Character Quote
Hōdō Saya
"Tradition is never a restriction, but rather one end of the bowstring. True reconstruction is treating the past as the starting point for launching arrows."
[Archery Department: Equipment Research Room]
Huang Tang Sha Ye sat quietly under the desk lamp and opened a yellowed notebook. It was her father's Records of Huang Style Archery, densely packed with ancient techniques and philosophies. However, she wasn't there to reminisce. Next to her lay a complex, high-tension recurve bow suitable for modern combat.She was about to do something that would terrify the "conservatives": reconstruct Huang Style Archery by merging it with the recurve bow.
[Resolution: The Reshaping of the Bow]
"The old archery methods are too bound by form. They focus too much on postures, breath, and changes in wind direction. But in actual combat, a moment can determine life or death."
Sha Ye murmured to herself, repeatedly checking her notes while dismantling the bow piece by piece. Her fingertips trembled slightly from the tension, but her gaze remained steady.
"Father... Will you hate me?"
She paused and stared at the phrase, "The archer harnesses the heavenly breath to shoot with true intent." Then, she tore off that page and gently burned it. In the flames, her voice was firm: "I am not destroying Huang Style. I want it to live on the battlefield."
Opponent: Third Seat of the Archery Department, Otsu Ryu Aoi. "You are tarnishing tradition." A cold voice suddenly resounded from behind. Otsu Ryu Aoi is the "Third Seat" of the Archery Department and the department's most fervent traditionalist. He stood at the door with his arms crossed, coldly staring at the compound bow in her hands. "Huangtang Sayaka, you are betraying the bloodline of the entire department." Sayaka did not rise, only speaking softly: "You know about bloodlines? Then how do you explain our suppression by the Magic Department on the leaderboard for three whole semesters?" "That's because you are unworthy of mastering the Huang style." The air thickened. Otsu's gaze was as cold as ice, closing in step by step. "If you want to reform, prove it to me on the archery field first." Sayaka did not refuse. She slowly stood up, gripping the not fully adjusted compound bow with her right hand, her expression stern. [Training Ground — Dialogue Between Arrows] At 5:30 a.m., the training ground was deserted. The wind picked up and the paper targets stood like a forest. The two stood on either side, simultaneously nocking arrows and drawing their strings. For the first arrow, Sayaka was slightly slower, but she hit the target slightly to the left with precision in angle, though with less speed. Otsu drew with the traditional three-point method for the second arrow, which flew extremely fast but was deflected by the wind at the moment of impact. For the third arrow, Sayaka used her self-created "Recurve Step Release." Her whole body lunged forward half a step while she drew the bow, using the momentum to accelerate the arrow. "Whoosh!" The arrow pierced the wind and hit the center of the target more accurately than the first arrow! Otsu's expression shifted. He finally understood that this was not "betraying tradition." This was Huangtang Sayaka rewriting tradition in her own way.
[Epilogue: Reconstructing the Bow Heart] At the end of training, Shaye quietly closed her notebook and placed the recurve bow in its case. She whispered to herself, "Archery isn't about sacrificing statues of ancestors; it's about bringing them to the forefront." In that moment, she felt a resonance between her heartstrings and the bowstrings. The Phoenix-style archery name would no longer be a shackle, but rather the name of her weapon.