Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Weapons

Chu Lingguang was inwardly ecstatic.

On the outside, however, he wore a shocked expression as he retracted his Long Spear. “Hall Master Li,” he said awkwardly, “just now, I…”

“You’re lying to me!”

Li Yishan interrupted, his face dark.

“No, I didn’t lie to you.”

Chu Lingguang shook his head.

“Still trying to argue… Ah!”

Furious, Li Yishan tried to raise his saber to teach Chu Lingguang a lesson, but his right arm was too sore to lift. He could barely even grip the blade.

Both of his hands were trembling. He had barely been able to block that last spear thrust, and his left shoulder felt like Chu Lingguang had nearly snapped it. Now, both his arms were sore, numb, and powerless; he couldn’t lift them at all.

He realized with a sense of despair that if even Chu Lingguang admitted his Spear Technique was inferior to Liu Quan’s, then challenging Liu Quan would be nothing but self-humiliation.

On the other hand, even if Liu Quan wasn’t as good as Chu Lingguang, he was in no condition to face him now. By the time his injuries healed, who knew if Liu Quan would have become just as formidable as Chu Lingguang was now.

“Are you alright?”

Chu Lingguang felt a little bad.

After all, Li Yishan had made it clear from the beginning that he just wanted a practice partner before going to settle his score with Liu Quan. Instead, his campaign had ended before it even began, and he had suffered a major setback at Chu Lingguang’s hands. ’I hope he doesn’t lose the will to challenge Liu Quan because of this.’

“Hmph. I’ll live.”

Not wanting to exchange another word with Chu Lingguang, Li Yishan turned and left.

Once Li Yishan was out of sight, Chu Lingguang flourished his spear and brought it crashing down. BANG! A branch as thick as a thigh snapped with ease.

He then proceeded to practice the Basic Thirteen Spear Techniques over and over again in the woods.

Chu Lingguang wanted to hold on to that feeling, to let the Long Spear sense his breath and the fluctuations of his Qi Blood. He immersed himself in the practice until his Long Spear and his breathing were in resonance. Every thrust and every parry felt worlds different from before.

If his old Spear Technique was all wide, sweeping movements—seemingly valiant and explosive—in truth, it severely drained his Qi Blood. He would often feel exhausted after just a few practice sets.

But now, he was like an old master. Each thrust and parry seemed simple and light, yet was steady and powerful. His Qi Blood and the Long Spear merged into one. He was still as a maiden, yet swift as a bolting hare. His ordinary techniques now carried the rhythm of wind and thunder, and a casual strike could unleash the force of a Mountain Roar and Sea Shout—something no ordinary Qi Blood Martial Artist could withstand.

Chu Lingguang finally understood Guo Wei’s painstaking efforts.

The Formed Spear Technique was, just as Guo Wei had said, the foundation upon which all power in the Spear Technique was built. Skillful Force was a Kung Fu built upon that foundation; without a solid base, Skillful Force could never be truly formidable.

That day on Wine Street, when he saw Li Yishan’s long saber deflected by Liu Quan’s Skillful Force, he had been as astonished as everyone else. But now that his Spear Technique had reached the Form Realm and the power of each thrust and parry had multiplied, Chu Lingguang didn’t believe his Long Spear could be so easily defeated by Liu Quan’s Skillful Force.

Perhaps, when it came to Spear Technique, he could now give Liu Quan a real fight.

Of course, who was truly stronger could only be determined through actual combat. But that wasn’t something Chu Lingguang needed to think about right now. He focused on his practice, seeking only to fully comprehend the Formed Spear Technique and make this state permanent. He wanted to be like Guo Wei, able to unleash unimaginable power with any casual thrust of his spear.

Chu Lingguang practiced in the woods for the entire day, only returning to the Martial Arts Hall at dusk. He decided not to tell anyone about achieving the Gun Form just yet.

It wouldn’t be too late to tell Guo Wei once he had completely mastered the Formed Spear Technique.

In the days that followed, Chu Lingguang continued to focus on his Riding Skill and Tidal Breathing Technique, as well as consolidating his mastery of the Formed Spear Technique.

The days flew by, and in a blink, another half a month passed.

Only eight months remained until the Daoist Examination.

“Keep up!”

“Hya!”

Today, Guo Wei was taking Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu to the county town to pick out some suitable weapons.

For the Daoist Examination, contestants could bring their own weapons and horses or use the ones provided by the Government Office. Using unfamiliar equipment, however, could negatively impact one’s performance.

In the examination, a hair’s breadth of difference could mean failure.

A familiar weapon was crucial.

With less than eight months until the examination, Guo Wei couldn’t let Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu continue using the old, worn-out training weapons from the Martial Arts Hall.

This was the perfect time to have them choose new weapons. By the time the Daoist Examination began, they would be well-acquainted with them, allowing them to better showcase the results of their training.

“Hya!”

Chu Lingguang on his Little Red Horse and Hei Hu on Mountain Pass Peak followed close behind Guo Wei. The two disciples were thrilled to learn they were going to pick out new weapons.

A little over two hours later, the three of them arrived in the county town.

Compared to the Wine Street Market, the county town was clearly more prosperous and bustling. Merchants from all the surrounding villages came and went, and travelers who were either doing business or just resting in Baiyang County almost always stayed in town, rarely venturing into the countryside.

Guo Wei was a frequent visitor to the county town and knew it well. He led Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu to the end of a market alley, toward a blacksmith’s shop whose location was given away by the constant sound of hammering.

In front of the blacksmith shop stood four furnaces where six or seven bare-chested, brawny men were smelting iron ore. Just as Chu Lingguang and the others arrived, two of the men were pouring a crucible of fiery-red molten iron into a mold.

Guo Wei led Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu straight into the shop.

Only when they reached the main courtyard did the deafening clang of hammering begin to subside.

“Whoa!”

“So many weapons!”

Inside the blacksmith’s main courtyard, six Soldier Landing Platforms stood on either side. Each platform was bristling with sabers, spears, staves, and clubs—it seemed every kind of weapon imaginable was present.

Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu had never seen so many weapons, and both of them exclaimed in amazement.

Guo Wei, however, frowned slightly.

’The weapons lining the courtyard are mostly sabers, spears, staves, and clubs,’ Guo Wei thought, his brow furrowed. ’There must be several hundred of them. How many people even practice martial arts in all of Baiyang County? This has to be an order from the Government Office. Otherwise, the shop wouldn’t forge so many weapons, nor would they dare leave them piled up in the courtyard like this.’

Of course, this wasn’t something Guo Wei would ask about. He led Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu through the main courtyard and into the shop’s Inner Courtyard. Here, there were only two Soldier Landing Platforms. The weapons on display were few, but every single one, from the Long Spears to the short sabers, was of far superior quality to those outside.

“Master Guo, long time no see.”

In the guest hall of the Inner Courtyard, a burly man who had been resting shot up from his wicker chair to greet them as soon as he saw Guo Wei enter.

“Boss Zhuang, the fine pieces in the shop this year seem to be much fewer than in previous years.”

Guo Wei pointed to the few scarce weapons on the Soldier Landing Platform.

“Sigh. You saw all those weapons in the front yard,” Boss Zhuang explained, holding a teapot in one hand and fanning himself with a cattail fan. “My shop has simply had no time to forge fine-quality pieces. Tie Zhennan brought his disciples here two months ago and said the very same thing.”

“Then we’ll just have to see if my disciples can find a good fit.”

Guo Wei smiled. The Zhuang Family Iron Shop was famous far and wide; even the Government Office contracted Boss Zhuang to forge their weapons. It was no surprise to Guo Wei that Tie Zhennan would come all the way from Qinghe County just to select weapons for his disciples.

“Catch.”

He walked over to a Soldier Landing Platform, casually picked out two sabers, and tossed them to Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep