I am the Arcane Archer, and all my skills are self-created.

"Beyond a Thousand Mountains" has changed its position three times.

Every time he thought he was well concealed and had found the right angle to strike from 300 meters away, Li Wu would sidestep him just before he could draw his bow.

It wasn't a large-scale dodge, but just a step or half a step, enough to let the arrow fly past to the side.

Three times, and I missed all three times.

"Qianshanwai" lay on the fourth high point, not in a hurry to move, and reviewed the results of the previous three times.

He ruled out the "reaction speed" explanation because a distance of 300 meters means the arrow's flight time is 0.4 seconds, and with normal reaction speed, it would be impossible to dodge within 0.4 seconds.

Unless, of course, the other party begins to act at the same moment the arrow is fired.

But that's not right either, because his attack is compressed, with almost no pre-attack animation, making it impossible for anyone to detect.

Then there's only one explanation.

The enemy already knew before he even fired the arrow.

This made "Beyond a Thousand Mountains" feel a little chilly.

What kind of ability is this?

He opened the channel and told Knife Size about the idea.

The blade size recovery was a bit slow.

"You mean, he has precognitive abilities?"

"It's not precognition, it's perception. He can sense where the threat is coming from and react before it becomes actual harm."

"Is this a talent effect?"

"I don't know, but if it is, the practicality of this talent is far greater than we imagine."

Dao Sidu was silent for a moment, then said, "Then let's change our approach. Don't attack in a way he can sense; attack in a way he can't sense."

"Beyond a Thousand Mountains" asked, "In what way?"

"A trap," Knife Size said. "He can sense direct malice, but not necessarily indirect threats."

……

Li Wu stood on the high platform, watching "Beyond a Thousand Mountains" change positions several times before stopping.

This means that the other side has realized that a direct sniping approach is not going to work on him.

Next, the other party will think of other methods.

He put this judgment aside and continued to survey the battlefield.

His points have now reached exactly four hundred.

The gap between them and the second place has widened further.

The game has progressed to the middle and later stages, and the battlefield has shrunk again, with a smaller area of ​​activity.

This stage is the most intense, with everyone fighting desperately because time is limited. Those who are behind in points have only one option: to desperately grind for kills.

Li Wu stood on the high platform, watching the chaotic battle below.

He had a feeling that the other party was setting up some kind of trap, but he couldn't figure out exactly what it was.

This feeling made him a little more cautious than usual.

He jumped off the platform and walked in another direction, deliberately changing his route.

After walking about fifty meters, his foot landed on a stone slab on the ground that looked normal.

[Fate Perception] Just before he stepped down, it pushed him.

He pulled his foot back an inch.

The edge of his boot touched the stone slab, activating the mechanism beneath it. However, because he didn't step on it firmly enough, the trigger force was insufficient, and the mechanism wasn't fully activated; it only vibrated slightly.

Li Wu looked down at the ground.

trap.

He moved two steps to the side, bent down and lifted the stone slab, revealing a small explosion array underneath, triggered by energy crystals that would detonate if stepped on.

This wasn't the first trap he'd fallen into, but the previous ones were all set by individual, randomly distributed players.

The angle and position of this one are clearly calculated by someone.

It was deliberately placed on the route he might take.

Li Wu stood up and looked around.

Within a radius of fifty meters, the malice he could sense mainly came from two directions, both more than thirty meters away.

Waiting for him.

He got it.

The trap is bait, luring him into a specific area, and then attacking him from both sides.

The size of the blade has been improved again.

Li Wu gripped the Arcane Bow and thought for two seconds.

Instead of dodging to the sides, he walked straight forward and stepped into the direction where the traps were most concentrated.

He wanted to take the initiative to go into that area.

However, none of those traps will explode under his feet.

Because with each step, [Fate Perception] will accurately tell him where he shouldn't step.

……

The players waiting on both sides waited for about thirty seconds and then saw Li Wu walk into the trap area, but none of the traps detonated.

One of them sent an urgent communication signal, informing the user of the blade dimensions.

Knife Size was silent for a moment, then said four words.

"He's dismantling the trap."

"How did you do that?"

"I have no idea."

For the first time, the knife uttered the words "I don't know."

He mentally reviewed all his observations from the day.

The sniper shot from 300 meters failed to hit, their close-quarters coordination was disrupted, and their trap was discovered.

Every single plan failed in the same way.

That thing he could neither predict, perceive, nor control.

That thing isn't a skill.

It is an instinct that transcends the framework of skills and walks the line between rules and luck.

Dao put down his phone and glanced at the leaderboard.

Seeing flowers through the fog, first place, 420 points.

Second place, with over 170 points.

The gap cannot be bridged.

He opened the guild channel and sent a short message.

"At this stage, it is impossible to effectively suppress the target. Maintain the current strategy, strive to maximize personal points, and abandon targeted plans against the target."

There was a moment of silence in the channel.

Then someone said, "Okay."

……

The competition has entered its final stage.

The battlefield has shrunk to its smallest size, with all surviving players compressed into a circular area with a diameter of no more than 500 meters.

The number of remaining players is less than three hundred.

Each person is selected through multiple rounds of screening.

Among these three hundred people, there are no weaklings.

But the difference in points speaks volumes.

Li Wu continues to rank first with 480 points.

The second place winner was an assassin from District 20 with a score of 210.

The difference is more than double.

In this final stage, the logic on the field becomes more complex than before.

Those who are lagging behind in points have two options.

First, relentlessly grind for kills, increase your score, and strive for higher ranking rewards.

Second, specifically target the person with the highest score and try to take down the number one spot.

The majority of people chose the first option.

But some people chose the second option.

These people set their sights on Li Wu.

It's not because they think they can win.

That's because killing the person in first place gives you double the points, as stated in the rules.

Even if you ultimately lose, forcing the winner to expend a lot of resources is still worthwhile.

Li Wu understood this logic, and he also knew what would happen next.

He walked to the center of the venue and found an open spot to stand.

The same strategy.

Don't hide, don't run, wait for someone to come.

Kill as many as come.

The first wave consisted of five people from different districts, a hastily formed gang. Before charging in, they shouted, "Kill them!"

Li Wu fired a [Chain Lightning Arrow] at the nearest one. The lightning chain jumped five times, and all five people were paralyzed and fell to the ground.

He used the remaining time to deplete everyone's health.

A pentakill, achieved in less than twenty seconds.

The second wave consisted of eight people.

This time, they didn't shout anything; they quietly approached from all sides, only charging together when the target was reached.

But when they were still thirty meters away from Li Wu, Li Wu had already raised his bow.

He used the rapid-fire technique enhanced by the [Multiple Arrows Field], firing all eight arrows within three seconds, each aimed at a different target, and each a critical hit.

Eight people, eight heads, three seconds.

……

With the knife at the edge of the field, watching Li Wu clear the entire area in the center, he had completely given up on analysis.

Some things cannot be solved by analysis.

He accumulated points over the entire match, and now has 97 points, placing him eighth overall.

His original goal was to finish in the top five.

But now, his attention is no longer on the points.

He was waiting for something.

competition is over.

Because he wanted to find "Seeing Through the Fog" after the competition and tell him something.

……

In the final five minutes of the match, Li Wu stopped taking the initiative to attack.

He stood in the center of the arena, watching the chaotic battle around him, letting those people wear each other down.

His points have increased to 560.

That number is enough to keep him in first place even if he does nothing for the remaining five minutes.

He closed his eyes, allowing himself to relax a little.

The match went more smoothly than he had expected.

He originally thought that in the training ground where top experts gathered, he would encounter at least one or two opponents who would really make him uncomfortable.

He had researched Caesar and Flora before the battle began; they were among the top players in the entire server.

However, their shields and strength failed to form an effective barrier against his [Burning Star Return to Ruins Arrow].

It's not that they aren't strong.

The difference in the rule system determines the upper limit.

They use predefined skills provided by the system to defend against known forms of threats.

His skill was something he created himself; it was something for which there was no corresponding defense mechanism in the existing framework.

This gap cannot be bridged by hard work alone.

He reopened his eyes and glanced at the countdown.

There are two minutes and thirty seconds left.

He gripped the arcane bow and glanced around.

In the last few moments, I might as well go and get a few more kills.

I'm just idling around anyway.

……

The countdown to the game has reached zero.

System announcements rained down everywhere.

The first phase of the Supreme Arena competition has ended!

[The number of players participating in this competition is 112457.]

[Final number of surviving players: 1247.]

[First place on the individual leaderboard: Seeing Through the Fog (District 21), Points: 580.]

[Second place on the individual points leaderboard: White Blade (Region 20), points: 320.]

[Third place on the individual points leaderboard: Fengxing (Region 13), points: 300.]

……