High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

The sensation of that last thrust still replayed in his mind.

The moment the spear tip pierced the void, his Spirit interfered with all its might, and the Order in that area instantly fell into Chaos. Although it lasted for less than a second, the effect was undeniably real.

He opened his eyes and looked down at the long spear in his hand. It was still the same weapon—a pitch-black shaft with a razor-sharp tip, identical to before. But in his eyes, it was entirely different now. It could bear the Power of Order. It could become the vessel through which he would Break that Order.

This was only the beginning. He needed to lock onto this sensation; he needed to make this method of attack controllable, repeatable, and capable of being strengthened.

Walking to the corner of the training room, he approached a few training dummies. Xu Wuyi moved one of them to the center of the floor, took a few steps back, and raised his spear once more. The dummy was made of metal, its surface coated in a soft material to simulate the feel of a human body. It wouldn’t move, dodge, or fight back—making it the perfect target to test his new Techniques.

He took a deep breath, focusing his Spirit, and aimed the spear tip at the dummy. Then, he stepped forward and thrust.

The strike wasn’t fast, but it was incredibly steady. The spear shaft traced a straight line through the air, its tip aimed directly at the dummy’s chest. The instant before the blade struck its target, his Spirit erupted at full force to perceive the Order existing within the dummy.

The structure of the metal, the tensile strength of the material, the effect of Gravity, the air resistance... everything had its own Rules to follow; everything operated within an established Order. Like an invisible hand, his Spirit violently churned that Order the exact moment his spear made contact.

BANG!

The dummy shuddered violently before snapping cleanly in half. Its upper torso slid off at an angle and crashed to the floor with a heavy thud.

Xu Wuyi froze for a moment, then withdrew his spear and stood up straight. He had merely wanted to test the effect; he never expected a single strike to break the dummy completely.

He walked over and crouched down to inspect the fracture. The break was highly irregular. It hadn’t been pierced by the spear tip but looked as though it had been ripped apart from the inside. The metal’s structure was broken down—the originally tight molecular arrangement had become loose and chaotic, crumbling into several pieces with just a slight touch.

This was the result of Order being broken.

It wasn’t simple physical destruction, but a breakdown at the level of Rules. When the Rules maintaining a substance’s physical form descended into Chaos, the substance itself lost its foundation of existence.

He stood up and gazed thoughtfully at the shattered dummy on the ground. The strike’s effect was far better than he had anticipated. The problem was that this level of destruction was entirely uncontrollable. A simple test had completely scrapped the dummy. In a real battle, this kind of destructive power would naturally be a great advantage. But for practice, he couldn’t just ruin a dummy every single time. He needed more precise control.

Over the next few days.

Xu Wuyi poured almost all of his energy into studying this single strike. He began to systematically record the process and outcome of every attempt.

”Anna, record,” he commanded.

”Understood. Recording in progress.”

He stood in the center of the training room, facing a brand-new dummy. He had already ruined three over the past few days; this was the fourth.

”Attempt, Form Thirteen. Spear Technique movement: straight thrust.

”Spiritual Guidance method: concentrated attack on a single point on the dummy’s chest.

”Order destruction effect: localized Chaos, with a destruction diameter of approximately five centimeters.

”Depth of penetration: pierced the surface soft layer, penetrating the main metal body by about two centimeters.

”Dummy damage level: minor. Can continue to be used.”

This time, he struck the dummy’s arm.

”Attempt, Form Fourteen...”

He retracted his spear, staring thoughtfully at the fine webbing of cracks on the dummy’s arm. The effects of a concentrated attack versus a dispersed attack were entirely different. Concentrated attacks boasted immense destructive power but covered a small area; dispersed attacks covered a wide area but dealt weaker damage.

In actual combat, he would need to choose different methods depending on the enemy. Against an opponent with formidable defenses, he would use a concentrated attack to break through their guard. Against a fast-moving opponent, he would use a dispersed attack to restrict their movements.

He continued practicing, continuously recording.

”Attempt, Form Twenty-Seven...”

”Attempt, Form Thirty-One...”

”Attempt, Form Thirty-Eight...”

Days passed one by one.

The corner of the training room was piled high with scrapped dummies. Some were snapped in half, others were shattered into several pieces, and some were completely covered in cracks.

Xu Wuyi stood in the center of the room, spear in hand, a thin layer of sweat forming on his forehead. He had been practicing continuously for over three hours, yet his Spirit only grew more focused. He closed his eyes and reviewed the past few days of training in his mind.

From initially only being able to barely coat the spear tip in the Power of Order, to now precisely controlling the area and depth of destruction. From only being able to execute straight thrusts, to seamlessly integrating the power into various Spear Techniques. From relying entirely on luck for every attempt, to knowing exactly what he was doing with every strike.

His progress was undeniable. But he knew it still wasn’t enough.

All he could do right now was integrate the destructive effects of the Power of Order into his Spear Techniques. But breaking things was merely one application of Order, not the entirety of it.

What was the true essence of Order? It was control. Breaking the old Order was only the first step; establishing a new Order was the true goal. Breaking Order was the application he was most familiar with at the moment. But what came after the destruction?

If, in the heat of battle, he could not only break the enemy’s Order but simultaneously establish a new Order that worked to his advantage... what kind of effect would that have?