Teaching

Halberd Training Room.

Three male trainees and two female trainees practiced basic halberd techniques with their War Halberds, working to improve their proficiency.

The five of them kept glancing at the time.

It was almost nine o'clock, yet Teacher Fang Yi was nowhere to be seen.

"Fang Yi... Where's the teacher?"

"It's almost time. Why hasn't he shown up yet..."

One of the trainees had finished practicing and was wondering about it when the training room door suddenly swung open with a whoosh.

Wearing a loose white training outfit, Fang Yi strode into the room while checking the time on his wristwatch. "Not bad. I made it just in time."

The trainees could only look on helplessly. Who nearly showed up late on their very first day of work? A pretty red-haired female trainee couldn't help laughing at the sight, then quickly covered her mouth.

Fang Yi looked at the five trainees and gave a simple cough.

"Better to arrive right on time than early. You've all warmed up, right?"

The five trainees immediately grew serious. They stopped relaxing as they had before and focused on the lesson.

Seeing them like this, Fang Yi nodded in satisfaction.

Their movements and postures were proper, too.

They still had the bearing of people from the military district.

He checked the information on his wristwatch, confirmed that these were indeed the five trainees, then called out their names according to the roster. "Li Chou, step forward."

At once,

a burly young man stepped out.

A long, thin scar marked the young man's temple. It had clearly been left by a monster's claws.

The scar was deep and long. That strike must have been perilous; just a little closer, and it could have cracked his skull and damaged a vital part of his brain.

It had clearly been left behind after a life-or-death battle.

"Li Chou, have you trained in any halberd techniques?"

"Reporting to the teacher, I've trained in the military district's basic halberd techniques."

Fang Yi nodded faintly. "Good. Show me the whole set."

"Yes!"

Li Chou shifted to a two-handed grip on his halberd.

He planted his feet apart, left foot forward and right foot back. The halberd's point swept down in a half-circle, then suddenly thrust upward!

Power rose from the ground, passed through his waist, flowed into both arms, and finally reached the War Halberd.

He performed each move of the halberd technique in turn. The blade moved with astonishing speed, its point flashing like silver light as it whistled through the air.

The other four watched Li Chou intently.

His form was excellent and met the standards, drawing quiet praise from them.

"Brother Li has improved again."

"He wasn't this proficient a month ago."

Standing beside them, Fang Yi's left Heavy Pupil already glimmered faintly.

Through his analytical gaze,

he could clearly see that although Li Chou performed the War Halberd movements to a high standard and had considerable strength,

he had only reached the threshold of mastery.

He hadn't fully entered the mastery realm. At a glance, his technique seemed flawless. But if one watched the transitions and finishes of each move closely, it became clear that his control of force was slightly lacking. He was relying on brute strength.

His technique was basically proficient, and he could execute every move.

But he hadn't grasped the corresponding generation and control of force, or the finer details. He hadn't unified all the techniques into a whole or made them second nature.

"That's enough. Stop there."

Li Chou hadn't finished demonstrating all the War Halberd techniques when Fang Yi ordered him to stop. He instinctively drew back his weapon, adjusted his breathing, released the tension in his body, and held the halberd in one hand.

"Switch to a training halberd. Then we'll spar."

As he spoke, Fang Yi walked over to the weapons rack.

He casually picked up a reinforced long staff.

Li Chou was puzzled, but still switched to a training War Halberd. The two then took their places in the center of the room.

"Use everything you've learned. Don't hold back."

"Yes!"

Fang Yi started the timer he had set.

"Clang!"

They moved at once. Li Chou spun his halberd and used its momentum to sweep it upward from below, opening with Green Dragon Probes the Sea.

Fang Yi turned his staff to meet the attack and evade.

Only a few seconds passed.

Li Chou unleashed three successive War Halberd techniques at full strength, moving fast and fiercely. Watching from the side made the others' hearts race.

Yet every attack, as perfect and standard as it was, came at Fang Yi like a storm—

and Fang Yi deflected them all with his staff.

After more than ten exchanges,

Li Chou felt more exhausted than usual. He regularly practiced by using various techniques like this,

but he had never felt so tired before.

It was as if he had been training for several hours.

The other four had watched the entire exchange, and now wore expressions that were hard to describe.

Li Chou's every move and technique had been executed perfectly and to the standard.

Yet not one attack had touched Fang Yi. He had effortlessly deflected them all with his staff. And from the start of the spar to its end, the four could see that Li Chou had used up a tremendous amount of energy; his hands were trembling slightly.

They considered their own technique to be no worse than Li Chou's, even if it wasn't better.

But

after seeing the two fight, they immediately realized that if they went up against Fang Yi, they might fare even worse than Li Chou.

"Your problem is that your moves are standard, but that's the only thing you have going for you. Your control and conversion of force, as well as how you use and extend your weapon's reach, are all inadequate."

As he spoke, Fang Yi demonstrated with the long staff in his hands.

The five trainees stared intently at each move he made.

"You have to treat your weapon as an extension of your own arm, turning every move into an ordinary action, like raising your hand, picking something up, or putting it down. These techniques are meant to help you master these methods of killing more quickly and skillfully."

"But don't let the surface fool you. You have to consider when to use a technique, when you can use it, and when it's best to use it. You must adapt to your surroundings and your own abilities."

"If mastering your techniques lets you glimpse the threshold of mastery, then forgetting them and transforming them into your own 'intent' is what truly takes you into the mastery realm! Watch closely."

Fang Yi set the reinforced long staff aside, then kicked up his incredibly heavy War Halberd with one leg.

He once again demonstrated the military district's basic techniques in front of the five trainees.

These basic techniques were available for trainees to search for and study on their own at the Elite Training Camp.

They were extremely common beginner lessons.

Fang Yi had studied these techniques while learning from Jiang Fang. He had already mastered them and reached the threshold of proficiency, and soon afterward, he had entered the mastery realm.

The War Halberd moved like a dragon in Fang Yi's hands, flowing through sweeps, slashes, horizontal strikes, thrusts, and upward cuts.

The sharp sound of the blade slicing through the air echoed without pause.

It was like surging waves crashing and resounding endlessly. Fang Yi deliberately slowed the entire sequence,

so the trainees could see every detail.

After completing the entire set,

Fang Yi spun the War Halberd in one hand, looking completely at ease. He didn't even need to catch his breath.

"I've already demonstrated an improved, standard version of the techniques you were struggling with. Don't tell me that, after I performed them so slowly, you still haven't understood a thing?"

Fang Yi's expression was stern.

Li Chou was thinking deeply. His dazed expression suddenly gave way to delight.

"Teacher, I understand!"

Fang Yi raised an eyebrow but didn't reply. Instead, he glanced at the information on his wristwatch.

"Jiang Yanxue, you're next. Li Chou, since you say you understand, go practice over there. After I've taught everyone else, I'll test you and see if you really understand."

"Understood!"

Li Chou backed away excitedly and began practicing with his War Halberd in another part of the room.

The other white-haired woman, Jiang Yanxue, hurried forward.

Fang Yi again asked her to demonstrate her halberd techniques. He observed each trainee's weaknesses and considered their individual physiques as he answered their questions and planned their training.

With the Heavy Pupil's analytical power,

he could identify every weakness in their halberd techniques and every hidden problem.

He found the key issues each trainee had and then adjusted and optimized their training accordingly.

In less than an hour, all five had gained some insight from Fang Yi's demonstrations.

Fang Yi even gave Li Chou extra time. At that moment, Li Chou was still caught up in the excitement of his realization.

Only after an hour had passed did he come back to himself. Fang Yi then sparred with him again.

After Fang Yi's guidance, Li Chou's halberd technique had visibly improved during their second spar!

At least, even after Fang Yi struck him now,

he wasn't as exhausted as before and no longer wasted so much of his energy.

"I've improved!" Li Chou looked at his hands, overjoyed.

Seeing him like that, Fang Yi smiled with satisfaction and said mildly, "Not bad. You've got some talent. At least you really understood a little and recognized some of your problems."

"Thank you for teaching me, Teacher!" Li Chou now sincerely regarded Fang Yi as his teacher.

He had abandoned his earlier impression of Fang Yi as merely an instructor.

Fang Yi's War Halberd technique was incredibly profound, clearly far beyond the mastery realm and much better than his own. He had also helped Li Chou pinpoint his problems.

One who dispelled another's confusion deserved to be called a teacher.

"Jiang Yanxue, your turn."

As soon as Fang Yi finished speaking,

Jiang Yingxue hurriedly stopped practicing and stepped forward to spar with Fang Yi for the second time.

Afterward,

Fang Yi could see that she had gained some insight as well. He gave her a few words of encouragement, then called the next trainee.

"Next..."

"Next..."

"You're the last one. Hey, I'm talking to you. Stop practicing..."

An hour later,

all five had gained some insight. Seeing this, Fang Yi told them to practice on their own and set a schedule: they had to practice for at least five hours before they could rest.

Five hours wasn't particularly long, but it wasn't short either. It was just right for them.

As for Fang Yi, after giving the five instructions, he went to the Gravity Chamber to train as well. He couldn't let teaching the trainees interfere with or waste his own training time.

"Not bad. Teaching them for about two hours should be enough. The rest is up to them."

"As the saying goes, the teacher opens the door, but the student must walk the path."

"I need to hurry up and train, too."