After twenty days of training, Yan Liqiang could now stand steadily on the slippery rock, and he started to grasp the spear-shaking method.
His mind was wandering with thoughts, and with no better way to shake the thoughts away, he focused all his might on training. That was the only escape for him anyway. All he wanted was to temporarily forget about the inevitable catastrophe in the Imperial Capital four years from now.
The Dragon Spine Steel spear, despite its massive, four hundred jin weight, shook faster as Yan Liqiang exerted more energy on the handle.
Yan Liqiang closed his eyes and focused on his sense of hearing. Every cell in his body, along with every vein, every muscle, and even his bones vibrated along with the spear. Only his feet were firmly attached to the rock as though they were rooted…
Yan Liqiang had no idea how long he had been shaking the spear in his hands. All he knew was that as he was exerting more and more energy into the spear, it vibrated more and more vigorously, and he felt the vibrations on his hands intensifying too. Keeping his eyes closed, he could slowly sense that the spear was coming to life. It was no longer a mere object. Instead, it became like a wild python fighting to escape Yan Liqiang’s grip. Yan Liqiang’s body was now numb from the vibration. He could no longer feel his own hands, feet, or body. The only support he had was none other than the willpower in his heart. He was determined to not give up, and that was the only thing that kept him going as long as he was breathing…
Just as Yan Liqiang thought that he was at the brink of his limit for the day, a loud noise suddenly rang out in his head.
Buzz…
It was as deep and loud as a roaring dragon, and it came from the spear in his hand.
Yan Liqiang opened his eyes. Without him realizing it, he was shaking the spear at such a high frequency that he could no longer see it with his own eyes. At this point, the Dragon Spine steel spear had turned into something like a steel tuning fork as it continued to make loud humming noises…
This noise acted like a mysterious energy field as it penetrated Yan Liqiang’s body. He could not understand why, but he could slowly feel his own hands and feet, which were numb just seconds ago, again through the humming noise. If he were to describe the feeling, it would be akin to frozen food thawing after being taken out from the fridge.
Streams of water from the waterfall fell on the vibrating spear handle, and they instantly turned into countless fine water droplets that bounced off the spear like playful dancing elves. The streams of water turned into water droplets, which then turned into finer droplets that created a dense mist which shrouded Yan Liqiang. When the sun above him shone down, a little man-made rainbow was formed above the pool.
As the spear continued humming, Li Hongtu, who had been sleeping all this while in the thatched cottage and rarely came to see Yan Liqiang train, suddenly rushed out of the cottage. He stood by the pool of water as he stared with his eyes and mouth wide open. He simply could not believe what he was witnessing and even rubbed his eyes. He was staring at Yan Liqiang who was now shrouded by the mist with a little rainbow over his head…
Thump! Just as Yan Liqiang regained his senses, he suddenly felt like his energy had been drained a few seconds later. He could no longer hold the wild python in his hands, and the spear slipped into the pool of water. This sudden change made him lose his balance, and he fell into the water too.
Yan Liqiang dragged himself out of the water and sat on the side to catch his breath. He realized his master was already there, staring at him weirdly.
“Master. Why are you here?” Yan Liqiang gasped as he wiped away the water on his face before walking up to Li Hongtu.
“How did that feel?” Li Hongtu asked as he stared at Yan Liqiang, “Did you notice anything unusual?”
“Well… At first I felt my whole body go numb, like I didn’t even own it anymore. However, when the spear started making noises, I felt my body coming back to life again. I stopped feeling numb, and I slowly regained my senses.” Then, Yan Liqiang paused as he scratched his head in embarrassment, “Master, is my progress too slow? I’ve been practicing for twenty days, but all I achieved was being able to stand on the rock firmly…”
“Do you know how much time I took to steadily stand on the rock and make the spear roar like a dragon?”
“Errr… I don’t know, maybe ten days?” Yan Liqiang blindly guessed.
“Hahahaha!” Li Hongtu burst into laughter. When he stopped, he inhaled deeply as he stared at Yan Liqiang with a serious face, “Close enough. I used a little more than ten days, but you are not doing too bad either. You are progressing at a good pace.”
“Really? I feel like I’m not progressing fast enough. I’m not up to your standard…” Yan Liqiang mumbled.
Li Hongtu rolled his eyes as he heard what Yan Liqiang said. He ordered, “Pick up that spear.”
Yan Liqiang was a little surprised to hear this, but he proceeded to do as he was told. He jumped into the pool and picked up the spear. He held the spear carefully in his hand as he walked up to Li Hongtu.
“Stab twice with the spear…” Li Hongtu ordered.
“Stab where?”
“In the air, of course. Anywhere. Do I look like I’ve lived enough and I want you to stab me?” Li Hongtu yelled.
Yan Liqiang chuckled as he held the spear and walked to the empty space in front of him. He stabbed the air, pulled back the spear, and stabbed again.
Wait a minute…
Yan Liqiang could already notice the difference in his stabs just by stabbing twice. It was a random stab, but the spear created a shadow in the air. It cut through the air with high precision. Yan Liqiang could wield the spear with ease like it was a part of his body. Not only that, the speed of his spear seemed to be faster than it was before.
Yan Liqiang couldn’t get enough of that feeling, so he continued with another two moves. Everything seemed so easy to him now.
He was overwhelmed with excitement, “Master, is this what you have been talking to me about?”
“This is just the start. You will learn the real stuff after this. In the path of cultivation, you either go forward or fall behind. Keep on practicing diligently every day, and do not stop,” Li Hongtu said with a stern face as he pointed at the pool, “From tomorrow onward, practice on the rock as usual in the morning, but after your lunch break, practice shaking your spear in the water.”
“In the water?”
“Of course. Practice until you can shake the spear underwater for an hour straight without taking a single breath. Now, go on. I’ll go back to sleep…” Li Hongtu said as he started yawning.
“Yes, Master. I shall leave now. I’ll be back tomorrow…” Yan Liqiang left the spear in the water, then he changed his clothes and left.
Li Hongtu watched Yan Liqiang leave with solemn face. He only turned around and strolled back to his thatched cottage when Yan Liqiang was far away.
Yan Liqiang missed what happened next. The moment Li Hongtu turned around, the solemn expression on his master’s face vanished and was replaced by an extremely excited expression instead. Li Hongtu’s eyes brightened. His aged face flushed and he excitedly held his fists together in excitement as he mumbled to himself. “It took me seven years to master that! Seven years! And you did that in only twenty days! Twenty days and you are already at this level! How can there be someone this gifted in the world?”
……
Yan Liqiang, on the other hand, did not return home. He instead had another agenda. He went to meet Eunuch Liu. He greeted the eunuch and went ahead to look for Little Li and Little Chun to find out what happened in the city last night.
Little Li and Little Chun were Eunuch Liu’s eyes and ears. They reported everything that happened in the city to Eunuch Liu on a daily basis.
The news Yan Liqiang gathered was that the Vice Minister of Works, Zuo Teng, was assassinated in his home just last night…
After twenty days of training, Yan Liqiang could now stand steadily on the slippery rock, and he started to grasp the spear-shaking method.
His mind was wandering with thoughts, and with no better way to shake the thoughts away, he focused all his might on training. That was the only escape for him anyway. All he wanted was to temporarily forget about the inevitable catastrophe in the Imperial Capital four years from now.
The Dragon Spine Steel spear, despite its massive, four hundred jin weight, shook faster as Yan Liqiang exerted more energy on the handle.
Yan Liqiang closed his eyes and focused on his sense of hearing. Every cell in his body, along with every vein, every muscle, and even his bones vibrated along with the spear. Only his feet were firmly attached to the rock as though they were rooted…
Yan Liqiang had no idea how long he had been shaking the spear in his hands. All he knew was that as he was exerting more and more energy into the spear, it vibrated more and more vigorously, and he felt the vibrations on his hands intensifying too. Keeping his eyes closed, he could slowly sense that the spear was coming to life. It was no longer a mere object. Instead, it became like a wild python fighting to escape Yan Liqiang’s grip. Yan Liqiang’s body was now numb from the vibration. He could no longer feel his own hands, feet, or body. The only support he had was none other than the willpower in his heart. He was determined to not give up, and that was the only thing that kept him going as long as he was breathing…
Just as Yan Liqiang thought that he was at the brink of his limit for the day, a loud noise suddenly rang out in his head.
Buzz…
It was as deep and loud as a roaring dragon, and it came from the spear in his hand.
Yan Liqiang opened his eyes. Without him realizing it, he was shaking the spear at such a high frequency that he could no longer see it with his own eyes. At this point, the Dragon Spine steel spear had turned into something like a steel tuning fork as it continued to make loud humming noises…
This noise acted like a mysterious energy field as it penetrated Yan Liqiang’s body. He could not understand why, but he could slowly feel his own hands and feet, which were numb just seconds ago, again through the humming noise. If he were to describe the feeling, it would be akin to frozen food thawing after being taken out from the fridge.
Streams of water from the waterfall fell on the vibrating spear handle, and they instantly turned into countless fine water droplets that bounced off the spear like playful dancing elves. The streams of water turned into water droplets, which then turned into finer droplets that created a dense mist which shrouded Yan Liqiang. When the sun above him shone down, a little man-made rainbow was formed above the pool.
As the spear continued humming, Li Hongtu, who had been sleeping all this while in the thatched cottage and rarely came to see Yan Liqiang train, suddenly rushed out of the cottage. He stood by the pool of water as he stared with his eyes and mouth wide open. He simply could not believe what he was witnessing and even rubbed his eyes. He was staring at Yan Liqiang who was now shrouded by the mist with a little rainbow over his head…
Thump! Just as Yan Liqiang regained his senses, he suddenly felt like his energy had been drained a few seconds later. He could no longer hold the wild python in his hands, and the spear slipped into the pool of water. This sudden change made him lose his balance, and he fell into the water too.
Yan Liqiang dragged himself out of the water and sat on the side to catch his breath. He realized his master was already there, staring at him weirdly.
“Master. Why are you here?” Yan Liqiang gasped as he wiped away the water on his face before walking up to Li Hongtu.
“How did that feel?” Li Hongtu asked as he stared at Yan Liqiang, “Did you notice anything unusual?”
“Well… At first I felt my whole body go numb, like I didn’t even own it anymore. However, when the spear started making noises, I felt my body coming back to life again. I stopped feeling numb, and I slowly regained my senses.” Then, Yan Liqiang paused as he scratched his head in embarrassment, “Master, is my progress too slow? I’ve been practicing for twenty days, but all I achieved was being able to stand on the rock firmly…”
“Do you know how much time I took to steadily stand on the rock and make the spear roar like a dragon?”
“Errr… I don’t know, maybe ten days?” Yan Liqiang blindly guessed.
“Hahahaha!” Li Hongtu burst into laughter. When he stopped, he inhaled deeply as he stared at Yan Liqiang with a serious face, “Close enough. I used a little more than ten days, but you are not doing too bad either. You are progressing at a good pace.”
“Really? I feel like I’m not progressing fast enough. I’m not up to your standard…” Yan Liqiang mumbled.
Li Hongtu rolled his eyes as he heard what Yan Liqiang said. He ordered, “Pick up that spear.”
Yan Liqiang was a little surprised to hear this, but he proceeded to do as he was told. He jumped into the pool and picked up the spear. He held the spear carefully in his hand as he walked up to Li Hongtu.
“Stab twice with the spear…” Li Hongtu ordered.
“Stab where?”
“In the air, of course. Anywhere. Do I look like I’ve lived enough and I want you to stab me?” Li Hongtu yelled.
Yan Liqiang chuckled as he held the spear and walked to the empty space in front of him. He stabbed the air, pulled back the spear, and stabbed again.
Wait a minute…
Yan Liqiang could already notice the difference in his stabs just by stabbing twice. It was a random stab, but the spear created a shadow in the air. It cut through the air with high precision. Yan Liqiang could wield the spear with ease like it was a part of his body. Not only that, the speed of his spear seemed to be faster than it was before.
Yan Liqiang couldn’t get enough of that feeling, so he continued with another two moves. Everything seemed so easy to him now.
He was overwhelmed with excitement, “Master, is this what you have been talking to me about?”
“This is just the start. You will learn the real stuff after this. In the path of cultivation, you either go forward or fall behind. Keep on practicing diligently every day, and do not stop,” Li Hongtu said with a stern face as he pointed at the pool, “From tomorrow onward, practice on the rock as usual in the morning, but after your lunch break, practice shaking your spear in the water.”
“In the water?”
“Of course. Practice until you can shake the spear underwater for an hour straight without taking a single breath. Now, go on. I’ll go back to sleep…” Li Hongtu said as he started yawning.
“Yes, Master. I shall leave now. I’ll be back tomorrow…” Yan Liqiang left the spear in the water, then he changed his clothes and left.
Li Hongtu watched Yan Liqiang leave with solemn face. He only turned around and strolled back to his thatched cottage when Yan Liqiang was far away.
Yan Liqiang missed what happened next. The moment Li Hongtu turned around, the solemn expression on his master’s face vanished and was replaced by an extremely excited expression instead. Li Hongtu’s eyes brightened. His aged face flushed and he excitedly held his fists together in excitement as he mumbled to himself. “It took me seven years to master that! Seven years! And you did that in only twenty days! Twenty days and you are already at this level! How can there be someone this gifted in the world?”
……
Yan Liqiang, on the other hand, did not return home. He instead had another agenda. He went to meet Eunuch Liu. He greeted the eunuch and went ahead to look for Little Li and Little Chun to find out what happened in the city last night.
Little Li and Little Chun were Eunuch Liu’s eyes and ears. They reported everything that happened in the city to Eunuch Liu on a daily basis.
The news Yan Liqiang gathered was that the Vice Minister of Works, Zuo Teng, was assassinated in his home just last night…
