Chapter 37: Demon Armor Possession, the Strange Longbow
"So it's your turn today, huh?"
Fan Chen looked at Guang Ling standing in the training field. With a helpless shrug, he set down the Xuan Iron Long Staff in his hands.
Switching instructors every seven days—this was clearly planned.
By now, Fan Chen had more or less figured out Golden Crocodile Douluo's training style.
Originally, he thought the plan was to master one area before moving on to the next. He never expected them to rotate instructors after just seven days.
His staff techniques had only just begun to show some progress, and now they were switching people already. Didn't that mean all his previous efforts would be heavily discounted?
Instead of pressing the advantage, they swapped generals before the battle even began. He genuinely couldn't understand what his master was thinking.
"Heh, it doesn't look like you're very happy about it. Want me to call Sixth and Seventh back for you?"
"No—no—absolutely not. I'm very happy. Extremely happy."
Fan Chen hurriedly grabbed Guang Ling, terrified that he might actually go fetch them.
After all, who would enjoy being treated like a baseball—especially in a two-on-one beating?
During those seven days, the first three were spent teaching him basic techniques.
But the remaining four days? Straight into live combat.
One of them alone was already more than he could handle—two attacking at the same time was pure torture.
He was just a tiny soul master who hadn't even reached the Soul Grandmaster level yet, while on the other side were two rank ninety-six Super Douluo.
That was like queueing up for a Bronze match and being forcibly thrown into a King-tier lobby as cannon fodder.
Did anyone ask for his consent before shoving him in? Was that even something he should be facing right now? What kind of garbage matchmaking was this?
Compared to Golden Crocodile Douluo and the others who had zero sense of restraint, Guang Ling was practically a saint.
Not only did he have a good temper—more importantly, he used a bow.
"Ranged combat is great. You have to train in ranged skills—true experts all know how to fight from a distance."
"You little brat."
Seeing Fan Chen act like this, Guang Ling couldn't help but laugh helplessly. After all, he was only six years old—the others really had gone a bit too hard.
They knew that too. That was precisely why they brought Guang Ling in—to give Fan Chen a bit of breathing room.
Otherwise, with that kind of high-intensity training, even if Fan Chen were made of iron, he'd have been ground down sooner or later.
"My training is relatively simple for you. It mainly tests your observation and reaction speed."
Fan Chen's martial soul wasn't a bow, so he couldn't infuse it with much soul power.
Because of that, Guang Ling's requirements were straightforward—lock onto more targets in the shortest amount of time.
In simple terms, two words.
Accuracy. Speed.
Once Fan Chen mastered these two, he could be considered to have officially stepped through the door.
"Let's start by training your accuracy."
Guang Ling pointed toward the targets that had already been set up in the distance, then handed Fan Chen a hard bow.
"Draw the bow, nock the arrow, aim at the target. Keep your breathing steady and your focus sharp."
The hard bow had been specially made for Fan Chen. Ordinary bows were far too long for his current size.
They would be extremely awkward to use, so Guang Ling had one crafted specifically to match Fan Chen's height.
Whoosh—!
A sharp, tearing sound rang out as the arrow flew, embedding itself straight into the wall behind the target.
Clearly—a miss.
"Again. Archery isn't like ordinary weapons. Even the slightest deviation can send the arrow far off course."
Guang Ling knew very well how strong Fan Chen's mental perception was, but that could only serve as an aid.
An arrow's flight path wasn't something you could control just by locking onto the target with your eyes.
Especially when using a non–martial soul bow, the difficulty of control increased by several levels.
He had gone through the same thing himself back then. Using a martial soul bow and using a normal longbow were two entirely different matters.
Only through constant practice—by finding the right feel—could one grasp the critical points of control.
This kind of training depended on talent, yes, but it required even more patience and time to refine.
Most importantly, one must not be impatient.
The more anxious you were, the worse the results would be.
Fan Chen took the arrows from Guang Ling and continued training according to his instructions.
Every time he missed the target, Guang Ling would point out exactly where the mistake lay. But once Fan Chen corrected that flaw, a new problem would immediately surface.
Throughout it all, Guang Ling showed not the slightest hint of impatience, continuing to guide Fan Chen with steady, meticulous care.
Fan Chen, meanwhile, kept drawing lessons from failure after failure—until he suddenly realized a major problem.
The bow and arrows Guang Ling had given him seemed to have had their parameters tampered with. Under normal circumstances, it was practically impossible to hit the target.
No wonder—he had clearly felt that he was doing everything right, yet not only was he missing constantly, but the results were actually getting worse and worse.
So that was it.
He'd been set up.
By the time he noticed the issue, he had already fired several hundred arrows.
"You're messing with me, too? That's not fair."
Fan Chen was utterly crushed. The one person who still felt somewhat humane had ended up playing him as well—at that moment, it felt like the sky itself had fallen.
"What do you mean, 'messing with you'? This is part of the training."
Guang Ling smiled as he looked at Fan Chen. If you were going to be an archer, not being able to tell whether there was something wrong with the weapon in your hands could lead to serious trouble.
"Our training is designed around real combat scenarios. Since your martial soul is armor, not a bow, this is just simulating situations you might actually encounter."
"Alright, take a break. You've used up all the arrows anyway. I'll go prepare the next batch for you."
Guang Ling stood up and left the area. When he reached a passage around the corner—
Golden Crocodile Douluo and the others were already waiting there.
"So? How did it go?"
Facing their curious looks, Guang Ling chuckled.
"Pretty good. He spotted the problem in the very first round. For a beginner, that's already impressive."
Guang Ling had always evaluated Fan Chen objectively. For him to give such praise in his own area of expertise was proof that Fan Chen was genuinely exceptional.
"I originally thought he'd need at least three rounds of this kind of training before realizing something was wrong. I didn't expect him to figure it out in the first wave. Truly rare."
A person's guard is lowest around those closest to them.
If a stranger handed you something, you'd naturally feel wary.
But with someone close, that wariness often disappears entirely—precisely because of trust.
And that was dangerous.
Many people had died because of it.
One must not harbor the intent to harm others, but one must never be without caution.
Guang Ling wasn't just training Fan Chen's powers of observation; he was also tempering his heart.
You didn't need to suspect everything at all times, but you did need a strong sense of danger.
At critical moments, that awareness could save your life.
"I told you he'd manage it. You didn't believe me—well, do you now?"
"Come on, enough chatter. A bet's a bet—pay up."
Golden Crocodile Douluo thrust out his hand toward Xiong Kuohai and the others, demanding his winnings with an infuriatingly smug expression.
Seeing this, Guang Ling couldn't help but laugh helplessly. You really don't treat your own disciple like a human being at all.
Just as the group was chatting happily, a sudden deafening boom echoed from outside.
Golden Crocodile Douluo and the others' expressions changed instantly as they all rushed out.
Their eyes immediately locked onto the source of the sound.
And that direction—
It was exactly where Fan Chen had been practicing archery.
The target was completely gone, leaving behind only a massive hole in the wall.
"This is…"
The hole was clearly the result of a powerful attack.
They hurriedly shifted their gaze, searching for Fan Chen.
But the moment they found him, everyone froze in place.
At some point, Fan Chen had manifested the Reversed Edge Demon Armor over his body.
And in his hands—
There was a longbow, identical in color and material to the Demon Armor itself.
Its outward appearance, however, was strikingly similar to Guang Ling's martial soul.
—
End of Chapter