STOMP!

He took a large step forward. The black tassel on his spearhead spun in reverse, stirring up a gale, like a thousand rivers flowing into a dark undercurrent.

SHH—

A straight black line, carried by the wind, slashed across the watching students’ line of sight. Their pupils constricted for a fleeting moment. A thousand thoughts seemed to lift with the hair on their foreheads as their hearts skipped a beat.

’His spear strike is that fast?!’

BANG!

A tremendous clang, like a hammer striking a bronze bell, shattered their dazed thoughts. Widening their eyes, they turned to see Jiang Qiu standing as still as a mountain. His right wrist had already flicked upward, the spearhead perfectly batting aside Liu Yong’s thrust. The black tassel was like a mighty river forced to change course by a flash flood!

’He reacted in time?!’

’And he deflected Liu Yong’s swift, straight thrust with such an effortless flick!’

It was as if Brother Jiang’s Qi Blood had never been depleted and was still at its peak!

Zhang Shan, Liu Zili, Wang Guanjia, Hu Ye’ye, Li Si, and the other students clenched their fists. Their gazes burned as if watching a blazing fire battle a fierce gale. Only Xie Kuang had a smirk on his face, whispering like a phantom, "Yes, yes, yes... Even with his Qi Blood drained, Jiang Qiu is no match for the likes of Liu Yong, not even if he’s the number one genius of No. 1 High..."

BANG! CLACK! TAP! STOMP!

Inside the sparring circle, the shadows of spears intertwined.

"Liu Yong’s spear is so fast! I never knew the Ancient Martial Spear could be so swift!"

Li Si’s eyes were locked on the exchange of moves, and he narrowed them in amazement. "I feel like even Li Juefeng would have a hard time getting a draw against him now. It seems the rumors were true—he’s entered the Mastery Realm!"

"Well, Liu Yong is the top genius of No. 1 High, after all. His Spear Technique is formidable. But isn’t he just stuck in a stalemate with our Brother Jiang, who’s almost out of Qi Blood?" Zhang Shan raised a thick eyebrow, sighing as he watched intently. "But why do Liu Yong’s moves feel so redundant? He’s wasting so much energy hitting Brother Jiang’s spear shaft, and his attacks keep slipping?"

"It feels like Brother Jiang’s Qi Blood isn’t being consumed at all. Every time he breathes, it’s right when their spears clash, and he seems to perfectly inhale a mouthful of the dissipated Qi Blood."

"..."

In the spectator area, all the students watched with rapt attention, as if witnessing a rare battle between a lion and a tiger. Zhao Gongzheng, Liu Qi, and Wu Shan all frowned slightly, their gazes following the slow movements of Jiang Qiu’s hands and feet. "’Spear Sense?’"

Thrust! Sweep! Stab!

Liu Yong fell silent as he attacked. Each move was like the swipe of a Wolf King’s claw. He spotted an opening and launched another lunging thrust, only for Jiang Qiu to casually flick his spear and toss it aside!

Every one of his spear strikes was met. There was no dodging, no evading. It was like an unrivaled Wolf King had fallen into a valley, where every howl to the sky was answered only by a deluge of overwhelming echoes.

’Even when I practiced with my father, I never felt such terrifying pressure!’

After all, Jiang Qiu’s power level wasn’t higher than his, and his Qi Blood was low. Yet, with a single spin of his spear, Jiang Qiu dismantled his move. It was like a carp lazily swimming in a pond; with a seemingly slow, unhurried flick of its tail, it would dart several meters away, never wasting a single bit of momentum from the swing.

Their spears collided with a BANG. Liu Yong took two steps back to create distance, gritting his teeth. A chill crept up his back, sinking deep into his marrow.

’We’re both using the Ancient Martial Spear at the Mastery Realm, so why can Jiang Qiu completely suppress me?’

’It must be because I’m not fast enough, not ruthless enough!’

’He can’t possibly see the path of every single move, and he can’t last forever with his remaining Qi Blood. There’s bound to be a moment of carelessness!’

At this thought, Liu Yong’s brows furrowed. His furnace-like heart began to roar as all the Qi Blood in his body surged into the spear in his hands. His Huajin coalesced, becoming visible as a whirlwind!

In that instant, Liu Zili’s shoulder-length hair flew back violently. Her fair cheeks were revealed from behind her fluttering bangs, her almond-shaped eyes widening like jade beads. "He’s going to use a Mastery Realm Spear Skill?!"

The collars and hems of the nearly one hundred students’ black shirts vibrated in unison. A chill shot up from the soles of their feet to their Celestial Spirit Acupoints. The image of a single spear piercing a Demon Plant in the Secret Realm flashed through their minds!

Very few people comprehended Mastery Realm Spear Skills on their own; most were passed down through established lineages. Although their adaptability might not be high, even the weakest among them could injure a High Tier Demon Beast!

Passed down from an age of slaughter, a spear strike guaranteed bloodshed!

"Liu Yong, the Hundred Shadows Stab is forbidden in a Spear Technique sparring match!"

Liu Qi’s thunderous roar had just escaped his lips as he took half a step forward. His eyes flew open, the X-shaped scar on his face seeming to split open by half an inch!

STOMP! 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Liu Yong had already leaped forward. The spear in his hand hummed like a pack of howling wolves. Its conical tip, like the alpha wolf, soared through the air toward the unsuspecting Jiang Qiu. Accompanying it were dozens of spear shadows, like a wolf pack pouncing on a lamb!

In that instant, though his heart had only beat once, a thousand thoughts raced through his mind, clenched between his teeth!

’I lost in the Archery Dao. Am I really going to lose the Spear Dao to a guy who’s completely exhausted?!’

’What right do you have to suppress me? You can’t possibly suppress me!’

’I honed this move for years, and even then, I could only severely injure a High Tier Demon Beast ambushing me in the Secret Realm two weeks ago. Yet people say you comprehended a Spear Skill on your own and killed a Demon Plant!’

’I don’t believe you’re stronger than a High Tier Demon Beast!’

’Outside of the Heavenly Prodigy Project, I should be the number one genius in all the high schools of the Outer City!’

’Even Li Juefeng, obsessed as he is with the Spear Dao, can’t beat me. What right does a nobody like you have to win?!’

SHH—

A monstrous wave of Huajin swept over him like a great tide. Jiang Qiu faced the cool wind on his forehead, his left hand grabbing the middle of the spear shaft while his right slid toward the butt. The chaotic black shadows of the spearheads in his vision were like a sky full of arrows raining down, the sound of the wind disorienting his hearing.

He couldn’t tell which thrust was fake and which was real, which shaft was a shadow and which was the spear.

A hundred shadows, but only one true spear.

’If I can’t see it clearly, then I won’t look at all!’

At this thought, the last remnants of Qi Blood in Jiang Qiu’s body surged into his hands like pebbles through a great canal. With a mere turn of his mind, he twisted the spear shaft, and the Double Arc Blade Spear Head shot toward the thousand spear shadows like an Azure Dragon Probing the Moon!

His legs were planted like a lone fisherman on a riverbank, the power of his waist already channeled into this one thrust. Yet, it was as agile as a fishing rod plucking from the water, deftly picking out the lead fish from a surging school.

BANG—

A long, drawn-out ring of clashing metal echoed. The thousand spear shadows scattered like black sand in a gale. Liu Yong’s pupils contracted violently as his hands, which felt as if they were wielding the weight of ten thousand tons of thunder, were suddenly struck by a torrential backlash of Huajin!

CRACK!

The spear shaft, like a frenzied shark, broke free from his grasp. As if pulled by an invisible string, it traced a twisting crescent arc through the air.

For a moment, Liu Yong’s heart plummeted into a ravine. A cold tide washed over his chest and back as he reached out to grab the Black Tassel Spear...

SHING—HUM!

Suddenly, a cold glint of light flashed before his eyes like a flash of daylight. A cool breeze grazed his cheek and neck as the spear’s momentum blew his hair back.

His survival instinct felt like a ten-thousand-ton boulder pressing down on his back, forcing him to a halt. He turned his head to see the Double Arc Blade spearhead held level, right before the space between his eyebrows, reflecting a single drop of cold sweat falling from the tip of his nose.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP...

His heart pounded like a drum, and sweat streamed down his back like a river.

The corner of Liu Yong’s mouth twitched. His gaze climbed from the cold spear tip, up the black shaft, and met Jiang Qiu’s eyes—as cold as a lake yet to thaw from winter. A shiver ran down his spine, and his mind went blank.

’I used the Hundred Shadows Stab, a Mastery Realm Spear Skill that can seriously injure a High Tier Demon Beast, and Jiang Qiu just unraveled it with a casual flick...’

CLANG—

The Black Tassel Spear fell to the floor, making a sharp sound like shattering glass.

"The match is over."

Jiang Qiu slowly lowered his spear and let out a deep breath. His completely drained body felt like a starving tiger, barely able to move. There would be no second burst of Powerful Penetration.

’This number one genius from No. 1 High really is strong...’