Chapter 107: Chapter 107: Sent Flying

Liu Quan’s expression froze.

Since the start of the examination, Chu Lingguang had been in a league of his own, consistently holding first place. He had long since been left in Chu Lingguang’s dust, and his Mental Realm had been greatly affected.

Not only had he lost to Chu Lingguang in the overall rankings, but he had also been left behind by Hei Hu.

Now, hearing that he was in the same group as Chu Lingguang for the Lance competition, he couldn’t help but feel pressure and endless rage. As he watched Chu Lingguang ride Little Red Horse onto the field with his spear, following close behind, a venomous thought formed in his mind.

’Even if I can’t beat Chu Lingguang.’

’I have to stop him from taking first place.’

’At least then I can save some face.’

After entering the field.

The five examinees sat on their horses, poised for action. Their gazes were locked on the set of wooden stakes in the middle of the field. Each person’s Long Spear had been fitted with a different spearhead, ensuring that the marks left on the stakes would be unique to each contestant, effectively preventing any miscalculation of an examinee’s skill.

Chu Lingguang looked at the forest of stakes and felt as if he were back in the woods behind Liu Family Gully. The Lance was a combination of Riding Skill and Spear Technique. Back in the mountain forest, Guo Wei had made him and Hei Hu not only pierce wooden stakes while weaving through them, but also strike falling leaves one by one from the back of a galloping horse.

He taught his disciples how to be as steady on horseback as they were on solid ground.

He taught them how to lock onto a target, ensuring their thrusting Long Spears would strike true.

He even taught them how to gather and channel power on horseback, to shatter a tree with a single thrust.

Chu Lingguang was a slow learner. Many of the things Guo Wei taught him were only gradually mastered through arduous training, day and night, with the help of Favor Points.

However, with his Riding Skill and Basic Spear Skill values at Perfection, and having grasped the secret of Borrowing Strength, Chu Lingguang was full of confidence for the Lance event. He was not intimidated by Lin Longde’s score.

Of course, the other man’s Life-taking Linked Spear was truly terrifying.

“Examinees, ready.”

“Begin!”

The examiner struck a gong.

“HYAH!”

Like a single entity set in motion, the five riders charged toward the forest of stakes on their fine steeds.

Little Red Horse had been with Chu Lingguang for over a year. Combined with Chu Lingguang’s perfect Riding Skill and its familiarity with his habits, it immediately shot out ahead of the other four.

“WHOOSH!”

Chu Lingguang executed a Flower Dance Spear with one hand, thrusting toward the red dots on the wooden stakes.

Just as he had continuously struck falling leaves in the forest, Chu Lingguang now hit those red dots. Using his Power Transfer Method, he made every thrust astonishingly powerful, each one capable of piercing through a stake.

Guo Wei had once said.

There was a realm of Lance mastery called the Flying Leaf Lotus Spear. As a lotus flower fell, one could execute a Flower Dance Spear and flick off every single petal before it hit the ground, with the final thrust striking the bud.

This had to be completed in an instant, bringing one’s Spear Technique to the realm of the Shadow-Following Form.

Guo Wei had demonstrated this Kung Fu before. But, worried that Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu would aim too high too soon, and because a Spear Technique of that level was far beyond what was needed for the Daoist Examination, he hadn’t taught it to them. He only required them to be able to continuously strike falling leaves, which would be enough to earn an A Class grade in the Lance event.

Chu Lingguang had always been obedient.

He had never even thought about practicing the Flying Leaf Lotus Spear. Whenever it was windy, he would run into the mountain forest with the sole goal of striking the falling leaves.

Now, charging first into the forest of stakes.

In a daze, he was transported back to the woods behind Liu Family Gully.

The irregular red dots on the stakes became leaves suspended in mid-air. Chu Lingguang thrust his spear repeatedly, using the Cyan Dragon Emerges from Water Linked Spear and the Flower Dance Spear from his Basic Spear Skill.

The Long Spear seemed to be merely dragonflies skipping on water as it touched the stakes.

The blurs left by his thrusts landed precisely on the red dots. The ingenious Power Transfer Method allowed every strike to pierce clean through the wooden stakes.

However, as he pierced more and more stakes, Chu Lingguang, like the other examinees, began to suffer from a shortage of Qi Power that he couldn’t replenish quickly enough.

Although he had cultivated the Tidal Breathing Technique to Perfection, it was ultimately just an ordinary Breathing Method. Chu Lingguang could not yet rely on this technique to keep himself at his peak at all times.

Moreover, weaving through the forest of stakes and piercing the red dot on each one required an even greater expenditure of power than a sparring match.

By the time he had pierced twenty-eight stakes.

Chu Lingguang’s next few thrusts failed to pierce the stakes. Still, he had given his all on this run. Seeing that he was about to clear the entire course, he mustered his strength and pierced the final stake with one last thrust.

“PFFT!”

The spearhead penetrated the stake. Chu Lingguang pulled his weapon back and was about to ride around to the starting point to avoid affecting the contestants behind him.

Hm?

Suddenly, a cold glint of light flashed in the corner of his eye.

Outside the field, Guo Wei’s expression changed dramatically, and he shot to his feet.

Liu Quan, who was a beat slower than Chu Lingguang and had hit few stakes along the way, had rushed to catch up. Arriving at Chu Lingguang’s left, he feigned a thrust at a nearby stake but aimed his spearhead directly at Chu Lingguang’s lower back.

If Chu Lingguang were struck, even if it didn’t kill him, he wouldn’t be able to participate in the remaining exams. No matter how outstanding his scores were in the first three events, he would fail to make the list.

Driven by jealousy, Liu Quan had become completely deranged.

The examiners outside the field also noticed the problem, but they were too far away to intervene in time.

Chu Lingguang’s expression changed instantly. ’Who would have thought there would be this kind of danger in the Lance event?’ he thought, instinctively blocking behind him with his Long Spear.

CLANG!

Liu Quan’s thrusting Long Spear was stopped dead against Chu Lingguang’s spearhead.

He was utterly astonished.

’How could he possibly have blocked that thrust?’

Chu Lingguang remained silent. After parrying the danger, he followed the momentum with a sweeping strike, utilizing the second level of Skillful Force: Entangle and Enter.

Liu Quan felt an immense pain in his arm.

His Long Spear was entangled by Chu Lingguang’s and ripped from his grasp.

“SHIING!”

Chu Lingguang flung Liu Quan’s Long Spear out of the field, where it embedded itself in the ground.

“PFFT!”

Then, before Liu Quan’s astonished eyes, Chu Lingguang followed up with a flick of his spear, launching Liu Quan from his horse. He sent him flying out of the field, leaving a shocking wound across his chest.

This counterattack was executed in a single, fluid motion, as smooth as flowing water, with no wasted movement. It was as if it were a natural reflex, an instinctive action to defend against the initial attack.

“Excellent!”

“Beautifully done!”

Many sharp-eyed spectators clapped and cheered.

Guo Wei’s terror turned to elation. He never expected that Chu Lingguang would not only block the attack but also use the momentum to send Liu Quan flying out of the field.

The technique was flawless. There was no need to worry about being accused of intentional injury and having it affect the rest of the examination.

“That was brilliant!”

A stubble-faced figure in the crowd stomped his foot emphatically. This was none other than Li Yishan—the same man whose arm had been broken by Liu Quan, who had resorted to robbery on the main road, and who had later turned over a new leaf.

The South City Martial Arts Examination was a grand event held only once every two years for over a dozen nearby counties. Li Yishan had traveled for three days to get here. He had personally witnessed Chu Lingguang take first place in the Qiao Pass, fight a Noble Family Disciple to a draw in the blade competition, and now, in the Lance event, he saw him grievously injure Liu Quan. This was, in the truest sense, a moment of vicarious revenge.

(Thanks for the donations! That was brilliant, let’s have another round!)

(There’s another Chapter coming in a bit!)

(It’s about another week until the book goes on sale. For now, the update schedule is two Chapters a day. After it’s on sale, I’ll definitely do a massive Chapter dump to repay you all! Right now, these are all public Chapters, so your author isn’t making any money. The donations are just used to increase exposure. To date, I’ve received less than one hundred yuan in royalties for this book.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep