World-Ending Demon Emperor-Chapter 45 - 43 Genius First Successful Kill!

45: Chapter 43: Genius, First Successful Kill!

45 -43: Genius, First Successful Kill!

Ye Jingyu immediately stepped forward, placing her palm on Lanling’s temple and slowly infused a stream of dragon force into him.

Suddenly, Lanling’s almost splitting head gradually quieted down.

“This is a manifestation of spiritual power depletion, which is quite normal.

Every martial artist will experience this kind of pain,” said Ye Jingyu.

“Next, you need to rest for a few hours and then continue training.

Come with me.”

Bearing the intense pain in his head, Lanling followed behind Ye Jingyu to the clear lakeside.

“Are you certain that there’s no dragon force left inside your body?” Ye Jingyu asked.

Lanling shook his head and said, “None left, not a trace.”

Ye Jingyu said, “If there were dragon force, your spiritual power could recover quickly.

Without dragon force, recovery is completely reliant on the body’s own restoration, which will be relatively slow.

Strip off your clothes and sit in the water, breathing through a tube in your mouth, while allowing the water to cover your head.

The water is highly conducive to the recovery of spiritual power.”

Without any hesitation, Lanling stripped off his clothes until he was only in his shorts, took the tube in his mouth, and sat down in the cool, clear lake water, submerging his head with only the breathing tube above the surface.

“Close your eyes, think of nothing, and enter a state akin to both sleep and wakefulness,” Ye Jingyu instructed.

“I will recite the ‘Peaceful Mantra’ to you.

You don’t need to remember it or pay attention to what I’m saying, just listen.”

After that, Ye Jingyu sat down by the lakeside and began to recite the “Peaceful Mantra.”

Despite being underwater, Lanling could still hear Ye Jingyu’s voice clearly, penetrating crisply into his ears.

This “Peaceful Mantra” didn’t contain any discernible words, rather it was akin to a chant.

As he listened, Lanling felt as if he were in a supremely silent and magician-like Illusion Realm.

The surrounding water seemed to turn into soft clouds, cradling every part of his body, incredibly comfortable, as if he didn’t need to exert any effort at all.

Gradually, he entered a state of semi-consciousness.

This state was most suitable for the recovery of spiritual power.

About four hours later, Lanling’s spirit was fully restored.

These four hours of meditation were equivalent to ten hours of sleep.

Next, Lanling resumed his spiritual focus training.

The target was still very simple: to use his spirit to lock onto the central bullseye of an archery target thirty meters away.

Success would be achieved when within his mental Illusion Realm, nothing existed but that central point.

Given Lanling’s innate spiritual talent, locking onto a target thirty meters away was feasible, but the duration was very short due to the lack of dragon force support.

After just a few minutes, all his spiritual power would be completely exhausted, and then he would need to submerge in the lake again for recovery.

In this way, excluding the time spent sleeping, he could practice spiritual focus locking at most three times a day.

Once, twice, three times, four times…

Every time his spiritual power was drained, Lanling felt as if his head was about to split open from the pain.

At those moments, he would deeply miss Yao Xing and the dragon force within it.

If he had the constant support of the Demon Star Dragon Force, Lanling could have completed the spiritual focus locking training in one go.

Finally, after the thirteenth attempt, Lanling completed the thirty-meter spiritual focus locking practice.

At last, in his mental Illusion Realm, nothing existed but the bullseye on the target.

His spiritual power had firmly locked onto that bullseye.

By now, it was the dawn of the fourth day.

Throughout the past three days, Lanling had endured the torment of a splitting headache three times a day.

“You have now completed the initial level of spiritual focus locking,” Ye Jingyu said.

“Next, you will practice archery targeting using your spiritual locking technique.”

Shoot ten arrows, aiming for a score of eighty points.

Once this goal is met, you can go on to shooting wild oxen and absorbing their energy.

…

When Lanling picked up the bow and arrows again, his heart leaped with joy.

Finally, he didn’t have to keep his mind fixated on that one target; he could shoot arrows, even if it was just at a target.

Taking a deep breath, he bent the bow and notched an arrow, pulling it back with force.

His eyes narrowed sharply, instantaneously entering the “Inverted Moon Mantra” state, locking his spiritual power onto the bullseye thirty meters away.

Five seconds, ten seconds, fifteen seconds!

Locking complete, and in his mental Illusion Realm, only the bullseye remained.

“Whoosh…” he released his hand.

The arrow flew straight out.

“Thud!” It hit the target, scoring three points.

Lanling felt a mix of happiness and complexity in his heart.

Firstly, this technique of spiritual focusing indeed worked wonders.

Previously he had been missing the target completely, and even when hitting, there was no score.

But after using the spiritual locking technique, he d hit the target for three points.

However, if his spirit was locked on the bullseye, shouldn’t it have been ten points?

As if understanding Lanling’s question, Ye Jingyu explained, “Spiritual locking only ensures your aim.

But you are still somewhat unfamiliar with this bow, and you haven’t fully mastered it.

So even though your spirit has aimed at the target, your body’s execution was off.

Do you understand?”

Lanling nodded.

“This discrepancy between mental focus and physical execution will be corrected after many attempts,” Ye Jingyu said.

“Of course, since you can only shoot ten arrows at a time, and shoot three times a day, you must seize every opportunity.”

“Understood,” Lanling replied.

After bending the bow and notching an arrow for the second time, he locked onto the target with his spiritual power once more.

Then, recalling the deviation of his first shot, he made a slight adjustment for the second attempt.

“Whoosh…” the arrow was loosed.

Four points!

Not bad, there was progress.

The third arrow also scored four points.

The fifth arrow scored five points.

The sixth arrow, five points!

…

The tenth arrow, seven points!

Throughout the practices since the dragon force tempering, Lanling had relied solely on his willpower and talent, no longer depending on Yao Xing.

After completing spiritual focus locking, there indeed was a qualitative improvement.

However, after the first round of ten arrows, he scored only fifty-three points, whereas he needed to score eighty to move on to wild ox hunting.

After ten arrows, Lanling’s strength and spiritual power were both exhausted.

Next, Ye Jingyu gave him a full-body massage, and then he once again immersed himself in the lake water, listening to Ye Jingyu’s “Tranquility Mantra” to recover his spiritual power.

Four hours later, the second round of trial shooting practice commenced.

This round showed some improvement over the first, with a total score of sixty points.

After another four hours of rest and recovery, the third round of trial shooting began.

The score for the third round was sixty-three points.

Then, the fourth day of archery practice came to an end.

That evening, Lanling did not need any warnings from Ye Jingyu; he simply lay down in his sleeping bag and fell into a deep sleep, almost too exhausted to speak.

Afterward, Lanling entered another long period of fixed target practice.

His goal was singular: at a distance of thirty meters, to score eighty points with ten arrows.

On the fifth day, Lanling’s best score was sixty-five points.

On the sixth day, his best score improved to sixty-eight points.

On the seventh day, the best score remained at sixty-eight points.

On the eighth day, his best score regressed to sixty-five points.

At this point, Lanling fully experienced the monotony and agony of archery practice, a constant repetition, and after the tenth arrow, his spiritual power was depleted, leaving him with a fatigue and a splitting headache that he found indescribable.

After regressing instead of improving on the eighth day, Lanling thought that Ye Jingyu would let him rest for a day, but the usual practice continued.

Finally, Lanling asked, “How many days did it take you to achieve eighty points with ten arrows on a fixed target for the first time?”

“Twenty-seven days,” Ye Jingyu replied.

“I still vividly remember that torment and pain.”

Lanling said, “I remember your weapon is a curved saber; why did you practice archery?”

Ye Jingyu explained, “In this world, samurai do not have clear distinctions.

Even if you’re a swordsman, it doesn’t mean you can’t be an assassin.

Likewise, a blade wielder can also be an archer.”

Lanling nodded in understanding.

He then kept in mind Ye Jingyu’s twenty-seven days.

She took twenty-seven days, and he was determined to do it in less.

On the ninth day, Lanling’s trial shooting score skyrocketed to seventy-two points.

On the tenth day, his score reached seventy-five points.

At this moment, the target of eighty points was very close at hand.

He felt nervous because the closer he got to the goal, the more difficult it became.

However, the result was a delightful surprise for Lanling.

On the tenth day, he actually bypassed the eighty-point benchmark, reaching eighty-two points.

He had finally completed the fixed target shooting practice and was now ready to hunt and kill wild oxen.

After completing the exercise, Lanling clutched his bow, squatted on the ground, and nearly cried with joy.

In ten days, he had finally achieved the goal of scoring eighty points with ten consecutive arrows at a distance of thirty meters.

“Sleep now, tomorrow morning, we will hunt the wild oxen,” Ye Jingyu announced.

…

On the eleventh day, before dawn had fully broken, Lanling woke up, turned to his side, and found that Ye Jingyu was not in the tent; sounds of swimming came from the lake outside.

She was very fond of cleanliness, bathing nearly every day.

Thus, Lanling could only lie in the tent, waiting for her to finish.

About a quarter of an hour later, Ye Jingyu emerged from the lake.

By just peeking out, Lanling could see Ye Jingyu’s body, but he didn’t do so because his mind was entirely focused on his first hunt and his first energy devouring.

Once Ye Jingyu was dressed, she called out from inside, “I’m finished; you can come out now.”

After Lanling had washed and gotten ready, Ye Jingyu started to prepare food.

In the meantime, Lanling repeatedly wiped his bow and arrows beside her.

Although a marksman uses spiritual intent to lock on targets, the familiarity with one’s bow and arrows is also critical.

Only when he fully mastered every inch of his bow and arrows could he truly hit the target every time.

“Suo Lun, a martial artist’s best weapon is one crafted by their own hands,” Ye Jingyu said.

“This is because martial arts revolve around spiritual power, and only a self-made weapon can be constantly connected with the maker’s spirit.”

Lanling nodded in agreement; indeed, the weapons of all the masters in this world were self-forged.

Ideally, every piece of ore would be mined by the craftsman themselves.

Ye Jingyu’s cooking skills were quite mediocre, not at all comparable to Suo Ningbing’s, but Lanling still ate two large bowls.

By now, daylight had filled the sky, and the wild oxen of Wild Ox Valley were coming out to forage.

“Let’s go, to hunt the wild oxen,” Ye Jingyu said.

Lanling immediately picked up his bow and arrows and followed her.

The Wild Ox Valley spanned roughly one hundred square miles, teeming with oxen that often gathered in herds of dozens.

But the current Lanling could only target those that were alone.

“Up ahead,” Ye Jingyu suddenly said, pointing to a strong ox about a hundred meters away leisurely grazing.

Ye Jingyu escorted Lanling closer and closer, needing to approach within thirty meters—the range of Lanling’s spiritual lock.

Soon they were within thirty meters, hiding behind a mound of earth.

“Don’t be nervous; failing the first time is normal,” Ye Jingyu whispered.

Lanling took a deep breath, then drew his bow and notched an arrow, concentrating all his spiritual power, locking directly onto the right eye of the wild ox.

Lock, lock, lock…

After eight seconds, the only thing in Lanling’s Spiritual Illusion was the ox’s eye, while everything else was shrouded in darkness.

Locked on!

“Whoosh…” Lanling released his fingers decisively, and the arrow shot out forcefully.

The wild ox was startled and attempted to flee, but it was already too late.

“Thwack…” The sharp arrow pierced directly into its head through the right eye.

…

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