The woodcutter was baffled.
Just yesterday, he had said that he would wait for Sun Wukong to guess his identity by himself. Had he guessed it today?
In the whole of Magic Square Mountain, only his master knew who he was, but his master was not the kind of person who could keep secrets.
So where had Sun Wukong found out from?
"How did you know I am skilled in archery?" he asked.
"Hehe." Sun Wukong scratched his face and grinned, stepping closer, "Old Sun had a dream last night. In the dream, elder brother was drawing a bow and shooting arrows, killing a few crows, and the archery skill was indeed exquisite, so I came to ask for guidance."
"A dream?" The woodcutter frowned.
He definitely wouldn't believe such an explanation from someone else, but he sort of believed it coming from Sun Wukong because he knew Sun Wukong's origins.
Thinking this, he didn't press further. Even if it wasn't a dream, he figured that Sun Wukong wouldn't tell the truth anyway.
Moreover, Sun Wukong's initiative to learn archery from him was unexpected, but it aligned perfectly with his desires.
The stronger the junior brother, the better!
The woodcutter was keen to see the expression on their faces when one day, the stone monkey they used as a pawn suddenly overturned the chessboard.
As numerous thoughts flashed through his mind, he smiled at Sun Wukong again, "Your dream came true. I indeed practiced archery for a few years in my youth, hunted quite a few wild beasts,
and later because I upheld justice, I killed a few crows, angering some important figures, and had to hide in the mountains to chop wood."
"Elder brother's acts of righteousness are admirable, truly admirable!" praised Sun Wukong.
"Old tales, better left unmentioned," the woodcutter waved his hand, "If you really want to learn archery, I can teach you, but I give you three days. If you can't grasp the basics in three days, then give up on this path."
"As elder brother says, please teach me the archery quickly!" Sun Wukong urged immediately.
"Watch carefully." The woodcutter put down his axe, took the bow and arrows, and shot straight away.
Whoosh!
The arrow pierced through the air and in a blink of an eye, embedded itself into a rocky outcropping in the distance.
"Excellent archery!" Sun Wukong complimented, clearly seeing the arrow penetrate three inches into the rock without leaving any cracks on the stone.
"Try it yourself, shoot at that same rock." The woodcutter handed the bow and arrows to Wukong and pointed to the distant rock face.
"Hey, that's simple." Sun Wukong raised his hand to his eyebrow, observed, and then placed an arrow on the bow.
"Use roughly the same strength as I just did," the woodcutter said, "I know you are strong and you have learned the way of immortality from the Bodhi Ancestor, but archery is archery, you should not use any other skills."
"All the better, Old Sun disdains tricks!" Sun Wukong let go of his strength and Divine Skills, relying only on his eyesight and similar strength as the woodcutter to shoot an arrow.
Swish!
The arrow swiftly flew out, quickly reaching the rock face, and thudded as it burrowed into the rock.
"Your strength is indeed great," the woodcutter shook his head, "but look where the arrow deviated to?"
"How could this be? I clearly aimed properly," Sun Wukong scratched his head and noticed that his arrow was far from the rock the woodcutter had pointed at.
"Archery relies on more than just eyesight and strength," the woodcutter said, "No matter if you have eyes that can see for thousands of miles or the power to move mountains and seas,
once an arrow is shot, it may encounter mountains, forests, storms, or thunder, all of which can cause it to deviate from its intended path. The farther it flies, the more it deviates."
"So that's how it is," Sun Wukong nodded in enlightenment.
"My archery technique is called the Heart Arrow Technique," the woodcutter smiled, "once an arrow is shot, only if the heart's intent matches the arrow's path can it break through all barriers and strike its mark."
"Heart Arrow Technique? Please teach me, elder brother!" Sun Wukong's eyes brightened, earnestly seeking instruction.
"Haha, then listen well," the woodcutter laughed heartily and then began to impart the secrets of the Heart Arrow Technique.
Sun Wukong listened attentively and quickly grasped the gist of it, feeling that he had mastered the archery skill.
"Don't be overconfident and under-skilled, don't believe me? Shoot another arrow?" the woodcutter said.
Sun Wukong tried again as instructed, using the strength of a normal person and following the key points of the Heart Arrow Technique, he shot another arrow toward a distant rock.
Whoosh!
The arrow broke through the air and embedded itself in the rock face again, but it was indeed less off-target than before.
"It deviates this much even at this distance," the woodcutter said. "Just think, how about if you need to shoot a hundred miles, a thousand miles, ten thousand miles?"
"This Heart Arrow Technique is indeed difficult!" Sun Wukong scratched his ears and cheeks, finding it harder to practice than using a staff. "Old fellow, is there any quick way to master it?"
"Haha, I thought this monkey had changed his ways," the woodcutter laughed. "There is no quick way, even with talent, one must practice diligently to achieve anything.
So practice diligently. There are many rocks on that rock face, use them as your targets. The moment you can hit the rock you chose and not leave any obvious cracks, you'll have entered the gateway.
But you have only three days. If you can't achieve it, then you're not fit for this path and you'd better give up early."
[You have received a new suggestion: Practice archery diligently for three days. Completing the suggestion will earn you a fourth-tier treasure chest.]
A voice echoed in Sun Wukong's mind.
"Hey, I, Old Sun, will definitely master it in three days!" he confidently declared, and immediately began practicing diligently.
The woodcutter then carried a bundle of firewood down the mountain. After walking a great distance, he turned back and glanced once more at Magic Square Mountain, shrouded in clouds and mist.
The Heart Arrow Technique is not something that can be attained by cultivation alone. Without the innate talent and comprehension, even a Daluo Golden Immortal wouldn't be able to master it, otherwise, there would not be just one Divine Archer in the Primordial Era.
However, he believed in Sun Wukong.
Thinking this, he cheerfully sang a fairy song and strode down the mountain.
Sun Wukong really practiced hard in the back mountain for three days without using the power of a Daluo Golden Immortal.
One, to complete the suggestion and receive the reward from the System of Listening to Advice.
Two, because he really wanted to learn this Heart Arrow Technique.
So if he didn't master it in one try, he practiced ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times.
Of course, he wasn't merely practicing hard. Each time, he carefully comprehended and then corrected his techniques according to the training essentials of the Heart Arrow Technique.
With each practice, he got closer and closer to hitting the target,
By the end of the first day, his arrow could finally hit the target rock on the rock face, but the powerful shot always shattered the rock.
Sun Wukong was not discouraged but rather very pleased, realizing that diligent practice truly improved his skill, so he continued on.
By the end of the second day, the rock no longer shattered into pieces, merely cracking substantially.
On the third day, his control of strength became more precise, and the cracks that appeared when the arrow embedded in the rock became fewer and fewer.
By evening, the woodcutter who had been cutting firewood in the mountain all day came over but did not approach and instead hid his form, watching from a distance.
He could see that the distant rock face had become pitted and jagged, with not many protruding rocks left.
"It seems he's about to master it," the woodcutter nodded to himself. The understanding of his junior brother, were it in the Primordial Era, would surely be among the very top; no wonder the master wanted to guide his junior brother on the path of law.
Then, Sun Wukong pulled back the longbow again and shot an arrow swiftly.
"There, you have it!" the woodcutter's eyes brightened.
The arrow lodged itself three inches into a rock, and from the surface, no cracks were visible unless one looked very closely.
"Just don't know how long it will take for my junior brother to fully master it. One year? Three years? Ten years?" the woodcutter chuckled again.
Seeing Sun Wukong cheering and leaping in the distance, he planned to appear and check on him. But in the next moment, Wu Gang, the Divine Archer disguised as a woodcutter, suddenly changed his expression.
"How is this possible!"