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The man's eyes burned with martial intent. Something like only those who followed a strict path to weapon mastery could achieve. Sword cultivators were all like that. Once they honed their Sword Intent to the limit, anyone would feel the sharpness of it even through their gaze.

And the generated enemy for him was also like that. His martial intent was focused on the spear.

Without warning, the spearman lunged at him, his crimson-tipped weapon thrusting like a released viper.

Lin Mo reacted instinctively, the [Starlit Dragon Spear] snapping up to parry.

The clash instantly sent a shockwave through the simulation as Lin Mo could feel him losing out in terms of strength.

The spearman before him was truly an expert. His speed and technique were naturally more advanced than Lin Mo's as he weaved a net of crimson arcs to entrap him.

Lin Mo gritted his teeth as he drew on the Foundational Martial Technique, his stances fluid but clearly unrefined.

The spear's inherent draconic intent guided his movements, nudging his strikes toward precision but the spearman deflected it.

"Too slow," Lin Mo grunted, dodging a thrust that grazed his shoulder.

He channeled a trickle of starlight qi from the first node into the spear, and the weapon responded with a faint glow.

His next strike became seemingly sharper as it did a sweeping arc, forcing the spearman back.

The simulation's feedback was immediate. His qi consumption was inefficient, and his stances not only lacked the manual's celestial flow but also the spear techniques.

The fight stretched on. Lin Mo alternated between combat and meditation to refine his second node whenever he would be knocked down.

The spearman was a perfect sparring partner, tireless and unforgiving. By the time the second node stabilized, Lin Mo's movements had grown smoother, his spear strikes mimicking the manual's description of a 'dragon coiling through the stars'.

But he knew it wasn't enough. He had to do something else…

He dismissed the [Starlit Dragon Spear] for a moment, letting it fall to the ground.

His goal wasn't to win but to truly understand the interplay between his foundational techniques, his new cultivation manual, and the spear.

First, he had to see how he would do with just the [Foundational Martial Technique].

He took a deep breath, channeling the [Silent Stream Breathing Technique] to calm his throbbing meridians. His spiritual energy steadily flowed, ready to be molded.

"Come on," Lin Mo murmured, extending an open palm.

The spearman blurred and a crimson streak cut across the void. The spearman darted forward, a series of rapid, precise thrusts aimed at Lin Mo's vital points. He got put in an even bigger disadvantage. His arms' reach compared to the spear was more than double. Each lunge and parry was executed with flawless precision that if he made a mistake, he'd be dealt with right away.

He parried a forceful thrust with a quick, open-palm block, deflecting the spear and creating an opening. Before the phantom could recover, Lin Mo flowed into a low kick, aiming for the knee.

The spearman expertly twisted, absorbing the blow, but the impact sent a tremor through its stance.

"Impressive," Lin Mo thought, a newfound respect for the simulation's realism. His opponent wasn't just a static dummy. He was thinking and adapting to him.

He recalled the words of the [Starflow Meditation Manual]: "Precision born from stillness, explosive force from a focused will."

Now, it was time to integrate. He closed his eyes for a split second, feeling the two nascent starlight qi nodes within his dantian. They flickered with a subtle yet fierce energy, distinct from his pure spiritual energy.

Lin Mo recalled the [Starlit Dragon Spear] from the ground, its silver sheen glinting in the simulated light. He met the descending spear with a swift, upward parry, channeling a trickle of starlight qi into the tip of his weapon.

Pssshk!

A faint silver spark erupted at the point of contact. His opponent's spear, though physically unimpeded, recoiled slightly and its trajectory subtly shifted.

It was a minor disruption, almost imperceptible, but it was enough.

Lin Mo followed through, a thrust aimed at the phantom's torso. He channeled more starlight qi, letting it infuse the spear's tip with a focused intensity.

The phantom twisted, attempting to evade, but the precision strike was too fast. The spear connected, not with physical impact, but with a ripple of starlight qi, burrowing into the spearman's body.

His opponent shimmered as its form flickered as if momentarily destabilized by the foreign energy.

It recovered instantly, but Lin Mo had seen enough. The starlight qi, even in its nascent form, had an effect. It wasn't just physical force; it was disruptive.

Now what he had to do was… to combine it.

Using the [Foundational Martial Technique], which taught him the basics and foundation of spear techniques, he'd use the [Starflow Meditation Manual] or, more specifically, the starlight qi nodes to create his own spear technique, one that could harmonize his current foundational skills with the celestial precision of starlight qi.

The [Starlit Dragon Spear] seemed to hum in approval, as its draconic intent resonated with his ambition to forge something uniquely his own.

Lin Mo steadied his breath and aligned his body to calm the flow of his qi again.

He visualized the two nodes of starlight qi orbiting his core, their silvery light like twin stars awaiting ignition.

The spearman, sensing his shift in focus, didn't wait. It kicked the ground and lunged forward, crimson spear weaving a deadly lattice of thrusts and sweeps.

Each strike carried the weight of a seasoned martial artist, forcing Lin Mo to rely on instinct and the barest threads of his new understanding.

He parried, sidestepped, and countered, but this time, he wasn't just reacting. He was observing. Feeling the flow of his spiritual energy, the subtle tug of starlight qi, and the spear's latent draconic will.

The [Foundational Martial Technique] gave him structure: a thrust was not just a thrust but a transfer of force through precise angles; a sweep was a controlled arc that maximized reach and momentum. Yet, it lacked flair, the kind of explosive individuality that could elevate it beyond the basics.

"Precision from stillness," Lin Mo muttered, dodging a vicious overhead strike that cracked the simulated ground. "Explosive force from focus."

He closed his eyes for a heartbeat, letting the spearman's relentless assault fade into background noise.

The [Starflow Meditation Manual] whispered in his mind: Let the stars guide your intent. Each node is a spark, a moment of creation. He envisioned his two nodes not as static reservoirs but as living conduits, channels for starlight qi to flow into his meridians, his muscles, his spear.

The spearman lunged and its crimson tip aimed at his heart.

Lin Mo's eyes snapped open, and he moved. Not with the rigid forms of the Foundational Technique but with a fluid, almost serpentine grace.

He channeled starlight qi from his first node into the [Starlit Dragon Spear], letting it pool at the tip. The weapon glowed faintly, its silver sheen deepening into a radiant, moonlit hue.

He thrust in a spiraling motion, as if tracing the path of a coiling dragon.

The starlight qi erupted in a controlled burst. It became a silvery coil that twisted around the spear's tip.

The crimson spear clashed against it, but the coil simply disrupted it. The spearman's weapon veered off course, its momentum stolen by the swirling qi.

Lin Mo didn't stop. He flowed into the next strike, drawing from the second node. This time, the starlight qi surged through his arm, amplifying the force behind a sweeping arc.

The spear seemingly sang as its draconic intent amplified the motion into a crescent of light that mimicked a dragon's claw raking through the void.

The spearman raised its weapon to block, but the explosive force sent it skidding back, its tattered robes fluttering.

"Got it," Lin Mo breathed, his lips curling into a grin. The technique was raw, unpolished but it was something he created.

A fusion of the Foundational Technique's disciplined structure, the [Starflow Meditation Manual]'s celestial finesse and the [Starlit Dragon Spear]'s draconic ferocity.

He'd call it… Starcoil Thrust for the spiraling strike and Dragon Crescent Sweep for the arcing blow. Not the most poetic names, but they'd do for now. It's the first two techniques of his style.

"Now, to end this… let's try that one out too." Upon saying that, Lin Mo recalled the [Stellar Cascade]. The spell was attached to the spear.

He stepped back and created some distance. The spearman sensed the opportunity and rushed forward, its crimson-tipped spear barreling down with the bulk of his Spear Intent.

Lin Mo closed his eyes, focusing intensely on his dantian. He channeled all the starlight qi from his two nodes, letting it surge into the spear.

WHOOSH!

He thrust the spear forward in a single, powerful lunge. Instead of a single projectile, a fan of miniature starlight lances erupted from the spearhead, shimmering like countless shooting stars. They moved with blinding speed, each one a pinpoint of condensed energy.

The spearman's spear intent broke instantly but he still tried to parry. Unfortunately, there were simply too many. The lances struck its form with myriad tiny bursts of light that ripped through its simulated body.

As the light dimmed, Lin Mo's opponent dissolved into shimmering motes of light before vanishing completely.

"Alright. That's a cheat skill." He concurred with a wry grin.