Silver Overlord

“Make sure your arms and shoulders are in a straight line. Your waist, arms, and legs are bows so you need to unite the three bows of your body. Only with the power coming from your legs, waist, and arms, will you be able to draw your bow with enough power to send arrows flying over long distances with high accuracy. These are the basics of archery...”

At the archery range, Yan Liqiang was holding a white ashwood stick like he was the reincarnation of a devil coach. He was speaking loudly while guiding the students who were persevering with their cultivation. He walked around the rows of students and tapped whoever had a problem with the stick.

Currently, there were nearly a thousand students in the archery range. Half of them were standing with two lumps of iron in both hands and two bricks on their shoulders. They were sweating profusely, trying to maintain the stance of drawing a bow as they were not allowed to set the iron in their hands down or let the bricks on their shoulders fall.

The students in the archery academy had to train like this for at least an hour daily. During such training, if their body failed to hold the position or if their hands shook, the bricks would fall off their shoulders. In order to keep the bricks on their shoulders, everyone clenched their jaw and persisted. Most people had swollen arms after a day of training, especially when they were just getting started. By the next day, many were whining because they couldn’t even lift their arms.

Half a month into the training, the complaints gradually decreased. Everyone started training as hard as they could because there was a ‘reward’ waiting for them at the end. Those who could keep at it for an hour without letting the bricks fall off their shoulders would be allowed to practice shooting three arrows with a real bow at the archery range every day. For every additional fifteen minutes they could persist, they would be allowed to shoot three more arrows. This meant if they could persist for another half-hour, they would be allowed to shoot six more arrows.

Those who couldn’t make it past this level didn’t have the rights to even touch a bow. The stronger ones who made it past this level would be given more opportunities to train. When the students were doing formation training, the difference in strength wasn’t too obvious. Everyone in their group seemed the same. However, at this point in time, students with greater strength and stamina could complete an hour of such training every day without breaking a sweat. They then received Yan Liqiang’s guidance when they practiced shooting more than ten rounds in the archery range.

Those who didn’t make it past the level were still lifting the iron at the rear as they continued their basic training. Those who passed the level would ceremoniously walk out of their group the next morning and loudly announce yesterday’s results under everyone’s envious gazes in the archery range. They would then get to indulge in the joy of drawing a bow based on their results from the previous day.

By now, the strength of every student in the archery academy would be revealed by just looking at how many rounds they could fire every morning. There were about a hundred out of three thousand students who could persist in the training for more than two hours, and ten could persist for more than four hours. There were also two hundred that could make it past the basic stage. These figures would increase every day.

Each young man was eager and self-motivated, especially after watching the people around them begin to reveal their talents and exhibit their strength in front of a few thousand people. Those who had yet to pass the level would naturally train with all their might. Even those who met the basic requirements by holding the posture for an hour wanted to catch up with those who were stronger than them and hence could fire more arrows than them every day.

Yan Liqiang walked among the groups of students and swept his glance across their sweaty faces. In the eleventh lunar month, it was already winter in Gan Province. The temperature had plunged and cold winds were howling across the archery range. Even so, the student’s clothes were drenched by their own sweat. Beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads, and some even got into their eyes — making them red and irritating them. However, no one tried to rub their eyes. Everyone persisted as any movement would cause the bricks on their shoulders to fall.

Yan Liqiang remembered the name behind every face. He had even familiarized himself with most of the faces. He also secretly took note of those that excelled over these past few months. Not only did Yan Liqiang remember their names, but he was also well informed of their strengths, capabilities, family backgrounds, and friends. It was said that Confucius had three thousand disciples, seventy-two out of which were excellent. Likewise, there was also a great number of talents among the first batch of three thousand students in the archery academy, and quite a few of them had started showing what they were capable of.

“Remember, the hardship and exhaustion you endured and the sweat you shed every day are the investments of your amazing and glorious future. They are the capital that you’ll need to gain a foothold in this world. Whether or not you can establish yourself in this world will depend on how much hardship and exhaustion you can endure today!” Yan Liqiang’s voice reverberated throughout the archery range. His inspirational words trickled into the youngsters’ hearts like warm chicken soup for the soul. It shook the young men who rarely had the opportunity to hear such inspirational words to their very core.

“Do not lament that God is unfair. After all, ‘Heaven rewards the diligent.’ Your sweat and perseverance will make up the gap between you and the nobles of those aristocratic clans...”

As soon as Yan Liqiang finished speaking, a student on guard duty hurried to the archery range with one of the stewards from Yan Residence. He pointed in Yan Liqiang direction, and the steward jogged swiftly toward Yan Liqiang.

When a steward from Yan Residence came to the archery academy, it was usually when something had happened at home. Hence, Yan Liqiang’s heart raced at his arrival. He also quickly make his way through the training students and toward the steward.

“Did something happen back at home?”

The steward quickly explained about what happened in Liuhe Town. “The Old Master knows about this already and specially ordered me to inform you, Young Lord!”

“Oh?” Yan Liqiang thought for a moment. “Do you know who those two people are?”

The steward shook his head. “No one has seen either of them before. They have very high cultivation realms. Judging from their accents, they don’t seem like they are from Gan Province either. The people in town didn’t manage to stop them and they’ve escaped from here!”

“Any casualties among the law enforcement officers or people in town?”

“Only a few bailiffs sustained some minor flesh wounds!”

Yan Liqiang instantly heaved a sigh of relief. “Alright. Noted, you are dismissed. Make sure the guards at home will be more attentive for the next two days. I will look out for myself!”

“Yes!” The steward bowed to Yan Liqiang, then left.

As soon as the steward left, Shi Changfeng came to Yan Liqiang’s side. “The two men didn’t kill anyone under such circumstances, but chose to escape instead. Therefore, we can conclude that they’re definitely not serial killers like King Cobra. They are probably people with certain statuses in the country. If they killed someone and the bureaucracy issued an arrest order, it would cause a great trouble. People of certain status in the world would avoid killing anyone or get into a conflict with officials and the masses unless it was a last resort!”

“So, Master Shi knows about this too!”

“I also just received the news from a student in Liuhe Town and was going to inform you about it! Those two men were probably here for you, but it didn’t seem like they were here to get revenge...”

Yan Liqiang looked at the sky. A smile appeared on his face as he spoke indifferently, “Well, if those two men are alright, then I guess I’ll be seeing them again soon!”

“What about the archery academy...?”

“Those two are probably experts. The students won’t be able to stop them, so there’s no point in stepping up the defense here. Just carry on as usual!”

Shi Changfeng nodded.

...

...

An hour before midnight in Yan Liqiang’s small courtyard...

The study room had been brightly lit. Yan Liqiang was seated at a study desk, immersed in writing something. All of a sudden, his ears twitched. With a small smile, he gently set his brush down, got up, and left the room. Standing at the entrance of his study, he looked at the swaying bamboo shadows outside and mumbled to himself. “The wind is cold outside. Why not show yourselves since both of you are here already?”

“I see, you are quite skilled!” A cold snort was heard before the shadows outside moved. The two uninvited guests who appeared in Liuhe Town during the day revealed themselves in the garden outside Yan Liqiang’s study room. They were both looking at Yan Liqiang coldly.

“How should I address both of you?”

“Zong Yi and He Tianhong from the Soaring Heaven Sect!” The shorter man replied coldly...