Chapter 126: Chapter 120: Node 2

“Hm?”

Master Liao’s expression froze.

When Chu Lingguang pulled open the door and appeared, Master Liao couldn’t help but peer inside the room. He then gave an awkward laugh, wondering if his Kung Fu was declining or if he had simply drunk too much last night.

Wang Chao had prepared two gifts for Chu Lingguang.

A set of black brocade clothes.

A pair of boots.

They were for Chu Lingguang to wear while training at the academy.

That evening on the South City Canal, Chu Lingguang eagerly changed into the brocade clothes and boots Wang Chao had bought for him. He was all prepared to spend a wonderful night with one of the Canal’s famous courtesans.

’After all, I’m the top ranker of the South City Martial Arts and Daoist Examinations,’ he thought.

As the saying goes, beauties have a soft spot for heroes.

’My reputation must have already spread along the Canal.’

’Some fair lady is bound to throw herself into my arms.’

In the end, however, Master Yan had really just chartered a single Song Boat.

The boat traveled downstream.

Upstream on the South City Canal, both banks were bustling with activity. After the Martial Arts Examination, masters and examinees from all over had stayed behind for a few days of leisure. The shores echoed with laughter and sparkled with lanterns, and the flirtatious calls of women were enough to get one’s blood pumping.

When the boat reached the mouth of the sea, it turned around and headed back toward the upstream docks.

Guo Wei, Long Spear in hand, came out onto the deck.

He said to the others, “Formed Spear Technique is merely the foundation of the Spear Technique. To achieve Great Success in Spear Technique, you must find the point of Human-Gun Resonance.”

“WHOOSH!”

As Guo Wei spoke, he began to practice the Basic Thirteen Spear Techniques on the deck.

Formed Spear Technique was about keeping one’s breathing in resonance with the vibrations of the long spear. Chu Lingguang had buried himself in practice and, with the help of Favor Points, had trained for a long time just to master it.

Now, hearing that Great Success in Spear Technique was about Human-Gun Resonance, Chu Lingguang instinctively thought that this must be the state of Unity of Man and Gun.

“WHOOSH!”

The boat bobbed up and down with the waves.

Guo Wei brandished his spear on deck, his feet as steady as if on solid ground. The rhythm of his Spear Technique was sometimes fast, sometimes slow.

As a Spear Master, Guo Wei’s Spear Technique wasn’t like that of other Martial Artists, which emphasized wide, sweeping motions and relied on raw momentum to dominate. Instead, it was like a clear spring, a trickling stream, flowing endlessly.

It seemed to possess an inexhaustible strength. It was not only aesthetically beautiful but also held a special charm that immediately drew one into a Divine State of focus.

The more powerful the Martial Artist, the more they could sense the terrifying killing power hidden within Guo Wei’s seemingly ordinary Spear Technique.

Chu Lingguang watched without blinking.

Guo Wei’s fame for his Spear Technique was so great it had even reached the Governor’s Mansion.

Although he couldn’t perceive that terrifying killing power, he gradually began to see that the swaying rhythm of Guo Wei’s Spear Technique was in unison with the rise and fall of the Canal’s surface, speeding up and slowing down with the surging waves.

Chu Lingguang couldn’t help but recall what Guo Wei had said earlier. ’Unity of Man and Gun… it seems it isn’t as simple as just resonating with the long spear. True Great Success in Spear Technique is when a person resonates with the long spear while also incorporating their surroundings.’

“SPLASH!”

A wind picked up on the Canal, and waves over a meter high began to churn on the once-calm surface. The boat’s rocking grew more intense.

“WHOOSH!”

But Guo Wei’s Spear Technique was completely unaffected. In fact, as he shifted his feet, the boat seemed to be reinforced by some power; its waterline deepened, and its rocking gradually subsided.

Slowly, it was as if Guo Wei, brandishing his spear on the deck, were standing on the surface of the water itself, pressing it into silent stillness. Only when he retracted his spear and exhaled did the whistling of the wind snap Chu Lingguang back to his senses.

He looked at the river’s surface again.

The Canal’s current was turbulent. When had it ever been calm?

’Could the image I just saw, of Guo Wei’s Spear Technique pressing the river into silence, have been just an illusion?’

Chu Lingguang didn’t understand.

But deep down, he felt that Guo Wei’s Spear Technique truly possessed that kind of power.

“Master, your skill is as great as ever,” Wang Chao said in admiration.

“I’m getting old. The future depends on you all now.”

Guo Wei tossed the Long Spear to Hei Hu.

“Master, is the Human-Gun Resonance you mentioned like what you just did?” Chu Lingguang asked.

“No.”

Guo Wei shook his head and said earnestly, “The point of Human-Gun Resonance is different for everyone. Don’t focus too much on the characteristics of my Spear Technique just now. You must find your own point of resonance.”

“Oh.”

How could Chu Lingguang possibly understand that?

Even Hei Hu was frowning, lost in deep thought.

After the boat docked, the group returned to the alley by the Central Courtyard.

Guo Wei had brandished his spear on the deck, the Long Spear resonating with the Canal, a single thrust silencing the current. Regardless of whether what he had seen was an illusion, Chu Lingguang had only one thought in his mind: only by reaching Guo Wei’s level could one be considered to have achieved Great Success in Spear Technique.

That night, Chu Lingguang had a dream.

In his dream, he had become the Martial Champion Scholar.

He was brandishing his spear on the deck of a grand boat, his Spear Technique so earth-shattering that the entire Canal rose and fell with his Long Spear. The most famous courtesans in the world were all cheering for him.

「The next morning.」

The dream was over.

Feng Junyi’s party had already assembled at the docks.

For this trip to the Governor’s Mansion, they would travel by water to Jin City to pick up the top three examinees, then proceed to the Governor’s Mansion together.

Chu Lingguang had already packed his bags the previous night.

Before leaving, he kowtowed to Guo Wei in farewell. Then he pulled Hei Hu aside, took out ten silver taels, and gave them to him. “Senior Brother,” he said, “after you return to Baiyang County, remember to tell my Second Aunt that I passed the examination. And please give her these ten silver taels. My uncle works at your second uncle’s tile factory. Could you ask your second uncle to give my uncle an easier job? When I get back to Baiyang County, I’ll tell you everything I learn at the academy.”

“Don’t worry. Your Second Aunt is my Second Aunt, and your uncle is my uncle. I’ll take care of everything for you. But…”

Hei Hu accepted the silver taels.

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