Nine out of ten gamblers lose; I've run into a jerk!

Chapter 149 Foul?

The first round of archery competition is the most basic foot archery, and the rules are extremely simple. Each person has ten arrows and must hit a target a hundred paces away. After a round of drums, the person who hits the bullseye the most times wins.

"Boom boom boom——"

As the drums sounded, the ten contestants dared not slack off and immediately drew their bows and aimed at their targets.

Tang Zhou lived up to his reputation as the Imperial Guard's archer. He fired arrows in rapid succession, so fast that his eyes couldn't keep up. In the blink of an eye, he had fired ten arrows, and every single one hit the bullseye.

So strong!

This move put considerable psychological pressure on the others, but the Imperial Guards who made it into the top ten were no ordinary people. They quickly adjusted their mindset and focused on their goal.

"Shhhhh-"

Popular contestants like Zhao Kuan and Li Ang didn't excel in archery; their performances weren't as impressive as Tang Zhou's, but they still managed to hit all the bullseye.

Zhao Jia took the longest, only managing to shoot his last arrow after the final drumbeat. He breathed a sigh of relief, having crossed the line. Only then did he have the leisure to look at the scores of others.

Looking at each target, they were pretty much as expected. After all, archery on foot wasn't that difficult... wait?

Why is the last target empty? Did Shen San Niangzi not shoot a single arrow? The drums have even stopped; did she give up because she knew it was too difficult?

Then look at Shen Qingxi standing there with her arms crossed, seemingly waiting for something. Ah—she looked over here!

Shen Qing glanced at Zhao Jia. It's all over, right? It's his turn now.

Shen Qing casually drew an arrow from the quiver. With the three-stone bow in hand, he wielded it with ease, and with a whoosh, the arrow flew away like a meteor.

"pat-"

One arrow broke in two and fell to the ground, while another arrow took its place and pierced the bullseye. The trembling fletching showed the great force of the shot.

Tang Zhou's face was also about to split open like an arrow. Was this an insult to him?

But before he could get into the mood, Shen Qing raised his bow and shot again, and once again the arrow split in two with a "thud".

Tang Zhou was stunned. Now it was Li Ang's turn to change his expression. The others also stopped watching the spectacle and became more alert.

"Pat-pat-pat—"

Shen Qing killed everyone equally.

Looking at his comrades who were ashen-faced, Tang Zhou felt inexplicably calmer.

In the end, all the contestants had ten arrows left on their targets, but each contestant only had nine arrows left for themselves, while Shen Qing had ten!

Tang Zhou's expression was somewhat complicated. He was confident that he could also shoot someone else's arrow away, but to split an arrow in two...

Shen Qing sheathed his bow, met Tang Zhou's astonished gaze, and a smile curved his lips. "When you possess internal energy and true qi, and your five senses far surpass those of ordinary people, you will be able to master all external martial arts."

Become a master archer in three days? Sorry buddy, I have a cheat code!

The referee, recovering from his shock, announced loudly, "Shen Qingxi wins the first match!"

"Clap clap-"

The spectators on the platform applauded enthusiastically, occasionally punctuated by cheers.

"No, she fouled!" An official suddenly stood up. "She only started shooting after the drum stopped, and the rule is to shoot at your own target, right? She shot at someone else's, so her own target was empty!"

Governor Sun felt he had grasped the key point and was somewhat smug. He secretly mocked Shen Qingxi for being too young and fond of showing off. Otherwise, wouldn't it have been a sure thing to win if she had just honestly shot at her own target?

Wang Mao, unable to bear watching any longer, tugged at his sleeve. "Sit down!"

Governor Sun was puzzled. Wasn't Lord Wang at odds with Shen Shi? Why didn't he take this opportunity to make trouble?

Wang Mao really wanted to poke his pig brains out, and whispered, "Shen Qingxi is here to demonstrate her strength, not to select the Imperial Guards. There's no need to talk about fair competition!"

Governor Sun suddenly realized, looked up and saw that Emperor Yongxi and the Crown Prince hadn't even glanced at him, and sat down awkwardly.

"The second event, mounted archery!"

To ensure fairness, the horses prepared for the contestants were all selected from the Imperial Horse Administration.

Shen Qing took the reins from the soldier, glanced at him, and the soldier immediately lowered his head and quickly left the field.

Shen Qing glanced at the wet marks left on the reins where the soldier had gripped them, and thought, "Tsk, such poor mental fortitude."