Chapter 48: Chapter 48 Puzzle! (Last day of October, asking for Yue tickets!)
Wang Sheng looked at the Ironwood Seedlings and suddenly had an idea.
Medicinal herbs can be cultivated, so why not trees?
If tree cultivation could break through three times, perhaps he could produce high-quality lumber suitable for Martial Artists; then he wouldn’t need to go out of his way to find the right materials for crafting weapons.
Even if he didn’t have strong metal for a spearhead, who said you couldn’t kill someone without one?
If all else failed, he also knew a thing or two about the Shaking Mountain Stick.
The power of the Shaking Mountain Stick would not be low.
In the end, Wang Sheng and Li Yongfeng, aside from finding six fully grown Iron Wood, also uprooted quite a few seedlings.
Unfortunately, it was not the season for Iron Wood to bear seeds; otherwise, collecting them would have been the most appropriate course of action.
After finding what he wanted, Wang Sheng followed Li Yongfeng straight back.
Back in his own room, Wang Sheng planted the few seedlings and then left them alone, turning his attention to processing the Iron Wood he had dug up.
Although “Iron” Wood is very hard, in the end, it is still wood. Wang Sheng spent some effort and turned all of the Iron Wood into smooth sticks and even crudely fashioned simple spearheads.
Not to mention, the spearheads carved from Iron Wood were of quite decent quality.
They didn’t look great, but at least they resembled spears.
Once he’d made wooden spears, Wang Sheng went out to the courtyard and swung them a few times.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The wooden spear sliced through the air, making a huffing sound. When it neared the ground, the wind it raised cleaned the area of dust and leaves, creating several small whirlwinds.
Wang Sheng tried using all his strength and stabbed toward the lower part of the stone mill in the courtyard; the upper part had already been reduced to rubble during his last martial arts practice.
Swish!
The spear pierced through the air!
Like a thunderbolt cutting through the sky, or a strong bow shooting an arrow, it stabbed onto the stone mill in the blink of an eye.
Crack!
Seconds later, the sound of breaking stone echoed.
The lower half of the stone mill was pierced through by his thrust, and cracks spread from the point of penetration, quickly turning into rubble.
Now, the stone mill at Wang Sheng’s home could thoroughly “rest in peace,” with nothing left intact.
Of course, the fate of the wooden spear was not much better; the shaft was already covered with cracks and clearly couldn’t be used anymore.
“Looks like I need to focus on refinement when practicing!”
No matter how formidable Iron Wood was, it was merely mortal wood and could not withstand the force of a Martial Artist.
Of course, for such wood to get pierced through the stone mill under the burst of his strength was already quite exceptional, much stronger than any ordinary wood.
Besides testing the strength of Iron Wood, he also tested how his Bajiquan could enhance his spear technique.
That strike, wherein he leveraged the force and technique of Bajiquan, provided a great surprise.
The fist does not stray from the weapon!
Though they seemed completely different, they shared countless similarities.
If he had just used his own strength, the wooden spear would never have penetrated the stone mill; it would have only shattered under the tremendous force.
“Next, I need to practice the Six Harmonies Spear and push the cultivation of Iron Wood to its limits.”
That was the plan, but—
“I still need to grind on!”
His current skills were already enough to keep Wang Sheng busy.
Every day was fully scheduled, and the improvement of his skills became slower.
However, some things were necessary.
To train only in method without skill meant that, with only Qi-Blood at his side, he would suffer against Martial Artists of the same level. This was something Wang Sheng had understood for a long time, which is why, apart from the time he was facing the scourge of Martial Artists, he had never stopped practicing Bajiquan.
The same was true of weapons.
Wang Sheng again took some time to practice the Six Harmonies Spear amidst his training with the Bajiquan and the Plum Flower Step.
The term “Six Harmonies” in Six Harmonies Spear has many interpretations.
One talks about the Inner Three Harmonies and the Outer Three Harmonies, that is, heart aligning with intent, intent with Qi-Blood, Qi-Blood with strength as the Inner Three Harmonies, and shoulders aligning with hips, ribs with knees, hands with feet as the Outer Three Harmonies.
But there are also sayings that the Six Harmonies are six basic paired spear techniques; each harmony having one main technique, which in turn could be fine-tuned into thirty-six spear techniques.
Wang Sheng believed that the concept of the Inner and Outer Three Harmonies was not in conflict with the idea of the thirty-six techniques.
The Inner Three Harmonies of the Inner and Outer Six Harmonies are the “spirit” of the Six Harmonies Spear, while the Outer Three Harmonies are an indispensable foundation.
And the six fundamental spear techniques are the routine moves of spear technique.
When practicing these routine moves, it is essential to build upon the foundation of the Inner and Outer Three Harmonies, to perfectly demonstrate the skills of the Six Harmonies Spear.
The Inner and Outer Three Harmonies require long-term accumulation.
They can be integrated into the practice of the Six Harmonies Spear techniques, and do not need deliberate practice.
Especially for the Inner Three Harmonies, which are more a matter of feeling and experience.
Once accumulated, even without deliberate effort, they could be used effortlessly.
Thus, Wang Sheng’s focus in practicing the Six Harmonies Spear still lay on the techniques of the Six Harmonies Spear.
The foundational techniques of the Six Harmonies spear include six forms, as the spear manual says:
[First Harmony: The Pear Blossom Spear Circle is the base, followed by Sealing Spear, Pear Blossom Head Swinging for rescue, Inner Eight Gates, Outer Eight Gates, Flashing and Shining Flower Spear, named Qin King’s Grinding Banner.
Second Harmony: First comes Coiling Spear, then Burning Spear, Yellow Dragon Enters, Black Dragon Goes into the Cave, Eight Gates for rescue, Flashing and Shining Flower Spear, named Phoenix Nod.
Third Harmony: First comes Thrusting Spear, then Sleeve Thrust, Hawk Pouncing on the Praying Mantis, Falling Strike Directly In, Twist Hand Spear for rescue, Flashing and Shining Flower Spear, named Searching for Snakes in the Grass.
Fourth Harmony: First comes Sealing Spear, then Grasping Spear, Cloud Dragon Coiling Pole, Black Tiger Enters the Mountains, Carp Falling Spine, Flashing and Shining Flower Spear, Spiritual Cat Pouncing on Mouse.
Fifth Harmony: Azure Dragon Tail, White Bull Turn, White Ape Offering Peach, Yaksha Seeks the Sea, White Snake and Phoenix, Flashing and Shining Flower Spear, Collapse and Retreat for rescue.
Sixth Harmony: Follow up with Chuang Zha Spear, Urge Forward with Grasping Spear, Ride the Dragon to Overcome, Peach Theft Under the Leaves, Horseback Sword Straddle, Flashing and Shining Flower Spear, White Ape Pulling the Saber.]
Each harmony can also be further divided into six spears, hence the origin of the thirty-six spears.
However, the first techniques Wang Sheng chose to practice were not these.
He only memorized the moves of the Six Harmonies Spear; his foundation was actually weak.
So he needed to start with the basics.
The foundational techniques of the Six Harmonies Spear included Blocking Spear, Grasping Spear, Splitting Spear, Poke Spear, Stir Spear, Chuang Zha Spear, Thrusting Spear, and so on.
Wang Sheng followed his memory and began to fill the progress bar of the Six Harmonies Spear.
Spear technique was always extremely difficult, otherwise there wouldn’t be the saying, “Month to master the stick, year to master the saber, a lifetime for the spear.”
But the Six Harmonies Spear itself was something Wang Sheng practiced as an extension of Bajiquan, and the two shared several commonalities.
After practicing for the most part of the day, a loud sound blasted.
The wooden spear in Wang Sheng’s hand instantly shattered into splinters.
“It’s that feeling again!”
Sure enough, Wang Sheng soon saw a progress bar.
“Six Harmonies Spear: 1 (1%)”
As expected, the progress bar for the Six Harmonies Spear was not beyond his expectations; it was the lowest, even the time to produce a progress bar was the longest.
Not only that, but Wang Sheng also glanced at the Ironwood reduced to sawdust and sighed.
He hadn’t been back for a day, and already two of the six Ironwood Seedlings were gone, the consumption being extraordinarily large. He really needed to be economical in their use.
And then there was the matter of skill levels, which required even more time.
However, after the progress bar for the Six Harmonies Spear appeared, he felt a joy in his heart.
A joy that completed his inner fulfillment!
Now, many of his skill progress bars were not high, but with the emergence of the Six Harmonies Spear, it seemed to complete the puzzle in his heart.
The Foundation Method, the Groundwork Method, close combat techniques, weapon skills, and auxiliary abilities were all present, and now what needed to be done was to raise all these skills!