High Martial Arts: Invincible Starts from Basic Archery

Zhang Ren looked at Chen Fan, who now had a smile on his lips, and sighed inwardly.

Now, the entire stronghold rested on the shoulders of this young man alone. Many old, weak women and children were all relying on him for survival.

Even those in the Hunting Team were not much better off.

If it was a decade ago, no, even three years ago, he would have cursed such a person as a fool in his heart!

Using so many resources not on oneself but sharing them with others, especially in these end times, if not a fool, then what?

But when he was severely injured and became a cripple who could hardly move, recovering strength and having enough to eat became a luxury.

Someone appeared, sharing half of their food with him. Was such a person a fool?

Fortunately, he had now regained some of his strength. Although his ability was discounted due to one leg’s inconvenience, it was enough to deal with martial artists below the Entry Force Realm.

Once he mastered Archery, he could also go hunting to share some burdens.

"Uncle Zhang,"

Chen Fan looked at Zhang Ren, "When I return later, I will tell my father about this matter, and have him remind the people on the watchtower to always keep an eye on the eastern direction. If there’s any situation, they should sound an alarm so we can be prepared.

Additionally, I think we shouldn’t sit idly by and wait for trouble to find us, so I plan to go to the Song Family Castle tomorrow to take a look."

"You’re going to the Song Family Castle?" Zhang Ren was startled, fell silent for a moment, and then said, "Alright, but you must be very careful not to expose your identity, or the consequences would be unimaginable."

"Yes, I will be careful."

Chen Fan nodded.

If the guard team of the Song Family Castle found out about this, it would surely cause some unusual activity, and he could then return early to prepare.

Of course, it would be best if he could find out who was secretly watching him and understand the situation.

If he really couldn’t figure it out, he would spend the money he had; keeping it without spending was just a waste of paper.

The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

"Ahem."

Chen Fan coughed and asked, "Uncle Zhang, do you remember the archery technique I showed you last time?"

"Are you talking about the Meteor Arrow Technique?"

Zhang Ren recalled, his head full of questions, why suddenly ask this?

"Uncle Liu and the others said that the archery technique was bought by people of the Li Family Stronghold from an old man selling techniques at the Song Family Castle. I also met him this time and bought some."

Zhang Ren’s face immediately became strange.

The archery technique was incomplete. It wasn’t that incomplete techniques couldn’t be practiced, but the probability of going wrong was indeed higher than practicing complete ones.

He reminded him at the time, yet Chen Fan went and bought some more.

He coughed lightly and couldn’t help asking, "What did you buy this time?"

"I bought a dozen books, but I feel most are fake. After dinner, I’ll bring them over for you to check. However, one of them, called Lightweight Water Floating, seems authentic to me."

Chen Fan said.

"Lightweight Water Floating?"

Zhang Ren frowned slightly.

"Uncle Zhang, have you heard of it?"

Zhang Ren nodded, "I once saw someone use this technique. They could run several hundred meters on the water surface in one breath. It was indeed remarkable, but that person’s temperament was odd and unapproachable."

"Really?"

Chen Fan felt a bit disappointed but continued, "I saw it mentioned that it requires the practitioner to have a foundation in Basic Body Technique. Uncle Zhang, what’s the difference between Basic Body Technique and Basic Step Technique?"

This was a question that had puzzled him for a long time.

"Hmm."

Zhang Ren replied, "Compared to other martial arts, Lightweight Skill is one of the hardest to practice and the most difficult to master. But once mastered, it’s highly useful for both dodging in battle and for pursuit.

As for the difference between Basic Body Technique and Basic Step Technique, there really isn’t much. They’re both basic martial arts. Martial artists start with basic steps and gradually engage the whole body, culminating in Body Technique."

"So, Basic Body Technique is an advanced version of Basic Step Technique?"

Chen Fan suddenly realized.

"If you think of it that way, then yes."

Zhang Ren was taken aback for a moment, then said.

"..."

Chen Fan took a deep breath.

This meant that to complete the martial art, he had to start with Basic Step Technique, achieving a certain level to unlock Basic Body Technique, and then elevate Basic Body Technique to a certain level.

The difficulty seemed considerable.

"So, you want to practice Basic Body Technique?"

"Yes."

Chen Fan blurted out.

Among his Strength, Body, and Agility, his agility attribute was the lowest, but this trait was undeniably important, especially for an archer.

If he had been twice as fast when dealing with those bandits, it would have been much easier.

"Alright."

Zhang Ren agreed, "Tomorrow, I will teach you to practice the Meihua Stance. This is the fastest way to train body technique, but it requires some preparation."

"Thank you, Uncle Zhang."

Chen Fan quickly expressed his gratitude with a smile.

"It’s nothing."

Zhang Ren waved his hand, "Not only you, but others should also practice body technique. Times are different now."

In the past, those skilled in body technique could scale walls and run hundreds of meters on water. Now, they could probably cross a river with a reed.

The importance of body technique was self-evident.

"Uncle Zhang, I also want to learn saber techniques."

Chen Fan seized the moment.

[Shadowless Swift Blade] and [Lightweight Water Floating], it was best to complete these martial arts as soon as possible.

As for the [Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill], he didn’t see hope for completion at the moment...

In fact, learning Basic Saber Technique is straightforward. One only needs to swing a blade a few times to unlock it, but rapid progress required sparring with Zhang Ren.

Might as well mention it all at once.

"Alright."

Zhang Ren readily agreed.

If it were anyone else, he would certainly advise them against spreading themselves too thin.

But Chen Fan, he was used to it.

Seeing it was getting late, and feeling hungry, Chen Fan left his bundle, planning to have dinner and then return to learn Basic Saber Technique.

Tomorrow, after returning from the Song Family Castle, he would practice Basic Body Technique.

He aimed to complete [Shadowless Swift Blade] and [Lightweight Water Floating] soon.

Of course, daily archery practice was essential.

He sensed that a new trait in his Basic Archery was about to unlock.

Additionally, [Tai Chi Fist] and [Meteor Arrow Technique] also needed improvement.

"Feels like there’s never enough experience points."

Looking at his attribute panel, he realized he had been too worried to check his attributes up till now.

Realm: Early Stage of Muscle Refining

Level: 9 (0/200)

Constitution: 92.13

Power: 79.50

Agility: 45.33

Spirit: 17.15

Potential Points: 68 (10 points/day)

Experience Points: 560

"560 experience points?"

Chen Fan was genuinely surprised, he thought a couple of hundred points would have been good.

Upon closer inspection, he immediately understood.

The strength of those bandits was all at least Body Tempering First Layer, with experience points ranging from 10 to 20 each, nearly five or six of them were Body Tempering Second Layer, with 20 to 30 experience points each, and the bald man, Body Tempering Third Layer, provided a whopping 43 experience points!

"I didn’t expect these bandits to be so generous in both money and experience points."

Chen Fan thought to himself.

He felt no guilt whatsoever for killing these people.

In fact, he was considering targeting bandits exclusively once his strength improved.

His eyes looked back to the attribute panel,

The speed of his Potential Points increase had gone up from 7 points per day before to 10 points a day now, which was expected, as his realm had improved.

If he advanced from Early Stage of Muscle Refining to the Mid Stage, or later, it would increase even more.

But this growth rate seemed pale under the 200-points requirement, he needed to eat more to speed up improvement.

"Constitution 92, Power 79, Agility 45, Spirit 17."

"This Spirit attribute is too low,"

Chen Fan couldn’t help but grumble.

Although 17 points were almost twice that of an ordinary person, compared to his nearly 100-point Constitution attribute, it was underwhelming.

"Since I’m going to the Song Family Castle tomorrow, I might as well ask the old man there for a secret manual to enhance Spiritual Power. Facing a mind-controller Awakener in the future with low Spirit attribute could be dangerous. Wait a moment."

He suddenly realized something, looking at the Constitution attribute.

Something was off, very off!

Wasn’t his Constitution attribute abnormally high?

He remembered clearly it was 69, nearly 70 points when he left the village.

Even assuming it was 70 points, one breakthrough and one enhancement should have added up to about 85 points at most, how could it possibly increase by 7 points all of a sudden?

"Could it be? The increase in enhancement has grown?"

A chill ran down Chen Fan’s spine as he looked at the previous prompts. He took a deep breath after seeing it.

Yes.

Upon break-through, All Attributes increased by 15%, not 10%.

Additionally, after the breakthrough, the strength enhancement also increased by 15%, not 10%.

A conclusion was imminent.

The higher the realm, the greater the body enhancement.

"Seems like suppressing the realm might not always be a good thing."

He scratched his head.

Undoubtedly, as the body’s enhancement level increased, the Potential Points required would also rise.

Thus, utilizing Potential Points for enhanced attributes made more sense the higher the attribute points gained.

So, the higher the realm, the better.

But, realm advancement required attribute points to meet the threshold. Currently, besides body enhancement, the only way to increase attributes was through martial arts cultivation techniques.

The more, the better.

Basic martial arts through hard work, advanced martial arts from spending money.

"In the future, if exhausted from practice, it’s better to let physical strength recover gradually; otherwise, it feels wasteful. Cultivating martial arts to boost attributes seems the most practical."

Chen Fan muttered to himself, of course, using Potential Points in danger was necessary.

...

As the sun set and darkness fell, the gates of the Song Family Castle shut tight. No one was outside, but inside, shops and restaurants continued business as usual, with guards patrolling around, occasionally stopping passersby to check their identities.

Three to five men in white practice attire exited the Gale Martial Arts Hall. They were all robust, full of vigor, and passersby stepped aside with envious glances.

After all, the Gale Martial Arts Hall was not a place just anyone could access. One could learn authentic martial arts here, becoming powerful martial artists as strong as oxen.

But, the fees were high, so high that even these men exiting the martial arts hall often complained.

"Barely half the month has passed, and the money from selling those five or six Desert Rabbits is gone. How will I get through the rest of the month?" The man on the far left lamented.

"How much did six Desert Rabbits sell for? Less than 2 yuan a catty, about 600 yuan tops. I caught a 300-pound Wildebeest last time, sold for over a thousand, and now I’m down to a few hundred; getting through this month will be tough."

"The food at our martial arts hall is too expensive. The basic set costs 30 yuan a day, the mid-range 50, and the best a hundred. Who would choose the worst, at least go for the mid-range?"

"Do you think our hall’s food is really worth it?"

At this question, everyone quieted down, glanced around to ensure no one was listening, and then turned to the speaker.

"Brother Yang, don’t say such things carelessly. If Senior Brother hears, he’ll throw you out."

"Yes, we only have this martial arts hall in the Song Family Castle. It’s impossible to learn authentic martial arts elsewhere."

"I heard the chef’s special medicinal meals use rare medicinal herbs and Fierce Beast Meat, hence the high price. The basic set doesn’t include medicinal meals."

"True, the best set at 100 yuan a day must be incredibly beneficial. Look at Second Senior Brother, our age but already a Muscle Refining Realm martial artist, able to hunt Mid-level Fierce Beasts alone!"

With a smile, Yang Mu said, "I was just joking with you guys. I wouldn’t say this to outsiders."

"Haha."

Everyone laughed.