Translator: Myuu Editor: Myuu
“Hahaha, God has finally answered me! Even I, Li Hongtu, have a disciple now! All I did was sleep in my thatched cottage and a good disciple came to me on his own accord to inherit my exceptional skills and techniques, hahaha…!”
As soon as Yan Liqiang called him ‘Master’, the old man started rejoicing and laughing like mad. He jumped and shouted around Yan Liqiang as though he had gone crazy. Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but slowly feel emotional upon seeing how being called a ‘Master’ could make the old man this excited and happy like a child.
The old man jumped around for a good while before he slowly quieted down. He beamed at Yan Liqiang just like a mother-in-law seeing her son-in-law. “Call me Master again! I like it! No one has ever called me that!”
“Master!”
“Oh! One more time…!”
“As long as Master likes it, I can repeat it a hundred times for you!” Yan Liqiang also chuckled, feeling that this old man was rather cute like an old child. “Master, Master, Master, Master…”
“Awww, hahahaha…!” Li Hongtu couldn’t stop laughing heartily. All of a sudden, he stopped mid-laugh as though he recalled something. He looked at Yan Liqiang nervously. “Oh right, did that eunuch surnamed Liu give you any other bronze paizas to learn any other techniques apart from the one you gave me earlier?”
“I have received another bronze paiza for learning the art of archery. It has the character ‘Ji’ engraved on it…” Yan Liqiang replied earnestly.
“Ah, you mustn’t go there…” Li Hongtu suddenly became nervous and quickly stopped him.
“Why not, Master?” Yan Liqiang gave him an odd look.
“That guy surnamed Ji is a bastard and a scoundrel! He’s definitely not a good guy…!” Li Hongtu hissed through his teeth.
“Is that so?” Yan Liqiang was a little vexed. “I just want to learn the art of archery…”
“In any case, you must not find that Ji guy before you master my technique!”
Yan Liqiang considered it for a moment and thought that he shouldn’t bite off more than he could chew. After all, learning the art of archery wasn’t an urgent matter since he had already attained the Fourth Heavenly Layer, so he nodded. “Alright, Master! I promise I won’t find that person to learn the art of archery before I master your techniques!”
“If you insist on going in the future, you have me bring you there, lest you get deceived by that Ji guy!”
“Alright, I will ask Master to accompany me if I want to go there in the future!” Yan Liqiang nodded.
“Yes, that’s the way to do it!” Li Hongtu’s face broke into a smile again.
“Oh right. What spear techniques do you know, Master? Which one are you going to teach me?” Yan Liqiang stealthily changed the subject.
Li Hongtu’s face glowed when he heard Yan Liqiang’s question and seemed rather pleased with himself. “Hahaha, I know many spear arts and spear techniques — Pear Blossom Spear, Yang Clan Spear, Yue Clan Spear, You Clan Spear, Back-thrusting Horse Spear, Star Shattering Spear, Blazing Plain Spear, Tyrant King Spear, Nine Heavens Ten Earths Spear, Rakshasa Spear, Great Formation Spear, Small Formation Spear, Double Spear, Hook Sickle Spear, Ten-Step Spear, Dragon Tiger Spear, Mother-Son Spear, Six Harmonies Spear techniques… I know them all. The Great Formation Spear, Small Formation Spear, Hook Sickle Spear, and the Ten-Step Spear techniques are for the infantry in battle formations, while the You Clan Spear, Horse Thrusting Spear, and Tyrant King Spear techniques are for horseback riding. The Pear Blossom Spear technique is for women while the Dragon Tiger Spear is a special spear technique for lefties. The Six Harmonies Spear technique shares the same origin as the Six Harmonies Fist technique. The Mother-Son Spear technique is an unusual one. Every spear technique has its own beauty…”
Yan Liqiang was stunned from just hearing the names of those spear techniques alone. “Master, are you saying that you are ready to teach me all those spear techniques?”
“Of course…” Li Hongtu’s smile suddenly faded as he shook his head, “Not!”
“Ah, no…?” Yan Liqiang choked. “Then what are you going to teach me?”
“The real skills in spear techniques, of course!”
“Real skills?” Yan Liqiang had a doubtful look on his face. “You mean to say that those spear techniques you mentioned are not real skills, Master?”
“Of course!” Li Hongtu seemed to be proud. “There are hundreds and thousands of spear techniques. Each of them has their own countless variations. In essence, there are only two styles: offensive and defensive, or it can be defensively offensive or offensively defensive. Regardless, there is only one objective behind these two styles and that is killing someone. It’s all about being the first to stab your spear into someone else.
All those spear techniques I mentioned just now are the same — they may seem like real skills with multiple realms in other people’s eyes, yet those fancy movements and realms mean nothing to me. That doesn’t classify them as real spear techniques!”
“Then what is a real spear technique to you, Master?”
“If a real spear technique has one defensive move, it will never take more than two moves to kill. If it has no defensive move, then it is deadly the moment it strikes. There is no need for you to brandish your spear for half a day like a monkey. Those spear techniques that require one to go through various dazzling moves before killing someone are techniques practiced by fools. As the saying goes, ‘Wisdom is imparted through a sentence, not a thousand scrolls.’ Those so-called spear techniques are the thousand scrolls — I will teach you one skill only, and in just one sentence. Grasping a little will be enough for you to go a long way. The little bit of knowledge is a mystery within a mystery that carries boundless possibilities in altering the Yin and the Yang. This Yin and Yang may mean life and death, or victory and defeat. The moment you grasp it, even a magnificent army with thousands of men and horses will not intimidate you. Taking a life will be as easy as lifting your arm. Any battles you face will be a cinch, as you will rarely find formidable opponents. This little bit of knowledge will allow you to easily pick up any spear technique with just a single glance. The ability to obliterate dragons and tigers will be at your fingertips. Do you want to learn something like this?”
Damn. Yan Liqiang’s blood raced at Li Hongtu’s words. He simply couldn’t believe that such miraculous spear techniques even existed in this world.
“Yes, of course I want to learn! I want to learn even if it costs my life!” Yan Liqiang rubbed his hands together eagerly. “Just tell me what I have to do, Master!”
“Ahem, ahem…” Li Hongtu coughed twice, then suddenly pointed at the pool of water at the base of the waterfall. “There’s a spear in the plunge pool. Get in the water and retrieve it first…”
“Master, how did that spear end up in the water?”
“A few years ago, I saw some plump perches in the pool so I speared a few to make soup to go with my wine. I had a bit too much to drink after that and tossed the spear into the pool…”
“I’m afraid the spear has become rotten from being soaked in the pool for so long. Why don’t you tell me the design of the spear, Master? I will get someone to temper a new one…”
“The spear is made out of special material. It was tempered with all-natural Dragon Spine Steel. It’s an extremely rare spear, so I’m afraid you won’t be able to find it elsewhere…” Li Hongtu shook his head.
“What kind of material is the Dragon Spine Steel…?”
“The Dragon Spine Steel is one of the Earth Treasures that is not man-made. It is the best material for spear handles and it cannot be bought with money. Back then, the palace treasury had only one Dragon Spine Steel. The spear in the plunge pool was a gift from His Majesty!”
“Alright, I will retrieve it then…” Upon hearing that there was such a valuable spear in the pool, Yan Liqiang cut the conversation short. He went directly to the edge of the pool at the base of the waterfall with Li Hongtu and quickly stripped his clothes, leaving only a pair of short pants on.
“The spear is somewhere there…” Li Hongtu pointed to somewhere in the middle of the pool. “Try searching underwater around there. You should be able to find it!”
“Alright, leave it to me, Master!” Yan Liqiang assured him, then dived head first into the pool.
The turquoise and limpid pool had some rocks and water plants at the bottom. Under the sunlight, the scenery was as beautiful as the dragon palace and it kind of reminded him of Jiuzhaigou from his previous world. Yan Liqiang was a good swimmer in his previous life, and that went without saying in this life. He dived into the water and moved his limbs, swimming to the heart of the bottom of the pool like a fish.
There was no mud at the bottom of the pool. It was covered by only a layer of fine sand and rocks. Yan Liqiang landed on his feet and started searching around, taking one step at a time. Sure enough, he felt something long and hard under his feet after taking a few steps. That was probably a metal spear pole.
Yan Liqiang scooped the spear pole out from the fine sand and rocks with the top of his foot. The action made him realize that the weight of the spear was no less than four hundred jin. The length of the spear was about three meters, which was also about a zhang long. If it weren’t for his exceptional physical strength, he wouldn’t be able to lift such a heavy object out of the water even if he discovered it.
With such a heavy object in tow, of course he wouldn’t be able to swim back up to the surface. In the end, Yan Liqiang carried the spear, found his bearings in the water, and walked toward the shore.
Yan Liqiang resurfaced at the edge of the pool with a splash, revealing the upper half of his body. One of his hands was still gripping the spear. He approached Li Hongtu, “Master, is this the spear?”
Perhaps the spear had been soaked in the pool for too long, but its pole was already covered by a layer of brownish gray substance, causing the spear to look extremely unremarkable. Apart from being heavier than average steel, Yan Liqiang couldn’t recognize the value of this so-called Dragon Spine Steel spear.
“Yes! Put your clothes on first!” Li Hongtu exclaimed, then effortlessly took the spear weighing about four hundred jin with one hand. Taking it into his hands, he gazed at it from top to bottom emotionally and gently caressed it in nostalgia.
Yan Liqiang put on his clothes again as quickly as he could.
“Master, why does this Dragon Spine Steel spear look like…”
Li Hongtu smiled slightly, then violently lunged at a limestone about the size of a millstone at the side of the pool with the spear in his hand. The spearhead instantly pierced the limestone like it was a piece of tofu. With a single jolt of his hand, the huge limestone immediately burst open and its fragments scattered in all directions. The moment the spear handle in his hands bent, it straightened back again with a low hum. The layer of dirt on the spear was shaken off and vanished instantly.
A cold, gleaming spear was then revealed before Yan Liqiang’s eyes…
