Spear Technique Mastery

The weapon voucher was something Xu Bin did not want, so naturally, it could not go to waste.

As it happened, the Plum Blossom Spear in Chen Sanshi's hands was too ordinary. It would not drag down his strength when used, but it offered no improvement either.

Inside the armory, racks upon racks were filled with all manner of weapons.

Most were standard-issue arms, while a small portion were finely crafted weapons for military officers. Of these, spears came in the fewest varieties, with only two or three on display.

Chen Sanshi's gaze fell upon a long spear at the center of the last row.

The spear was roughly thirteen feet long. Its spearhead was slender like a reed leaf, with a red tassel behind the blade. Its shaft was slightly thicker than the Plum Blossom Spear's, also made of white waxwood, but after being soaked in oil, it had been wrapped in bamboo strips and coated in black lacquer. At the end was a conical spear butt.

"This spear is called the Reed Leaf Spear."

The armory keeper introduced it. "It was left behind by a Hundred Household Commander long ago and has been gathering dust here ever since. If Officer Chen takes a liking to it, just take it."

"Thank you."

Chen Sanshi took down the long spear and weighed it in his hand. It was roughly twenty to thirty jin. Right there outside the armory, he began practicing with it.

The Basic Soldier Spear Technique was meant to be used with long weapons.

With the Reed Leaf Spear in hand, his spear technique became even more natural and fluid.

After practicing for about half an hour, he began to feel his qi and blood running low.

"Martial arts really are a bottomless pit!"

Chen Sanshi left with the spear in hand.

Not far from the armory was the pharmacy.

From a great distance away, he could already smell the fragrance of Chinese medicinal materials.

The pharmacy was quiet and deserted. There was only an old man, two servants, and several jars bubbling away as they brewed.

"Sir, I'm here to collect Blood Replenishing Soup."

Chen Sanshi handed over his slip.

The old man accepted it. "Have you cultivated qi and blood yet? If you haven't, you can't drink Blood Replenishing Soup."

Chen Sanshi had never dealt with tonics before and knew nothing about them. "There's such a rule?"

"Of course."

Stroking his beard, the old man said, "Every medicine contains some poison. Only martial artists who have cultivated qi and blood can expel the toxins through sweat while training. Otherwise, if you drink too much, you'll be poisoned. Over time, even your internal organs will rot, and you'll be ruined outright."

Chen Sanshi nodded, indicating that he had already cultivated qi and blood.

"Then that's fine."

Only then did the old man accept the slip, rise, select the medicinal materials, and brew the medicine on the spot.

While waiting, the two introduced themselves.

The old man's surname was Jiang. He was Officer Jiang, a hereditary medical officer of the Thousand Household Office, though he held no official rank.

After waiting quietly for half an hour, Chen Sanshi found himself holding a bowl of pitch-black medicinal soup.

He took a tentative sip and nearly retched on the spot.

Not only was it bitter and astringent, it also carried a faint stench like a filthy gutter. No wonder it was poisonous!

After drinking it, his qi and blood did not immediately boil like they had after eating a bear's heart. Instead, he felt as though some foreign object lay in his abdomen, leaving him slightly uncomfortable.

This should be the medicinal potency. He needed to practice in order to digest it.

Officer Jiang said, "The next time you want Blood Replenishing Soup, tell me beforehand. That way, you won't have to wait after coming here."

"Alright."

Chen Sanshi's allowance was one bowl of Blood Replenishing Soup every three days. Curious, he asked, "Officer Jiang, if I use up my quota, is there any other way to get medicine?"

"Buy it."

Officer Jiang fanned the fire with a palm-leaf fan. "But not from me. You need to buy it from the pharmacies run by martial arts academies outside. The medicinal materials for one batch of Blood Replenishing Soup cost ten taels of silver and can brew roughly two bowls."

"How much?!"

Chen Sanshi was dumbfounded.

Even a bear's heart only cost twenty taels of silver.

Ten taels of silver were enough for an ordinary commoner to live for a year in a peaceful year of good harvests, yet they could only be exchanged for two bowls of medicine?

"Anything that can improve cultivation isn't made from ordinary medicinal materials. They generally need to be at least eight or ten years old, and they're also rare. How could they not be expensive? But that's only one reason."

Officer Jiang patiently explained, "The main reason is monopoly."

"Monopoly?"

Chen Sanshi asked, "You mean the martial arts academies?"

"That's right."

Officer Jiang let out a long breath and spoke unhurriedly. "Medicinal materials specifically used to improve cultivation have extremely harsh requirements for their growing environment. There is only so much land suitable for medicinal gardens, and more than half of it has been sold off to martial arts academies. How could the prices not be high?"

"Why sell it?"

Chen Sanshi was somewhat puzzled. These were absolute strategic resources.

Officer Jiang said with an amused smile, "Why else? The officials ran short of spending money.

"I heard from my father that when he was young, the medicinal gardens of our Thousand Household Office numbered over two hundred plots altogether, scattered here and there. Later, every time a County Magistrate was replaced, some land would be sold. After several decades, wouldn't it all be gone?

"Young man, you only just arrived, so you don't know. In earlier years, not only were wages owed, even medicine was owed. Many people ran away. They would rather flee to prefectures and provinces, hide their names and identities, and become household slaves for great sects than remain in the garrison.

"If not for Elder Yan's reforms, which recovered some of the land, you people would not have medicine to drink now.

"But most of it is still in the martial arts academies' hands. Even Lord Hundred Households cannot have as much as they want."

"Outrageous."

Chen Sanshi summed it up in two words.

With corruption festering to this extent, he doubted the imperial court had many years left.

No wonder Xiang Tingchun had to resort to extortion and blackmail just to get anything done, and even then, it might not work.

He took his leave and returned to the Training Ground.

The Reed Leaf Spear danced.

Stance work, spear technique, breathing method, and the circulation of qi and blood—his body began operating under a tremendous load.

Only then did the medicine's effects reveal themselves.

Whenever his qi and blood neared exhaustion, the medicine would begin transforming, stimulating every organ in his body, accelerating the tempering of his qi and blood in an endless cycle. Once it gave rise to a second strand of qi and blood, he would enter the Blood Training Mastery realm.

After several sets of spear techniques, Chen Sanshi was covered in foul-smelling sweat. Yet his proficiency progress had surged dramatically. At this rate, it would not be long before he mastered his spear technique.

Moreover, the medicinal potency in that bowl had yet to be fully consumed. It was enough for at least two more days of training.

"My realm is still low. One bowl of medicine every three days is just enough for now, so I don't need to spend money buying more."

"If I buy more beast meat in between, I can push my cultivation speed to the limit!"

"Dinner!"

The sky had already darkened. Chen Sanshi packed up his things and returned home.

The food had long been prepared at home. The moment he entered, Lan Jie'er helped him remove his armor and poured him water. After dinner, she even heated water for him to wash his feet, tending to him through the whole routine until he was thoroughly comfortable.

"Right."

Gu Xinlan carried a wooden basin. "Someone came looking for you today. They said they wanted to invite you as a guest tomorrow."

Chen Sanshi asked, "Who?"

"Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy."

After pouring out the foot-washing water, Gu Xinlan began massaging Chen Sanshi. "It sounded like they wanted to invite you to some extravagant place like Chunman Tower. If I remember correctly, Qin Xiong's younger brother seems to train at Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy."

Chen Sanshi lay facedown on the bed, pondering why Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy was looking for him.

Qin Feng? It was possible, but unlikely.

He was now a Vanguard Banner Officer. His identity would be directly registered with the Governor's Mansion. Unless it was...

It was also possible that it was over the immortal treasure.

The matter of the immortal treasure had been nothing but coincidence.

Before going to kill Qin Feng, who could have imagined he would run into barbarians?

Young Master Liang probably suspected that he had obtained the immortal treasure... Fortunately, the other side was only speculating and had no concrete evidence. Moreover, the martial arts academies and the military were at odds. At this juncture, they would not dare do anything to him.

Still.

He truly needed to accelerate the growth of his strength.

"If they come again in the future, refuse them outright."

Over the following days, apart from carrying out his city patrol duties, Chen Sanshi devoted all his remaining energy to martial arts training.

Blood Replenishing Soup, beast meat, and Xu Bin as a sparring partner—far beyond his expectations, he successfully broke through six days later.

"Ha—"

Utterly exhausted, Chen Sanshi drove the spear butt into the ground. Within his body, a second current of hot blood surged forth.

No, it was different from others.

Strictly speaking, his qi and blood were not "strands," but "currents."

Technique: Basic Soldier Spear Technique (Mastery)

Progress: (0/1000)

Effect: Fierce spear momentum, astonishing endurance, abundant qi and blood