Chapter 283 - Realm Of Spear Spirit
To some people, time would pass slowly, while others would feel it had passed quickly. Whatever the case was, the day still shifted forward. The sun settled and disappeared off the horizon, marking the arrival of the night. Along with it, the brilliance of the moon appeared as cascading light rained down upon the Capital.
In the past few hours after Leon had exhausted most of his mental strength, he had refined some Spiritual Replenishment Pills and ingested one.
Following that, he spent the rest of the time practicing some simple spear thrusts and swings to become more familiar with his black spear. His entire body was soaked in sweat as he was training topless.
His spear strikes might be simple, but each attack was full of explosive power and would kick up a gust of wind. They were not half-hearted attacks but attacks that he had put every fiber of his being into, resulting in him exhausting himself quickly.
Amidst the sweat and aching body screaming for him to stop, Leon's eyes were still full of spirit and drive. He did not find such physical training dull and tedious but rather quite enjoyable.
Each extra swing represents progress and a step closer to his goal, no matter how minuscule it may be.
To avenge his father and pull every Divine King involved in his father's death, down from their throne, he must work harder than anyone else, even the Divine Kings.
Which one of the Divine Kings hadn't have their fair share of sweat and blood to get to where they were now? If he wants to surpass that, he must work even harder and seek higher fortuitous encounters. Only then would he have a chance at avenging his father.
In the art of sword cultivation, to achieve the first realm of Sword Spirit and become a qualified Swordsman, a person must become one with the sword.
Becoming one with the sword was not something complicated. It simply means to become familiar enough with the sword that it would move like an extension of one's limbs.
Leon was applying the same logic in his practice to become one with his spear and achieve the realm of Spear Spirit.
This was something that usually took a lot of practice and had no shortcut, but a talented person could indeed cut down the required time and practice needed.
With Leon's level of comprehension, he felt he had already achieved primary mastery of the spear and reached the threshold needed.
Swoosh~!
Another powerful spear strike thrust out as the wind billowed against the courtyard's wall, but Leon could not help but frown.
"Not right. I'm not there yet. Something is still missing... but what could it be?"
Leon's frown deepened as he thought about all the Swordsmen, Sword Masters, and Sword Grandmasters he had met in his previous life. Also, his mother as well. She was a Swordsman. What did they all have in common with the sword?
"A Swordsman does not need to fight to be recognized…"
Leon recalled this saying in the Divine Realm.
"Does not need to fight to be recognized…"
"To be recognized…"
"How can a person recognize a Swordsman if they don't fight? Just by their sword?"
Leon shook his head.
Just because a person holds a sword, it did not mean they were qualified to be called a Swordsman. However, the Divine Realm indeed had numerous Swordsmen. Anyone with a sword was at least at the realm of Sword Spirit.
"Sword Spirit… Sword… Spirit?" Leon repeatedly mumbled as his eyes start to glow brightly. "I understand. It's the sharpness of one's spirit. A Swordsman can be recognized by sensing their sharp spirit. The spirit of a Swordsman must be sharp like the sword."
Leon thought about his mother.
Swordsman could hide their sharp spirit, but the only time his mother bothers to hide, or 'sheathe' her sharp spirit is when she is looking at him. At any other time, his mother's sharp spirit is always evident for others to sense.
With his mother's strength, status, coldness, and sharp spirit, it makes sense why people are always under enormous pressure and fear when all these aspects are put together.
"A sword-user must be sharp like the sword. The greater the attainment, the sharper the spirit." Leon nodded in understanding. He understood that his spear strikes were lacking a sort of spirit.
Swords had to be sharp, but what about a spear?
Each time he swung his weighted spear, it was heavy, strong, explosive, overpowering, and unstoppable. A heavy spirit? Can a spirit be heavy? Strong spirit? Explosive spirit? The hell is that? Might as well be dead. Overpowering spirit? Unstoppable spirit? Dafuq? Now that is just ridiculous.
A Spear Spirit had to contain all these aspects. Not one, not two or three, but all of them. A spear had to be… domineering!
Leon closed his eyes and envisioned himself as a general on a great battlefield in ancient times. A single swing of his spear would send dozens of enemy soldiers flying like broken kites. Yes… this is how a spear should be used.
Suddenly, Leon gripped the spear hard and snapped open his eyes before making a mighty swing! The wind blew explosively into the courtyard's wall again. This time, the power behind the spear strike was much stronger than all his previous attacks, about 30% stronger.
"Yes, a spear-user should have a domineering spirit. The weapon of an overlord must be domineering."
Leon glanced down at his trembling hands. That last blow had sapped all the remaining strength in his arms, but if he does not push himself at this point, how would he ever overcome his limits?
"I can probably push for one more swing… probably."
There are no clear indicators to assure a person when they achieve the Realm of Spear Spirit like divine cultivation does, but there was no need to second guess it. The 30% improvement in power was the best proof.
Gripping his spear, Leon could feel a sense of powerlessness. His grip was not firm. Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and pushed it! One more swing!
Leon went through the motion of another horizontal sweep. At the same time, he saw a person's head popped around the corner of the courtyard's entrance, but it was too late for him to stop.
To make matters worse, the black spear slipped out of his grip and flew straight towards the person!
Princess Faelyn had gone to revisit the prince to make up earlier in the day, but after she turned into the courtyard's entrance, a black spear impaled itself in the courtyard's wall right next to her with a loud bang!
Her whole body froze with a start before turning her head mechanically to the side to look at it. Was that a warning strike?
"Err… sorry for bothering you, Your Highness. I'll… leave now."
"Ahem, Faelyn, wait. That was a mistake. My fingers slipped."
Faelyn turned back and looked at Leon with suspicion. Her soon eyes fell on his trembling hands. After that, they roamed back onto Leon's naked upper body, and a blush crept on her face.
While wiping away his sweat with a towel, Leon asked, "What brought you here again?"
"I… I still feel apologetic about what happened earlier today and wanted to invite you out for dinner to make up for it. I heard there's a really nice restaurant on Aurelia Mountain Road."
"There's no need to worry about that. However, I'll take you up on your offer." Leon said with a smile. He was a bit interested as he had never tried the food there due to their exorbitant prices. "Do you mind waiting a bit first?"
"Not at all." Faelyn happily said, seeing Leon agreed.
"Alright, wait for me," Leon said before he entered his room and closed the door.
After giving himself a quick wash in a big tub of warm water, he prepared himself, he dried his body and adorned a fresh new outfit before returning to Faelyn outside 10 minutes later.
"Did you wait long?"
"Nope!"
"Alright, let's go eat then," Leon said with a bit of anticipation. The food in the palace was not as good as the Steakhouse outside. He wondered how much better the food on Aurelia Mountain Road would be.
In the Divine Realm, there was a profession known as Spirit Chef. Spirit Chefs were known for being able to prepare extraordinarily delicious meals capable of also aiding one's cultivation. Each dish prepared by a Spirit Chef was always brimming with spirit energy.
The food in the palace and the Steakhouse were also like the food prepared by Spirit Chefs. They were able to retain the energy of the beast meat after cooking it.
If Leon compared the chef at the palace and the Steakhouse, then the chef at the Steakhouse was on a higher level. This explains his curiosity towards the food on Aurelia Mountain Road.
Seeing Faelyn not moving, Leon asks, "What's wrong? Why aren't we going?"
"I don't know where it is." Faelyn blushed and looked towards her two maids for help. They immediately waved their hands and said, "We also don't know where it is. We have never left the palace and had only heard stories about it."
Faelyn and the two maids soon directed their eyes back to Leon.
Taken aback, Leon scratched his head wryly and said, "I also don't know where it is."
"You don't?"
"Err, I know the general direction," Leon stated as he recalled the map in his father's study.. Lost Isle Alley was not far from there.