A Pawn's Passage

Unlike the Golden Horde Martial Arts Practitioners, Central Plains Martial Arts Practitioners almost always favored the spear if they had to pick a weapon. Though a spear might not be sturdier than their fist, its length provided a real advantage, especially when facing sword wielders.

Moreover, most Martial Arts Practitioners came from military backgrounds. In battle formations, spearmen and archers were both essential types of soldiers. Many martial arts techniques actually evolved from weapon-based military combat techniques. What might look awkward, flashy, or impractical in unarmed forms became perfectly logical when imagined with the proper weapon in hand.

At this moment, the Server from the Inn drew a long spear and charged straight at Yao Pei. Intense blood qi swirled densely around him like a tangible force. Eventually, man and spear fused into a massive crimson cone, surging forward with overwhelming momentum, aiming to pierce Yao Pei’s chest.

At the same time, two elite fighters from the Heavenly Court and a Heaven-ranked attendant from The Inn moved in unison with the Server’s spear thrust, rushing to occupy Yao Pei’s escape paths, compressing her space, and forcing her into a head-on confrontation.

The Heavenly Blade was famed for foresight, so Yao Pei was not so easily cornered? She neither dodged nor avoided the attack but faced the spear head-on. All she could see was a spiral force formed by the fusion of fist intention and blood qi. It appeared flawless, but only in appearance.

At this point, Yao Pei’s eyes turned completely white, with no pupils or irises. She had activated the Taishang Emotionless Sutra and entered the Heavenly Calculation state.

The Taishang Emotionless Sutra was achieved by letting go of emotion to attain impartiality. By discarding one’s emotions, the cultivator would not be stirred by moods nor swayed by sentiment.

In ancient times, mind cultivators were supremely powerful. All beings obeyed them without speaking or moving. They were like the axis of the universe, the heart of all things, and the sovereign of the world. But once the world entered the Taiji Era, there was no longer space for such cultivators. They vanished, and the era of strength cultivation began. Modern strength cultivators mimicked them and created the Taishang Emotionless Sutra. Though it could not grant control over cosmic forces, it allowed for brief entry into the emotionless state.

Humans were governed by seven emotions. The Taishang Emotionless Sutra sought to erase them all. No matter the danger, the heart must remain unshaken and free of hesitation. Its adaptability and precision rivaled those of the Demonic Blade, and through immense computational ability, it grants foresight, revealing the opponent’s weaknesses and flaws.

At her current level, Yao Pei could at most see through the weaknesses of her Wuliang-stage opponent. This spear thrust appeared flawless, but to her, it still had a flaw. It lay at the very tip of the spear, which was the core of the spiral force.

This was both the weakest and most dangerous point. All it took was a single misstep for her entire arm to be shredded by the spiral force.