C19 It Was Snowing Heavily

The dawn brought a brief respite from the relentless snowfall. Yuan Ge, who had been stuck indoors for nearly two weeks, was eager to step outside for some fresh air. He was curious to see the extent of the snowfall and whether it was indeed capable of burying their entire tribe.

Yuan Ge and Jietu struggled to push open the snow-blocked door, and as they did, a blast of frigid air mixed with snow rushed in. The cold was so piercing that Yuan Ge felt his breath slow, as if the icy air was a knife cutting into him. He was so chilled to the bone that if Jieying hadn't pulled him out, he and Jietu might have ended up frozen solid.

Their immediate reaction was to shut the door quickly. They wouldn't venture out again, not even for dried meat. Once they sealed the door with rabbit skin to keep out the drafts, they rushed to the fireplace to kindle a fire.

Jieying watched them with a mix of annoyance and concern. "If you value your lives, you'll stay inside!" she admonished.

The two men just grinned sheepishly but remained silent. Jieying then set down a steaming pot of corn porridge on the wooden table and addressed Yuan Ge, "You're about to take part in the Awakening Ceremony. Do you feel confident about awakening as a warrior?"

Before Yuan Ge could reply, Jietu interjected with pride, "Our Yuan Ge is so clever; I'm certain he'll awaken successfully on his first try!"

Truth be told, Yuan Ge's understanding of the awakening process was limited to faint memories. But hearing them speak of it stirred something within him. He recalled the swift, lightning-like figures of the Awakened Warriors he had seen upon first arriving at the tribe's grasslands. The tribe's awakening skill was speed, and if he could master it after his own awakening, combining it with his archery, he'd be an unstoppable force. The thought of taking down a Moon Wolf with a single arrow sent a thrill through him.

This excitement surged within Yuan Ge, and he found himself longing for the Awakening Ceremony to start right away. Yet, he couldn't help but consider his current physical limitations. His strength had grown, but he still couldn't fully draw his bow. And even if he managed to do so, he wondered if his stamina could sustain a rapid succession of shots.

Yuan Ge faced a daunting challenge: there was no shortcut to enhancing his physical prowess. Only through relentless practice and progressive training could he gradually build up his strength.

With winter drawing to a close, there were roughly two months left until the Awakening Ceremony. In that time, he knew he had to double his training efforts. If not, he might find himself unable to wield his new bow and arrows when the ceremony arrived.

Deep into the winter season, the biting cold became unbearable. The warmth from the stove no longer sufficed to fend off the chill. At nightfall, the trio would huddle close, seeking solace in each other's warmth.

This year, the tribe's food supply was significantly lower than before. While the healthy could weather the winter, the frail and sick among them succumbed to the harsh combination of hunger and cold.

The descent of the last snowflake signaled the end of these trying times. The temperature gradually climbed as the people eagerly awaited the thaw. Once the snow melted away under the sun's rays, the tribe's members finally opened their doors.

Reinvigorated after the long winter, the tribe buzzed with activity. They greeted one another with distinctive warmth and laughter, their spirits unbroken by the cold. In fact, the winter's trials had only fortified their resolve.

Yuan Ge's first act upon stepping outside was to trudge through the knee-deep snow to the grassland. There, he unleashed the strength he had amassed over the winter, joyfully loosing arrow after arrow.

His arms, now incredibly strong from the season's rigorous conditioning, could draw the bow with ease. Before taking his first true shot, Yuan Ge christened his bow "Spy God."

In many ways, the roles of bowman and sniper are one and the same, with the bowman's task arguably more demanding. They face not just wild beasts but Dire Beasts and spirit animals—creatures far more formidable. The challenge tests more than mere strength and precision; it encompasses stealth, camouflage, and observation. To become a bowman comparable to a sniper, Yuan Ge realized he needed to enhance his overall physical condition through diverse training regimens.

Throughout that winter, Yuan Ge not only honed his arm strength but also employed a variety of rustic methods to enhance the steadiness of his hands. For instance, he would bind stones with tendons and hang them from his hands while adopting a horse stance. Additionally, he committed to performing hundreds of push-ups every night before bed and upon waking. This rigorous training regimen not only improved Yuan Ge's arm strength but also fortified his entire body in a unique way.

When Yuan Ge drew an arrow from his quiver and nocked it onto the string of the Spy God bow, he realized how inferior his previous skills with the Gorewood Bow had been. His current movements were nearing perfection, despite the Spy God being significantly heavier than the Gorewood Bow.

In the winter, the grasslands offered no targets for practice, so Yuan Ge set his sights on a large tree some three hundred meters away. As the arrow's feather brushed against his heated cheek, he gently released his grip. Propelled by the bow's immense elasticity, the arrow quivered intensely as it was loosed, piercing the frigid air with brute force and speeding towards the distant tree like a bolt of lightning.

The friction between the arrow and the air generated wisps of steam, reminiscent of an artist's brushstroke enhancing a canvas with a stroke of beauty. Yuan Ge, wearing a contented smile, was the artist of this moment.

The arrow struck the tree's bark with unerring precision, its bone tip driven deep by the Spy God's power. Like a wild beast emerging from water, the arrow settled only after shedding the droplets formed from its rapid journey through the cold air.

Yuan Ge trudged through the deep snow to the base of the tree and yanked the arrow free. The arrow, measuring roughly one meter, had buried its tip over ten centimeters into the bark even at that considerable distance. A look of satisfaction spread across Yuan Ge's face as he admired the result of his shot.