Chapter 113 Sword and Spear
Hearing Ferdinand's question, Fang Xingjian shook his head.
Of course, he could not directly used sword Qi to give guidance right from the start. After all, sword Qis were air; more specifically, the attacks he had created by lashing the air.
It could be use to transmit force, but it was impossible for him to sense the movement of one's internal muscles through this method.
The Reflection Chamber he was in now was made from rocks, with only a few small windows showing the lawn outside. Although he could use the windows to observe how others practiced their martial arts and then send out sword Qis to guide them, it was impossible for him to go through close combat unless he did not had any qualms and tore down the chamber.
Therefore, Fang Xingjian said, "I'll go out for a while and spar with you directly. If not, I won't be able to grasp your energy flow."
"Come out?" Ferdinand was stunned. He looked towards the guard who was standing at the side. It was a white-haired old man about fifty to sixty years old. As a defender of the academy's regulations, , not many would dare to force their way through the cell when he was around, even when he was not even at the level of a Knight.
Fang Xingjian looked at the old guard and said, "I'll spar with him for a while just right outside."
That guard hesitated for a while, but after considering Fang Xingjian's background and talent, he knew that the other party would be able to chase him out of the academy with just a few words. He did not dare to offend such a character. Thus, he immediately smiled and said, "You're too modest. If you really wish to go out, even if there were a hundred of me, I still wouldn't be able to stop you."
He smiled and opened the big metal door to the stone chamber. Fang Xingjian walked out slowly. As he walked out, the bones throughout his body let out explosive and crisp crackling sounds. It was as if chunks of firecrackers had exploded in his body.
He was actually just channeling his internal energy and circulating his vital energy and blood before the battle.
Even so, Fang Xingjian created strong gusts of wind around him, displaying a strong brutal force which caused Ferdinand's eye to twitch.
Usually, only those Knights who had cultivated for three years or more would be able to display such authoritative powers. Since when had Ferdinand seen it on someone from the same year as him?
On the other end, Lilia and the others seeing that Fang Xingjian had walked out, immediately stopping what they were doing as they looked towards Fang Xingjian with gazes full of expectation.
Lilia was especially excited, her eyes squinting as if she was a kitty enjoying itself. The muscles on her slender long legs were also tensed up as she shouted, "Teacher is going show his skills again? I feel that teacher is appearing increasingly dignified."
"Lilia, lend me your sword for a while."
Hearing that, Lilia immediately tossed her sword over. Fang Xingjian received it and waved it for a while, causing a series of loud sounds to ring out as the blade sliced across the air, .
He turned towards Ferdinand and said, "Come at me. Don't use extraordinary strength, just use the strength from your physical body. No need to hold back either, come at me at full force."
Ferdinand was also stunned for a while. However, he was not one who dragged his feet either. Considering Fang Xingjian's abilities, he knew that it was impossible for him to deal heavy injuries to Fang Xingjian.
Therefore at the next moment, he said with his longspear already in hand, "Alright, here I come then."
In that instant, his white clothes moved, and with a dash, the longspear in Ferdinand's hands had already brought along an extremely strong spiralling force, as if it was a big drill thrusting towards Fang Xingjian's chest.
The immense force was channeled from Ferdinand's body to his longspear, and during that dash, a hint of ripples from the twisted air had even appeared on his longspear, as if it was a dragon who had transcended the void and was swallowing Fang Xingjian.
This spear attack was fast, furious, and violent. It could penetrate an elephant from its head all the way to its tail. The strength from all over his body was perfectly condensed into this attack, and it was the the most truthful display of Ferdinand's physical strength, as well as spear technique.
But facing this spear attack that was like a dragon trying to swallow him, Fang Xingjian's face did not even twitch.
Under his vision, he could see too many flaws in this extremely condensed attack with his Unparalleled Sword Intent, .
With a flash of sword light, Fang Xingjian thrust his spear and lightly tapped on the pole of Ferdinand's spear. The latter's strength was scattered as a feeling of being unable to advance or retreat enveloped him.
His face turned grim and he immediately changed his move. Flicking up the tip of his spear, he snapped it towards Fang Xingjian from bottom to top.
Not only did this flick tap into Ferdinand's own strength, but also 70% of the speed and strength from the earlier thrust, reflecting the principles of a lever.
If this flick was used on a modern day battlefield, it would be able to send a tank flying.
Facing this attack, Fang Xingjian still thrust his sword from the side. With the flash of sword light, Ferdinand could only feel that the longspear was moving crazily, as if it was an anaconda which was struggling fanatically and trying to escape from his hands. He then felt the weight in his palms dissipate as the weapon had already been sent flying.
'What? How could this be?' Ferdinand looked at the longspear on the ground in disbelief. 'I've started practicing spear arts from the age of six and the first thing I did was to firmly hold onto my longspear. Now, my grip on my spear is very strong, and unless I'm willing to, even ten wild bulls would not be able to take it away from me. How on earth did he do that? I didn't feel any immense strength surging over.'
Looking at the dazed Ferdinand, Fang Xingjian said with composure, "Regardless of whether it’s a fist technique, sword technique, or spear technique, their principles lie in how to use the muscles, bones, vital energy, blood, and internal organs. There would naturally have many connecting similarities.
"Your spear technique from earlier was like that of a dragon, and you had displayed more than half of your powers, but there would still be flaws.
"From what I see, your attack was to first thrust, then flick. You focused on penetrating force, which requires you to twist your strength from all over your body into the form of a dragon before unleashing it as an attack.
"In this attack, you've used the strength from your legs, your waist, your shoulders, your arms, your internal organs, as well as the strength from the circulation of your vital energy and blood.
"Putting efficiency aside, while your muscles and bones are sufficiently condensed, the strength from your vital energy and blood still has some small flaws. But this is not a problem with the technique itself. It's just that your chest is slightly broader than normal people, and your heart is slightly more towards the left."
Hearing this, Ferdinand was once again astonished. He also knew of the flaws in his spear arts, which was that he was slightly weaker in his control of his internal organs, vital energy, and blood. This was also what the elders from his clan and the instructors in the academy had mentioned to him before.
But he would never have expected that from just one spar, Fang Xingjian would be able to tell this much. He was even able to point out that Ferdinand's heart was located slightly to the left. What kind of judgement did he possess?
However, being able to discern was one thing. To truly change it, he could only rely on gradual training by slowly channeling his force throughout his body—both internally and externally—and truly grasping the respective internal and external forces.
This was a long-term project, and many Conferred Knights whose strength attributes had exceeded 100 points were still not truly able to fully grasp each hint of strength throughout their bodies, both internally and externally.
However, looking at his expression, Fang Xingjian did not say anything. In the blink of an eye, sword light flashed out, and he had already slapped his sword at Ferdinand's waist.
At first, Ferdinand was stunned and was about to dodge and retaliate. But after the force entered his body, he was stunned once again.
Fang Xingjian's voice rang out next to his year, "Carefully appreciate this force."
This force directly flowed through Ferdinand's internal organs, blood vessels, all the way to his arms, and even led along the circulation of the strength from his muscles, thrusting out from his arms and releasing an explosive bang.
"This... this is the circulation of the strength from the attack earlier." Astonishment flashed past Ferdinand's eyes.