Immortal Kingdoms

The Maiden hesitated for a bit and said, "My martial techniques are designed for archery, are you good with archery?"

As she spoke, she summoned a longbow from her spatial ring, her other hand leaking out black smoke that condensed into a solid long arrow.

"The twelve of us are split into two groups; long-range assault and close-range assault. I also happen to be the leader of the long-range, with Maiden 002 leading the close-range. If my techniques aren't suitable, perhaps Maiden 002 can be of much more significance…" The Maiden had a bitter, helpless expression.

Leonardo thought for a moment and decided that his personal martial technique was inspired by soccer, and taking aim and striking a target by relying on one's center of gravity and one foot should prove harder than using a bow and arrow, especially since he wouldn't have the leisure time to take post and lurk in the shadows.

Since he wanted to utilize his innate martial intent in conjunction with his soccer skills to track down, calculate, and even lock down on perfect shots, he might as well hone his skills with archery.

By now, he realized that what he saw wasn't limited to mere timelines, but threads of karma that interact with the laws of causality.

"I have several martial intents so I'm quite versatile, we can start with a long-range for now." Leonardo immediately made up his mind.

"Alright, I will pass over the technique to you. This is a technique to harness arrows with power proportional to your martial intent, so it doesn't have a preset grade. However, there are subdivisions in the technique on how to control the arrows in a meticulous manner."

As she spoke, the arrow split into three arrows of uneven lengths and dimensions, and she then arranged them along the thin string with the longest occupying the bottom level, the medium arrow right above it, and the shorter arrow stacked even further above.

From the looks of it, all three arrowheads were symmetrically aligned, but it was clear that this was a visual misperception.

Maiden 001 spun her bow while simultaneously releasing the arrows.

A silent ripple spread through the air as the three arrows were launched.

Each of them seemed to pulse with a mysterious force field that forced them to form a revolving vortex as they shot like a single arrow, yet the power generated at the focal point of concentration was obviously more than a simple threefold increase.

Then, the arrows silently pierced the mountain rocks and continued to borrow their way through unhindered until they went out of sight.

Leonardo whistled softly, as even he would have trouble trying to damage the natural environment in the Core Mainland, let alone doing something like that.

"If it was only one arrow at a time," as she spoke, she formed yet another arrow and shot at the mountain rock without any hesitation. However, it bounced off the hard surface with a bang, quickly dissipating into black smoke.

This arrow had the same volume of energy as the former, yet the difference was so huge.

She sighed, "This is nothing, some of the official members in the brotherhood can actually split their arrows into nine, and those nine would merge back into one arrow when shot… The power behind that is incomprehensible."

Leonardo was about to say something when she continued with a dazed expression, "I also heard that the archer of the six disciples can instantly create nine arrows, then each of them would thereafter split into nine, then all eighty-one arrows would merge into a single arrow back again; all within the span of time it takes to fully draw the bowstring and release… I can't even fathom the power of such an arrow…"

Leonardo opened his mouth to say something, but he immediately shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Here he thought his technique was something great, but he knew he couldn't endlessly multiply and merge his energy spheres. However, he also thought that with the calculative abilities of his innate martial intent, reaching the level of that archer should not be impossible.

"Although we can't use our domains yet, these long-ranged techniques rely on the pure laws attached to our intent which doesn't conflict with the chaotic ether. Hence, you can train in the technique at your own pace…"

Maiden 001 transferred the technique and circulation method to Leonardo's mind, saying, "My technique is limited to only three arrows, the completed one isn't something I qualify to learn but this should be enough to satisfy you for a long time… Master?"

She noticed that Leonardo had entered a state akin to enlightenment, feeling shocked. She didn't know that Leonardo was using his innate martial intent to the maximum, performing countless virtual deductions in his head about operating his thunderforce in conjunction with the archery technique.

Even with only three arrows, the core principles of the technique were still there, and Leonardo was positive that within a few months to a year of secluded cultivation, he could easily deduce the full technique. The thing is, he didn't have up to a full year of time to spend on deducing a technique.

He would rather take inspiration from these principles and further improve his personal technique when he achieved rebirth, perhaps creating a technique that could be passed down to saints and divinities in stages as well.

Just as the Maiden was mumbling to herself, Leonardo opened his eyes as a sparkle of ink-black lightning snaked across his pupils.

With a raise of his palm, lightning surged excitedly as it danced above his hand, quickly shrinking into the shape of an unstable arrow that seemed like it was about to collapse onto itself.

A few seconds later, the arrow consolidated.

"Too slow," Leonardo furrowed his brows as despite the destructive power contained within this arrow, he spent too much time creating it, not to mention the ruckus caused by the rioting fluctuations beat the purpose of archery.

The Maiden's eyes went from inconceivable shock to unfathomable respect and reverence, as from her perspective, Leonardo could enter and leave an enlightened state of mind as easily as lifting a hand.

This was beyond inconceivable, it was borderline insane!

"You're wrong, Master! This was already incomparably fast, you're a cultivation genius…" She wanted to know which saints out there can ignore the overwhelming ether rushing into their bodies and have the spare time to cultivate. Moreover, enter an enlightened state within seconds, and voluntarily at that.

Were these the secrets her Master wanted her to keep to herself?

Thinking about how she would be the only Maiden of the twelve to safeguard these secrets, she suddenly felt her position elevated greatly.

In their squad of twelve, the Maidens with odd numbers were long-ranged while those with even numbers were close-ranged. Although she had overall authority, it wasn't as though she could command the close-range unit as she wished; they'd rather listen to Maiden 002.

Leonardo smiled faintly at this young lady, not saying anything.

She didn't know the burden he carried on his shoulders as the heir to a Throne, he was positive that she wouldn't understand even if he went out of his way to explain it. Thus, he chuckled before dissipating the thunderforce arrow.

"Alright, let us go find some living targets for some practical and convenient practice."

Leonardo turned around and started walking deeper into the forest, circling around the base of the mountain instead of climbing up.

Maiden 001 bowed her head before rushing to Leonardo's side, respectfully maintaining a distance of an arm's length between them as she followed.