Spear of the North Pillar

Asul reappeared outside of the spire. His eyes were open wide, and his mouth was still agape. "R-Restore the Empire…" He looked towards his empty palms with a hollow gaze, then towards the spire, just as large as before, and just as impressive. He turned his head.

His mare was still sprawled on the ground, breathing heavily despite being on the verge of death. It looked towards Asul, its eyes growing dimmer by the second.

Asul approached the horse and crouched. He caressed its mare, letting out a rueful smile. "Feisu…" This was its name.

Asul took out a small pocket knife from Feisu's saddle and slashed the tip of his finger. He winced. Blood trickled out, constantly, and he put his finger into Feisu's mouth. Five seconds passed, and only then did he take out his finger.

He smiled at the dying mare and found a boulder to sit on—to wait for Feisu to be revitalized. He knew, somehow, that his blood could help. 'I have the Guardian's bloodline, after all.'

He then looked towards his own body, his hands, his feet. He still looked as frail as before, but he did not feel as frail as before. He felt as though he could split a person into two with a slash. He was not willing to try, though.

Observing his coat, he found a strange bulge, flat, wide, and hard. He took it out and held it in his hands. It was a book, its cover and pages brown from age alike, some pages appearing to have been torn off.

'Is this Central Plains tongue? It doesn't look like it…' He shook his head. The book was written in a language he did not know, a language he had never seen before. But somehow—he understood it. Every single word.

On the first few pages, it spoke about the Empire. The Northern Empire, the one that the Guardian wished to restore. It bragged about its flourishing cities, its great walls, its military.

At some lines, Asul could not help but furrow his brows. 'The Empire had five million soldiers…?' Five million soldiers. Even one hundred thousand could topple the strongest tribes of the Northern Province, with ease. Five hundred thousand could challenge the greatest dynasties of the current era. 'Five million, though…'

Then, the next chapter spoke about the God of the North. It spoke of his past glories, his might, his power, his absolute command. It spoke of his spear arts, spear arts that could split open the thickest castle walls without the need of siege equipment, spear arts that could conquer a small kingdom with one slash. 'Spear of the North Pillar…'

Then, it spoke of how to learn his spear arts. The steps, the techniques, the training required, and even conditions that needed to be fulfilled before practicing it.

'But why are all his movements so wide? Won't that leave openings?' Still, though, Asul found it difficult to comprehend. The man's techniques were unorthodox, and perhaps he would have found them laughable if it belonged to someone else other than the Guardian.

But it was not as though he had learned nothing. On the very first page of the guide to the 'Spear of the North Pillar' was written a basic energy channeling technique.

It said to direct and concentrate all force and weight into the tips of your fingers. That this technique, if used properly, could give one the ability to split boulders with their hands.

Asul took a deep breath, pocketed the book, and stood up. He got into posture, moving both his feet to point forwards, and extended his hand in the same direction, fingers too, shaping his hand like a blade. 'All energy into the fingers…'

His eyes began to glow in an eerie light. Then, he put all his weight forwards, into the foot furthest to the front. He transferred it into his hand, then his fingers. Then, his hands flashed. It moved outwards, splitting the cold air, before coming to an abrupt stop. '...'

Both his feet had moved forwards, he saw, much further forwards than he had expected. He moved five steps forwards. The strike had carried him five steps forwards. He sucked in a breath of cold air. '...powerful!'

He shook his head, smiling, and turned back towards his horse. No longer was it sprawled on the ground. It stood straight, its eyes lively, appearing fully satiated, its ribs no longer protruding out. It neighed and ran towards Asul.

Asul laughed. "Feisu!" He caressed the mare's mane, rubbing his forehead on its.

But a hoarse shout interrupted the intimate moment. "Asul! You slippery bastard!"

A man approached the spire, red fur coats draped over both him and his partner following behind. They both had lean figures, both bearded, their confident postures and healthy state telling Asul of their expertise in martial arts.

"Asul!" The one in front was a bald man with a curved scimitar on his right. He grit his teeth, and dashed towards Asul, charging up his blade behind as though to slash him.

Asul stumbled back, almost slipping on the snow. He turned tail and started running, fear plastered on his visage. The bald man chased. "Asul!"

'Wait, I should try…' Asul's eyes glowed and he turned back, then stopped. He extended his hands and got into posture: both his feet pointing forwards, his hands shaped like blades.

The bald man stopped in his tracks as Asul stopped and turned, his scimitar pointed forwards as though to keep something dangerous away, glistening beads appearing on his forehead. "...Asul? No—who are you?"

Asul burst forth. His figure flickered, and he reappeared right before the bald man, his hand touching the bald man's neck. His pupils glowed. The man's head disappeared. His corpse fell forwards towards Asul, landing on the snow with a thump.

The bald man's partner furrowed his brows, droplets of sweat appearing on his visage. "Asul! Asul! Stay away!" He faltered back and stumbled, falling on the ground with his hands extended outwards.

Asul turned his head towards the man and got into posture once again. His figure flickered, and he appeared right by the man with his hand on his neck just like before. The man screamed, and his head disappeared, reappearing seven steps away a second later, detached, eyes still opened wide. The man's corpse remained sat on the snow.

"...I've killed someone." Asul took a deep breath, and the glow of his pupils disappeared. Suddenly his eyes widened, and blood made its way out of his mouth, his ears, his nose, and his eyes. All his seven orifices bled.

His legs weakened, and he was pushed by his own weight to the ground, kneeling. 'My body is still weak…'