Chapter 258: Chapter 257: Army Breaker

This time, he was no longer defending passively. Instead, he took the initiative to attack.

The Incense Lighting Body Technique, combined with the lightness and agility from the Thief Dao, made his speed astonishing.

The Purgatory Star Rod spun in his hand. At times, it was like a venomous snake striking, aiming for Yu Nianhe’s joints. At others, it was like a fierce tiger descending a mountain, smashing head-on against his twin hammers.

Although Yu Nianhe was strong, his speed was not slow. His twin hammers flew up and down, blocking every one of Zhu Ge’s attacks.

The two of them exchanged blows for dozens of rounds, the sound of staff and hammers colliding echoing through the mountain forest.

"How satisfying!" Yu Nianhe laughed loudly. His twin hammers suddenly left his hands, turning into two shooting stars that pincered Zhu Ge from the left and right.

Zhu Ge’s eyes narrowed. With a flick of his Purgatory Star Rod, the staff’s body seemed to come alive, transforming into a long, silver-red serpent. It coiled around the chain hammer flying from the left and, with a violent fling, smashed it against the one coming from the right.

"CLANG—"

The two hammers collided, sending sparks flying.

Yu Nianhe reached out and pulled, and the chain hammers flew back into his hands.

"Mister Zhu Ge, your staff technique is truly peculiar." Yu Nianhe’s eyes were full of curiosity. "It has both soft and hard power, and it can entwine and coil. It’s as if you’ve integrated saber and whip techniques into it."

"Something like that," Zhu Ge smiled. "I’ve observed the fighting styles of many Demon Beasts and incorporated them into my staff work."

"So that’s how it is!" Yu Nianhe said thoughtfully. "My father always says my hammer technique is too rigid, that I only know how to clash head-on. It seems I should learn from you, Mister Zhu Ge, and observe more things."

He put away his twin hammers and cupped his fists. "Mister Zhu Ge, I concede. If we keep fighting, you’re going to completely dismantle my hammer technique."

"You didn’t lose," Zhu Ge smiled. "This was just a spar. There’s no need to determine a winner and loser."

"Then I’ll call it a draw." Yu Nianhe grinned, took a jade token from his robes, and handed it to Zhu Ge. "This is a keepsake from my Yu Family."

"Mister Zhu Ge, if you ever come to Minjiang in the future, you must visit me in Quanzhou Prefecture and be a guest at my Quanzhou Yu Family. My father is very interested in your New Confucian Dao and would like to ask for your guidance in person."

Zhu Ge accepted the jade token. It was warm and smooth to the touch, with the character for "Yu" carved on it. "Please give my regards to your esteemed father."

"I will!" Yu Nianhe waved and turned, striding away.

Zhu Ge watched his retreating back, lost in thought.

"That little fatty is no simple character," True Monarch Minmian’s voice came from the carriage. "His hammer technique has already touched the threshold of ’Presence’. It’s just that acquiring ’Presence’ is not easy. But he’s still young; his future accomplishments are limitless."

Zhu Ge returned to the carriage and tucked the jade token into his sleeve. "Indeed, his hammer technique is very strong. If he had gone all out, I might not have won."

’Speaking of which, Guan Julan and the others are no slouch either. Each of them is basically at the threshold of grasping ’Presence,’ otherwise they wouldn’t be on the Sheji Chart.’

’Take Guan Julan, for example. Every time she uses her Waterdrop True Intent, it contains a faint ’Presence’ of rivers and seas.’

’Just like that little fatty. He clearly looks like a chubby kid who hasn’t hit his growth spurt, not even in puberty yet.’

’Yet he gives off the feeling of a ferocious beast that makes the ground rumble when it walks.’

’But there’s a world of difference between lacking that final step and actually taking it to enter the hall of mastery.’

’It’s like a single sheet of window paper, yet it separates as much as a heavenly chasm.’

"That’s because you haven’t properly practiced a staff technique yet." True Monarch Minmian took out a few thin booklets from his robes and tossed them to Zhu Ge. "These are all True Level Cultivation Techniques. Take a look and pick one to practice. Relying on your own trial and error is too slow."

Zhu Ge caught the booklets and opened the first one.

*Wind and Rain Staff Technique*!

"Use the staff to summon wind and rain, use wind and rain to form the staff’s presence. For one who masters this, a single strike of the staff will bring a sudden storm, causing the heavens and earth to change color."

Then Zhu Ge looked at the next one, *Breaking Army*.

"The staff is the courage of a hundred weapons. The Breaking Army Staff Technique uses presence to overwhelm the opponent, advancing without hesitation. Taking an enemy commander’s head from within a ten-thousand-strong army is as easy as reaching into a bag to grab something."

And the third book, *Taiyi Xuanmen Staff*.

"Taiyi Xuanmen Staff. Use the staff to manifest the Dao, use the Dao to command the staff. With one strike of the staff, ten thousand techniques are born."

Zhu Ge looked through the three staff techniques, marveling internally.

’Every single one is a True Level Cultivation Technique. Out in the world, any of them would be enough to establish a sect.’

’Yet True Monarch Minmian tossed them to him like trash.’

’Seriously, this is what a true sworn brother is like!’

Zhu Ge held the three booklets, and the more he looked, the heavier they felt.

Not because of the paper’s weight, but the weight of the sentiment behind them.

"Second Brother, this gift is too great." He rarely used the title "Second Brother," instead of just calling him Minmian.

True Monarch Minmian waved his hand dismissively. "We’re brothers, what’s with the formality? If you feel bad about it, just help me buy some wine to drink when we get to Shengjing."

"Deal." Zhu Ge carefully put the three staff techniques into his sleeve, then stepped out of the carriage and said to Liu Jianjian, "I’m going into the Self Realm to practice the staff for a bit. You guys continue on the road. Call me when you reach a town."

"Okay, Master!" Liu Jianjian asked casually, "For how long?"

"Hard to say." After speaking, Zhu Ge grasped the Pass Token for the Hongmi Self Realm, his figure flashed, and he disappeared on the spot.

...

Inside the Self Realm, the fragrance of rice was the same as ever.

Zhu Ge found an open patch of dirt by the Spirit Rice Field and laid out the three staff techniques in a row.

Sunlight poured down from the dome of the Self Realm.

That dome was an Array refined by the Hongmi Immortal. It drew in sunlight from the outside world. Although there was no real sun, it was enough to illuminate this small world.

He first picked up the *Wind and Rain Staff Technique*.

The general principle of this staff technique was just a single sentence...

"Wind has no form, rain has no shape, the staff has no fixed pattern."

Zhu Ge repeated it a few times, a glimmer of understanding dawning on him.

Wind has no fixed form, rain has no fixed shape, and the staff technique has no fixed moves.

What this staff technique pursued was not power, not speed, but "change."

He stood up, tightened his grip on the Purgatory Star Rod, and began to practice the first form of the *Wind and Rain Staff Technique*, "Wind’s Rise."

This form required the staff to move with the body, and the body to move with the wind. It wasn’t the person swinging the staff, but the staff leading the person.

The staff was in front, the person behind, as if it wasn’t the person controlling the staff, but the staff pulling the person along.

Zhu Ge tried to infuse Blood Qi into the staff’s body, making the Purgatory Star Rod’s silver-red light flare brightly, then swung it fiercely.

"WHOOSH—"

The staff cut through the air, stirring up a gale.

The surrounding rice seedlings were blown askew, and a few stalks of low-grade Spirit Rice were even uprooted.

Zhu Ge quickly retracted his power, looking at the rice seedlings with a pained expression.

’Good thing it only uprooted a few stalks, or I’d have died from the heartache.’

After "Wind’s Rise" came "Cloud Swell," "Rainfall," and "Water Flood," four forms executed in a single, fluid sequence.

Zhu Ge practiced for an hour, gradually getting the hang of it.

The essence of the *Wind and Rain Staff Technique* was not in the staff itself, but in its "Presence"—the Presence arrives before the staff.

With one swing of the staff, the opponent first had to endure a torrential, oppressive force before the staff itself even reached them.

Zhu Ge put away the *Wind and Rain Staff Technique* and picked up the second book—*Breaking Army*.

He opened the first page. The general principle was just four words: "Press onward without retreat."

His gaze sharpened. These four words were written with immense power, the brushstrokes like cuts from a knife or chisel, as if the writer had a charging army of thousands in their heart when they put pen to paper.

Zhu Ge flipped further and saw a line of annotation, left by some unknown predecessor: "The Breaking Army Staff Technique disregards life and death and gives no thought to retreat. With one strike, you either break the enemy or break yourself."

’What a domineering staff technique.’

Zhu Ge stood up, staff in hand.

The silver-red light on the Purgatory Star Rod was like a burning flame. He didn’t rush to swing the staff, but instead closed his eyes and silently chanted the four words "Press onward without retreat" in his mind.

His Martial Arts Heart beat slowly, Blood Qi surging, gradually resonating with those four words.

"Charge!"

He suddenly opened his eyes and brought the staff smashing down.

There were no fancy moves, no complex arcs, only the purest of smashes.

Blood Qi poured into the staff. The Purgatory Star Rod, wreathed in a wild wind, slammed into the ground.

"BOOM—"

Dirt and stone flew everywhere as a three-foot-square crater blasted open in the ground.

The webbing between Zhu Ge’s thumb and forefinger went numb, but a feeling of exhilarating satisfaction surged through his heart.

’This is the kind of feeling I like.’

’One smash down, and who cares if you’re a Demon Beast or some other enemy—just smash them first and ask questions later.’

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.