Li Shuangquan looked at Chen Nuo with a mocking expression and thought to himself, "Looks like you don't want to make a fool of yourself, but I'm going to make you humiliate yourself today. I'll let you know that nobody touches my woman!"
"Brother Chen, give it a try, won't you? Sister Yurou is watching right here," Li Shuangquan said smugly.
Jiang Yurou stared fixedly at Chen Nuo. She did not want Chen Nuo to accept this challenge. If Chen Nuo lost, he would be the one losing face, and besides, this situation was a guaranteed loss from the start.
What kind of special skills could a little beggar who had spent years deep in the remote mountains possibly have?
Simply not starving to death was already a mercy from the heavens.
Huo Xiaoyu said with a faint sneer, "Forget it, Young Master Li. After all, not everyone is as resourceful and courageous as you are. It wouldn't be good if certain people couldn't afford to lose and ended up humiliated."
Chen Nuo raised an eyebrow. "Trying doesn't hurt. As it happens, I know a thing or two about it."
None of the people present expected Chen Nuo to actually accept the challenge, and for a moment, they found it hard to keep their composure.
Li Shuangquan's original intention was to make Chen Nuo realize the gap between them, but he never imagined that this death-defying wretch would actually accept.
Jiang Yurou's face was cold, her beautiful eyes frosted over.
If Chen Nuo had nothing to do with her, she wouldn't care how miserably he lost. But Chen Nuo's status was sensitive after all—he was her husband. Even though she refused to acknowledge this husband, in name he was still her spouse, a fact no one could deny.
Zhang Yunhai smiled, a hint of playful amusement in his expression. "Young Master Li, since Brother Chen wants to play, why don't you humor him? Let him also witness the true weight of an International Academy archery gold medal."
Li Shuangquan picked up the sixty-pound bow beside him. "Then let Brother Chen have a look."
Huo Xiaoyu stepped closer, unable to control the adoration in her eyes. "That's wonderful, Young Master Li! Today you should show certain people that high-end sports like archery are nothing like catching rabbits in the woods!"
Flattered by Huo Xiaoyu's adulation, Li Shuangquan notched an arrow, took aim, and drew the string.
Whoosh—
In the blink of an eye, the arrow flew out and drove straight into the ten-ring bullseye.
Yet Li Shuangquan didn't stop. The very next second, two more arrows flew, neatly nailing themselves right into the ten-ring.
"Thirty points!"
"Gosh, who is this guy? Three consecutive bullseyes at twenty-five meters?!"
"Even a professional athlete couldn't do much better than this."
Li Shuangquan put down the compound bow and sighed. "Sigh, I've gotten rusty. A year ago, I wouldn't even have needed to aim."
Zhang Yunhai chimed in, "Nothing to be done about it. Shuangquan is a busy man with a million things on his mind, and on top of that, he's thinking about the lovely Jiang. It's completely normal to have an off day."
Li Shuangquan wagged a finger. "You rascal, you rascal, how can you talk nonsense like that? Yurou is already married, and besides, Brother Chen is right here."
Jiang Yurou closed her eyes, and Li Shuangquan said smugly, "Brother Chen, come on, it's your turn. Don't be nervous; losing to me is nothing to be ashamed of."
Chen Nuo stretched his arms. "We haven't even started yet. How do you know I'll lose?"
Coach Wang, who had been standing by and watching for a long time, spoke up, "Little brother, you might not know Young Master Li's strength. If he took part in formal training, it wouldn't be long before he could enter professional competitions."
Li Shuangquan waved his hand modestly. "Coach Wang, why don't you pick a bow for Brother Chen? Choose a lighter one for him."
Chen Nuo stopped in front of a bow. "This one'll do. The color isn't bad."
Coach Wang hesitated. "This... this probably won't work. This is a recurve bow, and its draw weight is even heavier than a compound bow's. Furthermore, this bow is a defective product. Young Master Li's compound bow is only forty pounds, but this recurve bow is a full hundred pounds. Even a world champion professional couldn't draw it."
Everyone present was holding back their laughter. If Chen Nuo chose this bow, you could say it was over before it even began, because it was simply impossible to draw, let alone shoot.
If he wasn't careful, he might even hurt himself.
Huo Xiaoyu chuckled secretly. "Chen Nuo, if you want to show off, you still need to see if Young Master Li has the strength for it. Don't say Young Master Li didn't warn you."
Chen Nuo smiled faintly. "No need to change it. This one is fine."
A wave of delight washed over Li Shuangquan. He had seen plenty of fools, but someone this foolish was truly rare.
Even if you want to surpass me, you still need to consider your own capabilities.
Chen Nuo picked up the hundred-pound recurve bow, aimed with his left hand, and drew the string with his right.
Yet the very next second, the hundred-pound bowstring was pulled back effortlessly by Chen Nuo, as if it were nothing more than a lute string!
Coach Wang rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "How is this possible?! This is a bowstring that even a world champion couldn't draw! How did he pull it back so effortlessly?!"
It wasn't as if no one had ever challenged this flawed hundred-pound bow; a world champion had tried to challenge it just last year, but the result was that he could pick it up yet couldn't draw it!
Let alone shoot an arrow.
Huo Xiaoyu stood frozen in place, at a loss for words.
Others might not know, but as a gold medalist himself, how could Li Shuangquan not know the true weight of this bow?
Even for him to draw this bow required two people pulling together; fewer than that simply wouldn't work.
Yet Chen Nuo had drawn it effortlessly, without the slightest change in expression, as if it were the most ordinary, trivial matter in the world.
Seeing the expression on Li Shuangquan's face, Huo Xiaoyu said, "This... this is just a fluke. He just has a bit more brute strength, but he hasn't shot the arrow yet. What if all three arrows miss the target entirely?"
The onlookers shifted from disbelief to worry.
Yet the next moment, Chen Nuo actually lowered the bow.
Li Shuangquan breathed a sigh of relief. "Brother Chen, why don't we call it quits? Being able to draw the bow is already quite impressive. Continuing to compete will only make you lose face. Don't you agree?"
Huo Xiaoyu nodded. "That's right, that's right. Young Master Li is already giving you a way out. Let me tell you, you won't find this opportunity anywhere else once it's gone."
Jiang Yurou, who had remained silent for a long time, also felt a pang of discomfort in her heart. She said softly, "Chen Nuo, Young Master Li has already given you face. Don't be so petty this time. We'll be seeing each other often in the future, so don't make trouble for yourself."
Chen Nuo said calmly, "My point is, can we move the target further back? Make it a hundred meters. Fifty meters is just too easy."
Coach Wang took a step back in fright. "Are you sure? At a hundred meters, let alone professional competition champions, even world champions couldn't possibly hit a target at that distance! That's piercing a willow leaf at a hundred paces!"
Having spent so many years in his coaching career, he encountered world champions every year, yet not a single one had ever achieved hitting a target at a hundred paces, no matter how exceptional their skills.
Li Shuangquan scoffed derisively, "This isn't something you can just do by talking big! A hundred meters tests not only strength, but also wind speed and humidity. Even though this is indoors, at a hundred-meter distance, those factors cannot simply be ignored!"
Chen Nuo said nonchalantly, "Move it back. How will we know if we don't try?"