Translator: Myuu Editor: Myuu
Based on Yan Liqiang’s past experience, one would find it embarrassing to proclaim that the secret manuals one obtained were of any value if they were obtained without going through any trials or tribulations. After being apprenticed to a master for the very first time this morning, he didn’t expect the process of being imparted the so-called ‘exceptional spear technique’ by his master would be as simple as an action along with a four-word message —’Focus on your ears.’
Yan Liqiang was stunned on the spot for a good while, with the Dragon Steel Spine spear in his hands, before he came back to his senses and smacked himself hard on his head.
“Are you stupid? Who said valuable things can only be obtained through many trials and tribulations? Purchasing that Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing manual that barely anyone cared about from a street vendor with just a few yuan — wasn’t that enough to prove this? Perhaps the best things are the easiest to obtain, and the most powerful spear technique is the easiest to cultivate. It’s just that ordinary people are too narrow-minded, ignorant, and have bad mindsets!”
Yan Liqiang mumbled to himself before his eyes finally lit up again. Recalling the meeting between him and Li Hongtu, he realized that his master might seem unreliable at times, but he never joked around with him when he imparted the spear technique to him. Li Hongtu even had the demeanor of a great, dignified master in spear techniques, especially when he was expounding the theory of spear handle’s flexibility and the Yinyang field. His words enlightened Yan Liqiang as his explanation greatly improved Yan Liqiang’s knowledge and understanding of spear techniques. It would seem like the proverb, ‘A single conversation across the table with a wise man is worth a decade’s study of books,’ wasn’t an exaggeration after all.
If one wished to gain the control of the spear’s Yinyang field and hence attain the ultimate spear technique, then one would need to start with the spear shaking.
Yan Liqiang’s gaze grew determined as he watched Li Hongtu return to the thatched cottage. He decided that he must persist in his training to see just what the ‘real spear technique’ was capable of…
The pool was right in front of him. Looking at two rocks that were peeking out from the pool’s surface which the waterfall was pounding against, Yan Liqiang stripped his clothes again without further delay until he was left with only a pair of underpants. He then picked up the spear once more and walked into the pool like he did earlier. He walked along the bottom of the water to the plunge pool while holding his breath, then lifted himself up onto a rock.
The rock was wide at its base, and its narrower top was a foot above the water surface. There were only a few spots on the rock’s surface that were smooth enough to stand on from water erosion The areas that Yan Liqiang could stand on were only half the size of his sole — barely enough for a person to plant their feet on it. Exposed to running water all year round, part of the rock’s surface which stuck above the water was as smooth as a crystal ball. Yan Liqiang could barely shake the four-hundred-jin spear like Li Hongtu. In addition to the wetness, the resistance and vibration that traveled from the spear handle to his body caused him to slip and fall into the water with a big splash…
A minute later, Yan Liqiang picked up his long spear and climbed up the rock again. After shaking it for a bit, he plopped into the water once more along with his spear.
Refusing to give up, Yan Liqiang climbed onto the rock again. However, he fell into the pool again with a plop less than a few seconds later.
Yan Liqiang lost count of how many times he had fallen into the pool throughout the entire morning and was extremely exhausted. He only realized now that the seemingly simple exercise Li Hongtu made him do wasn’t as simple as it looked. Not only that, but it was also an arduous challenge.
If he didn’t have to hold a spear in his hands, he would be able to stand on that rock for three days and three nights without a problem, regardless of how slippery the rock’s surface was above the water. Even if he was holding the spear, he could still stand on it without any problems as long as the spear remained stationary. However, as soon as he started shaking the spear according to Li Hongtu’s instructions, the difficulty of maintaining his balance on top of the slippery rocks was instantly raised to an infernal level.
Since his hands, body, and spear were moving, as soon as the four hundred jin-spear started shaking, the impact of the vibration and the rebound from the spear handle was like a violent dragon. It traveled to Yan Liqiang’s hands, body, and feet mercilessly. Maintaining his balance on such a small rock under such circumstances would require every muscle, bone, tendon, and even cell in his body to harmonize with the vibrations and movements of the spear. While remaining still on his feet, he had to maintain a dynamic balance with great difficulty and completely dissolve the force coming from the spear with his body…
Such a demand could simply be deemed as absurd.
Yan Liqiang exerted his strength on the spear. The four hundred-jin spear accumulated the force, then sent it back even more violently along with its vibrations. While Yan Liqiang had to maintain his balance, cultivate, and dissolve this forceful wave, and he also had to steadily continue transmitting his own strength into the spear through the vibrations…
After only a few tries, Yan Liqiang felt that this cultivation was like sparring with an expert who was much heavier than him and possessed a physical strength that was on par with his. Moreover, this was the kind of spar that was perpetual at all times…
Although the four hundred-jin spear wasn’t as heavy as the stuff Yan Liqiang carried on his body over the past few days, the strength and stamina required for this kind of cultivation were even more absurd than the training Yan Liqiang was doing before. This was truly extreme cultivation.
At this moment, Yan Liqiang finally understood why Li Hongtu asked him to only come to practice every morning. Even with his current strength, it would take all his strength to persevere throughout the entire morning after falling into the pool countless times. His entire body felt as though it had been hollowed out.
The only little comforting thing to Yan Liqiang was the fact that he finally didn’t have to be drenched in his smelly sweat every day under such training circumstances because his sweat would be washed away in the pool of water.
When the sun was high up in the sky, Yan Liqiang once again fell into the pool of water from the rock. He let the spear sink to the bottom of the pool while he remained still, panting weakly as he floated on the water surface like a corpse for a while. By the time his body recovered some strength, he swam to the edge to get dressed and returned to the Li Hongtu’s thatched cottage.
“Master, I am done with my cultivation for the morning. I will come and fix your thatched cottage in the afternoon…”
A few seconds later, only a mutter came from the thatched cottage. “Alright. Don’t come in the afternoon, that’s the time for a good nap. Wait till evening when someone comes to deliver my meal and fix it when I wake up to eat…”
Yan Liqiang smiled with resignation. “Do you have any other orders, Master?”
“Nope. Oh right, just come and go by yourself from now on when you come to cultivate in the morning. There’s no need to trouble yourself in coming to pay your respects. I will call you if anything comes up…”
“Alright, I will let you return… to your rest, Master.”
As soon as Yan Liqiang turned around, a soft snore came from the thatched cottage again…
……
Yan Liqiang started cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing again when he returned to his courtyard.
This time, the immense amount of energy and spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth that poured into him was no less than the amount Yan Liqiang received when he was undergoing his previous extreme cultivation.
When the immense of energy and spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth filled Yan Liqiang’s body to the brim, another wave of spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth divided itself into three at the same time. One of them gushed forth to his hands and started strengthening him all the way from his fingertips to his shoulders. Another wave gushed forth to his feet. What came as the most unexpected surprise to Yan Liqiang was the other wave that actually gushed forth to his lungs…
Yan Liqiang didn’t know whether to cry or laugh about him falling into the water, holding his breath to retrieve his spear, and climbing back onto the rock again countless times this morning.
He even lost count of how many times he performed Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. His physical condition only fully recovered and slightly strengthened a bit after sunset. Yan Liqiang then went back to the mountain behind the archery range again to fix Li Hongtu’s thatched cottage.
For the next few days, Yan Liqiang spent his morning shaking the Dragon Spine Steel spear in the pool on the mountain behind the archery range. By afternoon, he’d return to his residence wearily and continue using Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing to recover his stamina and also strengthen himself.
As time went on, Yan Liqiang was able to gradually maintain his balance on the rock for a longer period of time — from one minute, to two minutes, to three minutes…
Strangely enough, as the time Yan Liqiang could remain standing on the rock increased, the Cloud Dragon’s Ten Transformations technique he was cultivating improved rapidly despite the fact that he no longer deliberately enhanced the speed of his body and legs every day. In just a week, it consecutively ranked up two layers, attaining the sixth layer realm at a shocking speed…
