The day of the Annual Festival soon arrived. That evening, Teng Qingshan truly witnessed the sheer number of disciples in the Guiyuan Sect!
The Black Armored Army, the core disciples of the Guiyuan Sect, and the outer disciples—three contingents totaling tens of thousands—gathered in the largest parade ground of the Black Armored Army. Led by the Sect Master, ‘Zhuge Yuanhong,’ and numerous Elders, these tens of thousands performed the grand sacrificial rites, paying homage to Emperor Yu!
Following the ceremony, a lively arena competition commenced, with rewards offered to the victors.
However…
Teng Qingshan did not participate. The most outstanding figure in that year’s festival tournament was the Young Sect Master, ‘Zhuge Yun.’ Zhuge Yun’s ‘Green Light Electric Sword Art’ possessed immense power, defeating a dozen opponents consecutively. Finally, Yue Song stepped forward to battle Zhuge Yun. Zhuge Yun was forced to unleash the ‘Nine Lightning Strikes,’ actually defeating Yue Song!
In the blink of an eye, more than two months had passed since Teng Qingshan arrived at the Black Armored Army. The harsh winter had given way to the early stirrings of spring.
In Teng Qingshan’s courtyard.
“Brother, you absolutely must win this time,” the girl Qing shouted cheerfully in the courtyard.
“I bet he’ll lose again!” Teng Qinghu chuckled smugly.
Currently, Teng Qingshan and the Young Sect Master ‘Zhuge Yun’ were sparring in the courtyard. Zhuge Yun moved with blinding speed, transforming his body into a phantom whirling around Teng Qingshan. Teng Qingshan, however, moved only slightly within a one-zhang radius, holding his spear with a single hand. Every thrust was like a sudden thunderclap blocking Zhuge Yun’s sharp sword.
“Clang!” “Clang!” “Clang!”……
The sound of the spear and the long sword colliding was incessant.
“What a fast sword technique,” Teng Qingshan marveled internally. “Purely judging by the speed of the draw, he must be number one among the younger generation of the Guiyuan Sect. Moreover, Xiao Yun’s speed rivals my own maximum burst speed when utilizing all my physical strength.” Teng Qingshan’s physique was monstrous; even without employing the Sky’s Edge Journey technique, his pure physical limit speed was already terrifying.
From this, one could imagine how astonishing Zhuge Yun’s velocity was.
“Haha… Xiao Yun, your Nine Lightning Strikes are indeed as swift and continuous as lightning. They coordinate perfectly with your footwork. Too bad they can’t penetrate my spear art. No matter how fast you move, can you be faster than my speed in delivering a strike?” Teng Qingshan parried while laughing heartily, “Without your ultimate move, you’re still going to lose today!”
This was already the third secret spar between Zhuge Yun and Teng Qingshan.
He had lost the previous two encounters, but with each defeat, Zhuge Yun returned improved. Unfortunately for him, Teng Qingshan’s ‘Primal Chaos Unity’ spear defense was akin to an impenetrable tortoise shell.
Whoosh!
Zhuge Yun retreated at high speed, regarding Teng Qingshan solemnly: “Elder Brother Teng, those two previous spars allowed my ‘Nine Lightning Strikes’ to reach great accomplishment. Over the past half-month, I have also been studying the ‘Single Line Sword.’ This Single Line Sword is an extremely high-grade sword technique within the Guiyuan Sect’s arsenals. I have only grasped the bare surface, but you need to be careful!”
Green Light Electric Sword Art, Nine Lightning Strikes, Single Line Sword. These were sequential advancements.
One could only begin learning the Single Line Sword after achieving mastery in the Nine Lightning Strikes.
“Oh?” Teng Qingshan’s eyes lit up.
“Don’t disappoint me,” Teng Qingshan cautioned, gathering his intent.
Zhuge Yun held his three-foot azure blade, his aura condensing.
Suddenly—
Zhuge Yun’s gaze sharpened drastically, and the three-foot long sword in his hand vanished into thin air. Teng Qingshan only perceived a single streak of azure light shooting towards him.
Only that one streak of light!
“Boom!” Teng Qingshan’s physical strength erupted instantly, his spear transforming into an illusion as well!
“Clang!”
The spear struck squarely, sending the azure sword flying away, followed by a slight tremor from the spear tip against Zhuge Yun’s chest.
The sharp sword was violently hurled into the distance, smashing against the wall and causing the masonry to shake, resulting in fine cracks. As for Zhuge Yun himself, the slight vibration from the spear sent him flying backward before he landed. Teng Qingshan’s control over his latent strength was exquisitely refined; Zhuge Yun suffered no injury whatsoever.
“That sword strike was fast,” Teng Qingshan noted with alarm. “My physical strength just reached an instantaneous burst of nearly twenty percent!”
Zhuge Yun’s sword had been nothing more than a streak of blue light!
It was so fast that Teng Qingshan required twenty percent of his full power just to ensure his spear’s velocity could keep pace with the sword.
“Brother, you lost again,” Miss Qing laughed.
“That sword was incredibly fast,” Teng Qinghu praised. “But Qingshan’s spear was even faster!”
Zhuge Yun sighed wryly and looked at Teng Qingshan: “Elder Brother Teng, you truly are a monster! After I achieved mastery in both the ‘Green Light Electric Sword Art’ and the ‘Nine Lightning Strikes,’ I barely grasped the fundamentals of the ‘Single Line Sword.’ The power of this ‘Single Line Sword’ rivals the Wave-Breaking Stance from the Vast River Sword Art! Just this one move consumed nearly ten percent of the internal energy in my body! It is far swifter than my Nine Lightning Strikes, yet you managed to block it!”
“Xiao Yun, your swordsmanship is terrifying. If it were any faster, even I might struggle to receive it,” Teng Qingshan praised. “If not for cultivating the Mighty Ox Strength Art, I wouldn’t have been able to block that strike of yours.”
Zhuge Yun’s sword was undeniably fast!
“My father says that in this world, no sword technique can surpass pure speed! Once my Single Line Sword reaches full mastery, I will certainly rank among the seventy-two figures on the Earthly Ranking,” Zhuge Yun stated confidently.
“No technique surpasses speed?” Teng Qingshan merely smiled.
He disagreed with that assertion.
Nothing was invincible or unbreakable. A sword technique reaching ultimate speed was indeed fearsome. But if one’s physical body reached ultimate fortitude, and a sword thrust could not inflict damage, how could one win?
The ultimate yang, the ultimate yin, ultimate speed, ultimate defense…
In this world, the Dao divided into myriad paths, and any path reaching its zenith was terrifying.
“If one day I can achieve even ten percent of my father’s level, then I can defeat you, Qingshan, and dominate the world,” Zhuge Yun remarked.
Zhuge Qing, standing nearby, chuckled: “Brother, with your temperament, you barely practice your sword for three hours a day. You still dream of catching up to Father? Go ask Martial Uncle and the others; back when Father was young, he practiced his sword every single day, even sleeping while clutching it. He used to be known as the ‘Sword Fiend.’ Father was far more diligent than you. It’s strange, though—now Father hardly touches his sword; he spends his days either painting or playing chess. Doesn’t he worry about his strength diminishing?”
“What do you know? Father’s swordsmanship has reached an unfathomable level,” Zhuge Yun said, a trace of adoration in his eyes.
Teng Qingshan felt a sudden stirring in his heart.
‘Sect Master Zhuge Yuanhong. How strong is he really?’ Teng Qingshan genuinely wanted to challenge Zhuge Yuanhong. “But he hides his depth too profoundly. I can’t sense how powerful he is! However, the strength Xiao Yun has revealed is already formidable enough. What about the Sect Master, who is a Xiantian expert?”
Teng Qingshan could only appreciate Zhuge Yun’s skill, but he didn't truly care.
Among Post-Heaven experts, few could match him. The only true threat came from the terrifying Xiantian experts.
Though he deeply desired a challenge, Teng Qingshan did not wish to expose his ultimate trump cards, so he forced himself to remain patient.
……
That night, Teng Qingshan was practicing his spear techniques in the courtyard.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The spear transformed into an illusion, its speed pushed to the absolute limit.
“The Shadow-Following Spear Art was derived from the Crushing Fist, belonging to the Wood attribute, which should foster endless vitality. This technique not only requires speed but also an artistic conception of perpetual, continuous flow.” Teng Qingshan’s own Shadow-Following Spear Art was undergoing continuous refinement through study and contemplation, making subtle progress.
Shadow-Following Spear, Primal Chaos Unity Spear, Poison Dragon Drill Spear—Teng Qingshan was gradually improving and perfecting these three great spear arts.
“Bang!” “Bang!”
Suddenly, a knocking sound echoed.
Teng Qingshan ceased his practice, stood up, walked over, and opened the door. A male disciple of the Guiyuan Sect stood outside.
“Teng Qingshan, please follow me. The Sect Master requests your presence.” the disciple stated.
“The Sect Master wants to see me?” Teng Qingshan was somewhat surprised.
“Indeed.” The disciple nodded.
Though puzzled, Teng Qingshan, holding his spear, followed the disciple out of his quarters and headed towards the core disciples’ area of the Guiyuan Sect.
……
Outside Zhuge Yuanhong’s study.
Teng Qingshan arrived at the doorway. A faint light emanated from within the study. The male disciple bowed deeply: “Sect Master, I have brought Teng Qingshan.” He then respectfully withdrew.
“Qingshan, you may enter.” A calm voice drifted from inside.
‘Why would Zhuge Yuanhong summon me? To take me as a disciple?’ Teng Qingshan wondered internally. Yet, in his actions, he showed no hesitation, stepping forward directly and pushing open the study door.
Creak!
As the door opened, Teng Qingshan saw Zhuge Yuanhong seated before a desk, reading a thread-bound book. Hearing the door open, Zhuge Yuanhong set the book down, smiled, and looked up: “Ah, Qingshan, you even bring your spear when you visit me. No wonder your spear arts have reached this level at such a young age.”
“Qingshan only buries his head in strenuous practice and understands little else,” Teng Qingshan replied.
“Hmm!”
Zhuge Yuanhong nodded with a smile. “Neither arrogant nor impetuous—very good! You sparred with Yun’er and even managed to counter his Single Line Sword; I was quite surprised. It seems your internal energy burst has become much stronger than during the Centurion competition. What layer have you mastered in your Mighty Ox Strength Art?”
“The Eighth Layer,” Teng Qingshan stated.
Teng Qingshan had, of course, fully mastered the Ninth Layer, but due to his meridian restrictions, his instantaneous internal energy burst capacity was only equivalent to about fifty thousand jin of physical strength.
However, Teng Qingshan dared not reveal this to Zhuge Yuanhong.
If he admitted to mastering the Ninth Layer, wouldn't that imply his Extraordinary Meridians were completely unblocked?
“Hmm. Your Extraordinary Meridians are nearly fully open, perhaps only the Ren and Du meridians remain locked… It seems you had quite the fortunate encounter back then,” Zhuge Yuanhong praised. To have unblocked so many meridians, and at the age of seventeen, was fundamentally impossible otherwise.
“Reaching the Eighth Layer, combined with your spear art, grants you the power to rank at least on the Latent Dragon Ranking across the Nine Provinces,” Zhuge Yuanhong complimented. “But do not grow complacent. Although your spear art is formidable, it appears you have not studied any foundational spear techniques.”
Saying this, Zhuge Yuanhong tossed the book in his hand toward Teng Qingshan. Teng Qingshan accepted it with astonishment and looked down. The thread-bound book bore four characters: Blazing Fire Spear Art.
“This Blazing Fire Spear Art contains eighty-one maneuvers, each designed to utilize internal energy. It is a decent Human-rank secret manual. Study this basic spear technique well; I believe it will benefit your own comprehension of spear arts,” Zhuge Yuanhong smiled.
Teng Qingshan rejoiced inwardly.
His own spear arts were entirely derived from the Five Elements Fist; he hadn't learned a single actual spear technique from this world.
“Thank you, Sect Master.” Teng Qingshan bowed repeatedly.
“Very well, cultivate diligently. In the future, if you manage to rank on the Latent Dragon Ranking or the Earthly Ranking, it will be a point of pride for our Guiyuan Sect!” Zhuge Yuanhong laughed. “Oh, and in a few days, your battalion will be dispatched to guard the Guiyuan Sect’s gold mine in Huafeng City. Prepare yourself beforehand… Moreover, Huafeng City is not far from your hometown, Yicheng. If you have the chance, take a detour back to see your family.”