Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
The final day of the martial arts competition arrived on time.
Upon entering the venue, everyone could see the setup for today's competition.
The first half is a horse race. The horses run five laps around the circular racetrack, and the first person to finish gets to take out a target and shoot at a moving bullseye 100 meters away.
To increase the difficulty, the competition was temporarily changed to a points system. Within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the winner is the one who hits the most moving targets, with each target earning 5 points.
This means that the fastest rider has the most time to shoot arrows. Riding a horse is even more important than previously mentioned.
After everyone was seated, the Emperor and Empress came out together.
Behind them, guards held divine arrows.
The Emperor shouted: "The Divine Arrow protects my Tiansheng Kingdom! Today, the Divine Arrow belongs to the bravest warrior of my Tiansheng Kingdom."
As soon as the Emperor finished speaking, the crowd raised their arms and shouted, "Heaven bless Tiansheng Kingdom! Heaven bless Tiansheng Kingdom!"
The atmosphere instantly escalated to its peak. A tense, almost palpable, atmosphere was created.
The five competitors were already standing at the starting point, and compared to the first day of the competition, their faces were more serious and reserved today.
The eldest prince stepped forward and said, "Father, rest assured, we will do our utmost today to live up to the great Divine Arrow and to live up to your expectations and upbringing."
The Emperor said with comfort, "Xuan'er is ambitious. He truly deserves to be the eldest son of the Emperor and has the demeanor of an elder brother."
Consort Li suddenly spoke up: "Your Majesty, archery and horseback riding are dangerous activities. In order to win, friction is inevitable. What if someone gets hurt?"
The Queen said sternly, "Safety is of course the top priority. This is just a competition; are we really going to risk our lives?"
"Back then, our founding emperor of Tiansheng shot down an enemy with a single sword on the battlefield where swords have no eyes. When you actually get to the battlefield, do you think the enemy will tell you that safety comes first? The reason why the princes practice martial arts is to prepare them for going to the battlefield in the future."
The Emperor agreed, saying, "What Consort Li said makes sense."
The eldest prince revealed a sinister smile and stepped forward, saying, "Your subject has taken a liking to today's competition. The Divine Arrow is not something that can be obtained through trivial means, and your subject is willing to sign a life-or-death waiver."
By doing this, the eldest prince is forcing others to do the same; not doing so would be admitting fear.
Yi Chenqi and An Huai exchanged a glance and said together, "Then what's wrong with signing a life-or-death agreement, as the eldest prince (elder brother) said?"
The Emperor pondered and said, "Signing the life-or-death contract is only to increase the competitiveness of the competition. However, there is one point I must emphasize: bows and arrows have no eyes; they are for shooting targets and must never be used to injure people."
"Yes, Father (Emperor)."
Time was almost up, and the other four competitors led their horses out, but Yi Chenli remained still in place, without even carrying an archery target.
"How can the sixth prince, who has a leg disability, ride a horse? It seems that we are already one less contestant before the competition even starts today."
"This horseback riding was added on the spot, and it's too much of a target for the Sixth Prince."
"So what if he's targeted? It's a fact that the Sixth Prince has always been crippled, so his archery skills are useless."
The crowd was buzzing with discussion.
The eldest prince sneered, feeling smug at Yi Chenli's embarrassment.
He stepped forward with apparent magnanimity and said, “Father, my sixth brother has a leg ailment, so he naturally cannot ride the horse himself. However, my sixth brother entered this round of the competition based on his own strength. If someone is willing to complete the horse riding competition for him, and then my sixth brother can continue with the archery competition, wouldn’t that be the best of both worlds?”
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