attention, and the Earth King might not have had the time to inform Liu Linmen about the culprit.

Considering this, Jiang Ning decided to take these actions.

Based on his discoveries over the past few days, Jiang Ning was almost certain his previous guess was accurate.

The Incense Master of the Yellow Heaven Sect, Liu Linmen, truly didn't know who the culprit was.

These past few days, based on the information he had gathered, Liu Linmen had been visiting the two commanders with a frequency of once every two days.

It was clear that he was secretly investigating something.

Therefore, Jiang Ning couldn't afford to show himself at his own manor.

As long as he didn't appear, there wouldn't be any issues, and Liu Linmen wouldn't dare to take drastic actions against his elder brother, sister-in-law, and their family.

With his official status, no one dared to ignore him.

As an eighth-rank deputy commander, he not only had the authority to mobilize dozens of ninth-rank warriors under his command but also could request assistance from the garrison outside the city.

Under these circumstances, unless Liu Linmen had gone completely mad, he wouldn't dare to take action against Jiang Ning's family before something happened to him.

That's why Jiang Ning didn't ask them to hide.

Moreover, even if they wanted to hide, there was no place to do so.

Leaving Luoshui County, he knew nothing and had no connections or resources.

This, in fact, made things more dangerous.

Furthermore, if they were to leave, it would be like losing 300 taels of silver.

Instead, they were being placed in a perilous situation.

Considering all these factors, Jiang Ning decided to only make himself disappear, appearing at the inspection office during the day for routine duties and staying at Xie Xiao Jiu's home at night.

By making it difficult for Liu Linmen to find him, he was buying time for his strength to grow further.

The stronger his power became, the more confident he felt. At this moment, Jiang Ning's confidence was much higher than it had been in the previous days.

However, he knew this wasn't enough.

A fifth-rank Inner Firmament warrior was not someone to be taken lightly. With the various means he currently possessed, if he were to confront them rashly, even self-preservation would be challenging, let alone completely eliminating this hidden trouble.

Xie Family Manor.

Knock knock.

Xie Xiao Jiu heard two light knocks on the window, and her heart, which had been filled with anxiety, immediately calmed down.

"Sir?"

"It's me!"

Hearing Jiang Ning's response, Xie Xiao Jiu's worries instantly dissipated.

Usually, by this time, Jiang Ning would have already returned.

Tonight, he was a little later than usual, which caused her to start overthinking.

She was also aware of the reason why Jiang Ning was staying with her—to hide from something, or someone.

That's why, just now, her heart couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Until this moment, when she heard Jiang Ning's familiar voice, did she finally feel at ease.

Xie Xiao Jiu got out of bed and went to the window, opening it to let Jiang Ning into her room.

"Sir, you're back late. Is everything okay?" Xie Xiao Jiu asked as she closed the window to prevent the cold air from entering the room, her eyes filled with concern as she looked at Jiang Ning.

"Don't worry, I just had a breakthrough today, so I was a bit delayed," Jiang Ning replied casually.

"Another breakthrough, sir?" Xie Xiao Jiu's eyes lit up with a bright glow, and her face also showed a hint of joy.

Living with Jiang Ning day and night, she had naturally noticed some changes in him.

His strength was far beyond her reach.

As a member of the Heaven's Pride, she understood just how terrifying Jiang Ning was.

His overflowing talent made her feel like she could never catch up.

Xie Xiao Jiu knew that in this lifetime, she would never have the chance to match Jiang Ning's pace.

But she didn't feel jealous; instead, she genuinely felt happy for him.

"A small gain!" Seeing the bright glow in Xie Xiao Jiu's eyes, Jiang Ning smiled.

Then, he took off his outer garment, and Xie Xiao Jiu immediately took it from him, hanging it on a nearby clothes rack.

Her movements were as skilled as a wife attending to her husband returning home.

"Sir, do you want to take a bath? I've already prepared hot water."

"No need, it's a bit late!" Jiang Ning shook his head.

Then, he walked over to a simple bed made of wooden boards.

This was his new bed.

Jiang Ning had insisted on not taking over Xie Xiao Jiu's bed these past few days, so she had no choice but to make a simple bed for him.

With Xie Xiao Jiu's arrangement, the bed was soft and warm.

As Jiang Ning sat on the bed, intending to take off his shoes—

"Sir, let me do it!"

Xie Xiao Jiu squatted down, her skirt covering her bare feet as she knelt on the wooden floor.

She removed Jiang Ning's shoes and socks, then turned and left.

A moment later, she returned with a basin of hot water.

"Sir, let's wash your feet before going to sleep!"

"You put it down, I'll do it myself!" Jiang Ning said.

"Sir, just rest! I can handle it!" Xie Xiao Jiu squatted down, placing the basin and smiling at Jiang Ning.

She immediately grabbed Jiang Ning's feet and placed them in the basin.

"Is the water temperature okay?" Xie Xiao Jiu looked up at Jiang Ning, then used her little finger to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

Jiang Ning looked at her, a smile appearing on his face.

"It's fine!"

As he spoke, Jiang Ning gently rubbed Xie Xiao Jiu's head.

At this moment, Jiang Ning felt a sense of warmth and comfort.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end