Learning the Spear

A sudden night rain washed away the bloodstains on the streets.

The siege against the Zhong family had drawn to a close.

The Law Enforcement disciples began clearing the corpses and searching for any surviving remnants of the Zhong family.

Meanwhile, Yang Ling was still searching for traces of the Debt-Lending Bladesman.

On a hillside a few miles outside the Wanxing Market.

A disheveled youth leaned against a tree trunk, staring in the direction of the Zhong estate. He gritted his teeth tightly, the tears on his face even more noticeable than the rain.

“Father, Mother, Brother, Youqi will definitely... definitely avenge you!”

“Wanxing Martial Academy! One day, I will slaughter every single one of you, from top to bottom, not leaving a single—”

An arrow shot right into the youth's mouth.

His head jerked back and then slumped forward as a large pool of blood splattered onto the ground. His resentment-filled oath was replaced by a guttural choking sound as blood clogged his windpipe. His eyes filled with terror and bewilderment.

Three more arrows shot in quick succession, piercing the youth's brow, throat, and heart, extinguishing the last spark of life in his eyes.

“Oh dear, the grand enterprise has barely begun, yet the hero falls mid-way.”

Amidst the rustling of leaves, a middle-aged hunter with two branches stuck in his hair crawled out from the nearby underbrush, shaking his head with a sigh.

It was, of course, Zhuang Xun.

For this operation, he had not created only the Debt-Lending Bladesman clone; he had intentionally reserved four points to create another clone if needed.

After all, survivors of a clan massacre were highly likely to become protagonists or villains. He could not afford to be careless.

At the time, while controlling the Debt-Lending Bladesman to watch the show inside the Zhong estate, he had also used his Spiritual Sight to search for any potential secret tunnels.

Upon discovering a secret passage beneath the garden's rockery that led outside the market, he had immediately dispatched this hunter clone to camp at the exit.

Since it was midnight, he could let Yan Pingsheng go to sleep, freeing up extra mental focus to control another clone.

“To have such intense bloodlust at such a young age... It's a good thing I saved you from yourself. Who knows what you would have become when you grew up?”

“Go down and keep your parents company. Kids shouldn't carry such bitter hatred; it's not good for your mental health.”

Zhuang Xun grabbed the arrows in the youth's body and twisted them several times to ensure he was truly dead.

He then skillfully cleaned up the scene and destroyed the corpse before lying back down in the weeds outside the secret passage, waiting to ambush any potential second survivor from the Zhong family.

Zhuang Xun remained prone until the third watch of the night.

He waited until he received word from the Debt-Lending Bladesman—who was lurking near the Law Enforcement Hall—that apart from the youth who had luckily escaped only to be killed by him, everyone else had been executed.

Confirming that this extermination of the Zhong family left no loose ends, he converted the two clones back into panel points, withdrew his consciousness back into Bai Yujing, and went to sleep peacefully.

...

“A bird leaves its call, and a step leaves its print. It's impossible for him to have left absolutely no trace.”

Yang Ling stood in the ruined backyard of the Zhong estate, a rare look of confusion appearing on his stern face.

The sun slowly rose over the mountains, casting his long, thin shadow. Daytime had arrived.

Clearly, he had spent the entire night searching for traces of the Debt-Lending Bladesman.

A bird's chirp suddenly echoed from the sky.

Yang Ling's gaze followed the bird, landing on the ridge of a rooftop.

Then, he looked away.

As a vantage point commonly chosen by martial artists, Yang Ling had scanned that spot at least a dozen times during his late-night fight with Zhong Bieli and the other two. He was absolutely certain the Debt-Lending Bladesman was not there.

“Just... where could he be?”

The bird perched on the roof ridge finished preening its feathers, fluttered its wings, and flew toward the Wanxing Martial Academy, passing over a side cliff.

Inside the courtyard there, an incomparably handsome youth pushed open his window and stretched in the morning sunlight.

The heavy rain had just stopped, leaving the earthy scent of wet soil lingering in the air.

Zhuang Xun exhaled slowly, planning to head up the mountain later to seek out the Principal and learn sword arts.

Zhuang Xun had long been full of anticipation for learning the sword. This anticipation had only grown stronger after witnessing Yang Ling single-handedly battle Zhong Bieli and the other two last night.

Although being the mastermind behind the scenes was thrilling, what youth didn't dream of roaming the world with a sword, engaging in thrilling battles of blades and shadows?

If he hadn't been bogged down by the Zhong family's affairs over the past few days, he would have gone the very day his martial arts broke through to the Seventh Rank.

After having breakfast and practicing his martial arts for a while, Zhuang Xun set off along the mountain path behind his courtyard. It was a trail of irregular rocks protruding from the cliffside; the smallest was barely half a palm wide, and the distance between some rocks exceeded ten paces. In between lay a smooth, sheer cliff with absolutely no footholds.

To ordinary people, this could hardly be called a path, but Zhuang Xun traversed it as if walking on flat ground, even leaping and skipping along.

Soon, he caught a faint glimpse of the Wanxing Hall at the summit. With a single leap, he landed on the actual mountain path dozens of meters away, smoothed his robes, slowed his pace, and walked forward with steady steps.

Nodding slightly in response to the respectful greetings of the guarding disciples on both sides, Zhuang Xun walked down a side path. He found the Principal playing gomoku alone in a waterside pavilion at the end of a long corridor.

At this moment, the Principal's expression was exceptionally focused.

Without even raising his head, he gestured for Bai Yujing to remain quiet. Pinching a white stone between his fingers, he pondered for a moment before placing it right behind four connected white stones, a knowing smile spreading across his face.

Amazing. He's playing gomoku... Zhuang Xun's lips twitched.

Seeing the black and white stones scattered across the board, he had thought the Principal was playing some profound, inscrutable game of Go.

“Ah, my disciple. What brings you to your master today? Don't just stand there, take a seat,” the Principal asked cheerfully.

Zhuang Xun quickly adjusted his expression and sat opposite him as indicated. He said calmly, “Master, Yujing's martial arts have already broken through to the Seventh Rank.”

“Mhm, I figured as much,” the Principal nodded.

Having already anticipated Bai Yujing's extraordinarily rapid cultivation speed, he was not as shocked as he had been the first two times.

“Have you decided which weapon you wish to master? Do you need your master to explain them to you?”

“Yujing is quite interested in sword arts.”

“Excellent!” the Principal laughed heartily. “Then your master shall teach you spear arts! Hahahaha—”

Zhuang Xun: “?”

“Ha, haha... ha... right.” Seeing Bai Yujing staring at him expressionlessly, the smile on the Principal's face gradually faded.

Realizing his joke was apparently not very funny, he coughed awkwardly. “Ahem, well... my disciple, your master doesn't actually know sword arts. Among all weapons, I'm only reasonably proficient in spear arts, so...”

Zhuang Xun rubbed his temples. “Spear arts it is, then.”

“Good, good, good! Learning the spear is for the best. The spear is the king of all weapons; a sword cannot possibly compare to it.”

The Principal suddenly grew serious. Standing up, he turned his back to Bai Yujing and clasped his hands behind him, exuding the aura of a grandmaster. “Disciple, since you wish to learn the spear, your master shall teach you spear arts today. Follow me.”

With a leap, he landed on a wooden raft on the lake.

Seeing this, Zhuang Xun leaped onto the raft as well.

Despite his weight suddenly being added to the thin-looking wooden raft, it did not sink into the water or wobble. The lake's surface remained perfectly still, without a single splash.

Surprised, the Principal looked at Bai Yujing and said, “Impressive. I was worried your rapid breakthroughs would leave your control over your strength lacking, but it seems we can proceed directly to the next stage of training.”