Chapter 165: The Final Stage

The next day, at dawn, Yu Tianyun again arrived at the waterfall, jumped into the water without hesitation, and swam toward the round stone.

This time, he seemed to have found some tricks; his climbing onto the round stone was more agile. Yesterday, the whole day was a process of adaptation for him. After a day of constant impacts from the current, Yu Tianyun gradually recovered from the pain of being unable to use soul power; with his strong spirit and meticulous observation, he slowly mastered a way to cope.

Today, the time he stayed on the round stone for the first time increased geometrically: from ten seconds yesterday, to one minute now, then to ten minutes… the longer he stood on the stone, the more times he swung the Fine Iron Long Spear.

Exerting force on this incredibly smooth round stone is undoubtedly extremely difficult and painful. Yet Yu Tianyun did not overreach; he did not directly attempt to practice the Soul-breaking Spear Technique, but first tried to adapt to standing on the stone, striving to control his balance while letting the waterfall wash over him.

Until noon, after eating some food, Yu Tianyun stood on the stone again to endure the waterfall's impact; this time he did not fall back into the water, and this state lasted until night.

On the third day, with the morning light just appearing, Yu Tianyun stood on the round stone again, looking especially relaxed and natural. He began to try a set of Basic Spear Method, but each movement appeared unusually clumsy.

He had to endure the water's impact on one hand and swing the spear method accurately on the other; keeping balance was as hard as scaling a mountain. Before a single move finished, he lost balance and was mercilessly swept by the waterfall into the pool.

But he never entertained the thought of giving up, repeating the same motions again and again, his sweat mixing indistinguishably with the waterfall's water.

As time passed, Yu Tianyun gradually adapted to swinging the spear under the water's impact, and his motions became smoother. Yet a gap still remained before he could successfully complete a move of the Basic Spear Method.

Puff…

The Fine Iron Long Spear cut a brief water line in the waterfall; after a circle of swing, Yu Tianyun sheathed the spear and stood.

"Finally succeeded! Ah~" Yu Tianyun exclaimed with great joy, but the joy was cut short; his excitement caused him to lose balance instantly and be swept off the stone by the waterfall again.

But he hesitated not a moment, rose to the surface immediately, climbed the stone again, and resumed practicing the spear method.

Today marked the fifth day of his special training; after relentless effort, he finally could execute the first move of the Basic Spear Method in full, and would not slip off the stone when applying force again.

With the first move came the second; as Yu Tianyun kept grinding, the Basic Spear Method began to unfold move after move in his hands.

Through day‑after‑day arduous training, Yu Tianyun wielded the Basic Spear Method on the stone beneath the waterfall with increasing proficiency. His posture grew steadier under the current's impact, and as the long spear danced, it seemed to merge with the waterfall; thus he also began to attempt the Soul-breaking Spear Technique.

The Soul-breaking Spear Technique originally consists of seven power‑generation techniques, and under this waterfall it naturally suffers great influence.

At first, the waterfall's immensely strong impact instantly disrupted his rhythm; he could not generate any force, and a slight shift in his body's center of gravity caused the rapid current to seize the chance and sweep him off the stone.

Falling into the water, Yu Tianyun quickly rose to the surface; his eyes held no hint of discouragement, only full determination. He swam back to the stone with renewed vigor, climbed up, and threw himself wholly into practice again.

Repeated failures, repeated climbs onto the stone, constant adjustments and improvements to his motions, while recalling the key points Yang Wudi explained to him and pondering his own mistakes.

Gradually, his understanding of the Soul-breaking Spear Technique's power‑generation grew deeper: first he comprehended "Shock", then mastered "Explosion", and then discerned "Break"; each form gradually became his mastery.

In the blink of an eye, four months passed swiftly.

After countless failures and setbacks, Yu Tianyun finally succeeded in smoothly and perfectly executing the complete Soul-breaking Spear Technique beneath the waterfall.

At that moment, his muscles tensed, the long spear in his hand became like a lively and fierce flood dragon, soaring up and down in the waterfall, sometimes tearing a water line dozens of meters wide, sometimes shaking out a barrier over ten meters in diameter… forming a series of breathtaking scenes.

Those breathtaking scenes were the unique effects of the Soul-breaking Spear Technique displayed in the waterfall.

Even without using any soul power, his attack strength could rival that of beings stronger than a Soul Saint.

Jumping off the stone and swimming to the shore, Yu Tianyun's excitement was indescribable. After four months, he had finally performed the complete Soul-breaking Spear Technique beneath the waterfall, fulfilling Yang Wudi's requirement.

He thought to himself, "I must have cultivated the Soul-breaking Spear Technique to its great completion, right? No, Yang Wudi said there is a final stage, could it be…"

Yang Wudi's gaze swept over Yu Tianyun; after these four months, Yu Tianyun's skin remained as fair as when he first arrived, his bare upper‑body muscles showed little change, indicating his original physique was already extremely robust. Yet his eyes had become entirely different, cold‑star like, emitting a sharp glint.

"Grandfather, I succeeded. All seven forms of the Soul-breaking Spear Technique can now be performed in the waterfall," Yu Tianyun said calmly. Yang Wudi nodded, smiling; at this moment he could not keep a stern face, for Yu Tianyun was so outstanding that he couldn't help praising, "Yu Tianyun, you did excellently; you are the most gifted person I have ever seen. Now, you still have the final stage of training."

While speaking, he walked to a large tree, and with one hand he seized it; his hand cut into the trunk like a blade, and the whole tree seemed to turn to foam, breaking outright.

Then Yang Wudi's both hands moved swiftly; after a flurry of wood chips, a spear appeared in his hand, identical in shape to the Fine Iron Long Spear Yu Tianyun wielded, but forged from an entire tree.

Yu Tianyun felt no surprise at all; confident he could do it faster than Yang Wudi, he silently thought, "Just as expected."

Yang Wudi then handed the wooden spear to Yu Tianyun while retrieving the Fine Iron Long Spear, and said, "From now on, use this wooden spear to practice the Soul-breaking Spear Technique beneath the waterfall. If the spear shaft breaks, remake it yourself; once you master it, I will give you a gift."

He dropped that sentence without explaining what the gift was, and Yang Wudi returned to his own cave.

Yu Tianyun was slightly curious about Yang Wudi's gift, but did not dwell on it; an item worth less than a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, he truly didn't care much. Glancing at the wooden spear in his hand, Yu Tianyun knew the upcoming training would be even tougher.

After four months of forging the several‑tens‑of‑kilogram Fine Iron Long Spear, suddenly switching to this feather‑light wooden spear would surely be extremely uncomfortable.

Sure enough, when he stepped onto the stone beneath the waterfall, he immediately sensed something amiss; a light swing of the spear in the raging current made his body wobble, nearly being swept off the stone.

One must know that after four months of hammering, his body had become like a suction cup, firmly adhering to the smooth stone; this sudden floating of his footing, though expected, still surprised him a bit.

Yu Tianyun instantly realized the difference: the spear in his hand had changed from Fine Iron Long Spear to wooden spear, the weight disparity huge, causing his original center of gravity and the impact he received to shift dramatically, making stable standing much harder.

Four months of training under the waterfall enriched Yu Tianyun's experience; he no longer immediately practiced the spear method, but stood steadily on the stone, gripping the spear, gently swinging, carefully feeling the force on the spear in the current.

The seemingly weightless wooden spear, under the waterfall's wash, actually suffered a more obvious impact; because its weight lessened while its area remained unchanged, it was more easily affected by the waterfall, making it harder for Yu Tianyun to control.

When Yu Tianyun felt he could stand steadily, he began to swing the Basic Spear Method.

The first and second moves he could barely execute, feeling extremely uncomfortable; the force changes were unwieldy. By the third move, the wooden spear could no longer endure the massive water impact and "Snap!" broke, rendering the wooden spear useless.

Yu Tianyun did not feel loss; this was normal. He jumped off the stone, swam to the shore, then hand‑cut dozens of giant logs; after a flurry of wood chips, he forged a batch of identical long spears.

Such training would inevitably consume many wooden spears, so he simply made several at once to avoid wasting time.

Then he climbed back onto the stone to continue training; from this day onward, Yu Tianyun's final special training began.

He could now not use soul power, thus could not infuse soul power into the wooden spear for protection; all he could do was keenly perceive the spear's stress, control his force as much as possible so the wooden spear would not be shattered by the waterfall's impact nor broken by his own power.

Time quietly passed during Yu Tianyun's arduous training, day after day, as he constantly battled the light wooden spear beneath the waterfall.

At first, broken spears occurred frequently; almost every time he attempted a few moves of the Basic Spear Method, the wooden spear would collapse under the load. Yet he remained undeterred; each break he would unhesitatingly draw another from his storage ring and continue, and the number of broken spears in his hand gradually decreased.

Eight months later.

Below the waterfall, it seemed as if a flood dragon had emerged, constantly frolicking, stirring the entire waterfall into chaotic turmoil; at times the water surged upward for dozens of meters, at times it was blocked mid‑stream for dozens of meters, various shocking scenes repeatedly appeared, and these scenes were not truly the work of a dragon but Yu Tianyun wielding the wooden spear to perform the Soul-breaking Spear Technique.

Yu Tianyun sheathed the spear and stood on the stone, letting the waterfall wash over him; the wooden spear seemed to merge with him, exuding an unparalleled aura, sharp and domineering—this was the spear intent he had comprehended.

He had been cultivating the Soul-breaking Spear Technique for a full year; continuously training beneath the waterfall, transitioning from Fine Iron Long Spear to wooden spear, his comprehension deepened to the extreme, and he had successfully realized his own spear intent.

Now, even without a spear, using only fists and feet, he can unleash the seven forms of the Soul-breaking Spear Technique's force; if he employs soul power, the spear in hand becomes the Blue Lightning Tyrant Spear, and he cannot imagine the massive damage a single simple thrust could cause.

Undoubtedly, his combat power has risen enormously over this year.

(End of chapter)