Li Yuan's Strength

Li Yuan's Strength

By late December, Jiang City had entered winter, with temperatures lingering around freezing for long stretches.

Yet inside the Guanshan Branch Hall of Starfire Martial Hall, the temperature remained fixed at 20 degrees Celsius, making it exceptionally comfortable.

7024 Martial Arts Room.

Two men clad in full protective gear, their helmets sealed tight, were engaged in an intense battle with cold weapons in hand.

"Kill!" One figure, nearly 1.9 meters tall in shoes, wielded a silver spear. His feet shifted in rapid succession, and he moved like a swimming dragon as his spear suddenly blurred into an afterimage and stabbed at his opponent.

Fast! Precise! Ruthless!

The other figure was nearly two meters tall and immensely burly, holding a saber in one hand and a shield in the other.

His reaction was even faster; though he moved later, he struck first.

The great shield smashed forward like an impregnable bronze wall and iron rampart, crashing viciously into the incoming spear.

"Boom~" Li Yuan, holding the spear, felt as though he had struck a steel plate. Terrifying force rebounded through the shaft. An ordinary martialist's arms would likely have gone numb from that collision.

"Stick!" Yet Li Yuan's spear was incomparably nimble. He followed the force backward, even drawing back the spear shaft to dissipate as much of that power as possible.

Retreating did not mean falling into a disadvantage.

Sometimes, only by yielding force could one minimize the damage done to one's body.

"Whoosh!"

The spear stabbed out again with a fierce howl. In an instant, it seemed to split into dozens of phantoms, blanketing his opponent from every direction.

One of the five ultimate moves of the Rock Spear Technique—Qunshan Wanxiang.

It excelled at group attacks and confusion.

Swish! Swish! Swish! A flood of saber light erupted, colliding with the spear shadows in an instant. The Black Armor martialist with saber and shield alternated between slashing with his saber and blocking with his shield.

He retreated eight steps in succession, yet forcibly blocked Li Yuan's entire sequence of ultimate moves.

"Watch out."

Li Yuan suddenly let out a thunderous roar, like an exploding clap of thunder.

Fortunately, this was a sealed, soundproof room. Otherwise, they would definitely have been reported for disturbing the neighbors.

After stabbing out more than twenty times in succession, Li Yuan's momentum had reached its peak. With that roar, the spear in his hand became like a great dragon howling through the air, smashing down with terrifying force.

One of the five ultimate moves of the Rock Spear Technique—Rock Settles the Universe!

It turned the spear into a heavy staff, a battle halberd, and even more so a colossal boulder rolling downhill with unstoppable momentum. It was the fiercest possible eruption.

The transition between the two ultimate moves was incredibly swift.

At that dangerous moment, the Black Armor figure seemed able only to instinctively raise his shield and do his utmost to block the descending blow.

"Bang~"

After the vicious collision, the Black Armor figure looked somewhat bedraggled, but his body easily endured the impact before retreating.

"Stop!"

"Li Yuan, you win." The Black Armor figure suddenly spoke, his voice carrying helplessness and a trace of emotion.

Li Yuan withdrew his spear and stood still.

Click~

Click~ Both men removed their helmets.

"Li Yuan, the improvement in your spear technique is truly frightening. Those last two moves you linked together should have been two ultimate moves, right?" The shield-bearing man was a bearded fellow around forty years old, with a saber scar on his face.

"That's right."

Li Yuan smiled and nodded. "They're ultimate moves from the foundational section of the Second Order secret manual, the Starry Sky Spear Technique. I only just mastered the link between those two moves."

Indeed, Li Yuan had only recently begun to master the final of the five ultimate moves, Rock Settles the Universe, in the Virtual Network.

Today was the first time he had used it in real combat.

"Impressive."

"I've been your sparring partner for two months, and the progress in your spear technique is simply terrifying. I've never seen a spear genius like you. At first, my saber technique could still suppress yours, but now my skill level is actually inferior to yours." The bearded man sighed. "Just now, I used physical attributes of around Level 8.0. My speed and strength were clearly a notch above yours, yet I still couldn't suppress you."

"For that final spear strike, I estimate I used physical strength close to Level 9. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn't have been able to block it."

Li Yuan smiled.

If he used Rock Settles the Universe directly in real combat, it would be easy for his opponent to evade it.

The best method was to build momentum with Qunshan Wanxiang, then defeat the enemy with the final blow.

"Your spear technique." The bearded man looked at Li Yuan. "It's already a notch stronger than my saber technique. You should be close to the Fourth Stage."

"Still far from it." Li Yuan shook his head. "I haven't even fully mastered the foundational section of the Second Order secret manual. I'll still need Uncle Hu to spar with me more."

"Haha, no problem." The bearded man laughed. "Shall I attack next, and you defend?"

"All right." Li Yuan nodded.

This bearded man was named Fang Longhu. He was an ordinary instructor at Starfire Martial Hall, a Level 15 martialist, and the real-combat sparring partner Instructor Xing had recommended to Li Yuan.

Twice a week, one hour each time, at 10,000 Blue Star Coins per session.

A real-combat sparring partner had to be far stronger than the person they trained.

Only a martialist of at least Level 15 could properly control the situation when sparring with Li Yuan.

Half an hour later.

Li Yuan finished today's real-combat training and saw Fang Longhu off.

"Whew!"

"Real combat really is more satisfying than virtual combat." Li Yuan muttered to himself, deeply exhilarated.

Virtual combat could train every kind of technique from every angle, but it ultimately lacked a sense of reality.

Real combat was the ultimate goal.

"Every time I engage in real combat, I can feel my spear technique and movement technique improving faster." Li Yuan inwardly sighed. "Unfortunately, opportunities for real combat are extremely rare."

First, real combat easily led to injuries. Once injured, recovery alone could take a long time and greatly delay cultivation.

Second, good sparring partners were difficult to find and expensive. Ordinary people simply could not afford them.

"A professional sparring partner like Fang Longhu can earn several hundred thousand Blue Star Coins every month just from sparring, on top of working at the Martial Hall during the day," Li Yuan thought to himself.

After all, Fang Longhu had basically given up on becoming a Source Martialist. He spent little on martial arts and only needed to maintain his physical attributes.

Thus, earning several million a year came easily to him.

"Martial arts cultivation is a gold-devouring cave, but if one achieves even modest success, the money comes in fiercely, and there's no need to take risks." Li Yuan thought. "A Level 15 martialist can earn this much. What about a Source Martialist? No wonder Hall Master Wan gave me one million Blue Star Coins without treating it as anything."

"My spear technique."

"It improved another 1% tonight. Its progress has been getting slower and slower lately." With a thought from Li Yuan, the Divine Palace Panel appeared in his field of vision.

--

[Life Level: Level 7.7 (Not Yet Ranked)]

Physical Attribute Index: 80 (A comprehensive measurement of explosive force, endurance, speed, physique, mental power, and many other aspects.)

Punching Force: 724 kilograms

Speed: 17.3 meters/second

Mental Power: Level 14.2

Body Cultivation Method: Rock Foundation Cultivation Method

Mind Cultivation Method: Great Sun Starry Sky Sutra

Skill Realm: Spear Technique (Third Stage 88%), Movement Technique (Third Stage 65%), Fist Technique (Third Stage 99%)

[Note: A certain unawakened higher spiritual nature lies dormant within the body.]

--

"Judging from the rate of progress over the past half month, it will take at least another month to raise my spear technique to Third Stage 99%." Li Yuan thought. "Going from the Third Stage to the Fourth Stage will be an even greater bottleneck."

This step had trapped countless formidable martialists.

Over these past few months at Starfire Martial Hall, Li Yuan had come into contact with many martialists.

Along with his own cultivation, he gradually came to understand the significance of Fourth Stage skill.

"Among the more than ten martialists above Level 16 that I know at the Martial Hall..."

"Other than Instructor Xing, none have cultivated their skills beyond the Fourth Stage." Li Yuan shook his head slightly.

Most First-Order Martialists only possessed martial arts techniques at the Third Stage.

Most people's martial arts techniques were not even as good as Li Yuan's current ones.

"Teacher Xu Bo's staff technique crushes mine with ease." Li Yuan could not help recalling the past two months.

Every week, he received one session of guidance from Teacher Xu Bo.

"Teacher's skill is so profound. Why hasn't he become a Source Martialist? Is it because of an injury?" Many speculations had arisen in Li Yuan's mind.

Feeling that his body had rested sufficiently, Li Yuan suppressed his many thoughts.

"Never mind."

"Keep practicing the spear."

"I've just mastered the five ultimate moves of the Rock Spear Technique. If I can link them together perfectly, I should reach Third Stage 99%." Li Yuan was exceptionally excited. "Before the January Adjustment Exam, I'll strive to bring my spear technique as close to 99% as possible."

Only ten days remained until the January Adjustment Exam.

"Whew!"

"Whew!" Li Yuan continued practicing his spear technique. In the blink of an eye, another hour passed, and it was past eight in the evening.

He placed the great spear into the weapon cabinet.

Sweating all over, Li Yuan first went into the Rest Room and luxuriated in a hot bath.

Only then did he take out an exquisitely packaged medicine bottle from the treatment room.

"Source Power Essence Pill."

"Twenty days have passed since the last time I took one. It's about time to eat another." Li Yuan took an essence pill from the bottle.

He was extremely careful.

After all, a single pill was worth 100,000 Blue Star Coins.

The Source Power Essence Pill was thumb-sized, its surface wreathed in strands of purple radiance. Bursts of fragrance wafted from it, as though stirring up one's cravings.

He swallowed it directly.

Li Yuan returned to the center of the Martial Arts Room. He spread his legs and bent them slightly, standing in a stance as steady as a rock, his mind concentrated.

Very soon.

Threads of scorching, domineering energy gradually spread from Li Yuan's chest to his limbs and bones, making his entire body tremble involuntarily.

This was Source Power.

"Ah~ That feels so good!" Li Yuan thoroughly enjoyed it.

"Sizzle~"

"Sizzle~" The muscles, tendons, bones, and skeleton within Li Yuan's body were like Taotie, madly devouring the threads of Source Power coursing through his body and growing increasingly stronger.

[Your Life Level has risen from Level 7.7 to Level 7.8]

[Your punching force has risen from...]

[Your explosive speed...]

(End of Chapter)