"Buzz."

With a slight vibration from the bowstring, an arrow shot out, thudding into a small tree trunk about seventy meters away. The powerful penetration almost pierced through the trunk, leaving the arrow feathers still trembling.

"Phew!"

Zhou Zheng lowered his hand holding the strong bow, satisfied with the results thanks to the passive skill "Accuracy."

As soon as the arrow left the string, Lan Xi stomped the ground, channeling Star Power that emitted a white halo, closely following the arrow. By the time the arrow embedded itself in the tree trunk, he was already there. Seeing the powerful strike, his expression changed slightly, and he turned to speak with a tone full of admiration, "Young Master, right in the center."

Lan Xi's excitement was understandable. Like others before, they had thought Zhou Zheng might have lost his mind.

In just half a month, Lan Xi and Zhou An's attitudes towards their young master had changed. As his guards, their fortunes were tied to his. Who wouldn't want the young master to shed the label of "waste" and surpass the so-called genius Yan Boxun in the upcoming competition?

Even though... the chances seemed slim.

In "Firmament Continent," characters aren't strictly limited by weapon types. The difference lies in the bonuses each character receives from different weapons. The skill "Accuracy" seems more like a Hunter's skill, but in reality, the Hunter's passive skill "Calibration" is the truly formidable one.

As the saying goes, strength conquers all. Once you unlock the body's potential, mastering any martial art becomes easy.

Zhou Zheng was like that. With strength and speed, akin to a martial arts master who has unlocked his potential, and with the skill "Accuracy," using a bow and arrow was no challenge. Just a few shots were enough to dispel Zhou Zheng's anxiety.

"Let's go!"

After Lan Xi retrieved the shot arrow, Zhou Zheng placed it back in the quiver and headed towards the valley where they had found Flying Flies yesterday.

The marks left by the machete yesterday still looked fresh, with plants secreting a lot of fluid from their cut surfaces. The three of them followed the old path without incident, taking half an hour to finally reach the valley entrance.

"Just 300 more experience, and I can level up again."

Zhou Zheng had already reached level six. If everything went smoothly, he could reach level fifteen in a week and gain two active skills.

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Zheng took down his strong bow and proceeded into the valley.

The newly risen sun couldn't penetrate the tall trees' canopy in the valley, casting an eerie shadow over the primitive forest. The dim light and floating dust in the air made it suffocating.

Not far away, a Flying Fly hovered more than two meters above the ground, with dozens more clustered on a nearby tree trunk.

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Arrow nocked, bow drawn.

Zhou Zheng's movements were fluid, and the passive bonus from the "Accuracy" skill made his mind clear, as if guided by an unseen force.

His gaze locked onto the Flying Fly, not needing to activate "Weakness Scan" as its weak point was already memorized.

A buzzing sound.

With a force of twelve stones, over three hundred and twenty pounds, the arrow's power was evident.

In less than a second, the iron arrow pierced through the Flying Fly's head, carrying it and pinning it to the tree trunk.

A fatal strike, the Fly didn't even struggle, its head completely smashed.

"Ding, you gained 130 experience."

Zhou Zheng wasn't concerned about this but rather the other Flying Flies nearby, which seemed undisturbed.

He smiled. In such a forest, possessing a strong bow made him like an assassin, each strike silent and deadly. You never knew when death would come, perhaps when you least expected it, an arrow would appear before you.

Zhou Zheng was after experience; the delicious meat of the Flying Flies was irrelevant.

The arrows he shot were naturally retrieved by Lan Xi and Zhou An.

He took another arrow from the quiver, nocked it again, his arm muscles bulging, seemingly not strong but bursting with surprising power, drawing the strong bow to a full moon.

After a while, a glow rose, indicating Zhou Zheng's level had increased again.

"This is just the beginning!"

A cold light flashed in Zhou Zheng's eyes. Who would be the real waste then?

---

Arrows made from meteor bamboo were terrifying, light yet as hard as steel. Under a strong bow, they could penetrate tree trunks as thick as an arm from 120 meters away, leaving even Zhou An and Lan Xi speechless, almost comparable to a sniper rifle.

"Too bad I haven't mastered Star Power yet. Otherwise, adding Star Power to the meteor bamboo arrows would make them surpass sniper rifles."

Star Power remained a regret for Zhou Zheng.

For a Rogue, speed and critical strikes were fundamental.

If agility increased speed, then critical strikes were related to Star Power. Only by obtaining Star Power could attacks consistently deal critical damage. Used well, Star Power could multiply one's strength several times over.

Thud!!

A Flying Fly was pinned to a tree trunk nearly 80 meters away by a metallic white meteor bamboo arrow, its head pierced without any struggle.

A light only Zhou Zheng could see shot into the sky.

"Level 15!"

Looking at the level display on his character, a smile appeared on Zhou Zheng's face.

For a whole week, Zhou Zheng had been in the valley from dawn till dusk, channeling the energy he once used for power leveling at home, climbing from level 6 to level 15 in just a few days.

If not for the data-driven world, Zhou Zheng's arms, different from ordinary people, would not have been able to repeatedly draw such a strong bow, shooting arrow after arrow, harvesting Flying Flies and gaining continuous experience.

"Skills."

He whispered in his heart, and Zhou Zheng's skill tree appeared in his vision.

At the top was "Weakness Scan," already activated. Extending from it was the "Accuracy" skill. From "Accuracy," a branch appeared, with a red skill icon already lit, the third skill unlocked at level 10.

Dual Strike: Attack the enemy twice, first attack 100%, second attack 60%.

In the game, this skill, as the Rogue's first delayed active skill, was naturally stronger than those of other classes to compensate for the Rogue's lack of early active skills. "Dual Strike" was a powerful skill, with the second attack still dealing 60% damage.

But the awkward part was the difference between reality and the game.

In the game, monsters had health bars and defense. In reality, at least in others' eyes, they didn't exist. A dagger to a vital point meant death, whether it was one attack or two, with no concept of a second attack dealing 60% damage.

So, was "Dual Strike" somewhat redundant?

However, Zhou Zheng hadn't used it yet, reserving judgment on the skill.

The fourth skill unlocked at level 15 was even more awkward, the game-dominating "Backstab," equally awkward in reality.

Backstab: Stab the target from behind, dealing 150% damage plus 300 additional damage, must use a dagger from behind the target.

The human body's fragility meant a stab from behind likely led to death. This skill... Zhou Zheng felt a sense of absurdity. Would the damage bonus increase the damage on a corpse? Adding damage to a dead body?

...