*Swush!
Kylia's wooden machete quickly passed by Del's nose, almost touching his left cheek with a distance of fewer than five millimeters. Despite this, the wind brought by Kylia's strike still made his cheek feel sore.
For the first time in three years of training and sparring, Del took one step back. He widened his eyes in disbelief at how fast Kylia had progressed. It wasn't just talent; it was like unleashing a pet tiger in front of a goat.
Kylia seemed to have the instinct to know which movements to use when to dodge or attack, and which part of the enemy's body to strike. Del only needed to teach Kylia how to hold the machete properly, and she was able to spar with him immediately.
Understanding that Kylia had progressed significantly, Del raised the difficulty of their sparring and began to attack. He changed his stance, slightly bending over and spinning the wooden sword in his hand.
Like a snake striking, Del's wooden sword slipped into Kylia's defense and aimed for her neck. Kylia was surprised by Del's precise and deadly attack. She had to stop her own attack and retreat.
With her head tilted to the side and her upper body pulled back, Kylia managed to dodge Del's deadly attack. However, with her awkward body position, Kylia would no longer be able to attack, and if she didn't retreat soon, Del would not allow her to make any mistakes.
And true enough, Del took advantage of Kylia's mistake and slashed his sword several times. If the sword in his hand was not made of wood and he didn't reduce his strength, these slashes would have been able to shred Kylia's body into pieces.
Kylia had to throw herself to the ground and roll away. Del didn't chase after her and let Kylia make a desperate attempt to save herself.
"Your way of dodging by rolling around is very inelegant. Didn't you say that deadly movements are beautiful?" Del taunted.
"Pant.. pant.. pant.. Shut up! In a life-and-death fight, the goal is to stay alive while your enemy dies. I'd rather roll on the ground and live than be buried in the ground and die." Kylia, her clothes in disarray, huffed in annoyance.
"Oh... that's a really great idea! You must have a great teacher," Del exclaimed, applauding Kylia's idea.
"Stop your narcissism! Get ready, I'm not finished yet," Kylia stood up and assumed her stance.
"Hehehe... expressing a fact is not narcissism. Come on, let's go!" Del challenged Kylia.
"I thought you two were very talented!"
However, before they could continue their sparring, the sound of an adult man's voice came from the spectator's seat. Kylia was surprised and quickly turned around, while Del just smiled thinly and pretended to be surprised by Kylia.
"Mr. Andrew!!!" they both shouted.
There was a man in the audience whom they knew. Mr. Andrew was currently wearing a T-shirt instead of his usual security guard uniform. He sat with his legs crossed and his arms folded, looking at Kylia and Del with his interested brown eyes.
"Hehehe... you two are just casually using the gym every day to play with wooden swords. Do you think this place belongs to you?" Although his words seemed to blame Del and Kylia, his tone sounded like he was teasing them both.
Del, who understood Mr. Andrew's nature better, knew that he was interested in finding out more about Del and Kylia's weapon skills.
Almost all places in the Flower Garden Orphanage were monitored by CCTV 24/7. Only a few places couldn't be seen by those in the monitoring room, and unfortunately, the gym was one of them.
Therefore, Del had anticipated and estimated that someday Flower Garden Orphanage would start to take notice of their activities in the gym. However, Del never expected Flower Garden Orphanage to give them three years before sending Mr. Andrew to meet them.
It seemed that Madam Yeva had decided to see how far Del and Kylia's martial arts development had progressed before deciding to intervene. Mr. Andrew's presence in the gym didn't make Del feel awkward. With the manner of a mischievous child caught doing something naughty, Del lowered his head, waiting to be scolded.
"I... I'm sorry, Mr. Andrew," Del stammered.
Mr. Andrew didn't answer, he stood up and walked up to the ring. He stared at Del and Kylia for a long time, making the two children even more nervous in front of him. His tall and large body seemed to cast a shadow over Del and Kylia.
"Where did you learn to fight like that earlier?" Mr. Andrew asked.
Del hid his smile and answered, "I...I learned it from watching online videos and reading articles."
Their interrogation began.
In preparation for today, Del had perfected his camouflage by increasing his search history with martial arts videos and websites. He knew that Flower Garden Orphanage had tapped his smartphone and knew everything he accessed, thanks to Madam Yeva.
So, before deciding to train with Kylia at the gym, Del had already created a strong alibi. Besides, he wanted to see the different types of martial arts in this world and compare them with those in Cultivation World.
Although most basic martial arts movements were the same in both worlds, martial arts in this world did not focus on internal energy. The rapid advancement of science and technology had hindered the development of martial arts in this world.
However, Del discovered that martial arts were very popular before the rise of science. He tried to find records or documents that showed the use of internal energy in this world, but it was buried under the more popular scientific research.
"Watching online videos and reading articles? Is that all? Are you lying, Del?" Mr. Andrew furrowed his brow.
"I'm not lying! Ah... I also learned superhero moves from comic books," Del said, as if remembering something, and added it.
"Comic books?" Mr. Andrew's brow furrowed even more.
He was torn between believing and not believing Del's answer. Del guessed that Mr. Andrew was in a dilemma where his intuition told him that Del was lying, but he had no proof to support it.
For three years, Del and Kylia had not met anyone except the staff at Flower Garden Orphanage. These two children were very introverted and only hung out with each other. The other children in the orphanage were afraid of Del, and they would have nightmares if they saw Kylia's real face.
As a result, the only source of Del's knowledge about martial arts was through the internet. And it was true, the search history on Del's smartphone showed videos and articles about martial arts. However...
Is it possible for someone who solely relies on watching martial arts videos and reading articles online to become an expert and train others to become experts like Del?
"Yes, comic books! I saw how the characters moved in the comic books, how they dodged, and how they attacked. By formulating it with the knowledge I gained from online videos and articles, I practiced it with Kylia."
Mr. Andrew still couldn't believe it, but he remembered that the child in front of him was no ordinary child. Madam Yeva had once said that Del was the most genius child in the last 100 years.
So, Mr. Andrew could only nod and trust Del. "Okay, I trust you, but playing with wooden swords can be very dangerous! For safety, I will watch over you while you practice," said Mr. Andrew firmly.
'Dangerous? Where have you been for the past three years?' Del and Kylia cursed silently.
"Thank you, Mr. Andrew! We will be careful," Del and Kylia said together.
"Hmm," Mr. Andrew just nodded and stepped down from the ring. He seemed not to want to interfere with their practice and chose to just watch.
Del knew that there was still doubt in Mr. Andrew's heart to fully trust Del's words. Sometimes, military veterans seemed to prefer to follow their instincts rather than logic.
Del lifted his wooden sword again and signaled Kylia to continue their sparing. However, Kylia just remained silent and stared at Del with narrowed eyes.
It was a sign that Kylia was hesitant to do something. She was afraid to show her true abilities in front of Mr. Andrew and make them more suspicious.
Del simply smiled at his cautious partner. "Kylia, it's okay," he said.
Kylia understood Del's intention and began attacking as before. They both became immersed in a deadly dance, exchanging attacks and defenses.
Del, who was no longer just defending and counter-attacking, attacked Kylia very agilely. This made Kylia almost lose her footing several times and take Del's attacks.
As they fought for longer, the difference in their abilities became more apparent. Eventually, Kylia had to be saved again by rolling on the floor.
This time, Del chased after her and kicked her in the stomach, sending her out of the ring. Before Kylia's body could touch the ground, Mr. Andrew caught her quickly.
"Del! You went too far! Kylia could have been hurt!" he said angrily.
"In a fight, there is no mercy. As long as the enemy is not disabled, the fight continues. I want to teach Kylia that, Mr. Andrew," said Del.
"..." Mr. Andrew remained silent and began checking Kylia's condition. But Kylia was not hurt at all. Del's kick was more like a push than a collision, so Kylia did not feel any damage.
"Mr. Andrew, thank you, but I'm okay," Kylia stood up and walked back to the ring to continue their sparing.
Seeing Mr. Andrew's astonished face as he checked Kylia's condition, Del smiled. His plan had succeeded.
He had intended to draw the attention of the Flower Garden Orphanage to their martial arts abilities. This way, Madam Yeva could report Kylia's ability to Julia and the Blume family. Meanwhile, Del could buy more time before he was sold by adding his new skills that had to be investigated by Madam Yeva.
With this, Del hoped that his time to life with Kylia would be longer.