In late December, Jiang City had already entered winter, with temperatures hovering around zero degrees. However, inside the Starfire Martial Hall's Guanshan Branch, it was a comfortable 20 degrees Celsius.
In the martial arts room 7024, two men wearing full protective gear, including helmets, were engaged in an intense battle with cold weapons.
"Kill!" One of them, nearly 1.9 meters tall and wielding a silver spear, moved like a dragon, swiftly striking at his opponent with a flurry of attacks.
Fast! Accurate! Fierce!
The other man, towering at almost 2 meters and incredibly strong, held a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. He reacted quickly, countering the spear's thrust with his shield, which crashed against it like an unbreakable wall.
"Boom!" Li Yuan, holding the spear, felt as if he had hit a steel plate. The immense force rebounded through the spear, and if he were an ordinary martial artist, his arm would have gone numb from the impact.
"Stick!" Li Yuan skillfully withdrew the spear, using the momentum to lessen the force he felt. Stepping back didn’t mean he was losing ground. Sometimes, it was necessary to absorb the force to minimize injury.
"Ha!" The spear lunged forward again, suddenly whistling as if dozens of shadows appeared, overwhelming his opponent.
This was the fifth deadly move of the Rock Foundation Cultivation Method—"Mountains and Rivers."
It was good for group attacks and confusing the enemy.
Swish! Swish! Swish! A flurry of sword lights erupted, colliding with the spear's shadows. The black-armored warrior wielded his sword and shield, retreating eight steps but managing to block all of Li Yuan's attacks.
"Be careful!" Li Yuan shouted suddenly, his voice booming like thunder. Fortunately, this was a soundproof room; otherwise, they would have surely disturbed others.
After unleashing over twenty spear strikes, Li Yuan's momentum peaked. Accompanying his shout, the spear surged forward like a roaring dragon, carrying terrifying power.
This was the final move of the Rock Foundation Cultivation Method—"Stabilizing the Universe!"
It turned the spear into a heavy weapon, as unstoppable as a rolling boulder, delivering a fierce blow.
In that moment, the black-armored warrior could only instinctively raise his shield to block the incoming strike.
"Bang!" The impact was powerful, leaving the black-armored warrior somewhat disheveled, but he managed to withstand the force and only staggered back.
"Stop!"
"Li Yuan, you win," the black-armored warrior said, his tone filled with resignation and a hint of admiration.
Li Yuan lowered his spear and stood still.
Click—click. Both men removed their helmets.
"Li Yuan, your spear skills have improved at an astonishing rate. You must have connected two moves just now," said the man with the shield, a burly man in his forties with a beard and a scar on his face.
"That's right." Li Yuan nodded, smiling. "Those were the basic moves from the second-tier manual 'Starlight Spear Technique.' I just mastered the connection between the two moves."
Indeed, Li Yuan had only recently grasped the final move, "Stabilizing the Universe," in the virtual network. Today was the first time he used it in practice.
"Impressive."
"I’ve been your sparring partner for two months, and your spear skills are downright frightening. I’ve never seen someone with such talent. At first, my sword skills could outmatch you, but now, I can’t keep up," the burly man said. "Just now, I used my body strength at about level 8.0, and although I had the advantage in speed and power, I still couldn’t suppress you."
"That last strike of mine probably used strength close to level 9; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to break through," Li Yuan replied with a grin.
Using "Stabilizing the Universe" in direct combat was tricky; opponents could easily dodge it. The best strategy was to build up with "Mountains and Rivers" and then deliver a decisive blow.
"Your spear skills," the burly man looked at Li Yuan, "are already stronger than my sword techniques; you’re likely close to the fourth tier."
"Not quite," Li Yuan shook his head. "I haven’t fully mastered the basics of the second-tier manual yet, so I still need you to help me practice."
"Haha, no problem." The burly man laughed. "Next, I’ll attack, and you defend?"
"Sure," Li Yuan nodded.
This burly man, named Fang Longhu, was an ordinary instructor at the Starfire Martial Hall, a level 15 martial artist, and had been recommended to Li Yuan by Instructor Xing for sparring.
They practiced twice a week for an hour each time, costing 10,000 Blue Star Coins per session. For effective sparring, the partner needed to be significantly stronger.
After half an hour, Li Yuan finished his practice for the day and saw Fang Longhu off.
"Ah!"
"Real combat is so much more satisfying than virtual battles," Li Yuan murmured to himself, feeling quite excited.
While virtual battles trained various techniques comprehensively, they lacked the sense of reality. Real combat was the ultimate goal.
"Every time I practice, I feel my spear skills and movement techniques improving faster," Li Yuan thought. "It’s just a pity that real combat opportunities are so rare."
First, real combat can lead to injuries, and once injured, it takes a long time to recover, which delays training.
Second, finding good sparring partners is difficult, and they are expensive; ordinary people can hardly afford them.
"Professional sparring partners like Fang Longhu can earn hundreds of thousands of Blue Star Coins a month just from sparring, aside from their day jobs at the martial hall," Li Yuan thought.
Fang Longhu had basically given up on becoming a source martial artist, spending little on martial training, just maintaining his physical condition. So, he easily earned millions a year.
"Martial arts training can be a money pit, but if you achieve some success, you can make a lot without taking risks," Li Yuan reflected. "If a level 15 martial artist can earn this way, what about source martial artists? No wonder the Hall Master casually gifted me 1 million Blue Star Coins."
"My spear skills."
"Tonight, I’ve improved by another 1%. Progress is slowing down," Li Yuan thought, focusing on the Divine Palace Panel that appeared in his view.
[Life Level: 7.7 (Not Ranked)]
Physical Constitution Index: 80 (a comprehensive measure of explosive power, endurance, speed, physique, spiritual power, etc.)
Fist Power: 724 kg
Speed: 17.3 m/s
Spiritual Power: Level 14.2
Body Cultivation Method: Rock Foundation Cultivation Method
Spiritual Cultivation Method: Great Sun Starry Sky Sutra
Skill Level: Spear Technique (88% of Third Tier), Movement Technique (65% of Third Tier), Fist Technique (99% of Third Tier)
[Note: There is a hidden high-level spirit within the body that has not yet awakened.]
"Based on my recent progress, it will take at least another month to raise my spear technique to 99% in the third tier," Li Yuan thought. "The leap from third to fourth tier will be a significant bottleneck."
"This step has trapped many powerful martial artists."
In the past few months at the Starfire Martial Hall, Li Yuan had met many martial artists. As he continued his training, he gradually understood the significance of the fourth tier.
"I know over a dozen martial artists above level 16 at the martial hall."
"Besides Instructor Xing, none have managed to reach the fourth tier," Li Yuan shook his head slightly.
Most level one martial artists only reach the third tier in their techniques. Many of them are not as skilled as Li Yuan is now.
"Teacher Xu Bo's staff techniques easily overpower me," Li Yuan recalled his two months of training.
He received guidance from Teacher Xu Bo once a week.
"Why is my teacher so skilled but hasn’t become a source martial artist? Is it due to an injury?" Li Yuan pondered various possibilities.
Feeling his body had rested enough, he pushed those thoughts aside.
"Never mind."
"Time to practice my spear."
"I’ve just mastered the five deadly moves of the Rock Foundation Cultivation Method. If I can connect them perfectly, I should reach 99% in the third tier," Li Yuan was very excited. "I’ll aim to get my spear skills as close to 99% as possible before the January assessment."
There were only ten days left until the assessment.
"Ha!"
"Ha!" Li Yuan continued to practice his spear techniques. An hour passed quickly, and it was now past eight in the evening.
After placing the spear in the weapon cabinet, Li Yuan, drenched in sweat, first took a refreshing hot shower in the lounge.
Then, he took a beautifully packaged medicine bottle from the therapy room.
"Source Energy Pill."
"It’s been 20 days since I last took one; I should have another." Li Yuan carefully took the pill from the bottle.
He was very cautious. After all, this pill was worth 100,000 Blue Star Coins.
The Source Energy Pill shimmered with a purple glow, about the size of a thumb, and emitted a fragrant aroma that was quite tempting.
He swallowed it directly.
Li Yuan returned to the center of the martial arts room, legs slightly bent, standing firm like a rock, focusing his mind.
Soon, a warm and powerful energy began to spread from his chest to his limbs, causing him to tremble.
This was source energy.
"Ah~ So comfortable!" Li Yuan felt immense pleasure.
"Swish~"
"Swish~" The muscles and bones in Li Yuan's body greedily absorbed the flowing source energy, becoming even stronger.
[Your life level has increased from 7.7 to 7.8]
[Your fist power has…]
[Your explosive speed…]
(End of Chapter)