Martial King's Retired Life

The sound of gongs in the competition location signalled the change in events. While the audience wasn’t as energetic as in the previous event, there were now more of them in attendance. The young generation was passionate about music, but archery and chariotry were popular among all ages and genders in the current dynasty.

The rules of archery were simple compared to the other events. Contestants’ total scores came from two sources – their performance itself and their score on the target board. Multiple boards would be presented to provide different types of challenges. There were add-ons, such as wearing blindfolds or plugging ears. However, archery was also considered a rite of Confucianism, so there were etiquette standards to shooting form. As such, the ability to shoot accurately with the form demanded was pertinent, or put more crudely, it was a beauty pageant contest. You could take the prettiest girl and have her assume a ridiculous stance, but she could still make it look good if she was pretty. That was the reason all the selected archers were blessed with good looks on top of archery competence. Understand why the venue was packed before the contest even started now?

“Today’s competition has our hearts pounding, minds in anticipation and bodies prancing. Greetings, ladies and gentlemen. I am your host for today, Jin Yingjun.” The young scholar who accompanied his introduction with exaggerated gestures at the centre had everyone laughing. “Yes, indeed, the famous genius of all six categories, the ‘All-knowing Scholar of the Pugilistic World, Genius of the Nine Provinces’, Jin Caitan, is my elder brother. This dynasty’s top Talented Maiden, Goddess Jin Zhaoying whom destroys all talent north and south with her brush is my younger sister. So, you must be wondering what I’m here for. Well, I am here to work with everyone to ensure Daren Academy’s idol contest runs smoothly.”

Jin Yingjun was actually quite famous himself, especially for his way with words. In fact, anytime nobility in the capital planned an event, the first person they considered inviting was him because he brought the party wherever he went.

“I will not bore you any longer. Let us commence.”

The archery contestants stepped into the arena.

Since final points were individual, there was no limit to participants in the contest. In other words, all three members of a team could participate, or they could just have one person participate. It went without saying that forfeiting, as Shi Weiliang’s group did, was also permitted. Su Xiao entered two members, while the White Princes entered their full team of three.

“First round, 100 Metre Pierce! In this contest, not only will vision, strength and accuracy be tested, but stamina will also be challenged. If there is no winner in a round, the boards will be moved thirty-three metres farther and repeated until there is a winner! Only the top twenty-four from the first round will be allowed through to the second round. Contestants, hold nothing back.”

Hitting a target a hundred metres away wasn’t difficult for martial artist with archery training, so moving it thirty metres away wasn’t a big deal. The real challenge was still having the strength to pull the bow string after rounds and rounds of shooting even if the target wasn’t very far away. For individuals who practiced internal disciplines, such as Su Xiao and Tang Ye, endurance wasn’t an issue; accuracy was their challenge.

Archery was easy to pick up but difficult to be proficient in. Tang Ye studied a myriad of disciplines, and he had experience in hunting with a bow and arrows, but he wasn’t good at archery. In saying that, he believed he could handle the competition. The primary concern was the beginner – Su Xiao. Tang Ye felt a weight lifted off his shoulders after seeing Su Xiao pierce the board with an arrow. Su Xiao’s vision and handling improved visibly after his recent internal energy breakthrough.

Su Xiao’s team and the White Princes all managed to snag a place among the twenty-four who went through to the second round. Xun Feng, Ling Shaoxuan and Bai Yumo passed easily.

“Looks like we’ll be facing off soon,” remarked Ling Shaoxuan, as he spotted Tang Ye and Su Xiao among the contestants. “Enjoy it while you still can. You’re not even going to have a shoulder to cry on soon.”

Su Xiao, with a straight face, responded, “Hmph! Tang Ye, I can lend you mine.”

With a film of sweat on his face, Tang Ye said, “Let’s go.”

As soon as Bai Yumo saw Tang Ye, she threatened, “Coward! Watch yourselves!”

Tang Ye fired back, “If you cry, I’ll give you a mantou. My mantous taste great.”

Bai Yumo widened her eyes. “Had it not been for you, would my mantou have not tasted nice?! I bought white, fluffy mantous that were just done steaming…”

Now also sporting a film of sweat on his face, Xun Feng shepherded them along. “Let’s go. Let’s go…”

“Round two is the one everyone is looking forward to ‘Star Plucker’. Please watch carefully.” Jin Yingjun threw a tiny target board into the air.

As soon as the crowd spotted the plate-sized target, an arrow zoomed through the board and brought it back to the ground. Upon looking up again, they saw Jin Yingjun holding a bow.

“That is it.” Jin Yingjun lowered his bow and smiled. “All twenty-four of you have proven you possess splendid archery skills. We need something more challenging to offer you a challenge. In this round, we martial arts instructors will throw these round boards into the air constantly. The twenty-four of you will shoot from a distance. You earn one point per each board you hit. The winner will be the one who scores the highest. The top two scorers will go on to the finals.

“Please be aware that a point is only earned if the arrow remains on the board; if the arrow goes through the other side, no point is awarded. Additionally, please note the square boundary lines on the ground. Should the board land outside of it, no point will be awarded, either.”

The only way to not knock the boards too far away was to pierce them, which was easy for the contestants given their strength. However, it was challenging to control their output so as to keep their arrows stuck to the boards without knocking them outside the boundary.

Before Jin Yingjun’s last word tapered off into silence, a martial arts instructor had thrown a board. It had yet to even travel an inch when the sound of a string, the sound of an arrow flying and a thud were heard.

The martial arts instructor gulped upon hearing and seeing the board land on the ground. After all, the board would’ve been his head had it missed by a margin.

“That’s it? Aren’t we continuing? I’m waiting to win.” The big guy who lowered his bow was someone who had been written off from the beginning. Che Gulu performed a few shoulder circles and frowned when he noticed everyone’s stare on him. “What? First time seeing archery or something?”

Whether it was Tang Ye, Su Xiao or even the White Princes’ trio, they all thought the same thing: why did you have to be the best archer?!

Glossary

Jin Yingjun – His name means “Jin the Handsome”.

Small plate – I don’t want to make wrong assumptions and say all, but Asian cultures I’m aware of use a plate/bowl per menu item at the dinner table rather than everything in one, so that’s the size they’re referencing.