Chapter 527

Because spears are usually around three meters, five to six meters are also common, weighing at least five to six catties, and some higher‑quality spears have even heavier spearheads; to wield such a heavy weapon with ease requires relentless training and practice.

Besides the spear being too heavy to handle easily, its usage is also a major difficulty.

Ancient users developed many distinctive spear techniques; for example, some gripped the butt of the spear with both hands, which extends the attack range but increases operational difficulty.

Anyone familiar with lever principles knows that placing both hands at the spear's butt requires greater force to control it, and because the shaft is overly long, a moment's carelessness can also injure oneself.

Some habitually spread their hands evenly between the middle and the butt of the spear, which improves stability but reduces the weapon's attack distance.

Therefore, choosing a suitable handling method according to one's actual situation is also why mastering the spear requires more than three years of practice.

The third reason is the spear's unpredictable versatility: there is no fixed set of common attacks, for it can be thrown like a javelin as a hidden weapon, chopped like a broadsword, or thrust like a sword; this variety of attack modes gives the spear tremendous learning difficulty.

In what situation should which attack be used? When choosing their attack method and route, spear wielders must also base their decision on the characteristics of the spear they are using.

Some, seeking ultimate striking power, choose hard materials for their spears, making them harder and better suited for thrusting; although they have strong offensiveness, they are also extremely prone to breaking.

Others, to highlight the spear's variable attacks, deliberately reduce its offensiveness by replacing the shaft with softer wood, achieving defense while better exploiting the spear's chopping motion.

Still others add various decorations to the spear, turning it into a new weapon; for instance, the halberd (Fang Tian Hua Ji) adds crescent‑shaped blades to both sides of the spear tip, emphasizing its chopping capability and granting greater destructive and lethal power when swung.

Precisely because the spear possesses myriad attack patterns and unpredictable usage, it has become one of the most distinctive ancient weapons, and at the same time one of the hardest to master.

Finally, there is one more point: because the spear is effective, opponents of equal strength are reliably beaten by it, so everyone likes to use the spear.

Thus, a problem arises.

When facing the same weapon, to survive you must use it better than others.

Everyone takes the spear as their main weapon, and nobody wants to be killed, so they must keep refining technical details, racking their brains to surpass others' skill; devoting a lifetime to perfecting spear technique is therefore not excessive, for it is the very skill that keeps one alive.

The same applies to Force Warriors and Force Masters.

For ordinary people, a spear several meters long is cumbersome to carry, but nowadays that's no issue, given that spatial compression technology is mature; compressing powered armor may be tricky, but compressing a spear is a piece of cake.

However, because the spear's weight is increased, mastering its use is far harder than with an ordinary spear, and the secret martial arts of spear techniques are also difficult to train; thus many opt for the sword as a weapon, failing that, they resort to fists.

That said, if one truly masters the spear, it remains a great advantage in the current competition.

When a Force Warrior faces a Spiritual Thought Master, closing the distance is difficult, but with a spear in hand the attack range is greatly increased; a seven‑ or eight‑meter spear, like the one Luo Jun now holds, makes the reach obvious—need we even mention it?

"Luo Teacher, I've been looking forward to fighting you."

On the screen, before the countdown had even started, Shao Dong laughed and said.

"Shao Teacher, I'm also eager for this battle with you," Luo Jun replied with a smile, his eyes full of fighting spirit.

Last time, he lost to Yao Jun, ending up only in the top ten and missing the top three—something he regretted both then and in retrospect.

One reason is Contribution Points: with his strength, earning over a hundred thousand points a month from headquarters is easy, and three hundred thousand points take just two or three months; but the rewards for second and first place require far longer, which is why not only him but also Shao Dong and the others are motivated to join the Grand Competition.

The other reason is honor.

Putting it plainly, one is top ten, the other top three; even a fool knows which is harder.

So, next he must defeat Shao Dong to advance to the second round!

Shao Dong naturally sensed that fierce fighting spirit emanating from his opponent.

"This one is tough to deal with."

He thought to himself.

If Yao Jun and Lin Ziwei are the two people he least wants to meet early, then Luo Jun before him is the third.

His spear technique has reached a sublime level; even with his power compressed to Level 10, he can wield a seven‑ or eight‑meter spear as if it were an extension of his arm.

Just then, the countdown began.

At the instant it ended, Shao Dong leapt backward, simultaneously swinging his right hand to send out more than ten blades of light.

At the same moment, Luo Jun, gripping the great spear, charged forward, his speed slightly greater than Shao Dong's; unfortunately, the distance between them started at about ten meters, so he failed to strike his opponent and instead rushed toward the more than ten blades of light.

All that could be seen was him waving the spear shaft, the tip tapping several times to block all the incoming blades of light, then taking a lunge step and charging forward again.

"Impressive."

Jiang Cheng watched this scene, his heart filled with astonishment, and immediately felt a wave of pressure.

Just from this move alone, the opponent's spear technique is not inferior to his own swordsmanship, and as the old saying goes, 'an extra inch of length gives an extra inch of strength.'

In a one‑on‑one close‑combat scenario, if the opponent uses spear technique while he uses sword technique, defeat would be all but certain.

Even if his body technique surpasses the opponent's. (End of chapter)