To achieve this, one needed an incredibly powerful spiritual force and willpower. Without them, so-called prediction was nothing more than castles in the air—illusions like the moon reflected in water or flowers seen in a mirror. Fortunately, Yi Tianxing was born with a formidable spiritual strength and astonishing will. Anyone who had seen ghosts since childhood and remained sane had to possess immense mental fortitude. After cultivation, this spiritual will would subtly evolve and grow stronger.
Ultimately, spiritual will stemmed from the soul. If the soul was strong, everything else would naturally follow. The soul was internal, the body external. A powerful physique nourished the soul through blood and essence, allowing the soul to strengthen over time.
Yi Tianxing's body refinement had reached the White Cauldron Realm, and his internal essence constantly nurtured his soul.His spiritual will increased with every passing moment.
The sensation was incredibly mysterious.
With this foundation, Yi Tianxing possessed all the necessary conditions to achieve true anticipatory prediction.
As he watched the straw men stumble in seemingly chaotic movements, he still managed to narrowly dodge the high-speed arrows. The odds were low, but even one successful dodge was proof enough of the challenge.
And if he couldn't overcome it, then the so-called one-hit kill would be nothing but a joke—lacking any real deterrent power.
Yi Tianxing's eyes instinctively narrowed, yet his hand didn't slow. Arrows continued to shoot forth like bolts of lightning. Some hit directly; others were dodged in strange, unpredictable ways.
This time, instead of Flame Arrows, he used Armor-Piercing Arrows.
The Armor-Piercing Arrows were sharper and faster. While they didn't explode into flames upon impact, they could pierce even the strongest defenses. Of course, for straw men without real vital points, these arrows posed less of a threat than the flame variant. But they gave Yi Tianxing more time to use them as target practice, testing and refining his archery.
"Target's left leg trembles slightly—based on this reaction, it will likely move left."
He locked eyes on a straw man, analyzing every change in its body, observing meticulously and catching every clue that could reveal its future movement.
In his mind, a simulation played out. The arrow was loosed.
But the result was wrong. The straw man's left leg did move—but instead of sidestepping left, it pushed off to the right to dodge. The arrow brushed past its body and struck the ground.
"Target leaning forward—likely to step ahead."
Another simulation. Another shot.
This time, the arrow hit directly.
It was as if the straw man had deliberately stepped into the arrow's path, unable to dodge. In that moment, all evasive maneuvers were meaningless.
Shot after shot, Yi Tianxing released arrows with each breath.
In his mind, he continuously ran countless simulations.
Initially, nine out of ten predictions failed. Unlike real humans or beasts, these straw men had no blood or flesh, no organs or meridians. Their movements could only be captured a split second before execution—offering almost no time for a real prediction. Against living creatures, one could predict by muscle tension, blood flow, or even heartbeat—but not here.
Against these straw men, even a millisecond of anticipation might be too late.
But over time, his accuracy began to increase.
Out of every ten arrows, two or three now hit.
Whether he hit or missed, Yi Tianxing would immediately replay the scene in his mind, reviewing every detail: why it hit, why it missed. Every correct assumption was absorbed and refined. Every mistake was dissected, analyzed, and internalized.
He verified each pattern, until even failure became mastery.
With every attempt, his accuracy grew.
He began to clearly see the likely outcomes of every slight movement. His mind grew sharper, more precise.
Unknowingly, his prediction accuracy soared—reaching a terrifying level where seven, eight, or even nine out of ten arrows hit their mark.
With these straw men as his living targets, his anticipatory archery evolved rapidly. It was like a dam bursting—his deep foundations had finally been activated, erupting into overwhelming strength.
The straw men below were fuming with rage.
That damn opponent in the sky kept raining down arrows. Whether they dodged or counterattacked, it was no use. Arrows or bird nets—nothing worked. They couldn't reach him. They couldn't kill him. He just circled endlessly overhead, like a haunting specter.
Even the golden straw man looked up in helpless frustration.
He couldn't fly.
"Archery is the art of killing. Its core lies in hitting the target.Prediction depends on observation, simulation, and estimating the most probable outcome. But that's just the beginning.The true pinnacle of archery lies in lock-on. Locking onto the enemy's qi flow.Once locked, the arrow must adapt on the fly, adjusting mid-flight.Even if the enemy flees to the ends of the earth, it will find them.That's the deadliest kind of arrow."
As his prediction skills became instinctive, visions of straw men flashed in his mind. Their movements imprinted themselves deeply, allowing near-instant predictions and responses.
And the moment he achieved this level...
His spiritual will suddenly underwent a great elevation.
His insights into the Way of the Bow surged like a tidal wave from his soul, converging naturally into one.
Swoosh!
In his Sea of Consciousness, a snow-white talisman formed. On it was the image of a chilling battle arrow, radiating a terrifyingly sharp aura—capable of piercing the heavens.
Within the talisman was its own space, where a three-inch white arrow stood. It looked small, but its aura was unstoppable and indomitable, as if nothing could withstand it.
A powerful will burst forth from within:
"Will of the Arrow—Unstoppable!" ← 🆕
Yi Tianxing paused in astonishment, joy surging through him.
He had unknowingly condensed his own Arrow Intent (箭意)—an extraordinary martial insight.
Of all martial intents, Arrow Intent was among the hardest to achieve. Only through endless training, deep comprehension, life-and-death battles, and an unwavering belief in invincibility could one form a true Archery Dao Sigil—the source of this supreme will.
"Arrow Intent—Unstoppable!" ← 🆕
His gaze turned sharp. He nocked a bone arrow onto his Meteor Bow. This time, not only did true qi infuse the arrow—but so did his Arrow Intent.
Whoosh!
The arrow streaked across the sky—a golden flash tearing through space.
The targeted straw man dodged—but strangely, its movement sent it straight into the arrow's path.
It was as if it had leapt into the arrow itself.
The shot pierced through effortlessly. As it did, a flash of golden light burst from the arrow. The straw man collapsed instantly, motionless—this time truly struck down.
Even more devastating than being burned by flame.
"It's the Arrow Intent.These straw men act like living beings—with reflexes, intelligence, and will. That means they have something akin to souls.Without a soul, they couldn't possess true awareness.Their soul essence might be hidden anywhere—making it almost impossible to destroy with normal damage.But Arrow Intent—Martial Will—can injure the soul directly. That's their true weakness." ← 🆕
The realization hit Yi Tianxing like a bolt.
Before, normal arrows—even when burning—could only destroy the straw man's body. But only attacks infused with Martial Will like Arrow Intent could damage their spiritual core.
And the more one killed, the sharper the arrow's edge became.
He also discovered something new: with Arrow Intent, his arrows seemed to develop a strange resonance with the target's qi.
A mysterious lock-on mechanism—subtle but undeniably real.
"The stronger the Arrow Intent, the more likely it can lock onto a target.Even across vast distances, it will strike true.If I keep enhancing my Arrow Intent, then true Qi-locking, true Death Arrows, will no longer be out of reach." ← 🆕
A deep insight bloomed within Yi Tianxing.
He hadn't expected to condense his Arrow Intent here and now.
But this… this was an unexpected and tremendous reward.
And more importantly—now that he had Arrow Intent, he was finally qualified to practice that legendary archery technique...