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

The noisy battlefield returned to tranquility once again after the members of the Flower Language Guild cleanly and efficiently collected all their spoils and left with their bountiful harvest.

The last rays of the setting sun finally sank below the horizon.

The dark red sky was replaced by a deep, dark blue, and a few scattered stars, emitting a pale light, began to twinkle in the sky.

A mountain breeze blew by, carrying a hint of coolness, stirring up dust and a faint smell of blood.

Li Wu and Hua Zitong stood side by side on the devastated battlefield they had personally transformed, and neither of them spoke for a moment.

"Let's go find a place and take stock of our belongings," Li Wu said, putting away the rose badge.

The Blood Wolf Guild didn't sell all the equipment dropped by the hundreds of members.

They selected a few pieces of equipment they thought they would use, and then sold the rest to the Flower Language Guild.

"Mm." Hua Zitong nodded.

The two quickly found a hidden cave halfway up the Black Rock Mountains.

The cave wasn't large, but it was safe enough.

Li Wu casually placed a few warning arrows near the cave entrance before walking into the depths of the cave with Hua Zitong.

The two sat down on the ground, and then Li Wu dumped all the fine equipment from his backpack out at once.

Li Wu scanned the pile of equipment and quickly picked out six excellent-quality longbows and staves.

"What are you going to do?" Hua Zitong asked curiously as he took out the six weapons separately.

"Upgrade it."

As Li Wu spoke, he placed the Arcane Bow in his hand flat on his lap.

He opened the bow's attribute panel and his gaze fell directly on the [Promotion Requirements].

[Promotion Requirements]: Absorb 6 weapons of the same level.

Previously, he had been struggling to find enough high-quality weapons to upgrade the Arcane Bow.

But now, that problem no longer exists.

He reached out and tapped the virtual button for "Promotion".

[System notification: Sufficient promotion materials have been detected in your inventory. Do you wish to begin promotion?]

"Yes."

Li Wu silently recited in his heart.

The next second, the six excellent-grade weapons in front of him instantly transformed into six pure yellow streams of light, rushing into the Arcane Bow in his hand like weary birds returning to their nests.

hum-

The bow of the Arcane Bow suddenly trembled, emitting a deep hum.

The silver arcane runes on the originally rustic wooden bow seemed to come alive at this moment, flowing and flashing rapidly.

The whole process lasted about ten seconds.

When the light faded, the Arcane Bow returned to its calm state.

But Li Wu could clearly sense that it had changed.

It became heavier and more "textured".

On the bow, the silver runes became deeper in color and increased in number, forming a more complex and mysterious pattern.

Li Wu couldn't wait to open its brand-new attribute panel.

Arcane Bow (Rare) (Bound)

[Type: Weapon]

[Requirement Level: None]

[Required Class: Arcane Archer]

[Physical Attack]: +50

[Magic Attack]: +50

[Special Effect 1: Constructs energy arrows using mana, eliminating the need for ordinary arrows.]

[Special Effect 2: Double Arrow Fire - This effect fires two parallel arrows simultaneously, with their aiming points slightly separated.]

[Special Effect 3: Ritual Branding (New)] You can choose an arrow-type skill that you have already mastered, consisting of three or fewer ritual runes, and permanently brand it onto the bow. After branding, you can instantly cast the skill without needing to combine runes again. (Currently not branded)

[Promotion Requirements]: Absorb 8 weapons of the same level (rare).

"Rare grade!"

When Li Wu saw the bow's quality improve from "Excellent" to "Rare," his heart couldn't help but pound wildly.

Basic physical and magical attacks have both seen a huge leap forward!

Both physical and magical attacks have increased dramatically from 20 points to 50 points!

This one improvement alone is enough to raise his total magical attack power to another level!

But what truly made him feel breathless was the brand-new special effect three called [Secret Mark]!

You can permanently imprint a skill of level three or lower onto the bow, making it... instant cast!

Instant cast!

What does this mean?

This means he will have a conventional attack method with no casting animation and no cooldown!

"This special effect..." Even the well-informed Hua Zitong couldn't help but gasp when she saw the description of this special effect.

She knew better than anyone how terrifying the power of Li Wu's skills, composed of secret runes, was.

The only drawback of these skills is that they require time to combine the secret texts.

Although Li Wu's speed was already as fast as a monster, in the ever-changing world of top-level battles, even a fraction of a second of casting time could be fatal.

But now, this only shortcoming has been made up for!

A secret skill that can be cast instantly—that's practically a bug!

"Which skill are you planning to imprint?" Hua Zitong's gaze fell on Li Wu's face.

Several options flashed through Li Wu's mind in an instant.

[Burning Arrow]? No, its power is too weak; it would be a waste to brand it.

[Mud Arrow]? A control skill; if cast instantly, it can be surprisingly effective in certain situations.

[Siphon Arrow]? A sustain skill; its instant cast allows him to have stronger continuous combat capabilities.

But in the end, his gaze settled on the Three Secret Script skills that he had only recently mastered and had only used once.

[Fusion Piercing Arrow]!

This skill possesses unparalleled single-point penetration ability; it is a perfect, god-tier skill for decapitation and defense breaking.

The only drawback is that the build-up time is relatively long and the trajectory is obvious, making it easy to predict and block.

But what if... it could be cast instantly?

A thought began to grow wildly in Li Wu's mind.

A deadly beam that can be fired without needing to be condensed, simply by raising a hand, ignoring all defenses!

That would be a nightmare for all squishy classes!

It's also a nightmare for all heavily armored shield warriors!

"This is it." Li Wu made her decision.

He reached out and selected [Fusion Penetrating Arrow] from the [Secret Mark] options.

[System prompt: Do you wish to imprint the skill [Fusion Piercing Arrow] onto the weapon [Arcane Bow]? Once imprinted, it cannot be changed, please choose carefully!]

"Yes."

hum!

The bow of the Arcane Bow lit up once again.

Complex runes representing the three secret texts of [Blazing], [Increase], and [Condensation] emerged from Li Wu's mind, then transformed into three streams of light, deeply imprinted on the center of the bow.

Once everything had calmed down, Li Wu raised his bow.

He gently pulled the bowstring.

call out!

A beam of pure white light, as thin as a hair yet dazzlingly bright, shot out from the bow in an instant, precisely piercing the cave wall and leaving a bottomless hole with crystal-like glass-like edges.

The entire process took less than 0.1 seconds!

Li Wu looked at the small hole, and finally a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Although it still consumes mana, from today onwards, his basic attack will be [Fusion Penetrating Arrow].