"Good stuff," Qian Jin murmured, gazing at the Divine Archery manual in his hands, an urge suddenly stirring within him to forge a mighty bow right away and dedicate time each day to practice his shooting skills thereafter.

He read through the entirety of Divine Archery, and before he knew it, Qian Jin found himself flipping back to the very first page, staring once more at the opening lines, dumbstruck by the sentence: To become a true archer, do not obsess solely over hitting the target accurately, and certainly do not merely care about drawing a stronger bow.

"Observe! To become a truly great archer, observe!" What exactly was this word "observe" trying to tell him? Qian Jin gently touched the pages of Divine Archery, hoping to sense some difference in a particular sheet of paper, but discovered nothing unusual. "Am I just being overly suspicious?"

In the distance, a few roars from wild beasts drifted slowly through the obstruction of the forest canopy.

Qian Jin tucked Divine Archery back into his clothes. Even if this book held no hidden secrets, the records within were enough for him to practice for a long time; he could still become an outstanding, first-rate archer even without the Divine Archery bloodline power of the Qiyu family!

"I," Qian Jin looked down at the book held close to his chest, his palm resting lightly upon it as he muttered to himself, "I still feel that this constant reminder to observe in the opening must hold some secret I haven't grasped."

"Courage? Is it about courage?"

Qian Jin, gripping his spear in one hand and his Zhanmadao in the other, jumped down from the large rock. Ideas from stories he’d heard from wandering bards filled his mind—tales of powerful warriors who used special potions, writing other words inside books which only became visible if the page was dipped in water.

Or perhaps even greater secrets were hidden within the folds of the paper itself, requiring the secret method to be burned in fire, from which a tiny piece of gold foil would eventually float out, possibly containing the true essence that allowed a successor to unexpectedly become a great warrior.

"It wouldn't be that sick of a joke, would it?" Young Qian Jin shook his head, dismissing the speculation. Besides the fact that an archer genuinely needed courage, could that passage be intentionally misleading? Courage and recklessness were awfully close neighbors; if someone mistook courage for recklessness... they might, influenced by the bard’s tales, rashly toss the notes into water to test them, or throw them into fire to see if new characters appeared.

Divine Archery might vanish from the world completely! Qian Jin nodded softly, growing more certain of his hypothesis. If he were a being like the God of Arrows, his demands on his successor would be incredibly high. If the successor were truly reckless to that degree, in his eyes, they wouldn't even be worthy of possessing the notes of Divine Archery. It would be better if it were simply lost to history!

Thinking this, Qian Jin broke out in a cold sweat; he had genuinely entertained the notion of taking a risk and testing it just moments ago.

A green-skinned, three-armed ape emerged from the depths of the woods, blocking Qian Jin's path, its eyes filled with naked aggression.

"Another magical beast," Qian Jin rubbed his forehead lightly. "Things rarely seen outside are everywhere here. I truly am lucky. If my master hadn't blocked the perimeter earlier, I would have been torn to shreds by these things days ago, even with a hundred lives."

The three-armed ape looked down upon the small figure of Qian Jin, a low growl of pure hostility rumbling in its throat. This creature, treating him with such disdain, enraged it immensely.

Anger transformed into a roar, and the green-skinned, three-armed ape suddenly charged. Its arms, thicker than Qian Jin’s thighs, carried fists nearly the size of Qian Jin's head, bringing with them an aura of destruction as they drove straight for Qian Jin’s chest! While the attack method was simple, it embodied the violent directness prioritized by magical beasts for efficiency; even a sturdy tree couldn't withstand the force of this single blow.

The green-skinned, three-armed ape no longer sought merely to kill Qian Jin for dinner, but purely to destroy this prey that incited its rage and, perhaps, even a strange, inexplicable fear deep within its core.

Bang! The sound of flesh and bone colliding instantly dominated the small patch of woods.

Qian Jin took the punch square in the chest and was sent flying straight backward, crashing violently against the trunk of a tree. Even that thick trunk shook violently, setting off a flurry of rustling leaves.

The green-skinned, three-armed ape watched the flying Qian Jin with satisfaction, flexing its thick arms while letting out a triumphant roar.

The ape’s roar was cut short halfway through. It stared blankly at the prey slowly climbing up from the base of the tree, casually brushing dust from its clothes.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Qian Jin rubbed the bridge of his nose and chuckled at the green-skinned, three-armed ape. "The last time I was hit by one of your kind, I could still feel a burning pain in my chest. Today, I feel absolutely nothing. It seems that as my Dou Qi reached the level of the Third Stage of Demon Subjugation, the defense of the Stone Body Realm of the Wind and Cloud Golden Body has improved again. It's just a pity that my current Dou Qi is only at the forty-fifth rotation of the Third Stage of Demon Subjugation battle qi, not yet at its peak. You couldn't even make me feel pain; you’re quite weak."

The green-skinned, three-armed ape had never anticipated such a result from its attack. Fear instantly flooded its eyes. It unleashed its Great Strength Art through a roar and charged at Qian Jin with primal instinct, aiming another punch directly at his abdomen, followed by two more strikes aimed at Qian Jin's head.

Three solid collisions of muscle and bone followed.

Qian Jin’s abdomen was struck again, but this time he didn't fly backward like before; he didn't even bend over. He stood perfectly upright, raising his slightly crossed hands to catch the fists that were larger than his own head.

His hands, considered quite large for someone his age, looked remarkably small against the ape's fists, yet they effortlessly blocked the massive blows that seemed capable of easily smashing him into paste.

Qian Jin pushed apart those two enormous fists, rolling his neck and shoulders. The Third Stage of Demon Subjugation battle state combined with the Stone Body Realm of the Wind and Cloud Golden Body felt amazing! "Are you done hitting? Should I go next?"

Qian Jin looked up with a gentle smile. The green-skinned, three-armed ape kept backing away, radiating intense killing intent! Danger! It instinctively sensed fear, facing this small prey felt like confronting one of the four great king beasts of this mountain range: the Moon Demon Flower Spider!

A faint smile remained fixed on Qian Jin's face. The green-skinned, three-armed ape felt an ever-increasing sense of terror. That small figure seemed to inflate, exerting pressure that almost forced its legs to kneel in worship.

Click, click, click...

The ape's teeth chattered incessantly. The beast’s violent nature spurred the ferocity in its blood. With a massive roar, it brought its two hands together, gathering its strength into one, like a giant hammer, seemingly blotting out the sky above Qian Jin as it smashed down with a low, humming sound.

"You are far too weak compared to the Centaur. You can't properly test my current abilities."

Saying this, Qian Jin dug his ten fingers into the earth and sprang up! The distance between them vanished instantly. As he brushed past the three-armed ape, the light of the Zhanmadao carved a perfect, brilliant white line across its body, immediately followed by spurting red blood that added a touch of vibrant color to the monotone white.

Thud. The body of the three-armed ape crashed heavily onto the ground, its red blood gushing forth continuously.

Qian Jin flicked the tip of his spear upward, snatching the still intact Demon Core into his hand. He smiled again. "This trip yielded good returns; two Demon Cores and a Dou Soldier in such a short time. Too bad I still haven't found that copper-colored tree Master mentioned."

Four days! A full four days had passed when a figure finally appeared faintly by the mist-shrouded lake.

The old man watched Qian Jin’s gradually clearing silhouette and chuckled softly. "So long? Were you trying to starve me to death?"

"I nearly couldn't get out," Qian Jin grunted, shouldering a tree trunk as tall as half a man, weighing a hundred catties, completely made of bright copper, with a fruit hanging from it that was as crystal clear as the old man had described.

"Oh? But you walked out alive, didn't you? And your harvest wasn't small, I presume?" The old man smiled, looking at Qian Jin, whose entire body was covered in bright red blood, yet whose spirit remained vibrant. "You even managed to sleep well? I thought you wouldn't be able to rest peacefully in the wild and would end up with dark circles under your eyes."

"It was close," Qian Jin placed the copper-material tree before the old man, then raised his little finger and spoke with grave seriousness, "It was just that close to being truly stuck. Master, why didn't you tell me there was a Moon Demon Flower Spider living right next to this tree?"

The old man squatted beside the copper tree, smiling as he gazed at the fruit emitting a crystalline glow, speaking without turning his head. "Were you chased hard?"

"No," Qian Jin shook his head. "It never even noticed me."

"Oh? Didn't notice?"

The old man turned back to look at Qian Jin with great interest. The Moon Demon Flower Spider was a very special magical beast; not only was it fast, but its venom was potent. Its six limbs were hard as iron, and it possessed extremely sensitive olfactory senses toward its surroundings. Furthermore, it laid numerous hidden webs around its territory, acting as a second set of eyes—any object touching those concealed threads would alert it instantly, triggering an attack.

Qian Jin, seeing the old man's strange expression, tidied things up and placed them on the shore. With a plop, he jumped into the Blazing Lake to wash off the bloodstains, recalling the scene where he encountered the Moon Demon Flower Spider.

That moment had been truly perilous. The three-meter-long Moon Demon Flower Spider was too sensitive. He had been lurking twenty meters away from it, barely daring to breathe.

The beast's powerful aura, even without direct combat, felt like his skin was being torn. He remained motionless, without eating, drinking, or sleeping, for an entire day and night, only daring to move when he found a chance for the Moon Demon Flower Spider to leave its guard post. He then swiftly stole the copper tree it was protecting and fled desperately.

There are a couple of things I need to mention here. The first is that I am opening a group chat. The group number is [Insert Group Number Here]. The administrator in the group is addressed as the 'High-Rise Owner Group.'

According to the founder’s statement: ‘The high-rise is the structure we build; everyone here is an owner. Owners must support the developer for the high-rise to be built better. Therefore, this group only accepts owners.’

Entry requires screenshot verification.

The second matter is that my fighting spirit has been ignited! I want to fight! Starting next Monday, which is the day after tomorrow, my update frequency will increase. I want to fight! I also want to know how many people will support my fight! Before I begin my battle, please cast a few monthly tickets for me to fully ignite my fighting spirit! I will fight!