You are the offense, I am the defense.

Su Ji looked at her, then at the new spear in his hands, and took a deep breath.

Imitating the little red-haired girl, he gripped the spear with both hands and began to mobilize the massive spiritual energy that had been forcibly elevated within his body.

He closed his eyes, trying hard to recall the charm of that previous strike.

Power...

Will...

Killing intent...

Condense...

Pierce...

Tear...

Destroy...

"Hah!"

Su Ji abruptly opened his eyes and let out a fierce shout, using all the strength in his body to thrust the spear forward.

The spear tip tore through the air, bringing with it a sharp, whistling sound.

"Pfft."

A soft sound.

The spear tip sank into the ground, about three inches deep.

Su Ji: "..."

He looked at the small pit that wasn't even as deep as his foot. "No way, even as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, I should be able to pierce deeper than three inches, right?"

Not far away came the uncontrollable giggles of the little red-haired girl. "Haha, I forgot to mention! I felt the area just now was too fragile, and I don't have much territory to move around in. I can't just smash a several-thousand-meter pit every time I move, so I fortified this side."

"Which means you are actually going against me right now."

"You are on the offense, and I am on the defense."

"If you can smash a small pit around ten meters deep, consider it a success."

Hearing this explanation, Su Ji found it reasonable.

"Again!"

Refusing to concede, he pulled out the spear, channeled his spiritual energy to the fullest once more, and ruthlessly stabbed downward.

"Pfft."

Still three inches.

"Again!"

"Pfft."

He tried over a dozen times in a row, but the result was always the same.

Su Ji felt his face burning and wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.

It was too embarrassing.

It was simply a public execution.

He was panting from exhaustion, the webbing between his thumb and index finger numb from the recoil, but on the ground, apart from a neat row of small pits, there was no other change.

"No... something is definitely wrong..."

Su Ji stopped, leaning on the spear, panting heavily as his brain worked rapidly.

Was it a lack of strength?

Impossible.

Was his will not firm enough?

That didn't seem to be it either.

Then where... did the problem lie?

He looked up at the little red-haired girl, who was laughing so hard she was bending backwards and forwards, tears almost forming in her eyes. Suddenly, a flash of insight hit him.

"Fear me!"

That crisp yet domineering shout crossed through time and space, exploding violently in the depths of his soul once again.

Su Ji abruptly opened his eyes.

He understood.

The Desolate Meteor Sword was about seeing through the essence of all things, going with the flow, and using the most exquisite technique to dismantle them.

But this Dragon Clan spear art was the complete opposite—it was Momentum.

It was an unreasonable crushing force, an absolute domineering aura that made all things disintegrate on their own before you.

It didn't even bother to dismantle.

What it aimed to do was to make the target like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow, terrifying them out of their wits the moment they saw you.

Having figured this out, Su Ji felt his thoughts clear up, and the frustration in his heart was swept away.

He raised his head again and looked at the little red-haired girl, who was still snickering.

"Senior, I think... I understand now."

The little red-haired girl's laughter paused. She jumped down from the bluestone and tilted her head to look at him.

"Oh? Understand what?"

Her tone clearly showed her disbelief.

Su Ji didn't bother to explain.

He slowly closed his eyes. No longer deliberately mobilizing the spiritual energy in his body, he instead immersed his entire mind into an incredibly profound and mysterious state.

He remembered the Glimpse of Destiny, when he ascended to the upper realm and faced those two Soul Formation realm cultivators who treated him like an ant.

He remembered their contemptuous gazes, and the absolute power that could crush him with a casual palm strike.

He remembered the agonizing pain of his left arm being broken inch by inch.

He remembered the endless despair revealed in Su Jiu's clear eyes when her spiritual energy was sealed and she fell to her knees.

An uncontrollable surge of rage and killing intent erupted from the deepest part of his heart, instantly sweeping through his limbs and bones.

On what grounds?

Just because you were born in the upper realm?

So you can arbitrarily dictate the fate of the people in the lower realm?

I want you to...

Fear me!

Su Ji abruptly opened his eyes. Within his pitch-black pupils, it was as if two dark red suns were burning.

A terrifying Momentum, mixed with tyranny, fury, and unyielding will, surged into the sky from his body.

He no longer looked at the little red-haired girl, nor did he look at the ground beneath his feet.

He simply concentrated all his focus and all his will onto the spear in his hands.

He slowly raised his arm, gripping the spear with one hand, and then smashed it down heavily.

No target.

No technique.

Just the purest release of power and will.

"Boom—"

The spear did not touch the ground.

Yet, beneath the trajectory of the spear tip, that piece of hard wasteland specially fortified by the little red-haired girl actually collapsed, shattered, and melted away like a courtier fearing their monarch.

There was no earth-shattering explosion.

A bottomless, pitch-black ravine appeared out of thin air in front of Su Ji.

Countless tiny spatial rifts flickered in and out of existence at the bottom of the ravine, devouring all light.

Having done all this, Su Ji looked as if all his strength had been drained. He swayed and almost fell flat on his behind.

But his eyes, burning with dark red flames, were astonishingly bright.

Success!

Not far away.

The smile on the little red-haired girl's face had long since frozen.

Her beautiful crimson eyes were wide open, and her small mouth was slightly agape, looking as if she had just witnessed something unbelievable.

She stared blankly at the pitch-black ravine, then looked at Su Ji, who was leaning on his spear and panting heavily.

A long time passed.

Only then did she seem to recover from her petrification.

Although Su Ji had not yet grasped the true essence and could not retract and release it freely—nearly exhausting his spirit, energy, and soul with just one strike.

But...

He had indeed crossed the threshold.

The key point was...

She hadn't even shared any of her insights!

He could comprehend Momentum just by taking a look?

"For you to comprehend the true meaning of Momentum so quickly..."

"So, this is the reason they all think highly of you..."

"I think I somewhat understand now..."

"Then I don't have anything left to teach you."

"At most, I can be a sparring partner."

"After all, I'm not good at fighting either."

Su Ji: ???

You call this not being good at fighting?

"Alright, enough nonsense."

The little red-haired girl clapped her hands and shifted her gaze back to Su Ji. That look in her eyes was like looking at a stubborn stone waiting to be carved.

"You have already grasped the threshold of Momentum. Next, you need to completely integrate it into your bones."

"From now on, I am your enemy."

As she spoke, the aura around her abruptly changed.

It was a boundless desolation originating from the primeval times.

Su Ji felt a mountain-like pressure rush toward his face, causing his breathing to stagnate.

"Attack me."

The little red-haired girl's voice was cold and devoid of any emotion.

Su Ji took a deep breath. He knew that the real teaching was only just beginning.

He hesitated no longer and unreservedly poured the tyrannical and unyielding Momentum he had just comprehended into the new spear in his hands.

On the spear shaft, crimson dragon scale patterns instantly lit up, emitting bursts of low dragon roars.

"Boom!"

His figure moved like lightning. With a single thrust of his spear, the air was torn apart, producing an ear-piercing sonic boom.

However, facing this earth-shattering strike, the little red-haired girl did not even bat an eyelid.

She merely thrust the crimson spear in her hand forward with casual ease.

Clang!

A deafening crash of clashing metal rang out.

Su Ji felt an unimaginably immense force surge from the tip of the spear. The spear in his own hands let out a mournful wail, and his entire body was sent flying backward uncontrollably.

While still in midair, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Before he could even hit the ground, that petite crimson figure appeared behind him like a phantom.

A seemingly gentle little foot, carrying a fierce gale capable of tearing through space, kicked Su Ji squarely in the backside.

Like a fired cannonball, Su Ji's body was ruthlessly smashed into the hard earth of the wasteland, leaving behind a human-shaped crater.

Dust and smoke filled the air.

The little red-haired girl had somehow returned to her original spot. Resting the spear on her shoulder, she curled her lips in disdain.

"Your momentum is nothing but an empty shell, all flash and no substance."

"Anger, unyielding defiance... these are merely catalysts, not the foundation."