High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices-Chapter 111: Passing the 4th Trial

The seventh minute.

The Earth-Split Bear’s condition had clearly deteriorated. Its attack speed had slowed by more than half, and its breathing grew heavy.

Xu Wuyi had already stabbed its hind leg joints several times. The wounds bled continuously, its gait was staggered, and every step looked exceptionally difficult.

Xu Wuyi’s own condition remained excellent. He had used less than thirty percent of his Qi and Blood, and his Spiritual Power was highly focused as he waited for the perfect moment to strike.

’It’s about time.’

Xu Wuyi thought to himself as his footwork suddenly quickened, his body shooting toward the Earth-Split Bear like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.

Seeing this, the Earth-Split Bear roared and swiped with its giant paw, but its movements were far slower than before.

Xu Wuyi easily dodged the giant paw and circled behind the Earth-Split Bear. The Qi and Blood in his body instantly converged on his long spear, and a scorching wave of heat emanated from its tip.

Without the slightest hesitation, he thrust his long spear forward, aiming straight for the Earth-Split Bear’s already battered hind leg joint.

SQUELCH!

This strike condensed all his strength and skill. The spear tip easily pierced through scales and muscle, precisely hitting the leg bone.

A distinct cracking sound of bone breaking rang out. The Earth-Split Bear’s hind leg completely lost its ability to support its weight. It fell to one knee with a THUD, its massive body tilting heavily, nearly toppling over.

’Success!’

Xu Wuyi rejoiced internally. As he withdrew the spear, he rapidly retreated, dodging the Earth-Split Bear’s reflexive counterattack.

Having lost a leg, the Earth-Split Bear’s mobility was completely destroyed. Like a great beast trapped in place, it could only roar in vain, no longer able to launch an effective charge.

But Xu Wuyi did not let his guard down.

He knew that a dying beast was often the most dangerous. The Earth-Split Bear’s strength was still immense, and he had to handle it with care.

He continued to circle the Earth-Split Bear, exploiting its slow turning speed to launch attacks from all angles.

The Earth-Split Bear frantically swung its giant paws and shot out Energy Balls, but it could never touch Xu Wuyi’s figure.

Its aura grew weaker and weaker, its roars became feeble, and the number of wounds on its body multiplied.

As the ninth minute began, the Earth-Split Bear’s Qi and Blood Strength was less than thirty percent of its initial level. Even standing had become exceptionally difficult. Its massive body swayed constantly, and the ferocity in its eyes was gradually replaced by exhaustion.

Xu Wuyi knew the time for the final blow had come.

He took a deep breath, and the [Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace] technique in his body operated at full power. [Melting Furnace Boiling Blood] activated. His Qi and Blood felt like boiling magma, and a scorching heat radiated from his body.

ROAR!

The Earth-Split Bear seemed to sense the mortal threat. It used the last of its strength to open its mouth and spit out a black Energy Ball, but its speed was pitifully slow.

Xu Wuyi sidestepped the Energy Ball, his body suddenly accelerating. He rushed in front of the Earth-Split Bear, his long spear aimed straight at its head.

Furnace Flame! Triple Power burst!

SQUELCH!

The long spear unstoppably plunged into the Earth-Split Bear’s skull, piercing its hard cranium and burying itself deep in the brain.

The Earth-Split Bear’s roar died abruptly. Its massive body froze in place, the ferocity in its eyes slowly faded, and then it collapsed with a BOOM, sending dust flying everywhere.

A few seconds later, the Earth-Split Bear’s body transformed into a flash of white light and dissipated into the air.

"Fourth trial cleared. Time elapsed: 9 minutes and 15 seconds. Proceed to the fifth trial?"

The system notification sounded. Its voice was as cold as ever, but to Xu Wuyi’s ears, it was like the music of the heavens.

He stood his ground, letting out a long, cloudy breath as the churning Qi and Blood within him slowly calmed. A tired yet gratified smile appeared on his face.

Three consecutive attempts, two failures, and finally, success on the third try.

This was not just a testament to his strength, but a victory of patience and willpower.

He didn’t immediately choose to enter the fifth trial. This last fight had been difficult, and following the challenge’s difficulty curve, his chances of passing the next one were slim.

He chose to exit the Star Beast Hunting Ground, his consciousness returning to the Virtual Pod.

Back in reality, Xu Wuyi pulled up the "New Student Challenge" leaderboard.

Since he was currently the only new student who had attempted the challenge, the leaderboard displayed his name alone:

[New Student Challenge Leaderboard]

First Place: Xu Wuyi (Trials Cleared: 4)

Seeing his name hanging high at the top of the list, Xu Wuyi didn’t feel much pride. Instead, a sense of urgency washed over him.

’I’ve only got this spot because I enrolled early. Once the other new students start arriving, especially the geniuses from the major provinces, this ranking is bound to change drastically.’

’I have to increase my strength as quickly as possible. The Eight-direction Soul Suppressing Spear is the key.’

However, the point rewards for clearing the first four trials were waiting to be claimed. They were 10, 20, 30, and 40 points respectively, for a total of 100 points—a veritable fortune.

Too bad they were a one-time reward.

A hint of joy sparked in Xu Wuyi’s heart. After collecting his rewards, he stretched his slightly stiff body and headed straight for the Enhanced Training Room nearby.

...

Xu Wuyi stood in the center of the Enhanced Training Room and pulled up the data for the Eight-direction Soul Suppressing Spear cultivation technique.

A vast stream of information was projected directly in front of him. It wasn’t just a simple text description, but also a series of demonstrations for the spear techniques, along with the pathways for circulating Qi and Blood within the body.

A moment later, a flash of understanding glinted in his eyes.

’Eight-direction Soul Suppressing... The core of it lies in a single word: "Suppressing." ’

This B-Level Spear Technique followed the same principles as the Wind-Settling Spear he had previously cultivated, but its level and concept were a cut above.

It didn’t pursue ultimate speed or unpredictable angles, but rather emphasized overwhelming the opponent with presence and suppressing their spirit with intention.

Before the spear technique even arrived, the True Intention of Martial Arts it contained would be like an invisible mountain, pressing down on the opponent’s spirit, disrupting the circulation of their Qi and Blood, and even making them lose their nerve before the fight, unable to exert even seventy percent of their full strength.

"No wonder the prerequisite is to have mastered a True Intention of Martial Arts," Xu Wuyi murmured to himself. "Without one’s own True Intention as a foundation, it would be impossible to drive this kind of spiritual pressure. You’d only be mimicking the form."

The True Intention of Martial Arts was a sharpening of the spirit. While it didn’t directly increase one’s Spiritual Strength, it could condense the spirit into a heavy hammer, giving it potent offensive capabilities.

In its Beginner Stage, the Eight-direction Soul Suppressing Spear had only one form—[Gathering Spirit].

This form wasn’t a fixed spear technique, but rather a general outline for a Heart Method and its associated skills.

The core of it was to perfectly integrate one’s own True Intention of Martial Arts into every fundamental movement of the spear technique—thrusting, sweeping, raising, smashing, collapsing...

This would imbue even ordinary spear forms with a hint of a "Soul Suppressing" quality.

Of course, to match these different spear techniques, one needed different methods of circulating Qi and Blood, which was also a key learning point.

’Integrate the "Mountain" True Intention into the spear technique...’

After a moment of thought, though he held no physical spear, Xu Wuyi used his finger as a substitute and slowly thrust forward.

His movements were standard, his power flowed smoothly, and his Qi and Blood surged accordingly.

However, the [Martial Arts Diligence Record] in his sea of consciousness showed no reaction, and the words "Eight-direction Soul Suppressing Spear" did not appear on the panel.

This meant that his attempt just now had not been judged as a valid training session.