Volume 2 Chapter 19: Spear From Within the Cave

Not long afterwards, with a black horn bow on his back, border army long blade in hand, Lin Xi appeared in front of a yellow wall entrance.

This yellow perimeter wall stretched for a great distance, but every thousand or so meters, there would be a wide open entrance.

When Lin Xi appeared before this great gate, in the forest around the edge of the yellow wall, there was a student with a Goshawk symbol on his chest who exchanged a look with him, but when the former saw the five emblems on Lin Xi's armor, as well as the black horn bow on his back, he immediately chose to run.

Lin Xi who already had five emblems didn't chase after him either.

It was because the golden wall area wasn't a part of the free battle area, course points would be deducted if one took action inside. That was why when he saw the entrance before him on this yellow wall, Lin Xi calmly walked inside.

The comprehensive training area surrounded by the yellow wall occupied a few hundred mu, roughly the same as Lin Xi's high school in his past world. Inside, there was a mountain forest, more than ten buildings that had a bit of a greek architectural style towered there, stone pillars supporting more than ten three to four storey, square-shaped ordinary buildings.

Behind the wall Lin Xi walked through was an ordinary square-shaped stele, on it carved, "Those who participate in training must obey the rules. Only after completing the first level of training can one move onto the second level, violators will have one point deducted. South is level one, north is level two, the stele in front of the temple also carries instructions."

Lin Xi raised his head. By borrowing the setting sun and the distant Green Luan Academy's peaks, he easily differentiated between north and south. He followed the cobblestone alley, arriving before the first temple.

When facing this grand, square-shaped stone temple supported by thick pillars, Lin Xi couldn't help but release a sigh of admiration as he walked up the steps. One or two broken buildings similar to this one would have already made quite a few people excited in his past world, so if those same people were in this valley, faced with this type of palace, just what kind of reaction would they have?

The giant temple-like stone building didn't have any decorative designs, only a stele, the words 'Level one' carved on it.

Just what kind of arrangements were there inside?

Lin Xi walked into this stone temple, full of curiosity. Inside was a spacious hall stretching roughly two hundred steps of distance, the rear gate a tightly shut bronze entrance.

Some simple windows were opened in the walls around him, square-shaped beams of sunlight shining into the hall.

The floor of the great hall was uneven earth, while the extremely thick walls were filled with deep, square shaped holes.

On the entrance into this hall was a small cowhide scroll, on it written in beautiful handwriting: "Direct Spear Strikes, get through the hall, reach the rear gate to complete the training. Current records: Medicine Department, completed in seventy-three breaths, hit three times; Statecraft Department, completed in seventy-five breaths, hit four times; Self Defense Department, completed in sixty-one breaths, hit twice, Spiritual Sacrifice Department, completed in seventy breaths, hit three times; Internal Study Department, completed in fifty-four breaths, hit once; Natural Arts Department, completed in seventy-two breaths, hit four times."

"Direct Spear Strikes... could it be that spears will shoot out from those square shaped holes?"

Lin Xi's brows furrowed slightly, guessing at the meaning of this training. A single breath in this world was precisely the second he was familiar with. The distance was approximately a hundred and sixty meters, so if he was purely sprinting across, he definitely didn't need more than fifty seconds. However, even the shortest record left by the Internal Study Department individual took fifty-four seconds before reaching the other side that was clearly in view.

This meant that the number of times hit was being hit by a long spear?

Self Defense Department was a department that mainly pursued fighting prowess to begin with, some 'border barbarians' deliberately thrown into Self Defense Department during the entrance examination. Now, the record left by the Self Defense Department students instead couldn't compare to someone from Internal Study, it seems like the new student from Internal Study was quite formidable.

Lin Xi muttered to himself. It didn't seem archery would be of any use here, so he removed the bow and quiver. However, after considering that the long blade might help him block some attacks, he brought the long blade with him, slowly entering the spacious and quiet hall in a careful, probing manner.

It was just as he had first imagined. After he walked five or six steps, ka ka ka sounds rang out. The sounds of overcast metal hinges moving could be heard from the thick stone walls.

Weng!

As if it was fired off of a tension wire, a black spear flickering with cold radiance shot out from the wall to his left, shooting straight at him.

Lin Xi who had long made preparations leapt forward, immediately avoiding this black spear's attack. The black spear easily stabbed into the earth, slightly shaking in place.

Before Lin Xi had a chance to get a good look at this spear, another spear shot over from the right side at his back.

This spear was also avoided by Lin Xi. However, what immediately made his heart go cold was that there were light noises that sounded from above, a black spear shooting down.

Even though the black armor he wore protected the head as well, the helmet having defensive abilities, the silver wires covering his face also extremely formidable, if his head was struck like this, it definitely wouldn't feel that good.

Lin Xi was immediately a bit flustered. When he took more than ten steps diagonally forwards, a pain transmitted from his lower back, but when he uttered a cry of pain, another black spear smashed into his back, hitting his left shoulder, sending him forward.

The two waves of stabbing pain made Lin Xi's entire body produce cold sweat. These two black spears' power was considerably greater than even the Black Flower Pike the student with the Rose Flower symbol on his chest displayed, the sharp tips piercing into his bones.

He subconsciously tried to get off the ground, but as soon as he moved his body, another black spear smashed heavily into his back, directly sending him back down, almost knocking the breath out of him.

When he remained on the ground without moving, those black spears seemed to have stopped firing, only ka ka ka noises continuing to ring throughout this stone room.

Lin Xi was in so much pain he sucked in cold air, deciding he might as well remain still and think a bit to himself.

Even though he didn't know if these mechanisms in this temple were controlled by a lecturer or automatic, what he was sure of was that the angles of the spears that were released from the square holes could be adjusted. With each step, at least five or six spears would shoot over from all directions.

The power of these black spears was equivalent to a normal local army soldier's full force strike.

That was why this should be a simulation of what it was like to move through a battlefield, when facing the spear attacks of enemy soldiers.

In a chaotic battle of hundreds to over a thousand people, the enemies one had to deal with at the same time should be precisely around five or six.

From the scene just now, even though he already entered the ranks of cultivators, it was easy to see that on a chaotic battlefield, even a group of ordinary non-cultivator soldiers could strike him down with spears.

The number of spear strikes taken was recorded at the entrance. Together with the sheer power of these black spears, trying to forcefully endure the pain the spears inflicted and charge straight through, break the record purely through speed, was impossible.

When he carefully thought about the directions those black spears stabbed from during his dozen or so steps, Lin Xi suddenly discovered that sometimes, several spears stabbed over at the same time from different directions. This meant that if he relied purely on evasion, his posture would still be extremely warped, unable to escape the following spears.

The speed of these black spears however, wasn't especially fast...

Suddenly, a flash of enlightenment passed through Lin Xi's sea of consciousness. He finally figured it out!

This was completely a simulation of charging and breaking through enemy lines. No matter where one charged, they would still run into five or six spear wielding soldiers! On the battlefield, these soldiers and spears even occupied the areas they had to charge through, so only through endless evasion, charging, and attacking with their own weapon could they slaughter their way through!

That was why the border army long blade in his hands couldn't be lost, had to fend off some incoming spears while continuously moving around.

The significance of this layout, was precisely to train cultivators for situations when they were surrounded, for fighting while surrounded, possibly breaking out of the encirclement!

That was why this arrangement, even if it had nothing to do with points, it indeed continuously trained true fighting strength.

It was because this time, he felt like there was no way he could break the record. Thus, after understanding this, Lin Xi quietly laid there, all the way until the pain weakened, not affecting his movements anymore, only then did he grip the black border army long blade in his hands. Then, with a fierce push, he sprung out.

Weng!

The instant he leapt out, black spears shot out from the walls, stabbing towards him.

Dang!

A metallic sound rang out from the somewhat gloomy hall, drawing forth a string of sparks.

The charging Lin Xi cut down a black spear shooting at him, but the instant his movements slowed, an explosive pa sounded. A spear attacking from the rear already smashed viciously into the back of his right flank.

Lin Xi staggered, immediately knocked down by the following black spears aimed at his body.

...

In the spacious and unmanned gloomy hall, Lin Xi fell again and again, but climbed back up each time, the sound of weapons clanking ringing through this hall.

After a long time, Lin Xi decided to conclude this training. He laid on the ground, panting for breath.

Inside the black armor, it was as if his body had been fished out of water, completely drenched.

That hot stream in his dantian had already completely disappeared as well, lacerating pain covering every inch of his body.

The instant his eyes swept over the cold spears, a wave of coldness would surge from within him, the pain from being struck by these spears emerging in his mind.

However, this type of training that was incomparably close to a true battlefield, it taught him many things that he had to deeply reflect over. He always had to immediately determine which direction was easiest to evade in, and his figure could never remain frozen in the same spot. The long blade in his hands, even when swung in the most natural manner, can still only alter the trajectory of the spears at most, and not directly face the spears head-on. With each spear diverted, each swing of the blade, his own movements couldn't be affected in the slightest...

1. 1 mu is roughly 600 square meters