— "The Thirty-Six Styles of the Secret Yang Family Spear"
This spear manual actually contained no final move.
After all, Yang Gun had integrated the Three Fierce Spear styles with the Three Nimble Spear styles, eliminating redundancy. The core of the Yang family spear technique lay in flexible change. If it were seen through, or its moves traceable, it would lose its original purpose.
The last scroll was written by Lu Yu himself, just a casual addition.
It had absolutely nothing to do with this spear technique manual.
Yet, that empty half-scroll made Xiahou Mao feel unfathomable!
At this moment… Xiahou Mao held the bamboo slips of the "Yang Family Spear Manual," his eyes fixed on the last scroll and its final few lines.
— "With no woman in your heart, your blade will naturally be divine!"
— "The first page of the spear manual: forget the one you love!"
Seemingly… quite logical.
Ever since he dedicated himself to practicing this spear technique, forgetting all external matters, forgetting the humiliation of being jilted, forgetting the mockery and contempt of his friends.
He found… his spear skills were progressing at a divine speed.
But… the first page of the manual was to forget the one you love, so what about the second page?
The third page?
The countless pages thereafter?
Xiahou Mao desperately wanted to know the subsequent content, and he considered the content of this scroll to be the essence of the "Yang Family Spear Manual."
…
The next day, in the Tai Academy, a place surrounded by water in the Ying River.
Lu Yu came here to show off, no… to come here and observe the eager students, to check on their homework and studies.
Unexpectedly, on the single-plank bridge… Xiahou Mao was already waiting there.
Uh…
Isn't this the one who was jilted? In Lu Yu's memory, Xiahou Mao was the worst among those who had been jilted.
Not at all imposing…
Lu Yu mused, as expected, those surnamed Xiahou Dun were inferior to those surnamed Xiao!
Now, with the two meeting face-to-face, Lu Yu felt inexplicably a little awkward.
However, it was only for a moment. He thought to himself, he was helping Xiahou Mao. Otherwise… in the future, Xiahou Mao would be utterly ruined by his wife, Princess Qinghe, and her younger brother. At that time… where would you, Xiahou Mao, go to cry?
“Cough cough…”
A light cough, the atmosphere suddenly felt a bit awkward.
Xiahou Mao took a step back and cupped his fists in a salute to Lu Yu. "Student Xiahou Mao, I have come here presumptuously, I hope Director Lu will not blame me!"
Uh? Not blame me?
You are holding a long spear, no… you are holding a Ma Shuo? Yet you say you came presumptuously and ask me not to blame you?
Lu Yu was wondering if Xiahou Mao had come to stir up trouble?
Looking around to his left and right… Dian Wei was not present, which made Lu Yu feel a bit less secure.
However…
Tai Academy, this was Lu Yu's territory. He had many guards, and subordinates…
A group of them to deal with one Xiahou Mao seemed sufficient.
"What are you doing here?" Lu Yu naturally wouldn't be polite. "If you're here to be a disciple and enroll in Tai Academy, the time has passed. Tell your father to come find me next year!"
Xiahou Mao still cupped his fists, appearing very respectful. "This student is here to seek guidance from his esteemed teacher."
"Esteemed teacher?" Lu Yu didn't understand. He hadn't hidden in his storage ring, when did he become Xiahou Mao's master?
Xiahou Mao was extremely patient and respectful. "It's about that book, 'The Thirty-Six Styles of the Secret Yang Family Spear.' This student has been practicing it for nearly two years. For these two years, besides eating and sleeping, I have only cultivated, not daring to be negligent…"
Uh…
Truly bored to death!
Does such a persistent person truly exist in this world?
His entire focus is on improving his spear skills. Isn't this a path destined for a lonely life?
… Cough cough, if it were the other spear, Lu Yu could understand.
But this spear… Heh heh, Lu Yu couldn't understand it, but was greatly impressed.
Cough cough, Lu Yu cleared his throat. "Good, you continue practicing, keep it up!"
Regarding post-merit descendants with low emotional intelligence like Xiahou Mao, Lu Yu was truly too lazy to deal with him…
However, this seemed a bit inhumane. After all, Lu Yu and Xiahou Dun were like brothers. And this Xiahou Mao was Xiahou Dun's son. He should call himself uncle!
Educating the younger generation, Lu Yu, as an uncle, seemed to have a tiny bit of responsibility.
But Lu Yu was very busy now. He had to assign a task to the students of Tai Academy, so he naturally had no time to educate Xiahou Mao. Thus… Lu Yu took a step to leave.
Just as Lu Yu took a step, Xiahou Mao suddenly spoke, "Esteemed teacher…"
Lu Yu turned back, frowning, and asked, "Is there something else?"
Xiahou Mao thought for a moment before saying, "This 'Thirty-Six Styles of the Secret Yang Family Spear' that the esteemed teacher passed down, this student believes I have learned some of its form. Won't the esteemed teacher examine it?"
"Heh heh," Lu Yu went "heh heh!"
Do I have nothing better to do? To watch you play with your spear so early in the morning? Wouldn't it be more enjoyable to play with Sister Zhaoji with this time?
"This Director… has no time!" Lu Yu was very direct.
"Then…" Xiahou Mao asked anxiously, "Could the esteemed teacher tell this disciple the secret manual of the last scroll of 'The Thirty-Six Styles of the Secret Yang Family Spear'?"
Ah… secret manual?
A hint of doubt flickered in Lu Yu's eyes. After a pause, he finally understood what Xiahou Mao was referring to.
He tentatively asked, "Are you referring to the line 'With no woman in your heart'?"
"Exactly… With no woman in your heart, your blade will naturally be divine. The first page of the spear manual: forget the one you love." Xiahou Mao had already recited these first four lines by heart.
Uh.
This was a bit awkward. Lu Yu scratched his head.
This wasn't the Yang family spear manual, it was just something Lu Yu had written for fun.
As long as he wanted, he could write the spear manual as "To cultivate this technique, one must first castrate oneself." Do you, Xiahou Mao, really want to castrate your little turtle?
Alas… this foolish child!
"Is this very important?" Lu Yu asked curiously.
"To this disciple, nothing is more important than this!" Xiahou Mao's tone was extremely serious.
How could it not be important?
Two years ago, he had practiced spear techniques just like this.
But when sparring with his father, even though his father was intentionally going easy on him, he couldn't last ten moves.
But in the past two years, he had personally felt the improvement in his spear skills. Yesterday, when he sparred with his father, he lasted more than fifty moves, making his father look at him with surprise.
And all of this had nothing to do with himself, or with those martial arts instructors!
It was clearly… the profoundness of this "Yang Family Spear Manual."
Of course, strictly speaking, this couldn't be entirely attributed to the "Yang Family Spear." After all, Xiahou Mao was Xiahou Dun's son. He had been practicing martial arts since childhood, and his foundation was quite solid.
The Yang family spear simply introduced more routines and variations, opening up new avenues of thought for him. Therefore… his spear skills broke through bottlenecks and advanced by leaps and bounds.
So…
Thinking along these lines.
Such a profound Yang family spear, the last scroll must be a compilation, the essence.
And those first two lines, "With no woman in your heart, your blade will naturally be divine. The first page of the spear manual: forget the one you love," didn't they just remind Xiahou Mao to overcome the shadow of being jilted?
And the results were remarkable.
"In the past, this disciple was ignorant. The esteemed teacher helping Miss Mu break off the engagement, while seemingly humiliating me, was actually cultivating me, helping me forget the mortal world and dedicate myself to earnest practice. This disciple, only realizing later, did not understand the esteemed teacher's painstaking efforts."
Ah…
Xiahou Mao's words completely stunned Lu Yu.
His eyes involuntarily widened. He wanted to say, damn it, I didn't think that!
Unexpectedly, Xiahou Mao's words came like a barrage of cannonballs.
"If the esteemed teacher doesn't speak, it proves that this disciple guessed correctly, right? The esteemed teacher wanted to help this disciple, and appeared as a bad guy. This was to chastise this disciple. Most likely… this is also because of the esteemed teacher's sworn brotherhood with my father!"
"Esteemed teacher must be cultivating this child for my father's sake! Esteemed teacher, please don't hide it. This disciple… no, this nephew, has fully understood the uncle's good intentions!"
Uh…
Lu Yu was completely drunk. He felt that even drinking a whole bottle of Erguotou wouldn't make him this drunk.
"Heh heh…" Lu Yu gave a wry smile and said impatiently, "You're thinking too much…"
Saying this, he stepped forward, heading towards the end of the single-plank bridge…
However, Xiahou Mao still followed behind him. He was determined to be Lu Yu's shadow today, not giving up until he asked about the spear manual…
"Uncle does not practice martial arts but can master martial skills, this is what this nephew admires most. This nephew has wasted ten years practicing spear techniques, but… ultimately, I can't even compare to a finger of uncle's. I am ashamed, truly ashamed."
Convinced… completely convinced.
Because of a Yang family spear, Xiahou Mao was convinced of Lu Yu.
"If Uncle feels this child is dull and unwilling to reveal the secret manual of the last scroll, it's fine. This nephew only hopes to demonstrate the Yang family spear once before Uncle, and for Uncle to offer even a little guidance… that would be a great kindness to this nephew."
Originally, he was an esteemed teacher, but now… he had directly changed to uncle.
Clearly, Xiahou Mao unilaterally believed that his relationship with Lu Yu had become much closer. Uncle and nephew… no, a "Pan Ga" friendship!
Lu Yu felt he was getting old, suddenly aging decades.
Alas, 'Er'er' is so big now?
Is he so sensible?
"Uncle… Uncle, this nephew is truly seeking guidance. This nephew still has many unclear points in the Yang family spear. If Uncle does not answer my questions, then… then this nephew will have no peace day or night!"
Phew…
Hearing this, Lu Yu was speechless.
He stopped in his tracks. He thought that if he didn't give Xiahou Mao some guidance today, then… this shadow would follow him all day, which would be extremely annoying.
So… Lu Yu shook his head helplessly.
"Let's go, to the training ground in Tai Academy… it's spacious there." Lu Yu finally relented…
Xiahou Mao felt like he had received a general pardon.
"However," Lu Yu's voice continued. "Let's be clear first, I will only watch it once!"
"Uncle is busy, this nephew understands… this nephew will definitely give his all."
Saying this, Xiahou Mao ran towards the training ground first.
Hey… Lu Yu mused, this child knows the Tai Academy like the back of his hand…
At one moment, Lu Yu even felt that Xiahou Mao might turn out to be a talent…
Although according to historical records, Wei Yan called Xiahou Mao a "straw bag general…"
This foolish child did indeed have a taste of immaturity, otherwise he wouldn't have been completely lost by Princess Qinghe and her brothers.
However… what was rare was that this child was very persistent, which made Lu Yu, as an elder, very pleased.
…
The Tai Academy training ground.
Today, the Tai Academy students were not in their classrooms, but were all gathered around the training ground.
As for the reason…
Xiahou Mao had come to stir up trouble… no, Xiahou Mao had come for martial arts sparring.
Speaking of which, Xiahou Mao's comprehension was among the lowest of his peers. Two years ago… let alone formidable younger generations like Xiahou Ba, even Xiahou Heng and Cao Ang were enough to pin him down and "grind him" in spear techniques.
However…
Today seemed a little different.
"Chi chi chi…"
The long spear cut through the wind. Xiahou Mao wielded the Yang family spear with some skill. The long spear was like a venomous snake, stabbing, chopping, sweeping, lashing… its changes were endless.
Especially his spear technique, which was a departure from his usual full-power thrusts when using the Ma Shuo. Xiahou Mao focused on the flexible use of the tip of the spear!
The power of the entire Ma Shuo was concentrated almost entirely at that single point.
The spear tip was full of power, like the beak of a divine phoenix, sharp, precise, swift, fiercely cutting through the air, causing the air to emit a piercing wail.
For a moment, it even gave Lu Yu the feeling of watching descendants of the Yang family use a spear.
Lu Yu couldn't help but exclaim, "This foolish child, he's quite interesting!"
Xiahou Mao had already defeated Cao Ang and Xiahou Heng consecutively. Now… he was facing Xiahou Ba, who was widely recognized as the best spear wielder among the younger generation of Cao and Xiahou families!
The two fought to a virtual standstill…
This surprised Cao Ang, Xiahou Heng… and even many students who were familiar with Xiahou Ba.
Xiahou Ba was already a formidable fighter. Former Chancellor Cao had even said his martial arts had reached seventy percent of General Xiahou Yuan's… Now, Xiahou Mao could fight him to a draw!
Impressive, truly impressive!
Hiss…
Conversely, Lu Yu's eyes were fixed on the center of the training ground, watching their duel, nodding occasionally, and shaking his head occasionally.
He had figured it out. Clearly, Xiahou Mao's spear skills, changes, and even martial arts were superior to Xiahou Ba's, but… the situation was evenly matched. The biggest reason was the restriction of the Ma Shuo on him.
Simply put, the "Thirty-Six Routes Yang Family Spear" of the Song Dynasty was the pinnacle of spear techniques, while… what Xiahou Mao was using was merely a Ma Shuo. Although seemingly diametrically opposed, they were actually fundamentally different.
The Ma Shuo was too heavy and too inflexible. For this reason, it restricted Xiahou Mao's performance, allowing him to unleash only fifty percent of the Yang family spear's power.
Even so…
Lu Yu couldn't help but nod frequently. He could see that this foolish child had put his heart and effort into practicing the Yang family spear.
"Alright…"
The fight had gone on long enough, Lu Yu shouted.
Xiahou Mao and Xiahou Ba did not prolong the combat. They withdrew their spears and both faced Lu Yu, saluting him.
"Your performance today was good…"
Lu Yu did not forget to praise Xiahou Ba and the others, then waved his hand, telling them to retreat and continue with their cultural classes.
This impromptu physical education class was considered over.
Xiahou Mao quickly walked to Lu Yu.
"Esteemed teacher, in the previous spar… I encountered the same problem as before. Clearly…"
As he began to speak, Lu Yu directly signaled him to stop.
He understood… he understood it all!
He couldn't fully unleash the Yang family spear, and the reason… was the weapon. The backward weapons of this era couldn't allow the more exquisite Yang family spear to exert its greatest power.
Of course… this was easily solved.
Lu Yu mused that once Cao Mu finished forging a true long spear, he would send it to Xiahou Mao as soon as possible.
As for now…
"Cough cough…" Lu Yu coughed lightly. To get rid of this shadow,
Lu Yu decided to tell him his secret, unpassed-down technique. "Nephew, seeing how earnestly you practice the Yang family spear, I've decided to tell you all the unpassed-down secret techniques of the 'Thirty-Six Routes Yang Family Spear.' This is a secret technique of our school that is not passed down. Unless you are a disciple of the inner chamber, I wouldn't teach it!"
As soon as these words were spoken…
Xiahou Mao cupped his fists in a bow. "This nephew is willing to be Uncle's inner chamber disciple…"
Lu Yu was slightly taken aback. What he meant was that the Yang family spear was very powerful, and he wanted Xiahou Mao to appreciate it, not to take him as an inner chamber disciple!
However, since things had come to this.
Lu Yu had no choice but to continue stiffening his scalp. "Listen carefully…"
Upon saying this, to show off… no, to highlight the profoundness and mystery of this secret technique, Lu Yu deliberately stood with his hands behind his back.
His eyes narrowed slightly, and he recited loudly:
"To cultivate this technique, one must first… cough cough… I remembered wrong, it's not this line!"
Subconsciously, Lu Yu almost blurted out, "To cultivate this technique, one must first castrate oneself, take elixirs and medicines, and achieve both internal and external harmony…"
If he had truly said it, then… this foolish child Xiahou Mao would probably have to live a life of celibacy for the rest of his life.
"Cough cough…"
With a light cough, Lu Yu's tone became much more serious.
— "With no woman in your heart, your spear thrusts will naturally be divine!"
— "The first page of the spear manual: forget the one you love; the second page of the spear manual: sever your infatuated soul;"
— "The third page of the spear manual: every thrust extinguishes the god of love; the fourth page of the spear manual: a raised hand eradicates the mortal world;"
— "The fifth page of the spear manual: angrily slash your old lover; the sixth page of the spear manual: do not be an emotional person; the seventh page of the spear manual: seal the heart's door!"
One sentence after another, each more heavily emphasized than the last.
Upon saying this…
Lu Yu gazed towards the void. It seemed that being a teacher was like this, it would make one look very impressive.
And Xiahou Mao was lost in thought…
Does the esteemed teacher mean to cut off the seven emotions and six desires?
"Esteemed teacher…" Xiahou Mao still wanted to ask. "This…"
Before he could speak, Lu Yu waved his hand. "Go back and contemplate. When you have fully understood it, you will be the number one divine spear wielder of this era! Not to mention your father, even the Northern Spear King Zhang Xiu, the Western Shu Spear King Zhang Ren, the Great General Zhao Zilong, and their master, the Spear God Tong Yuan, will no longer be your opponents!"
Having said that, who wouldn't draw a big picture?
Speaking of this.
"Go back…" Lu Yu waved his hand. "You ponder, go back, and ponder well!"
Upon saying this…
Lu Yu quickly walked away.
He mentally figured that he had finally gotten rid of this shadow.
And Xiahou Mao remained there for a long time, his eyes fixed, his entire being seemingly entering a state of profound meditation.
"The second page of the spear manual: sever your infatuated soul… The fourth page of the spear manual: a raised hand eradicates the mortal world…"
Xiahou Mao murmured to himself…
He kept repeating Lu Yu's words.
Although he couldn't fully comprehend it for the moment, he had only one feeling: as expected of the most profound synopsis of the Yang family spear, it was too broad and profound.
Especially the last sentence: "The seventh page of the spear manual: seal the heart's door!"
To abandon all seven emotions and six desires?
Then… desirelessness, is this what the esteemed teacher wanted him to enter a state of oblivion? And then… to act according to one's will, yes, after having no seven emotions and six desires, the spear techniques would be executed according to one's will.
That's right, it's like this…
Xiahou Mao felt as if he had understood it, as if a new world had opened up for him.
The sixty-four routes and twelve hands spear technique, one family, two routes, thus forming the twelve routes and thirty-six hands Yang family spear technique.
These inherent moves were not meant to be deliberately executed, but rather…
According to one's will…
Wrong, wrong… The essence of the Yang family spear was not to rely on rigid moves, but on the state of mind!
Just like the esteemed teacher's last sentence, "Seal the heart's door"…
Forget all these moves, do not be confined by fixed moves, apply the principles of the Yang family spear to practice according to one's will, and reach a state of oblivion…
Only in this way can its greatest power be truly and thoroughly unleashed.
The synopsis mentioned by the esteemed teacher, is it not just referring to desires?
This is asking him to forget everything, including desires and moves, and to execute them according to his will. You yourself don't know how the next move will be executed, so how can the opponent know how to respond?
Profound… unfathomably profound!
The esteemed teacher's synopsis of the Yang family spear, the realm… has already surpassed all spear techniques in the current era.
So-called—The rise of the Spear God!
…
…