Chapter 73 - 62: Great Success in Spearmanship
A chill ran through Lin Yi’s heart.
Fortunately, his Refined ribs were incredibly sturdy. They had blocked most of the Penetration Power and prevented injury to his internal organs.
Otherwise, he would have already lost the ability to fight.
He didn’t use his Kidney-Water Spiritual Essence to heal himself. It was his trump card, one he absolutely could not reveal in front of everyone.
The battle instantly reached a fever pitch!
Ge Jinjiang’s figure moved like a phantom, circling Lin Yi at high speed. The Longsword in his hand became a shimmering, unbroken net of silver light!
At times, it was a viper striking a vital point. At others, it was a torrential storm of slashes and chops. And then, it would become a silken thread, coiling and strangling!
Every strike was so fast it left only afterimages. The angles were vicious and cruel, each one aimed at a vital spot on Lin Yi’s body!
Lin Yi, however, was like a reef in a raging sea. He wielded his long spear in a seamless defense, pushing the fundamental techniques—blocking, catching, thrusting, flicking, dotting, chopping, and sweeping—to their absolute limit, creating layer after layer of protection before him.
But Ge Jinjiang’s Longsword was simply too fast, its attacks too dense. New wounds constantly appeared on Lin Yi’s body—his arms, his shoulders, his ribs... Blood stained his robes, making him look quite pathetic, as if he could be devoured by that furious storm of sword light at any moment.
However, on this seemingly precarious edge of life and death, Lin Yi’s mind was clearer and more focused than ever before!
Every clash of spear and sword!
Every exchange of force!
Every brush with death!
All became the perfect whetstone for him to hone his "Listening Spear Force"!
He cast aside all distracting thoughts, concentrating his entire perception on the spear shaft in his hands, carefully savoring the subtle vibrations from each impact:
’Was that strike a light, probing feint, or a heavy, powerful chop?’
’Was the force traveling up the spear shaft a direct impact, or a sinister, coiling energy?’
’At the moment of collision, did his opponent’s power erupt suddenly, was it held back, or was it quickly withdrawn to shift to something else?’
’He had to use this instantaneously transmitted information to predict where the next attack would land!’
At first, his predictions were clumsy and vague. Wounds continued to accumulate on his body, and every block seemed panicked and clumsy, as if he were fighting an invisible gale.
But gradually, under the suffocating pressure of Ge Jinjiang’s stormy assault, pushed to his absolute limits on the razor’s edge of life and death, Lin Yi’s perception grew sharper and his reactions swifter!
The spear shaft felt like an extension of his own limbs. The feedback from each clash became clearer and clearer, like a lantern lit in the darkness, showing him the way.
His judgment of the force behind Ge Jinjiang’s sword techniques began to shift from vague to clear, from reactive to predictive!
’He was about to break through that final barrier!’
Finally!
During one of Ge Jinjiang’s seemingly unstoppable, three-strike flurries, Lin Yi parried the first strike. The instant he sensed his opponent’s power retract, intending to change tactics with an upward slash, inspiration struck!
All his insights, all the pressure, all the life-and-death tempering—it all erupted in that moment, coalescing into a complete whole!
HUMMM!
Lin Yi felt as if the long spear in his hands had come alive!
It was no longer a cold Weapon, but a part of his arm, an extension of his senses!
An unprecedented sense of control washed over him!
Man and spear as one!
Listening Spear Force at Perfection!
Fundamental Spear Technique, Control Realm! He’d done it!
In that instant, the world seemed to slow down in his perception.
The spear shaft was no longer just a tool for transmitting force, but an incredibly keen sensor.
Every clash of force between them, every minute tremor, every shift in the direction and intent of that power—he perceived and understood it all with perfect clarity.
He could strike second, yet land first!
He could use four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds!
In Lin Yi’s perception now, the trajectory of Ge Jinjiang’s phantom-fast, dazzling sword light was clear and distinct. He could see through the changes in its force as if looking at a fire in the dark!
Just as Ge Jinjiang executed a diagonal slice—at that subtle interval when the momentum of his attack was spent but the new force had yet to be generated—
"Break!"
A low shout, like a clap of thunder, escaped Lin Yi’s lips!
With a flick of his wrist, his long spear didn’t meet the attack head-on. Instead, following the direction of the incoming slice, the spear tip traced a profound semi-circle, gently guiding and sticking to the blade!
A fundamental spear technique—Coil!
A clever coiling force traveled down the spear shaft, precisely disrupting the balance of power in Ge Jinjiang’s Longsword!
Ge Jinjiang’s expression changed dramatically!
He felt as if his sword had been plunged into thick glue, or as if it were being pulled by an invisible thread. The immense force behind it was completely out of his control, deflected completely off course!
"Not good!"
Alarm bells screamed in his mind. He tried to change his move.
But it was too late!
A sharp glint flashed in Lin Yi’s eyes. The spear shaft that had just deflected the Longsword now flicked up with the momentum, like a dragon raising its head!
CLANG!
A deafening crack echoed out!
Before the incredulous eyes of the countless spectators, Ge Jinjiang’s lightning-fast, terrifying Longsword was sent flying by a single, perfectly precise strike from Lin Yi’s spear!
The instant the Longsword left his hand, Lin Yi’s spear didn’t pause for a second. Like a venomous dragon bursting from its cave, it shot forward in a straight thrust!
Fast! Accurate! Vicious!
PFFT!
A spray of blood erupted!
The razor-sharp spear tip precisely pierced the flesh of Ge Jinjiang’s left shoulder, running him clean through!
The powerful force sent him staggering back several steps!
Overwhelming pain washed over him. Ge Jinjiang’s face instantly turned ashen, and beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
He looked at the spear shaft still quivering in his shoulder, then lifted his gaze to the composed, sharp-eyed Lin Yi across from him.
His eyes were filled with shock and bitterness, which finally melted into a long sigh.
He slowly raised his uninjured right hand. His voice was hoarse yet perfectly clear as it echoed through the suddenly silent arena:
"I... concede!"