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Yang Hong saw that Yun Ming had already accepted Yang Yi's challenge, and knowing that this battle was unavoidable, he stepped forward to officiate.
"Since that's the case, let's have a match!"
"This battle will be a spear-fighting competition; no Spirit or Spirit Ability may be used."
"Remember, stop when you've made your point!"
When he said 'stop when you've made your point,' Yang Hong turned his back to Yang Yi and gave Yun Ming a knowing look. Yun Ming understood and nodded slightly.
Seeing that Yun Ming had understood his meaning, Yang Hong felt a little relieved.
Then, everyone retreated, leaving the center of the training ground to Yun Ming and Yang Yi. The two stood facing each other, holding practice spears.
Yang Yi looked at Yun Ming, who was half a head shorter than him, with a complex expression. He was arrogant, it was true, but that didn't mean he was someone who relied on his talent, was arrogant, or looked down on his companions.
On the contrary, he cared very much about his Clan members. If Yun Ming hadn't shocked him so much that his Worldview almost collapsed, he wouldn't have made things difficult for Yun Ming the moment he arrived today.
Yang Yi spoke excitedly.
"Yun Ming, in today's match, I hope you can go all out and let me see how skilled your spear-fighting truly is, otherwise, I won't acknowledge you!"
Yun Ming looked at Yang Yi, whose eyes were burning with the flames of battle and whose expression was serious, and simply responded calmly.
"Good!"
Seeing Yun Ming's understated response, Yang Yi said no more. He twirled his long spear, creating a spear flower, and directly thrust it at Yun Ming's head.
Yang Yi's thrust was straight, steady, and swift, like a coiling spiritual snake shooting out.
Yang Hong's eyes brightened slightly. Although this spear technique was still somewhat immature, this thrust showed Yang Yi's solid fundamentals, already subtly aligning with the essence of this Move, truly worthy of Yang Yi's Genius reputation.
However, when Yang Hong saw Yun Ming's counterattack, he was somewhat stunned.
Yun Ming's expression didn't change when he saw this fierce spear thrusting directly at his center. He just stared at the point where Yang Yi's spear was launched, seized the right moment, and also thrust his spear at Yang Yi.
Then, Yun Ming's long spear was seen like a Dragon emerging from water, arriving later but striking first, directly thrusting onto the tip of Yang Yi's spear. Yang Yi immediately felt that the long spear in his hand was somewhat out of control, its trajectory deviating, unable to exert force, and unable to thrust further!
Inside the Clan School, the other onlookers, led by Yang Lin, only felt that Yun Ming's spear was truly magnificent, tip to tip, directly breaking Yang Yi's thrust with the same Move.
But in the eyes of a master spearman like Yang Hong, this spear was truly marvelous; the timing, angle, and force were all perfectly precise. It was utterly brilliant!!!
Yun Ming had seen through the flaw in Yang Yi's Move!
Yun Ming not only saw through the small issues in Yang Yi's spear trajectory and force application but also calculated the exact speed, force, and angle he needed to thrust his spear.
This allowed him, even when the tips of both spears collided head-on, to have his spear at its maximum current power, while Yang Yi's spear, due to his own small flaws in launching, was in a period of rigid force application.
This is why Yun Ming was able to strike later but arrive first, breaking the Move with one spear thrust and almost knocking Yang Yi's long spear away, a truly magnificent display.
However, Yang Hong quickly reacted. Was Yun Ming planning to fulfill his 'stop when you've made your point' promise in this way?
If Yang Yi didn't acknowledge his skill, was he just going to use strength against strength and turn it into a teaching session?!
Yang Hong suddenly felt a little worried about Yang Yi's mental state after this match.
Yun Ming did not take advantage of Yang Yi's unstable state of mind to attack. Instead, he withdrew his spear and propped it on the ground, slowly speaking to point out Yang Yi's problem.
"Your thrusting stance is alright, but it's a bit rigid and awkward. Don't completely imitate the thrusting stances of the elders in the Clan. Our body types are very different, and completely imitating the elders' spear-launching postures isn't suitable. You need to transform it into a spear-wielding stance that suits your own body."
And Yang Yi, hearing Yun Ming's teaching-oriented words, also recovered from the shock of his thrust being directly broken by Yun Ming with the same Move. Hearing Yun Ming's guidance, his face immediately began to flush, and he was filled with anger. He roared and lunged at Yun Ming again.
"Again!!!"
This time, Yang Yi directly used the splitting spear technique, twirling and turning to deliver a massive splitting spear. The stance clearly carried intense personal emotion. He wielded his long spear like a Dragon, the spear tip circling, chopping down with great force, as if intending to cleave Yun Ming directly.
"Swish~"
The whistling air confirmed the astonishing power carried by this spear thrust.
Yun Ming looked at Yang Yi's somewhat irrational spear-launching method without getting angry. He subtly shifted his feet half a step. Yang Yi, being in mid-air, had no time to change his Move. His long spear continued its downward chop, directly passing within three centimeters of Yun Ming's nose.
Yun Ming didn't wait for Yang Yi's long spear to land. He turned and also delivered a twirling downward chop to Yang Yi. The arc and force weren't as great as Yang Yi's, but it was superior in speed.
As soon as Yang Yi's long spear landed, Yun Ming's spear also directly chopped down on Yang Yi's shoulder, who had not yet withdrawn his Move. This instantly knocked Yang Yi to the ground.
"Bang~"
"Slap~"
The first sound was Yang Yi hitting the ground; the second was the sound of Yun Ming striking Yang Yi.
Yun Ming withdrew his spear and stood still, continuing his lecture.
"Launching a Move requires timing. Using the wrong Move at the wrong time leads to the result you just saw."
"Also, being controlled by anger in battle is a very dangerous thing."
Yang Yi, lying on the ground, saw himself defeated so easily again. This time, he truly lost all control. He got up and, like a madman, attacked Yun Ming with his spear.
Crushing, Pointing, Piercing, Chopping, Circling, Lifting, Parrying, Stabbing, Kicking, Pounding, Entangling, Circling, Blocking, Grabbing—Yang Yi began to use basic spear techniques, attacking without interruption. Seeing this, Yun Ming also used the same Moves, breaking Yang Yi's Moves one by one, and commenting as he fought.
"Pay attention to your footwork. Footwork is very important for a spear-wielder."
"The power of your waist, legs, arms, and wrists must be integrated with the spear, and the force must penetrate to the spear tip."
"..."
Yang Hong saw that Yun Ming was truly breaking Yang Yi's spear techniques one by one, and then explaining each Move. His expression also became somewhat solemn, because Yang Yi was becoming more and more dejected as he fought. From his initial furious rage, he had now reached a state of dispiritedness, his spear thrusts half a beat slower, clearly indicating that his Life Qi was almost shattered.
Finally, Yang Yi, in a daze, thrust his spear. This thrust was so off that Yun Ming simply didn't engage it. His long spear twirled, and with a backhand flick, he struck Yang Yi's spearhead, directly sending the long spear flying.
Yang Yi saw the long spear fly from his hand, and the last remaining light in his eyes completely vanished. A bitter smile appeared on his face, a hint of self-mockery flashed in his eyes, and a somewhat hoarse voice sounded.
"You won, I..."
"...am far inferior to you!"
As those last few words left his mouth, Yang Yi seemed to have all the strength drained from his body. After speaking, Yang Yi lowered his head, turned, and walked unsteadily out of the Clan School. The surrounding students saw this and didn't know whether they should go forward and stop the greatly disheartened Yang Yi.
After only two steps, Yang Yi heard Yun Ming's voice behind him, which had changed from calm to somewhat cold.
"If you give up so easily? Then you are nothing special!"
Upon hearing Yun Ming's 'mockery,' Yang Yi instinctively wanted to retort, but remembering how he had just been beaten by the very person who spoke those words, utterly powerless to resist, the little bit of arrogance that had been roused completely dissipated again. He buried his head in silence and continued to walk away. Seeing this, Yun Ming continued to twist the knife.
"You're not even as good as Yang Lin."