Chapter 25 The Three Levels of Martial Arts

According to Tong Yuan's "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" spear manual, martial arts on the battlefield actually have three levels: the first level is proficiency in a single weapon, and being able to use a weapon to the extreme is the highest level of martial arts.

Zhang Liao, the two Xiahous, Cao Hong, and now Ji Hao are all at this level.

It can be said to be the threshold of becoming a “first-class warrior”.

If we only talk about martial arts, it doesn't count as strength.

But above that, if one can master different types of weapons and combine them together, one can use some special magical weapons, such as the Zhangba Snake Spear, which is both a gun and a spear, and also has the characteristics of a knife.

This level may seem to be the advantage of a "unique weapon", but in fact it is the top-level understanding of martial arts.

The most typical representative of them is the Fang Tian Hua Ji.

A person who can use the Fang Tian Hua Ji must be proficient in all eighteen martial arts and be all-rounder before he can use it freely. If he fails to use one of the weapons well, the Fang Tian Hua Ji he uses will be very awkward and worse than an ordinary weapon.

And Lu Bu is such a person, and he is also the pinnacle of this realm.

But is there any realm above this?

Have!
Beyond being proficient in a single weapon and all eighteen martial arts, there is also a realm of "perfection" that returns to simplicity, which is the true pinnacle of martial arts.

Ji Hao has never seen such a person before.

The trend of arrival can only be vaguely seen in three people: one is Guan Yu who pursues the ultimate killing, one is Zhao Yun who pursues the ultimate agility, and the other is Lu Bu in front of him.

Therefore, Ji Hao made a guess based on the shooting skills given by Tong Yuan.

That is: the highest realm of martial arts, the true meaning of perfection, is to have one's own style.

The weapon is perfectly matched with oneself.

To use the words in the martial arts novels of the previous life, that is "the unity of man and sword", so Ji Hao named the third realm of martial arts "the unity of man and soldier".

Theoretically, there is no need to master all kinds of weapons, as long as you form your own unique style, you can achieve it directly.

"Lü Bu should have reached the state of 'oneness of man and soldier' ​​after entering the imperial city, on the eve of the battle of Hulao Pass, or after he got the Red Hare. He should not be in his peak state now!" Ji Hao guessed in his heart: "Zhao Yun probably reached the state of 'oneness of man and soldier' ​​when he made the final leap towards the 800,000-man army at Changbanpo. His previous record was not very good. As for Guan Yu, it is not clear how he was when he killed Hua Xiong, but he must have reached it when he rode the Red Hare to kill Yan Liang and Wen Chou."

So, if you want to realize the unity of man and soldier, Red Hare is the best helper?
Of course, this is just wishful thinking.

Ji Hao quickly threw away all distracting thoughts, and with the pressure from Lu Bu, he carefully comprehended the art of spear use: the most basic shaking of the spear, the equally basic swinging of the spear, the simplest and most difficult straight thrust, the most lethal return spear...

As he fought, his mentality gradually changed and he began to think about the nature of the "gun".

It can even be said that it is the essence of weapons.

"Wait, I am practicing according to the experience of my predecessors, which is true, but I am the one using the weapon after all. There are some moves that I think are feasible but are not proven by experience. Are they really completely unfeasible?"

Ji Hao suddenly thought.

At the same time, he changed his tactics on the spot and suddenly did not play according to the routine: at a certain moment, he stabbed backwards with his spear, leaving the goal wide open, directly exposing a fatal flaw.

Lu Bu was overjoyed and was ready to seize the opportunity to defeat him in one fell swoop.

But at this moment, Ji Hao suddenly swung his body, using the toughness of the fine steel spear to make a "bend bow" and instantly hit Lu Bu's weapon.

The extreme force almost knocked Lu Bu's Fang Tian Hua Ji away.

However, the exposed flaws were not caught.

Why?

Ji Hao is very strong and fast, so the flaws of ordinary warriors may not be flaws for him - he can only use weapons according to his own characteristics to exert his greatest strength!
"So that's how it is. It's not that mysterious. But if you understand it, you understand it. If you don't understand it, you won't be able to understand it even if you practice for a hundred years!"

Laughing loudly, Ji Hao charged again, swinging his spear downwards violently.

A puzzled look appeared on Lu Bu's face.

According to the normal method of fighting the enemy, he first blocked it diagonally, and then took the opportunity to use the Tianhuaji to attack Ji Hao, hoping to seize the flaw and defeat him.

However, Ji Hao stretched his body forward, holding the butt of the spear with both hands, and used the middle part of his body to meet the Fang Tian Hua Ji.

As a result, he used the fine steel spear as a soft weapon, which was bent directly like a long snake. The tip of the spear "bite" Lu Bu's shoulder and pierced through it on the spot, injuring him.

But Lu Bu was even more shocked.

"Human and soldier as one?"

Then they fought again. Ji Hao used the characteristics of the "Fine Steel Spear" to the extreme, leaving Lu Bu with several bruises. Although they were all minor injuries, he suppressed him.

However, Lu Bu is Lu Bu after all.

The more you fight, the braver you become, and the stronger you become.

After fighting for hundreds of rounds, he gradually got his feet wet and truly reached the peak of his powers, achieving "the unity of man and soldier".

At this point, Ji Hao’s martial arts, which had reached the pinnacle of “overtaking on a curve”, no longer had any advantage.

The battle returned to the starting point.

However, he is still stronger than Lu Bu after all. When he was at a disadvantage in martial arts, the two of them were on equal terms. Now that their martial arts are equal, his advantage in strength will be infinitely magnified!

After fighting for hundreds of moves, Ji Hao still had strength left, but Lu Bu was gradually unable to hold on.

His warhorse was not as enduring as the Red Hare.

"Am I going to lose?"

Lu Bu refused to accept this and once again tried his best to attack Ji Hao's spear.

Ji Hao continued to resist.

As a result, with a "click" sound, the gun barrel made of fine steel actually cracked due to the heavy load caused by long-term fighting.

This made Lu Bu smile.

"Haha, you have unparalleled power and superb martial arts, but it's a pity that your weapon is a bit inferior. Now your spear is broken, I wonder what you can use to fight me!" Lu Bu said, rushing over again.

However, Ji Hao did not run away.

Instead, he suddenly broke the spear, turning the single spear into two spears and continued fighting.

Ma Zhan had the advantage of using long weapons, so he did suffer a loss.

But he was still able to resist, and with short weapons, he could use his unique skill "grabbing weapons" and was ready to give it a try. He grabbed the "halberd head" in front of Lu Bu's Fang Tian Hua Ji and took him down.

But at this moment, Hua Xiong suddenly came over with Ding Yuan's head.

He said loudly: "Ding Yuan is dead, Lu Bu, why don't you surrender quickly? My master said that if you surrender, he is willing to take you as his son. From now on, you will be second only to him in the Xiliang army!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Lu Bu's expression changed immediately.

He retracted his spear, looked at Ding Yuan's head, and fell into deep thought.

It was obvious that he was moved.

"Dong Zhuo, you're pretty open-minded!" Ji Hao sighed in his heart, and began to recruit him: "Lü Fengxian, Ding Yuan is dead, you don't have to insist. If you are willing to join, I can give you my Red Hare and make you the commander of an army!"

He did not say "second only to one man" because the Ji camp was not like the Xiliang army, it was not just a few cats and dogs.

The literary ones include Guo Jia, Xun Yu and others, and the military one includes Zhao Yun.

Plus Cao Cao.

Everyone has followed them for so many years, it is not something that a surrendered general like Lu Bu can take advantage of.

But he also showed his utmost sincerity and even took out the Red Hare that he had just obtained not long ago!
(End of this chapter)