Chapter 222: Steadily Becoming Stronger
"First Technique: The Dawn Technique. The spear rises like a soaring dragon. With a calm mind and spirit, hold your spear and stand, still as a statue..."
"Second Technique: Starlight Stab!"
"The instant the long spear thrusts out, the tip is as sharp as a meteor’s piercing light, glinting with a deadly cold gleam!"
SWOOSH SWOOSH~~
Lin Qi brandished the black great spear. His wrist exerted force, controlling the spear’s shaft as if it were a python coiling around his body, and he thrust out with all his might!
The spear tip vibrated, striking a single point in a straight line, accurately hitting an imaginary opponent.
"Third Technique: Spirit Snake Shadow!"
Lin Qi once again swung his spear in a wide sweep, like an agile snake darting swiftly through light and shadow.
Then, like an eagle spreading its wings to soar, majestic and swift—this was the fourth technique: Eagle’s Soaring Strike!
Lin Qi continuously changed his Spear Technique, and the aura of his movements completely transformed.
From the previous majestic, wide-sweeping style, it transformed into something agile and graceful. His Spear Technique was as swift as the wind, with afterimages of the spear streaking by like phantoms of a meteor shower.
"Celestial Meteor Fall, Tiger Clutch Strike, Wind-Breaking Void Point, Lingxi Shrinkage..."
At times, Lin Qi was like a meteorite falling from the heavens; at others, like a crouching tiger gathering its power, or like he was rapidly retracting his spear stance.
He performed all fifteen techniques of the Meteor Spear Technique, becoming more proficient with each one.
Lin Qi stopped practicing. The fifteen techniques posed no difficulty for him at all.
He could grasp the gist of the Spear Technique after watching it just once.
However...
Lin Qi began performing the Spear Technique again, his muscles tensing. As the techniques changed, the flow of his Power also shifted.
"Every Secret Manual has its own unique way of circulating Power, allowing the style of Power to match the release of the technique."
"The Meteor Spear Technique produces a unique Power—Meteor Power!"
In the video, a middle-aged man with a hooked nose brandished a silver long spear, explaining how to utilize the Power within the Meteor Spear Technique.
Lin Qi’s expression was grave as he carefully perceived the changes. The method of using Power was similar, yet different.
The way the Meteor Spear Technique utilized Power was very different from the Mountain Splitting Spear Technique.
Lin Qi found it miraculous. He continued to perform the Spear Technique, letting the Power inside him flow through his body like a Spiritual Snake.
He practiced the Meteor Spear Technique several more times. As he grew more proficient with the techniques, his control over the Power also became more refined.
It was now completely different from the Mountain-Splitting Power of the Mountain Splitting Spear Technique.
SWISH~ SWISH~
Lin Qi thrust his long spear. The Flow of Power coated the spear’s shaft, making his thrusts even faster.
Lin Qi was delighted. Even if his spear was just 0.1 seconds faster, it was a huge boost to his Combat Power.
The fifteen techniques flowed one after another. The transitions between them were smooth and natural, with each technique building momentum for the next.
The speed at which he executed the techniques grew faster and faster!
He was pushing his speed to its absolute limit, pursuing nothing but the ultimate velocity. In battle, speed was power, speed was lethality.
Strands of Power were continuously released. Unlike the terrifying, tearing force of a frenzied dragon burrowing through the earth, Meteor Power shot out like a volley of sharp arrows.
It was like ten thousand arrows fired at once—full of Penetration Power, designed for pinpoint strikes.
Before he knew it, Lin Qi found that his control over his Power had reached a new level.
[You have learned the Bronze Level Secret Manual, Meteor Spear Technique. You have mastered its Flow of Power. Your mastery of Spear Technique has increased. Spear Technique +2%.]
[Spear Technique: Tier Two 90% → Tier Two 92%]
...
Lin Qi breathed a sigh of relief as he saw his Spear Technique improve.
’My teacher was right. Learning other Spear Technique Secret Manuals really does help you understand things by analogy.’
’At this rate, I feel like I’ll reach Tier Two 99% very soon.’
Lin Qi was well aware that just as Qi and Blood Cultivation had bottlenecks, so too did Martial Arts Cultivation.
After breaking into the High Stage of any given Tier, progress in his Spear Technique would become extremely slow.
Especially at 99%, breaking through that final 1% required a long, slow grind, and he was mentally prepared for it.
Once he broke through to Tier Three, his Combat Power would undergo a complete transformation.
...
「Time passed slowly.」 For the next while, Lin Qi returned to a peaceful routine of cultivation.
Every day, he alternated between Source Energy Cultivation, classes, the Refining God Tower, the Gravity Room, and the Disaster Beast Trial Tower.
His Spiritual Power, Qi and Blood Value, Spear Technique, and Body Technique all improved daily.
At the same time, he had learned a new Spear Technique Secret Manual, the Meteor Spear Technique, which further increased the speed of his strikes and boosted his combat effectiveness in actual battle.
He was already able to use it effectively in actual combat. Inside the Disaster Beast Trial Tower, he could slay even more Calamity Beasts, bringing him ever closer to clearing the third floor.
Beyond that, he, Jiangtao, and the others would occasionally check on the situation in Xia Country. His greatest concern was the safety of his teacher, Mu Hong.
...
"According to the latest news, three Space Gates appeared consecutively in North River Province yesterday at 3:26 PM, unleashing a massive Disaster Beast Tide."
"Battlefield reports indicate that Ninth-Level Calamity Beasts charged out of the Otherworld. The two Ninth-Level Calamity Beasts, an Earth-Shaking Dragon-Elephant and a Mountain-moving Ape, launched a surprise attack, causing immense destruction and casualties at our War Base."
"The situation stabilized after our nation’s Ninth Realm Title Level Martial Artist, ’Overlord,’ decisively slew the Earth-Shaking Dragon-Elephant and, in coordination with other Martial Artists, severely wounded the Mountain-moving Ape. The massive Disaster Beast Tide is currently still ongoing..."
"Over a thousand Martial Artists have been sacrificed. Six Eighth-level Martial Artists were injured, and three Seventh-level Martial Artists were killed. Their names are..."
In the Martial Arts Room, Lin Qi watched the projected news report, his brow tightly furrowed as he took in the brutal scenes of war.
As far as the eye could see, the battlefield was filled with Calamity Beasts the size of towering hills. The only ones he could make out were the High-Level Calamity Beasts.
The mid- and Low-Level Calamity Beasts were too small to be seen clearly from this perspective.
What surprised him, however, was that this Level 9 Mountain-moving Ape had already appeared in the news several times, and it managed to escape every time. It was quite tenacious.
Suddenly, his gaze froze. He had spotted a familiar figure—Mu Hong.
Mu Hong was wearing a black Combat Suit. His posture was ramrod straight, his aura immense, and he was wielding a red long spear in a bloody battle against a Seventh-Level Calamity Beast, a Power Bear.
In the distance, even the figure of the Ninth-Level Calamity Beast, the Mountain-moving Ape, could be seen.
The clip only lasted for a few seconds before cutting away.
Lin Qi immediately pulled out his phone and opened his messaging app. In their small group chat, he saw that Li Qing had already asked about their teacher, Mu Hong.
[Li Qing: I saw the teacher on the news just now and it scared the hell out of me. I contacted him right away and found out he’s okay.]
[The teacher is powerful, he won’t go down easily. In fact, he took the opportunity to kill several Calamity Beasts. As expected of our teacher.]
Lin Qi let out a sigh of relief after reading the messages.
He sighed internally. ’The battlefield is truly dangerous. High-Level Calamity Beasts can appear at any moment, and a single moment of carelessness can get you caught in the crossfire.’
Many of the Low-level Martial Artists who died in the news had been killed ingloriously, caught in the shockwaves of battles between High-Level Calamity Beasts.
Therefore, he planned to wait until he had the Combat Power of a High Realm expert before setting foot on the battlefield.
Otherwise, he would just stay obediently in school and focus on desperately improving himself.
...
「Afternoon.」 In a spacious Martial Arts Room at the Azure Sky Sixth Institute, the twenty-odd students of the Sixth Institute’s Class One had gathered to watch a fight between two people in the center.
Lin Qi wielded an unsharpened training lance, smiling as he looked at Guan Mountain opposite him.
"Guan Mountain, use your full strength. Don’t be afraid of hurting me."
"Otherwise, you’ll just lose faster!"
Guan Mountain held his battle saber with both hands, his expression grave. "I will!"
"Please enlighten me!"
The surrounding students also looked on with anticipation.
"It’s been a while since we’ve seen Brother Qi in action. Guan Mountain sparring with Brother Qi this time should be an exciting match."
"Let’s get a close look at the gap between them," Jiangtao said with a smile.
"Begin!" Wang Qiufeng, acting as the referee, announced loudly.
...