King Niu smashed through the squad of Non-commissioned Officers like a thick log plowing through a field of mushrooms. He bent his knees, leaped a hundred meters, and crashed among the prodigies like a cannonball, sending Yang Yu—the strongest among them, short of the Optimizers—flying with a single hoof.

At the sight of this, the already panicked hearts of the Inner City prodigies fluttered like candle flames in a gale, threatening to extinguish at any moment.

Yang Yu, the Inner City prodigy sent flying by the brutish Top Tier Demon Beast, lay on the ground, their fate unknown. The beast appeared before them once more, its raised right hoof gripping a torrent of Qi Blood that seemed to warp the very air.

’They’re going to die.’

The thought landed like a drop of water in the hearts of every prodigy and Non-commissioned Officer focused on King Niu. A dead silence fell, as if they were watching an already tattered banner about to be snapped in two by the enemy.

’If even Yang Yu—who is stronger than Senior Non-commissioned Officer Hu Tianlin and powerful enough to be selected as an Optimizer—is killed, how can the rest of us possibly hold out until Officer Liu Qi gets back?’

This was their first time facing a Top Tier Demon Beast in person, and no one had expected the disparity in strength to be so vast!

At that moment, the swirling sand seemed to freeze. Cold helmets pressed down on the upturned heads of every Non-commissioned Officer and prodigy. Through their dimming vision, the beast’s raised right hoof looked like a sledgehammer about to fall...

BANG!

An explosive sound erupted as someone launched from the ground. It was like two flints striking in the dark, igniting the image of a blood-red dragon deep within everyone’s eyes.

Their once-discordant heartbeats now thrummed in unison. Their eyes widened to behold a bare-chested young man, led by the Double Arc Blade tip of his spear, transforming into a long dragon of Qi Blood as he charged King Niu’s right hoof, which was crashing down like a meteor!

CLANG—

The crispest of impacts rang out. Jiang Qiu was like Gonggong smashing into Buzhou Mountain; all the Huajin he had poured into his spear tip erupted the instant it met King Niu’s hoof!

THUD!

The right hoof trembled from the force and violently flung Jiang Qiu’s spear aside. The soaring dragon of Qi Blood dissipated into a turbulent gust that ruffled the dense, forest-like black fur on the beast’s back.

THUD, THUD, THUD.

The Huajin infused in the spear tip still had enough force to push the towering King Niu three staggering steps backward.

In that instant, the candle of hope was relit in their eyes. The young man, who barely reached King Niu’s waist, stood before the beast like a legendary hero, one man and his spear against the world!

Every prodigy present was an expert in the Spear Dao, each with a Spear Skill they had mastered. Yet before the shadow of that blood-red Azure Dragon, their own skills seemed like the light of a firefly against the brilliant moon.

They had seen countless, incredibly powerful Spear Skills before, but nothing had ever been as breathtaking as this.

This young man, revealing his Spear Dao for the very first time, had made his debut strike against a five-to-six-meter-tall Top Tier Demon Beast—King Niu!

A three-step advantage!

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP...

At that moment, Jiang Qiu looked up and met King Niu’s furious, red eyes. Cold sweat streamed down his back, nearly dousing the frantic pounding of his heart. He felt like a newborn mouse facing a starving tiger.

The vibrating spear shaft stilled as veins bulged on his arms, but a terror like a lobster challenging a Blue Whale washed over him, a cold tide that made his very bones tremble.

A flicker of regret ignited within him.

’If I hadn’t charged in, I could be like Sun Yongsheng, hanging back at a safe distance, ready to run at a moment’s notice.’

’Why did I charge in on impulse?’

’Save people? Protect them? Those with power should step up?’

’This Top Tier Demon Beast is a whole weight class above me. What "power" do I have to step up with?’

’Damn it, just thinking this stuff makes my skin crawl. Why did I have to play the hero!’

A warmth spread through his chest, his cheeks went numb. A thousand thoughts flashed by in an instant, and the passion cultivated over eighteen years surged into his arms. As King Niu’s massive shadow blotted out the sky, Jiang Qiu bent his knees, raised his spear, and clenched his jaw, his eyes brimming with killing intent. ’Because my path of Martial Arts is one of relentless forward momentum, of seeking life through death!’

[One Life and Death Drill]

[Spear Dao Transformation]

[Spear Sense → Spear Stance]

King Niu’s right hoof, clenched into a fist the size of a clay pot, broke the sound barrier as it smashed toward Jiang Qiu’s head. It was like a meteor about to obliterate a watermelon. Everyone held their breath. Their gazes hadn’t even had time to flicker before their hearts stopped beating.

At that moment, Yang Yu, lying on the ground behind him, stared with wide eyes. Shimmering tears welled up and spilled from the corners as they bit their lower lip hard enough to draw blood. Their very soul trembled.

’Brother...’

No one had even processed how King Niu had thrown that punch, until...

BANG!

A cold light flashed, and the spear shot out like a dragon, slamming into King Niu’s iron hoof!

All the Qi Blood in Jiang Qiu’s body erupted, steaming off his skin like a red vapor. It coalesced into the head of an Azure Dragon, which reared up and swallowed King Niu’s right arm. The dragon’s form shredded the surface of the beast’s skin, then continued to push forward and bite down, a reflection in its opponent’s widening eyes!

BOOM—

The five-to-six-meter-tall behemoth was like a calf caught in the eye of a hurricane. The wound on its abdomen was violently ripped open by the scarlet Huajin, and the Broken Arrow in its shoulder was driven deeper into its flesh. Its jowls flapped wildly against its face, and all the fur on its body was swept backward, like a school of shrimp in a tsunami!

The terrifying Spear Stance manifested as a blood-red dragon’s head that bit down on the beast’s right arm. With a sickening CRUNCH, it dragged the creature backward through the air.

The scene was like an ant sending an elephant flying. The shocking visual impact struck them like the resounding clang of a great bronze bell. Their eyes nearly bulged from their sockets, and they felt even more suffocated than before!

With a tremendous BANG, King Niu crashed onto its back. The cloud of dust it raised rolled back over it, choking it and causing its nostrils to flare. A flicker of horror flashed in its huge, blood-red eyes. ’My arm... it’s fractured!’

It pushed itself up with its left arm. Its ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton, and the image of the young man—crouched, spear in hand—swayed from side to side, leaving blurry afterimages.

It wasn’t sure if its mind had been blank for a long time, for a dozen breaths, or just for a single instant.

King Niu gritted its teeth and scrambled to its feet. It glanced down at its right arm, dangling uselessly at its side. The hide that could withstand the Spear Skill of a top-tier Non-commissioned Officer had been peeled away by the surging Huajin, revealing twitching muscle fibers beneath!

"To think I’d run into a prodigy like this?" King Niu threw its head back and laughed, its scarlet eyes trembling with an even greater madness, like a deranged lunatic who’d just met the son of the man who murdered his father.

A breeze passed between its hooves as it took a small step forward. The blurry image of the young man in its scarlet eyes sharpened, as if a fog had been blown away. "If I kill you, the great Spider Mother will surely reward me!

I’ll have another chance to break through the Transformation Barrier!

Another chance to—"

DING—

In an instant, a primal, survival instinct shot through its thoughts like a bolt of Thunder. The aura of a Human Race Martial Artist was racing toward them from the west. Even from ten thousand meters away, the overwhelming killing intent felt like being submerged in the deepest ocean.

’If I stay any longer, I’ll die for sure!’

"Kid, just wait! Once I’ve healed, in one month’s time, I’ll kill you, claim my reward from the great Spider Mother, and get revenge for my arm!"

King Niu spat out a mouthful of bloody froth as the aura around its body ignited like fire.

It turned and fled, leaping a hundred meters with each bound. Blood squeezed from the gruesome wound on its abdomen, splattering across the yellow earth and Iron Trees along its path. Its right arm dangled limply, swaying like a willow leaf in the wind.

In the blink of an eye, it was out of the Iron Forest. Its massive figure vanished into the dense woods beyond, and the sound of its thudding footsteps was snuffed out like a candle in a gale.

"Whew..."

"Hah..."

The mountain-like pressure receded into the distance. With a soft clatter, the long spear slipped from Jiang Qiu’s grasp and vanished.

He gasped for breath, his mouth opening and closing weakly. Sweat mixed with the blood trickling from the corner of his lips, dripping from the point of his chin. DRIP. DRIP.

Reflected in the depths of his bloodshot eyes was a system panel.

[Metamorphosis Talent: Spear Stance]

[Spear Stance]

[Features: The foundational basis for your Martial Arts path. A spear-wielding stance of relentless forward momentum.]

An attribute had advanced into a Talent. The feeling of holding the spear became a palpable momentum, a constant readiness to strike. The Spear Dao’s Huajin, long since mastered, had erupted with the force of a storm, completely unleashed in a single instant.

He had used [Blood Circulation] to infuse his entire body with the power of Qi Blood, [Powerful Penetration] for the explosive spear thrust, and [Steel Arm] to lock the spear shaft in place, making it an unshakeable extension of his body. Finally, [Spear Stance] condensed that Qi Blood into the head of a dragon soaring to the heavens!

This was the Second Technique of his Spear Dao, a move that instantly exhausted his Qi Blood and pushed his body to its absolute limit, but in return, had earned him two Mastery Points for the Ancient Martial Spear.

[Furious Dragon Ascending to Heaven]