Cold Gleam Questions the Night, the Three Realms of the Spear Dao!

Night lay like water, soaking every brick and tile of this little coastal town.

Inside the Tang family's small home, breathing rose and fell in gentle succession.

Tang Wulin had long since fallen into deep sleep, the Golden Dragon King Bloodline quietly strengthening his physique within his dreams.

Na'er curled up beneath the covers, her brow relaxed as though she were having a beautiful dream.

Tang Linyuan sat cross-legged on the floor bedding, an exceedingly faint dark-golden current swirling around him.

At the instant the midnight bell rang, Tang Linyuan, who was circulating the Dragon Swallowing Breathing Technique, abruptly opened his eyes.

In that instant, his pupils shrank to pinpoints, and every hair on his body stood on end without warning.

There was no killing intent.

Nor were there any Soul Power fluctuations.

But as a martial artist who had cultivated the spear across two lifetimes, he sensed that he was being watched.

It was as though the gentle moon above his head had suddenly become a massive, indifferent eye, silently watching him through layer upon layer of floorboards.

The feeling was like a blade against his back, yet also like gazing up at an insurmountable mountain.

"An expert."

Those two words flashed through Tang Linyuan's mind. And not just any expert—one so powerful that he surpassed Tang Linyuan's imagination.

He did not wake his sleeping younger brother or Na'er. Instead, he quietly got up, draped on a coat, pushed open the door, and slipped out of the house like a nimble black cat.

Since the other party had not barged in directly, there was no hostility. It might even have been an invitation.

The small park north of Aolai City was empty in the dead of night.

Only cold moonlight spilled across the somewhat weathered concrete ground, casting wavering shadows of trees.

Tang Linyuan walked to the center of the open space and stopped.

The surroundings were utterly silent, save for the faint sound of waves breaking against the shore in the distance.

That sense of being watched remained, but no matter how he looked around, he could not see a single person.

"Since you're here, why hide like a coward?"

Tang Linyuan's cool voice echoed through the night.

No one answered. Only the rustling of wind through the leaves could be heard.

"Still not coming out?"

A trace of pride curled Tang Linyuan's lips.

Across both his past and present lives, what he hated most was people who put on airs and played mysterious games.

"Since Senior wants to watch, then watch your fill."

Buzz!

His right hand clenched around empty air, and the Tyrant Profound Divine Spear appeared in his grasp.

This time, he did not use Soul Power, nor did he summon Xiao Mo for Armor Transformation.

He simply held the spear and assumed the most basic opening stance.

"Haa..."

A breath of white mist left his mouth, and the boy's aura changed in an instant.

If he had been merely a child sneaking out late at night just moments ago, then now he was a vicious weapon drawn from its sheath.

Whoosh!

The spear moved.

He did not use a broad, powerful technique like Mountain Collapse. He only performed the simplest blocks, parries, and thrusts.

Yet in Tang Linyuan's hands, this basic spear technique unfolded into countless transformations.

His figure shifted and turned beneath the moonlight, while his long spear danced like a dragon and serpent, tearing through the air with piercing shrieks.

Every thrust left behind a point of cold gleam in the air, lingering for a long while without dispersing.

Thirty-Six Subduing Demon Spear Techniques, Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix, Seven Plum Blossom Stamens...

The martial arts of his previous life flowed freely from him at that moment.

He was showing the expert hidden in the shadows that even if he was only six years old, even if his Soul Power was weak, he was already a grandmaster in the realm of technique!

A complete spear routine came to an end.

Tang Linyuan stood with his spear withdrawn, its tip angled toward the ground. His chest rose and fell slightly, while a fine layer of sweat formed on his forehead.

"Clap, clap, clap."

A slow, rhythmic round of applause suddenly sounded from the shadows directly before him.

Tang Linyuan abruptly raised his head.

In the place that had been empty moments earlier, a man in snow-white robes had appeared at some unknown time.

He looked far too young, with a face as flawless as polished jade, so handsome that one might even overlook his gender.

Yet his eyes were ancient, as though they contained the birth and destruction of every star in the world.

He did not release even the slightest trace of Soul Power pressure, but the moment he stood there, the Tyrant Profound Divine Spear in Tang Linyuan's hand began to hum faintly.

It was not fear.

It was excitement at encountering one of its kind.

"Your form has reached the extreme, but your intent has only entered the gate. Acceptable."

Yun Ming stood with his hands behind his back and gave an eight-word evaluation.

If those eight words reached the Soul Master world, they would be enough to drive even Titled Douluo mad.

Because this was the evaluation of the Sky-Propping Douluo!

Yet to Tang Linyuan, they sounded somewhat grating.

"Acceptable?" Tang Linyuan narrowed his eyes. "Senior certainly has a big mouth."

Yun Ming smiled. His smile was gentle, but it carried the arrogance of one looking down upon all living beings.

"On Douluo Continent, when it comes to spears, my words are the laws of heaven."

He slowly took a step forward. Though he had been ten meters away from Tang Linyuan, he seemed to cross space in an instant and arrive just three feet before him.

"Boy, do you know what a spear is?"

Yun Ming extended a slender finger and lightly tapped the cold shaft of the Tyrant Profound Divine Spear.

"Your technique has been polished to perfection. This is the limit of mortals. But in the world of Soul Masters, before the true Dao, this is nothing more than child's play."

Tang Linyuan's heart shook. The other man had seen through the origin of his techniques at a glance?

Yun Ming ignored his shock and continued.

"The cultivation of the spear Dao is divided into three realms."

"The first realm is called Spear Intent."

"That Wave Breaking thrust you used during the day barely touched the threshold. Intent does not mean that if you think of collapsing a mountain, the mountain will collapse. It means that your essence, qi, spirit, and spear become completely fused, and your will twists the rules of reality through the spear tip."

"Right now, you are merely using your spear to 'strike,' not using your intent to 'command.'"

Yun Ming flicked his finger.

Clang!

The Tyrant Profound Divine Spear trembled violently. Tang Linyuan felt an irresistible will travel along the shaft, and the spear in his hand thrust forward on its own, beyond his control!

That thrust contained no Soul Power, yet it left a fine black line in the space ahead.

"Do you see? This is intent."

"The second realm is called Spear Soul."

Yun Ming glanced at Tang Linyuan's arm, where Xiao Mo lay dormant. "You are fortunate to have a companion spirit willing to abandon its bloodline for you. But right now, it is merely a tool."

"A true Spear Soul grants life to dead objects. When the spear is in your hand, it becomes the bones extending from your body and the blood flowing through your veins. When you hurt, it hurts too. When you go mad, it becomes even madder. At that point, grass, wood, bamboo, and stone can all become spears, because the Spear Soul lies in your heart, not in your hand."

Tang Linyuan fell into thought. Xiao Mo within his sea of consciousness seemed to understand and let out a long, low hum.

"As for the third realm..."

Yun Ming paused, raising his head to look at the bright moon. A radiance that could make heaven and earth change color burst from his eyes.

At that moment, though he stood upon the ground, he seemed to hold up the entire sky.

"The third realm is called Spear God."

"I seek not heaven, nor do I ask the earth. The range of my spear is the God Realm."

"Within this domain, the rules I establish are the only truth. If I say light is dark, the sun must be extinguished. If I say mountains are seas, the earth must become rolling waves."

"This is—Law Arbitrariness."

Boom!

Those words were like a bolt of thunder, viciously smashing open the old door of Tang Linyuan's understanding of power.

The Void Splitting that he had pursued in his previous life was merely the starting point according to this man?

"Law Arbitrariness..." Tang Linyuan murmured. The confusion in his eyes faded, replaced by two blazing wildfires.

He abruptly took a step back, clasped his hands, and gave Yun Ming a deep bow.

This bow was not for status, but for one who had attained the Dao.

"I have learned much."

Yun Ming looked at the perceptive and ambitious boy before him, and the satisfaction in his eyes deepened.

"Your spear is of extremely high quality, even surpassing my Sky-Propping Spear. Your starting point is high, but it will be easy for you to stray from the path."

With a turn of his wrist, a crystalline white jade token shaped like a miniature spear appeared in Yun Ming's palm.

"Remember my words. When you can sever a waterfall with Spear Intent alone, without using Soul Power and without causing the water to splash, your Spear Intent will truly be complete."

He tossed the token to Tang Linyuan.

"In six years, bring this to Shrek Academy."

"By then, if you have not gone astray, I will consider letting you truly witness what a spear that pierces the heavens is."

After saying that, Yun Ming's figure began to fade, as though merging into the moonlight.

"May I know Senior's name?" Tang Linyuan gripped the token tightly and called out.

A distant yet incomparably domineering echo drifted through the wind.

"Yun Ming."

Only two words, yet they weighed as heavily as a thousand jun.

Tang Linyuan stood where he was, staring at the white jade token engraved with the words "Heaven Propping" in his hand for a long time without moving.

"Yun Ming... Sky-Propping Douluo..."

The boy raised his head and looked toward the vast starry sky, an exceedingly brilliant smile curling his lips.

"So this is how magnificent the view is from the summit of this world."

He tightened his grip on the Tyrant Profound Divine Spear and thrust once more at the moon.

This time, the spear shaft no longer shrieked. Instead, it released a deep, muffled hum.

Though faint, that intent had changed.

It was no longer the sharpness of mortal iron. It now carried a trace of command.

Martial practice beneath the moon, a godlike man pointing out the path.

That night, the boy of Aolai City finally saw the staircase leading to the divine throne.