Chapter 183: Seven Probes of the Snake Coil Spear

“Hah! Thrilling!”

Wild, unrestrained laughter rang out from the rooftop battlefield.

Lancer leapt into the air, his crimson spear whipping up a storm of spear shadows.

Zhao Yun did not yield, his bright silver spear light as paper, instantly transforming into countless illusions that precisely clashed with the torrent of crimson spear shadows above.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

The thunderous clashes had long ceased to sound like metal striking metal.

The bright silver Dragon’s Heart Spear and the crimson spear collided at blinding speed in midair.

At one moment, Zhao Yun’s aura shifted abruptly—his already astonishing spear speed surged further, piercing through the sea of crimson shadows with a piercing shriek.

Hundred Birds Pay Homage to the Phoenix Spear!

“Chir—”

Accompanied by a phoenix-like cry, the countless spear shadows instantly merged into one.

Lancer, mid-leap, was struck hard—a brilliant burst of blood bloomed on his shoulder.

The next instant, Lancer flipped to the ground, tapped his toe backward, and drew distance from Zhao Yun across from him.

Zhao Yun swung his silver spear, leaving a trail of blood on the ground before him, his dark eyes flickering with surprise toward Lancer’s wounded shoulder…

“He actually dodged the vital point!”

Zhao Yun praised: “No wonder you’re the Son of Light of Ireland—you possess the instinct of a beast! In my era, no more than ten generals could have avoided this strike!”

Lancer: “...”

Ten?

So in that era, he was only among the top ten?

Was this praise—or an insult?

Lancer’s eye twitched, his expression darkening.

Zhao Yun noticed his expression and shook his head: “Do not misunderstand, my lord. By ‘dodged,’ I meant only the vital point. As for spear technique alone, in my memory, you rank among the top five!”

Lancer could tell this was Zhao Yun’s sincere admiration.

Yet for some reason, he could not bring himself to feel pleased.

It was common knowledge: those ranked third were usually the third, those ranked fifth were usually the fifth.

He admitted: as a spearman, Zhao Yun’s skill surpassed his own, and his battlefield adaptability was unmatched in his lifetime.

Time and again, he had overwhelmed Zhao Yun with ferocious assaults—yet Zhao Yun always held firm, then struck back with perfect timing, targeting the weakest point in his attack.

One moment of inattention, and he had been struck.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yun—who had seemed pressured—remained calm, unhurt, unruffled.

The outcome clearly revealed Zhao Yun’s overwhelming superiority in combat technique and wisdom.

Still, if three men in the Three Kingdoms era truly ranked above him, he refused to accept it!

“Is that so?”

Lancer said defiantly: “Oh? Who else ranks with me? Name them.”

Zhao Yun murmured: “Xiang Yu, the Overlord of Western Chu; Zhang Fei, the Mighty Marquis of Han; and my master—Tong Yuan!”

Xiang Yu—he could not dispute that. Tong Yuan, master to both Zhao Yun and Zhang Xiu, was a legendary figure; if he truly existed, he must have been a spear master of the highest order.

But… Zhang Fei?

Lancer found this hard to accept.

Not just him—even Bai Ze was surprised, suspecting Zhao Yun was biased.

“Could Third Brother’s spear skill really be that high?”

“...”

Zhao Yun glanced at him and shook his head: “Do not underestimate Third Brother. His Eight-Foot Serpent Spear lacks finesse, but in power and speed, it surpasses mine—he’s far more formidable than this foreign spirit!”

Lancer: “...”

Fine. Zhao Yun himself admitted it. What could he say?

“That’s only three. The fourth must be you, right?”

“Of course not!”

Zhao Yun looked at him strangely: “How could I count myself in my own memories?”

So there was still one more?

Lancer’s face darkened: “Who?”

Zhao Yun fell silent for a moment, then spoke with a complex tone: “Lu Bu.”

Bai Ze blinked in surprise: “But Lu Bu wields the Heaven-Tearing Halberd, doesn’t he?”

Zhao Yun shook his head: “The Heaven-Tearing Halberd combines blade and spear. Mastering halberd technique demands exquisite control of weight and speed—able to match hammers and maces in strength, and spears and halberds in skill.”

“Lu Bu is the ultimate master of halberd art. In spear technique alone, he is no less than I am!”

Upon hearing this, Bai Ze could not hide his astonishment.

Was this the true weight of the greatest warrior of the Three Kingdoms?

“The Peerless Lu Bu—his reputation is truly deserved!”

Lancer sighed, then gripped his spear in his right hand, glanced at his bleeding left shoulder, and without hesitation, clenched his left fist and swung his arm.

“Crack!”

The already damaged shoulder armor shattered completely; the wound on his shoulder tore wider from the motion.

Yet Lancer’s expression did not change—not even his smile faded—as if the blood streaming down his arm did not exist.

[Battle Continues]!

A rare endurance skill: as long as the wound is not instantly fatal, no matter how severe, it does not hinder his movement or combat ability.

“In the late Eastern Han, the land was divided into three—what a glorious era!”

“Pity I cannot travel there to meet the heroes of that age...”

As he spoke, Lancer suddenly spun his spear, reversing its grip, the tip angled toward the ground. He laughed at Zhao Yun: “Still, meeting you in this Holy Grail War has eased some of my regret!”

Before his words faded, his gaze sharpened—a visible crimson light flared from the spear tip, spreading upward, swiftly engulfing the entire weapon.

Vast magical energy twisted the surrounding air like writhing red tentacles, revealing a monstrous, clawed form.

Seeing this, Bai Ze gasped and shouted: “Watch out! He’s activating his Noble Phantasm!”

Zhao Yun’s expression turned grave. He held his silver spear horizontally before him, eyes fixed on the crimson flame dancing ahead.

“Zhao Yun of Changshan...”

“I claim your heart!”

With a sharp cry, the magical energy at the spear tip reached its peak.

The next instant, the crimson spear became a dragon covered in scarlet scales, roaring forward as it pierced the air.

“Pierce—”

“Spear of the Dead Thorn!”

A ribbon of crimson magical light, condensed into a stream, surged forward from the spear tip, instantly piercing through space, winding toward Zhao Yun’s heart.

The red glow filled his vision—followed by an indescribable, lethal sense of doom.

Zhao Yun’s spirit trembled violently. Without hesitation, he swung his silver spear, unleashing his own original spear technique—Seven Probes of the Snake Coil Spear!

“A rustle in the grass—a coiled serpent emerges from the dust.”

“The flying serpent strikes left and right; the white viper flips and lunges faceward.”

“The earth snake strikes from the waist; the scorpion lizard claws into stone crevices.”

“Two venomous snakes spit tongues; the speckled red serpent dazzles with its gaze.”

This technique was refined from his master Tong Yuan’s Hundred Birds Pay Homage to the Phoenix Spear, comprising seven distinct killing moves.

The move Zhao Yun now unleashed was the final one—the Crimson Red Serpent!

Instantly, crimson energy erupted from Zhao Yun’s body.

Magical energy from his master, Bai Ze, formed a visible crimson current, spiraling around the silver spear and coalescing into a crimson serpent several meters thick.

Though called a serpent, its scaled body and horned head bore no resemblance to any snake or dragon—it was unmistakably a crimson dragon!

“Roar!”

The Crimson Serpent Spear raised its head and roared to the heavens.

Zhao Yun no longer hesitated. His body surged with torrential magical energy; he gripped the silver spear and thrust forward!

The crimson dragon opened its maw, surging forward like a tidal wave of red mountains.

“Boom!”

In an instant, the crimson dragon collided with the incoming crimson light ribbon.

Terrifying energy exploded at the point of impact, unleashing a violent shockwave that rippled outward.

At that moment, time on the rooftop froze.

The next instant, the shockwave reversed, and the crimson light ribbon—previously colliding with the crimson dragon—retracted as if time flowed backward.

Then, the crimson ribbon shot forward again, this time along a different curved trajectory, bypassing the dragon’s phantom and striking straight for Zhao Yun’s heart!

“Roar—”

The crimson dragon roared forward, slamming directly into Lancer’s body.

In an instant, violent energy erupted, ravaging the already ruined rooftop.

Whether iron railings or concrete floors, all were crushed by the roaring crimson dragon’s shadow, reduced to dust and swept into the sky by the raging wind...

As the crimson dragon’s phantom faded, Lancer’s figure finally emerged from the dust.

His blue armor lay shattered, his exposed skin covered in countless cuts and gashes.

His hands, equally scarred, gripped the spear tightly; its butt plunged deep into the ground, and with his legs, carved three grooves into the earth—two thick, one thin—making him look utterly broken.

But more broken than he was, was the terrace behind him.

A massive fissure radiated outward from his body in a fan shape, devouring nearly half the terrace.

From above, a chunk of the teaching building’s side had vanished, as if a giant conical drill had been driven downward at an angle, carving out a colossal gap.

This was only because the battle had taken place on the terrace, with most of the force dissipated into the air.

Had the front of the teaching building taken that blow, Bai Zeming had no doubt the entire structure would have been obliterated!

(End of Chapter)