Chương 9: Fivefold Spear Art

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the young woman on the left side of the sparring ring exploded into action, her spear piercing the air after just a couple of quick steps and a final lunge. Before Jianyi could fully process every part of the motion, the attack had been blocked, the woman was back in a resting position, and her opponent slowly moved to the side of the circle, trying to close in. Jianyi closed his mouth after realizing that this first exchange had left him staring.

For some reason, he had expected declarations of superiority, grand gestures, and wide motions. That wasn't the case, though. Instead, he saw efficiency and controlled motions without any waste. The next clash happened, this time initiated by the male disciple—and again he failed to see the details of the forms they used. Maybe there were a few things similar to what Jianyi had practiced so diligently at home, but the truth was, these disciples were so fast, so smooth in their execution, he could hardly follow.

At school, where he had won handily against almost all opponents, he usually was able to predict what his opponents would do; here, he could barely see what they were doing. How was he supposed to learn from them if he couldn't see them? How was he ever supposed to compete? Minghao, beside him, followed the fight with a small smile on his face.

"Like what you are seeing?" Before he could respond, the male disciple made to attack in a horizontal sweep, which the other disciple seemed confident to block, but then changed it into a number of quick stabs. The woman with her hair in a complicated braid was taken by surprise and had to accept one hit to the hip before jumping back. The judge raised a hand, indicating the hit, and the contestants returned to their starting positions.

"This is… different from what I know. So very different…" probably sounding a bit despondent. He tried to recover.

"But very enlightening. Thank you!" Minghao chuckled.

"These are inner disciples for a reason, also, likely a few years ahead of you. But still, try to observe what they do and why they do it." Jianyi nodded, but was somehow even more frustrated, because he couldn't see! It wasn't just that they were fast; the problem was that every form flowed into each other. With him and the other kids in school, there was a clear break from form to form. Slash, block, pierce.

In the time that Jianyi would take to execute a single form, these two had executed, abandoned, and feinted half a dozen. The next two points went to the young woman, once with a slash that she hid in another attack, and once with sheer speed, releasing a flurry of attacks that the boy on the other side just couldn't withstand. Jianyi startled himself with an observation.

"They are not using any techniques! Do they not have any cards?"

"These are inner disciples; they certainly have cards," Minghao replied with a chuckle.

"They must have agreed prior to the duel that it would be spears only." It took another few minutes, but finally the woman landed a third hit, winning the duel. The contestants bowed to each other after the judge had declared a winner and returned to their friends who had clustered on the lower ranks of the arena. Jianyi remembered how just half an hour ago, he had thought that his spear practice would safely carry him through parts of the upcoming test. How baseless.

He had thought that his daily training would mean something. How delusional. He had thought that winning a few spars against other students would make him a worthy disciple. How arrogant. He clenched his fist, tempted to smash it against the arena benches, but controlling himself. Minghao looked at him, gave him a small nod, and waved for him to follow.

"Let's go train."

Jianyi was lost in thought on their way back. What he had seen left him feeling hollow. So much had changed in less than 24 hours, and now one of the few things he was genuinely proud of turned out to be much less impressive than he had thought. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. It was a mistake he hoped not to make again, thinking himself capable without a proper frame of reference.

He was truly grateful to Minghao for showing him what was possible, where the bar sat. As they returned to the courtyard, he aimed toward the weapon rack to retrieve his spear and get ready for practice, but Minghao held him back with a raised finger.

"We have two options moving forward, either is fine with me; it is your path. One, you show me what you can do, and we take it from there with the help of sparring. It is a perfectly fine option, it will likely improve your abilities significantly, and it will show fast gains." That sounded ideal to Jianyi. After what he had just seen, improving quickly seemed more than just pleasant, it seemed necessary! Minghao continued.

"Option two is a different path. It is the option of a clean slate. Instead of starting from where you stand, we go back, all the way back to the basics, and build slowly from there. Improvements will come, but they will be hard to see for quite some time.

"It is your choice," the man said with his typical smile. Jianyi had to stop himself from impulsively going with option one. Impulsiveness was not his way, not the right way. This was an important decision, and he felt like it was about more than his martial progress. Minghao had laid out the advantages of option one clearly but had been much vaguer on option two. It pained him greatly, but the benefits seemed clear.

Having the option to learn everything there was to learn from somebody who was a true expert was an opportunity he should not forgo. The perfection that the two duelists had shown him earlier was not achieved by slapping various styles together randomly. They were the results of consistent, hard work. Surprisingly, that perked him up. Hard work he could do. On the way to the duel, he had promised himself to do whatever it would take to overcome the gap between himself and the children of rich families…

Could a few weeks of training overcome a lifetime of advantage? No, but not even trying would be a massive mistake. He nodded to himself, then to Minghao.

"I would like to go with option two."

"Very well, we will start at the very beginning. No house can survive a storm when the foundations are shaky." Minghao paused and winked at him.

"I hope you can appreciate the wisdom of my words!" Jianyi smiled and bowed.

"I very much do!" The older man laughed.

"Very good. But while the saying might be overused, it is nonetheless true. Let us begin." They stepped into the training circle.

"At its heart, the Fivefold Spear Art consists of eight foundational movements, five basic forms, and one kata, the Circling Sky, that brings it all together.

"Once one masters those, one can move on to empowered forms, strengthened by one's own qi. Most have just one affinity and can therefore only empower one form. With a bit of luck and a lot of training, you will be able to empower two as a dual affinity cultivator. The kata with one or more empowered forms is then called the Circling Sky Ablaze." Jianyi eagerly digested every word.

"True masters then selectively replace forms with advanced techniques that remain compatible with the other forms, because that is at the heart of the Fivefold Spear Art: compatibility. There might be more powerful arts for specific affinities or weapons, but few rival us when it comes to cohesiveness and strength of a circle, our word for a fighting group of five.

"But none of that matters to you for now—and the next few months.

"The eight foundational movements reduce fighting, any physical exercise really, to their very essence. Let us begin with Open and Close." Minghao took a basic stance, feet parallel, shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, hands centered before his navel. He then brought his arms to the side, chest high. His shoulders expanded, his chest broadened, and despite him moving slowly, the movement exuded energy.

"This is Open. It initiates many forms. Like any movement, it needs to be executed with intent. Try it." Jianyi stepped forward, entered the starting position, and executed the movement. It felt slightly off; he couldn't say why.

"Remember to bring the shoulders back all the way. Again." Jianyi tried for a more even flow and brought the arms all the way back, almost behind his chest.

"Better, back straight, and remember to keep your weight on both legs evenly. Again." It felt like dozens of times that Minghao had him repeat the motion. Even without a spear, the simple movements drenched him in sweat.

"Very well. Now Close. Pay attention." The retainer entered the circle again and executed the opposite of Open. The arms were brought back together in a perfect symmetrical fashion that kept his spine straight all the way.

"You contain and compress your energy. Go." Fifteen grueling minutes later, Minghao switched it up.

"Open, then Close. Stay focused. Begin." Muscles that he hadn't known he had started to vibrate as he flowed through the combined movements. It was embarrassing to admit that these basic exercises were painful, but he could feel how his body moved much more easily than it had at the beginning. Minute details made the difference. Option one, working directly with his spear, still had some attractiveness, but even the brief session showed him how much he yet had to learn about the very basics.

Things that nobody had ever called him out on because so much of his training had he done alone. This was the right path. He was confident. After a few more minutes, Minghao called an end to the session.

"Why don't you freshen up a bit and then join me in the kitchen for breakfast." Jianyi bobbed his head gratefully and walked on sore legs to his room. As he entered the kitchen a few minutes later, Minghao was busy preparing food.

"Come, sit. I'll be done with this in a minute. Do you know how to cook?" Minghao asked him as he prepared their breakfast. Jianyi waved his hand in the air.

"I can make some things, but I don't think I would be considered good." Minghao laughed.

"Well, it's a start. I've been working here now for decades, and at the beginning, I managed to burn the water. But now I would say I'm decent. We'll teach you. It's a skill that will also serve you well when you're on the road or on the front lines. After days and weeks of just eating dry rations, a well-cooked meal is worth as much as the most elaborate elixir from a master alchemist."

"Mmm… Minghao, have you been to the front lines?" Jianyi asked, a bit uncertain whether it was an appropriate question. The retainer nodded, seemingly at ease with the question.

"I have. I fought for some time, but my talent for cultivation is quite limited. So after a while, the sect and I came to the conclusion that I might be of more use here than on the front lines. It is, however, an experience that never leaves you." They finished their breakfast quickly thereafter, and Minghao led Jianyi to his first lesson with Elder Sun on cultivation. He could hardly wait.