Chapter 147: Gun Intent

Wang Chong and Ouyang Cheng were enjoying a drink, sitting opposite each other in the pavilion.

"Did you say Master Zhang passed the assessment by debating alchemy?"

Wang Chong still couldn't quite believe it. Alchemy debate was almost exclusively the domain of renowned masters, a highly prestigious method of assessment. For a young man under twenty to pass successfully, even hearing it firsthand felt unbelievable.

"Indeed," Ouyang Cheng sighed. "Master Zhang's mastery of pills is even beyond mine. He's truly a young hero!"

"While he's impressive with pills, his understanding of spear arts is far too shallow," Wang Chong said, a proud expression on his face and strong confidence in his eyes. "Spear arts aren't child's play, nor can they be learned just by casual observation. If it were that easy, why would I have dedicated my entire life to them?"

"You're right, the spear is the most difficult of all weapons to master. Achieving anything significant with it is incredibly hard." Among the many weapons, the spear was notoriously challenging to practice. Many cultivators confidently began learning it, only to end up half-baked, failing to achieve mastery and becoming a poor imitation instead.

Ouyang Cheng sighed and then, remembering something, looked over. "You don't have any secret spear art manuals in your study that aren't meant to be shared with outsiders, do you?"

Zhang Xuan was his guest, and if his old friend, out of politeness, inadvertently revealed any secret techniques he didn't want shared, Ouyang Cheng would feel truly embarrassed.

"No, I don't," Wang Chong chuckled. "My self-created spear arts and family secret manuals are all memorized and passed down orally; nothing is written down. Even if someone wanted to learn them, they couldn't!" He continued, "What's in my study are just some basic and introductory spear techniques. They're very helpful for those just starting out and aren't anything significant. It's fine for Master Zhang to look at them; once he's read them, he'll understand the difficulty of spear arts and forget those naive ideas he had earlier!"

He thought, *Never having touched a spear, yet wanting to learn how to teach others? What a joke! If spear arts were that simple, how could I be so famous, even praised by Emperor Shen Zhui himself? The title of Spear Art Master isn't simply given out.*

"That's true..." Ouyang Cheng nodded.

Any weapon or martial technique required tireless practice and repeated refinement; none could be mastered easily. If they were simple to learn, experts would lose their value.

"Master Zhang is still young and doesn't know the depths of things," Wang Chong mused. "After he's finished reading the books, I'll demonstrate a set of spear techniques for him. That should make him realize the difficulty and stop his wild conjectures!" Although Wang Chong was somewhat displeased with Zhang Xuan's actions, he wouldn't underestimate him, knowing his astonishing talent in alchemy.

"Good, that should make him give up and focus on alchemy. I'm still hoping our Alchemist Guild will produce a two-star alchemist soon..." Ouyang Cheng smiled, about to continue speaking, when he saw Wang Chong suddenly stiffen and then begin trembling uncontrollably.

*Clang!* Wang Chong didn't even notice his wine glass shattering into powder on the floor.

"Wang Chong..." Ouyang Cheng was startled to see a spear art master, whose strength was renowned even in Tianxuan City, suddenly reduced to such a state. "I haven't heard of my old friend having any health issues! Why did he suddenly have a fit while we were talking?"

Just as Ouyang Cheng was considering what pill to use to help him, his old friend recovered, his eyes gleaming as if he had discovered a priceless treasure. "It's spear intent! Spear intent!"

"Spear intent? What's that?" Seeing he was fine, Ouyang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief and looked at him curiously. *What on earth could make my usually calm and rock-steady old friend act like this?*

"When one cultivates sword arts to a profound level, they can form sword intent. It's the same with spears; only a master capable of condensing spear intent is a true spear art master. For years, I've lived a reclusive life, aiming to temper my mind and reach this realm as soon as possible, but I've never found the breakthrough point... When did a master arrive at my mansion, or did someone break through before me? Let's go see!"

Wang Chong abruptly stood up and hurried in the direction from which he had sensed the spear intent. Condensing spear intent meant that wherever the spear reached, that was spear art itself. He had striven for this goal for so long but had never found the way. He never dreamed it would appear in his own courtyard. *Who could it be?*

The two wasted no time and rushed towards the place where the spear intent had just been released, only to see Zhang Xuan slowly emerging from the study.

"Where is he?" Wang Chong asked anxiously before they even reached him.

"Him? Who?" Zhang Xuan didn't understand what they meant. He had been reading and then practicing Heavenly Dao Spear Art, paying no attention to what was happening outside. *What? Are enemies here?*

"I sensed an astonishing spear intent nearby; how can there be no one?" Seeing Zhang Xuan's confusion, Wang Chong hurriedly searched around, but the area was empty, without a single soul in sight.

"Could it be that you've been thinking about it so much that you're mistaken?" Ouyang Cheng looked at him. *My old friend thinks about spear intent every day; has he been hallucinating because of it? Otherwise, why didn't I sense anything?*

"I am only one step away from grasping spear intent, and I obsess over it day and night! There was absolutely a spear intent that shot straight into the sky just now; it couldn't have been a mistake!" Wang Chong declared firmly. He had dedicated himself to studying spear arts daily, becoming almost obsessed. If he were to mistake spear intent, it would be truly embarrassing.

"Wait, wait, what is this 'spear intent' you're talking about?" Seeing their heated discussion, Zhang Xuan could no longer hold back. The books he had read were only the most basic introductions, and spear intent involved a higher level that wasn't recorded, so he was unaware of it.

"Spear intent is a special artistic conception that can only be perceived when one's comprehension of spear arts reaches its limit..." Wang Chong explained, then shook his head. "You've never learned spear arts, so you wouldn't understand even if I explained it. Any further explanation would be pointless..."

Although the other party didn't elaborate, Zhang Xuan finally understood. "You're searching here? Did someone release spear intent here just now?"

"I'm not certain," Wang Chong nodded. "I vaguely sensed it just now, right around here..." The spear intent had appeared for only a very brief moment, fleeting in an instant. Even he had only a vague sensation and couldn't pinpoint the exact location; otherwise, he would have gone straight there instead of agonizing over it here.

"Wait, you were right here! You should be able to pinpoint the exact location!" Remembering something, Wang Chong looked at Zhang Xuan with shining eyes. He was too far away to sense the precise spot, but Master Zhang was different; he was right there and surely could find it. Once the location was confirmed, it would be clear whether it was a family member or an outsider.

As a family renowned for spear arts, everyone in their household practiced the spear, even the guards. If someone accidentally grasped spear intent and kept quiet about it, Wang Chong truly wouldn't know. Finding the exact location would make it simple to identify them.

"But... I don't know what spear intent is," Zhang Xuan hesitated.

"That's simple," Wang Chong said. "Although I haven't grasped spear intent yet, I can imitate about seventy or eighty percent of it. It's this kind of aura!" Wang Chong moved his body, and a sharp, piercing aura surged forth, as if capable of impaling anything.

"This is spear intent?" Zhang Xuan asked, looking peculiar.

"Exactly, it's this aura. Do you know where it came from?" Wang Chong asked, panting heavily and sweating profusely as he dispelled the aura. Even just imitating it for a moment had caused him considerable exhaustion.

"Well..." Zhang Xuan looked a little embarrassed. "This... is what you're talking about, isn't it?"

As he finished speaking, his entire being seemed to transform into a long spear, exuding an overwhelming aura that felt as if it could pierce the very sky at any moment.

Compared to Wang Chong's earlier display, Zhang Xuan's spear intent was like the difference between a common weed and a towering tree. They were simply incommensurable.