Chapter 277 - 168: Sensation (2)
The Small Rong Tree before him seemed to become transparent, its trunk revealing what looked like a network of roots. Chu Lingguang watched as the power seeping from his Long Spear erupted inside the tree. The trunk’s interior was damaged, causing the bark to bulge outward.
"WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!"
He thrust again, again, and again.
With a BANG, the bark burst open. A teacup-sized hole appeared in the spot his Long Spear was aimed at, as though it had been carved out by one thrust after another.
"How is this possible?"
Du Juan’s eyes widened once more.
He and Du Wushuang both saw it clearly. Chu Lingguang’s Long Spear was a full meter away from the Small Rong Tree. While each thrust sent out a ripple of power, it merely dispersed into the surroundings. The afterimages of the spear never closed the distance to the Small Rong Tree.
How could it possibly create a hole from a distance?
"What a kid."
Zhuoyi was now certain. Chu Lingguang had grasped the True Meaning of Spear Technique.
’He’s reached the third layer of the Spear Skill Realm.’
"Zhuo, what in the world is going on?"
Du Juan asked.
"The True Meaning of Spear Technique!"
Zhuoyi said firmly.
"What?"
This time, both Du Juan and Du Wushuang were utterly dumbfounded.
Du Wushuang had been planning to go back and study the Flying Leaf Lotus Spear, hoping to find a way to counter it. But upon hearing it was the True Meaning of Spear Technique, a sense of helplessness washed over him.
He felt as if Chu Lingguang was completely out of his league.
’True Intent?’
Chu Lingguang quickly wracked his brain, recalling the contents of the Flying Leaf Lotus Spear’s Spear Manual.
The Flying Leaf Lotus Spear had six realms.
The first realm, Thrust, represented coverage. When mastered, it made the three-foot space before the user impenetrable to any attack.
The second realm, Lock, represented confinement. It could make an enemy’s attack feel as if it were trapped in a mire, locking it down completely.
The third realm, Confusion, represented deception. It could produce an illusory effect, making an opponent feel as if their attacks were lost in a dense forest, allowing for a swift kill.
The fourth realm, Gathering, represented control. It could seize control of an opponent’s moves, forcing their attacks to land elsewhere against their will.
The fifth realm, Yuan, represented destruction. It could annihilate an enemy’s attack in the most direct manner possible. This thrust was the pinnacle of combining one’s own power with the Spear Technique.
The sixth realm, Swallow, represented consumption. Guo Wei had once said that mastering this technique could plunge an enemy into endless darkness, utterly consuming and destroying them.
But none of these six realms of the Spear Technique were like the so-called True Meaning of Spear Technique, which could ignore defenses and injure an opponent’s vitals and even their internal organs from a distance.
However, Guo Wei’s Spear Technique was peerless.
Chu Lingguang had spent over two years with Guo Wei, and his master had once spoken of three overarching realms of Spear Technique.
When Guo Wei explained the True Meaning of Spear Technique, both Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu had listened as if in a trance. They both remembered him stating clearly that the power of the True Meaning of Spear Technique was drawn from one’s sea of consciousness. Only by possessing a sea of consciousness could one grasp True Intent.
Chu Lingguang already possessed the ability of Introspection.
The two packets of Heart-Devouring Powder that day had sent him into a coma. He had entered a Blood-colored World, and while the memory remained vivid after he awoke, Chu Lingguang had never been able to return.
’So if that’s the True Meaning of Spear Technique...’
’...I should be able to sense the existence of my sea of consciousness.’
’Could Guo Wei’s explanation have been wrong, or is Zhuoyi misunderstanding something?’
Chu Lingguang thought hard. He had absolute trust in Guo Wei. When it came to Spear Technique, Chu Lingguang believed his master’s skill was on a much higher level than Zhuoyi’s.
So he said, "Zhuo, could you be mistaken? I don’t think that was the True Meaning of Spear Technique."
Since Zhuoyi had given him pointers, Chu Lingguang couldn’t help but adopt Du Juan’s more familiar way of addressing him.
"There’s no mistake. Only the True Meaning of Spear Technique possesses that kind of power. You probably don’t even realize it, but when you practice, each of your thrusts sounds like a drumbeat pounding in my head. It’s incredibly distracting."
Zhuoyi added.
"Huh?!"
Chu Lingguang was taken aback.
’Could True Intent exist in a different form? Or do I already possess a sea of consciousness, but I just can’t control it yet? But if I can’t even control my sea of consciousness, how could my Spear Technique gain the power of True Intent?’
Chu Lingguang couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
He felt like something wasn’t adding up.
But Zhuoyi’s confident and serious expression made him want to believe it—that he had, in fact, grasped the True Meaning of Spear Technique.
The fact that his technique had exhausted Du Wushuang in a single exchange, combined with the clearly visible hole in the Small Rong Tree’s trunk, slowly convinced Chu Lingguang that it must be true.
"True Intent... Chu Lingguang, you’re an even bigger prodigy than Yan Zhen."
Du Wushuang said, unable to help himself.
"Even Yan Zhen probably hasn’t mastered True Intent yet."
Du Juan said with a look of envy.
"Is True Intent really that amazing?"
Chu Lingguang asked curiously.
"You foolish kid. Just think about it—every single one of your thrusts can imperceptibly agitate, or even damage, an opponent’s vitals and internal organs. You tell me, is that amazing or not?"
Zhuoyi said with a chiding laugh.
"Well... when you put it like that, Zhuo, it does sound pretty incredible."
Chu Lingguang said, scratching his head.
"Mr. Du has certainly found himself a rare treasure."
Zhuoyi remarked with a sigh.
"My foster father has a discerning eye. Chu Lingguang, you haven’t disappointed him."
Du Wushuang was completely won over.
"You’re all flattering me."
Chu Lingguang was rarely praised so highly and felt a little embarrassed.
「That night.」
Du Wushuang came to find Chu Lingguang.
He got straight to the point. "Chu Lingguang, I’d like to ask a favor of you."
"Please, Du, go ahead. If it’s something I can help with, I’ll certainly do my best."
Chu Lingguang felt guilty for taking his spot.
"I’ve heard that inside the Northern Territory Trial Ground, there’s a kind of tree called the Dragon Claw Tree. Legend says it grew from the blood of a Dragon King, and storytellers have made it sound absolutely miraculous. I was hoping that after you go inside, you could help me cut off a branch and bring it back out. I have a use for it."