Chapter 3

The appearance of the tiger dealt a significant blow to Liu Ming's spirit.

He even forgot about his hunting mission and, in a daze, returned with Gao Shun.

The rabbit was carried by Gao Shun, but the tiger was too heavy for him to carry, so they had to go back and call for help to carry it back.

When the other villagers heard that Liu Ming had hunted a tiger, they naturally felt disdain. However, Gao Shun clearly pointed out that the arrow in the tiger's forehead was shot by Liu Ming, and the arrow should still bear the Liu family's mark. Only then did everyone believe it.

What people were more willing to believe was that Liu Ming, in a panic, had shot an arrow at random, which happened to hit the tiger's forehead. The one who truly played a crucial role in the hunt was still Gao Shun.

However, everyone could see that Gao Shun was trying to boost Liu Ming's reputation, so no one pointed it out.

Regardless, hunting a tiger was a big deal. Who knew where this beast had come from? If it hadn't been taken down by Gao Shun and Liu Ming, it could have posed a danger to the woodcutters or other hunters who went up the mountain.

With Liu Ming's consent, the villagers began to process the tiger.

The tiger skin, bones, and penis were sent to the Liu family. Gao Shun suggested taking Liu Ming to the county the next day to sell these items and earn some money to support the household.

The tiger meat, of course, was shared among those who helped. Whoever helped got a share.

This was Liu Ming's idea. He knew that his status as the young village chief was not yet recognized by everyone, so he decided to try to win people's hearts. He vaguely felt that the key to activating his influence was to have the villagers recognize his position as village chief.

It must be said that this move did have some effect. At least more than one-third of the villagers had a better opinion of Liu Ming, thinking that he was indeed worthy of the old village chief's bloodline, being righteous and honorable, and that following him might not be bad.

After everything was settled, Liu Ming returned to his room satisfied, only to suddenly realize that he had forgotten something important.

But when he looked at the sky, it was already sunset...

He opened the system, and sure enough, the statistics were already complete.

Task completed: 'Hunting', gained 150 experience points, player leveled up.

When Liu Ming saw this prompt, his excitement was almost uncontrollable. He quickly checked the detailed statistics and found that the rabbit provided 10 experience points, while the tiger provided 300 points. Unfortunately, the tiger wasn't hunted by him alone, so after a detailed review, he only received 140 points, totaling 150 experience points.

Even so, it still allowed him to level up twice, reaching level 4.

This made him think of a common phrase in online game novels: 'Leveling up to fight monsters is the way to go.'

He allocated the 2 free points entirely to his physical strength, bringing it up to 15 points. It was still far below the average for adults, but at least it was on par with other 13-year-old boys.

He tried drawing the hunting bow again. Originally, he could barely draw it fully, but now he could do it steadily and hold it for a minute. This meant that his effective shooting range and accuracy had improved.

Finally, he checked his archery skill and found that the experience bar had increased to 40%, which delighted him greatly.

He had two more skills to choose from. After careful consideration, Liu Ming chose 'Spear Technique' and 'Enlightenment'. The former was because he didn't have high physical strength and couldn't handle large weapons or exotic weapons; the latter was to understand those complex characters and at least be able to distinguish between sentences.

The Liu family had fallen, but they still had some books. In the cellar, there were 300 volumes of classics. They were stored there to avoid being a burden when fleeing from the Hu people's raids and to prevent them from being destroyed or taken away.

After learning the spear technique and enlightenment, Liu Ming didn't really feel any different. But it didn't matter; as long as he got the books and the spear, he believed he would naturally learn them.

As night approached, Gao Shun came to inform him to attend the tiger meat feast.

It was then that Liu Ming learned the hunter's name.

He couldn't help but wonder: Could this Gao Shun be the same Gao Shun who was skilled in military affairs, the founder of the Xianying Camp, and the right-hand man of the Invincible Lu Bu?!

Upon careful consideration, he realized that Lu Bu was currently in the Bingzhou army, and Youzhou was not far from Bingzhou. Given that the Liu family village was often attacked by the Hu people, it was possible that he had the idea of joining the army. Thus, he might indeed be that Gao Shun.

Any穿越者 (time traveler) would not hesitate to act when they saw a famous minister or general appear before them.

But what did he have to offer that would make him serve him?!

After much deliberation, Liu Ming finally came to Gao Shun and bowed to him.

"Little Village Chief, why is this?!" Gao Shun was alarmed and immediately helped Liu Ming up.

"Liu Mou is here to thank Uncle Gao for saving my life, and I hope to learn martial arts and archery from you, Uncle." Liu Ming said with utmost seriousness and determination.

Yes, it was to become a disciple! Even if he had to respect and love him like his own father, having a teacher-student relationship would allow him to influence Gao Shun in many ways and even make him serve him!

"Ah, I am just a villager, not a famous teacher..." Gao Shun wanted to refuse because he was only 22 years old and had never been a teacher, feeling that he was not suitable for the role.

"Liu Ming, don't be so modest! Do you think I don't know that you have a family spear technique and are skilled in military tactics? Since the Little Village Chief thinks you are qualified to be a teacher, you should accept him!" The villagers who had already recognized Liu Ming began to speak up.

More people joined in, and with Liu Ming's determined attitude of not giving up until he became a disciple, Gao Shun finally gave in and said solemnly, "It's not impossible to take you as a disciple, but during the teaching process, there will only be a teacher-student relationship, not a superior-subordinate relationship. Is that acceptable?!"

Liu Ming was overjoyed when he heard this.

He had planned to gradually influence Gao Shun after becoming his disciple, but this man had brought it up himself.

What did he mean by "no superior-subordinate relationship outside of teaching"? Wasn't this indirectly acknowledging his existence and recognizing him as a leader since he was a villager?!

This was a big win!

He even felt that Gao Shun had raised his voice a bit, so that everyone could hear. The key phrase in his words was "superior-subordinate relationship."

The purpose was clear: to remind the villagers that the old village chief was dead, but the young village chief was still alive! Before, no one helped him, but now that the young village chief was his disciple, who would dare to act rashly? He would not tolerate it!

Many villagers chuckled, perhaps feeling awkward for previously looking down on Liu Ming, or perhaps not taking Gao Shun's words seriously. However, the effect was clear: the number of villagers supporting Liu Ming increased to half.

The next day, in front of all the villagers, Liu Ming completed the disciple-taking ceremony.

And he received a system prompt:

Became a disciple of the famous general Gao Shun, and can learn: Gao Family Spear Technique, Military Tactics, Gao Family Archery.

Gao Family Spear Technique: A family spear technique passed down by the Gao family, more lethal and versatile than the basic spear technique.

Military Tactics: A secret family technique passed down by the Gao family, easy to obtain, can increase the combat effectiveness of the territory's soldiers by 150%.

Gao Family Archery: A family archery technique passed down by the Gao family, more advanced than the basic archery technique, making it easier to hit moving targets.

Seeing this, Liu Ming was almost drooling.

Indeed, the benefits of having a famous teacher were numerous!