The three hundred players who advanced to the knockout round were divided into five groups, with 60 people in each group. They headed to their respective competition venues under the guidance of the referees.
Ji Xinghuo drew into Group Three.
As it happened, Lu Yunhai was the referee for this group and greeted Ji Xinghuo with a big smile as he passed by.
"Coach Lu, do you know each other?"
Fang Yinpeng, who was also in this group, saw them conversing and asked out of curiosity.
"Sister Fang, we were university classmates," Lu Yunhai responded quickly, his attitude towards Fang Yinpeng respectful. He explained, "Xinghuo has just been learning archery for three weeks. I was the one who helped him sign up for the course."
"Is that really true?" Fang Yinpeng was surprised.
She couldn't help but reassess Ji Xinghuo.
A novice achieving such a level in archery indicated an extrely high talent, far surpassing most Rangers. If she hadn't rged with Thousand Spirit Skillful Hand and Precision, and practiced archery for many years, she wouldn't dare say she could beat Ji Xinghuo with certainty.
"It's a pleasure to et you, Mr. Ji," Fang Yinpeng said with a smile. "I hope Mr. Ji won't take this morning's little misunderstanding to heart."
Ji Xinghuo hadn't thought it was a big deal in the first place. "You're overthinking it, Sister Fang. It's a trivial matter."
Fang Yinpeng nodded and went back to prepare for the competition.
After she left, Ji Xinghuo asked, "What's the story with Sister Fang? She seems quite famous."
"She's the daughter of one of our archery hall's shareholders,"
Lu Yunhai responded in a low voice, "Sister Fang used to co to the archery hall for practice quite often. Lately, she's been competing out of town frequently, so you haven't seen her. Her archery level is very high. The director has also given her lots of pointers. She has participated in five Ye Cup competitions and won the championship twice."
"No wonder," Ji Xinghuo realized.
"Sister Fang is cheerful and easy-going. It's good to get along with her," Lu Yunhai said with a smile, "Many people in Chang'an's archery circle like her."
"What does that have to do with ?" Ji Xinghuo was a bit baffled.
"Haha, I just ntioned it offhand."
As they were talking, they had arrived at the site of the fourth round of the competition. Lu Yunhai rejoined the referee team and began to oversee the match.
This round involved shooting at fifty-ter moving targets, with only one person going up at a ti.
Ji Xinghuo surveyed the area.
The field was spacious, and the weather was good. Despite being in the heat of sumr, it wasn't as hot on Zhongnan Mountain as in the city. The competitors all hid under the shade of trees, watching the first participant called by na take the stage.
There was the sa one-minute preparation ti.
Beep!
The buzzer sounded and a drone took off fifty ters away on the open ground. The drone's speed wasn't very fast, about the sa as a person running, and a circular eighty-centiter diater archery target with ten rings hung beneath it, flying along a set route.
This was the moving target with only a two-second shooting window; anything beyond that was invalid.
Pop!
An arrow struck the target but missed the bullseye.
The competitor on the field shot the first arrow and imdiately, without pausing, put the second arrow on the bow. Five seconds later, the second drone target flew over, and he swiftly took aim and fired.
Consecutive drones carrying targets spaced five seconds apart flew across fifty ters, increasing speed with each pass.
After firing five arrows in less than half a minute,
"39 rings!"
The score was instantly displayed on a screen at one end of the field; it wasn't too high, and the competitor walked off shaking his head.
The second competitor quickly took the stage, with each person taking very little ti.
The continuous firing at five targets made each shot more difficult than the last, so the average scores naturally decreased, ranging between 35 and 40 rings.
Before long, Ji Xinghuo took his turn.
Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop!
Five crisp shots, executed in one go, each arrow hitting the bullseye.
"50 rings!"
Competitors watching from under the trees gasped in amazent; this was the first perfect score of the fourth round. Many inquired about Ji Xinghuo's background, but no one recognized him.
No one paid particular attention, though, because Fang Yinpeng took her turn and also achieved 50 rings.
The fourth round ended.
In Ji Xinghuo's group, four people achieved a perfect score.
Due to the tight schedule, the referee imdiately led the group to the next venue for the fifth round. This round also involved shooting at moving targets, but the distance increased to seventy ters, with the shooters having to aim downhill at an angle.
The venue was set up on a slope, with competitors gathering at the top while the targets were mid-slope, occasionally swept by light breezes.
The difficulty level of shooting had gone up again.
The competitors who went before all had disappointing scores, and after five arrows, half of them scored below 30 rings.
Ji Xinghuo didn't have much luck.
When he took the stage, a gust of strong wind happened to blow across the slope, causing two of his arrows to land on the nine-ring, ultimately earning him a score of 48 rings.
In the sixth round, the distance to the target increased to one hundred ters, with the angle of shooting being upward. The venue moved to the bottom of the slope, but the target was on the hill.
One by one, the competitors retreated, defeated, with few managing to score above 30 rings.
Ji Xinghuo's performance was also less than ideal.
Out of five arrows, only one hit the bullseye, earning him 41 rings. However, this score was still among the top, as other participants scored even lower.
With three rounds complete, the competitors awaited the advancent results.
Adding up the total scores from these three rounds, the top 32 players advanced to the seventh round.
The results were quickly announced.
Scores appeared on screens set up all around the venue. Ji Xinghuo quickly found his na; with a total score of 139 rings, he ranked third.
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