As for the manipulation of inner power, he was supremely skilled. When he used the Ruthless Sleeve back then, he could control the wind; transferring that to the spear, although the weapon changed, the principle remained similar.

He urged, “Instructor, again!”

“Good!” Before Instructor Zhang’s voice faded, the tip of his spear transformed into a sliver of cold light, instantly aimed at Li Muchen’s brow. The spear moved like a straight line, swift as a swimming dragon—the most fundamental of thrusts.

Li Muchen swung his long saber, coiling around the spearhead, intending to trap it and deny it the ability to borrow force.

Unexpectedly, the long spear suddenly retracted, as fast as a gecko, causing the long saber to miss completely. Instead, a pulling force emerged, tugging at the saber.

The saber tugged restlessly, straining against his control. Li Muchen quickly advanced a step with the momentum, neutralizing the pull, and rushed forward to close the distance.

The long spear swept out, transforming into a long staff to intercept him. Li Muchen could only block with a downward chop, using the momentum to retreat.

The saber and spear met and clashed, the two men locked in battle. Li Muchen was at a disadvantage, relying purely on the exquisite finesse of his saber techniques—he deployed slashing, sweeping, cutting, thrusting, and guiding motions to their utmost limits, yet he could not shift the situation.

Instructor Zhang’s spear work looked plain and unadorned, taking advantage of the weapon's superior reach. No matter how hard Li Muchen exerted himself with every trick he knew, he was held firmly at bay, unable to get close.

Whether blocking, trapping, or thrusting—only these three basic maneuvers governed the space, executed with perfect timing.

After fighting for a long while, Instructor Zhang suddenly paused, stepped back, and said, “Stop there. Let’s switch. You use the spear, and I’ll use the saber.”

Li Muchen nodded quickly. Relying on the advantage of a longer weapon, Instructor Zhang held the dominant position; the shorter the weapon, the more perilous the situation. Previously, with his supreme lightness skill, he hadn't paid much mind to length, but now, it determined success or failure.

He grasped the long spear, recalling Instructor Zhang’s recent movements. He waved it a few times gently, adopting a few basic stances; the air hissed as the spear-flowers bloomed brilliantly.

In the pitch-black sky, a bright moon had unknowingly appeared, its glow like spilled water. Instructor Zhang lit several more torches, and with the pair’s exceptional eyesight, it was virtually indistinguishable from daytime.

With the spear in hand, the sensation of being one with the weapon resurfaced. He smiled faintly, “Instructor, please—!”

“Be careful!” Instructor Zhang let out a low snort, and a sudden flash of lightning appeared as he lunged forward, raising his saber high with both hands for a direct vertical chop.

This chop carried the force of a thousand pounds and radiated momentum like a rainbow.

Li Muchen’s mind was still as water; his long spear moved like a coiling dragon emerging from a cave, wrapping around the incoming blade.

The spear tip morphed into a silver haze, encircling the long saber. Clang! Clang! Clang! A continuous chorus of metallic clashes erupted. Li Muchen felt his palms growing numb from the tyrannical force transmitted up the shaft of the spear.

Li Muchen gave a light shake, causing the spear shaft to vibrate, neutralizing the overpowering internal force. Instructor Zhang showed an expression of approval, his saber strikes falling like electric light and thunder, pressing the attack relentlessly.

Li Muchen swung and flicked his spear, either pressing or blocking to keep the attack outside, striving to dissolve the powerful force coming through the spear shaft, yet his palms still felt waves of numbness.

Instructor Zhang roared with laughter, slashing wildly, his momentum unstoppable. Li Muchen, having no other choice, resorted to brute force, using the long spear like a long staff, manifesting a sky full of staff shadows.

The two separated quickly. Instructor Zhang examined him, smiling, “You kid, you have considerable strength, good. Too bad your spear technique is still lacking; otherwise, with your power, I wouldn't stand a chance!”

Li Muchen smiled, “Instructor’s martial arts are profound; I am naturally inferior.”

Instructor Zhang shook his head and laughed, “Talent is crucial in the military martial arts we practice. You are immensely strong, which is a great advantage. Practice diligently, and you will soon become a fierce general!”

With that, he waved his hand and turned away. Li Muchen stood pondering in the training ground for a long moment, then slowly leveled the long spear and resumed his pole-standing practice.

He felt his foundational skills were insufficient; he couldn't truly dissolve the recoil of the spear, which consumed too much energy—it was certainly not the right path. There must be a knack to it.

That knack lay in his comprehension of countering a spear.

In the days that followed, he settled into a routine. He would rise in the morning, run in iron armor, eat breakfast, ride a horse for a while to foster affection with Chi Ying, and then practice the Flying Bear Palm technique.

In the afternoon, he spent half the time practicing the saber and the other half practicing the spear, standing still with the weapon, gradually comprehending the force inherent in the spear.

As his understanding deepened, he found increasing fascination in it, becoming completely immersed and unable to pull himself away.

Instructor Zhang taught him diligently. Once he could merge body and spear, learning the spear techniques came naturally, as if water flowing into a channel. The forms themselves became less important; the key was the training of the fundamentals.

In the evenings, after everyone else had rested, Instructor Zhang would spar with Li Muchen. Both held spears, pressing them against each other—this was called Dajin'er (testing force).

Using the spear to sense the opponent's internal force and then exploiting the opening—this was fundamental training. If mastered, upon initial contact with the opponent’s weapon, one could strike directly along the incoming force, resolving the fight in a single move.

Thus, the marvel of spear technique, the King of all hundred weapons, lay precisely in its overwhelming power. Compared to it, saber technique was like a small snake facing a flood dragon; the difference in might was vast.

However, among all weapons, the spear was the most difficult to master. At least these first two steps of entry would take common practitioners ten years or more to meet the standard.

After practicing for a few days, Li Muchen suddenly realized that the way others practiced spears was different from him; they didn't practice pole-standing, only one single movement: the forward thrust.

After finishing their saber drills, they began spear practice. Each person faced a straw dummy and thrust viciously a thousand times to complete their assignment.

Of the two hundred or so men practicing the spear, he was the only one doing so.

He practiced three spear forms, stood the spear post, and sparred with Instructor Zhang in Dajin'er.

One evening, after finishing his spear practice and force testing with Instructor Zhang, Li Muchen returned slowly to his tent, drenched in sweat, feeling a warmth in his heart as he saw the lamplight.

These past few days, he had begun to feel homesick, missing his parents, his eldest brother, second sister, sister-in-law, and the masters, senior sisters, and junior sisters of Canghai Mountain.

Every evening after practice, he would feel lonely, but once he entered the tent and saw Zhao Shengli and the other three, the loneliness vanished without a trace, replaced by warmth as they joked and chatted.

He stepped into the tent. Zhao Shengli was sitting cross-legged on his cot, brow tightly furrowed, reading a scroll. Seeing him enter, Zhao Shengli quickly put the book down and let out a long sigh.

Li Muchen laughed. Zhao Shengli looked coarse and not like a scholar, yet he carried a military treatise around all day, reading it with the forced perseverance of someone taking bitter medicine.

Feng Dakun was carefully polishing his saber, handling it meticulously, as if caressing a lover, his expression utterly focused. He didn't hear the footsteps when Li Muchen entered.

Cai Yuzhang was writing a letter, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Li Baolu sat cross-legged on his cot, intently embroidering a piece of cloth with a needle.

Zhao Shengli stretched widely, grunting enviously, “Monk, you’re lucky to have Instructor Zhang teaching you the spear. How’s the learning going?”

“Still a long way to go,” Li Muchen replied with a wry smile, then asked, “Head Zhao, why isn't everyone practicing spear techniques, only that single thrust?”

“Hmph, if Instructor Zhang doesn’t teach it, what can we do?” Zhao Shengli grumbled discontentedly.

Feng Dakun looked up and said, “Passing those two trials is harder than ascending to heaven. Nobody has ever succeeded, so everyone just settles for learning that one move.”

“Monk, you are truly amazing!” Li Baolu put down his embroidery frame and chuckled, “You are the first person to pass both trials!”

“And no one else?” Li Muchen asked doubtfully.

Cai Yuzhang set down his brush and rubbed his wrist, “Monk, we are cavalry; our main focus is mounted archery... As for spear technique, one move is enough for use!”

Li Muchen frowned. He had assumed many would learn spear techniques, but now it seemed he was the only one in the entire Xiaoji Battalion.

Zhao Shengli stated, “Spear techniques are mostly for generals to learn. We are just common soldiers; how could we possess that skill?”

Li Baolu giggled, “When the Monk learns the spear, he’s destined to become a general!”

Li Muchen smiled wryly and shook his head. He fetched a wooden basin, scooped water from the barrel, and sat on his cot to wash his feet.

Zhao Shengli remarked, “Becoming a general requires that kind of fate! ... Many with great skill meet bad luck on the battlefield and die even faster! ... Monk, you should focus on the palm technique; that is what will save your life!”

“That’s right!” Cai Yuzhang nodded, sitting down beside Li Muchen’s cot, and said earnestly, “Our palm technique is profound beyond measure; it’s not just about the forms, but about cultivating inner force! ... With inner force, your strength will increase, your body will become stronger, and you’ll have a better chance of surviving on the battlefield!”

Li Baolu nodded vigorously, “Exactly, Monk, you are already strong, and if you master the Flying Bear Palm technique, you will be even stronger!”

“Good,” Li Muchen nodded. He had indeed gained some insight while practicing the Flying Bear Palm these past few days.

He discovered that as he cultivated the Flying Bear Palm technique, wisps of warm air flowed through his limbs and bones, thin as threads, very faint, yet undeniably real.

His internal observation was crystal clear; he could see it perfectly. This was internal energy (Neiqi), though so weak it was nearly undetectable. If his perception hadn't been so sharp, he would never have noticed it.

This confirmed that using forms to cultivate internal energy was indeed viable.

He observed carefully, trying to discern which meridian the internal energy followed with each movement. However, the current situation was strange: the internal energy did not flow along the meridians but moved freely throughout every part of his body.

The internal energy was like fish, and the body was like the sea—it seemed every location was the sea, allowing the fish to swim at will.

But the internal energy in civilian martial arts was also like fish, yet the meridians were the rivers; these fish could only swim along the rivers and couldn't move freely throughout the body.

This distinctly demonstrated the difference between the two types of internal energy.

With his clear internal vision, tracing how the internal energy circulated with every movement wasn't difficult, but he only had a general understanding; he needed a deeper level of cultivation to achieve precision.

He saw the potential for cultivating the Nine Revolutions Marrow Cleansing Scripture. Continuing this path, clarifying the relationship between movements and internal energy, he could practice the Nine Revolutions Marrow Cleansing Scripture.

He practiced the Flying Bear Palm for a whole morning, practiced spear post the entire afternoon, and sparred with Instructor Zhang in the evenings. His progress with the spear was extremely rapid, and his application of internal force became increasingly marvelous.

Instructor Zhang taught with vigor, and Li Muchen learned with equal seriousness. Unconsciously, time passed, and a full month had gone by.

In this month, Li Muchen’s appearance changed drastically. His entire being exuded a steady aura, truly like a bear—his movements were slow and heavy; every step he took seemed to cause the ground to tremble slightly, carrying immense presence.

He was constantly multi-tasking. Apart from the time spent with the spear, he focused all his attention on cultivating the Flying Bear Palm technique; even when he couldn't physically practice, he was pondering and rehearsing it in his mind.

He integrated the Flying Bear Palm into his movements, adopting the 'Bear Walk' method while walking. All the weight of his body seemed concentrated in his feet, his knees slightly bent to maintain a sense of yielding emptiness.

In every raising of a hand or lifting of a foot, his body embodied the essence of a black bear, capturing its profound weight and agility, imbued with potent rhythm. His progress in practicing the palm technique became incredibly fast; warm currents surged throughout his flesh and bone, growing stronger, showing a tendency to gather at the Dantian.

However, it persistently hesitated to converge into the Dantian, as if it wasn't yet deep enough; it merely circulated throughout his body without drilling into the core.

After a month, the Flying Bear Palm technique grew more adept. During practice, internal energy surged and flowed with the movements, leaving him feeling as comfortable as soaking in a hot spring.

Previously, when cultivating internal heart techniques, the internal energy could only circulate within the meridians, constrained there. Now it was different; the internal energy flowed freely throughout his body, nourishing and strengthening his flesh and blood.

After a month, his strength increased slightly. He secretly tested it once and managed to bend a long spear.

One morning, while practicing the Flying Bear Palm, his heart suddenly jolted, his body tensing abruptly. A massive suction force arose inside him, pressing his flesh tightly against his bones.

After a moment, the tension released, his flesh recovered, and it was different from before. He closed his eyes, looking inward, feeling as if he had thinned slightly, his skin becoming increasingly smooth and white like jade.

A smile appeared on his face. Unexpectedly, the Adamantine Indestructible Divine Art had suddenly advanced, breaking through the fourth layer and entering the fifth—the Membrane Cultivation stage.

Seeing Li Muchen return at night and still practice the Flying Bear Palm in the tent for an hour before sleeping, Zhao Shengli and the others worried. He was a new recruit, and such intense practice—they feared he wouldn't be able to bear it.

Li Muchen thanked them for their concern; their warmth touched him deeply.

That evening, after finishing his spear practice with Instructor Zhang, Li Muchen stood alone quietly, contemplating for a long time. Then he slowly put away his spear and started walking back.

He suddenly stopped, narrowed his eyes, and smiled faintly, “It’s you?”

Yue Feihu stood with his hands on his hips, lazily staring at Li Muchen, and smiled back, “It is! ... Didn't expect us to be waiting for you here, did you?”

Li Muchen surveyed the nine men flanking Yue Feihu, shaking his head, “What is the meaning of this?”

These men were all burly individuals, standing on either side of Yue Feihu like stars orbiting the moon, each with arms crossed, casting cold, sidelong glances at Li Muchen.

Yue Feihu chuckled, “We wish to witness the prowess of the Monk’s spear technique!”

With that, they drew spears from behind their backs. The spear tips gleamed coldly under the moonlight.

Li Muchen frowned, glanced at Yue Feihu, and revealed a slight smile, “You truly dare to kill me?”

“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Yue Feihu smiled conspiratorially, glancing around the surroundings. “You are just a new recruit, without much foundation. If you die, you die; who will cry out for justice for you? ... So, accept your fate. Your greatest mistake was standing out too much!”

PS: My apologies everyone, only two chapters today. I will make up for it tomorrow. This volume is proving very difficult to write; the narrative threads are numerous, making it hard to begin. I sincerely crave everyone's support and encouragement right now.

To those friends who subscribe to the genuine version, thank you deeply; you are worthy of respect. V