"Jiang Qiu, we're at the intersection. See you!"
"Yeah, see you."
Watching Liu Zili wave goodbye, holding two stacks of new black short-sleeved shirts as she ambled toward the other end of the street, Jiang Qiu let out a slow breath and turned into the cramped, narrow alley of Thirteenth Street.
'I never would have guessed Liu Zili was from the Shantytown too, especially since she pays so much attention to everything at school,' Jiang Qiu mused, shaking his head with a smile. 'Maybe I'm the one who stopped paying attention to things after Mom and Dad died...'
CLICK.
He turned the key, pushed open the large, rusty iron gate, and stepped once more into the stuffy living room.
He'd already eaten his fill with a free dinner at school, so there was no need to cook. The spearhead he had just received today couldn't be taken out of the school except under special circumstances; it was being kept at Site Eight.
He decided to practice his forms without a spear, using the routines of the Ancient Martial Spear Technique as a fist-fighting style!
HUP—HAA—
The whistle of his sleeves slapping against his biceps mingled with the sound of his fists cutting through the air. He drew a sharp breath deep into his lungs, and his already taut muscles strained even tighter, steam-like sweat pouring from his pores!
[Circulation Qi Technique practiced once]
[Circulation Qi Technique practiced once]
[...]
"Hooo..."
With a long exhale, he listened to the sound of his sweat splattering on the concrete floor. Jiang Qiu casually tossed his wrung-out school uniform into the laundry basin and, bare-chested, slipped into the bathroom.
[Mortal Body]
[6/100]
Imperceptibly, the definition of his abs deepened, and the bunched muscles on his forearms took on a faint bronze sheen. His eyes became as bright and clear as peeled, soft-boiled eggs.
For the past two days, practicing the Ancient Martial Spear Technique at school with a Wooden Spear had made his muscles feel like a water-soaked towel—one practice session was like wringing it dry. But now, by coordinating with the rhythm of the Circulation Qi Technique, it felt like wringing out ten soaked towels at once. Every muscle in his body trembled!
'So Mortal Body must refer to my physical state. I never imagined it would be this difficult to improve.'
Standing under the shower spray, Jiang Qiu ran his hands through his hair, pushing it back from his forehead. An intense soreness immediately radiated from his forearms to his biceps, even making the sides of his chest feel numb.
Mixed in with the shower water was a faint, almost invisible, stream of black, flaky grime.
...
Before the light of another day, a new figure was reflected in the square mirror on the wall. Dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt, Jiang Qiu tugged at the round collar and smiled, his chest swelling with energy.
He glanced at his phone.
[March 4, 2125, 5:31 AM]
"It's still early. I can get a hearty breakfast at school."
The thought had barely formed before his phone was in his pocket. Jiang Qiu pushed open the door and headed for school, walking with his head held high.
The early-bird street vendors had already rolled up their shutters. The owner of a stall, carrying a bamboo steamer of buns, glanced over, then did a double-take, his eyes widening. "Isn't that Xiaoqiu?"
A customer with his sleeves rolled up heard him and looked over, grabbing a large bun with a rough, dirt-caked hand. "Why ain't he in his uniform today? Get expelled?"
"What are you talking about? That's the uniform for the top students at Eighth Middle School! He's one of them now!"
Another rugged, middle-aged man sitting on a stone stool at the stall's entrance had a sharp glint in his eye, while several others who were standing and eating buns paused in shock. "What? Him? He became a top student?!"
"To think our Shantytown could actually produce a top student... Tsk, tsk, that's incredible..."
A peculiar glint shone in the owner's eyes. He only snapped out of it when the steam from the baskets scalded his arms, making him hiss and quickly set them down on a long table before calling out to more customers.
...
Jiang Qiu had walked the route from Thirteenth Street in the Shantytown to Eighth Middle School a thousand times, and today was no different. The only exception was that just as he stepped into the elite training hall, Liu Zili jogged up to him and waved. "Jiang Qiu, you're here so early."
"Yeah, pretty early."
Jiang Qiu gave a slight smile.
"BEEP—"
"Verification successful."
The glass door to Site Eight slid open, and a chirpy voice, clear as a songbird, drifted out. "Brother Xie, you're amazing! Could you give me a few pointers when you have a moment?"
Following the voice, they saw Hu Ye'ye, her face pale and her lips a vivid red. She was standing to one side, trailing at Xie Kuang's heels to retrieve a long spear, a radiant smile on her face.
"No time."
"Alright, well, the teacher isn't here yet. Can I watch you practice your spear?"
"Get lost."
"Oh, sorry to bother you..."
The moment Hu Ye'ye turned around, her smile vanished. She let out two quiet huffs of frustration, turning right into the newly arrived Jiang Qiu and Liu Zili. She pouted and averted her gaze, just as Xie Kuang's resonant voice rang out from behind her. "You're Jiang Qiu, right? Pretty early. This girl with you yesterday was saying you beat Wang Guanjia knowing only the first eight forms of the Ancient Martial Spear Technique. How impressive.
How about I teach you the complete Ancient Martial Spear Technique right now, and we can have a little match?"
Under Hu Ye'ye's conflicted and twisted gaze, Jiang Qiu walked over to the weapon cabinet that held the student long spears and pressed his thumb on the handle. "No, thank you. The teacher will teach me."
CLICK. The tempered glass door slid open, and he pulled a spear with a Double-bladed Arc Spearhead from the rack.
Without a backward glance, he headed for one of the small practice rooms. Liu Zili retrieved her own Silver-Gray Four-Sided Long Spear and hurried after him, and together they stepped through the one-way glass door.
"Tsk—" Xie Kuang glanced sideways. "Wang Guanjia actually lost to someone with such a wooden, dazed personality?
What a loser."
"By the way, you there. You came in with them. Tell me how Wang Guanjia lost to him."
Hu Ye'ye, who had been walking toward a practice room with her spear, flinched. She turned back, her face instantly blossoming into a smile. "Brother Xie, should I start from when Jiang Qiu first joined Class Eight?"
...
SWISH—
THRUST—
Cold light flashed within the small room. Before Wu Shan and Wang Guanjia arrived, Jiang Qiu and Liu Zili were practicing the first eight forms of the Ancient Martial Spear Technique in concert with their Circulation Qi Technique.
Their rhythmic breathing was a delicate, piercing thread woven through the constant vibration of their spear shafts.
Neither of them spoke. Liu Zili matched Jiang Qiu's pace, and within moments, beads of sweat were rolling down her cheeks as she clenched her jaw.
The whistle of spear tips cutting through the air only ceased when Wang Guanjia and Hu Ye'ye entered the small room. They were followed by Wu Shan, who strode in holding a long spear he had taken from the armory the day before. Suddenly, a much more powerful roar of martial practice filled the room, like the sound of the ocean crashing against a cliff, echoing without end.
"The Ancient Martial Spear Technique is all about achieving unity between spear and self! You must constantly treat the long spear as an extension of your own arm, not some external weapon! Only then will you have a chance to develop Hidden Force, you understand?" Wu Shanning's right eye scanned the four students imitating his Spear Technique. His gaze suddenly locked onto Hu Ye'ye, his left eye narrowed to a furious slit. "What the hell is that you're doing? Why are you wriggling your waist like that? Does that look even remotely correct?
Don't tell me you got complacent just because you became a top student? If it weren't for the school's requirements, you think someone with your level of talent could even be here?!"
Hu Ye'ye flinched as she was sprayed with spittle. She forced an awkward smile, thrusting out her chest to stabilize her waist. Her whole presence seemed to tighten, and her posture straightened noticeably.
"And you! With those skinny arms and legs, can't you put any force into it? That fine long spear looks like a toothpick in your hands. What are you planning to do during the college entrance exams, pick a Demon Beast's teeth? Use your legs for power!"
Seeing Liu Zili's eyes harden as the whistle of her spear thrust intensified, Wu Shan watched her for a moment before his gaze shifted to Wang Guanjia. "You're not bad. You've already practiced the complete Ancient Martial Spear Technique, and your fundamentals are solid. But don't grip the shaft so tightly. That's how you'll be able to fully comprehend Mingjin and Hidden Force, instead of being stuck at this crude, thirty-percent level."
Finally, his gaze swept over to Jiang Qiu at the side. His eyes, like tips of ice, Aimed at him for a long moment before he snorted coldly. "Pay attention to the rhythm of your chest and abdomen. Make the Ancient Martial Spear Technique adapt to your Circulation Qi Technique, not the other way around."
Jiang Qiu froze for a second, then, following the instruction, he executed a thrust with a BOOM. The tip of his spear was like a lone boat parting the river's waves, forcing the very air to retreat.
At that exact moment, a turbid breath escaped his nostrils. In that instant, it felt as though the airflow had completed a full cycle through his entire being.
[Qi Martial Integration practiced once]
[Ancient Martial Spear (Novice)]
[41/500]
[Mortal Body]
[7/100]