"Even a Transformation Force Grandmaster has to avoid its edge?"
Zhou Yun clicked his tongue. This spear art truly was something else, coming from Xiang City. It was nothing like the martial arts in their county.
"Since you chose it, you must have some affinity with it."
Master Liang spoke as he walked. The two of them arrived at the Martial Hall.
He took a long spear with an iron shaft from the weapon rack nearby. It was made of meteorite iron and looked to weigh at least several hundred pounds, yet he swung it as casually as a child's toy.
"The Thunder Meteor Spear Art is cultivated differently from ordinary martial arts. It has twelve turns of spear intent, and each turn brings its own unique changes."
Master Liang swung the spear in his hand. Its shaft blurred into streaks of afterimages, and a few faint arcs of electricity could be seen among them.
"A martial art can actually produce such an extraordinary sight?"
Zhou Yun watched, entranced. Though those wisps of lightning couldn't inflict any real harm on anyone, they were proof enough of the art's tremendous potential.
With those faint currents of lightning bolstering it, the spear in Master Liang's hands moved faster and faster.
In the end, even after Zhou Yun activated his Black Ape True Intent and focused all his senses on his eyes, he could only just make out Master Liang's movements.
In a real fight, before he could even prepare a defense, the spearhead would probably already be stabbing toward his forehead.
"Could you see it clearly?"
Master Liang calmly brought the spear to a stop, then planted it upright on the ground.
"This student had to gather his Black Ape True Intent just to barely make out some of your movements. May I ask how many turns your spear intent has reached, Master?"
Zhou Yun humbly sought instruction.
"Three turns, but the spear technique I just used was only at the second-turn level."
Master Liang seemed to have anticipated Zhou Yun's reaction. He spoke with unruffled composure:
"And I only have the fragmentary spear manual up to the third turn. To find anything beyond that, you'll probably have to go to Xiang City. That will depend on your own fortune."
"Second turn? Just the second turn can produce lightning?"
Zhou Yun said nothing, but he had already decided he absolutely had to learn this spear art, even if all he could get was the fragmentary manual for the first three turns.
Even setting everything else aside, just seeing a great spear wreathed in wisps of lightning was enough to stir anyone's longing.
As for its power, there was no need to say more. Otherwise, even a Transformation Force Grandmaster wouldn't have had to avoid its edge.
"It's just that this martial art is so precious, and I'm truly short on money..."
Zhou Yun bowed slightly. He had heard what a superior martial art cost on the market: at least twenty taels of silver to start.
And it couldn't be passed on to others; one could only obtain a copied manual.
At a glance, even the first three turns of the Thunder Meteor Spear Art were clearly beyond the level of ordinary superior martial arts. It would cost at least forty taels of silver.
A family of three could eat fine grain for a full four years on that, with meat on the table every day.
Plenty of people couldn't save up forty taels of silver in their entire lives, and even Zhou Yun was still short of that amount.
"Since you're my disciple, I won't charge you to teach you a martial art."
Master Liang waved it off. "If you can learn it, that will be your own good fortune... If you can't, then at least your master will have done his duty."
Teaching all without discrimination—that was Master Liang for you!
Zhou Yun silently felt even more respect for Master Liang. In all of Black Stone County, he doubted there was another person who would teach a disciple a martial art without holding anything back.
What was more, Master Liang was a Transformation Force Grandmaster. The people hoping to learn from him could probably form a line from Black Stone County all the way to Clear Water County.
Master Liang nodded and said no more, though he privately felt a pang of regret.
The resources in the Martial Hall were truly limited. Zhou Yun had broken through to minor Bright Force with First Form Bone; he had probably already exhausted his potential.
Ordinary people would use their qi and blood to knock on the gates of a higher realm. How could he have such profound attainment in martial arts?
The Three Halls Martial Tournament was approaching. They had to devote every resource to nurturing a few outstanding talents...
As for Zhou Yun, he was still far behind.
"Here are the copied fragments of the Thunder Meteor Spear Art and the basic spear techniques. Take them and study them."
Master Liang handed Zhou Yun two thin booklets, then sat down and began sipping tea again.
Back in the courtyard.
Zhou Yun carried the Black Iron Spear he had collected from the Martial Hall. It weighed a full two hundred and sixty pounds, and had cost him a solid ten taels of silver.
Master Liang had probably given him a discount. The two hundred-plus pounds of black iron alone should have cost more than ten taels.
Though Zhou Yun was only at minor Bright Force, lifting the spear wasn't difficult for him.
But wielding it in a fight, much less making it feel like an extension of himself, would take some practice.
"Thunder Meteor Spear Art."
Zhou Yun studied the fragments in his hands, reading every word from beginning to end.
The first turn of this spear art was usually learned at the Bright Force level. Its main purpose was to grasp the form of the spear technique and build an aura as swift as lightning.
The second turn Master Liang had just demonstrated was the intent of the spear art. It could draw a trace of lightning to cling to the spear shaft, increasing its power.
As for the third turn, it was the thought behind the spear.
The spear moved with the wielder's thoughts, becoming a part of the body. The lightning drawn by the spear art could then bolster the wielder, unleashing tremendous power.
"No wonder the first requirement for learning this spear art is to have an iron spear."
Zhou Yun sighed to himself. The lightning drawn by Master Liang's spear, forged from extraterrestrial meteorite iron, was certainly several times stronger than what his black iron spear could produce.
It seemed that in addition to diligently practicing the spear art, he would also have to spend plenty of money on a good spear.
"To practice the spear, I should start by learning the basic techniques."
Zhou Yun activated his Black Ape True Intent, focused his attention, and quickly flipped through the basic spear manual.
The spear's main offensive techniques were thrusting, chopping, smashing, tapping, piercing, and sweeping.
For offense and defense, there were mostly three auxiliary techniques: deflecting, controlling, and winding.
After roughly understanding the basics, Zhou Yun began practicing the first turn of the Thunder Meteor Spear Art.
"The first turn of the Thunder Meteor is about comprehending its form."
Holding the long spear, Zhou Yun recalled Master Liang's movements. The spear swung in his hands.
The shaft shuddered as he moved it, and the Black Iron Spear in his hands seemed to carry a hint of fierce force.
Seeing this, Zhou Yun couldn't help feeling pleased. The great spear seemed easier to control than he had imagined, so he tried to move on to the next step.
Bang!
Suddenly, the spear slipped from Zhou Yun's hands and clattered to the ground.
"The spear's moving too fast. I couldn't control it and let go."
Cold sweat beaded on Zhou Yun's forehead. He had thought the great spear would be easy to learn, and was just about to grasp the form of its techniques.
"Maybe I can use the variations of the Black Ape Fist and lock the spear firmly in place with my palm."
Zhou Yun acted immediately. He swallowed a Blood Coagulation Pill, and resumed his spear practice.
If anyone else knew he was using a precious Blood Coagulation Pill to practice the spear instead of properly refining his qi and blood to knock on the gates of a higher realm, they'd probably be green with envy.
As expected, this method worked. Zhou Yun gripped the spear firmly in his hands, and no matter how much he swung it, it no longer slipped away.
He focused his mind, and his spear technique steadily improved. The qi and blood in his dantian also changed slowly, gradually nearing the thickness of four fingers.
His qi and blood quickly transformed into inner force and was soon exhausted, so he swallowed another Blood Coagulation Pill.
Zhou Yun kept swinging the Black Iron Spear. His qi and blood were rapidly depleted, but his gains were considerable: the inner force in his dantian had already reached the thickness of four fingers.
Yet even with his qi and blood on the verge of running dry and the inner force in his body nearly five fingers thick, he still hadn't quite grasped the form of the spear technique.
"Looks like I can only bring out yesterday's settlement reward."
Zhou Yun opened his panel. It showed the rewards for killing a Dark Force martial artist above his level and wiping out the Tiger-Wolf Gang.
[Daily Settlement: Defeated a stronger enemy, wiped out a gang of a hundred, showed off your skills while concealing your fame. Rating: B+.]
[Obtained one Qi Transformation Pill. It can directly transform into inner force, expand the meridians, and increase the dantian's capacity.]
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