High Martial Arts Era

Chapter 4: Spear Techniques and Scores

The spear tip tore through the air, emitting a sharp whistle.

"So fast!"

"Li Yuan's spear." Most students held their breath as they watched, feeling that Li Yuan's large spear was too fast, crossing several meters in the blink of an eye.

Be aware that Li Yuan and Teacher Xu Bo are less than ten meters apart, and the spear in Li Yuan's hand is nearly three meters long. With Li Yuan's explosive speed, the spear tip is aimed directly at Teacher Xu Bo's chest.

"Zhongping Spear?" Zhou Qi tightly gripped the spear in his hand, recognizing Li Yuan's move.

Spear techniques are varied, but the basic moves are nothing more than block, hold, thrust, stab, chop, smash, point, coil, and twist. All spear techniques are derived from these fundamental moves.

The Zhongping Spear can be considered the most basic of all spear techniques, yet it is also the most important.

The so-called Zhongping involves a level thrust and straight stab, taking the shortest line between two points, with the attack moving forward like an arrow.

It relies on accuracy, speed, and strength.

"Clearly, it's the same move, but Brother Yuan's thrust could probably kill me instantly," Zhou Qi thought to himself in amazement.

In the field.

"Direct thrust? Using the advantage of weapon and strength?" Xu Bo discerned Li Yuan's intention.

The saying goes, "A knife like a fierce tiger, a sword like a swimming dragon, a staff sweeping through a large area, a spear picking a single line."

A staff is shorter than a large spear.

In this straight-line confrontation, the large spear will inevitably arrive first, and Li Yuan's speed and strength far surpass Xu Bo's explosive power at a level of 5.

Boom!

Facing Li Yuan's attack, Xu Bo no longer dodged as before. Instead, he took the initiative to strike, stepping forward. Immediately, his long staff traced a smooth arc in the air, lightning-like as it whipped against the spear tip, using the force to abruptly alter its direction.

He avoided Li Yuan's fierce strike.

"Shi~!" Li Yuan seemed to have anticipated it early on. In the instant the gun recoiled, he swiftly leveraged the force, using his waist as the core, suddenly twisting and exerting power. The gun barrel rotated 180 degrees violently, slashing towards Xu Bo like a fierce wolf's axe blade.

This time, both sides are closer, and the eruption speed is faster.

"Haha!" Teacher Xu Bo chuckled suddenly, as if foreseeing it, he swiftly stepped back, evading Li Yuan's fierce strike as if he knew it was coming.

"He can dodge this too?" Li Yuan thought with slight surprise. "Teacher's reaction speed is unbelievably fast."

Before he could think any further.

"Hu!" A blurry silhouette of a staff had already taken advantage of the missed horizontal sweep of the large spear, smashing fiercely down.

"Retreat!" Li Yuan immediately shifted his stance and swiftly stepped back, while simultaneously using the horizontal spear to try to block the staff strike.

Peng~ The weapons collided.

Li Yuan, however, did not feel the forceful impact of the opponent's staff. It was as if his spear had been stuck to the opponent's staff.

That's tough.

Hu!

Xu Bo suddenly took a step forward, closing the distance with Li Yuan once again. The staff in his hand swiftly jabbed, fast and fierce.

"Hey!" Li Yuan was forced to step back and evade. A spear is a long weapon that requires ample space to wield its full power.

What surprised Li Yuan was that, despite his agility being intact, he couldn't create enough space. Teacher Xu Bo's staff always managed to strike precisely at the right moments, preventing him from fully unleashing the spear's power and forcing him into defensive positions repeatedly.

The staff alternated between ferocity and gentleness, unpredictable and ever-changing.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The weapons clashed like lightning more than ten times. Li Yuan had already retreated to the edge of the silver ground.

"Boom~" Another staff strike swept past; Li Yuan felt a slight pain in his chest and involuntarily stumbled backwards.

He retreated several steps and then stopped.

Wearing full armor, Li Yuan was unaffected by the force unleashed by Teacher Xu Bo's training staff strikes; they didn't cause any harm to him.

"I've lost." Li Yuan raised his large spear in resignation. "Teacher Xu, with my speed and strength advantage, I couldn't even hold off your attacks for twenty moves."

It only goes to show that there's a significant gap in the proficiency of our melee combat skills.

Around them, silence fell like a pin drop.

All the students stared in disbelief at Li Yuan and Teacher Xu Bo.

The confrontation between them was short but intense, almost like a real battle. The skill test they just underwent was clearly on a different level altogether.

"You blocked more than ten of my moves," Teacher Xu Bo responded upon hearing this, a rare smile appearing on his usually stern face. "Your spear technique has improved significantly since last semester's final exam. I had to give it my all to defeat you."

Did he really give it his all?

Li Yuan sighed inwardly, realizing that this was just Teacher Xu's full effort at his Level 5 physical fitness standard.

If both sides had unleashed their strength and speed equally, Li Yuan feared he wouldn't be able to withstand even three moves.

This is the difference in skill level.

"In last semester's final exam, both my spear technique and agility were at the 99% proficiency level of the second stage. It was only after the exam that I made a breakthrough," Li Yuan thought to himself. "Based on this, I speculate that Teacher Xu's skill level is at least at the fourth stage."

Li Yuan isn't quite sure of the specific differences between the first stage, second stage, and third stage on the panel.

But he could vaguely judge that among his classmates, only a very few like Wan Xiao had reached the second stage level in their skills with cold weapons.

At the same time, Li Yuan was certain about one thing.

If his spear technique and agility improved, Li Yuan was certain it would reflect in the panel data.

Tick-tock!

On the screen at the back of the classroom, Li Yuan's martial arts skill score appeared: "365 points."

"So high?"

"It's over 360 points!" Zhou Qi's eyes lit up.

"This is like a college entrance exam difficulty level. Li Yuan's martial arts score has increased so much since last semester, just entering senior year," Zhou Qi exclaimed.

"This individual score is probably among the most outstanding in the city," Zhou Qi remarked.

"By the time of the college entrance exam, Li Yuan might even contend for the top spot in martial arts skills across the whole city," Zhou Qi speculated.

"Li Yuan is definitely going to get into a martial arts university," Zhou Qi remarked.

"If only my spear technique were as formidable as Li Yuan's..."

"Whoever's urine is yellow, come and splash water to wake them up."

"These classmates were both shocked and envious, whispering among themselves. As"

If Li Yuan had only scored 320 or 330 points, these classmates might be jealous of him, because the gap between them wouldn't be so outrageous.

But the gap is too large; most people can only admire him.

Most people have self-awareness; why envy someone who is clearly not on the same level as oneself?

Moreover, martial arts skills and physical fitness are also different.

If the family conditions are extremely good, they could afford specialized dietitians, physiotherapists, and tailor-made training plans. Coupled with an awakening of martial arts spirituality... During the third year of high school, elevating physical fitness to level 7 or even higher is entirely possible.

However, improvement in martial arts skills cannot be achieved solely by throwing money at it.

...

With Li Yuan's assessment concluded, it was already half past five in the afternoon.

"Alright."

"From the tests today, it's evident that after entering the third year of high school, most students are working hard." Teacher Xu Bo's voice resumed its cold tone: "However, there are also some students who are regressing instead of progressing."

"You are already third-year high school students. The college entrance examination doesn't determine your destiny, but it's at least a significant opportunity in your life... I will come again the day after tomorrow afternoon to supervise your martial arts practice after school." Teacher Xu Bo turned and walked away.

Following closely, another sentence floated over: "Li Yuan, Wan Xiao, the two of you come to my office."

Many students who had already been practicing felt sore feet, drenched in sweat. Upon hearing this, they immediately dispersed.

Many boys drank water eagerly while calling out to hurry to the cafeteria to secure seats.

Some girls were discussing going to the restroom first.

"Yuan ge, Yan Zhou and I will go to the cafeteria first to save seats for you! We'll also get you a nutritious meal," Zhou Qi shouted.

"Old Zhou, we need to get two portions of food for Yuan ge," chuckled the robust boy named Yan Zhou, waving to Li Yuan. "Yuan ge, leave the food to us, you go to the office quickly."

"Thanks, I'll reimburse you later," Li Yuan chuckled.

"Don't worry, the last few times you helped me with breakfast, I didn't pay you back. I'll return the favor with dinner tonight," Yan Zhou laughed.

Li Yuan smiled.

In addition to Zhou Qi, Li Yuan also had several other classmates with whom he had a close relationship.

"Li Yuan, let's go." The sturdy Wan Xiao called out to Li Yuan, "What does Teacher Xu want with us?"

"He's looking for you to transfer you to the elite class," Li Yuan chuckled.

As for why he was looking for him, Li Yuan had some guesses in his mind, but he couldn't confirm anything yet.