Qi Transformation Pill (Seek Follow-up Reads)

"Even a Transformation Force master must temporarily avoid its edge?"

Zhou Yun clicked his tongue; this spear art was truly worthy of being something from Xiang City, unlike anything found in their own county.

"Since you have chosen it, it can be said that you share a destiny with it."

Master Liang spoke as they walked, the two of them arriving at the martial hall.

From a weapon rack nearby, he took down a long spear with an iron shaft made of meteor iron. It looked to weigh at least several hundred jin, yet he swung it as casually as if it were a child's toy.

"This Thunder Meteor Spear Art is cultivated in layers different from ordinary martial arts. It consists of twelve turns of spear intent, each turn possessing its own unique transformations."

Master Liang brandished the spear in his hand, the shaft turning into a series of afterimages, within which one could faintly glimpse strands of electric current.

"A single martial art, capable of inducing such a phenomenon?"

Zhou Yun watched, mesmerized. Although these wisps of lightning could not cause any substantial harm to a person, they clearly demonstrated the high ceiling of this martial art.

Moreover, with the enhancement of those wisps of lightning, the speed of the spear in Master Liang's hand grew faster and faster.

In the end, even after Zhou Yun activated his Black Ape True Intent and focused all his perception on his eyes, he could only barely make out Master Liang's movements.

If this were a real battle, he estimated that before he could even prepare a defensive stance, the spear tip would have already pierced his forehead.

"Have you seen clearly?"

Master Liang calmed his breath and finished his stance, the spear standing upright on the ground.

"This student had to condense his Black Ape True Intent just to barely catch a glimpse. May I ask, Master, what turn has your spear intent reached?"

Zhou Yun asked with humble sincerity.

"Three turns, though the spear technique I just demonstrated was only at the second-turn level."

Master Liang seemed to have anticipated Zhou Yun's reaction, saying nonchalantly:

"Furthermore, I only possess the remnant pages for the first three turns. To find higher levels, you would likely have to go to Xiang City; that will depend on your own fortune."

"Second turn? Just the second turn is enough to trigger lightning phenomena?"

Zhou Yun remained silent, but in his heart, he had already decided that he must learn this spear art, even if only the remnant pages for the first three turns were available.

Not to mention anything else, a great spear carrying wisps of lightning—just looking at it was enough to make one yearn for it.

As for its power, that went without saying; otherwise, it wouldn't be something that would force a Transformation Force master to temporarily avoid its edge.

"It is just that this martial art is so precious, and this student is truly in dire straits..."

Zhou Yun bowed slightly. He had heard of the market price for a superior martial art; it started at no less than twenty taels of silver.

Moreover, they could not be spread to others, and one could only obtain copied manuals.

Looking at this Thunder Meteor Spear Art, even with only the first three turns, it was definitely beyond the level of an ordinary superior martial art, costing at least forty taels of silver.

A family of three could live on fine grain for four whole years with that, and have meat every day.

Many people could not save up forty taels of silver in their entire lives, and even Zhou Yun was still short of that amount.

"Since you are my disciple, there is naturally no charge for teaching you martial arts."

Master Liang said dismissively, "If you can learn it, that is your own fortune... if you cannot learn it, then I have fulfilled my duty as a master."

Teaching without discrimination—this is what a master should be!

Zhou Yun felt a deeper sense of respect for Master Liang in his heart. To be able to teach martial arts to a disciple without reservation—he doubted there was a second person in Black Stone County who could do this.

What's more, this person was a Transformation Force master; the people lining up to learn from him could probably stretch from Black Stone County all the way to Clear Water County.

Master Liang nodded, saying nothing more, though he felt a secret sense of regret in his heart.

The resources within the martial hall were truly limited. Zhou Yun having broken through to the minor completion of Bright Force with only a first-rate aptitude meant his potential was likely exhausted.

Otherwise, under normal circumstances, one would usually use their vital energy to strike at higher levels; how could they have such deep attainments in martial arts?

The Three Halls Martial Tournament was approaching, and he had to exhaust all resources to cultivate a few top-tier talents...

As for Zhou Yun, he was still too far behind.

"Here are the rubbings of the Thunder Meteor Spear Art remnant pages, along with the basic essentials of the spear technique. Take them and study."

Master Liang handed two thin booklets to Zhou Yun, then sat back down to drink his tea.

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 jin, and it had cost him ten solid taels of silver.

He suspected Master Liang had given him a discount, as the black iron alone probably cost more than ten taels of silver.

Although he was at the minor completion of Bright Force, Zhou Yun did not find it strenuous to lift the spear.

However, to use it in combat against others, or even to reach a state of perfect ease, he would still need to practice and adjust.

"Thunder Meteor Spear Art."

Zhou Yun studied the remnant pages in his hand, reading them word for word from beginning to end.

For this spear art, the first turn was mostly studied by those at the Bright Force level, focusing primarily on grasping the form of the spear art to generate a momentum as fast as lightning.

As for the second turn Master Liang just displayed, it is the intent of the spear art, capable of drawing forth a sliver of lightning power to coat the spear shaft, thereby increasing the lethality of his long spear.

And the final third turn is the thought within the spear.

The spear moves according to the mind's intent, turning the long spear into an extension of the body, allowing the wielder to imbue themselves with the lightning drawn by the spear art to unleash immense power.

"No wonder the primary condition for learning this spear art is to possess an iron spear."

Zhou Yun sighed inwardly; the lightning power drawn by the long spear forged from extraterrestrial meteorite iron that Master Liang wielded was surely several times greater than what his dark iron spear could produce.

It seems that besides practicing this spear art diligently, a high-quality long spear will also be a major drain on his finances.

"If I want to practice the spear, I must start by learning the fundamental essentials."

Zhou Yun activated the Black Ape True Intent, focused his attention, and quickly flipped through the essentials of basic spear techniques.

The so-called offensive maneuvers of spear technique are mostly thrusting, hacking, collapsing, poking, piercing, and sweeping.

As for the three primary auxiliary defensive and offensive methods, they are blocking, seizing, and coiling.

After Zhou Yun gained a rough understanding, he began to attempt the first turn of the Thunder Meteor Spear Art.

"The so-called first turn of the Thunder Meteor is to comprehend its form."

Zhou Yun lifted the long spear, recalling the shadow of Master Liang in his mind, and began to swing the long spear in his hands.

The long spear in his grip swayed, the dark iron shaft vibrating in his hands with a rather fierce momentum.

Seeing this, Zhou Yun could not help but feel a surge of joy; this heavy spear seemed easier to control than he had imagined, so he wanted to take advantage of the momentum to proceed to the next step.

Bang!

Suddenly, the heavy spear slipped from Zhou Yun's hands and clattered to the ground.

"The speed of the spear shaft was too fast; I couldn't control it and it actually slipped out of my grip."

Cold sweat broke out on Zhou Yun's forehead; he had thought this heavy spear would be easy to learn and was just about to grasp the form of the spear technique.

"Perhaps I can incorporate the variations of the Black Ape Fist and use my palms to lock the heavy spear firmly in place."

Zhou Yun acted immediately, swallowing a Blood Coagulation Pill, and began practicing with the spear once more.

If others knew he was using precious Blood Coagulation Pills just to practice the spear instead of properly refining his blood and qi to break through his bottleneck, they would likely be so jealous they would cough up blood.

Using this method proved effective; the heavy spear in Zhou Yun's hands was held firmly, and no matter how much it vibrated, it would not slip away.

He gathered his focus, his spear technique progressed steadily, and the blood and qi within his dantian slowly transformed, gradually trending toward the thickness of four fingers.

The blood and qi converted into internal force were quickly exhausted, so he swallowed another Blood Coagulation Pill.

Zhou Yun continued to swing the dark iron long spear; his blood and qi were consumed extremely rapidly, but the gains were also immense, as the internal force in his dantian had already reached the thickness of four fingers.

Yet, even as his blood and qi were nearly exhausted and his internal force was about to reach the thickness of five fingers, his spear technique was still a hair's breadth away from comprehending its form.

"It seems I have no choice but to take out yesterday's settlement reward."

Zhou Yun opened the panel, which displayed the rating rewards for his solo kill of a Dark Force expert and the total annihilation of the Tiger-Wolf Gang.

[Daily Settlement: Defeated an enemy of a higher realm, wiped out a hundred-man gang, displayed great skill while remaining anonymous, Rating: B+.]

[Obtained one Qi Transformation Pill, capable of directly converting into internal force, expanding meridians, and increasing the capacity of the dantian.]