Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!-Chapter 359: The Path of the Spear

Ethan watched Uncle Jed fall silent. His eyes darted for a moment before he waved his hand dismissively.

"You don’t want to?"

"Why wouldn’t I? Of course I do!"

Hearing Uncle Jed’s words, Ethan turned around. Before he could speak, Uncle Jed continued in a flat tone, "Alright then. Tell me—what exactly do you want me to do?"

"Uh..." Ethan rubbed his nose, feeling awkward. Had he been that obvious? Had Uncle Jed seen right through him?

"It’s nothing much. Your spearmanship... I think it’s pretty good. Maybe you could teach me a few moves?" Since he’d already been exposed, Ethan decided not to pretend anymore.

"What?" Uncle Jed stared at him like he’d misheard. "You’re serious? You really want to learn my spearmanship?"

Uncle Jed could hardly believe it.

"What? You’re reluctant?" Ethan frowned. Was this spearmanship some kind of priceless thing?

Meanwhile, Uncle Jed was thinking the opposite. Was Ethan joking? The two men stood there in an awkward stare-off, each imagining something different.

"If you don’t want to, forget it. I won’t force you." Ethan turned to leave. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed an opened pack of Nightshade over his shoulder. It landed neatly in Uncle Jed’s hand.

"Ask me for more when you run out," Ethan added. He walked over to the tent and slumped against it, sitting on the cold sand. The temperature had already dropped below freezing, but it didn’t bother him. More than anything, he was too embarrassed to crawl back inside. The memory of that awkward moment with Nora still clung to him.

Uncle Jed stood on the slope, still trying to puzzle out Ethan’s intentions. Didn’t the kid realize that Energy Users were the most common thing in this world? Sure, he was skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and his spear techniques were solid. But in Forgotten City, he was just a drill instructor, teaching basic combat to people who couldn’t channel the world’s energy.

Ethan, on the other hand, had the power to summon meteor showers that could wipe out armies. And now he wanted to learn spearmanship from him? Uncle Jed was baffled.

He took a drag of the Nightshade, savoring the flavor. This batch tasted much better than the ones he’d swiped from the tribe leader. He tucked the rest into his pocket with a satisfied grunt. Then he walked over and lay down beside Ethan in the sand.

Through the night, Ethan closed his eyes but didn’t sleep. He spread out his Soul Sense, keeping watch in every direction. Only when dawn crept over the dunes did he finally drift off. He knew the rising sun meant the sandworms would stay hidden.

A sudden splash of sand hit his face. Ethan jerked awake, ready to curse. But when he opened his eyes, Uncle Jed was standing over him. Behind him, two nascent suns were climbing the horizon. For an instant, Ethan thought he saw an aura, like a spear anchored to the earth. The sight made him forget whatever insult he’d been about to shout.

Uncle Jed called out, his voice carrying over the sand. "The path of the spear can be both rigid and fluid..."

The moment he started speaking, Ethan scrambled to his feet, listening with all his focus.

"To walk the spear’s path, the first step is to temper your body. Draw in the world’s energy. Shed the dust of the mundane. Establish the stellar cycles. Gather the three spirits and five senses. Endure nine rebirths of the heart. Wield yin and yang over heaven and earth. Defy the grand forces of nature. Break the shackles of the sky."

Uncle Jed paused. By now, the third sun had risen. He glanced at Ethan and asked, "Do you understand?"

Ethan stared blankly, utterly lost. He shook his head. He was about to ask if Uncle Jed could repeat it, but Uncle Jed declared, with a righteous tone, "It’s good that you don’t understand. Forget everything I just said. Let’s practice!"

Ethan nodded quickly. In stories, the master would always lecture like this, and when the disciple confessed they hadn’t understood a word, the master would call them a prodigy. Maybe he was a natural talent too.

"Ethan, bring out that metal sheet from yesterday," Uncle Jed ordered. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Ethan hurried over, pulling out the steel plate that had been burned blue by the fire.

"Move the tent here. And set up that cold-air blower you were fiddling with."

"Mmm..." Ethan followed every instruction, setting the solar panel air conditioner on top of the steel plate. By the time he was done, Uncle Jed had already wrapped it with thick climbing ropes.

He tossed one end of the rope in front of Ethan. "Let’s go."

"Huh?" Ethan blinked.

"Huh what? Pull it. Let’s move," Uncle Jed snapped, his face stern.

Ethan glanced from the rope to Uncle Jed, who had climbed onto the steel plate with his hands clasped behind his back. You want me to pull you around?

"What are you thinking?"

"Your body’s strong—full of muscle and power—but your force is scattered. Remember how I redirected your punch without effort? If you want to master the spear, you have to unify your strength. Every muscle and every bone must work together. Only then can you wield the spear as an extension of your will. Only then can each strike carry enough force to bring giants to their knees and split stone from the earth."

Boom.

Ethan didn’t hear anything else. That last sentence—bring giants to their knees and split stone from the earth—echoed over and over in his head.

By the time he came back to himself, Uncle Jed was gone. Ethan bent down, picked up the rope, and slung it over his shoulder. He pulled until the line was taut, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.

Slide...

His foot sank into the soft sand. As soon as he put weight on it, it slipped backward. He pitched forward, face-first, and ate a mouthful of grit.

Inside the tent, Uncle Jed watched through the flap, his mouth twitching. He made no move to help. He just kept watching.

Minutes passed. The nine suns were high in the sky, and the steel plate hadn’t budged an inch.

"Uncle Jed... Ethan is already so strong. Do you really need to train him like this?" Nora Vance stood nearby, unable to watch any longer. She had seen Uncle Jed train before. When he first arrived at the Butcher Tribe, half-dead from his wounds, he’d recovered by dragging a giant animal skeleton around the camp every day. Later, when he trained the warriors, this exercise had become mandatory.

Now he was putting Ethan through the same ordeal. It was brutal. She remembered her own man coming back exhausted, barely able to crawl into bed.

"He’s strong?" Uncle Jed said, his voice softening. "Yes. He’s strong."

He looked out at Ethan, still straining at the rope.

"But if Elijah were still alive... we’d have moved at least a hundred meters by now."

Nora’s expression darkened. She lowered her head.

"Uh..." Uncle Jed realized he’d said too much. He didn’t know how to take it back, so he just shut his mouth.

"Mommy..."

Dot’s small voice broke the silence. Nora spun around. Dot had opened her eyes and was looking up at her.

"Dot..." Tears welled up in Nora’s eyes. Ethan had said the girl would be fine, but she’d been unconscious for so long.

"Mommy, don’t cry... I’m okay. I just... want... water..."

Her voice grew fainter. Water was precious. Every drop was rationed and measured.

"Alright, alright... there’s water..." Nora wiped her eyes and picked up the bucket Ethan had left in the tent. She grabbed the metal cup he’d set aside. Carefully, she poured a little, then paused. She glanced at Dot’s pale face, hesitated, and poured a few more drops. It didn’t look like enough, but she was afraid to waste any.

Uncle Jed finally couldn’t stand it. He snatched the bucket from her hands.

"Ethan said she lost a lot of blood. She needs to drink more so her body can recover," he barked.

Thump, thump, thump. He filled the cup nearly to the brim.

"Don’t let her suffer. Even if she gets used to it—what does it matter? Aren’t you planning to take her back to Clearspring City? She still has a grandfather there. Your Vance family has never lacked for water."

Nora tried to smile, but it came out bitter.

"I’m just afraid... he won’t acknowledge me as his daughter. And he’ll never accept her as his granddaughter."

Her voice trembled. She had stormed out eight years ago after a terrible fight. When she came back, she already had a child. She could imagine the look on her father’s face—disgust, disappointment. Maybe it was better never to return.

"Heh." Uncle Jed gave a dry laugh. "If that old man Nathaniel is dead, then so be it. But if he’s still alive—and he dares to cast you out—I’ll go to Clearspring myself and knock some sense into him."

Nora looked at Uncle Jed. Her heart felt tight and warm all at once. Nathaniel was indeed her father.

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