Living in Tokyo, all I want to do is laze around.

Although it was the first time Uesugi Kai had read these two short essays, he was able to understand their meaning.

In the center of the dojo hung four large characters in regular script: "Straight Shot, Sure to Hit the Bullseye".

The group sat on the ground in front of the platform, which was the shooting range.

The entire shooting range was covered with green grass, and at the other end there was a sloping hill wall with several round tricolor targets hanging above it.

The distance from here to the shooting position at the dojo is about 28 meters.

The dojo has eight shooting positions, meaning eight people can shoot arrows together.

Several longbows, arrows, stone piers, bowls, and Taoist treasures are neatly arranged on the wall. A shrine is placed in the upper position, and green plants are placed on both sides for decoration.

The strict and traditional layout surrounding the dojo alone made Uesugi Kai feel the meaning of "rules".

It seems... I've really joined a troublesome department...

After sitting quietly for a while, several classmates gradually walked in.

Like Uesugi Kai, they were also invited by Aoyuuya to sit down and wait for the briefing session to begin.

It seems that many people still want to join the archery club.

"Everyone, please be quiet."

Qing Youya also walked to the front of the group, with a smile on her face.

The senior student certainly had a lot of influence; the students who were just gossiping all quieted down.

Uesugi Kai also looked at the four people in front of him who were carrying longbows and wearing hakama.

"Let me introduce these members of the archery club. They will be your seniors from now on."

"This is Sugita Sohei, the vice-captain of the archery club, a third-year student, and a sixth-dan in archery."

The man with a buzz cut named Sugita Sohei bowed slightly to the crowd, appearing very well-behaved and possessing an extraordinary demeanor.

"This is Masanobu Hirata, a second-year student, and a fifth-dan in archery."

"Hello everyone!"

Hirata Masanobu immediately greeted everyone with a smile. He had an ordinary appearance, but seemed to be a sunny boy.

Qing Youya also pointed to a tall, beautiful woman with a black ponytail:

"This is Ogata Asaka, a second-year student and a fifth-dan archery player."

"Ah."

Asaka Ogata gave a cold response.

When Uesugi Kai saw her, he had already silently labeled her with two tags in his mind: long legs and aloofness.

"Sakurai Fuko, a second-year student, fourth dan in archery."

Hello everyone~ Please take care of me in the future.

Sakurai Fuko smiled brightly, drawing the attention of all the male students below.

The addition of the kyudo hakama uniform gives it a unique charm.

"So...so cute..."

"Her breasts are big too."

Qing Youya smiled and addressed the crowd: "There are still a few members who haven't arrived today, but you will all get to know them in the future. In the field of archery, there is no distinction between men and women, and I hope that we can all get along peacefully in the future. Please take care of me in the future."

"Please advise!"

Everyone except Uesugi Kai said in unison.

"Um..."

Although the archery club is almost full of people now, Qing Youya is very clear that not many people will be able to persevere after a week.

The art of archery is not just about shooting arrows.

This briefing session is a screening process.

After all the students had finished introducing themselves, the four archery club members, dressed in hakama, sat behind Uesugi Kai and patiently waited for the orientation meeting to begin.

"Cough cough,"

Qing Youya cleared her throat and smiled at everyone present, saying:

"Thank you all for coming to the archery club's information session. If your legs are numb from sitting, feel free to relax for a bit."

Without him saying anything more, Uesugi Kai had already done so.

Once everyone had calmed down and quieted down again, Qing Youya prepared to continue her explanation.

But this time, his expression was much more serious:

"As the head of the archery club, I must first clarify that archery is not just about shooting arrows, and I hope everyone understands this point."

"Hi."

The people present responded in unison, but it was very casual and not serious at all.

Kiyoyuya continued seriously:

"The way of archery is like life."

"Everyone starts out the same way, striving to master the technology and make progress."

"Slowly, as I made progress, I discovered that in addition to learning technical skills, there was also the matter of inner character."

"Beyond the way of archery, life is also like this."

"As the mind and skill gradually become one, one's inner self also improves, and life slowly becomes richer, more profound and solid."

"This is what archery seeks to pursue—truth, goodness, and beauty."

"The true one, the true bow is without counterfeit."

"Goodness resides in an ordinary mind."

"Beauty is the combination of truth and goodness."

"Let me explain the specific meaning of this to you all. The so-called truth is..."

......

"Ahem," Qing Youya coughed twice, reminding everyone to concentrate, "So, the archery we practice is not just about technique, but also about inner cultivation..."

"It should be over by now, it's been so long."

"Yeah, it's been almost half an hour."

Why should we listen to these things?

The tedious explanation gradually made everyone anxious.

"besides!"

Qing Youya also raised her voice, shattering everyone's hopes.

"Kyudo has four characteristics: competitive, entertaining, artistic, and self-cultivating."

"I won't go into detail about these things; you'll learn about them when you study archery later."

"Finally, I would like to remind you that you may have different purposes for practicing Kyudo, but Kyudo pursues a proper beginning and a proper end. It is about shooting a perfect arrow with a good mindset and perfect movements."

"As long as you can persevere, you will eventually achieve your desired goals and gain things you've never had before."

"Archery is life itself."

The last four words were pronounced with exceptional clarity by Qing Youya.

After such a long and rambling lecture, Uesugi Kai was alright, but his didactic words had already made many students feel tired.

"Hey, this is for you."

With a bright smile, Fuko Sakurai handed a small stack of papers to Kai Uesugi.

"Thank you."

Taking the booklet containing the rules of the archery club, Uesugi Kai glanced through it briefly.

In addition to some basic rules of archery, the book also includes two short articles: "The Method of Archery" and "The Meaning of Archery" from the Book of Rites.

Kiyoyuki Masaya: "Did everyone get one?"

Everyone began to look through the rulebook in their hands.

"This contains the basic rules of the Kyudo (Japanese archery) club and two articles, 'The Method of Archery' and 'The Book of Rites: The Meaning of Archery,' which represent the etiquette and philosophy of Kyudo."

"I hope that when you go back, you can study it carefully and read it through before each training session in the days to come."

"Hi."

Although they verbally agreed, one or two students were already secretly complaining.

"The archery club really has so many rules. I should have gone to the food research club next door. I heard they have all kinds of snacks to eat there."

"Why do we need to memorize all this stuff? Isn't it enough to just shoot accurately? I really don't understand."

After listening to Seiyuu Masaya's series of tedious explanations, Uesugi Kai finally understood why there were so few people in the archery club.

In this fast-paced era, very few people can calm down and seriously study something, let alone something as rule-bound as archery.

Even the kendo club next door has far more members than the archery club.

Chapter Nineteen: Archery! Swordsmanship!

After Qingyouya gave a long and rambling introduction, she invited the only sixth dan in the archery club to come forward and demonstrate.

Sugita Sohei, dressed in a white shirt, black hakama, and a belt, bowed respectfully to the crowd and then slowly walked to the left, holding a longbow.

"The ranks in archery are divided into five levels and ten dan."

Accompanied by Aoyuu Masaya's voice, Sugita Sohei walked to the left corner of the dojo's shooting position.

"The most important aspect of archery is the spirit of 'respect,' which is embodied in every aspect of the archer's movements."

Sugita Sohei held an arrow in his right hand and a bow in his left, with both hands resting on the black belt around his waist. He walked forward with even steps to the central shooting position.