Chapter 33: Three Fingers Holding the Arrow

After respectfully bowing to Mu Qing, who stood at the entrance of the Freshman Hall, Lin Xi handed her the Academy letter still faintly scented with food. As he explained the matter of the Academy letters to Li Kaiyun and the others, he walked toward the one-eyed, black-robed instructor waiting outside.

"So the teacher's surname is Tong…"

Lin Xi also offered a bow. He initially intended to exchange a few friendly words with the instructor who had treated him and Bian Linghan decently. But the one-eyed, black-robed instructor paid no attention and did not lead them to yesterday's valley. Instead, he directed this group of Warfare Department freshmen toward the opposite side of the Freshman Hall.

There, perched on the edge of a cliff, stood a three-story wooden building. Modest in appearance, simply lacquered, the building clung to the cliffside. Through a passage in the attic, one could reach the rooftop.

From the rooftop, one could gaze out over a nearby marshland, where cattails swayed in the water. Shadows of fish flickered beneath the surface, and unknown insects chirped. If one placed a small desk by a window inside the building, lit a clay stove, and brewed wine or tea, any Warfare Department freshman would likely find it enchanting.

But upon hearing that this rooftop would be today's place of cultivation, most of the Warfare Department students turned pale and frowned.

The rooftop planks looked ready to collapse. Falling asleep during cultivation might lead to rolling off the roof—and falling wasn't the worst part. Jagged rocks littered the area between the cliff and marsh below. One could easily end up with their head to the east, torso to the south, and feet pointing west.

Although the black-robed instructor was present—making such incidents unlikely—the thought of a dozen people falling at once cast doubt on his ability to save them all. One nervous freshman, already sitting down carefully, muttered to the student beside him, "No wonder Professor Qin of our department likes to squat on rooftops like a monkey. Turns out this is just part of our training."

"If you can't calm your mind to meditate even in such a setting, how can you do it on a battlefield?" The black-robed instructor overheard. Without expression, he coldly said, "If you knew that Professor Qin, in his first year after graduation, was pursued by eleven opponents of equal strength and survived by killing nine of them, you wouldn't speak so lightly."

The students fell silent.

Though most—except for the four from the Frontier Folk—knew little about cultivation stages, they could feel the brutality in that tale from the instructor's fiery gaze and the solemn expressions of those four.

With a light step, the instructor caused the wooden building to tremble. He glided like a falling leaf over the students' heads and landed at the rooftop's most precarious edge.

Leaning forward slightly due to the sloped eaves, he calmly pointed to the space beside him. "Wang Xinglun, Lin Xi, Bian Linghan—you sit here."

Lin Xi and Bian Linghan knew the instructor likely meant to give them special attention. But seeing how narrow and dangerous the edge was, Hua Jiyue's face changed and she objected, "Teacher, Lin Xi and Bian Linghan didn't say anything. Why punish them too?"

"You sit here as well." The instructor glanced coldly at her, then added flatly, "Anyone else dissatisfied may join them."

Hua Jiyue angrily stood up. Tang Ke silently followed. Li Kaiyun also rose and sat beside Lin Xi and Bian Linghan.

"Good," said the instructor expressionlessly, though secretly impressed. "One more thing: Lin Xi and Bian Linghan disobeyed orders. They'll work an hour daily in Qilin Peak's medicine valley as punishment."

"Well punished!" Mu Shanzi's eyes lit up with schadenfreude.

"You sit here too."

"But teacher, I—"

"Enough. Begin meditation. Close your eyes."

…

Even with eyes closed, the sensation of leaning over a cliff and the moist wind from the marsh created mental pressure.

Bian Linghan followed the breathing technique: tongue on the upper palate, swallowing naturally formed saliva. But despite many swallows, she couldn't settle into meditation. Just as frustration built, she noticed Lin Xi beside her was already breathing evenly, softly, and deeply.

He had entered meditation. His steady breathing calmed her nerves. She soon forgot the cliff, the rocks, and the wind. Her own breathing turned steady and long.

Had other instructors passed by, they'd have noted Lin Xi was still the first among all freshmen to enter meditation—while Bian Linghan was the second this time.

The black-robed instructor didn't move. Eyes slightly closed, he seemed asleep, motionless as stone from morning till noon. Then, he rose, walked to Lin Xi and Bian Linghan, and lifted them effortlessly. With a spider-like grace, he glided off the roof with them in hand.

Wind brushed their ears. Clothes rustled. Lin Xi and Bian Linghan startled awake.

"Teacher… what if the others fall?" Lin Xi asked softly, realizing the instructor had taken them early for special training.

The instructor tilted his body toward the cliff but said nothing. He pointed downward.

Below, amid jagged rocks, a stone moved—as if nodding in greeting.

"Someone's hidden?" Lin Xi caught on. "A lecturer?"

The instructor nodded. "His name is Zhong. Recently promoted. He'll teach your stealth courses next year."

"He's been lying in wait to catch anyone who falls…" Lin Xi muttered. "Teacher, don't you need to cultivate too?"

The instructor gave him a contemptuous look. "Where can one not cultivate?"

Lin Xi frowned, pondering something. "You mean Academy lecturers can enter meditation anytime—and still react to the environment?"

"Everyone needs time to enter meditation. But in a quiet place like this, most lecturers can still react. Not so on a chaotic battlefield."

"Then teacher… are you the type who can meditate even in battle?"

"Lin Xi, you talk too much!"

"I just have one last question." Smiling, Lin Xi glanced at the instructor. "If you took us early, doesn't that mean I lost an hour of cultivation? Given my talent, won't I fall behind?"

The instructor scowled. "You're usually smart. Can't you see that even if you can't become a Windstrider, my training will make your archery excel? Mounted archery is a core course of our department. You'll get credits faster than anyone."

"And you enter meditation so quickly that you didn't lose any real time." He paused, then scolded sharply, "Do you want me to praise you for entering meditation fast—or call you an idiot?"

Lin Xi and Bian Linghan exchanged smiles and stayed quiet.

…

Bang!

This time, Lin Xi braced his legs at the end of the steel cable descent and landed steadily on the soft cushion.

They were in a peaceful gourd-shaped valley. The surrounding terraced fields were rainbow-like with various medicinal herbs. On a distant slope, students plowed land behind oxen.

"Don't look. They're from the Medicine Department. Farming is one of their electives," the instructor said as he led them to bamboo huts above the fields.

"Drawing, pulling, and releasing arrows has many methods," he said, voice firm yet unhurried. "But as Windstriders, precision isn't enough—you must be fast. Long-term shooting comes later. So, the best method for Windstriders is the three-finger arrow-holding technique."