Three Moves

Stepping out of the Long Wind Escort Agency, Lu Cheng headed straight for Zhao Cheng's residence.

If he were to practice the River-Blocking Halberd Technique on his own, he wouldn't gain much progress even in a full day, let alone a single hour.

However, sparring with someone familiar with the halberd technique was a different matter entirely.

In one hour, if the results were good, it would be enough for Lu Cheng to master all thirty-six stances.

With two sets of mid-grade mortal martial arts, even if his realm was inferior to Yang Xiong, defeating him shouldn't be difficult.

After all, being empty-handed against a sword was a disadvantage, but against a halberd, the one wielding the sword was the one at a disadvantage.

Zhao Cheng's residence was not far from the Long Wind Escort Agency.

It was a small courtyard facing the street.

Zhao Cheng was single-mindedly focused on figuring out the subsequent halberd techniques, so he rarely went out.

When Lu Cheng arrived, he was, as expected, practicing with his halberd in the courtyard.

As soon as Lu Cheng entered the gate, he shouted at Zhao Cheng:

"Brother Zhao, great news!"

Without waiting for him to recover, he thrust his halberd horizontally:

"Watch the halberd!"

Zhao Cheng didn't say a word, instead extending his own halberd to intercept Lu Cheng's.

The two halberds clashed with a "Clang!" as sparks flew.

The force of the two great powers collided and surged back along the shafts.

Zhao Cheng flicked his rear hand to dissipate the force on the halberd.

Just as he was about to counter, he saw a flash of cold light stop right in front of him with a "Whoosh."

He froze on the spot.

Looking up, he saw Lu Cheng smiling at him.

"This... how did you do that?"

Zhao Cheng was first confused, then asked in disbelief:

"Brother Lu, could it be that you have reached the Late Stage of Strength Refining?"

Beyond the shock, there was a hint of wavering in his heart.

When their halberds clashed, the force could not have been transmitted to him alone.

Moreover, Lu Cheng had attacked while he had defended.

By all logic, Lu Cheng's move should have been spent.

Therefore, his next move should have been faster than Lu Cheng's.

Only the explanation that Lu Cheng's realm had improved made any sense.

Lu Cheng shook his head, walked to an open space to the side, and swept his halberd with a "Swish":

"Brother Zhao, watch closely."

With that, he performed the thirteenth through eighteenth stances of the halberd technique one by one.

It wasn't that Lu Cheng was holding back the remaining eighteen stances.

Rather, time was tight; just performing all thirty-six stances would take quite a while.

Zhao Cheng would then need to spend a significant amount of time comprehending them.

It would be impossible to continue sparring.

It was better to master a few things well than to learn many poorly; learning these six stances well would be enough to deal with Yang Xiong.

At this moment, Zhao Cheng was so stunned he was speechless.

This was exactly the subsequent halberd technique he had dreamed of!

He didn't even blink, doing his utmost to imprint these moves into his mind.

The six stances were finished in a flash.

Lu Cheng did not stop.

Instead, he continued to practice them three more times.

Seeing that Zhao Cheng had gained something, he finally put away his stance, caught his breath, and leveled his halberd at Zhao Cheng once more:

"Brother Zhao, don't rush to comprehend them yet. I don't have much time; spar with me first. Once I finish what I have on hand, I will come back and pass the remaining twenty-four stances to you one by one."

Hearing that Lu Cheng had actually deduced all the remaining twenty-four stances, Zhao Cheng's eyes widened sharply.

His heart began to beat rapidly, beyond his control.

Seeing Lu Cheng so anxious, he had no choice but to suppress his own urge to ask, simply saying "Fine" in a deep voice before launching the first strike.

The move already incorporated the new techniques he had just learned.

"Well struck!"

Lu Cheng laughed aloud, bracing his halberd to meet the attack.

An hour passed quickly.

Lu Cheng retracted his halberd and stood tall.

[River-Blocking Halberd Technique]
[Grade: Mortal Middle-Grade (Upgradable)]
[Realm: Entry (59/200)]

Although the proficiency had not increased much, it was because the final eighteen moves had not been practiced, which hindered the overall progress.

However, moves thirteen through eighteen had become significantly more refined.

"Brother Zhao, wait here for me. I will certainly deliver the complete River-Blocking Halberd Technique to you today."

With that, he hurried toward the Long Wind Escort Agency.

Inside the escort agency, as time ticked by, many people were growing impatient.

Some even suspected that Lu Cheng was afraid to compete and had taken the opportunity to flee.

Just as Lin Wanxiong was also losing his patience, the crowd suddenly turned their eyes toward the figure at the entrance.

"Lu Cheng is back!"

"I told you Lu Cheng didn't run away; isn't he back now?"

"Bullshit, that's not what you were saying just a moment ago."

Yang Xiong had been standing in place, eyes closed, waiting.

He only opened his eyes when Lu Cheng returned to the arena.

Seeing Lu Cheng drenched in sweat, his gaze sharpened, and he frowned as he asked:

"Did you go to learn moves just now?"

Lu Cheng nodded:

"I have a friend who is proficient in halberd techniques, so I sought him out for a sparring session to sharpen my skills."

"Whoa~"

As soon as Lu Cheng finished speaking, the crowd erupted in an uproar.

None of the three head escorts of the Long Wind Escort Agency used a halberd, so how did Lu Cheng learn to use one?

And what could one possibly achieve with only an hour of sparring?

Lu Cheng was being far too arrogant.

Feng Qi and the other two leaders exchanged glances, equally confused by the situation.

Feng Zhan intended to speak up and tell Lu Cheng to honestly face his opponent with the Seven Strikes of the Black Hawk, but he was stopped by Feng Qi.

Although he didn't know what Lu Cheng was thinking, he believed Lu Cheng was not the type to act recklessly.

He immediately used voice transmission to speak to Feng Zhan and Feng Ji:

"Just wait and see. With Lu Cheng's strength, even if he is defeated, he won't be injured."

The two nodded and held their peace.

Only Fatty and Liu Chang'an had their own suspicions.

The only person Lu Cheng had been in contact with who used a halberd was likely Zhao Cheng.

While the crowd's thoughts raced, Lu Cheng already held the halberd in his hand, performing a few flashy moves with great proficiency.

Lifting, collapsing, hanging, and parrying were all done with ease.

Blocking, supporting, probing, and thrusting were all handled with practiced skill.

To anyone watching, it was clear he had indeed trained in this.

After warming up, Lu Cheng did not put on airs, honestly settling into a Four-Level Stance:

"Brother Yang, please enlighten me!"

Yang Xiong nodded, his curiosity piqued:

"It seems you aren't just sharpening your spear at the last minute."

It was impossible to become this proficient with a halberd in just one hour; it could only mean that Lu Cheng had practiced it before.

"In that case, I won't be bullying you. Watch the sword!"

Yang Xiong struck first the moment he finished speaking.

With a flicker of his body, he charged right in front of Lu Cheng.

He raised his hand and thrust his sword straight at Lu Cheng's chest.

It was clearly just an ordinary thrust, yet its sheer speed left the disciples of the Long Wind Escort Agency so stunned that they even forgot to breathe.

Lu Cheng did not retreat but advanced instead, channeling strength into his halberd in a way that made it look like a silver dragon poking its head out to deflect the longsword.

"Clang!"

Metal clashed against metal, sending sparks flying in every direction.

Yang Xiong's sword tip was knocked aside, but neither his momentum nor his speed faltered.

He seemed intent on colliding head-on with the halberd in Lu Cheng's hands.

But then, a bizarre scene unfolded.

The sword that had clearly been deflected suddenly curved back, slicing toward Lu Cheng's wrist from an even more treacherous angle.

Martial arts that had reached a certain grade were truly different.

The elusive footwork and powerful claw strength of the Seven Strikes of the Black Hawk, combined with Yang Xiong's effortless control over his sword, were sights that would seem incredible to any ordinary person.

"Well fought!"

Lu Cheng let out a soft shout, flipped his wrist, and reversed the halberd, using the crescent blade to block the incoming sword edge.

The two weapons touched and parted instantly, and Yang Xiong stepped back.

Lu Cheng instantly grasped some of the patterns behind the Pine Cloud Sword Technique.

It seemed that with Yang Xiong's current strength, he could only use that kind of bizarre sword move in short bursts.

Since that was the case...

Lu Cheng stomped his foot forward, the halberd sweeping out in a follow-up strike aimed directly at Yang Xiong's waist and abdomen.

Yang Xiong sneered, his body flickering to dodge the strike. As his sword tapped against the shaft of the halberd, he surged forward once more.

Just as his sword was about to pierce Lu Cheng's chest, he suddenly heard a loud shout from Lin Wanxiong:

"Watch your back!"

Yang Xiong didn't even think; he twisted his waist and abdomen, forcibly halting his forward momentum as he darted to the side.

He had barely moved when a sharp pain flared at his waist. A flash of cold light grazed his skin, and a line of blood suddenly bloomed.

How is this possible!

Yang Xiong was dumbfounded.

Lu Cheng's halberd had clearly been thrust forward; how could it have instantly retracted?

Not to mention a heavy weapon like a halberd.

Even with the sword in his own hand, he couldn't shift his momentum in the completely opposite direction without the slightest hesitation!

While he was stunned, the halberd Lu Cheng had swept across once again carved out an arc.

It pursued Yang Xiong like a silver dragon.

In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of Yang Xiong's face.

"Stop!"