"My good brother, have you gone senile to fall in Zhou Lin's trap?"

Jiang Tian fussed as he followed Qin Yang. Even though he is on Qin Yang's side, he knew that Qin Yang is a 1-star senses enhancement. Compared to Zhou Lin's 2-star, Qin Yang would simply contribute his Sky Bamboo Bow if they were to fight.

Qin Yang remained silent. He thought about his action earlier and felt Jiang Tian is not exactly without a reason. But to achieve his goal, he would have to climb a bigger mountain.

He has no fear of losing the Sky Bamboo Bow either; he has an extra one in-home after all. What he wanted to accomplish in the gambling match was to defeat Zhou Lin; the third obstacle to his goal.

"I aim to win. Yi Shan is my biggest hurdle, next Zhou Wen, and lastly Zhou Lin."

Qin Yang paused, then continued:

"If I want to win, fulfill my dream...I have to overcome all obstacles. I'm a 2-star cultivator now. If I fail, there's nothing to be ashamed about."

"Did you say something?"

Jiang Tian was flirting with the girls in the street so he did not hear what Qin Yang said.

"I broke through."

Qin Yang replied with a smile. His breakthrough has brought him joy, but the pressure of the Holy Land Meets rendered him uncomfortable.

"You broke through?"

Jiang Tian muttered in surprise:

"Every dog has its day; congratulation Brother Qin!"

"Why do I feel you are ridiculing me instead?"

Qin Yang rolled his eyes and whispered:

"Jiang Tian...by the way is Lu'er in the house?"

"Sister? Nope, she's in the Academy. You entered secluded cultivation a week ago, so you're not aware of the things happening in the kingdom; let me tell you, an immortal goddess was flying in the sky three days ago."

Jiang Tian said in admiration. Saliva dripped down his mouth as he imagined the beautiful maiden that day.

"How does that connect to Lu'er?"

Qing Yan asked curiously. He did not care about the immortal goddess. Flying meant one is a real immortal, that kind of woman is out of his reach. His curiosity is towards Jiang Lu'er; all of the sudden, he felt uneasy when he imagined separating from that lovely girl.

"My good brother, why do I feel you have no appeal to beauties?"

Jiang Tian sighed.

Qin Yang looked at Jiang Tian. His face solemn.
"I have a fianceé."

"Hehe, you're quite loyal, my good brother; so getting beaten up by my sister helps you fell in love with that scary woman."

Qin Yang scoffed:

"Enough of that. Just tell me why that goddess relates to Lu'er."

"Of course. That relates to her and it's no small matter; the immortal goddess is interested in my sister."

Jiang Tian said with a smile, then continued:

"Perhaps, sister will leave us mediocre youths behind. Once the immortal takes her as a disciple, you will be free from hell, Brother Qin. Isn't that good news for us, Brothers?"

"Free from hell?"

Qin Yang was silent. He began to recall the memories with Jiang Lu'er. Even though they fight all the time, feelings also grow along with it.

Hearing that Jiang Lu'er would be separated away from him and could easily fulfill what he dreamed, his heart felt heavy.

This was reality; his talent was average at best, no wandering immortals would want him as a disciple.

Jiang Tian was able to guess Qin Yang's thoughts, so he consoled.

"Brother Qin, don't worry about it much. I'm the same as you; my two brothers have already embarked in the Land of Immortals a long time ago. Now, sister follows the same route they took, here am I all alone. Their world and our world are different; we have no talent to speak of. Why not just enjoy life; isn't that nice?"

Qin Yang shook his head.

"Jiang Tian, I'm not the same as you. My passion for martial arts is genuine and I admired my father. I want to be like him, to shoot a soaring eagle five hundred meters away; and to see what lies beyond the peak of Archery. I may not be talented, but my heart is telling me this road is for me. I might fall anytime, my frail body may not handle what prevents me, but I can not give up my martial way! Success comes after failures and I believe in it."

Qin Yang has a pure heart of martial arts. He was aware his talent is mediocre so he put ten times the effort into his cultivation. Sometimes he did not even sleep and passed meals. He would fell ill due to excessive training but all of his sufferings bore fruits; after four years of practise, he could now shoot a hundred-meter radius and kill an adult bear. To immortals, this is a small matter, but it meant a lot to the fourteen-year-old Qin Yang.

Qin Yang experience both failure and success. Each time he falls, it boosted his morale, and he would not stop practising with his bow even if it rains. Everyone in the kingdom treats him as some sort of genius, but only the people on Qin Marshall Mansion knew that Qin Yang's talent has been hone through hard work.

To others, talent is defined. But Qin Yang did not have similar thoughts; talent is simply a synonym of hard work. Innate talent though means different.

Qin Yang thus decided; no matter what he might encounter on his path, he would not give up easily. Even if he failed miserably, that means heaven wills it. Perhaps he would be sad for a few days, but he would recover in no time and continue honing his archery skill. Growing old, Qin Yang would never stop seeking the peak of Archery until the end of his life.
This was Qin Yang's nature— Stubbornness and determination.

...

...

...

The carriage stopped at the entrance of the Green Bamboo Palace. This palace is composed of jade stones and marbles, shining brightly in the surrounding, and it was Jiang Tian's abode.
Qin Yang followed Jiang Tian inside the palace. After an incense stick, Jiang Tian stared at Qin Yang.

"Brother Qin, wait here; I'll get the box inside the house."

Qin Yang nodded and mediated in the ground. A minute later, Jiang Tian appeared in the courtyard holding a black chest wrapped in black tapes.

"This is..."

Qin Yang touched the chest. The black chest seemed ancient and old; evident from the rusts around it. When touched, it was cold and soft.
"I found this chest. About the things inside; I have not opened them. That's why I call you here."

Hearing Jiang Tian, Qin Yang fell in deep thought.

The black chest was certainly from the ancient era. How did Jiang Tian find such valuable stuff, is that even possible?
"It doesn't matter how I got them. Let's say I chanced them upon."

Jiang Tian smiled mysteriously:

"Now let's open it."

Under Jiang Tian's cautious hands, the black chest slowly opened. Old rusted armors, a knight helmet, broken swords, and so on emerged out the chest.
Qin Yang was curious about the objects, so he unloaded them one by one.

"This sword is broken. Hmm, sadly the armors have decayed."

Jiang Tian sighed in disappointment.

"At the very least, we now know how the ancient era built weapons."

Qin Yang was not discontented like Jiang Tian. After all, he came here to learn more about the ancient era.
"This broken sword is made with Cold Steel. I remember reading its description."

Stranded in the purple mists, it was bound to be limited in resources. In the Purple Cuspate Kingdom, they lacked steel and important materials. If not for five decades ago where the previous Emperor finding a mine of metals, the inhabitants within the kingdom would have live their lives in poverty.

After all, metal is useful. Thanks to it, soldiers can fight with land beasts. However, metals were not unlimited, that is why no one uses the spear or the saber as a weapon; the cost is just too astronomical for common people. Bow is more seek though, for it did not need metal to make.

Qin Yang and Jiang Tian unloaded all the stuff in the black chest. Looking at the gains, it was certainly bad since most of them were worn out and decayed.

The only thing that looked appealing was the black book, but it was not that good either. When Jiang Tian opened it, the pages were blank without any written word.

"This is just an ordinary book,"

Jiang Tian grumbled in annoyance.

"Let me see."

Qin Yang took the book and opened it. Indeed, there were no written words and the passage of time corroded the papers. But for some reason, Qin Yang feels a strange feeling when he held it.

"Jiang Tian, this book, I'll bring this with me."

"No problem. Help yourself, Brother Qin."

Hearing Qin Yang, Jiang Tian would not be so stingy. He was happy that his good brother had found something he wanted.

As the two were about to leave, a thunderous echoed behind their back.

"So you two brats were hiding here."

Qin Yang and Jiang Tian gulped in uneasiness. Jiang Tian screamed inside:

"Oh my god! The scary woman is back. Why is she here? Damn it."

Slowly, a young woman walked out from the courtyard gates. She was donned in a cyan dress with a matching lower skirt flexing her flawless legs. She had an oval face, cherry wine lips, and cute blue eyes. On her forehead, a symbol of ice frost dazzling her beauty. What is a country toppling beauty? This is it!

"Lu'er, why are you here?"

Qin Yang asked.

"I've heard you made a bet with Zhou Lin. It seems I'm not beating you up lately."

Jiang Lu'er massaged her tiny fists.

Qin Yang gulped and nervously wiped his sweat, but he felt happy in his heart for some reason. Jiang Lu'er indeed cared for him. Whenever he gets into trouble, she would help him fix it. Hearing that he, a 1-star senses enhancement, fighting against a 2-star senses enhancement worried Jiang Lu'er. She felt furious and startled inside; her man courageous this time, but naive at the same time since he betted his Sky Bamboo Bow.

"Sister, don't worry about Brother Qin. He...he broke through."

Jiang Tian said, then stood up:

"Ah, I remember I have something important to do. Brother Qin, big sis...I'll leave you alone."

Jiang Tian then flees from the scene in a blink. Clearly, the guy suffered from the hands of the woman for him to act like this.

"Is what he said true?"

"Hmm."

Qin Yang nodded, then stared at Jiang Lu'er's eyes.

The girl panicked briefly before cracking her knuckles. She laughed:

"It seems my pet has grown stronger. Why don't we spar a bit?"

Qin Yang immediately shook his head.

"Are you trying to get me killed? I don't want to, never!"

Others might not know how fierce this woman was, but Qin Yang had suffered on her hands. Even if he broke through, he would not let his confidence shuttle over the moon.

Suddenly, he thought something and said:

"I've heard...An immortal took you as a disciple."

Jiang Lu'er's body trembled slightly. Then she jumped forward. Qin Yang was startled as a soft object hugged him gently.

He stared at Jiang Lu'er who was lying on his manly chest and could not help but to stroke her hair.

"So it's indeed true."

Jiang Lu'er was not acting like herself today and hugged Qin Yang like it never ends. After an incense stick of time, she lifted her head and pushed Qin Yang away.

"Tomorrow, I will be leaving."

Qin Yang clenched his hand. Memories with her gushed on his mind, pouring him completely awake. He suddenly realized something. When a person left, it would be that time a man realize how important and unique that person was.

"Don't you have anything to say?"

Jiang Lu'er bit her lips.

"What? You are a strong woman, you even beat me up."

Qin Yang teased her to ease up the atmosphere.

"Hmph, how heartless."

Jiang Lu'er scoffed, then smiled:

"After your duel, let's have a date, just you and me."

Qin Yang was startled. He was about to say something when Jiang Lu'er had already run away.

He could only swallow his words back.

Before Jiang Lu'er left, she murmured:

"I want to spend my last with you."

But it was unknown whether Qin Yang heard it. But Qin Yang understood one thing— Tomorrow is bound to be his big day.