Quivering Spear Force

In the spacious courtyard.

A large number of martial artists, armed with swords and blades, honed their techniques. Their movements were powerful, and the vigorous, dense blood energy emanating from them resembled flickering flames, raising the temperature of the entire courtyard several degrees higher than outside.

Wu Ming, carrying his ox-sinew spear, was unremarkable among the crowd. After observing the courtyard for a moment, he chose a deserted corner, stood there, slightly angled his body, held the spear horizontally with both hands, bent his knees slightly, and assumed a basic stance: the Horizontal Spear Ready Stance.

With his Martial Token, he could actually have invited a martial arts master from the Martial Academy to guide his initiation. However, since he had already memorized the entire practice method, Wu Ming decided to try it himself first.

At this moment, Following the descriptions in the Falling Leaf Spear Technique manual, Wu Ming slowly circulated strength through his arms, lifting and pressing, causing the shaft of his ox-sinew spear to bend and tremble. Each tremor clearly contained entangled force.

Trembling the spear was the most fundamental exercise for all spear techniques. It not only honed the skill of circulating force in spear techniques but also invigorated blood energy, mobilizing the ethereal essence within the body to gradually transform into more substantial blood energy.

As this was his first time practicing spear trembling, Wu Ming's movements were very clumsy. However, in his mind, he continuously recalled the key points of spear trembling training from the Falling Leaf Spear Technique, how to exert force with each muscle, and where to be loose and where to be tight.

"Muscles and bones must be loose, the skin and pores must be open."

Wu Ming silently recited to himself.

Spear trembling, though seemingly simple, was actually quite complex in its internal techniques. The force was not simply generated by the arms. One had to first stabilize the entire body, then ensure stable footing and a relaxed waist, allowing the force to travel upwards from the legs to the hips.

It was like mounting a tall horse, with the body undulating with the horse's gait. With each up and down motion, bursts of force erupted, which were then transmitted to the spear shaft, making the long spear resemble a winding dragon or snake, exhibiting a trembling texture.

The surrounding sounds of swords and blades whistling through the air were like a constant din, but these noises had no effect on Wu Ming. His mind was completely tranquil, his thoughts focused, and his spirit concentrated on the movements of his body and the trembling of the spear in his hands.

With over a year of foundation in the Pure Yang Blood-Drawing Stance, achieving a stable and steady posture was quite easy. The difficulty lay in the "Two Dragons Covering the Sea," achieving a state where the body moved like a dragon, circulating force throughout.

"Hoo."

The first attempt at spear trembling lasted only a moment before Wu Ming stopped. His stamina was still ample, but his arms were already feeling numb and sore.

Although the spear itself was not heavy, the force generated by trembling the entire body, with its up and down movements, contained immense power. Controlling this force solely with his arms was naturally very strenuous.

"The force generated by the trembling spear cannot be forcefully restrained by the arms; one must follow its momentum..."

Wu Ming rested briefly. Once the numbness in his arms subsided somewhat, he resumed circulating force and practicing.

He repeated this process several times.

Relying on his meticulous perception and insight, he continuously adjusted his movements. Soon, his arms felt less strained. However, the act of trembling the spear itself, which involved circulating force throughout the body, was comparable to running in terms of exertion. After several repetitions, Wu Ming's back was soaked with sweat.

"This spear trembling also consumes a lot of stamina. An ordinary person would struggle to maintain it for even a short while."

Wu Ming stood leaning on his spear, breathing lightly.

In the past, when he condensed blood energy and cultivated the Pure Yang Blood-Drawing Stance, he would enter a state of tranquility through the stance, guiding the blood energy to gather. The process consumed very little stamina. Or rather, the first stage of blood condensation focused on "nourishing" and "tranquility," aiming to minimize unnecessary expenditure and allow blood energy to accumulate.

However, the transition from the first to the second stage of blood condensation was entirely different. After the body underwent transformation, it entered a state of fullness. No matter how he stood in a stance, blood energy would not spontaneously generate. At this point, he had to move his body, transitioning from the stage of "stillness" to the stage of "movement." Through the process of practicing force circulation, blood energy was tempered from all parts of his body.

This spear trembling exercise involved force flowing through the entire body, with every part exerting effort, almost comparable to running at full speed. Even a Blood Forging martial artist with a robust physique would feel a significant decrease in stamina after continuously trembling the spear.

"With this training method, my appetite will likely increase significantly. No wonder Blood Forging martial artists are major consumers of money. If I didn't train, my appetite would only be slightly more than an ordinary person's. But with such high-intensity training, I'll probably need to eat at least one to two times more than a normal person to sustain the energy expenditure, and my meals will need to include a certain amount of meat."

Wu Ming gained a deeper understanding of how practicing martial arts was an expensive endeavor.

After a brief rest, Wu Ming once again lifted his spear, breathing steadily. He slightly bent his knees, lowered his body, and circulated force again, causing the spear in his hands to tremble along with his body's movements.

Compared to the previous few attempts, this time he was noticeably more proficient. However, it was only proficiency. Even with Wu Ming's meticulous level of control and perception, he couldn't possibly master the spear trembling technique in just a few attempts. He could clearly feel that there were still many flaws in how his body generated force.

Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale...

Wu Ming's mind was serene. His gaze was steady and calm as he adjusted his breathing, perceiving the force generation in his body, carefully experiencing the movement of each muscle, and comparing it with the guiding diagrams in the Falling Leaf Spear Technique, identifying and correcting flaws one by one.

Basic techniques required practicing correctly first, then practicing until proficient, and finally mastering them to perfection to grasp their essence.

Thus, Wu Ming immersed himself in his cultivation, and two hours passed unnoticed.

Hum!

Wu Ming's spear suddenly stopped trembling, emitting a deep humming sound. Then, he gasped for breath, his body drenched in sweat as if he had drowned. The ground beneath him was visibly soaked with sweat.

Even with Wu Ming's physique as a Blood Forging martial artist, he was somewhat exhausted at this point, feeling a sense of weakness in his body. His muscles ached, and he was extremely thirsty.

However, compared to his physical fatigue, he was filled with joy.

After two hours of spear practice, he clearly felt a faint wisp of blood energy being tempered from the depths of his bones and flesh!

Being able to temper blood energy meant he was practicing correctly!

"It seems I don't need to ask a martial arts master for guidance."

Wu Ming exhaled.

If the spear technique was practiced incorrectly, it would not only fail to temper blood energy but could even damage muscles and the lumbar spine. Being able to temper blood energy meant he was on the right track.

This faint wisp of blood energy was insignificant compared to the stream he had condensed in his Dantian. However, the path of blood condensation was a process of accumulation, as the saying goes, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

By accumulating wisp by wisp, the blood energy in his Dantian would gradually grow stronger, eventually leading to a transformation from quantity to quality.

Aside from the tempering of this wisp of blood energy.

Wu Ming could also feel that he had become somewhat proficient in the basic practice of spear trembling. The force generation throughout his body was now largely consistent with the descriptions in the manual, with only minor deficiencies in the most subtle aspects.

"Practice correctly, practice until proficient, the next step is to practice to perfection and grasp the essence of this move. Once the essence of the spear trembling move is grasped, it means mastering the technique of spear force generation. With a little more practice in thrusting, poking, and chopping, I can reach the level of free combat."

"I wonder how long it will take me to master the essence of this move."

Wu Ming thought to himself.

According to the descriptions in the Falling Leaf Spear Technique codex, those with weak comprehension would need to practice diligently for several months, even half a year, to grasp the essence of the Quivering Spear style. Those with strong comprehension, however, only needed a little over a month.

Once the essence of the Quivering Spear style, the foundation for generating force, was mastered, subsequent techniques like thrusting, poking, and chopping would be quite simple. With a little practice, one could achieve proficiency, and then begin practicing the main forms of the Falling Leaf Spear Technique.

Mastering the complete sixteen forms of the Falling Leaf Spear Technique and achieving perfect mastery of its essence would mean stepping into the second level of skill: Penetration.

For ordinary people to reach this stage, even with easier techniques like sabre arts, it often took two to three years of hard work. Spear arts were considerably more difficult, and it was not uncommon for those with average comprehension to struggle for four to five years without achieving penetration.