Chapter 43: The Essence of Marksmanship

  "Really?" Long Qiang was slightly surprised.

  "Of course, just bowing is not enough, we need to have some ceremony!" After saying that, Jingji teacher took out a few bottles of fine wine and some delicious dishes from the ring.

  "Haha, you're really well-prepared!" Long Qiang laughed and picked up a bottle of wine. "It's rare for me to be so happy. Today I received such a good apprentice, we must celebrate!"

  "Hmm! Good wine!" Long Qiang took two sips, then turned to Long Ge and said, "By the way, apprentice, you come join us too."

  "Alright!" Long Ge sat down and took out many drinks and roasted fish from his spatial ring to eat on the side!

  "Haha! You're really good at enjoying yourself, apprentice! Just like me back in the day." Long Qiang said, then to Jing Ji "Aji, cheers!"

  "By the way, Master, what did you used to do?" Long Ge asked curiously.

  "Let bygones be bygones, just treat me as an ordinary master from now on!" Long Qiang said with a sigh.

  Long Song wisely stopped asking and focused on eating his favorite fish. The carp was really delicious!

  They happily ate until noon, then Jingji teacher bid farewell, leaving only Longqiang and Longge.

  "Disciple, do you know what's most important in marksmanship?" Long Qiang asked Long Ge.

  "Are you going to treat your gun as a part of your own body?" Long Ge said, who had also studied marksmanship in his previous life.

  Long Qiang nodded and said: "Right, that's the first step to mastering gunplay - becoming one with the gun."

  "How can this step be achieved?" Long Ge asked.

  "This step requires you to keep practicing, the more you practice, the stronger your understanding of gun nature will be. How long have you been practicing your marksmanship?" Long Qiang asked.

  "I've been practicing for two days now," said Long Ge.

  "Two days? You're not kidding me?" Long Qiang asked incredulously.

  "Yes, I got a set of pear flower spear techniques two days ago and started practicing. It's only been two days until today." Long Ge said.

  "Haha! You're indeed a genius surpassing me! As long as you're willing to work hard, I'll teach you everything I know." Long Qiang said.

  "Aren't you afraid I'll learn your shooting skills and use them for evil?" Long Ge asked with a puzzled expression.

  "I won't as long as I look into your eyes!" Long Qiang came over and patted Long Ge's head, "Even if you do bad things, it doesn't matter. Do you know what defines whether a person does good or bad things?"

  "Good things and bad things are just opposites!" Long Ge said (he couldn't act too old-fashioned).

  "For your enemies, the good things you do are bad things, and the bad things you do are good things. You will understand later. Now, let me tell you about the essence of marksmanship." Long Qiang seemed to wake up from his memories, knowing his purpose.

  "The essence of marksmanship is the first realm - unity of man and gun, treating the gun as part of one's own body. Only by using your gun with meticulous care can you become a master marksman." Long Qiang said solemnly, then took out a yellowed booklet from his ring and handed it to Long Ge, "This is my set of marksmanship techniques, called the Dragon Family Gun Method. You can combine it with your own Pear Blossom Gun Method and practice diligently, striving to reach the first realm of marksmanship essence as soon as possible."

  "Got it!" Long Ge respectfully accepted the booklet and replied seriously.

  "The essence of marksmanship's second realm - separation of man and gun." Long Qiang said.

  "Separate humans and guns? Haven't they already become one? Why separate them again?" Long Ge asked in puzzlement.

  "Guns are dead, people are alive. How to turn a dead gun into a living one depends on the separation of people and guns." Long Qiang paused slightly, looked at Long Ge's reaction, and continued, "When we use guns, it is inevitable that people will separate from guns. At the time of separation, the gun has already left you. So how can we get the gun back? It relies on our spiritual power!"

  "By spiritual power?" Long Ge asked.

  "Yes, our spiritual power can explore the surrounding things, understand our own physical condition, and also understand the situation of the gun. When we reach the state of unity between man and gun, the gun becomes a part of our body. When we reach the state of separation between man and gun, we can control the gun with our spiritual power. Of course, due to the limitation of our abilities, your current spiritual power can at most control the gun within three meters."

  "Master, how many meters can you control?" Long Ge asked curiously.

  "I can control my gun to reach a distance of three thousand meters, of course, the power will drop a lot compared to within ten meters. My strongest range is within ten meters, and the strongest range for anyone using a gun is also within ten meters." Long Qiang explained.

  "Oh, so now my spiritual power can only control the gun within three meters after it leaves my hand?" Long Song asked.

  "Yes." Long Qiang continued, "The third realm of the essence of gunplay - Heaven and Gun as One. This realm is about integrating heaven and earth with the gun, so that in a master's battle, what is being competed is not just internal energy, but also the momentum of heaven and earth. When using a gun, one must have an epiphany about heaven and earth. For example, when in water, one must understand the nature of water, only then can the gun be more powerful, otherwise the water will become a hindrance to the gun."

  "In the forest, you need to grasp the breath of the wood attribute and then use it?" Long Ge asked.

  "Hmm," Long Qiang's face broke out in a delighted smile, "your comprehension ability is very good. As long as you reach the second realm, your spiritual power will already be strong enough. At that time, it will be much easier to comprehend the momentum of heaven and earth, and it will also be much easier to utilize it. By the way, which attribute of Dou Qi are you skilled in?"

  "I'm good at earth attribute Dou Qi and fire attribute Dou Qi." Long Ge said cautiously, he didn't want to expose the fact that he possessed white energy.

  "Ah!" Long Qiang's face seemed to show a hint of regret, "For us gun learners, having both gold and fire elemental aura is the best. You have fire elemental aura which is already very good, if you had gold elemental aura as well, you would be able to reach an invincible state, just like that move I used earlier. However, with continued effort, you will also reach a very high level."

  "Oh, Master, what's the use of having a wooden attribute Dou Qi?" Long Ge asked.

  "Having a wood-attribute Dou Qi means having an endless supply of Dou Qi in the forest, I remember when my brother and I were adventuring together in the hills and forests, the scenery back then was truly..." Long Qiao seemed to have fallen into reminiscence.

  Long Ge didn't disturb him either and waited quietly by his side.

  "Alas, past events are like smoke!" Long Qiang sighed.

  "What about your brother?" Long Ge asked tentatively.

  "He died forty years ago!" Long Qiang replied.

  Forty years ago, wasn't it the time when Long Wudi killed the Crown Prince? Are these two things the same thing or are they related? Is this the reason why Long Xiang doesn't accept disciples from the Jinling aristocratic families?

  "That's all, I've said everything about my shooting skills. The rest of the time is for you to practice more." Long Qiang waved his hand, "You go back to the academy! If you encounter any difficulties in your cultivation, you can come find me, but don't mention anything about me to outsiders."

  "En, thank you Master. I've practiced the first realm well and now I'd like to ask for your guidance on how to enter the second realm." Long Ge said.

  "Hmm!" Long Qiang said, then sat down on a wooden stool in front of the house and slowly drank his wine.

  Long Ge bowed his head and backed away, then turned around and swiftly left the forest.

  On his way back to the dormitory, Long Song kept thinking about one thing, whether the thing forty years ago was the same as this thing? If he figured it out, maybe he could get another help!

  Back in the dormitory, Long Di and others also returned, everyone chatted together.

  "Long Song, did you see Long Wu today?" Long Di asked.

  "I didn't see it," said Long Ge, then explained "I saw another master of gunplay."

  "What's the best in Jinling Imperial Capital? It's Long Wu, isn't it?" Jin Zi asked curiously.

  "This I cannot say, I have already promised my current master." Long Ge said apologetically.

  "What did you learn today?" Rose asked with a smile, her sparkling eyes were really beautiful!

  "There's nothing much, just learned some essentials of using a gun." Long Ge didn't dare take out the "Long Family Gun Method", or else he wouldn't know what kind of trouble he would stir up.

  "What's the essence? Tell us!" Long Di and the others asked.

  Long Song repeated what Long Qiang had just said.

  "It's so hard to understand, and we don't even have good marksmanship skills. I reckon it'll be tough for us to even reach the first realm!" Jin Zi said with a hint of disappointment.

  "Hehe, no way, I'll pass on my Li Huo Gun technique to you guys. After practicing it, you can at least reach the state of man and gun as one. As for the later stages, you'll have to experience them yourself!" Long Ge said.

  "That's okay too, at least it's a new record-breaking shot!" Long Di said excitedly.

  "Where did you go today?" Long Ge asked back.

  "We've already chosen our electives for next semester," said Rose. "We also chose some for you, so the four of us can study together."

  The Imperial Academy is laissez-faire in cultivating talents, with many courses available for students to choose from and develop their interests or strengths. This approach allows individuals to develop their strengths and avoid a one-size-fits-all approach. However, there is one compulsory course at the academy - cultural studies. As a result, no student who graduates from the Imperial Academy is illiterate.

  "... what courses have you all chosen?" Long Ge asked.

  "You've chosen cultural courses, Qi Gong courses, tactical courses, and equipment refining courses. And I've especially added a Dan-refining course just for you. Isn't that enough?" Rose said.

  "Hmm! That's enough! Next semester we'll go together!" Long Ge said with satisfaction.

  After becoming a senior, every year after the Chinese New Year to school is seven months of study time, then three months off for classmates to go out and gain experience in society, two months for students to return home for the Chinese New Year, so the seven months of study time is still very important for students.

  "We've been at the academy for almost ten days now, and in twenty days it will be time for our trial. What should we do with the remaining time?" Long Di asked.

  "I think we should cultivate ourselves well, if our strength is not enough, the place of trial cannot choose the difficult one, if it can't choose the difficult one, then the effect of the trial will also decrease." Long Ge analyzed.

  "I agree with Long Ge's view. Next stage, we will work hard to cultivate and make up for our shortcomings." Jin Zi added.

  "Hmm!" Rose also said, then blinked her beautiful big eyes at Long Song, "I'm listening to you, Long Song!"

  ...Someone's face suddenly turned red.

  Next chapter: Devoting oneself to cultivation