: Max-Level Archery Skill After Two and a Half Years of Practice

Chapter 1: [Maximum Archery Skill] achieved after two and a half years of practice.

In the year 1003 of the Holy Radiance Calendar, the month of the North Wind (November).

The Emerald Kingdom, Black Mountain Province, Lake County, Blackwater Valley.

The river valley plains are covered in silver, with wisps of smoke rising from chimneys and scattered low wooden houses.

Perched high on the hillside, a rather unimpressive castle stands against the mountain, its collapsed towers and battlements bearing witness to the castle's owner's decline.

On the hillside outside the castle, amidst a pile of withered grass half-hidden by snow, an adorable snow hare was foraging for food while remaining wary of predators.

Seventy meters away, a boy wearing a white fur coat, a white woolen hat, and brown snow boots hid behind a crooked tree, blending into the white snow behind him.

He slowly reached out, drew his bow, and nocked an arrow. The bow was a military bow, not an ordinary hunting bow.

Then, with the sound of an arrow piercing the air, the snow hare fell to the ground, its head shattered by an iron arrowhead.

[Archery Proficiency +1]

[Archery: Tier 1 (9999/10000) → Tier 1 (Maximum)]

"We can have roasted rabbit for dinner."

Li Wei licked his lips, and with a thought, opened the proficiency panel.

Levi-Schneider ———

Archery: Level 1 (Maximum)

Riding Skill: Tier 1 (Maximum)

Noble Dance: Tier 1 (Limit)

Basic Combat: Tier 1 (Limit)

Basic Swordsmanship: Tier 1 (Maximum)

……

Looking at the proficiency panel in his mind, Li Wei's lips curled up.

"I've reached the limit in archery, which is the hardest skill to improve. Now, within the effective range of the bow and my field of vision, I can hit any prey I've set my sights on with perfect accuracy. Looking at the history of the kingdom, my archery skills are enough to be called those of a master archer. And I am just a knight's page who has been practicing for two and a half years."

"In two and a half years, I have mastered all five basic skills required of a knight's page: riding, archery, dancing, hand-to-hand combat, and swordsmanship. I have exceeded my expectations and my physical fitness is almost ready to learn breathing techniques."

"Only by learning breathing techniques can one become a true knight and barely survive in this world of constant war, natural disasters, and man-made calamities, where the strong prey on the weak and even supernatural powers lurk."

"After all, the original owner of this body may have been killed by an [evil spirit]."

Li Wei is not a native of this world.

Instead, it was a transmigrator who was reborn into the body of this nobleman's son three years ago, at the beginning of the first millennium of the Holy Radiance Calendar. His cheat was the proficiency panel in his mind.

Judging from the original owner's last memory before death, when the original owner was fishing in the Blackwater River, he caught a white-clad female corpse with empty eye sockets, disheveled hair, and a pale, swollen face. The swollen skin was still gushing water out of it, which seemed to be a kind of evil spirit described in the folk legends of this world: the Water Fairy.

Then the original owner fell into eternal darkness until he himself took over the body.

Later, the baron's retainer, Sir Fred, found himself lying on the riverbank, soaking wet, surrounded by a clump of foul-smelling water plants and rotten fish and shrimp, muttering inexplicable, spell-like ramblings such as "I have no air force (Sir Fred's transliteration)".

The true knight still believes that young master Levi, enraged by his inability to catch fish, lost his mind and went into the water to catch fish himself, which led to this scene.

Li Wei naturally didn't tell anyone about his encounter with the evil spirit, otherwise it would be difficult to explain why he was still alive after encountering the evil spirit.

However, that evil spirit has become a psychological shadow for Li Wei, and he still dares not go to the banks of the Blackwater River.

In fact, based on what Li Wei knows so far, legends of evil spirits have existed since ancient times, but most people have never seen one.

It's like the world has legends about "wizards," extraordinary beings who control wind, thunder, earth, and fire, but no one has ever actually seen one.

Even Fred the Knight, who had traveled extensively throughout the Emerald Kingdom in his youth and was quite knowledgeable, only regarded wizards as legendary figures.

"Wizards, what a noble and mysterious profession. No matter how strong a knight is, he is just a slightly stronger Muggle. Compared to a wizard, he is like a martial artist compared to a cultivator."

Li Wei was filled with longing. Most legends don't come from nowhere, so after witnessing the real existence of evil spirits, Li Wei firmly believed that there must be wizards in this world, and that it was not just a simple legend created by bards.

But he also knew that with his current abilities, pursuing the path of a wizard was too unrealistic; while gazing at the stars, he still had to keep his feet on the ground.

Therefore, starting from the age of ten, Li Wei has been constantly training his five knightly arts. Now, with the help of the proficiency panel, in less than three years, Li Wei has mastered all five knightly arts to their limits.

Li Wei was confident that the vast majority of formal knights, such as Lord Fred, were not as good as him in the basic five knightly arts, especially in archery, which Li Wei was very proud of.

Twelve-year-old Li Wei is now 1.75 meters tall and looks strong and powerful, with a broad back and thick waist. Apart from his slightly boyish face, he is stronger than many adult men.

In this alien world with extremely low productivity, most malnourished commoner men who grew up eating black bread are not as robust as Li Wei.

This was a backward era where cold weapons reigned supreme. A strong body, coupled with heavy plate armor weighing tens of kilograms, gave a knight an advantage in battle that far surpassed that of a weak physique.

Now, everything is ready except for the breathing technique.

Breathing techniques are not something you should learn as early as possible. If your physical condition is not good enough, forcing yourself to learn them can damage your body at best, and at worst, lead to qi deviation or demonic possession.

This is also why squires are required to learn basic swordsmanship and basic combat skills to strengthen their bodies before becoming a knight's squire.

In high spirits, Li Wei picked up the snow rabbit from the ground and turned to go home.

Down the hillside, a middle-aged knight with a full head of silver hair looked at Li Wei with a broad smile and spoke in a tone of great satisfaction.

"If the master were still alive, he would be very happy to see your archery skills."

This is Sir Fred, known as the "Serpent Knight" by his enemies and squires, a man the Baron had told Levy before his death that he was an absolutely trustworthy man.

Indeed, this was the case; for Levi, he spent far less time with the Baron than with Sir Fred.

Therefore, to some extent, the teacher-student or master-servant relationship that developed with the Knight Frederick was even stronger than the blood ties with the Baron.

"Your Excellency Fred flatters me. I haven't done enough. I want to learn breathing techniques and become a true knight as soon as possible. Winter is coming, the long night is approaching, and wandering knights or bandits in the wilderness may invade our territory at any time and threaten our safety. I cannot live under your protection forever."

"After my father died, we lost the Tulip Territory in the south, where it was spring all year round, and the Storm Territory in the east, which was rich in minerals. The barren and remote Blackwater Valley is our last home."

"I am the only heir of the family bloodline. For the sake of the Snake family, I must become stronger!"

"Glory belongs to the Black Serpent! And I am ready!"

Li Wei looked unwilling, clenching his fists and trying his best to act.

The "Black Serpent Holding a Candle" is the sigil of the Snake family, hence the Snake family is also known as the "Black Serpent Family".

His father, Baron Sord Snake, was not only one of the fearsome "Seven Horsemen of the North," the Black Serpent Knight, a true Grand Knight, but also the Earl of Tulipland and the Lord of Stormland!

Compared to Blackwater Valley, where it's difficult to develop agriculture for almost half the year during winter, Tulip Territory and Storm Territory are far more prosperous.

Li Wei was born in the flower city of the Tulip Territory, where the climate is humid, the plains are open, and the soil is fertile, making it extremely suitable for settling down and developing production.

Although Stormlands is frequently hit by stormy weather, it is also a treasure trove of mineral resources.

Before Li Wei turned ten, he was at the peak of his Black Serpent Knight career, commanding five thousand soldiers. Relying on the treasure land of Storm Territory, he also had five hundred fully armed and fierce cavalrymen. In this world with low productivity, some weak dukes might only have this much of a lineup.

However, all of this was based on the personal power of the Baron, the great knight.

If a knight is a well-known, powerful master in the martial arts world, then the status of a great knight is comparable to that of the Five Greats of the Central Plains, a figure who dominated the entire martial arts world in that era.

Only the rarest of legendary knights, such as "Lionheart Knight Rhine," "Golden Knight Greck," "Blood Knight Brad," and "Snowflake Knight Freyle," can surpass the Great Knights.

Legendary knights, in this world, are similar to founders or martial arts legends like Bodhidharma, Zhang Sanfeng, the founder of the Free and Unfettered School, or Dugu Qiubai. In most cases, they can only be used as tools to represent the pinnacle of combat power in the story.

Therefore, the Black Serpent Knight at his peak represents the pinnacle of the world's visible combat power.

This being, after accepting the call to wage a thousand-year holy war against the Tuva Empire by the sea three years ago in alliance with the Emerald Kingdom and the Holy Radiance Church, has never returned.

In the end, Li Wei only received the unbelievable news that the Baron and all his soldiers had died on the battlefield.

According to the kingdom's laws, titles are hereditary. The baron's three estates should be inherited by his only son, Livy, but before the inheritance, it needs to be notarized by a special envoy sent by the king.

Under the witness of a special envoy appointed by the Emerald King, Livy became the new master of the three territories under the Baron's command, at least nominally.

In fact, considering the situation at the time, Levi took the initiative to return to the remote and barren Blackwater Valley, the place where Baron Soder made his fortune. This territory had previously been under the administration of Sir Fred.

Meanwhile, the Bloody Earl and the Silver Veil Earl, who had long coveted their father's territory, effectively took over Tulip Territory and Storm Territory with the tacit approval of their master, the Duke of Black Mountain, and the kingdom turned a blind eye to this.

Although the territories of each lord are legally sacred and inviolable, in reality, the feudal lord system of the Emerald Kingdom has completely changed by today.

Infighting among lords was commonplace. Li Wei disliked the feeling of being coveted, so he voluntarily gave up the two hot potatoes, Tulip Territory and Storm Territory, and offered them to the Duke of Black Mountain.

As the Duke of the Black Mountain Province, the largest territory in the north, and the most senior and mysterious of the "Seven Northern Knights," the Duke of Black Mountain had long wanted to enter the south and develop his own power. Li Wei's "spendthrift" behavior pleased the Duke of Black Mountain very much.

"A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime." In Livy's view, without a great knight and a sufficient number of fully armed and elite cavalry to deter foreign enemies, occupying Tulip Territory and Storm Territory would be tantamount to courting death.

Since I already have a proficiency panel, I might as well safely retreat and go back to Blackwater Valley to be a lowly lord.

Li Wei had no ambition to become king or conqueror. He only wanted to quietly cultivate his breathing technique, relying on his proficiency to gradually become a knight, a great knight, or even a legendary knight, and then follow in the footsteps of the wizard.

After all, based on what he currently knows, only a wizard could possibly achieve his goal of immortality, and only a wizard could truly be fearless of those supernatural creatures, demons, and monsters.

Although he thought this way, in front of Sir Frederick, his father's most trusted retainer, Livy still had to put on a show.

Moreover, knightly training requires a great deal of resources and wealth; the world is such that scholars are poor while warriors are rich.

Therefore, Li Wei's plan was clear: learn breathing techniques, quickly become a formal knight, then manage his territory, earn some money to support his training, and after gaining sufficient self-defense capabilities, travel to the Seven Kingdoms and embark on a journey to find a wizard.

The middle-aged knight Fred listened quietly to Levi's youthful ambitions, and a relieved smile appeared on his weathered face: "Baron Levi, my master, you are indeed ready now. Please follow me."

(1: New book release! Please read it, give it a recommendation, and add it to your favorites. Please also try to read the latest chapter every day. Under the current recommendation system on Qidian, reading it is a matter of life and death for a book. If you are a reader of QQ Reading, please try to read it on Qidian during the new book period. Thank you.)

(2: To facilitate reading, the names of non-main characters in this book will be replaced by family crests or nicknames, and those complicated and hard-to-remember Western names, such as the Black Serpent Knight and the Duke of Black Mountain, will not appear.)

(3: This book may have a small part that references the background of Western medieval history, but this book is fantasy, not history, so those who are particular about historical accuracy should not mind.)

(End of this chapter)