Zhao Letian, despite going all out with this thrust of his spear, only utilized Spear Force, Thunder Force, and Fire Force, leaving out Wind Force.
Because, after watching Ye Junrou wield her spear, he too sought that inherently natural feeling, as if everything was one.
The technique Burning Sky Thunder Dragon Spear inherently only involves fire and thunder attributes. Adding the Nine-layered Wind Force might increase speed and power, but it would make the move incomplete, deviating from the intent of the Martial Technique and failing to reach the seamless unity Zhao Letian pursued.
Moreover, the Nine-star Spiritual Weapon Spear in his hand inherently only had fire and thunder attribute attacks. Using it to execute the Nine-layered Wind Force somehow felt awkward.
Indeed, after discarding the Nine-layered Wind Force, Zhao Letian strangely felt that not only the power of the Martial Technique had somewhat increased, but the speed hadn't decreased either. This brought him great joy, further affirming the source of the problem.
In an instant, the long spears in both their hands collided, tip to tip, sending out a powerful wave of energy that spread instantly, sweeping across the entire stormy lake.
As a result, after only a momentary deadlock, Zhao Letian suddenly winced, his face flushed red, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, flying backward like a cannonball.
Witnessing this scene, Liu Wei and Luo Yao couldn't help but cry out in alarm as their expressions drastically changed.
"Don't be nervous, he's okay."
Ye Junrou retracted her spear, glanced at Zhao Letian with a hint of irritation, and said without good cheer.
She hadn't expected that what was meant to be a simple exchange would lead Zhao Letian to be so earnest, forcing her to respond in kind seriously, and thus she had not been able to control her power well, accidentally injuring Zhao Letian.
Had she not deliberately restrained some of her power, Zhao Letian's injury would have been more than just a minor one.
Hearing this, Liu Wei and Luo Yao breathed a sigh of relief.
Looking over, Zhao Letian indeed seemed to be alright. After falling to the ground, he quickly got up, but instead of immediately wiping off the blood at the corner of his mouth, he stood there in a daze, deep in thought, as though he had realized something.
This failure had still been unexpected for him. This version is sourced from MV3L3MPYR.
He had thought that having grasped the crux of the problem, he should have been able to contend with Ye Junrou.
However, Ye Junrou's spear thrust had relied solely on a simple Nine-Layers Spear Formation without integrating any other forces, while his own thrust, combining Nine-Layers Spear Formation, Nine-Layers Fire Force, and Nine-Layers Thunder Force, had still been unable to withstand it. This forced him to admit that he probably still had not grasped the key to the problem.
"From the spear technique you just used, it seems like you were trying to understand the state of unity between Dao and Martial Arts, right?"
Just as Zhao Letian was struggling without enlightenment, Ye Junrou suddenly frowned slightly and thoughtfully spoke.
"Unity between Dao and Martial Arts?"
Zhao Letian was taken aback, a flicker of realization crossing his mind.
He vaguely remembered having seen these four characters in the ancestral memories of the Dragon Clan.
However, he had not paid attention to them at that time.
"Don't tell me you don't even know what 'Unity between Dao and Martial Arts' means?"
Seeing Zhao Letian's surprised reaction, Ye Junrou asked with an astonished look on her face.
Unity between Dao and Martial Arts was a practice principle her father often emphasized to her. Without grasping this, it was impossible to become a true top-tier powerhouse.
Moreover, it wasn't just her father— as far as she knew, anyone with some background or heritage should be aware of what Unity between Dao and Martial Arts means.
Could it be that Zhao Letian, lacking any background or lineage, coming from an ordinary background without the guidance of a strong mentor, had not heard of Unity between Dao and Martial Arts?
"Unity between Dao and Martial Arts is not a Martial Arts Realm. It refers to the fact that, when a martial artist cultivates, they must pay attention to the harmony between the Martial Soul, Martial Meridian, Cultivation Technique, Martial Technique, Spiritual Artifact, Martial Arts Realm, and even the practitioner's own physique. Only when these elements are in sync, can one exhibit the greatest strength."
Zhao Letian quickly found some records about Unity between Dao and Martial Arts in his ancestral memory and was sharply taken aback, vaguely understanding what it meant.
At this moment, he realized that he had unknowingly overlooked a phenomenon that needed to be greatly valued in martial arts cultivation.
The reason why Ye Junrou's spear technique appeared so unified was that she had grasped the realm of Unity between Dao and Martial Arts. All aspects of her elements were highly synchronized, which was why her Martial Technique's power far exceeded Zhao Letian's expectation, even though she only used one type of Nine-Layers Spear Formation.
Similarly, this was the case with Xiao Yan from Skyfire Country.
"Yes, Unity between Dao and Martial Arts refers to the harmonization of all elements a martial artist cultivates to achieve a state of seamless integration. The higher the degree of compatibility between these elements, the stronger the power that can be displayed. For example, someone with a Sword Martial Soul should practice swordsmanship and use a Sword-shaped Spiritual Artifact. This way, their Martial Soul, Martial Techniques, and Spiritual Artifact can be in sync, thus displaying strong power. But if a person with a Sword Martial Soul practices spear techniques and uses a blade-shaped Spiritual Artifact, it's evident that their strength will be significantly diminished."
Ye Junrou slowly explained and, worried that Zhao Letian might not understand, specifically gave an example.
However, after listening, Zhao Letian shook his head with a wry smile.
By now, how could he not understand what Unity between Dao and Martial Arts was? The records in the Dragon Clan's ancestral memory were much more detailed than what Ye Junrou had explained.
It was just that the content recorded in the Dragon Clan's ancestral memory was vast, encompassing everything. Given his limited time and energy, he could not read all of it and could only select some things he considered important to learn.
Unfortunately, although he had previously seen the records about Unity between Dao and Martial Arts, he did not think they were important, so he did not pay attention to them.
"I was arrogant, thinking that with the Dragon Clan's ancestral memory, I wouldn't need guidance from others and could simply follow the records in the ancestral memory to engage in intense cultivation to step by step reach the pinnacle of martial arts. But now, it seems having a strong mentor is still more effective than struggling on one's own."
Zhao Letian reflected inwardly.
If he had listened more to strong mentors or exchanged views with other martial artists earlier, he probably would have realized the importance of Unity between Dao and Martial Arts sooner.
Fortunately, he had now recognized the issue, which was not too late.
After all, the records about Unity between Dao and Martial Arts in the Dragon Clan's ancestral memory were very detailed, even better than those strong mentors' explanations. As long as he followed the ancestral memory's records in his practice, he would surely reach a deeper state of Unity between Dao and Martial Arts than his peers, and his strength would also greatly increase.