The elevated platform at the training grounds, usually where the Head Instructor gave speeches, was surrounded by an open square area – perfect for martial contests.

Recruits gathered below the platform, watching the two figures above.

Jiang Jiao had already retrieved his spear. His tall and robust build gave him a martial bearing, likely due to practicing martial arts since childhood. He stood out distinctly from the other recruits, with handsome features that would inspire confidence in anyone around him.

Standing opposite him was He Yan. Compared to Jiang Jiao, He Yan appeared more like an underdeveloped youth – short in stature, slight in build, though with delicate features. Despite the long periods of training under the sun that had darkened his skin somewhat, he still appeared fairer than the surrounding recruits. Standing there, he looked less like a soldier and more like a young master from a wealthy family – refined and graceful, handsome and endearing.

Jiang Jiao raised his spear. “You first.”

“How considerate,” He Yan replied with a bright smile. “Then I won’t stand on ceremony.” She held her spear horizontally before her body, her eyes flickered, and her figure rushed forward.

Jiang Jiao’s expression changed as he moved to meet the attack.

The two figures instantly became a blur of motion, with only the continuous “bang bang bang” of clashing weapons echoing through the air. In mere moments, they had exchanged more than ten moves before both retreating several steps to observe each other.

He Yan maintained her smile while watching her opponent, while Jiang Jiao couldn’t hide his astonishment.

From their first exchange, he realized He Yan couldn’t possibly be a novice with the spear. Her moves in those dozen exchanges were consistently dangerous – he could neither attack nor retreat effectively.

They were evenly matched!

Though he had tried not to underestimate He Yan, he realized he still hadn’t given her enough credit.

The recruits below couldn’t follow the exchange clearly and were disappointed that He Yan and Jiang Jiao seemed to stop after just a few moves. They began discussing among themselves: “What just happened? Who had the upper hand?”

“I just took a sip of water – did I miss something? Did anyone see?”

“No, I didn’t see anything.”

At the foot of the training platform, several instructors wore grave expressions, remaining silent for a long while.

Du Mao looked toward Liang Ping, who quickly waved his hands, “Don’t ask me! I don’t know! He never showed these skills during practice – I had no idea!”

While the recruits couldn’t comprehend what they’d witnessed, the instructors saw everything. In their exchange, He Yan hadn’t lost -, due to Jiang Jiao’s underestimation, she had even gained the upper hand. Jiang Jiao’s spear technique was complex and variable, moving like a snake, but He Yan’s appeared deceptively simple while containing great power, easily deflecting Jiang Jiao’s spear point.

“Liang Ping, you’ve found yourself an exceptional recruit,” one instructor remarked with a hint of envy.

Liang Ping felt both proud and uneasy – He Yan had hidden his abilities too well. If Jiang Jiao hadn’t actively challenged He Yan to a spear match, he would have only thought He Yan showed talent in archery and considered his spear skills merely adequate.

On the platform, Jiang Jiao stared at He Yan. “Again!”

He Yan nodded.

This time, Jiang Jiao initiated the attack with his spear, and He Yan met his charge. The two spears locked together, their red tassels dancing in the wind. Jiang Jiao’s spear moved like a snake, each strike swift and dangerous, targeting He Yan’s face, but He Yan would slightly tilt her head, letting the spear point brush past her cheek, missing entirely.

Jiang Jiao began fighting in earnest, his spear technique now coming like a torrential downpour, one strike following another, searching for He Yan’s weakness. Yet remarkably, the youth’s movements remained agile, barely avoiding each strike while using his spear like an impenetrable shield, blocking Jiang Jiao’s attacks from advancing any further.

“Faster! Just a bit more and you’ll defeat him!” The recruits below watched anxiously.

“Why is He Yan only defending and not attacking? Doesn’t she know spear techniques?”

As time passed, Jiang Jiao’s spear technique could no longer sustain such intensive attacks. He stared at He Yan, unable to comprehend how such a seemingly frail youth possessed such strength and endurance. He showed no signs of fatigue, only focus – a focus that was becoming frightening.

In a moment of confusion, Jiang Jiao’s spear swept through empty air. His heart jolted as he saw the youth opposite him break into a smile. Before Jiang Jiao could react, He Yan’s spear – which had only been defending until now – suddenly thrust forward. He hurriedly moved his spear to block but was forced to step back.

He Yan had begun her attack.

“The spear is the king of all weapons; all other weapons fall before it,” the youth’s clear voice rang out, neither too loud nor too soft, echoing throughout the empty mountain training ground.

She ducked to avoid Jiang Jiao’s spear point, then thrust upward from below at a tricky angle toward his face.

“The descending spear technique breaks the staff, the left-right flower insertion technique breaks the shield and heavy sword.” She maneuvered and rotated the spearhead, charging forward again.

“The counter-strike method breaks the sword, the fork, the shovel, the double daggers, and the short knife.” Her arms seemed to possess endless strength, pressing forward even when blocked, striking at Jiang Jiao’s left and right. Jiang Jiao couldn’t respond in time, showing signs of being overwhelmed.

“The hook-and-strike method breaks the whip and the mace.” She advanced again, her spear point moving like wind and rain, surpassing Jiang Jiao’s earlier assault not only in intensity but in precision, targeting each of his weaknesses – like striking a snake’s vital point, each move potentially fatal.

“The false-string technique breaks the broadsword and the halberd.” Jiang Jiao had been forced to the edge of the training platform. His mind was in disarray, feeling as if the youth before him was charging across a battlefield on horseback, emanating an unstoppable killing intent. He was being forced back step by step, his defense completely broken.

The spear thrust toward his face and Jiang Jiao hastily stepped backward. Suddenly, his foot slipped, and he began to fall. The shocked cries of the recruits below reached his ears as he realized he had no more ground to retreat to.

Abruptly, a hand grabbed him.

The spear point stopped at his forehead, advancing no further. Though the youth appeared weak, his strength was extraordinary. He pulled Jiang Jiao back onto the platform with one hand, then withdrew his spear to his side.

The wind blew, sweeping away the summer heat, leaving only coolness on their faces. The flags fluttered in the breeze, while birds and insects called from the forest.

The youth stood straight, his voice still clear, showing no signs of fatigue or heavy breathing from the intense attack. Steadily and firmly, he proclaimed, “People only fail to recognize the true spear, thus becoming confused by other weapons. Once they grasp the true spear, all other weapons become child’s play.”

Jiang Jiao stared at him in a daze before softly asking, “You’ve read the ‘Manual of Arms’?”

The “Manual of Arms” recorded various spear and sword techniques. Jiang Jiao had read it because his family ran a martial arts school – his grandfather, father, and elder brother, and he all had to study it. He had read it before but thought the claims in the book were too exaggerated, that no one could truly achieve such mastery. Now here, in this youth, he realized it was his martial arts that were insufficient.

The youth tilted his head to look at him, smiling, and said, “I’ve read a bit, and understand a little, just a little.”