Sun stood in the center of the room, his muscular frame glistening with sweat from the intense training session he had just concluded. His breathing was steady, controlled, as if he hadn't just pushed his untrained body to its limit. Across from him, Zhong sat silently, his eyes fixed on Sun with a mixture of curiosity and wariness.
"Done watching?" Sun asked, his voice calm yet piercing.
Zhong hesitated before nodding. "You've been training nonstop since dawn. I didn't want to interrupt."
Sun smirked. "Good. Now get up. Show me what your school's martial arts can do in a spar."
Zhong rose to his feet, brushing off the dust from his robe. "There's a book in the school that contains the full details of our techniques. It might be easier if—"
Sun cut him off with a chuckle. "If I wanted to learn martial arts from a book, I would've become a scholar instead."
Zhong sighed, realizing there was no use arguing. He assumed his sumo-like stance, his aura igniting faintly around him. Though the power of his tale no longer aided him, his stance was solid, and his resolve remained unshaken.
"Begin," Sun commanded, his tone as sharp as a blade.
With a sigh, he rose to his feet, assuming the sumo-like stance he had used in their last encounter. His aura began to radiate faintly, though this time, the unique precision of his tale's effect was absent.
Sun's expression remained calm as he settled into a relaxed posture, his right arm still unmoving at his side.
Zhong made the first move, targeting Sun's legs with a swift, low kick. The blow was precise, aimed to unbalance him, but Sun moved an inch back, letting the attack whistle past harmlessly.
Not missing a beat, Zhong sprang upward, his fists a blur as he unleashed a flurry of punches. Each strike was calculated to force Sun into a defensive position, but Sun didn't budge. His eyes tracked every movement, analyzing the erratic patterns of Zhong's offense.
Finally, Zhong abandoned the feints, throwing a powerful punch aimed at Sun's ribs. The strike carried all his strength, but as it neared, Sun's palm shot up, now coated with a faint layer of aura, and caught Zhong's fist mid-air.
The force of the impact echoed through the room, but Sun stood firm, his grip like iron.
Zhong reacted quickly, using the momentum to swing his leg toward Sun's head. He aimed for Sun's right side, exploiting the man's apparent inability to move his right arm.
Sun smirked. Letting go of Zhong's fist, he shifted his stance and caught the incoming leg with his free hand, hoisting Zhong off the ground and leaving him hanging upside down.
"Still not enough," Sun said calmly.
But Zhong wasn't done. Twisting his body, he latched onto Sun's thigh with his arms, attempting to use his weight to wrestle him to the ground. Sun remained unmoved, his feet coated with aura and firmly planted on the floor.
After a few moments of struggling, Zhong sighed in defeat. "I yield."
Sun released Zhong, letting him drop lightly to the ground. He stood still, his eyes closing briefly. In his mind, the fight replayed itself thousands of times, each movement and counter analyzed in exhaustive detail. Techniques were broken down, refined, and perfected in simulations that played out at lightning speed.
The process took less than five seconds.
Sun exhaled, opening his eyes. "This time, I'll be on the offensive. But I'll only use your school's techniques."
Zhong's eyes widened in confusion. "What?"
"Your movements, your patterns," Sun explained. "I've learned them. Let's see how they fare against you."
Sun assumed the same sumo-like stance Zhong had demonstrated, his movements precise to the point of perfection. For a moment, Zhong felt as though he was staring at a mirror.
Sun moved fluidly and arrived in front of Zhong and threw a left hook whilst releasing his killing intent. Zhong sensing the killing intent instinctively raises his guard and channeled his aura to it.
Sun stopped the attack midway and delivered a low kick to Zhong undefended legs causing him land on his face as pressed his foot on his right hand.
The match ended as quickly as it began. Sun stood over Zhong, his expression calm.
Zhong sat on the ground, his chest rising and falling as he tried to catch his breath. His eyes were wide with disbelief. "How…? How did you…?"
"What you lack right now is killing intent," Sun began, his voice cutting like a razor. "The reason your feints don't work is that you don't believe in them. Take my left hook earlier, for example. If you hadn't guarded, I would've followed through without hesitation. That's why you raised your arms—you felt my intent to strike."
"The essence of your martial arts is to unbalance your opponent and transition into grappling to finish the fight. But how will you reach the grappling stage if you can't unsettle your opponent first?"
Zhong's brow furrowed as he absorbed Sun's words. Slowly, he rose to his feet and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Master Sun."
Sun scoffed but didn't correct him.
As Sun turned to leave, Zhong called out with reverence in his eyes. "Master Sun! Could you show me your best technique?"
Sun paused, glancing over his shoulder. "I can't use my strongest technique here—it would destroy more than just this school. But I'll show you something else. Watch closely, because I won't repeat myself."
Sun assumed a horse stance, his aura gathering around him in a swirling storm. He closed his eyes, concentrating the energy into his left hand. The air grew heavy as the ground beneath him cracked slightly under the pressure.
Facing the wooden gate at the far end of the courtyard, Sun opened his eyes and struck forward with a devastating punch. The impact shattered the gate, sending debris flying hundreds of meters away. The force of the strike left a deep indent in the ground where the gate had once stood.
"This is Complete Martial Arts, First Form: Single Point Impact," Sun said, his tone calm yet commanding despite his bloodied left hand even though he didn't use 10% of his aura in that attack. He turned to Zhong, his gaze piercing. "Learn from this."
Zhong stood frozen, his mouth slightly agape as he tried to process what he had just witnessed.
Without another word, Sun left the courtyard, his footsteps resounding in the silence that ensued.
As Sun approached the village outskirts, the old man who had introduced him to the school appeared, leaning casually against a wooden post.
"Leaving already?" the elder asked, his voice carrying a hint of amusement. "I guess our school's martial arts weren't up to your standards."
Sun stopped, looking at the old man with a faint smirk. "It's a little below average. Rather than fighting your disciple, I would've preferred to fight you. But it seems I'm too late."
The old man chuckled, his smile tinged with melancholy. "If you were ten years earlier, I might've heeded your challenge. But now…" He gestured to his frail frame. "…I'm just waiting for the reaper's visit."
Sun turned to leave, but the old man spoke again. "One last thing. When you enter towns or cities, suppress your aura completely to hide your tales. If you don't, people in power might see it as a provocation."
Sun gave a small nod, walking into the setting sun without looking back. His silhouette faded into the horizon.