Chapter 61: Chapter 61 Basic Spear Technique, Unlocked
Open ground.
Chen Fan gripped the long spear. He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but he felt a surge of bravery, completely different from holding a bow and arrow.
Zhang Ren frowned as he looked at Chen Fan’s hands holding the spear.
However, it’s understandable since Chen Fan had never practiced with a spear and didn’t know the correct grip.
"Spear technique, easy to learn but hard to master," he said slowly, his hands behind his back. "It’s easy to learn, even for beginners. Facing an enemy with a spear over three meters long doesn’t induce much fear; you just instinctively thrust the spear forward.
It’s hard to master because the spear is too long, especially the big spear, which is at least twice a person’s height, even up to four or five meters. Do you know what this means?"
Chen Fan instinctively shook his head.
"Leverage."
Zhang Ren uttered two words, "If your left hand is the fulcrum, then your right hand and the spearhead are the two ends of the lever. The spearhead is a labor-intensive lever; the longer the spear, the more pronounced the leverage effect,
In this case, even if your power surpasses others, your skill might still be suppressed by someone with less power. If you don’t believe me, I could spar with you using ordinary strength. Of course, if there’s a difference of two small realms or one large realm between the sparring parties, that’s another matter."
He added a sentence.
"I believe you."
Chen Fan said seriously.
He wasn’t foolish.
He hadn’t even unlocked [Basic Spear Technique], yet he was thinking about comparing spear techniques with someone likely to be a master...
At this thought, his body suddenly trembled!
Wait a minute!
He seemed to have found a way to quickly improve his spear skill proficiency.
Yes, by sparring with Zhang Ren!
Zhang Ren didn’t know archery, and archery, it seems, couldn’t be sparred? Even if it could, it would be bullying the opponent.
But spear technique was different. Without the spearhead, sparring seemed feasible, right?
Zhang Ren didn’t know what Chen Fan was thinking. Seeing Chen Fan’s earnest attitude, he nodded slightly and continued, "Besides physical qualities, there’s also comprehension. I know your martial arts talent is high,
One month for staff, one year for saber, a lifetime for spear. Some people can defeat those who practiced for a year with just one month of staff training; some can defeat those who practiced for ten years with one year of saber training. Besides the physical quality gap, it’s comprehension, but this principle doesn’t apply to spear technique."
He stared at Chen Fan, clearly admonishing him, "No matter how talented you are, you can’t quickly master high-level spear technique. As long as the method is correct, those who have practiced longer will be better."
Chen Fan nodded honestly.
Perhaps it’s like this.
But he didn’t need to worry about that...
With repeated practice, proficiency would rapidly increase; quickly mastering high-level spear technique wasn’t difficult.
"Finally," Zhang Ren emphasized, "is the part you need to pay special attention to. Wang Ping and the others still make this mistake. The way you’re holding the spear now, you’re thinking about striking straight up and down or swinging horizontally? These moves can be used but not frequently."
"Ah?"
Chen Fan was surprised, remembering Zhang Ren’s earlier mention that basic spear moves included chopping and smashing.
"Because the spear is not only long but very heavy. Once it deviates from the centerline, it’s hard to quickly correct it with brute force. Spear technique emphasis is on maintaining the centerline, fierce beasts are easier. If your opponent is human, his width might be just over twenty centimeters.
That means if your spearhead deviates ten centimeters from the centerline, it won’t cause damage. And if your spearhead deviates ten centimeters, your hand might only deviate one or two centimeters."
Chen Fan took a deep breath; this was the essence of missing by a millimeter and losing by a thousand miles?
"So, the trajectory of the spear tip on the coronal plane should be an arc, known as the ’spear circle’. This, and keeping the spear root close to the waist, are counterintuitive and require extensive practice to remember. Understand?"
"Mm-hmm."
Chen Fan nodded repeatedly.
"Words won’t help; you have to keep it in mind."
Zhang Ren snorted, "Now we’ll officially begin."
First, the most basic, preparation stance.
Chen Fan spread his legs shoulder-width apart, body upright, eyes forward, gripping the spear steadily.
"Passable."
Zhang Ren nodded. He walked to the front, and his hand had a spear too, demonstrating the basic moves.
Thrust.
Counter.
Intercept.
Chop.
Stab.
Strike.
And finally, returning the spear.
In the distance, Wang Ping and others felt somewhat sentimental.
Because when Zhang Ren taught them, he hadn’t demonstrated so many moves.
Only straightforward stabbing.
After finally returning the spear, a small line appeared on the skill bar.
[Basic Spear Technique: lv0 (0.1%)]
Chen Fan exhaled.
Wielding this 20-pound spear was indeed difficult; just one set of moves had made him break out in a light sweat, though far from his limits.
Moreover, the weight of the spear was a factor. One set increased proficiency by 0.1%; with the previous 10-pound spear, it might have been only half.
"Looks like I need to practice 1000 times to level up."
Chen Fan thought, filled with motivation.
"Continue."
At this time, Zhang Ren’s voice resonated again from the front.
Once, twice, three times...
Zhang Ren put away his spear, turned to Chen Fan, "Yes, just keep practicing, thousands of times, forming muscle memory, and that’s the beginner level."
"Then, what about Level 8 Spear Skill?"
Chen Fan asked softly.
"You’re still far from it."
Zhang Ren glanced at him and then at the distance, "Keep practicing here, I’ll check others."
"Yes, Uncle Zhang."
Chen Fan withdrew his gaze, deeply inhaling. It seemed the prerequisite for [Level 8 Spear Skill] was high?
Even so, he had no intention of using experience points on [Basic Spear Technique].
Isn’t it just hundreds or thousands of times?
Even if it’s tens of thousands, millions of times, he had the motivation to persist.
Prepare, thrust, counter... strike, return spear.
Each move was executed with full concentration, striving for accuracy, not daring to slacken, otherwise, proficiency wouldn’t increase.
One set of moves took almost half a minute.
Ten minutes passed, he felt slightly tired.
Half an hour passed, his body was soaked with sweat.
One hour passed, he was drenched as if bathed in water.
Wang Ping and the others were already stunned.
They practiced for an hour but the moves weren’t as difficult, and their spears weighed only six or seven pounds.
Chen Guodong, Liu Yong, who had also started practicing after stance training, were also shocked.
Gao Yang wiped sweat, glanced at the tirelessly practicing Chen Fan, then at Zhang Ren, subconsciously asked, "Has Xiaofan always been so hard-working? It’s been over an hour, right?"
Zhang Ren looked and slowly said, "Yes, he has always been like this."
Instantly, everyone fell silent.
The soreness seemed to vanish at this moment.
Two hours passed, Chen Fan was breathless, his arms felt heavy like thousands of pounds. Because of the misshapen moves, several times the proficiency hadn’t increased.
The good news was, during this period, as he became more familiar with the moves, each proficiency increment gradually rose from 0.1% to 0.15%, then to 0.2%.
He looked at the skill bar:
[Basic Spear Technique: lv0 (35.6%)]
"Still missing more than half?"
Chen Fan sighed inwardly, calculating he still needed 322 practices, nearly three more hours.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration came. No, he seemed a bit lost in the situation.
Clearly, he could do it faster.