Our Dharma Masters are like this.

Chapter 98 Ruthlessness
However... it did not succeed.

"boom!"

The arrow struck Marcus squarely in the right chest.

Even without a sharp arrowhead, the arrow could not pierce Marcus's solid flesh, but the enormous force contained in the arrow shaft still acted on Marcus.

He groaned as a searing pain spread from his right chest, causing Marcus's muscles to twitch uncontrollably.

"Don't break the arrowhead! Try again!"

Marcus endured the pain after failing the first time.

He knelt on one knee, his eyes filled with madness, and then roared loudly.

"That's not enough. I need a real threat! That feeling of being close to death!"

"One more time, Vales!"

"All right!"

Vales gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

He knew that Marcus was now completely reckless and there was no way to persuade him otherwise.

Since that's the case, let's give it a try!
Vales drew another arrow, but after a moment's hesitation, he did not remove the socketed arrowhead.

Marcus... I really hope you can hold them off!
Draw a bow and set an arrow.

Under the sunlight, the arrowhead gleamed with a chilling light, silently locking onto Marcus.

The moment Vales aimed at him, the fear of death gripped Marcus's heart.

His breathing became rapid, his heart pounded like a drum, and even his legs moved unconsciously, as if trying to avoid it.

Marcus's fighting spirit became even more chaotic, rampaging through his body without any order.

"Concentrate...you must concentrate!"

Block that arrow! You must block it! This is your best chance to break through to the intermediate warrior level! Marcus!
A hint of reluctance flashed in Vales' eyes, but he still released the bowstring.

The arrow tore through the air and came whistling through the air!

"call out!"

"Roar!"

Marcus roared at the same time, focusing all his will on the thought of "defense"!

Marcus desperately tried to control the rampaging battle aura, attempting to form a shield around his body.

But he failed again...

"Pfft...!"

A burst of blood erupted from his shoulder; the arrow had embedded itself in Marcus's left shoulder.

The moment he was hit by the arrow, Marcus felt a piercing pain in his left shoulder, and a tremendous force swept over him, causing him to stagger back several steps.

He still couldn't control his fighting spirit to form a shield on his body.

……

"So...this is why you were injured?"

Inside the Redbeard Inn room, Zellir looked somewhat speechless.

He came to visit Marcus immediately after hearing that he was injured.

But Zellier never expected Marcus to be this crazy.

In order to advance, he actually asked Vales to shoot him with a real bow and arrow... Isn't that a bit too much?

"You really are something."

Zellier couldn't help but turn his head and give Vales a dressing down.

"Marcus told you to shoot, and you actually went ahead and did it? Aren't you afraid of something going wrong?"

Vales simply pursed his lips and didn't refute.

“You should be glad Vales didn’t use his aura, or that he didn’t aim for Marcus’s head,” Gray chuckled from the side.

“Ahem… It’s not his fault.” Marcus coughed awkwardly. “Besides, it was worth it… If I hadn’t pushed myself, I wouldn’t have become an intermediate warrior.”

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Zellir's eyes widened in surprise.

"You... broke through?"

"Hmm." Marcus nodded, a satisfied smile on his face.

He extended his uninjured right hand and slowly clenched it into a fist.

A tangible stream of air spread out, quickly wrapping around Marcus's forearm, and then with a "hum," it coalesced into a thick, solid, semi-transparent energy shield—the Battle Aura Shield!
This is a significant milestone in advancing to the intermediate warrior level!
……

"Uh... ha..."

After being hit by the arrow, Marcus knelt on one knee, his breathing heavy and muffled.

Fresh blood gushed down his arm, spreading a small patch of dark red on the grass.

"Marcus!" Upon seeing this, Gray was shocked and was about to rush over.

"I knew it!"

Vales sighed deeply and prepared to go over and treat his injuries.

Fortunately, he had the foresight to bring a medical kit.

Vales had already held back with this arrow; otherwise, given his strength and archery skills, it would likely have resulted in a more severe penetrating wound.

"do not come!"

Marcus painfully raised his right hand, his voice filled with unwavering determination.

He supported himself and slowly stood up, beads of sweat constantly seeping down his forehead, his taut jaw muscles making Marcus's profile look as hard as if it had been carved by a knife and axe.

He stared intently at Vales and forced out a few words.

"Vales! Continue!"

"You're insane!" Vales finally snapped.

He had never seen such a paranoid person.

"Marcus, stop messing around!" Gray couldn't stand it anymore either.

"continue!"

Marcus ignored their attempts to dissuade him; the expression on his face could almost be described as ferocious, and his utter ruthlessness emanated from his very bones.

A faint white mist slowly emerged from Marcus's body. He suppressed the unruly fighting spirit with his firm will and forced it into his flesh and blood.

Just one more step, we're about to succeed!
Vales looked at Marcus's reckless attitude, then at the longbow in his hand, and struggled internally.

Finally, the same ruthlessness surged into his heart.

"Fine...! You bet you can block it, then I bet you can too!"

The hesitation and reluctance on Vales's face faded, replaced by absolute focus.

The third time, draw the bow and nock the arrow!

Marcus forced himself to endure the sharp pain in his shoulder, staring intently at the arrowhead that gleamed with a cold, icy light, without even blinking.

Focus your energy... focus all your energy!
Feel it! Feel the power within your body about to burst forth!
Merge your fighting spirit with your determination to protect everything!
"call out!"

The third arrow was released.

In that instant, the world in Marcus's eyes seemed to slow down infinitely.

He could clearly see the trail the arrow left in the air and feel the oppressive force it exerted as it tore through the air.

At that very moment, the faint white mist on Marcus's surface began to collapse and condense inward at an astonishing speed, perfectly merging with his body!
Just as the arrow was about to hit Marcus, a thick, pale white shield appeared!

"boom"

The arrow was deflected by a tremendous force, tumbling through the air as it flew to the other side!
It worked!
"Really?!" Gray was shocked by what he saw.

Marcus actually withstood this pressure and completed the promotion from a lower-ranking soldier to a mid-ranking soldier!
(End of this chapter)