Chapter Sixty-Three: Locating by Sound

As he spoke, Li Pingyang walked over to Naruge'er, bowed respectfully to His Majesty and the Empress Dowager as well. The crowd was dumbfounded—one could almost hear them cry, "It's you again!"

This young man, dressed as a delicate scholar and strikingly handsome, always managed to surprise and astonish everyone. Emperor Song, while playing chess with Lin Bowen, had once remarked that Li Pingyang was no ordinary youth. Seeing him today, the emperor was even more impressed, for Li Pingyang was indeed a rare talent of his age.

No one could rival him in poetry, none matched his daring; and now, he was about to challenge a ninth-rank divine archer. His courage was worthy of admiration. Moreover, Emperor Song couldn't explain why, but he had a feeling Li Pingyang would surely win.

"Bring the bow!" Naruge'er, delighted by the acceptance of his challenge, called for his own bow and arrow, and produced a copper coin from his person.

In moments, attendants from both delegations carried forward a massive bow, struggling under its weight. This bow, named Thunderquake, was forged from rare dark iron and weighed nearly one hundred seventy-seven pounds. Ordinary men would find it impossible to even lift, much less draw, yet Naruge'er wielded it with ease.

To demonstrate his archery, Naruge'er first took up an ordinary bow. He had someone stand three hundred meters away, toss the copper coin into the air, then focused intently, drew the bow, and loosed an arrow. The arrow shot through the air and passed directly through the coin's center hole, leaving the spectators awestruck.

It was said that the bowstring of Thunderquake once snapped. Naruge'er had used it to hunt a seventh-tier demon beast, the Flame Patterned Python. The repeated firing caused the string to break, but he still managed to kill the python.

The current bowstring was made from a segment of the python's back tendon, ensuring the necessary elasticity and maintaining the bow's power and speed.

Ordinary archers used arrows with iron tips and shafts of bamboo or wood for speed and stability. Naruge'er's arrows, however, were crafted entirely from iron, each fletched with black feathers. These black-feathered arrows were several times more powerful and deadly than common arrows.

Coupled with Naruge'er's exceptional skill, anyone struck by his arrow was certain to die or, at the very least, be incapacitated. Even experts who practiced true qi would suffer grievous wounds, coughing blood. Masters at the grandmaster level could not afford to be distracted when facing such a weapon.

To avoid accusations of unfairness, Naruge'er chose a lush forest not far from Songdu as the arena.

As long as Li Pingyang survived until sunset, he would be considered the victor. In such a vast environment, the trees offered hiding places, and the forest's wildlife could provide distractions; it was as though Naruge'er was granting Li Pingyang a significant advantage.

Yet from his confident expression, it was clear Naruge'er believed he could still find Li Pingyang.

To ensure fairness, no one was allowed to interfere or participate; all were to wait quietly at the forest's exit. Once the contest began, it could not be stopped for any reason until the victor emerged from the woods.

...

Both parties signed their names on parchment, and the match was formally declared.

Naruge'er took up Thunderquake, slung a quiver full of black-feathered iron arrows onto his back, and wore a necklace of demon beast teeth for protection.

Li Pingyang entered empty-handed, carrying no weapons whatsoever. He simply asked Li Hu for a jar of fine wine and strode into the forest entrance holding it.

After he entered for the time it took to burn a stick of incense, Naruge'er followed. The crowd watched his figure disappear into the depths of the forest.

With his experience, Naruge'er judged that Li Pingyang would surely seek a place to hide first. He walked beneath a tree, closed his eyes, and listened intently.

He was using sound to locate his foe.

Suddenly!

He heard movement in the distant undergrowth. Naruge'er swiftly drew his bow. Aimed in that direction, he fired two arrows in less than half a second.

With a sharp whistle, the arrow pierced through a tree trunk and into the grass, striking its target. The second arrow followed the hole made by the first, hitting again.

Li Pingyang watched from the shadows, observing everything. He realized that Naruge'er didn't need sight—he could find a hidden enemy at a distance just by listening.

Was this the legendary art of discerning position by sound?

Entering the undergrowth, Naruge'er discovered that his target was merely a wild rabbit. The first arrow had shattered the rabbit's head; the second pierced its heart.

Beside the rabbit lay the wine jar, the very one Li Pingyang had carried. Looking closely, he noticed the rabbit's leg was tied. In an instant, Naruge'er realized he had fallen into a trap!

Just as he turned, Li Pingyang was already standing behind him, holding a strangely shaped firearm pointed at him.

"Don't move, or I'll fire," Li Pingyang said, seeing Naruge'er reach for an arrow. He raised the 98k and fired a warning shot into the air. The bang startled Naruge'er, who quickly let go.

He was puzzled—he had clearly seen Li Pingyang enter empty-handed, with nothing at all. Where had this so-called 'gun' come from?

As the two stood at a deadlock, Li Pingyang suddenly noticed a nearby stone seemed to move. Naruge'er saw it too, but neither was sure if it was just their imagination.

Taking advantage of Li Pingyang's distraction, Naruge'er snatched up an arrow, drew his bow, and fired at Li Pingyang. The ground shook, throwing Naruge'er off balance so his shot missed.

The feathered arrow whistled past Li Pingyang, and both men turned to look. A stone hill suddenly collapsed, and from within emerged a humanoid monster made entirely of stone.

A line of small text appeared before Li Pingyang, a system prompt warning him that many seventh-tier demon beasts—Stone Giants—were present nearby.

The Stone Giants, sensing intruders, began to awaken. Soon, a group of them advanced, hurling stones in attack.

Both men dodged quickly. After several rounds, Naruge'er was unlucky enough to have his calf sliced by a sharp rock, blood seeping out.

Li Pingyang had already escaped, but seeing Naruge'er hobbling, chased by several Stone Giants, he gritted his teeth and turned back to help him.

With a swift motion, he summoned a short sword and swung at a Stone Giant. Just as its fist was about to crush Naruge'er, Li Pingyang's blade shattered it to pieces.

Unexpectedly, the fragments reassembled on the ground, forming another Stone Giant—it could not be killed!