William Harper took a few quick steps, no longer daring to simply defend. With his left hand, he raised a qi shield to meet the blue-green spear blade. At the moment of contact, the lower center of the qi shield suddenly caved in; it looked as if the blue spear blade had pierced through the shield, but the shield remained condensed and unbroken. The blue-green spear blade slid along William Harper’s wrist and thrust forward. The qi shield transformed into a white wall of energy, wrapping around Eric’s right arm and spear blade.

Though it appeared to be a draw, Eric knew he was far inferior to William Harper. He had only managed to block the first move, and all subsequent variations were rendered useless. Feeling dejected and about to speak, he heard William Harper preempt him: “I dare not claim that I could block your spear attack with just a qi shield. I lost.”

There was no joy on Eric’s face; he wondered if, in another five years, he could reach William Harper’s level.

Brian Sutton said, “No more variations. Let Eric condense a qi shield, and Little William will try to break it with spear force.”

Eric withdrew the sharpness from his face and, earnestly, summoned all his strength to form a qi shield. Its condensation was inferior to the spear blade, its color much lighter—a pale blue.

William Harper bent his arm in a spear-thrusting stance, condensing his energy into a silver short spear. He abandoned finesse for simplicity and thrust straightforwardly.

Upon contact, the qi shield vibrated. Eric thought it would end there, but another surge of force followed. The shield cracked, and a third powerful force surged in. The shield broke. Eric was shocked, and struck out with his right fist, meeting the fourth surge of force. Without the protection of the qi shield, his chest churned with qi and blood, a faint pain spreading within.

Fortunately, William Harper’s spear attack had no further strength, or else he would have been injured. Eric calmed his breath and focused his mind, thoroughly convinced. He realized that, in the past, when he trained with Sù Mínggē, he had never left the Yanyun Wasteland and knew nothing of the world beyond.

William Harper said, “With spear force alone, I couldn’t break your qi shield. I used the technique of shock, transforming spear force into four consecutive strikes, and thus was able to break your shield.” Seeing Eric’s solemn expression, William Harper glanced sideways at Sutton and continued, “In martial cultivation, there is a difference between skill and the Way. When I was fifteen, I served at the side of my lord. He asked me: ‘Do you know the wonder of change?’ That one question awakened me from a dream, and only then did I glimpse a fraction of the martial Way. Otherwise, I would not have dared to compete with you with only a tenth of my energy. In terms of the purity of energy alone, when I was eighteen, I was far inferior to you.”

Eric’s expression did not soften at William Harper’s words; he only felt that William Harper had opened a door before him, leading to a much vaster world. Brian Sutton was not versed in martial skills. Although Eric sensed that he possessed even greater power within, and that he was likely a secret arts practitioner like Nánqí Kǔxiū and Elder Xiān, he wondered why Brian Sutton could instruct William Harper in martial arts.

Brian Sutton saw that Eric’s sharpness was completely subdued and said with a smile, “The martial skills provided by the various temples of the Miluo Star God Palace have already lost the Way of change. Little do they know that even in the simplest martial skill—the qi shield—there is already the wonder of martial technique. Little William specializes in martial arts. What is your understanding?”

The lord did not merely wish to take Eric as a retainer. Seeing that Brian Sutton was testing him, William Harper dared not be careless. After a moment’s thought, he said, “The wonder of the qi shield lies in the forces of yin and yang, the distinction between inner and outer. This gives rise to the four most basic variations. Humans have seven natures, which can further derive twenty-eight variations. When I sparred with Eric, I only used the four most basic changes. At Eric’s first spear attack, I applied soft force externally to dissipate the spear’s sharpness, and hard force internally to defend, thus using weakness to overcome strength. At Eric’s second spear attack, the sharpness was even greater, so I applied hard force externally to slow the attack, then transformed soft force into binding force to entangle the spear blade and neutralize the assault. Eric defended with a qi shield, perfectly balancing hard and soft forces. Without equivalent strength, it is extremely difficult to break the shield in one strike. However, the qi shield lacked variation, so I used the shock technique to turn the spear attack into four consecutive strikes: the first dissipated the yin-soft, extending force within the shield; the second shattered the shield; the third and fourth broke through to the body.”

Eric was still savoring the subtleties of the earlier exchange, realizing that his own deductions could not compare to William Harper’s personal explanation. Yet he did not understand why Brian Sutton was doing this. He looked at Brian Sutton and William Harper in confusion and cautiously said, “Eric, of humble birth, if you do not despise me, I am willing to serve you, my lord.”

Brian Sutton suddenly opened his bewitching eyes, like two bolts of lightning shooting out, landing on Eric’s clear pupils: “Little William stays by my side, but is not a retainer of my Sutton family. When the time comes, he will rise with the tide, and his achievements will be no less than mine. Are you content to be a retainer of my Sutton family?”

In his eyes, Eric saw a blazing fire of desire, and felt as if something deep within him had suddenly been ignited. He walked up to Brian Sutton, dropped to his knees, bowed his head between them, and pleaded, “Please, my lord, teach Eric the Way of change.”

Brian Sutton burst out laughing, his voice shaking the petals and leaves of the Yingyanhua, which fluttered down. He shouted “Good, good, good!” several times, his wild demeanor astonishing William Harper, who was used to seeing him cautious and prudent. Brian Sutton then grew solemn, fixed his gaze on Eric, and said, “Do you know the way to Yujia City?” Seeing Eric nod, Brian Sutton became even more serious. “I will teach you the way of meditation, give you a secret technique, and grant you three months to train in the wasteland. When the time comes, come find me in Yujia City. Then I will see whether you can become my disciple, or remain only a retainer.”

Through the way of meditation, one refines mental power, which is the basic training for learning the secret arts of the temple and the five-element secret methods.

As a commoner, Eric had no source of faith, and thus could not practice the secret arts of the Star God Temple.