Grinding

The Crimson Serpent Spear.

Wu Ming knew this was a long spear made from excellent Crimson Serpent wood, far superior to the sinew spear in his hand. If bought from outside, one spear would cost at least forty taels of silver. Even within the Seven Martial Alliance, purchasing one from the 'Refining Hall', one of the seven Inner Halls, would cost a full thirty taels, making it quite valuable.

As for the monthly remuneration of ten taels of silver...

There were many types of jobs for Blood Forging martial artists. Jobs like escorting convoys required leaving the city and traveling to distant places. Because of the danger, the rewards were quite high, often priced per 'trip'.

Jobs like patrolling mountains, patrolling rivers, or guarding manors, because they were outside the city, also commanded high prices.

Judging by Chen Gui's offer, it likely wasn't a job outside the city, but most likely one stationed within the city. For a job stationed within the city to offer ten taels a month was indeed not low. For a Scattered Hand martial artist, six or seven taels was considered a good offer, while for a Proficient martial artist, it was usually thirteen or fourteen taels a month.

"I'm just making a suggestion, you can take your time to consider."

Chen Gui patted Wu Ming's shoulder, grinned, and stepped back. Then he looked at the other young martial artists not far away and called out, "Hey, who else wants to spar? Come and spar with Brother Wu."

Those young martial artists were all surprised that Wu Ming could withstand Chen Gui's dozens of moves. When they heard Chen Gui calling out, they all became interested. The main reason was that long spears were difficult to train with, so few people practiced with them. To hone practical combat skills, one had to spar and train against all sorts of people. It was rare to encounter someone like Wu Ming who practiced with a spear, so naturally, they all wanted to try fighting against a spear.

After all, it was evident before that Wu Ming could hold on for so long mainly due to the advantage of the long spear.

"Brother Wu, may I ask for some pointers."

Someone stepped forward proactively, inviting Wu Ming.

Wu Ming naturally wouldn't refuse. He was still recalling the details of his previous fight with Chen Gui. At his current stage, he truly needed practical combat experience. He immediately took a few steps forward, returned to the open area, and held his spear, accepting the invitation.

"I practice single-saber techniques, and I've reached a satisfactory level of proficiency. Brother Wu, please go first."

He Jin stood with his saber, cupped his fist towards Wu Ming. Because Chen Gui had been socializing widely, he and Wu Ming knew each other, but their relationship was much more distant. They only knew each other's names. Although his background wasn't as good as Chen Gui's, he was also from a wealthy family in the city. He had also practiced martial arts since childhood and had reached the Proficient level, but he had lost more often than won against Chen Gui.

Hearing He Jin's words, Wu Ming naturally wouldn't be polite, as the other party's skill level was higher than his. He immediately flicked his long spear and thrust forward, still aiming directly at the center of the chest.

With the experience of fighting Chen Gui before, Wu Ming had a preliminary understanding of spear fighting in practice. The saying "an inch longer, an inch stronger" meant maintaining distance was key. At the same time, holding the tail of the spear and slightly shaking it after exerting force would cause the spearhead to swing, thus allowing for the evolution of many flexible moves, which were the sixteen standard moves of the Falling Leaf Spear Technique.

Swish.

Facing Wu Ming's thrust, He Jin also dodged to the side at the first moment, and simultaneously brought his single saber down, pressing against the spear shaft.

But unlike before, Wu Ming had already planned the follow-up after his thrust. After this thrust was dodged by He Jin sidestepping, Wu Ming gripped the spear tail with his right hand and flicked it with force. In an instant, the spearhead shifted and swept towards He Jin diagonally.

This was precisely 'Returning Wind Sweeps the Willow' from the sixteen moves of the Falling Leaf Spear Technique!

Although the moves were executed roughly and far from skillfully, the contained force was real and incomparably fierce. The long spear swept out with a humming sound. If this spear had hit, even if He Jin were wearing leather armor, he would have been injured by the shock.

He Jin sensed danger and immediately dodged, clearing Wu Ming's spear path.

Wu Ming did not hesitate and pressed his advantage, continuing forward with his spear. After 'Returning Wind Sweeps the Willow', he followed up with a 'Pear Blossom Thrust', thrusting the spear like a blooming pear blossom, upward and diagonally towards the throat.

He Jin, originally relying on his Proficient realm to let Wu Ming attack first, never expected Wu Ming to be significantly more skilled when fighting him compared to when he fought Chen Gui. He immediately used the advantage of the long spear to launch a series of attacks, forcing He Jin to retreat repeatedly.

"Impressive."

Chen Gui stood to the side, marveling.

Most people, when facing an opponent with a higher skill level, would often feel timid and hesitate to make moves, fearing that their flaws would be exploited. But Wu Ming did the opposite, relying on the might of the long spear to launch continuous attacks.

Although the moves were clearly unpracticed and there were flaws in the transitions, the problem was that the spear was ultimately 'long'. The saying "an inch longer, an inch stronger" was fully displayed here. Even if there were flaws in the transitions between moves, as long as the distance wasn't closed, He Jin couldn't exploit those flaws for a while and had to repeatedly retreat and parry.

"Brother Wu chose a great spear technique. Although spear techniques are hard to learn, I see Brother Wu using it so smoothly. He must be naturally gifted for spears. Once Brother Wu masters his spear techniques, he will likely have few opponents at the same level."

Someone nearby commented.

It wasn't surprising for a Scattered Hand martial artist to have a slight advantage against a Proficient martial artist, especially with a long weapon against a short one, when launching an offensive. After all, even a Scattered Hand would know at least a few moves. Compared to a Proficient martial artist, they were just not as skilled or continuous. When used in an offensive, they were still solid moves with real power, but they would often become scattered after a few exchanges.

However, for Wu Ming, who was just starting practical combat, to have such awareness could only mean that some people were naturally suited for martial arts.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

He Jin was put in a somewhat awkward position by Wu Ming's series of attacks, but he was, after all, a Proficient martial artist. After several moves of being in a tight spot, he finally stabilized his footing and exchanged blows with Wu Ming. After dozens of moves, he finally found an opening and closed in with his saber.

"Brother Wu, I concede."

Having won this bout, He Jin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he had fought Chen Gui before, it wasn't shameful for him not to defeat Wu Ming in dozens of moves. However, if he had made a mistake and been counterattacked and defeated by Wu Ming, it would have been a huge embarrassment. Winning now allowed him to save face.

Of course, this was also because he had let Wu Ming attack first. Otherwise, if he hadn't held back at all and had engaged in a direct exchange from the start, he might not have found himself in such an awkward situation, being suppressed by Wu Ming's continuous advantage.

"Thank you, Brother He, for the pointers."

Wu Ming was quite candid and cupped his fist towards He Jin.

Fighting against a Proficient martial artist as a Scattered Hand, and being able to fight for dozens of moves, even with the advantage of the weapon, was already quite astonishing. In reality, if he hadn't had the Microscopic Perception, the gap in skill, which was a whole major realm, would have made it impossible for him to last ten moves.

"Brother Chen, Brother He, if you two keep this up, I'm starting to get a little scared to go up."

Someone nearby said with a laugh.

Not everyone among them had reached the Proficient level. Besides Chen Gui and He Jin, the other few did not reach the Proficient level. Seeing how difficult it was for Chen Gui and He Jin, who were at the Proficient skill level, to take down Wu Ming, they were suddenly lacking confidence against Wu Ming, who was just starting practical combat.

But sparring was still a form of honing. Soon, someone else stepped forward and invited Wu Ming to fight.

"Brother Wu, my swordsmanship is not yet proficient. I won't hold back against you, so let's start directly."

Li Cui stepped forward with his sword and cupped his fist towards Wu Ming.

Wu Ming returned the gesture with a fist and palm. The two maintained a distance of about ten feet. The next moment, they suddenly clashed.

With the experience of the previous two exchanges, Wu Ming was even more proficient this time. He immediately relied on the advantage of the long spear, launching a series of thrusts and chops towards Li Cui. Relying on the distance advantage of the long spear, after a few brief exchanges, he forced Li Cui to retreat and dodge.

With the advantage secured, Wu Ming had no intention of letting Li Cui get close again. He pressed his attack with the spear, continuously advancing. Although Li Cui attempted to break through Wu Ming's spear techniques with several agile sword moves, aiming to close the distance quickly, his previous success against He Jin relied on He Jin's mastery of his blade techniques. Li Cui's swordsmanship was clearly a notch below, lacking the smooth fluidity and mastery, thus exerting much less pressure on Wu Ming.

Under his Perceptive Insight, Wu Ming firmly controlled his spear, breaking through Li Cui's sword moves multiple times in succession.

After this, They fought for over a hundred exchanges. Li Cui suddenly sheathed his sword and leaped back, gasping, "I'm not fighting anymore! Damn it, this spear is too long, and it's too hard to break through. I can't get close at all."

Li Cui could feel Wu Ming's spear techniques becoming more and more proficient. His attempts to counter-attack had been completely ineffective, and if he continued, he might even be defeated. While it wasn't shameful to lose to someone at the same Scattered Hand level, Wu Ming was still new to practical combat. Li Cui didn't want to be the first person to lose to Wu Ming.