I bear witness to immortality in the human world.

Chapter 22 Scattered Hands
After a while.

They ate the entire large bowl of rice and two ounces of cooked meat.

Chen Gui, who was sitting opposite him, said something, and Wu Ming stood up, picked up his ox-tendon spear, and left.

The young martial artist who entered the outer hall of the Seven Martial Alliance with him was indeed from a wealthy family. His family ran a medicinal herb business, which seemed to be quite large. He was very generous with his money. Wu Ming was eating two ounces of cooked meat, while Chen Gui casually ordered half a pound of more expensive lean meat. His speech and manner were completely different from those of ordinary people.

People from wealthy families like this usually have all sorts of weapons, martial arts manuals, and sparring partners. It's just a mystery why they would come to join the Seven Martial Alliance as an outer hall. However, Wu Ming didn't delve into it. He just subtly inquired about some things inside and outside the city from Chen Gui during casual conversation.

After eating,

Wu Ming returned to the martial arts academy alone.

He went to the corner, picked up the ox-tendon spear, gathered his energy, and began to practice.

He wants to reach the standard of 'Sanshou' as soon as possible.

For a martial artist who has mastered the art of freehand combat, only by achieving the level of freehand fighting can they be considered to have a foundation for real combat. Otherwise, having only physical strength is merely a means to bully ordinary people. They might not even be able to handle ferocious beasts like bears and tigers, let alone fight against demons.

Huff, huff, huff
As the spear trembled, it emitted a series of buzzing sounds. However, in the martial arts academy, the sounds of various training exercises were extremely noisy, like the dense sound of forging and hammering. The sound of Wu Ming shaking the spear was mixed in with the noise and could be considered inconspicuous.

After practicing for an unknown amount of time, Wu Ming felt his arms were tired and weak, so he took a deep breath and stopped. He could feel that he was becoming more and more proficient in the basic skill of shaking the gun, and the flaws in all aspects had been basically smoothed out.

"In terms of exerting force, there are basically no problems. The next step is to hone the skills until you can master this move and make it smooth and skillful. You need to practice until you no longer need a fixed stance and can unleash this 'shaking spear force' at any time before you can be considered to have mastered the essence."

Wu Ming's thinking was very clear.

In the Falling Leaf Spear Technique, there is no specific description of the 'essence' of the shaking spear technique. It is only said that it is a feeling that cannot be described in words and needs to be experienced and understood by oneself. It requires practice until it becomes smooth and skillful, and then it will be mastered naturally.

Based on Wu Ming's training over the past two days, his understanding is that the so-called essence is to train the movement of exerting and releasing force into a pure 'muscle memory'. Previously, he was able to exert and release force perfectly by relying on a subtle level of perception and control over the details of his whole body. What he needs to do next is to gradually reduce this perception and control.

This allows one to move their body without consciously controlling it, and to perfectly utilize their strength with just a thought.

With a clear direction, the subsequent cultivation process becomes simpler.

In the following days,

Wu Ming traveled back and forth between Wu Village and Jingye City, getting up early every morning and returning in the evening. He spent the whole day in the outer hall of the Seven Martial Alliance, practicing his spear-shaking and power-generating skills in a corner where no one paid attention.

On the ninth day, Wu Ming stood there, holding the spear in both hands, his posture steady and composed. When he put his strength into it, he did not deliberately control the rhythm of his body, nor did he focus his gaze on the tip of the spear. Instead, he cast his gaze into the distance, sweeping over the men practicing their skills in the courtyard. He saw some people entering the courtyard and others leaving.

Newcomers come and old farewells; this is the norm at the Outer Hall Martial Academy. Most young martial artists who enter the Outer Hall of the Seven Martial Alliance will purchase a martial arts token and hone their skills here for two or three months. After mastering freehand fighting, they will leave and start taking on jobs.

"Stupid!"

"When you're riding a horse with your sword drawn, the key isn't the sword in your hand, but your body. You should move like you're riding a galloping horse, with your legs tight and your waist and hips relaxed. In one strike, you should use all the strength in your body, not just swing your arms!" Not far away, the shouts and admonitions of martial arts instructors could be heard.

The various sounds were mixed together, creating an incredibly noisy cacophony. However, with Wu Ming's keen perception, he was able to distinguish the sounds he wanted to hear: admonitions, the sound of wielding a knife, and the sound of a gun trembling—all were clearly distinct.

I don't know when it started,
Wu Ming's attention had been completely drawn to the noisy outside world.

Even though he had no intention of controlling his body, his body still maintained the posture and movement of shaking the spear. His muscles bulged all over his body like a python, and the spear in his hand made a buzzing sound, like the roar of a dragon and the howl of a tiger.

It felt like a long time had passed, yet also like only a moment, when Wu Ming's consciousness suddenly returned to his body.

"It's done!"

Wu Ming sensed that although he did not consciously control his body, his body still perfectly transmitted the power from his legs to his waist and hips, all the way to his arms, and then burst out from the spear.

At that moment, he had a thought and instantly stopped shaking the gun. The gun trembled for a moment and then quickly came to a stop.

then,

Wu Ming's mind raced, and he thrust his spear forward, delivering a series of thrusts.

He had not practiced any specific spear techniques, and these thrusts were not techniques at all, just random forward thrusts. However, despite the lack of any technique, each thrust produced a clear buzzing sound, with the force flowing through the spear!
"This is freestyle fighting."

Wu Ming was as clear-headed as a mirror. At this moment, he swung his spear horizontally and then slashed downwards. The moves were all very crude and had no aesthetic appeal, but with each swing or slash, the spear contained a fierce force.

If an ordinary person were standing in front of him, even if he were wearing thick leather armor that could block the blunt tip of the spear, the force of the sweep would be enough to send a person weighing over a hundred pounds flying.

The so-called "freestyle fighting".

Although he has not yet mastered enough exquisite moves and his explosive power is not easy to make accurate strikes, the force in each move is real. Even a master of secondary blood clotting, with strong skin and wearing thick armor, would not be able to escape unscathed from a direct hit and would inevitably be injured.

"The difference between freehand and penetrating techniques lies in the exquisiteness and agility of the moves. The difference in strength and power is not too great. This difference will be very obvious when facing martial artists, but the difference will be very small when facing demons."

Wu Ming recalled the description of the Falling Leaf Spear Technique.

Compared to Sanshou, Guantong has mastered a complete and exquisite set of techniques, which makes a big difference when fighting against others. After all, if Sanshou is compared to Guantong, and the physical strength is similar, Guantong's level of skill can easily find the flaws in Sanshou's rough moves. In just a few moves, Guantong can start from the flaws, tear through the defenses, and defeat the opponent.

However, when dealing with demons, the sophistication of the moves is often not that important; the actual lethality is more crucial.

but,

If one can cross this stage of integration and reach the third realm of 'unity', then it will be a completely different realm.

(End of this chapter)