Chapter 120 - 97: Entering the Dao Through "Shooting

Chapter 120: Chapter 97: Entering the Dao Through "Shooting

This man was none other than Tian Qilin, one of the six great Doctors of the Imperial College, who had entered the Dao through "archery" to reach the Fifth Grade Realm of a Confucian Cultivator.

He held an inconspicuous black short bow in his hand. That short bow was far inferior to the Spiritual Artifact from the Profound Array Department that Zeng Anmin held in his hands—the Black Gold Bow. But at this moment, the middle-aged man stood among the crowd, gently pinching the bowstring.

"In the traditional Six Arts of the Gentleman, the Dao of ’archery’ is divided into two types. The first is mounted archery, and the second is unmounted foot archery," Tian Qilin said, his gaze indifferent and his voice ringing clearly in the ears of all the students. "And for us Confucian Cultivators, there are also two types when practicing ’archery’. Besides mastering mounted and foot archery, one must also gain Enlightenment on the ’intent’ of this Dao. What is intent?"

Tian Qilin looked at the crowd, meeting the eyes of the students. Everyone’s eyes were filled with bewilderment.

Zeng Anmin twitched the corner of his mouth. He thought, "If I knew what intent was, why would I even be here listening to this class?"

"Mr. Tian, the Dao of ’intent’ is a necessary path for us Confucian Cultivators. The ultimate goal is actually to gain Enlightenment on the different artistic conceptions within the Six Arts, fuse them into our own Vast Cyan Qi, cultivate the Confucian Daoist Dharma Aspect, and break through to the Fifth Grade." Qin Wan slowly stepped forward. Her expression was calm, and though her voice was soft, it drifted into the ears of all the students with confidence.

"Heh heh." Hearing Qin Wanyue’s words, a smile appeared on Tian Qilin’s face. He did not feel that she was showing off. He nodded at her and replied with a smile, "Therefore, although I don’t require your Archery Skill to be incredibly accurate, whenever the Arrow Fletching leaves the string in your hand, you must earnestly seek Enlightenment on the Arrow Fletching and the bowstring... which is why my Archery Skill has always been average."

However, right after saying this, he gently pulled an Arrow Fletching from the quiver beside him, drew his short bow, and fired without even looking.

WHOOSH!!

Thirty paces away, it firmly hit dead center on the bullseye.

This scene left all the students with their mouths hanging open. They thought, "You said your Archery Skill was average. Then at least look at the bullseye! Hitting dead center without even looking... you call this average Archery Skill??"

"There’s no need to be so surprised. It’s just practice makes perfect." Mr. Tian sighed, his gaze turning deep and profound. "I’ve simply shot many times to comprehend the artistic conception of the Dao of ’archery’. You must remember, when nocking the arrow, do not consider the issue of ’accuracy’. Only when your heart is devoid of any distracting thoughts can you comprehend ’intent’. Is anyone willing to give it a try?" He smiled brightly, looking at the students.

"I’ll give it a try!!" The Little Fatty Crown Prince stepped forward, brimming with confidence, holding his short bow.

As one of the six great Doctors of the Imperial College, Mr. Tian naturally knew the Little Fatty Crown Prince’s identity. Thus, when the boy stepped forward, Tian Qilin’s attitude was exceptionally good. He walked over to the Little Fatty Crown Prince with a beaming smile.

He reached out to carefully help the Crown Prince correct his posture. His voice was incredibly gentle as he instructed, "There is no need to aim, nor should you think about whether you can hit the target. You only need to silently think about how the Arrow Fletching will travel after it collides with the bowstring..." Bit by bit, he broke everything down and taught the Little Fatty Crown Prince without holding anything back.

"Mhm..." The Little Fatty Crown Prince listened thoughtfully, then suddenly released the string.

WHOOSH!!

The Arrow Fletching instantly left the bow, piercing the absolute center of the bullseye with pinpoint accuracy.

"Amazing!!"

"Dead center with a single shot!!"

"This classmate is so accurate. Truly, you can’t judge a book by its cover!"

"Incredible!!"

The surrounding students all voiced their good-natured encouragement. Only Tian Qilin remained expressionless, though the corner of his mouth was actually twitching.

"With that shot just now, did you gain any Enlightenment?" his voice rang out.

"Uh..." The Little Fatty Crown Prince awkwardly scratched his head, staring at the ground in shame. "The arrow... is just forging ahead with indomitable will... yeah..."

Clearly, he had subconsciously thought about his accuracy while shooting just now.

"Phew..." Tian Qilin took a deep breath, trying hard to squeeze out a smile. "Yes, ’forging ahead with indomitable will’ is well said, but it’s not enough. It must be your own Enlightenment."

Having said this, he lifted his head and looked blankly at the students. "The Dao of ’intent’ must be comprehended by yourself. If you get it, you get it. Even if others don’t explain it, you can still comprehend it. But if you can’t, an outsider could say it ten thousand times, and you still wouldn’t get it.

"Among the Six Arts of the Gentleman, the most difficult is to comprehend ’archery intent’. In truth, my own success in comprehending it back then was merely a stroke of luck. If you want to back out now, there’s still time. Any of the other five arts is much easier to gain Enlightenment in than ’archery’."

"How can one quickly comprehend ’intent’?" the Crown Prince asked, looking up at his teacher in confusion.

"First, you must reach the Sixth Grade Gentleman Realm," Tian Qilin sighed. "If you are not at the Gentleman Realm, coming into contact with the Six Arts too early may not be a good thing."

"Why do you say that?" Zeng Anmin asked the teacher curiously.

Tian Qilin gave Zeng Anmin a mild glance before replying, "This is only my personal Enlightenment. After all, there is no rule stating that you cannot learn the Six Arts without reaching the Sixth Grade." He then glanced at the rest of the students and added, "If you are impetuous and bite off more than you can chew, even if you master the Six Arts, you won’t necessarily be able to go far on the path of the Confucian Dao."

"We will respectfully heed your teachings," the students replied.

However, it was unknown how many of them actually took his words to heart.

"Heh heh." Tian Qilin merely smiled without saying another word.

In this world, those who could enter the Fifth Grade through the Dao of "archery" were few and far between. Most Confucian Cultivators still chose to enter the Dao through "rites, music, calligraphy," and the like. After all, those were much more in line with the state of mind required for a Confucian Cultivator’s training.

Only Qin Wanyue and Zeng Anmin appeared to be deep in thought.

"Would you like to give it a try, Quan Fu?" Qin Wanyue asked, looking curiously at the massive Black Gold Longbow in Zeng Anmin’s hands.

The Confucian Cultivators in the arena were all holding short bows, also known as Soft Bows, which did not require much strength to draw. Only the Black Gold Longbow in Zeng Anmin’s hands looked extremely jarring.

"Sure." Zeng Anmin immediately nodded and walked directly in front of the target.

He recalled Tian Qilin’s earlier words. "There is no need to aim, nor should you think about whether you can hit the target. You only need to silently think about how the Arrow Fletching will travel after it collides with the bowstring..."

To put it plainly, there could be no distracting thoughts in his mind. But those who could actually accomplish this were extremely few. At the very least, Zeng Anmin was not among them. He made the exact same mistake as the Little Fatty Crown Prince. He kept reminding himself in his heart not to look around, but subconsciously, he still glanced at the target.

He barely drew the Black Gold Longbow. Even pulling it back a fraction was extremely strenuous. After all, his current identity was that of a "Confucian Cultivator."

WHOOSH!!

Even though he had only drawn it a fraction, the Arrow Fletching on Zeng Anmin’s bowstring still flew toward the center of the target with a whistling howl.

THWACK!!!

It hit dead center.

Sensing the outcome of this shot, Zeng Anmin slowly furrowed his brows. He thought, "No, this isn’t the right feeling."

He didn’t even have the time to pay attention to the bystanders. He simply pulled out another Arrow Fletching on his own and nocked it on the string.

WHOOSH!!

This time, the Arrow Fletching did not hit the bullseye. It didn’t even hit the target.

CLATTER.

The Arrow Fletching fell weakly to the ground.

All the students chuckled softly. It was good-natured laughter, but it carried a slight hint of teasing. In the entire arena, only Tian Qilin, the Doctor of the Imperial College, let out a sound of surprise upon seeing this shot. He didn’t say anything more, merely fixing his gaze on Zeng Anmin.

At this moment, Zeng Anmin’s brows were tightly knit. He nocked another arrow and drew the bowstring.

WHOOSH!!!

Another arrow flew from the string of the Black Gold Longbow.

THWACK!!!

It landed firmly on the bullseye.

"Incorrect!!" he thought.

At this moment, Zeng Anmin seemed to have entered an entirely different Realm. He could no longer hear anyone’s voice in his ears. He pulled out another arrow, swiftly nocking and firing it.

WHOOSH!!

The Arrow Fletching did not miss completely, but it only hit the very edge of the target.

"That’s the feeling," Zeng Anmin murmured, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

As the bow and arrow whistled away, he clearly felt that the streak of Vast Cyan Qi in his Sea of Consciousness seemed to have been tugged.

"Phew..." He took a deep breath, not daring to slack off, and continued grabbing Arrow Fletchings from the quiver.