Almost at the exact moment Lucas fired, Old Bird drew his own bow and released an arrow.
The two arrows flew toward each other—
And collided perfectly in midair.
Old Bird's arrow clearly carried less power than Lucas's and shattered upon impact. However, the collision was enough to knock Lucas's arrow off course, sending it harmlessly into the ground nearby.
Scarlett Hayes and the other cultivator both looked surprised.
Lucas himself froze for a moment before his expression darkened. Without saying a word, he immediately pulled out another arrow, nocked it, and fired again.
Old Bird remained perfectly calm.
He drew another arrow and released it.
Clack!
The two arrows collided in midair once again.
Lucas's expression became increasingly ugly.
He rapidly drew arrow after arrow and fired them at Old Bird.
Old Bird retaliated without hesitation.
Arrows streaked through the air one after another, only to collide before they could reach their targets.
Lucas's arrows were powerful and heavy.
Both their speed and force were considerably greater than Old Bird's.
Every collision shattered Old Bird's arrow.
But Old Bird had one advantage Lucas couldn't match.
He was faster.
And every single arrow he fired intercepted Lucas's perfectly.
By the time Lucas fired his sixth arrow, Old Bird had already fired one more than him.
Lucas had only just released his shot when Old Bird's extra arrow arrived.
There was no time to dodge.
Clang!
The arrow struck the pointed crest on top of Lucas's helmet and knocked the entire helmet from his head.
Lucas's face went pale.
If Old Bird had aimed that arrow at one of his unprotected eyes instead...
Lucas would have been in serious trouble.
Even if he survived, he would almost certainly have been severely injured.
Scarlett and the other cultivator stared at Old Bird in disbelief.
It was difficult to reconcile the archer standing before them with the Old Bird they remembered.
His raw power might still be lacking.
But that accuracy...
It was almost monstrous.
"When it comes to archery, you're still far behind me."
Old Bird stood proudly with his bow in hand.
"With skills like yours, you could practice for the rest of your life and still never hit the Great Dark Heaven Demon Idol's eye."
"Go back and train some more."
The moment Ethan heard those words, he knew his earlier suspicion had been correct.
Old Bird's seemingly reckless and aggressive behavior wasn't entirely the result of his newfound confidence.
He was deliberately displaying his strength.
More specifically—
He was showing Scarlett his value.
Ethan understood exactly what Old Bird was doing.
But he said nothing.
"Old Bird."
Scarlett looked calmly at him.
"Are you confident you can hit the Great Dark Heaven Demon Idol's vertical eye?"
"Other than me?"
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Old Bird's confidence had already reached its peak.
He raised his chin proudly.
"I don't think there's a second person on this island who can do it."
"Captain, don't listen to his bullshit."
Lucas gritted his teeth.
"He just got lucky. There's no way he can keep getting that lucky every time—"
"Just because you rely on luck when you shoot doesn't mean everyone else does."
Old Bird glanced at him disdainfully.
"You—"
Lucas was about to fire back when Scarlett raised one hand.
That single gesture silenced him.
Ethan noticed it immediately.
Scarlett's authority within the group was clearly extremely high.
She hadn't even spoken.
Yet the moment she raised her hand, Lucas swallowed whatever he had been about to say and didn't dare utter another word.
Scarlett reached into her belongings and took out a pocket watch.
Holding it between her fingers, she looked at Old Bird.
"I'll open the lid of this watch and then close it again."
"The amount of time it remains open will be the same amount of time the Great Dark Heaven Demon Idol's vertical eye remains exposed."
"If you can hit the watch before I close the lid, you can rejoin the elite team."
"And after we kill the Great Dark Heaven Demon Idol, you'll receive a share of the loot."
"I want thirty percent," Old Bird said immediately.
"Hit it first, then we'll talk—"
Before Scarlett even finished speaking—
Click!
Without warning, her finger flicked open the watch's lid.
Her other hand was already moving to snap it shut.
But the instant the lid opened—
Whoosh!
An arrow arrived.
CRACK!
It pierced straight through the face of the pocket watch.
The arrow still carried enough momentum to continue flying before burying itself deeply into the trunk of a large tree.
Its shaft trembled violently.
Scarlett looked at the ruined watch.
Then she looked back at Old Bird.
"Good."
There was no hesitation in her voice.
"From this moment onward, you're back in the elite team."
"When we kill the Great Dark Heaven Demon Idol, thirty percent of the loot will belong to you."
Lucas might have been physically stronger than Old Bird.
His arrows were faster and carried more power.
But when it came to accuracy and the ability to seize a fleeting opportunity—
He simply couldn't compare to the current Old Bird.
At this point, Old Bird's earlier boast no longer sounded exaggerated.
On this island, his archery might genuinely be their only realistic method of killing the Great Dark Heaven Demon Idol.
"I have two more conditions," Old Bird said.
"First, I need to reach Level 10 before we go."
"Second..."
He pointed toward Ethan.
"I want my brother to join the elite team with me."
Lucas's expression immediately turned cold.
"Old Bird, don't push your luck."
"Why should some newcomer be allowed into our elite team?"
"Because he's my brother."
Old Bird puffed out his chest.
"And because I'm the only person who can hit the Great Dark Heaven Demon Idol's vertical eye."
He didn't even bother looking at Lucas.
Instead, he kept his eyes on Scarlett.
Old Bird knew perfectly well that only she had the authority to make this decision.
"Helping you reach Level 10 isn't a problem," Scarlett replied calmly.
"We would have done that anyway. Raising your level will increase our chances of successfully killing the Great Dark Heaven Demon Idol."
"But allowing a newcomer who just arrived on the island to join the elite team?"
She shook her head.
"That violates the rules we established when the team was founded."
"If we break those rules for one person, why should anyone follow them afterward?"
"If everyone starts bringing whoever they want into the team, it won't be long before our membership expands far beyond its current size."
"And when that happens..."
Scarlett looked directly at Old Bird.
"The loot will have to be divided among more people."
"How much do you think will be left for you?"
"You don't want things to reach that point either, do you?"
Old Bird's expression visibly wavered.
Scarlett noticed.
She continued immediately.
"Letting a newcomer join is impossible."
"But..."
She reached into her belongings.
"I have a Unique-grade Secret Art."
"Consider this my sincerity in inviting you back."
Scarlett produced a golden Mystic Core.
Then she tossed it toward Old Bird.
He caught it instinctively.
The moment he focused on the core, information entered his mind.
Scarlett hadn't lied.
It really did contain a Unique-grade Secret Art.
"Vajra Crown Scripture... Unique-grade..."
Old Bird's heart pounded with excitement.
Even on this island, where high-quality Mystic Spirits were far more common than elsewhere, obtaining a Unique-grade Secret Art was extraordinarily difficult.
Only a handful of people standing at the very top of the island's hierarchy—people like Scarlett—possessed Secret Arts of this quality.
And now...
Old Bird could obtain one immediately.
It would save him an enormous amount of time and effort.
More importantly, every future level would provide him with a greater increase to his maximum Origin Energy.
Old Bird didn't hesitate.
He immediately absorbed the Mystic Core.
The golden core dissolved into particles and entered his body.
He successfully learned the Incomplete Vajra Crown Scripture.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Old Bird turned toward Ethan.
He sighed.
"Brother..."
"Wait for me for a few days."
"When I get back, I'll take you leveling again."
Ethan looked at him.
"Didn't we agree that we'd kill the Great Dark Heaven Demon Idol together?"
Ethan had already expected this outcome.
But he still wanted to hear Old Bird say it himself.
"The Great Dark Heaven Demon Idol isn't that easy to kill."
Old Bird's tone became reassuring.
"The two of us can't do it by ourselves. It's too dangerous."
"We could even die."
He patted Ethan reassuringly.
"But don't worry."
"As long as I'm around, I won't let anyone bully you on this island."
"When I get back, I'll help you level."
"Fine."
Ethan's expression remained calm.
"Everyone has their own path."
"You should go."
He didn't believe Old Bird's empty promise for even a second.
Once Old Bird joined the elite team, he would have his own circle.
From then on, he would spend his time hunting and progressing alongside the people in that circle.
Why would he waste large amounts of time helping Ethan level?
More importantly—
Someone who could make a promise one moment and abandon it the next wasn't someone Ethan wanted to cooperate with anyway.
Even if Old Bird came looking for him again in the future, Ethan had no intention of working with him.
"Come on, Old Bird."
The cultivator riding the Ghost-Faced Horse extended a hand toward him.
"Come complete the mission with us. We can raise your level along the way."
He was clearly offering to let Old Bird ride behind him.
Scarlett, however, did something else.
She directly summoned another Spirit Pet.
A Rare-grade Ghost-Faced Horse.
Then she transferred ownership of the Spirit Pet to Old Bird.
"From now on, it's yours."
Old Bird's eyes lit up.
He immediately climbed onto the Ghost-Faced Horse.
Sitting atop his new mount with a Unique-grade Secret Art freshly acquired and his position in the elite team restored, Old Bird looked utterly triumphant.
For that brief moment...
It was as though he had reached the absolute peak of his life.