Chapter 5: Spearplay

“I, Gu Yuanhan of the Xia Clan, the ‘Dark Ice Knight’, leave my spearplay here.”

On the golden leaf pages were densely drawn patterns, depicting a small figure practicing spear techniques.

“Buzz——”

A mysterious and mighty force caused the air in the study to tremble.

“Hmm?” Dongbo Xueying was startled. Looking up, he saw the opened golden book above begin to emit a hazy silver-white glow, forming into an old beggar-like figure. This silver-light figure, a miniature image no taller than a book, held a long spear in hand.

An overwhelming chill swept toward Dongbo Xueying, making him involuntarily shiver.

“Whoosh!” The beggar-like light figure, spear in hand, began to practice move by move. The spear moved like a dragon—thrusting, lashing, and parrying.

It was so familiar. This was exactly the spearplay Dongbo Xueying had practiced daily since he was six years old—a foundational technique widespread throughout the Longshan Empire, known as the “Heart’s Intent Spearplay.”

The “Heart’s Intent Spearplay” had spread across the land. It was the simplest and most fundamental of all spear techniques, said to be the origin of all other spear arts. It contained no particularly powerful killing moves, only basic forms. Many spear masters began their training with this very set.

“I’ve practiced the Heart’s Intent Spearplay for nearly three years now, yet why have I never felt its true power?” Dongbo Xueying stared wide-eyed at the light figure’s demonstration. With just a simple thrust, the light figure’s spear twisted like a slithering snake, delivering a force so potent that Dongbo Xueying couldn’t help but feel his heart race. Even the withdrawal was executed with a reverse spin of the spear shaft.

He had begun training at six, and now at eight, with winter upon him, it had indeed been nearly three years of practice.

“Father taught me the spearplay perfectly, step by step, yet why does my technique feel so different from his?” Dongbo Xueying observed closely.

Same foundational moves.

Yet when performed by a master, and by a novice, the difference was stark.

“There’s a force within—each spear thrust carries a focused energy, as though all bodily strength is perfectly channeled into the spear.” Dongbo Xueying began to grasp the concept.

The book remained open, continuously displaying the Heart’s Intent Spearplay.

After half a watch of time, having watched the form countless times, Dongbo Xueying finally turned the page.

This page was filled with dense text.

“This first set of spearplay I teach is the origin of all techniques—the Heart’s Intent Spearplay. Only when you truly reach perfection in this form can you hope to begin mastering my spear techniques.”

“Attached below is a method of channeling battle energy.”

“My spearplay is renowned for speed! This battle energy method will allow you to thrust even faster.”

The rest of the dense text described the battle energy techniques.

Though the words of this extraordinary knight were casual, the method described was in fact an invaluable treasure! Two knights of equal strength, one could only land two or three strikes, while the other, using a specialized battle energy method, could unleash four or five, likely deciding the outcome of their duel in mere moments.

“My spearplay is called the ‘Dark Ice Spearplay,’ and it has three stages.”

“The first is ‘Drifting Snow.’ Master this, and you will have entered the path, becoming a true spear master.”

“The second is ‘Blood Rain.’ Master this, and you will dominate among titled warriors, with the potential to ascend to the extraordinary!”

“The third is ‘Dark Ice.’ Every extraordinary warrior forges their own path, and this is the path I have chosen. Thus, I am the Dark Ice Knight. My path may not suit you, but if you ever reach this stage… you may find some techniques within my battle energy methods useful.”

Dongbo Xueying was filled with excitement.

No wonder it was a spearplay left behind by an extraordinary knight—leading all the way to the extraordinary!

He turned the page. The next one contained dense explanations of the Dark Ice Spearplay, along with some advanced battle energy techniques. The text spanned over twenty pages, written in a straightforward manner that Dongbo Xueying could understand. However, his current skill level was simply too low—he couldn’t even begin to learn this technique yet.

He turned to the final page.

It contained dense diagrams. As soon as he focused on them, light was drawn forth, and the beggar-like figure appeared once more, beginning to demonstrate the Dark Ice Spearplay.

The beggar figure first performed the “Drifting Snow” technique at full speed. It was so fast that it seemed as though hundreds or even thousands of spear thrusts were unleashed in an instant, like a flurry of snowflakes—so swift that Dongbo Xueying’s eyes couldn’t follow. Then, it slowed down, moving in slow motion, allowing Dongbo Xueying to see every detail clearly.

Next came “Blood Rain,” and finally, “Dark Ice”!

This entire spearplay could be summed up in one word—speed!

It pursued the ultimate in speed.

…

Of course, he still had to begin with the foundational “Heart’s Intent Spearplay.” Only when that was perfected could he hope to learn even the simplest of the Dark Ice Spearplay techniques—the “Drifting Snow.” Otherwise, he wouldn’t even be able to grasp it.

…

That evening, Dongbo Xueying had to put his younger brother to sleep again. His little brother was very clingy, tossing and turning in bed for over half the night before finally drifting off.

The next morning, after breakfast.

At the training ground.

“This training ground,” Dongbo Xueying glanced around. His father had trained here every day before.

“Let’s begin.”

Dongbo Xueying put on weighted gear and started running. His route followed the inner castle walls. Though the inner castle covered about a mile, circling it once was several miles. This was his daily warm-up, and he was long accustomed to it.

After finishing his run, he returned to the training ground, removed the weights, and wiped the sweat from his body. He then walked over to the javelin area, where many short spears lay. Each weighed about five pounds, specially made for Dongbo Xueying.

“Here we go.” He picked up a javelin and flung it effortlessly. It struck the thick target board eighty meters away, already riddled with countless dents.

“Go, go, go!”

Dongbo Xueying sprinted, hurling javelins mid-motion.

Back-and-forth running, throwing while moving—striking moving targets while in motion…

“Throw!” Dongbo Xueying shouted.

“Yes, Master,” the servants responded, grabbing small targets and tossing them into the air.

From nearly eighty meters away, Dongbo Xueying ran and hurled his javelins. Sometimes he hit the targets, sometimes he missed by a hair. Clearly, striking moving targets while in motion was still a challenge.

As his father once said—”Javelins are just a supplement. Once you can hit moving targets with perfect accuracy while running, you can reduce your daily practice to two hundred throws just to keep your rhythm.”

…

After a thousand throws, Dongbo Xueying’s arms ached and his body was drenched in sweat. He was used to it.

After finishing with the javelins,

Dongbo Xueying began a set of martial arts forms, designed to strengthen his entire body’s muscles and bones. It was a mid-tier battle energy method called the “Flame Triple Method.” His father had paid dearly to obtain it, as the battle energy method he had learned in the army was merely low-tier.

The effects of battle energy methods were strongest when the body was exhausted!

The boxing form blended softness and strength, coordinated with breathing. As he practiced, a mysterious energy seemed to seep into his body, tingling through every limb, rapidly restoring his stamina.

After two full cycles of the Flame Triple Method, his arms had recovered.

“Alright, time to practice the spearplay.”

Dongbo Xueying picked up a nearby long spear. Due to his height, the spear was about 1.8 meters long, weighing roughly ten pounds.

“Hah!” Dongbo Xueying began practicing the Heart’s Intent Spearplay.

He had trained this set for nearly three years and was very familiar with it. Yet today, it felt entirely different.

“Yes, this is how the force should flow,” Dongbo Xueying murmured. After watching the extraordinary knight’s demonstration yesterday, he instinctively mimicked the sensation while practicing, gaining new insights.

“Thrust!”

His left hand lightly gripped the spear, while his right hand grasped the end. Suddenly, he twisted his wrist.

The spear shaft spun like a coiling snake, shooting forward with a sudden burst of force! If an enemy were facing him, they would see the spear aimed at their face—yet as it rotated mid-flight, the tip would instead pierce their throat! This “twist” served two purposes: to confuse the enemy with a sudden change in trajectory, and to enhance penetration power. It was a crucial element of this move.

“Thud!” The spearhead struck a fixed alchemical training dummy ahead. The dummy’s interior was forged from metal, with an outer layer of alchemical material—extremely durable and self-repairing. It could withstand anything below Star-Level strength. Only five such dummies were placed in the entire training ground, each worth five hundred gold coins!

There was an even more valuable alchemical dummy in his mother’s magical laboratory, used for her experiments.

“Thrust, thrust, thrust.” Dongbo Xueying kept practicing.

Middle-level thrust, low-level thrust, high-level thrust.

Thrust left, thrust right.

A simple “thrust” was the core of spearplay. With each strike, Dongbo Xueying recalled the sensation of the extraordinary knight’s demonstration.

After a thousand full-force thrusts, Dongbo Xueying’s right arm was aching terribly, his entire body soaked in sweat. Normally, he trained only five hundred times, but now he was pushing himself beyond limits.

“Thud!” As he thrust with all his might once more, the recoil sent a numbness through his hand, and with a clatter, the spear fell to the ground.

Dongbo Xueying knelt on the ground, panting heavily, sweat pouring down his body, staring at the fallen spear.

Though determined, his exhausted body still urged him to give up.

He turned to look beside him, where his father used to stand, shouting at him.

“You coward!”

“You’re already tired? You’ve only done three hundred thrusts! With your body, five hundred is normal, a thousand is tiring, and fifteen hundred is your limit! Even at your limit, even if you injure yourself… you still have the medicinal bath at night! That bath can heal wounds, even fractures—by morning you’ll be as good as new. You have it so easy, so much better than I did back then. You can’t even manage five hundred? Get up!”

“Get up! If you don’t, you’re a coward!”

“Only five hundred? Can’t even do that, noble brat?”

“Get up! My son Dongbo Lie’s son is no coward!”

“Up!”

His father’s roar echoed faintly in his memory.

“Get up, get up!” Dongbo Xueying grabbed the spear and stood.

“Thrust!”

He thrust with all his might once again.

“Father, I really wish I could hear you scold me again. Even if you call me a coward, I’d be happy.” With red-rimmed eyes, Dongbo Xueying thrust again and again, wildly and relentlessly. Only in loss does one truly realize how precious something once was.