Chapter Thirty: Only the sound of drums was heard, and bows and arrows were unaware.

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  Here is the translation:

  For you provided "The Legend of Wu Sheng: The Story of Yue Wu Mu", please enjoy! Last time, it was said that in the Huang County martial arts examination, Li Xianzhong called out one by one according to the roster and had them compete in archery. (Baidu search:

  At this moment, in the arena, the hissing sound of arrows and the humming sound of bows continued unabated.

  Inside the big tent, only Zhou Tong and Yue Fei were left sitting quietly with their eyes closed. The others had already gone out of the tent to watch the excitement.

  Yue Fei leaned in close, listening to the sound of the martial youths' arrows, and couldn't help but smile slightly.

  Zhou Tong asked deliberately: "What's so funny about Fei Er?"

  "Teacher, listen to that. Those examinees shooting arrows, but all you can hear is the sound of bows and arrows mixed with drumbeats, not a single bit of rhythm, isn't it laughable?"

  Ladies and gentlemen, shooting arrows on the battlefield is different from hunting games in peacetime. It emphasizes rhythm, so-called "arrows follow the drumbeat" and "the stick falls, the crossbow arrow comes out". The benefits of pursuing rhythm in archery are: first, it facilitates management and scheduling, killing enemies with maximum efficiency; second, it uses the drumbeat to cover up the sound of the bow and arrow, making it impossible for the enemy to defend against.

  Li County Magistrate watched for a long time and was quite unimpressed. He glanced at the point where they arrived at Qilin Village and shouted loudly: "Yue Fei!"

  He called out several times, but no one answered.

  Also called: "Tang Huai!" Tang Huai responded loudly: "Yes!"

  Also called Zhang Xian, Wang Gui and Niu Gao, all three should arrive.

  The four of them walked up together.

  Wang Shanren, Zhang Yuanwai and Tang Yuanwai were watching anxiously from below, their eyes not blinking once. They wished that the county master would immediately announce that his own son had been selected, so he could go to the capital for the imperial examination. Alas! The pitiful hearts of parents all under heaven.

  The county master saw that the air and dress of these four candidates were different from others, and his spirit was shocked. He thought to himself, "Good seedlings have finally arrived."

  The ceremony is over. The county master asked: "There is still one examinee named Yue Fei, why didn't he come?"

  "He is coming from behind."

  "Then let's test your archery skills first."

  Tang Huai said: "I request your lordship to order the arrow shields to be placed a bit further away."

  The host of Li County found it strange and said: "We have already walked sixty paces, why go further?"

  Tang Huai replied: "The distance is too close, it can't show true skill."

  The county master was overjoyed in his heart and immediately ordered the attendants to set up the arrow wall eighty steps away.

  Zhang Xian came up and reported: "The old master wants to go further."

  The county master ordered: "Set up a hundred steps away."

  Wang Gui shouted loudly: "Ask the adults to move further away."

  The county master couldn't help but laugh and thought to himself, "These kids really know how to show off." He then said, "In that case, set up 120 steps!" The bailiffs responded and went down to set up the arrow stands.

  Niu Gao stood up with one stroke, Tang Huai stood up with two strokes, Zhang Xian was the third stroke, and Wang Gui was the fourth stroke.

  Niu Gao, Tang Huai, Zhang Xian and Wang Gui, the four men, lined up together, stood in a line, drew their bows and shot arrows at the target.

  One hundred and twenty steps, which is twice as far as the original sixty steps. Moreover, these four people are dressed in the same attire, with a majestic appearance, powerful movements, and uniformity. What's even more formidable is that as soon as the drumbeat sounds, four arrows shoot out in a row. As the drumbeats intensify, rows of arrows shoot out one after another, which is simply worlds apart from the disorderly arrow-shooting method earlier.

  The drumbeat sounded eighteen times before stopping. Eighteen rows of arrows shot out in succession. Most importantly, each arrow hit the target, not a single one missed.

  Onlookers watched the excitement, seeing such a wonderful performance, the crowd inside the arena all cheered in unison, even County Master Li was stunned.

  In the big wine jar, Zhou Tong smiled and said to Yue Fei: "Niú Gāo and his four men shot arrows, but when they heard the drumbeat, they didn't hear the sound of bows and arrows. It seems you also don't have any hidden tricks."

  Yue Fei replied: "Teacher, I regard them as brothers and close friends, how can I hide anything from them? Moreover, I also hope that my utmost sincerity can be further carried out."

  Zhou Tong smiled and asked: "What kind of feeling do you have now?"

  Yue Fei replied: "There is a big stone in my heart, it's very uncomfortable."

  Zhou Tong suddenly came to his senses, but he had no choice but to be secretly careful.

  Niu Gao and three others finished shooting their arrows and returned to the martial arts hall together.

  Li Xian's lord had now obtained four fine seedlings and was overjoyed. He asked: "Who taught the four of you archery?"

  "Yes, big brother."

  The host of Li County asked: "Who is your elder brother?"

  "Yes, Master."

  Li County Master burst out laughing: "Your martial arts skills are high, but your stomach is not. Who was that master? What's his surname and name?"

  "We are fellow disciples of the same master. My senior fellow-disciple is a native of this place, surnamed Yue, named Fei, and styled Pengju. Our teacher is a man from Guanzhong, surnamed Zhou, named Tang. He was an instructor at the Tianzi Boxing Institute in the capital."

  Li County Master's heart moved, and he said: "So the master you ordered is Mr. Zhou, he is a predecessor of this county, it has been a long time since we last met, where is he now?"

  Tang Huai Dao said: "Now it's inside the big wine gourd below."

  Li Xianzhi listened and immediately brought the teacher and Niu Gao and others to meet Zhou Tong. He also assigned officials to supervise the rest of the crowd competing in archery.

  County Magistrate Li saw Zhou Tong and immediately kowtowed. The rest of the people didn't dare to stand either, they all knelt down.

  Zhou Tong hastily helped up the county master and said: "Sir, why are you like this?"

  Li Xianzhu said to Zhou Tong: "I was originally a book boy of Grand Master Zhongyuan, Li Chun. In the capital, I followed Grand Master Zhong to visit Mr. Zhou and have always admired you greatly..."

  Let's not mention how Li Xianzhu got along with Zhou Tong. A group of people escorted Zhou Tong to the martial arts hall, and Li Xianzhu insisted that Zhou Tong take the seat of honor, which Zhou Tong had no choice but to accept. The others stood by in two rows.

  Li Xianzhu saw a young man standing behind Zhou Tong, with a sturdy build, a broad forehead and square face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, wearing black gold armor, holding an eight-foot-long spear, majestic without being angry. He hastily asked, "Mr. Zhou, who is this?"

  Zhou Tong replied: "He is my adopted son and disciple, named Yue Fei. Why don't you ask the adults to see how he shoots with his bow and arrow?"

  Everyone, Zhou Tong initially didn't let Yue Fei go up, it was to let Niu Gao and the others also show off their skills, in order to enter the capital. Afterwards, he would let Yue Fei take action alone, suppressing everyone. Now that he sees the county master is an acquaintance, he calls for Yue Fei to try out his skills.

  County Master Li said: "The world's number one disciple, how could it be my turn to take the exam? No need for a test, directly first place."

  "Your Honor, this is a matter of selecting talented individuals for the country, and it must be handled fairly. Moreover, we also need to make everyone convinced and satisfied, how can we rush through it?"

  Li County Master said: "Since it's like this, order the bailiffs to put the arrow holders back in their original position."

  Yue Fei stepped forward and bowed his hands, saying: "Sir, don't move forward, we should retreat further back."

  Li Chundao said: "Since it's like that, have the yamen runner move the arrow stand twenty paces further back."

  Zhou Tong shook his head and said: "The young apprentice is indeed young, but he can draw a strong bow. At least he should be able to shoot two hundred and forty paces."

  Yue Fei didn't wait for Zhou Tong to finish speaking and interjected: "Please move back three hundred and fifty steps, sir."

  Zhou Tong was shocked and thought to himself, "This divine arm bow can only shoot three hundred steps when the string is fully drawn. I've already let it go at two hundred and forty steps, which is almost enough. Now he actually wants to release it at three hundred and fifty steps? What kind of trickery is Yue Fei up to?"

  Li Chun praised with his mouth, but he did not believe in his heart. Seeing Yue Fei's persistence, he also didn't want to offend him, so he ordered the attendants to arrange the arrow shields at a distance of three hundred and fifty steps.

  The whole scene was in an uproar, with everyone shouting and screaming.

  Can Yue Fei hit such a distant target with his arrow? To be continued.