The morning comes quick and I wake up to see Jincheng sitting down cooking two pieces of meat.
"Hey, I went out and caught some game. You can't train on an empty stomach."
He tosses me a one of the meat.
"I guess so."
We both finish eating and he leads me up to the top of the hill.
"Alright, I've set up this area. This is where we'll be training for the next year."
(Not shabby.)
"Let's begin with the basics. But first remember this. Your opponent could be unpredictable. So it's not smart to rush and attack wildly even if you are confident in your skills. Because you never know how strong your opponent really is until you clash swords with them."
"Got it."
"Now we will do a little spar to test you. Take this."
He tosses me a wooden sword while grabbing another one.
"First one to get a clear hit in wins. Alright ready.... Go!"
Before I even breathe he's already in front of me about to swing his sword. I manage to block the attack but it knocks me back quite a bit but he doesn't stop there though. He keeps attacking and attacking but I manage to block a majority of them while still getting knocked back.
(Damn it! I won't be able to get a single hit in if this keeps up!)
I block one more attack before jumping back.
(I have to strategize. Strength alone won't get him.)
I look to see that his stance leaves his right thigh open.
(If I can attack that spot then maybe I'll be able to take the offensive. But how can I get an opening? Oh I got it!)
"Haha you look a little tired."
"I can do this all day."
He dashes toward me again. But this time I'm ready for it. I breathe in as I take in the surroundings. I close my eyes and it seems as if time slowed down.
(I can sense the movements of everything around me. The animals in the forest. The lake water moving towards the waterfall. And I can sense Jincheng. I know where he's going to move and where he is. It's as if I've became one with the Earth. Even though my eyes are closed. I can tell he's going to move towards the left.)
I surprise him by moving straight to the left to cut him off and while he's taken aback I make my way and strike him in his right thigh. I then raise my sword for one final blow.
"It's over!"
"Yes it is.", he says.
"What the..!"
I turn around and see his sword right at my neck.
"That's impossible! You were right there!"
"You have a lot to learn kid. But don't worry I'll teach ya how I did that."
"Really?"
(This confirms it, this guys the real deal.)
"Haha yea yea but of course, one step at a time. We still have to go over technique and other things. You have a lot of room for improvement."
"But I almost beat you."
"Haha almost. But of course I wasn't trying. This was only a testing spar.", he says.
"Seriously? Ugh."
"Don't sweat it boy. You are very strong no doubt about that and I'm going to make you even stronger."
"I look forward to it."