Spirit Crane Spear Technique

"How does it feel?"

"Not bad."

Ding Ling activated his Max-Level Acting and said with absolute confidence.

In truth, he had only understood a tiny fraction of the profound mysteries and essence of this spear technique, realizing that it was simply very powerful.

If he were really expected to learn and practice it,

without several months, he could forget about mastering it! That was under ideal circumstances. Under less-than-ideal conditions, taking three to five years would be perfectly normal.

"Oh?"

Tong Yuan stroked his beard and scrutinized Ding Ling, his mind brimming with questions he wanted to voice. After pondering for a long while, however, he only said:

"Can you demonstrate it once?"

"I can."

Ding Ling nodded firmly, then slowly closed his eyes.

He repeated the same trick.

Everything related to the Spirit Crane Spear Technique flashed through his mind.

Then...

A book rapidly condensed on the shelves of the Library:

"Spirit Crane Spear Technique"

Boom!

Spirit Crane Spear Technique: Max Level

Strength +1

Agility +1.4

Constitution +1.

At that instant, Ding Ling saw through and comprehended all the profound mysteries and essence of the Spirit Crane Spear Technique.

The various moves of the spear technique seemed to transform into instinct, engraved into Ding Ling's body.

Ding Ling gripped his spear and shook the shaft.

His body followed the spear.

Clang, clang, clang!

Nine spear flashes burst forth from thin air!

In an instant, nine points of starlight flickered past. Each seemed capable of piercing straight through a person's skull. Their force was immense, stirring a biting wind, and they moved so quickly that the naked eye could barely discern them!

Caw!

Faintly, it seemed one could hear the sharp cry of a spirit crane!

By the end of the spear dance, the spear seemed to have transformed into a spirit crane soaring high, as if it would spread its wings for ten thousand miles and look down upon all living beings! A nimble yet domineering aura formed in the air.

Whoosh!

Ding Ling lowered his spear and stood upright. After taking a long breath, he cupped his hands toward Tong Yuan to show that he had finished the demonstration.

"...!!!"

Tong Yuan was dumbstruck.

"How is that possible?!"

Zhao Yun was utterly stupefied.

"That's amazing!"

Zhao Xiaoyu trembled.

"Just as expected of the General."

Zhao Bingxuan's almond-shaped eyes glowed with admiration.

It was a long while before Tong Yuan seemed to return to his senses.

He was no longer composed.

Nor did he retain his initial sternness.

He merely stared at Ding Ling, seemingly muttering to himself yet also seemingly speaking to him:

"Unbelievable, unbelievable! In all my years, what strange people and bizarre events have I not seen? But a terrifying figure like you, Ding Ling—I have not only never met one, I have never even heard of one! Even the legendary Child of the Era could not possibly be this astonishing!"

The one person in all history who could make his Master lose his composure like this was probably Ding Ling.

Zhao Yun thought this as he looked at Ding Ling with an increasingly strange and shaken expression.

He truly could not understand how Ding Ling had accomplished all this. After all, he had measured his own study of the Spirit Crane Spear Technique in years!

Yet Ding Ling had mastered it in an extremely short time.

Even counting the time his Master had spent demonstrating it, it had only taken about fifteen minutes!

This was simply too unbelievable!

"Are you certain you had never learned the Spirit Crane Spear Technique before?"

Tong Yuan asked a similar question again.

Clearly, his state of mind was already extremely unsettled.

"Certain."

Ding Ling answered firmly as before. His Max-Level Acting activated, leaving his face natural, confident, and calm.

There was not the slightest trace of guilt!

When all was said and done, Ding Ling was cheating with a hack. It was not his own aptitude that was taking effect.

Therefore, whenever people asked him such questions, he felt an inexplicable sense of guilt.

At times like this, acting could conceal it for him!

Of course, as time passed, Ding Ling's skin grew thicker, and he became more and more accustomed to his cheat. That sense of guilt grew fainter and fainter. He believed that after some more time, it might disappear completely.

"Whew."

Tong Yuan let out a long breath, forcibly suppressing the turbulent waves surging within him!

His worldview and outlook on life had both begun to waver at this moment.

He needed time to steady himself.

It was a long while before

he recovered and stared at Ding Ling.

"I truly cannot comprehend the degree of your talent! It exceeds the limits of my understanding!"

He continued speaking to himself:

"From a young age, I was obsessed with the path of cultivating immortality. Thus, in my youth, I traveled far and wide, studying the martial arts of various schools. In the end, I obtained the mysterious Spirit Phoenix Breathing Method, the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear, and other inheritances on Penglai Island.

"Relying on these inheritances, I worked hard for many years and eventually became the God of Spears in the eyes of the world!

"But even according to the records in the inheritance, I could still be considered fairly talented. Yet when I compare myself to you, I truly am nothing."

"Senior, you are being too modest."

Ding Ling activated his acting and said solemnly:

"In this era, aside from Senior, there is no one else worthy of the title of God of Spears! Senior has already reached the pinnacle of the mortal world. How can you belittle yourself?"

"You are right."

Comforted by Ding Ling in return, Tong Yuan could not help laughing wryly.

"I was too attached to appearances."

He sighed.

"But even the inheritance contains no record of talent as monstrous as yours. You should know that, according to its records, the greatest spear wielder was Chi You of the Ancient Era. Yet even Chi You did not possess talent as terrifying as yours! That is why your existence feels like an illusory dream to me, something impossible to understand!"

Chi You?

Ding Ling was secretly surprised.

Could it be that the God of Spears' inheritance came from Chi You?

Tong Yuan seemed to see through Ding Ling's thoughts and said:

"This inheritance did not come from Chi You. However, it does record the spear techniques Chi You knew."

"Senior, you mean..."

"That's right."

Tong Yuan stroked his beard.

"Chi You knew the Spirit Snake, Spirit Crane, Spirit Phoenix, and other spear techniques. It could be said that this inheritance evolved from Chi You himself. Later, people revised and studied it several times, changing the names and other aspects, and it became the spear techniques of today. As for the original names of those techniques, I do not know either."

"I see."

Ding Ling's heart shook.

He had never expected Tong Yuan's inheritance to be traceable to the Ancient Era.

No wonder he called himself the Penglai God of Spears.

So it was because his inheritance had been obtained on Penglai Island.

"But as far as I know, wasn't Chi You's divine weapon the Tiger Soul Saber?"

"Who told you that Chi You only knew saber techniques?"

Tong Yuan revealed a strange expression.

"Chi You was proficient with all eighteen kinds of weapons. He may have been most skilled in saber techniques, but his spear techniques were also extraordinary. Otherwise, they would never have been passed down to this era."

After chatting for a while,

Tong Yuan restrained his unusual expression and became solemn once more.

"Let's set the matter of the inheritance aside for now. We will continue the lesson. This time, I will teach you the Spirit Phoenix Spear Technique! Compared to the Spirit Crane Spear Technique, the Spirit Phoenix Spear Technique is faster, more agile, and more ferocious, so it is naturally more difficult. It is not easy to master. In those days, even I had to expend tremendous effort to cultivate it to the state of perfect mastery."

He glanced at Ding Ling.

"If you master the Spirit Phoenix Spear Technique quickly as well, then..."

Then what?

He did not continue.

Instead, he directly began wielding the deadwood.

At this moment, a piece of deadwood seemed to transform into a lifelike phoenix!

Boom!

Even the most casual strike possessed tremendous power.

Most importantly, it was fast!

It was as fast as lightning. With a sudden thrust from thin air, it produced dozens of points of starlight!