"It looks quite impressive," Qin Yang said, running his hand along the longbow. The more he handled it, the better it felt.
"I'll take this bow. Shouldn't you include some arrows?"
"Thirty arrows? That's not enough. At least three thousand arrows should be included!"
The shop assistant was on the verge of tears. While arrows weren't magical artifacts, they were forged from high-quality materials. Especially the arrowheads, which were as durable as yellow-grade magical artifacts.
Jin Wanshan wasn't foolish. Qin Yang was buying a bow and arrows for hunting demonic beasts. The more arrows he had, the greater the share of benefits Jin Wanshan himself would receive.
He immediately gave the shop assistant a meaningful look: provide three thousand arrows!
After storing the arrows in his qiankun ring, Qin Yang casually drew the bow. The qiankun ring on his hand glowed, and an arrow materialized on the bowstring.
He practiced drawing and releasing several times, finding it remarkably smooth and natural.
"Is there anything else you need?" the shop assistant asked.
Qin Yang thought for a moment. He didn't seem to lack anything. His gaze fell on Lou Mengyu, and his eyes lit up. He beckoned the shop assistant over.
The shop assistant leaned in close, and Qin Yang whispered something in his ear.
A knowing smile spread across the shop assistant's face as he responded in equally hushed tones.
Lou Mengyu's face burned with heat. She seemed to have guessed exactly what Qin Yang was saying to the shop assistant.
"The custom-made magical artifacts you requested... can be completed within ten days at most," the shop assistant said.
"What kind of custom-made magical artifacts?" Jin Wanshan asked curiously.
The shop assistant glanced at Lou Mengyu, feeling his breath grow heavy. Such a peerless beauty... if she were to wear those...
Suddenly, a sharp slap echoed through the air.
"What are you thinking?!" Qin Yang barked, smacking the assistant's head. "Is that appropriate for you to imagine?"
The assistant hastily offered repeated apologies.
Jin Wanshan remained unanswered, but he seemed to have already guessed the answer...
The Qinling Mountains had transformed into a hunting ground. Young cultivators launched frenzied assaults on the demonic beasts, yet the creatures appeared inexhaustible, their numbers unending.
Someone checked the rankings, observing the list. Those within the top hundred temporarily sighed in relief. Those outside the hundred felt their pressure multiply.
The Celestial Academy stood as one of the continent's most prestigious powers, possessing the world's richest resources. To join meant stepping onto a stairway to heaven.
Yet every young generation across the continent competed for admission slots - with only a hundred available!
"The hundredth rank already has fifteen points?" Gongsun Ming frowned. Have this year's applicants gone mad?
Lou Qinru's face twisted in displeasure, her skin showing signs of neglect. "Have they all been drinking chicken blood?" she grumbled. "Are they all trying to squeeze into the slots with their lives?"
Gongsun Ming chuckled softly. "I fear many will risk their lives and still fail to reach the top hundred."
Checking the rankings, Gongsun Ming saw he had 29 points, placing him at 36th. Lou Qinru had 28 points, ranking 37th.
The rankings kept shifting as underdogs steadily climbed.
"Oh, check Lou Mengyu's current ranking," Lou Qinru suddenly asked.
Gongsun Ming had been monitoring the list earlier but couldn't find her name. He scanned the rankings again, scrolling down to 200th place, yet still no trace of her.
"Hahaha, I bet she's given up!" Lou Qinru's mood brightened. "Can't blame her really. Being a side branch, she has no pills or resources. In this brutal assessment, she'll never stand out!"
A flicker of regret crossed Gongsun Ming's face. If Lou Mengyu didn't attend Celestial Academy, would he ever get a chance...
Meanwhile, Qin Yang and his three companions had just entered the Qinling Mountains.
Jin Wanshan, who'd been watching the rankings intently, urged, "Qin Yang, hurry up and rack up points! We haven't even started hunting yet, and the hundredth rank already has fifteen points!"
"What's the top score?" Qin Yang demanded.
Jin Wanshan glanced at the screen and nearly bit his tongue.
"S-seventy-nine! It's Nangong Ling!" Jin Wanshan swallowed hard.
Qin Yang couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his brow. Seventy-nine demonic beasts in two days? That's brutal! But if Nangong Ling could do it, so could he.
His heart swelled with battle fervor.
"Let's move deeper," Qin Yang urged.
With his current strength, even high-level demonic beasts fell to a single arrow. The deeper regions teemed not just with numbers, but with mid- and high-level beasts.
One high-level kill equals three low-level ones. Though the scoring system was unreasonable, the effort remained the same.
"Take this arrow!" Qin Yang spotted a bird-like beast soaring overhead and loosed a shot without hesitation.
The arrow whistled through the air like a dragon's roar, piercing through the creature's skull with lightning speed.
The beast didn't even have time to scream before plummeting to the ground like a cut kite string.
"Only one point for a low-level beast..." Qin Yang muttered, clearly dissatisfied.
Lou Mengyu led the way ahead, while Qin Yang's eyes scanned the surroundings. Every demonic beast he spotted meant instant points.
The Nangong Clan's Ten Shocking Arrows proved remarkably effective. Qin Yang felt like a marksman, each discovered target meeting its end with a perfect headshot.
Jin Wanshan watched from the side, his eyes burning with envy. There was nothing he could do but wait until they found more demonic beasts, then try to snatch some heads from Qin Yang.
They walked for what felt like hours. Mist began to rise around them, and the further they went, the worse their visibility became.
Eventually, they couldn't even see the trees a few meters ahead.
"We can't go any further," Qin Yang said. "We need to turn back. This place is strange. We should be careful."
Jin Wanshan had already felt the place was creepy, so he nodded in agreement.
But Lou Mengyu insisted on moving forward. "No! The Qin Family's ruins are right ahead. The clues to the Qin Family's descendants are there!"
Qin Yang looked helpless. Right in front of him, she refused to believe reality and insisted on chasing after something that might not even exist...
Lou Mengyu looked at Qin Yang. "You said you're a descendant of the Qin Family. Your family's ruins are right ahead. Are you going?"
Jin Wanshan interjected quietly, "That's ancient history now. The Qin Family's ruins aren't some rare treasure anymore. It's probably just a den for demonic beasts. Even if we're here to hunt them, who knows what level of beast might be occupying those ruins?"
"If this area is part of the assessment zone, then the ruins shouldn't contain any particularly high-level demonic beasts. We should go anyway. I can pay my respects to my ancestors while we're there," Qin Yang said.
The trio continued walking and chatting. The thick fog obscured any sight of potential demonic beasts, forcing them to proceed with caution.
Lou Mengyu grew increasingly silent, her thoughts unreadable as she remained completely wordless.
"Halt! This is the former site of the Qin Family. All unauthorized personnel, withdraw immediately!"
A cold voice suddenly rang out from near Qin Yang's group.
Upon closer inspection, a young man stood there with an expressionless face.
Qin Yang and Jin Wanshan exchanged glances. Lou Mengyu, however, wore an expression of disbelief, occasionally stealing glances at Qin Yang with complex emotions swirling in her eyes.