Rong Wei stood up.

However, the next instant, Senior Brother Mu whistled sharply and led his people in a swift retreat, running to the other side of the martial field.

From their appearance, they had struck first to gain advantage, their purpose being to steal arrows and injure people.

Tian Wu had lost his arrows, Wei Xuan had lost her horse—both could only withdraw from the field. Wei Xuan was unwilling to accept defeat and raised her hand, shouting: “Mountain Chief, I request to ride double with Hu Yin! You didn’t say we couldn’t ride double!”

The Mountain Chief frowned as he looked at the field. By now many other teachers from the academy had arrived. The Dean stood beside him, worriedly saying: “Mountain Chief, these children are going a bit mad. How about we stop the competition? Cancel the gambling too. The academy doesn’t allow gambling in the first place. If something happens because of this betting, it might be difficult to explain.”

The Mountain Chief stroked his chin and smiled: “Men can marry at sixteen—they’re all adults. What need is there for others to explain anything?”

The Dean was stunned.

The Mountain Chief waved his hand at Wei Xuan, indicating approval.

He rustled open a snack bag—already his third snack bag of the day—while feeling around inside for walnuts and sunflower seeds, leisurely saying: “The ocean waves are never still, how can a smile resolve grudges? Let them be.”

The field had now returned to calm.

After the recent clash, Tie Ci had once again contracted her archery range for the safety of the others, allowing Senior Brother Mu’s side to occupy a large area. Having stolen arrows, they now had more arrows in total. All those who came up this time were skilled in archery. Even those who had been relatively weak and left the field earlier were now fierce, with white horses and carved saddles, swift as shooting stars, arrows like flying rain, row after row nailed into the targets.

Although Tie Ci’s side was also highly skilled with arrows that never missed, they were at an inherent disadvantage. It looked like this battle had lost its suspense again—Tie Ci was destined to lose. While the spectators were pleased, they also felt somewhat uneasy, feeling this victory didn’t come quite honorably.

Both sides adopted a stance of minding their own business, so everyone gradually relaxed. Just when everyone felt the overall situation was decided and Senior Brother Mu would surely press his advantage and properly shoot the remaining arrows into targets, Tie Ci, who was galloping, suddenly felt a warning in her heart.

She turned around sharply.

She saw cold light flashing repeatedly—three arrows from three different directions, shooting toward Rong Wei who was galloping past her rear flank!

One arrow whistled fiercely, one sparked with fire in mid-air, one made no sound at all!

And Rong Wei was shooting arrows with his back to them!

Tie Ci lunged over. While her body was still in mid-air, her shield was already thrown with full force. The heavy shield spun through the air—clang! Sparks flew as one arrow struck the shield, pushing it along as it grazed Rong Wei’s shoulder before crashing to the ground. The shield had a dent knocked right into it!

This was a heavy arrow! The kind that could tear a human body into pieces upon impact!

At the same time Tie Ci threw the shield, her other hand had already torn off her golden silk mask and hurled it at the second fire arrow. That arrow had no fire when shot, but halfway through flight it had become a deep red streak. Just as Tie Ci’s mask was about to catch it, an arrow shot from the side, knocking away Tie Ci’s mask.

Tie Ci: “!”

A figure flashed, darting across like a swimming fish—thud!—meeting that fire arrow head-on. In mid-air, head tilted and shoulder clamped, actually extinguishing that fire with shoulder and neck!

A soft hiss, and countless severed hairs fell from the air, turning to ash when blown by wind.

That person spun around and cast away the fire arrow. The arrow fell to the ground, hissing and burning for a while before going out.

That person landed, covering the side of their neck—it was Wei Xuan.

Riding double with Wei Xuan was Hu Yin. They were the three closest to Rong Wei. Hu Yin turned her head and saw the third cold arrow. She instinctively turned her bow to shoot it down, but heard a shout: “Don’t!”

In that split second, as Tie Ci and Wei Xuan both made their moves, Rong Wei had already turned around. Now stopping Hu Yin, he leaped up, sleeves billowing. There was a metallic ring from within his sleeves, and he actually caught the last arrow with effortless grace. For an instant Tie Ci even saw that arrow make a smooth circle within his sleeve, then pierce through the fabric and whistle out again, streaking toward Senior Brother Mu’s side.

Senior Brother Mu’s side immediately fell into chaos, several people leaping up to form a human wall in front of him.

This posture of facing a great enemy made even Tie Ci somewhat astonished, but she immediately discovered that the direction Rong Wei hurled the cold arrow back wasn’t aimed at Senior Brother Mu at all!

He was aiming at Senior Brother Mu’s side’s best targets, where arrows were most concentrated!

In the blink of an eye, a black light fell upon the target.

As the arrow landed, Tie Ci, who was closest to that target, was suddenly yanked away and crashed into a warm back.

As she retreated, from the corner of her eye she saw Senior Brother Mu’s group also frantically retreating.

She understood in an instant, but couldn’t help widening her eyes.

How dare these people!

The next moment—a thunderous explosion!

Far exceeding the previous sound of a horse being knocked away, that noise shook the entire academy as if it were trembling. A layer of sand on the ground was shaken up into the air before rustling down again. Amidst the rushing sounds, smoke and dust rose up, obscuring vision. Countless people cried out in alarm, running about wildly like a colony of ants whose nest had been destroyed.

Tie Ci pressed against the chest behind her. An arm tightly encircled her waist. Looking down, she saw the cold, lustrous pure copper studs on the black armguard, and her heart became momentarily disordered.

So much so that she failed to notice that in this moment of blinding smoke and dust, somewhere a faint light flashed, striking toward her.

Rong Wei behind her also seemed to be thinking about something, somewhat dazed, until he heard a thin sound cutting through the air near his ear.

The moment he heard that sound, he knew it was bad.

A powerful crossbow’s thin arrow—if it could be heard, it was already at close range.

Too late!

In that instant, he only had time to raise his arm up, blocking it in front of Tie Ci’s vital heart area!

“Hiss.”

An extremely slight sound, yet it made Tie Ci jump up.

She was familiar with this sound—it was the sound of a sharp weapon entering flesh!

At this time the smoke and dust finally began to dissipate somewhat. She looked down and saw a crossbow bolt that had pierced through Rong Wei’s arm. The arrowhead had even emerged slightly from the other side of his arm, the blood-stained tip already pressed against her chest.

If not for Rong Wei’s arm serving as a shield, even if she escaped with her life, she would have been severely injured.

She suddenly looked up at Rong Wei. But Rong Wei’s expression remained unchanged, still smiling as he said: “What are you looking at me like that for? With such tender, loving eyes—it’s rather embarrassing.”

But Tie Ci was in no mood for jokes at this moment. She grabbed his hand and reached back to draw her small knife, preparing to remove the arrow and bandage him. Penetrating wounds were prone to infection—this was no joke.

Suddenly there was a cry of alarm. Wei Xuan rushed over, standing on tiptoe to cradle Rong Wei’s arm, exclaiming: “Sir, how did you get injured!”

Tie Ci paused and looked at Wei Xuan. She had just intercepted the fire arrow and been burned on her neck, with half her long hair burned away, yet now she completely ignored her own condition, looking at Rong Wei with a face full of panic.

Rong Wei looked down and also saw Wei Xuan’s injury, smiling: “Why are you only concerned about me? Aren’t you injured too?”

The two gazed at each other, one on horseback, one on the ground. Wei Xuan’s face instantly turned red.

Tie Ci felt inexplicably blocked up inside for some reason. She smiled and pushed Rong Wei lightly, saying: “You’re injured and can’t fight anymore. Go down and treat each other’s wounds. I’ll handle what comes next.”

She also said to Wei Xuan: “Quickly pull out this arrow for him. Penetrating wounds need proper treatment.”

Wei Xuan nodded repeatedly and reached out to support Rong Wei. But Rong Wei shifted and dismounted by himself. As he jumped down, Tie Ci, fearing he might jar his wound, instinctively supported his arm. After making this gesture, she felt it wasn’t quite appropriate, as if she was underestimating him. She wanted to withdraw her hand, but Rong Wei didn’t seem to mind, naturally dismounting with her support, turning back to smile at her: “Thank you.”

His politeness made Tie Ci feel even more uncomfortable. She withdrew her hand and watched Wei Xuan come up to support him. Not wanting to look further, she turned her head away.

The moment she turned her head, the person who was always gentle, elegant, and perpetually smiling had already drawn in his brows and pressed his lips together, emanating a killing intent and coldness like frost and snow.

She gazed fixedly at the opposition.

The smoke cleared, revealing several exploded targets on the other side.

Senior Brother Mu and the others were disheveled, retreating to one side, glaring at her fiercely with faces dark as iron.

Outside the field, the Dean suddenly stood up, beside himself with anger: “What was that just now! Who used forbidden materials on arrows! Who shot those cold arrows! I order the competition to stop! Stop immediately!”

Tie Ci acted as if she hadn’t heard, raising her bow to point at the opposition: “You’ve lost.”

Rong Wei’s returned thunder arrow had destroyed at least three of their targets. The arrows on them had long since turned to ash.

Now there was no need to count—Tie Ci had won for sure.

Everyone sighed, not knowing whether to be happy or worried.

But Senior Brother Mu gave a sinister laugh: “Not necessarily!”

He waved his hand, and several people behind him drew their bows in unison.

Tie Ci waved to signal everyone to take cover.

But the opponents’ arrows passed over their shoulders, heading straight for the field’s edge, where posts surrounding the field also held targets already filled with arrows from Tie Ci’s side.

Crack after crack rang out as those wooden stakes broke one after another, targets falling and crashing outside the enclosure.

Senior Brother Mu lowered his bow, sneering: “Only arrows on targets within the field can be counted. Your targets have fallen outside the field—they don’t count!”

Four targets had fallen outside—instantly Tie Ci’s losses were greater than his.

A competition had developed to this degree—life and death, full of twists and turns, like a roller coaster.

Outside the field it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone stared at Tie Ci, racking their brains but unable to think of any way to turn defeat into victory.

After all, there were no more arrows—nobody had any, none could be seized—and no more targets.

Senior Brother Mu bent his bow, pointing at Tie Ci: “Admit defeat. I’ll give you some face—allow you to scram at midnight.”

Tie Ci laughed.

“Not necessarily.”

Then she turned around: “Dan Ye, Hu Yin, Wei Xin.”

Dan Ye and Wei Xin had originally been farther away, unable to catch up earlier, but now both rode over. Dan Ye’s eyebrows stood up, and Wei Xin also rarely raised his head to stare at Tie Ci.

Tie Ci pointed to the field’s edge—there were four wooden posts connected by rope, enclosing that side of the field. The targets on top had now all broken and fallen out.

She said: “Do you remember when I shot arrows into the wall earlier?”

Everyone nodded. Hu Yin and Dan Ye vaguely understood something, their eyes immediately brightening.

“Just like that. That position.” Tie Ci pointed at those wooden stakes. “One person per post, elevation angle thirty degrees.” She demonstrated the angle. “When I say ‘start,’ shoot simultaneously. Remember, it must be simultaneous.”

Everyone nodded, even Wei Xin moved his shoulders.

Tie Ci discovered that as long as he was willing to listen seriously, there was nothing he couldn’t understand.

“Little Round Face, Dan Shuang.” Tie Ci said, “You two guard our flanks and prevent the other side from shooting cold arrows again.”

Dan Shuang was also skilled in archery, but Tie Ci needed someone with extremely keen senses to provide rear guard, so she kept Dan Shuang back.

She gave a few more instructions. Dan Shuang nodded, spurred her horse forward, and together with Little Round Face, positioned themselves left and right, coldly eyeing the other side.

The sound of hoofbeats rang out again in the field.

This time both inside and outside the field were very quiet, everyone holding their breath.

Watching those four riders cross-gallop, the mounted archers suddenly all crouched low, hanging themselves from the sides of their horses.

The same position as when Tie Ci had shot arrows at the flying target earlier.

Everyone roared with excitement, yet at this moment there was no wall opposite the four riders, and even if there were a wall, nailing targets to it would be meaningless.

The next moment Tie Ci called: “Start!”

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Four arrows rose from the sides of the horses, slanting upward, cutting a sharp line as if to pierce the clouds.

The next instant came a series of cracks as all four arrows struck posts simultaneously.

The same tremendous upward impact force carried all four posts flying up together.

Everyone’s gaze followed those posts flying toward the heavens.

Crack, crack—Dan Shuang and Little Round Face simultaneously drew their knives, cutting the ropes on either side of the enclosure.

The pulling force immediately disappeared. The four posts flew out half a zhang with their ropes before landing almost simultaneously.

At this point, the differences in the four people’s strength could be seen. Tie Ci and Dan Ye were similar, Hu Yin and Wei Xin were slightly weaker, with Wei Xin weaker still—after all, he was still a child. For a child to have strength comparable to the Xirong woman Hezhuo was already quite remarkable.

This caused the four posts with their ropes to maintain roughly a straight line when they landed.

The square of the entire enclosure had now become a rectangle. Though the ropes were cut, the frame remained, and that frame once again enclosed the fallen targets within the field.

A moment of deathly silence.

Then explosive cheers erupted like a tsunami.

At this moment, regardless of friend or foe, like or dislike, everyone couldn’t help but applaud by slapping the railings until their palms were red, celebrating this incomparable contest and unattainable human ingenuity with the most fervent emotions.

Even the teachers all stood up, clapping their hands in praise. All felt that today’s unintentional competition would probably become academy legend from now on—the kind that could be passed down through generations.

Even Qi Yuansi, who was destined to eat shit, was slapping the railings, probably having forgotten the fragrance of feces.

Amidst the thunderous cheers, Tie Ci turned around again. Somehow another arrow had appeared on her bow. While the crowd’s cheers were at their highest and even Senior Brother Mu was distracted watching those four posts, she drew the bow fully and nocked the arrow.

Aiming at Senior Brother Mu.