Lesson

"Kid, you already died once."

When Wu Tie woke, Old Tie's cold voice sounded at just the right moment.

Wu Tie was completely naked, floating inside an enormous Crystal Ball, his body wrapped in milky white translucent fluid. The wounds on his back and legs itched unbearably as they healed.

Not far from Wu Tie, Lesser Manifested Sage True Lord Yang Jian floated in another Crystal Ball.

Wu Tie merely glanced at him before hurriedly shifting his gaze away. Yang Jian floated there silently, lifeless, the hole through his chest facing Wu Tie. The aura of death washing over him made Wu Tie's entire body go cold, his heart spasming again and again.

On the ground, four Metal Spiders supported Old Tie as he tilted his face up at Wu Tie. "If there hadn't still been a few Energy Puppets here in this Ancient Divine Weapon Camp to handle chores, you'd already be dead."

"Looks like your grandpa overestimated you... I thought you could bring back a few prey animals in style and give me a pleasant surprise."

"Looks like I overestimated you too much... You're just like all the other little rookies. You lack far too many things."

"For now, you aren't qualified to go hunting. Before you barely have a little ability to protect yourself, you aren't qualified to hunt alone."

Wu Tie wanted to speak, but his mouth and lungs were full of fluid. He spat out a few bubbles but could not make the slightest sound.

Blood-red light flickered in Old Tie's eyes as he spoke to Wu Tie in a low voice, seemingly talking to himself.

"Don't think your grandpa is deliberately making things difficult for you, or that I don't want to help you complete Foundation Establishment."

"A person has to eat his fill before he has the strength to fight. Isn't that the truth? No food, no strength!"

"It's hard... Look, your grandpa only has a head left. Helping you kill all those random creatures along the way consumed tremendous power. That was all a little of the family property I painstakingly accumulated over the years."

"Your grandpa only has a head left... This head lives on wind and dew, barely gathering a little power, but there's no way to eat its fill!"

"This Ancient Divine Weapon Camp—I originally thought it could help your grandpa recover a little, but who would have thought this place would be empty enough to starve rats to death!"

"A clever housewife... no, even a real man can't cook porridge without rice, so everything can only depend on you."

Wu Tie nodded forcefully. He understood Old Tie's difficulties. Nor did he blame Old Tie. Being able to cultivate was already a heaven-sent opportunity bestowed upon him by Old Tie. What did he have to resent? He did not even have enough time to be grateful.

Old Tie laughed three times in satisfaction, then his tone became incomparably cold and stern.

"Then, fine. Now begins your real, formal cultivation."

"Beginning the prelude to real cultivation with one 'death' is very good. You won't forget this 'death,' will you?"

Wu Tie's face twitched, and he hurriedly nodded.

How could he possibly forget?

When that juvenile lizard had pounced on him—the heavy blow, the agonizing pain, and the terror of death brought by excessive blood loss and the cold spreading through his body.

It was the first time Wu Tie had truly faced death. For the rest of his life, he would never forget the icy sensation of the lizard's sharp teeth pressed against his neck.

"Very good. If you can remember the fear of death, then you must be even more careful from now on."

"Only caution upon caution will let you survive in this damned place."

"Now, look closely. This is your grandpa's detailed analysis of every creature I have encountered in this basin..."

Blue electricity coursed across the ceiling as vast light screens descended, covering the entire hall. Huge mushroom groves and fern forests appeared, and several Gray Rock Lizards crawled out from a patch of ferns.

Old Tie's voice came from the light screen.

"Gray Rock Lizard, reptilian creature. A standard adult is around five meters long; mutated specimens can exceed fifteen meters. A standard adult's pouncing force is roughly ten tons, and its movement speed is..."

"The standard hardness of a Gray Rock Lizard's claws is..."

"Their armor-piercing capability is..."

"The standard hardness of a Gray Rock Lizard's teeth is..."

"Their armor-piercing capability is..."

"The average thickness of a Gray Rock Lizard's hide is..."

"The standard defensive strength of its hide is..."

Wu Tie stared fixedly at the translucent image of a standard Gray Rock Lizard that had suddenly appeared on the light screen.

Line after line of text and data continuously emerged beside the translucent lizard, precisely marking every characteristic of the Gray Rock Lizard.

Master Hui had also taught Wu Tie lessons about Gray Rock Lizards, but the knowledge he passed on was roughly what Gray Rock Lizards liked to eat, when they went into heat, how many lizard eggs they could lay at once, how many little lizards could hatch, and approximately how many Lineage warriors an adult Gray Rock Lizard could withstand.

Even Master Hui could not dissect every piece of information about a Gray Rock Lizard so systematically and in such detail.

Even the locations of a Gray Rock Lizard's most fatal weaknesses, its movement patterns, the fatal openings caused by its crawling habits, and so on.

The knowledge Old Tie taught was more comprehensive and more detailed. If this knowledge were compiled into books, it could be passed down generation after generation as treasured heirlooms of every Lineage.

Wu Tie's eyes widened as he listened to the explanation from the light screen with complete concentration, committing every word firmly to heart.

Half an hour later, all knowledge concerning the Gray Rock Lizard had been explained. The light screen flickered, and a Black Ring Snake around two meters long appeared.

This was the most common venomous snake in the Cave World. The venom sprayed by a single Black Ring Snake could kill two or three adult Gray Rock Lizards. Thus, after an ordinary person was attacked by one, they would collapse dead on the spot within at most two or three breaths.

The light screen flickered, and detailed data concerning the Black Ring Snake's traits, weaknesses, and every other aspect appeared.

Next came information about Gray Mist Bats.

Then came information about Big-eared Blind Mice.

Information about all kinds of strange creatures continuously surfaced on the light screen. Then, with a flicker, the translucent image of a Gray Rock Lizard appeared.

Old Tie's indifferent voice rang out. "What is the armor-piercing capability of a standard adult Gray Rock Lizard's teeth?"

Having just learned far too much, countless bits of information spun through Wu Tie's mind.

Old Tie's question was so abrupt that Wu Tie froze, unable to answer immediately.

With a crack, dark blue electricity flashed across the Crystal Ball's surface. Dozens of hair-thin currents passed through the Crystal Ball and the white fluid, striking Wu Tie viciously.

Wu Tie convulsed all over as stabbing pain came from every part of his body. He opened his mouth in a soundless scream, his body thrashing violently like a fish out of water.

"Continue the lesson... Maintain the greatest degree of concentration."

Old Tie said coldly, "Remember this lesson. At any time, any distraction, any insignificant flaw... Kid, you will suffer terribly!"

The light screen flickered. Only after Wu Tie convulsed for a quarter of an hour did the pain finally ease from his body.

His eyes wide, he stared fixedly at the light screen as information about all kinds of bizarre creatures flashed past.

Gray Rock Lizards, Lava Lizards, Iron Lizards...

Black Ring Snakes, Fluorescent Snakes, Little Flying Snakes...

Venomous Spiders, Great Hunter Spiders, Black Widows...

Big-eared Blind Mice, Iron-toothed Poison Rats, Gray Hamsters...

Iron-eating Ants, Great Fire Ants, Giant Jaw Ants...

For some reason, while Wu Tie soaked in the Crystal Ball, his mind remained in peak condition. He did not need sleep or rest at all.

Countless pieces of information flashed across the light screen. From time to time, one of the creatures from earlier would suddenly appear, and Old Tie would bark questions about all sorts of data related to it.

Sometimes Wu Tie could answer the questions. More often, electricity flashed, and he convulsed throughout the Crystal Ball in all kinds of embarrassing poses.

Half a month later, forced by the agony of countless electric shocks, Wu Tie had memorized all the information on every creature Old Tie had ever seen in the strange realm of the thousand-mile basin outside.

The light screen continued to flicker. Those strange creature images vanished, and amid broad mushroom groves, fern forests, and huge rocks, a small human figure appeared.

Naked, holding a smooth spear, the faceless figure moved lightly across the ground.

From a clump of ferns, a Little Flying Snake over a foot long, carrying weakly paralyzing venom, suddenly shot out like an arrow toward the small figure's throat. The Little Flying Snake opened its mouth, and four tiny venomous fangs drew a streak of cold light through the air.

The small figure lightly tapped with the spear in his hand, its tip carving a perfectly straight line through the air.

The spear stabbed into the Little Flying Snake's mouth, narrower than a little finger. The snake's body was split apart by the spear, and droplets of blood scattered far away.

Three Iron-toothed Poison Rats suddenly darted out from behind a huge rock. Two leaped toward the small figure, while the third crouched sneakily and sped forward close to the ground.

The two airborne Iron-toothed Poison Rats squeaked, opening their mouths to reveal two black, venomous front teeth as they bit toward the small figure.

The small figure flicked his spear. Two nearly straight spear shadows stabbed forward, and each leaping Iron-toothed Poison Rat took a strike to the head. Their tiny skulls were pierced, and their bodies flew past the small figure's shoulders, one to the left and one to the right.

The spear moved, its butt sweeping up in an arc and gently flicking. The Iron-toothed Poison Rat on the ground was sent flying more than four feet into the air.

The spear made another straight thrust, accurately piercing the third Iron-toothed Poison Rat's head and killing it on the spot.

Wu Tie watched with his eyes wide in shock.

The small figure moved through the mushroom groves and fern forests as all kinds of strange creatures kept appearing to attack him. Yet with only one spear, he easily killed every attacking creature.

Whether it was a massive Gray Rock Lizard or a tiny venomous spider of every color, the small figure used only two movements with his spear—sweeping and thrusting—to perfectly deal with every assault.

Perfect arcs formed an impregnable curved barrier around him. Every attack was swept aside by those supple arcs and could not come within three feet of the small figure.

Each straight thrust was ruthless and sharp. A thrust meant a kill; there was never an empty return.

Whether it was the smallest Gray Funnel Poison Spider, no larger than a mung bean, or a huge adult Gray Rock Lizard, one straight thrust would certainly pierce a vital point.

Wu Tie trembled all over as he watched. His muscles spasmed again and again, every hair on his body stood straight up, and it felt as though layers of electric current flowed continuously over his skin.

This spear technique was simply marvelous.

It was simple, yet possessed an exquisite charm. Compared with the spear in this small figure's hands, the exchanges Wu Tie had seen between his father and older brothers were crude beyond mention.

The mushroom groves, fern forests, rocks, and all the strange creatures on the light screen vanished.

Only the small figure remained on the light screen, holding a spear taller than himself and slowly making the same strikes again and again.

Thrusting forward, thrusting left, thrusting right.

Driving the spear shaft straight backward, straight backward-left, straight backward-right.

Sweeping the spear forward, sweeping left and right, sweeping up and down.

Sweeping the spear shaft backward, sweeping left and right, sweeping up and down.

They were very simple foundational movements, repeated once after another—ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times.

Wu Tie watched the small figure's movements with wide eyes, his hands unconsciously beginning to move along with it.

Electricity flickered over the Crystal Ball's surface. The white fluid did not ripple in the slightest, yet Wu Tie had already passed through the Crystal Ball and landed on the ground.

Wu Tie stared fixedly at the figure on the light screen. He casually grabbed the spear planted in the ground and followed the small figure's movements, striking again and again.

Thrust, thrust.

The figure now maintained only one movement: thrusting forward, steady and level as a square table.

Wu Tie thrust forward, again and again—ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times...

He did not know how long he had been thrusting. His arms had turned bright red, veins bulging one by one beneath his skin. Sweat drenched his whole body, and steaming heat continuously rose from the top of his head.

With a clang, his sore, weak, rigid arms could no longer hold the spear. His ten fingers trembled as they released it, and the spear crashed heavily to the ground.

Before exhausted Wu Tie could sit down, the Crystal Ball above him slowly descended. Electricity flashed, and Wu Tie was drawn inside again, once more soaking in the white fluid.

Threads of extremely thin electric light came through the white fluid, stimulating strange points throughout Wu Tie's body. He fell comfortably asleep.

When he woke, Wu Tie was brimming with strength.

The light screen reappeared. The figure stood upon it, holding a spear and thrusting forward again and again.

Wu Tie slid out of the Crystal Ball, grabbed the spear, and followed the figure's movements, thrusting forward again and again.

Thrusting, straight driving, sweeping, diagonal chopping.

After thousands and tens of thousands of movements, Wu Tie had committed these foundational spear techniques to heart, and his body had formed the most basic muscle memory.

When he swung the spear, his movements were not as standard as the figure's on the light screen, but they had gained a certain flavor.

Especially when he thrust forward, the spear tore through the air and actually produced a faint ripping whistle.

Old Tie stood in the distance, watching Wu Tie's movements and muttering softly.

The enormous white skeleton formed by this Ancient Divine Weapon Camp floated beside Old Tie, muttering softly as well.

Suddenly, Old Tie's voice rose a little. "That's right, your grandpa made a mistake. I threw this kid out there without teaching him the most basic combat techniques... But your grandpa has never been a teacher before... Who doesn't have a first time? Who doesn't make mistakes? Anyway, he's still alive, isn't he?"

The enormous white skeleton bared its teeth and silently laughed at Old Tie.

Old Tie's eyes shifted, the blood-red light within them flickering uncertainly for quite a while.

"Little Tie, dear Little Tie, you can't keep eating without working..."

"Don't you feel hungry? The first Foundation Establishment Potion is almost completely digested, isn't it?"

"Get out there and hunt already!"

"Otherwise, just wait to starve to death here!"

A quarter of an hour later, Wu Tie stood outside the exit of the Ancient Divine Weapon Camp.

A Gray Rock Lizard over two meters long lay atop a rock several dozen meters away. Hearing the sound Wu Tie made, it turned around and suddenly flicked out its long tongue.

Wu Tie gripped his spear tightly and took one large, determined step forward.