Half a Month

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.

Chen's Apothecary.

Backyard.

Wu Ming stood in the center of the courtyard, holding the Crimson Serpent Spear, facing Hu Yong, who wielded a heavy ringed saber.

Hu Yong's gaze was solemn. He continuously shifted and dodged, evading Wu Ming's spear while attempting to break through its reach and close the distance. Although he was at Second Blood Forging and possessed greater strength than Wu Ming, the gap wasn't significant enough to overwhelm Wu Ming in terms of power. Consequently, it was very difficult for him to forcefully break through Wu Ming's spear, and he was constantly being blocked.

After they sparred dozens of moves, Hu Yong took a step back, withdrawing his saber and halting his attack. He said with some emotion, "The Young Master said you were a genius at the spear, and I didn't quite believe him before. Now, I'm completely convinced. You're only this age, yet your spear techniques have reached such a level of mastery and flawlessness. I can't find any openings at all. It's truly remarkable."

"But don't get careless. While your moves are exquisite, you haven't reached Second Blood Forging yet. The gap between Second Blood Forging and First Blood Forging isn't just in strength; resilience and stamina are also far greater."

Hu Yong shifted his tone and pointed out some crucial details.

When he sparred with Wu Ming in the relatively open courtyard, it seemed that even with his Second Blood Forging realm, he couldn't break through Wu Ming's spear techniques. However, this was just a spar, not a real life-or-death battle.

If they were truly fighting, he had more than one way to forcefully break Wu Ming's spear techniques. For example, relying on the sustained stamina of Second Blood Forging, he could launch a fierce, continuous assault, exchanging hundreds of blows in a short period without giving Wu Ming any chance to breathe. In this way, even if Wu Ming could defend flawlessly, his stamina would inevitably fall behind, and he would soon reveal an opening due to fatigue.

Secondly, As a Second Blood Forging practitioner, his skin and membranes were tough. If he wore thick leather armor, he could even withstand some of Wu Ming's moves. Apart from the danger of directly piercing through, ordinary sweeping spear strikes could be withstood a few times by deflecting the force. Even if he sustained some injuries, they wouldn't be severe. In this manner, trading injuries for injuries, he could still defeat Wu Ming.

However, he had to admit that Chen Gui, the Young Master, had good judgment. Even if Wu Ming never reached the height of Third Blood Forging, with time, he could become a skilled practitioner among Second Blood Forging experts and surpass him.

"Thank you for your guidance, Uncle Yong," Wu Ming replied politely, cupping his fists in response to Hu Yong's words.

Hu Yong smiled, waved his hand, put away his ringed saber, and said, "Alright, let's rest for a while. I'm going out for a stroll."

With that, Hu Yong left the courtyard, leaving Wu Ming standing alone with his spear.

He weighed the Crimson Serpent Spear in his hand, a thoughtful expression in his eyes. He murmured to himself, "Body and mind united, energy and spirit united, strength and blood united... How can I achieve the unity of body, mind, and technique?"

Over the past half month, he had embraced the 'Lin' character technique at night and honed his spear skills during the day. About two days ago, he had finally mastered all sixteen forms of the Falling Leaf Spear Technique, making each move like a falling leaf, his spear strikes swift as shadows and leaving no trace.

The difference between being infinitely close to mastery and true mastery lay in the fact that no matter how close one got, it was only grasping the 'form' of the spear technique. When executing fixed moves, it was no different from true mastery. However, when facing complex situations with numerous variations, it became difficult to integrate the sixteen forms of the spear technique into all ordinary moves, failing to imbue its essence into his very being.

With true mastery, one was no longer completely bound by the fixed forms of the moves. For example, the 'Wild Goose Flight' in the Falling Leaf Spear Technique was a downward chop performed while grounded. After achieving mastery of the spear technique, even if not standing on both feet, but leaping in the air or using a wall for leverage while moving horizontally, one could still unleash the power of the 'Wild Goose Flight' move.

After reaching mastery in his spear techniques, Wu Ming naturally began to ponder and explore the 'Oneness' realm. However, after two or three days, he still had no clue and couldn't find a specific direction. It was clear that entering the realm of Oneness was not something that could be achieved overnight.

"Hoo."

Wu Ming pondered for a while but couldn't find the key. He finally exhaled, calming the distracting thoughts in his mind.

Perhaps his physical strength was too low, as he hadn't even reached Second Blood Forging. His skin and membranes hadn't strengthened and condensed yet, making it impossible to bear the power-exerting techniques of the 'Oneness Realm.' This was likely why he was stuck and couldn't find the way.

While progress in martial arts was temporarily difficult, his spiritual consciousness hadn't seen any significant improvement either. As for the accumulation of blood energy, it remained a slow and steady process. Fortunately, with the ability to 'visit the north street for a windfall,' his resources were no longer so tight. He was now eating the highly nourishing 'Python-Ox Demon Meat' daily, and his blood energy was growing stronger day by day.

M蟒牛 were a type of demon beast and one of the few approved by the imperial court for farming. Their meat was extremely nourishing, far superior to ordinary meats, and naturally, very expensive. One tael of M蟒牛 meat cost a full tael of silver.

The Wu Ming of the past certainly couldn't afford it, but now he could eat two to three taels daily.

Wu Ming was clear-headed about the changes he had experienced during this period and knew his own strength well. Currently, when facing martial artists at the same First Blood Forging level as Chen Gui and Sun Wang, he could gain the upper hand with the advantage of his spear, even without relying on his Microscopic Perception. And if he utilized his spiritual consciousness...

Although Wu Ming hadn't gone all out in a long time, he knew very well that if he did, he could likely defeat a martial artist at the same First Blood Forging level who had achieved mastery, severely injuring them or even taking their life within a few moves!

Now, after his spiritual consciousness had further strengthened and he had mastered the 'Lin' character technique, his Microscopic Perception was quite terrifying. When his perception was fully deployed, the movements and techniques of others within his line of sight almost seemed to slow down several times!

Let alone Chen Gui and the others.

Even Hu Yong, who was at Second Blood Forging, Wu Ming felt he might not necessarily lose if they were to truly fight.

And this was still based on him only using his physical strength and martial power. After his spiritual consciousness had strengthened half a month ago and he mastered the 'Lin' character technique, he also gained the soul-shaking deterrent of the 'Lin' character technique. This method was even harder to guard against. A First Blood Forging martial artist would basically instantly lose focus after taking one hit, their consciousness becoming chaotic for at least several breaths.

Even a Second Blood Forging martial artist, if caught off guard, would fall into a brief state of disorientation after taking a hit.

One had to realize that in the clashes between martial artists, a difference of a hair's breadth could mean the distance between life and death. Such a method that could cause a brief moment of disorientation during combat was far more powerful than 'hidden weapons' or 'poison darts,' and it was completely unavoidable.

Although Wu Ming had never truly tried it, if he were to attempt an ambush, he was confident that in an instant, he could pierce the throat of a Second Blood Forging martial artist like Hu Yong with his spear and kill him on the spot!

His steadily growing strength was also Wu Ming's confidence.

Of course, all of this was currently Wu Ming's conjecture and judgment, not yet confirmed by actual combat.

"I really need some real combat now, but it's not advisable to be too ostentatious at the moment..."

Wu Ming mused. He knew that sparring and honing skills were fundamentally different from actual combat where blood was shed. Now that his strength had accumulated and he had gained confidence, he naturally yearned for real combat.

He recalled that Chen Gui had mentioned a few days ago that the Chen family's estate's spiritual fields outside the city were nearing harvest and required some martial artists for patrol. Perhaps he could take this opportunity to go along and gain some experience.

Just as Wu Ming was contemplating.

North of the city.

In a secluded alley, within a dim and dilapidated mansion.

A fierce-looking man with a scar on his face walked into the courtyard and slowly entered the main hall. In the dimness deep within the main hall, seven or eight figures were either standing or sitting.

"Old Zhao, why are you so late?"

Someone asked the scarred man who had just entered in a deep voice.

"I was just messing around on North Street for a bit longer... You guys sure got here fast. Judging by your looks, you've already made a plan?"

The scar-faced man grinned and asked, "Go on, which family is it this time?"

A few figures deep within the room exchanged glances. Then, one of them looked at the scar-faced man and spoke with a chilling tone.

"Chen's Apothecary!"

"An apothecary?"

The scar-faced man frowned slightly. "What's the benefit in robbing some damn apothecary? Those medicinal ingredients would still need to be fenced, wouldn't they? Wouldn't that just give the Cautious Punishment Division a chance to investigate?"

"Heh, you don't know the full story."

One person in the shadows chuckled faintly. "The Chen family has been making a lot of money recently with their medicinal tea business. They're unwilling to share the profits from the tea, which has made quite a few people unhappy."

"So, you don't need to worry about fencing the ingredients; someone will take them. And there's no need to worry about the Cautious Punishment Division either. I already know their patrol route for tonight."

"As for Chen's Apothecary, there's only Hu Yong, Second Blood Forging, who's somewhat capable. The other three martial artists are not worth mentioning. It'll only take a quarter of an hour to finish, a foolproof plan."

Hearing this.

The scar-faced man immediately relaxed, grinning. "Then there's no problem. The Cautious Punishment Division has been cracking down hard lately, and we haven't had a chance to make a move in over half a month. I reckon after this job, it's about time we called it quits and went our separate ways."

"Agreed."

"It's about time."

Others in the shadows echoed their sentiments.