Chapter 146: The Intent of the Spear

In the small pavilion, Wang Chong and Ouyang Cheng drank face to face.

“You said this Alchemist Zhang passed the pill debate assessment?”

Wang Chong still couldn’t quite believe it.

The pill debate was almost exclusively the domain of renowned masters, an exalted existence. A youth under twenty succeeding—even hearing it with his own ears, he was filled with disbelief.

“Yes, Alchemist Zhang’s mastery of pills is even above mine. Truly a hero emerges from youth!” Ouyang Cheng sighed with emotion.

“Impressive in pills, but his understanding of spear techniques is far too shallow. Spear techniques are not child’s play, nor can they be learned just by casual observation. If it were that easy, how could I have devoted my whole life to them?”

A look of pride appeared on his face, and Wang Chong’s eyes held strong confidence.

“Yes, the spear is the most difficult of all weapons. How easy is it to achieve anything in it?”

Among the many weapons, the spear was the hardest to train. Many cultivators started learning with full confidence, only to end up half-baked, trying to imitate a tiger but ending up looking like a dog.

Sighing, Ouyang Cheng suddenly remembered something and looked over: “You don’t have any secret spear manuals in your study that shouldn’t be passed on, do you?”

Zhang Xuan was brought by him; if his old friend, out of politeness, leaked some secret technique he didn’t want to spread, that would be truly embarrassing.

“No, my self-created spear techniques and family secret manuals are all memorized by heart, passed down orally, not recorded in writing. Even if others want to learn, they can’t!”

Wang Chong smiled: “What’s in the study are just the basics and fundamentals of spear techniques. They’re very helpful for those just starting out, but nothing special. Let this Alchemist Zhang take a look; after reading, he should understand the difficulty of spear techniques and forget his previous naive ideas!”

Never having touched a spear, yet wanting to learn how to teach others—what a joke!

If spear techniques were that simple, how could he be so famous, even praised by His Majesty Shen Zhui himself?

A master of spear techniques was not a title gained for nothing.

On this point, he had absolute confidence and assurance.

“That’s true…” Ouyang Cheng nodded.

Any weapon or martial skill was not easily mastered; it required day-and-night practice and repeated refinement. If it could be learned easily, experts would be worthless.

“This Alchemist Zhang is still young and doesn’t know the depths. Later, after he finishes reading the books, I’ll demonstrate a set of spear techniques to make him retreat in the face of difficulty. Then he should stop having wild thoughts!”

Knowing that Zhang Xuan had astonishing talent in alchemy, Wang Chong, though somewhat dissatisfied with his actions, did not belittle him.

“Good, that way he’ll likely give up and focus on alchemy. I’m still hoping our Alchemist Guild will produce a two-star alchemist…”

Ouyang Cheng smiled and was about to continue speaking when he saw Wang Chong suddenly stiffen, then tremble uncontrollably.

“Clang!”

The wine glass in his hand fell to the ground and shattered into powder, unnoticed.

“Wang Chong…”

Seeing a spear master whose strength ranked among the top in Tianxuan City suddenly become like this, Ouyang Cheng was startled.

He hadn’t heard that this old friend was unwell!

How, in the middle of speaking, did he suddenly have a seizure?

“It’s the intent of the spear, the intent of the spear!”

Just as he was considering what pill to use to save him, he saw his old friend recover, his eyes shining as if he had seen a treasure trove.

“The intent of the spear? What’s that?”

Seeing he was fine, Ouyang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief and looked over with curiosity.

What on earth could make his usually calm, steady-as-a-mountain old friend become like this?

“In practicing swordsmanship, reaching a profound realm allows one to form sword intent. The same goes for the spear—a master who can condense spear intent is a true spear master. These years I’ve lived in seclusion, trying to temper my mind and reach this state as soon as possible, but I’ve never found a breakthrough point… Has a master come to the mansion, or has someone broken through before me? Let’s go see!”

Abruptly standing up, Wang Chong hurried toward the direction where he had sensed the spear intent.

When spear intent is condensed, wherever the spear reaches, it is all spear techniques.

He had been striving for this goal all along but could never find the entrance. Never in his dreams did he expect it to appear in his own courtyard. Who could it be?

Without pausing, the two rushed toward where the spear intent had been released, just in time to see Zhang Xuan slowly walking out of the study.

“Where is he?” Before even arriving, Wang Chong asked anxiously.

“He? Who?” Zhang Xuan didn’t know what he meant.

He had been reading all along, then practicing the Heavenly Dao Spear Technique, and hadn’t paid attention to the outside. What, had an enemy come?

“I sensed a remarkable spear intent nearby. How could there be no one?”

Seeing that he didn’t know, Wang Chong hurriedly looked around, but the surroundings were empty—not a single person in sight.

“Could it be that you’ve been thinking so much you’ve become ill, and mis-sensed it?” Ouyang Cheng looked over.

Could this old friend, constantly thinking about spear intent, have had a hallucination after a long time?

Otherwise, why hadn’t he sensed anything?

“I’m only one step away from spear intent; I think about it day and night. Just now, there was definitely a spear intent shooting into the sky. There’s no mistake!”

Wang Chong’s face was full of certainty.

He studied spear techniques every day, already obsessed to the point of madness. If he got spear intent wrong, that would truly be embarrassing.

“Wait, wait—what is this ‘spear intent’ you’re talking about?”

Seeing the two discussing heatedly, Zhang Xuan could no longer hold back.

The books he had read were all the simplest basics; spear intent involved a higher level and was not recorded, so he didn’t know about it.

“Spear intent is a special state realized only when one’s understanding of spear techniques reaches the limit…”

Wang Chong explained a sentence, then shook his head: “You’ve never studied spear techniques; even if I explain, you won’t understand. Any more explanation would be wasted…”

Although the other hadn’t elaborated, Zhang Xuan roughly understood what was going on: “Are you looking here because someone released spear intent just now?”

“I’m not sure either. Just now I vaguely sensed it, around here…” Wang Chong nodded.

That spear intent appeared for a very short time, a flash in the pan. Even he only had a vague feeling and couldn’t pinpoint the exact location. Otherwise, he would have gone straight there instead of agonizing here.

“Right, you were right here. You should be able to pinpoint the location clearly!”

Remembering something, Wang Chong looked over with shining eyes.

He was far away and couldn’t sense the exact spot, but this Alchemist Zhang was different—he was right here, so he could surely find it.

Once the location was determined, whether it was a family member or an outsider would be clear.

You see, as a spear technique family, everyone in the clan practiced the spear, even the guards. If someone happened to accidentally comprehend spear intent and kept silent, they wouldn’t know. Finding the exact location would make it simple.

“But… I don’t know what spear intent is?” Zhang Xuan hesitated.

“That’s simple. Although I haven’t yet comprehended spear intent, I can imitate it to about seventy or eighty percent. It’s this kind of aura!”

Wang Chong’s body moved, and a sharp aura rushed toward them, as if it could pierce anything.

“This is spear intent?” Zhang Xuan looked very strange.

“Yes, this kind of aura. Do you know where it appeared?” Releasing the aura, Wang Chong gasped for breath, sweat pouring from his head, and couldn’t help asking.

Even though he only imitated it briefly, the intense consumption still left him somewhat exhausted.

“This…” Zhang Xuan felt a bit embarrassed: “This… is what you mean, is it this?”

As his words ended, his whole body seemed to transform into a spear, emitting a surging, overwhelming aura, as if it could pierce the heavens at any moment.

Compared to it, Wang Chong’s earlier spear intent was like a dog’s tail grass versus a towering tree.

They were not on the same level.