Chapter 75: Having Students Who Are Too Smart Can Also Be a Headache

After Lin Xiao finished shooting with the rifle, only one phrase remained in Shano’s heart: “What the hell.” Yet he stubbornly kept up his bravado, offering Lin Xiao only a couple of terse compliments. “Not bad, but you’re still far behind my years of experience.”

Only Shano knew how much effort he had put in to reach his current accomplishments, while this boy seemed born to be a sniper. After undergoing his own training, this kid might even surpass him. The thought brought a gratified smile to Shano’s face.

He had lost an arm, and even though Liu Jiao was a level-nine healer, she couldn’t regenerate a severed limb. Though Cao Bo was making him a mechanical arm, it would never match the dexterity of his own. This meant he might never again be the legendary sharpshooter who struck fear into so many. If this kid could successfully take his place, it would be a fine choice.

At last, it was time for the sniper rifle—the most accurate of all. As expected, Lin Xiao achieved perfect scores on every stationary target. He was deeply satisfied with his performance. He could tell Shano’s words didn’t match his true feelings; though the praise was scant, admiration was overflowing in his eyes.

He really was a genius!

Once again, Lin Xiao was awed by the effects of the pill he’d taken the day before. Though he had always considered himself a quick learner, achieving results like this would have been impossible before. It was surely connected to that pill.

“Brother Sha, I think I’ve more or less mastered stationary targets. What should we work on next?”

Shano looked up at the sky, speechless. He had only planned for Lin Xiao to practice stationary targets today. In his view, no matter how talented Lin Xiao was, he’d still need several days to adapt. Sharpshooters are all forged by countless bullets, but that didn’t seem to apply to Lin Xiao. He hadn’t even really begun instructing him, and the boy had already nearly mastered it.

Sometimes, having such a monstrous student isn’t necessarily a good thing!

“Then practice moving targets. Start on your own, and I’ll give feedback.”

Under Shano’s direction, the targets began to move, and Lin Xiao started practicing. Shano had assumed that without guidance, Lin Xiao wouldn’t master the technique quickly, but he soon realized he had underestimated him.

Lin Xiao’s soul technique had another effect: when he activated visual enhancement, objects appeared to move more slowly.

Shano had set the targets to move at a modest pace, but to Lin Xiao, they seemed even slower. He didn’t rush to shoot; after observing the targets’ movement for a while, he began firing. This time, it was even more outrageous—every shot hit the bullseye, needing no adjustment at all.

Unwilling to accept it, Shano increased the targets’ speed, eventually turning them up to maximum. Still, Lin Xiao hit every shot. When the bullets were spent, Lin Xiao looked innocently at Shano.

“Brother Sha, I think we can move on to the next phase.”

Shano felt a wave of defeat crash over him. What was he supposed to do now? He was truly in despair!

“Don’t get cocky, kid. This is just the basics. The targets are big and follow fixed paths, even if they’re moving. Next, we’ll train with small, irregularly moving targets.”

He brought out several small balls and switched on the shooting range’s wind machines. The range was specially designed to introduce all sorts of unpredictable variables.

“I’ll toss these balls, and you’ll be responsible for hitting them.”

Lin Xiao wasn’t too concerned; the balls were small, but not much different from the bullseye, and since they were thrown, he could still track their trajectories. The only real headache would be the erratic wind inside the range.

As Lin Xiao was still pondering, Shano threw the first ball. Lin Xiao’s gaze locked onto it at once. He quickly sensed something unusual—the ball wasn’t just tossed randomly, but with a strong spin. That made calculating its path a lot harder.

By the time he’d figured it out, the ball was almost on the ground. With no time to think, he fired. He immediately felt he’d made a good shot, but to his surprise, he missed. His calculations had been sound, but the wind inside the range shifted the ball’s position.

Shano was secretly delighted to see Lin Xiao miss. If the kid had hit even this, Shano wouldn’t know what to teach him next. He was here to instruct Lin Xiao, not to be shown up by him.

“Don’t be discouraged, Lin. Honestly, you did quite well.”

Lin Xiao quickly composed himself.

“Brother Sha, I’m not discouraged. I’m just thinking over where I went wrong.”

“Self-reflection is good, but let’s pause for now. Practicing alone isn’t enough—I need to teach you some theory. Many factors affect a sniper’s shot: sunlight, wind direction, wind speed, and more, all impact accuracy. Different firearms have different muzzle velocities, effective ranges, and trajectories, so you need to calibrate before using them. And you must account for countless uncontrollable variables. In short, as a qualified sniper, you should strive for a one-shot kill. Otherwise, once your position is exposed, the enemy will be on guard, and your chances of a second shot will drop drastically.”

Lin Xiao nodded. His last miss was because he’d only considered the ball’s movement, forgetting about external forces.

“I understand, Brother Sha. Please teach me how to manage these factors.”

Seeing Lin Xiao wasn’t complacent, Shano was pleased. He explained the key points in detail. Lin Xiao grasped them immediately, and soon it was time for more practice.

To Shano’s amazement, Lin Xiao applied the theory right away. Though he couldn’t hit every single shot, he still landed seven or eight out of ten.

Shano was at a loss for words; in the face of such talent, sometimes hard work truly seemed worthless.

When their time was up, Shano handed Lin Xiao some books on firearms and let him go. After all, Lin Xiao had other subjects to study, and Shano needed to seriously consider what to teach him next. In just one hour, Lin Xiao had mastered what he’d planned to teach over a month. From now on, if he wanted to challenge this student, he’d have to bring out his real skills.

What a headache—sometimes, a student who’s too bright can be a real worry!

When Lin Xiao left the range, he found someone already waiting for him—the “Man of a Thousand Faces,” Zhuge Ming, a master of disguise. It seemed this would be his next instructor.

Lin Xiao was quite interested in disguise, though only mildly so. In a world where a bit of makeup could turn one into someone else entirely, having multiple faces wasn’t such a rare skill. Eastern sorcery truly deserved its reputation!