Chapter 13: Lesson

Kid, you've already died once.

When Wu Tie awoke, Lao Tie's icy voice sounded just in time.

Wu Tie's body was smooth and hairless, floating in a huge crystal ball, milky-white translucent liquid wrapping his body. The wounds on his back and legs were unbearably itchy, the wounds healing.

Not far from Wu Tie, in another floating crystal ball, was the Junior Manifest Sage True Lord Yang Jian.

Wu Tie merely glanced at him, then hastily shifted his gaze. The deathly still Yang Jian floated there silently, his chest-piercing wound facing Wu Tie; the deathly aura that hit him made Wu Tie's whole body go cold, his heart spasming.

On the ground, four metal spiders supported Lao Tie, who was looking up at Wu Tie: "If it weren't for the few miscellaneous essence-energy puppets in this ancient divine armory, you would already be dead."

Looks like I, Grandpa, overestimated you… I thought you could bring back some prey in fine style and surprise me.

Looks like I overestimated you too much… you're just like the other newbies, lacking too much.

You don't yet have the qualification to go hunting; before you barely have any self-defense ability, you aren't qualified to go hunting alone.

Wu Tie wanted to speak, but his mouth and lungs were full of liquid; he spat out a few bubbles, unable to make a sound.

Lao Tie's eyes flickered with blood light as he muttered lowly to Wu Tie.

Don't think that I, Grandpa, am deliberately making things difficult for you, that I don't want to help you achieve Foundation Establishment.

One needs to be full to have strength to fight, right? No food, no strength!

It's tough… look, Grandpa I only have a skull left; helping you kill all those miscellaneous things along the way has consumed enormous strength, all of it the little savings I've painstakingly accumulated over the years.

Grandpa I only have a skull left… this skull subsists on wind and dew, can barely accumulate a bit of strength, but can't be full!

I thought this ancient divine armory could let me recover a bit, but who would have imagined it's so empty it could starve a mouse!

A clever wife… no, even pure guys can't cook without rice, so everything must rely on you yourself.

Wu Tie nodded vigorously; he understood Lao Tie's predicament. He bore no grudge against Lao Tie—being able to cultivate was already a tremendous boon granted by Lao Tie, what did he have to resent? He hadn't even had time to feel grateful yet.

Lao Tie chuckled three times in relief, then his tone turned extremely icy and stern.

Well then, alright, now begins your true, formal cultivation.

Starting the true cultivation curriculum with a 'death' is excellent. You won't forget this 'death', will you?

Wu Tie's face twitched, and he hastily nodded.

How could I forget?

When that juvenile lizard lunged, the heavy blow, the intense pain, and the deathly fear from excessive blood loss making his whole body cold.

Wu Tie faced death for the first time in earnest; he would never forget the icy touch of the lizard's fangs pressed against his neck.

Good, you can remember the fear of death; from now on you must be more careful.

Careful plus cautious, that's how you'll survive in this damned place.

Now, look closely—this is Grandpa I's detailed analysis of all the creatures we've encountered in this basin...

Blue electric light flowed across the ceiling, large light curtains descended, covering the whole hall; vast mushroom thickets and fern forests appeared, and several gray-rock lizards burst out from a fern patch.

Lao Tie's voice came from the light curtain.

Gray-rock lizard, a reptilian creature. Standard adult, body length about five meters, mutants can reach over fifteen meters. Standard adult's striking force is about ten tons, movement speed is...

The standard hardness of a gray-rock lizard's claw is...

Its claw's armor-piercing ability is...

The standard hardness of a gray-rock lizard's teeth is...

Its teeth's armor-piercing ability is...

The average thickness of a gray-rock lizard's skin is...

Its skin's standard defensive capability is...

Wu Tie stared fixedly at the translucent silhouette of a standard gray-rock lizard that suddenly appeared in the light curtain.

Lines of characters and numbers continually appeared beside the translucent lizard silhouette, precisely annotating the various traits of the gray-rock lizard.

Grey Master had also once taught Wu Tie a lesson about gray-rock lizards, but his knowledge was roughly just what gray-rock lizards like to eat, when they go into heat, how many lizard eggs they can lay at once, how many hatchlings they can produce, roughly how many clan warriors a single adult gray-rock lizard can withstand, etc.

Grey Master also couldn't so systematically and thoroughly analyze all the data on gray-rock lizards.

Even the gray-rock lizard's most deadly weakness, its behavioral traits, its locomotion traits that cause fatal loopholes, etc.

Lao Tie's transmitted knowledge is more comprehensive and detailed. If Lao Tie's knowledge were compiled into a book, it could serve as a family heirloom passed down through generations for each clan.

Wu Tie widened his eyes, listening intently to the commentary in the light curtain, etching every word into his heart.

Half an hour later, all knowledge of the gray-rock lizard had been finished; the light curtain flickered, and a black-ringed snake about two meters long appeared in it.

This is the most common highly venomous snake in the cavern world; a single spray of venom from a black-ringed snake can kill two or three adult gray-rock lizards. Thus an ordinary person struck by a black-ringed snake will collapse dead within at most two or three breaths.

The light curtain flickered, and the black-ringed snake's characteristics, weaknesses, and detailed data in all aspects appeared.

Next came the data on the gray-mist bat.

Then came the data on the big-eared blind rat.

……

Various strange creatures' data continually appeared in the light curtain; suddenly the light curtain flickered, and a translucent silhouette of a gray-rock lizard appeared in it.

Lao Tie's cold voice rang out: "What is the armor-piercing ability of a standard adult gray-rock lizard's teeth?"

Having just learned so much, Wu Tie's mind was flooded with information spinning around.

Lao Tie's question was so abrupt that Wu Tie stared blankly, unable to answer right away.

With a 'crack', a sheet of azure light flashed on the crystal ball's surface; dozens of extremely fine currents passed through the ball, violently striking Wu Tie's body via the white fluid.

Wu Tie's whole body convulsed; stabbing pain came from all over, he opened his mouth in a silent wail, his body thrashing like a fish out of water.

Continue the lesson… maintain maximum focus.

Lao Tie said coldly: "Remember this lesson; at any time, any distraction, any tiny oversight… kid, you'll suffer greatly!"

The light curtain flickered; after Wu Tie spasmed for a moment, his body finally eased the pain.

He widened his eyes, staring fixedly at the light curtain, as various strange creatures' data continually flashed across it.

Grey rock lizards, magma lizards, iron lizards……

Black ring snakes, fluorescent snakes, little flying snakes……

Deadly poisonous spiders, great hunting spiders, black widows……

Big-eared blind rats, iron-toothed poison rats, grey hamsters……

Iron-eating ants, giant fire ants, giant-jawed ants……

I don't know what the reason is, but when Wu Tie soaked in the crystal ball, his spirit remained in peak condition, and he basically didn't need to sleep or rest.

Countless data flashed in the light curtain; from time to time, a certain creature would suddenly appear ahead, and Old Tie would shout questions about various data related to that creature.

Wu Tie could sometimes answer the questions, but more often there were flashes of electric light; he twitched all over in the crystal ball, striking various awkward poses.

After half a month, under the torment of countless electric shocks, Wu Tie had recorded the data of all the creatures Old Tie had ever seen in that thousand-li basin strange region outside.

The light curtain continued to flicker; the strange creature images disappeared, and in the expansive mushroom thickets and fern forests, among the large rocks, a short figure appeared.

Naked, holding a smooth long spear, the blurry figure moved lightly, nimbly shuttling across the ground.

In a patch of ferns, a small flying snake about a chi long, with faint paralytic poison, suddenly shot out like an arrow toward the short figure's neck. The small flying snake opened its big mouth, and its four tiny fangs flashed a cold light in the air.

The short figure lightly tapped with the long spear in hand, and the spear tip traced a straight line in the air.

The long spear pierced the small flying snake's mouth, which was finer than a little finger; the snake's body was split open by the spear, and droplets of blood sprayed far away.

Three iron-toothed poison rats suddenly darted out from behind a large stone; two of them leapt up and lunged at the short figure, while the third crouched low to the ground, sneaking forward.

The two iron-toothed poison rats in the air emitted 'squeak' sounds, opened their mouths, revealing two black, poisonous large incisors, and lunged to bite the short figure.

The short figure flicked the long spear in hand; two nearly straight spear shadows shot forward, striking the heads of the two lunging iron-toothed poison rats, piercing their tiny brains, and their bodies flew past left and right, almost brushing the short figure's shoulders.

With a movement of the long spear, the tail of the spear shaft swept up an arc and lightly lifted; the iron-toothed poison rat on the ground was hoisted by the spear shaft, flying up involuntarily over four feet high.

The long spear made another straight thrust, precisely piercing the third iron-toothed poison rat's brain, killing it on the spot.

Wu Tie stared, dumbfounded.

The short figure shuttled through the mushroom thickets and fern forests; various strange creatures kept appearing to attack him, but relying on a long spear, he easily slew all the assailants.

Whether it was a huge grey rock lizard or tiny poisonous spiders of various colors, the short figure's long spear, using just sweeping and thrusting motions, perfectly handled every attack.

Perfect arcs formed a solid barrier around him; any attack was deflected by those flexible arcs, unable to approach within three feet of the short figure.

Repeated thrusts were fierce and lethal; each strike was a kill, with no wasted motion.

Whether it was the tiniest, green‑bean‑sized grey funnel poison spider or a massive adult grey rock lizard, a single thrust would surely pierce a vital spot.

Wu Tie trembled all over; his muscles twitched in waves, his body hair stood straight up, and it seemed as if layers of electric current were flowing across his skin.

This spear technique could be called superb.

Simple, yet it possessed a superb elegance. Compared to the long spear in the short figure's hand, the sparring Wu Tie had seen with his own father and elder brothers was simply crude and not worth mentioning.

The mushroom thickets, fern forests, rocks, and various strange creatures in the light curtain vanished.

Only that short figure remained in the light curtain, holding a spear slightly taller than his body, slowly thrusting again and again.

Forward thrust, left thrust, right thrust.

Spear shaft rear thrust, left‑rear thrust, right‑rear thrust.

Long spear forward sweep, left‑right sweep, up‑down sweep.

Spear shaft rear sweep, left‑right sweep, up‑down sweep.

Very simple basic movements, once, again, ten times, hundred times, thousand times, ten thousand times.

Wu Tie widened his eyes watching the short figure's movements, and his hands instinctively began to follow.

Electric light flickered on the crystal ball's surface; the white liquid inside did not tremble at all, and Wu Tie had already passed through the crystal ball, landing on the ground.

Wu Tie stared fixedly at the figure in the light curtain, grabbed the spear planted on the ground, and closely followed the short figure's motions, thrusting again and again.

Thrust, thrust.

The figure now kept only one action: a forward thrust, a steady forward thrust.

Wu Tie thrust forward, once, again, ten times, hundred times, thousand times……

I don't know how long he thrust; his arms turned red, veins bulged beneath his skin, Wu Tie drenched in sweat, and hot steam kept rising from his head.

With a 'clang', his sore, stiff arms could no longer hold the spear; Wu Tie's fingers trembled as he let go, and the spear fell heavily to the ground.

Before the exhausted Wu Tie could sit down, the crystal ball above his head descended slowly, electric light flickering, and Wu Tie was drawn into the crystal ball, once again soaking in the white liquid.

Strands of extremely fine electric arcs followed the white liquid, stimulating strange spots on Wu Tie's body, and he fell asleep comfortably.

Upon waking, Wu Tie's body was full of strength.

The light curtain reappeared; the figure appeared in it, holding a long spear, thrusting forward again and again.

Wu Tie slid out of the crystal ball, grabbed the long spear, and followed the figure's motions, thrusting forward again and again.

Thrust, thrust‑strike, sweep, diagonal slash.

After thousands, tens of thousands of repetitions, Wu Tie had etched these basic spear techniques into his heart, and his body had formed the most basic muscle memory.

When he wielded the long spear, his motions weren't as standard as the figure's in the light curtain, but they still had a certain flavor.

Especially when he thrust forward, the long spear tore the air, actually producing a faint ripping wind sound.

Old Tie stood afar, watching Wu Tie's movements and muttering softly.

The giant white skull formed from the ancient divine weapons camp hovered beside Old Tie, likewise muttering softly.

Suddenly, Old Tie's voice grew a little louder: "That's right, Grandpa I made a mistake—I didn't teach this kid the most basic combat skills before tossing him out… but Grandpa I've never been an instructor before… who doesn't have a first time? Who doesn't make a mistake? Anyway, as long as we're still alive."

The giant white skull grinned, silently laughing at Old Tie.

Old Tie's eyes rolled, and the blood light in his pupils flickered uncertainly for a while.

"Little Tie, dear Little Tie, you can't live off idle food……"

"Don't you feel hungry? The first batch of foundation‑establishment medicine should be almost completely digested by now, right?"

"Hurry up and get out there to hunt!"

"Otherwise, just wait to starve to death here!"

After a quarter hour, Wu Tie stood outside the exit of the Ancient Divine Soldier Camp.

A gray-rock lizard over two meters long was lying on a rock tens of meters away; hearing the disturbance Wu Tie made, the gray-rock lizard turned around and fiercely spat out its long tongue.

Wu Tie gripped his spear tightly and took a big step forward resolutely.