Luoyang, Yichuan Academy, Sixth of the First Month, Noon.
Mo Chuan softly recited the Spring and Autumn Annals, and in an instant, was drawn into the Spring and Autumn world by Confucius.
However, in the Spring and Autumn world, it was not Confucius who awaited Mo Chuan, but Marshal Long.
Upon seeing Mo Chuan's arrival, Marshal Long put down his wine gourd, patted his rear, and stood up, saying, "Young man, the old pedant wants me to spar with you today. Are you willing?"
"I am willing, but Mo Chuan does not yet know senior's name."
"No need to be so formal," Marshal Long waved his hand and said, "Just call me Marshal Long."
"Thank you, Marshal Long."
Mo Chuan subtly glanced at the epaulets on Marshal Long's cloak, a guess forming in his mind.
Marshal Long then tore off his cloak, revealing his sturdy arms and metal bracers that shone with a strange hue. He opened his mouth and said, "Kid, can you fight?"
"Yes."
"Who did you learn from?"
"I've been learning from Teacher Tea Pig for almost two months."
"That old fox Tea Pig..." Marshal Long narrowed his eyes and sighed, saying, "I'm sorry, child. When they staged the coup, I was fighting monsters in the north. Otherwise, I would never have allowed the Dragon Country to lose so many talented individuals..."
"You weren't all here at the time?" Mo Chuan vaguely sensed something was amiss.
"Old Crow was in seclusion, the bald donkey and you were in Dunhuang, and the old pedant and I were in the northeast," Marshal Long said. "Don't worry, once spring plowing is over, I'll settle the score with him."
With that, Marshal Long clenched his fist in the air, and a blood-stained, slightly damaged, but clearly repaired Guan Dao materialized in his hand.
Marshal Long handed the Guan Dao to Mo Chuan and said, "This belongs to Tea Pig. Use it to fight me. I won't use a weapon."
Mo Chuan took the Guan Dao and swung it a few times, feeling its weight, which inexplicably felt heavy.
"Come on, take your time fighting me once you get familiar with it," Marshal Long said, then adopted a stable stance with his feet spread apart, his muscles bulging and faint wisps of steam escaping. "Western Hao Tian: Wei! Mao! Bi! Qi!"
Three waves of powerful spiritual energy fluctuations flashed, and Marshal Long's aura abruptly rose. He gestured to Mo Chuan, "Come on, hit me. Use your full strength."
Mo Chuan held his saber horizontally and began to slowly circle Marshal Long, hoping to find an opening.
However, Marshal Long's stance was as solid as a fortress, and Mo Chuan could not find any weaknesses.
Just as the two were in a standoff, a petal from the Spring and Autumn world fell between them.
Mo Chuan instantly closed the distance.
His martial arts were fundamentally based on Tea Pig's teachings, combined with his own learning and Mordekaiser's understanding of using polearms. He continuously triggered "Pendulum of Judgement" and "Harvester of Sorrows" in his attacks. Therefore, he only began his assault as he approached Marshal Long, his saber slashing in a wide arc, aiming directly for the left side of Marshal Long's neck.
Marshal Long raised his hand, sidestepped, bent his body, and threw a punch in one fluid motion. Mo Chuan first felt his hand go numb, then a slight pain in his abdomen.
Mo Chuan knew where Marshal Long's right fist had counterattacked without even looking. To prevent further pursuit, Mo Chuan retreated, simultaneously rotating his blade and using the pommel of his saber to attack Marshal Long's ribs.
Marshal Long was slightly surprised by Mo Chuan's reaction. It was rare for someone Mo Chuan's age to withstand his punch when he had only unleashed one-ninth of his power. (Most people his age were only at the fourth or fifth tier, even with high talent.)
Marshal Long took Mo Chuan's sweeping blow to his tailbone, but his offensive momentum did not diminish. His hand techniques continuously changed, with punches, palms, fingers, blades, elbows, and fists smashing onto Mo Chuan's body. While Mo Chuan could initially block with the Guan Dao, he found himself struggling more and more as time went on.
Marshal Long was inwardly shocked:
He had activated the Star Constellation Acupoint technique three more times during the fight, liberating nearly half of his strength.
Yet, even so, Mo Chuan was still fighting him on even terms, although Mo Chuan was mostly on the defensive. It was clear that the reason for this was the weapon.
Marshal Long casually snatched the Guan Dao away and said, "Kid, use your full strength. Use whatever skills you have. If you win, I'll tell you something about King Yama."
Hearing this, Mo Chuan couldn't help but glance at Marshal Long. He ignored his injuries and immediately activated "Hellbound," wielding his chain and preparing for the second round of attack.
"Northern Xuan Tian: Nu! Xu! Wei! Shi! Qi!"
"Southeastern Yang Tian: Zhang! Yi! Zhen! Qi!"
"Northeastern Bian Tian: Ji! Dou! Niu! Qi!"
This time, Marshal Long unleashed nearly eighty percent of his strength. Every time he swung his arm or stomped on the ground, slight spatial cracks would appear.
"Watch closely, kid, this is how you use a Guan Dao!"
Marshal Long roared towards the sky, his sonic wave scattering the falling blossoms and dust around them. Mo Chuan slightly shielded his chest with his hand – a sonic wave of this magnitude could basically make a normal person faint.
Immediately after, Marshal Long stomped heavily, his legs exerting force, and he instantly moved in front of Mo Chuan.
As Mo Chuan reacted to the metallic glint before his eyes, he managed to raise his chain for defense.
"BANG!!--"
Mo Chuan was sent flying back tens of meters like a cannonball, only stopping when he slammed into a large boulder.
Marshal Long flicked the dust off himself and looked up, only to find that the giant boulder now had only a humanoid indentation, and Mo Chuan was nowhere to be seen.
The next moment, as if sensing something, Marshal Long immediately swung his saber backward.
At this moment, Mo Chuan's figure instantly appeared behind Marshal Long.
As his chain collided with the Guan Dao, Mo Chuan knew that this sneak attack was unlikely to succeed. Therefore, he directly used his chain to latch onto the Guan Dao and then swung his lantern like a meteor hammer towards Marshal Long's face.
But a scene that surprised Mo Chuan occurred:
The lantern seemed to be blocked by something, its swinging speed gradually slowing down. By the time the lantern was close to Marshal Long, it had essentially stopped moving.
Domain.
Mo Chuan immediately grasped the key. However, just as Mo Chuan attempted to activate his domain, Marshal Long punched him into the sky (literally).
The iron armor of the Steel Dragon let out a groan of being unable to bear the load. By the time Mo Chuan fell back to the ground, Marshal Long had retracted all his techniques.
Mo Chuan was clearly unconvinced and wanted to activate "Unending Shadow" to fight Marshal Long a few more rounds. However, he found that not only could he not circulate his spiritual energy, but even closing his eyes was a problem.
"In my domain, [Eight Heavens], even those old geezers who are principals of prestigious schools can't get off easy, let alone a little kid like you."
Marshal Long did not seem to mock Mo Chuan verbally for losing the spar. Instead, he calmly said, "You did very well. As a reward, I will now tell you something about King Yama, but this matter... will shock you greatly. Prepare yourself."