Before his words finished, a massive tree branch three-fourths of his own height and as thick as a baby’s arm appeared in his hand. Next, as if using it as a cane, one of its ends struck the ground. A wave of amber-red hue passed down the branch from the top of his hand. Wherever the hue went, selective parts of the branch would burn away, as if the spear was being etched by flame.

In a matter of mere seconds, the amber-red hue reduced the branch to a certain shape — that of a spear. Lifting it off the ground, Zhu rotated it in his hands before letting his grip go. The wooden spear hurled towards Zack. Its tip aimed at his shoulder as it pierced through the air.

Without thinking much, Zack’s hand grabbed it. A moment later, the boy blinked. The spear in his hand felt lighter than he had imagined. Instead of being as heavy as it looked, it was light, as if hollow from within. Twisting his wrist left and right, he inspected the spear closely.

Within the shaft of the spear, he saw tiny groves, both reducing its weight and improving its grip. Moving to its tip, although it appeared sharp from afar, it was blunt enough to allow Zack to press his hand down on it and still not get injured. Through his palm, he could feel the still-hot surface of the spear.

‘He’s strong. No doubt about that. If I can get as strong as him, can I kill that man?’

Zack’s head turned up to look at Zhu. The latter was looking up at the sky with his eyes narrowed, giving off an aloof air. However, inwardly, he shook his head.

‘Teaching… It is hard. I couldn’t find where I placed those training weapons I prepared for this brat. Good thing I found that branch while coming over. Otherwise, I would have to postpone the lesson. Next time, I’ll remember to carry a set of practice weapons with me. Still, showing off every once in a while helps in keeping these young ones in check.’

Snapping out of his thoughts, he instructed, “For using a spear, there are three basic techniques you need to master: thrust, sweep, and twist. If you were to watch any battles involving spears, you’ll find that most of the techniques used are just a composition made of these three techniques.”

“The thrust, as it sounds, is thrusting your spear forwards. Usually, you do it from the side with the tip to attack. As for the sweep, also as simple as the thrust, you hold your spear firmly before swinging it in an arc through the air, essentially sweeping it. However, as for the twist, it doesn’t mean twisting the spear. Instead, it refers to twisting your wrist.”

Next, Zhu went on to explain in more detail and fill in for deficiency in Zack’s knowledge about the spear.

“… And at last, as the old adage goes, your weapon is an extension of yourself. Now, time for you to learn basic forms and stances and practise the usage.” Finishing his sentence, Zhu walked towards Zack. “Put your dominant leg back while assuming a horse stance. Next, grasp the spear with both hands, with your dominant hand at the upper position. Next, bring it to your solar plexus — I said solar plexus! And bend your knees a bit more.”

Unable to keep watching, Zhu walked forward before correcting his posture. After reaching a satisfactory point, he nodded. “Now, breathe in and use your hands to thrust forwa— Don’t breathe through your stomach. Breathe through your lungs!”

Before Zhu’s words finished, a palm struck Zack’s lower abdomen, pushing all the air out of his lungs. The same scene repeated itself over and over, causing Zhu to rub his temples.

He couldn't help but ask, “Boy, who taught you to fight?”

Feeling relieved at not getting struck, Zack heaved a sigh before replying, “Nobody. I learnt it myself.”

“So you mean to say that the moves you used in your fight against William’s brat is something you did on your own?”

“Yeah. I watched and mimicked his fighting style, adding in and removing things as I saw fit. After all, unlike him, neither can I jump like crazy nor do I have a good enough awareness to pull those stunts off.” Thinking of Samuel’s savage attacks, a bitter smile spread across Zack’s face.

“Did Lady Aria also not teach you anything?”

“Aunt asked me to learn some stuff about self-defence after I got well, but as things turned out, I never got the chance to learn anything from her.”

Zhu shook his head. “Well, drop the spear for today. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. We’ll start with the basics. From now to next month, we’ll focus on breathing, calmness, movement, rebalancing…”

Within a blink of an eye, Zhu listed over a dozen topics of learning. “Today, let’s start with breathing. Tell me all you know about it.”

Recalling the explanation he received back in the day from Amelia, he recited it as best he remembered.

Listening to his words, Zhu nodded. Next, he asked, “Now, think over what you just said and answer. Do you know why breathing is important? As far as I know, you’ve read that book about Ki and probably saw a few breathing techniques in there. Any guess as to why they are there? And I don’t know if you’re aware or not but after a certain level, although not as good as with it, our body can work without air, and it progressively gets better to the point you can live underwater for months without needing to come out to breathe. Then why is breath important?”

Looking down at the ground, Zack fell in thought. Next, he shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Waving his hand, Zhu said, “Don’t worry. It’s normal. As for the answer, for most people, first, they aren’t at a level where they can let go of breathing. Second, even for the strongest, although not as much as other people on a fundamental level, breathing is still important to them. Let’s leave those higher-level ones. You’ll understand it when you reach that level. Instead, let’s talk about someone on your level.

“We eat food, and it’s common to say that our energy comes from whatever we eat. And to utilise that digested energy, we need a spark to start it, something to sustain it and a medium to unleash that energy through.

“Shifting to take the example of a candle, to light it, you need a spark. In other words, your life. To sustain it, you need air, or the vitality from the world. And for the medium, it would be your body. With any of the three missing, you won’t be able to unleash any power. And what easier way to absorb the vitality from the world than to breathe it in?”

Patting Zack’s shoulder, Zhu said, “Now, sit down. Right here is fine enough. Focus on your breath. Close your eyes and feel how energy courses through your body. Focus on that rhythm and attune yourself to it.”