Chapter Forty-Nine: Shattered Gun!

Tan Hai’s sharp eyes caught sight first, and he shouted, using his grappling line to ascend to the treetop. Many of the recruits had never seen an airplane before, curiosity driving them to follow him to the upper branches and gaze into the distance.

There in the sky flew a military green biplane, its altitude not high, allowing everyone to make out its shape clearly. On the fuselage was emblazoned a gold-edged green creature with eight heads and a series of numbers, signifying its nation and unit.

“Ah, so it’s a Nipani aircraft. I thought it belonged to our Yingzhou Army…” Li Anqi shook her head, instantly losing interest.

Du Huaishan frowned at her words. For a Nipani plane to fly so brazenly over the territory of the Chiyu Empire, especially above a military stronghold below, was audacious indeed.

Yet, from the recent theory classes, he’d gradually learned that the current government of Xin’an was little more than a puppet regime; any warlord with real power paid it no heed, each holding fast to their own patch of land. If the internal situation was already so fractured, external threats hardly bore thinking about.

Du Huaishan shook his head, leaped down from the treetop, and resumed training. Matters like these weren’t even handled by the Yingzhou Army, so a new recruit like him had no business worrying. In the end, only strength mattered; he had to improve as quickly as possible—that was the only true path!

Of course, the military settlement city was not idle.

That afternoon, in theory class, Lin Zhaoshu announced the reason for the Nipani plane’s passage.

It turned out that the demon spirits of the northern grasslands had recently erupted in rebellion.

Anyone who had studied Chiyu geography knew that the northern grasslands were a disaster zone for demon spirits on Blue Star, always threatening humanity’s survival.

If not for the western “Iron Wall” and the eastern Chiyu Empire’s “Northern Long Rampart,” the demon army would have long ago swept in and eradicated mankind.

In response to the rebellion, the World Alliance convened an emergency meeting. Ameri, Anglo, Nipani, and others dispatched troops to reinforce the Chiyu Empire, under the operation codename: Northern Rampart Counteroffensive!

Command was given to Admiral Beliwell of the Anglo Royal Navy.

The initial multinational force totaled twelve thousand, landing sequentially at Jiaocheng Port in Qingzhou, Chiyu Empire.

Yingzhou, Pingliao Province, being among the regions affected by the demon spirit unrest, Marshal Zhang naturally deployed troops to join the coalition.

The Nipani aircraft the recruits saw today was likely a coalition reconnaissance plane, tasked with flying ahead to scout the northwest sector.

—

“Huaishan, who would’ve thought Nipani came to help us.” Tan Hai, seated beside him, murmured quietly.

“Heh. Three nations, crossing countless miles, sending troops and equipment to help—none of them are our father. Why would they be so generous? It’s nothing but an excuse; at the root, they’re after their own interests.”

Du Huaishan knew Tan Hai hadn’t had much schooling and knew little history.

Toward dusk, Du Huaishan was still in Luo Zongwen’s training room, entering his demon transformation state for practice.

After several days, he had mastered the three basic spear techniques—thrust, seize, and block. His body now moved as one with the spear, shifting toward unified force.

“Lay a solid foundation, then integrate fist techniques with the spear to create the five forms—chopping, bursting, drilling, blasting, and sweeping—known as the Five-Linked Elemental Spear. Among them, bursting, blasting, and sweeping correspond to thrust, seize, and block.”

Luo Zongwen finished speaking.

With his right hand clasping the spear, his whole body taut as an arrow, his core flashed with power, and he thrust fiercely.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Luo Zongwen’s footwork swirled like a gust, darting three steps forward and back. The long spear compressed like a spring, stabbing thrice in rapid succession, each thrust detonating with a roar like tigers and dragons.

“This is the Triple Bursting Spear, one of my signature moves. At its core, it’s an application of the thrust technique. Study it carefully.”

Du Huaishan did not immediately imitate, but first pondered.

Whether it was Luo Zongwen’s Five-Linked Elemental Spear or Chang Sui’an’s Five-Element Blade, fundamentally they derived from the Five-Element Fist, whose root was the Three-Body Form’s power generation.

From a physics perspective, the body acts as a lever, utilizing the coordinated force Luo taught—the whole body working together.

This makes movements more efficient, faster, and more powerful!

In other words, this is the essence of all martial arts and combat.

In Xingyi Fist doctrine, the bursting fist is wood—like an arrow, swift and sharp. Thus, the fist enters directly, extremely fast and powerful, somewhat akin to the inch punch of Wing Chun or Jeet Kune Do.

“I’m ready, Instructor Luo!”

With insight clear, Du Huaishan abruptly pushed his demon transformation to the maximum, continually channeling demon spirit power. The veins on his arms writhed beneath the skin, demon horns shrouded in black mist.

He lunged, spear thrusting forward. A sharp crack exploded, the spear tip blurring into a streak of cold light, pouncing like a tiger toward Luo Zongwen’s throat.

Luo’s four strange pupils flashed, his body erupting with murderous intent. A colossal golden shadow surged into him—crash! Crack!

—

Du Huaishan felt a tremendous force hurl him backward.

He rose, gasping for breath.

The spear had shattered into pieces, while Luo Zongwen, his black robes torn, stood with battered, bulging muscles, his frame now towering over two meters. Gold fur covered his body, a thick horn grew from his brow, faint lightning flickering. His eyes burned with heat, fangs bared, lion-like claws gripping a metal spearhead—the very one Du Huaishan had thrust.

He released it.

Clang. The spearhead fell to the floor, deformed from the pressure.

“Du Huaishan, did you touch the relative threshold?”

Demon-transformed Luo Zongwen’s voice was a guttural growl, almost animal.

Du Huaishan shifted his gaze from the mangled spearhead to his own body, feeling the guardian spirit attached to his heart; the fusion rate had now broken through to nine percent!

“Yes, Instructor Luo, I’ve reached nine percent!”

“No wonder—your thrust just now surpassed your previous limits. Most likely, this is the first special skill you’ll awaken upon breaking through the threshold.”

As he spoke, Luo Zongwen dispelled his demon spirit power, reverting to human form. He stepped to where Du Huaishan had launched his attack.

Indeed, cracks had formed in the concrete floor.

“So this is the power of demon spirit talent skills?”

Du Huaishan could hardly believe it. His attack had forced Instructor Luo to invoke demon spirit power. Yet Luo’s guardian spirit was so massive it exceeded the room’s limits, his transformation so swift Du Huaishan couldn’t even see it clearly.

“Are you alright?” Luo Zongwen reached out, helping him up. “I reacted instinctively…”

“I should be thanking you, Instructor Luo. Without your guidance, I couldn’t have broken through so quickly.”

Du Huaishan had been stuck at eight percent fusion for some time; today, to leap forward and touch the threshold was thanks to Luo Zongwen’s training stimulus and the use of the bursting spear!

“Haha, there’s nothing to thank me for—it’s your own determination! Your demon spirit fusion talent is quite impressive.”

Luo Zongwen stroked his beard and smiled, “I’m already looking forward to seeing what your first awakened skill will truly be—and just how powerful it is!”