Now I really have to marry the princess.

As the sun rose halfway into the sky, just as Yang Zhengdao was standing there feeling stiff all over, Xu Shiji finally arrived.

He was dressed alone in a black outfit, with a jade belt around his waist. His face was resolute. He walked straight to the front of the line, his gaze sweeping across the entire area, his aura intimidating.

"I am Li Shiji, and I have been ordered by His Majesty to preside over this martial arts training at the Wude Hall for one month." Xu Shiji's voice was loud and clear.

Then, a captain next to him announced the military regulations for this martial arts training.

Yang Zhengdao's eyes lit up. This captain was none other than Jiang Cheng, who had returned to the Hundred Cavalry Division after his promotion.

After announcing several military regulations, Jiang Cheng winked twice in Yang Zhengdao's direction.

"That Guard Jiang?"

Hearing Li Hui's low voice, Yang Zhengdao's lips moved slightly and he hummed in response, but he couldn't help but feel impressed by the majestic aura of the founding general.

At this moment, Xu Shiji's gaze swept over Yang Zhengdao and the others.

The group immediately straightened their backs, their expressions solemn, and they dared not utter a sound.

Xu Shiji nodded slightly: "Remember the rules, and implement them from today."

This statement seemed to be a special instruction given to Yang Zhengdao and the others.

However, the "standing at attention" exercise is finally over.

The morning session was for archery.

Yang Zhengdao is not afraid at all. He has basic archery skills provided by the system, so he should be able to handle it with ease.

But when Yang Zhengdao got his hands on the bow, he realized it wasn't as simple as he'd imagined.

The last time I competed with Li Tai at Gyeongseon Palace, I used a bow with a stone weight, and I didn't even shoot many arrows.

This time, however, they were given a powerful bow with a capacity of one stone and five bushels, and the requirement was to fire continuously, with the only requirement being to hit the target.

Clearly, such requirements are closer to real-world practice.

In this way, the requirements for archery skills are reduced, and more emphasis is placed on physical strength and sustained output.

After all, someone like Li Yuan, who could shoot accurately and fire seventy arrows in a row, was truly exceptionally talented.

When Yang Zhengdao drew his bow, he could feel the heavy force coming from his arm. He couldn't help but marvel at those powerful men who could draw a three-stone bow; they were truly beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Yang Zhengdao hit the bullseye with every single one of his first ten arrows.

This drew attention from those around them, and Cheng Chubi, Yuchi Baoqi, and Shi Renji couldn't help but cheer.

As Yang Zhengdao was secretly pleased with himself, he heard Li Hui remind him from the side: "Don't go all out, save your strength."

Yang Zhengdao felt a chill run down his spine and immediately realized what was happening.

He cursed himself for being too straightforward, and Cheng Chubi and the others were probably waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

Sure enough, starting from the eleventh arrow, Yang Zhengdao began to feel some soreness in his arm.

He subconsciously stole a glance at Changsun Chong.

Thank goodness! Thank goodness!

At this moment, Changsun Chong could only draw his bow halfway. The arrow flew out softly and fell to the ground before reaching the target.

"Changsun Chong, fire eleven arrows in succession!"

After the captain recorded the results on the wooden tablet, he took away Changsun Chong's strong bow and replaced it with a one-stone bow, allowing him to continue practicing.

Changsun Chong took the one-stone bow, glanced at Yang Zhengdao who was still shooting arrows with the one-stone-five-dou bow, his face turning pale and then red, his eyes filled with shame, indignation and resentment.

Yang Zhengdao began to use his experience from basic archery to estimate the force with which the arrow would hit the target, pulling the bow only to about seven or eight tenths of its full strength.

Only then was the soreness in my arm relieved.

On the fifteenth arrow, Li Hui's arrow hit the target, while Yang Zhengdao continued.

During the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth arrows, Yuchi Baoqi and Shi Renji were eliminated one after the other.

Of the six who got in through connections, only Cheng Chubi and Yang Zhengdao remain.

Compared to Yang Zhengdao, Yu Chi Baoqi and Shi Renji felt ashamed and cheered for Cheng Chubi.

In the eyes of these second-generation military families, Yang Zhengdao, the grandson of the former emperor who returned from the grasslands, has always been looked down upon.

In their eyes, Yang Zhengdao was nothing more than a prisoner.

Cheng Chubi found the cheers from Yuchi Baoqi and Shi Renji utterly annoying.

Because his arms had already started to sway.

Looking at Yang Zhengdao, who was still shooting, he felt a sense of despair.

Is this kid really that good at lasting?

Looking again at those two good-for-nothings, Yuchi Baoqi and Shi Renji, and that scoundrel Li Hui, a strong sense of mission welled up in his heart.

I will uphold the glory of this military family today!

With a "whoosh," the arrow flew out!

Cheng Chubi knew something was wrong because his hand trembled when he exerted force at the last moment.

The arrow grazed the target as it flew past.

"Cheng Chubi, fire thirty-one arrows in succession!"

At this moment, Yang Zhengdao's thirty-first arrow landed perfectly on the target, and he had already picked up his thirty-second arrow.

He didn't stop until he had fired his thirty-ninth arrow, shaking his aching arm.

"Well done!"

A large hand patted his shoulder, and Yang Zhengdao realized that Xu Shiji had appeared behind him at some point.

Xu Shiji smiled broadly, his eyes filled with a mixture of amazement and admiration.

He waved his hand dismissively: "Go and fetch Yang Zhengdao's archery target!"

A captain strode away, then picked up the target and ran back quickly.

Yang Zhengdao suddenly realized a problem and thought to himself, "Oh no."

The target bounced in the captain's hands, and arrows fell off the target one after another.

Xu Shiji's smile froze, turning from joy to anger, and his face grew increasingly dark.

Li Hui and the others were so shocked that their mouths were agape. How could they have done that?

Only Changsun Chong's face was filled with barely concealed smugness.

When the captain brought the target to Xu Shiji, there were only eleven arrows left on it. These were the first eleven arrows that Yang Zhengdao had shot, and they all hit the bullseye.

Xu Shiji's anger turned to shock. He realized that the arrows had fallen because Yang Zhengdao had deliberately done it to save effort.

But controlling the force so precisely is probably more difficult than hitting the target with every arrow.

This child is exceptionally talented and must be carefully nurtured to eradicate his cunning and deceitful habits.

Xu Shiji glanced at Changsun Chong's grades again, a hint of disdain on his face.

Instead of pursuing the proper path of a civil official, they insist on stealing the achievements of military generals.

Thinking of this, Xu Shiji sneered inwardly, but his expression returned to normal. He said in a deep voice:

"Under this military order: Yang Zhengdao and Changsun Chong, continue practicing archery until the evening drum sounds."

When Yang Zhengdao saw that Xu Shiji had issued a military order directly, he felt utterly hopeless, as he was not even given a chance to object.

Military orders must be obeyed.

Yang Zhengdao caught a glimpse of Changsun Chong out of the corner of his eye and remembered that Changsun Chong had already switched to a one-stone bow, so he also wanted to switch to a lighter bow.

"General, Zhengdao requests..."

"No!"

Yang Zhengdao suspected that Xu Shiji was deliberately trying to frame him.

With a bitter expression, he picked up the powerful bow with a weight of one stone and five bushels again. As soon as his fingertips touched the bow, the soreness in his arm surged up again.

Li Hui glanced at Yang Zhengdao with sympathy, then whispered sarcastically, "Ah Dao, this cousin is far superior to that cousin!"

Changsun Chong overheard this. He glared at the grinning Li Hui, then turned his gaze to Yang Zhengdao with a fierce look, his eyes filled with resentment.

Yang Zhengdao felt helpless; Li Hui, that jerk of a friend, really knew how to make him the target of hatred.

Then Xu Shiji led everyone to the Imperial Horse Garden to practice riding skills.

In front of the Wude Hall, only Yang Zhengdao, Changsun Chong, and two captains who were supervising their archery practice remained.

Of the two captains, one of them happened to be Jiang Cheng.