pertwk Chapter 4, Section 7: Overlapping Force
Chapter 4, Section 7: Overlapping Force
Back in the makeshift wooden hut, Yang Wudi placed Yang Hui on the bed and turned to prepare the medicinal bath.
This is a family recipe passed down through generations of the Soul-Breaking Spear family. After his improvements, it became even more effective. It is made from more than a dozen rare herbs and is specifically designed to relieve muscle damage after spear training.
The medicinal soup was jet black and hot, emitting a pungent aroma.
Yang Hui was soaking in the medicinal bath tub, with only his head sticking out, grimacing as he endured the stinging pain of the medicine seeping into his muscles.
Yang Wudi sat to the side, slowly studying the medicine book.
"grandfather."
"Um?"
"How long did it take you to practice your movement and build-up stance back then?"
Yang Wudi paused, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "Eleven days."
Yang Hui's lips twitched.
What took his grandfather eleven days to accomplish, he grasped on the very first day.
It's not that he's more talented than his grandfather, but that he has a special ability—with each failure, his proficiency increases, and his body remembers the correct way to exert force.
This learning efficiency is unmatched by normal cultivation.
"Don't be so smug," Yang Wudi said calmly. "There's a world of difference between touching the threshold and truly mastering it. You've only completed the movements today; you're still far from achieving 'continuous spear momentum.'"
"I know," Yang Hui nodded earnestly. "I'll do even better tomorrow."
Looking at his grandson's determined eyes, Yang Wudi said nothing more.
The rising steam from the medicinal bath blurred Yang Hui's youthful face.
He closed his eyes, and the image of his grandfather drawing his gun in the waterfall flashed through his mind again.
Forty-nine shots, each different, yet connected.
That's the true way of the gun.
One day, he too will reach that level.
No, it's about transcending that realm.
Yang Wudi put down the medicine book in his hand, looked at his grandson's young face, which was already showing signs of angularity, and his heart stirred.
The path to becoming a Title Douluo for the Soul-Breaking Spear clan is difficult, and may even be a dead end.
But if it doesn't reach the ultimate level, how can it be called the Soul-Breaking Spear?
"This child..."
He murmured to himself, the sternness in his eyes fading, revealing a touch of the gentleness unique to the elderly.
Innate full soul power. Mastery of spear techniques. Martial soul mutation.
Any one of these items alone would be enough to drive a family crazy.
His grandson, on the other hand, possessed all three qualities.
Yang Wudi stood up, walked to the window, and his mind was filled with turbulent thoughts.
"Tian'er..." he said, gazing at the night sky, his voice hoarse.
The incident of the Clear Sky Sect sealing off the mountain back then dealt a near-devastating blow to their entire family. His son, Yang Yuntian, was even killed in the pursuit of the Spirit Hall, and his younger brother, Yang Wushuang, disappeared without a trace, with no one knowing whether he was dead or alive.
After that battle, they fled to the Star Luo Empire, where they finally found a place to rest for the night.
Now that he has such a good grandson, revenge is within reach, how fortunate he is!
"You all watch closely. I've kept a detailed record of everything from back then, down to the last penny."
I could hear Yang Hui's even breathing behind me.
Yang Wudi withdrew his gaze, took out a yellowed parchment scroll from his bosom, and slowly unfurled it under the candlelight.
That was the complete "Ultimate Spear Technique" passed down through generations of the Soul-Breaking Spear family.
It is not the simplified version that Yang Hui learned before, but a truly complete inheritance—it records the life experience of the Yang family's spear masters throughout the ages, as well as the soul power circulation path corresponding to each spear technique.
The simplified version only has moves, but the full version has "soul runes".
The so-called soul runes are the circulation of soul power along specific routes in the meridians, combined with spear techniques, to unleash attack power far exceeding the ordinary.
This is the true core inheritance of the Soul-Breaking Spear clan, which can only be passed on to direct descendants and can only be learned by those with exceptional talent.
Yang Wudi's finger moved slowly across the parchment, finally stopping on one of the pages.
On that page was a picture of a long spear piercing through seven layers of heavy armor, with dense markings next to it indicating the meridian nodes through which soul power circulated.
"Seven Layers of Strength..."
Master this technique and you will be truly invincible among your peers!
It's too early now.
Hui'er's foundation is not solid enough.
He's only just begun to grasp the basics of movement and preparation; teaching him soul patterns now would only distract him.
It's not too late to teach him when he can charge from the top of the cliff to the bottom of the pool with a continuous stream of spear thrusts.
Yang Wudi blew out the candle and spent the night cultivating on the low couch next to Yang Hui's bed.
……
The next day, the sky was just beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.
Yang Hui was awakened by a pungent medicinal smell.
He rubbed his eyes and sat up, only to find that he had been pulled out of the medicinal bath, changed into clean clothes, and was now lying on the bed.
After a night of soaking in a medicinal bath, most of the bruises and abrasions on my body had healed. Only a few deeper wounds remained, still showing a faint bluish tinge.
"Get up when you wake up."
Yang Wudi's voice came from outside the house.
Yang Hui jumped out of bed and pushed open the door.
The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the waterfall in Luoyingjian appeared hazy and magnificent in the thin fog.
Yang Wudi was already standing by the pool, holding two wild rabbits he had just hunted, and skillfully skinning and cleaning them with a small knife.
"After breakfast, continue practicing."
Yang Hui responded and, after washing up by the pool, helped his grandfather gather firewood and start a fire.
Before long, the two rabbits were roasted until golden brown and sizzling with oil, the aroma of meat mingling with the morning mist filling the valley.
The grandfather and grandson ate breakfast by the clear spring water, and neither of them said much.
After finishing the last bite of rabbit meat, Yang Hui stood up and walked straight towards the top of the cliff without his grandfather having to say anything.
Yang Wudi watched his grandson's retreating figure, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips.
……
This time, Yang Hui didn't rush down.
He stood at the source of the waterfall atop the cliff, letting the rushing water wash over his ankles, his gaze sweeping down inch by inch along the direction of the water flow.
He fell more than ten times yesterday, and he remembered the exact spot of each fall perfectly.
The protruding rock at the third step will cause the spear tip to deflect. At the seventh step, the water flow will suddenly accelerate in the depression, making it easy to lose balance. The moss-covered sloping wall at the fifteenth step is the easiest place to slip…
He repeatedly went through the route in his mind, breaking it down into individual nodes, each corresponding to a single spear technique that his grandfather had demonstrated the day before.
It's not a simple imitation.
Instead, it's about understanding why each shot was aimed at that location, at that angle, and with that force.
What is Hui'er doing?
Yang Wudi stood by the pool, gazing at his grandson who remained motionless on the cliff top, his brows furrowed slightly.
Yesterday, this child rushed down the river without saying a word.
Are you afraid of pain today?
He did not urge him verbally.
A moment later, Yang Hui moved.
The Soul-Shattering Spear materialized in his hand, its tip drooping slightly, marking the starting stance.
Instead of rushing down the edge of the waterfall, he jumped straight into the center of it!
Yang Wudi's pupils suddenly contracted.
The water flow in the center of the waterfall is more than three times more powerful than at the edges!
The impact of a waterfall cascading down a hundred-foot cliff is enough to knock out a hundred-year-old soul beast on the spot.
Is my grandson looking for death?!
His soul power surged beneath his feet, ready to rescue people at any moment.
But the next second, he stopped.
Contrary to expectations, Yang Hui's figure was not swept away by the water in the waterfall.
His Soul-Shattering Spear pierced out the instant it entered the water.
The tip of the gun pierced through the falling water curtain, creating a brief "cavity" in front of him. This was a vacuum area created when the gun reached its maximum speed, causing the water to flow to both sides.
This shot uses the imagery of "breaking".
It's not about activating a soul skill, but rather integrating the way a soul skill is used into basic spear techniques.
The cavity lasted for less than half a breath, but that was enough for Yang Hui.
Using the space created by the first thrust, he dropped three zhang (approximately 10 meters) and then thrust out with the second spear.
This time, the concept of "accumulating momentum" was used. The residual force of the previous shot had not yet dissipated. Following the rebound of the gun body, the butt of the gun was pulled back and the tip of the gun was pushed forward. The power converged in the middle of the gun body, bursting out with a stronger penetrating force than the first shot.
The third shot.
The fourth shot.
The fifth shot.
His figure plummeted rapidly through the waterfall, the Soul-Shattering Spear in his hand transforming into a continuous silver arc of light.
Each shot precisely struck the most turbulent part of the water flow, tearing open gap after gap in the waterfall.
Yesterday, he was trying to avoid the water.
Today, he is breaking through the water flow.
Yang Wudi stood by the pool, watching the small figure tumbling in the waterfall, his hands trembling slightly.
It's not because I'm worried.
It's because of excitement.
"Offense is the best defense...the spear can break through all defenses..."
He muttered to himself, his eyes even turning a little red.
This child, in one night, grasped the truth that had taken him three years to understand.
The true essence of the Soul-Shattering Spear has never been dodging or blocking, but rather offense.
Replace defense with offense, and neutralize attacks with penetration. The stronger the enemy, the stronger I become; the faster the enemy, the faster I become.
This is the true meaning of "the ultimate gun".
……
boom!
Yang Hui burst forth from the bottom of the waterfall, his entire body like a drawn sword, landing on the pool surface amidst a shower of water droplets.
He took three quick steps on the water to steady himself, then sheathed his gun on his back and stood still.
From the top of the cliff to the surface of the pool, a distance of a hundred feet, he fired twenty-three shots.
There were eleven more shots fired than yesterday.
However, the continuity is incomparable to yesterday. Yesterday, we barely managed to keep the momentum going, but today we truly achieved a seamless flow of shots and a coherent flow of momentum.
[Accumulation Proficiency +23]
[Spear Breaking All Techniques Proficiency +35]
The fluctuating numbers on the panel were not the biggest gain.
The true gain is that kind of enlightenment.
In that instant, he truly understood the forty-nine shots his grandfather had demonstrated in the waterfall.
That wasn't forty-nine separate moves, but one move.
A single move consisting of forty-nine consecutive variations of spear techniques.
"good!"
Yang Wudi's cheers came from the edge of the pool, full of energy, and echoed throughout the valley.
Yang Hui waded ashore, soaked to the bone, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath. But his eyes shone with an astonishing light.
"Grandpa, I understand." He said breathlessly, "The key to building momentum while moving is not to build up power while running, but to use the residual power of the previous shot as the power for the next shot. As long as the momentum continues, the power building will not stop."
Yang Wudi looked at his grandson and remained silent for a long time.
Then he did something that Yang Hui had never seen before.
This Soul Douluo-level powerhouse, the current patriarch of the Soul Breaking Spear clan, a figure who ranks among the top three in the entire Douluo Continent's spear path, solemnly clasped his hands in a salute to his six-year-old grandson.
"Yang Hui".
He didn't call her "Hui'er," but addressed her by her given name.
"From this day forward, you are truly worthy of being the successor of my Soul-Breaking Spear lineage."
Yang Hui was stunned.
Yang Wudi straightened up, his gaze piercing: "This salute is not to honor your talent, but to pay tribute to your choice today. Because you have chosen the most difficult path, using offense as a substitute for defense."
He reached out and placed his hand on Yang Hui's shoulder, the warmth of his palm seeping through Yang Hui's soaked clothes.
"Remember this feeling from today. Every opponent you encounter in the future will be a waterfall. Don't dodge, don't go around it, use your gun to pierce it head-on."
Yang Hui took a deep breath and nodded vigorously: "I understand."