Elder Gang, when first going into this little spar, had not expected for Edrick to be anything of a refined martial artist, he was young, had come out of nowhere and was built in a manner that would make most instructors give up as they wouldn't be capable of translating their knowledge over to such an odd anatomy, and yet, be it in technique or wit, Anoteros displayed skills that belonged to a grizzled veteran.
So truly, he did not understand how such a diamond had not been polished by the Elt already and taught cultivation, until recently, Edrick didn't even know how to circulate internal energy.
Still, these earlier displays only fueled the senior's interest and curiosity, just how good was this young man already? Was the question that repeated itself inside of his cranium, focusing, the old man focused on defence, as an elder, he obviously had the talent and resources to train in multiple cultivation techniques, although most recognised for his skills as a weapon cultivator favouring the staff, he himself was also rather proud of the vitality, resilience and constitution he had developed.
A resistant body and good stamina were vital to training after all, one could push themselves further that way.
Edrick moved up to him, the length of his arms and heights made it so that Gang would not be able to scratching the disciple if he were to attempt striking from this distance, whilst Anoteros was free to punch away, another tremendous advantage during a fight, with an appropriate weapon, the special disciple and his enemy could stand in different rooms whilst the former attacked.
He begun with a straight punch, and having seemingly understood that the elder wanted to see the extent of his capabilities, rotated through basically ever types and derivations of punches possible, and unlike most disciples who tended to throw rather weak attacks as they subconsciously held back due to not being in an actual fight and being up against one of their elders, Edrick was really striking like he meant to pound Gang into the ground until he was at the desirable depth to be buried.
Each attack was performed properly, even as he chained them one after the other, and neither did he forget to be sneaky either, throwing feints and fakeouts like there was no tomorrow, be it that the feint was revealed at the last moment, mid-strike, or was but a mere movement without any motions following it.
Gang found it impressive, but also horrendous just how many of them he could do in a row, if this were an actual fight, the elder would have already called out his opponent on his utter bullcrap.
Edrick also demonstrated kicks amongst countless, less often seen strikes, just as those performed with the knee, elbow or even shoulders, sometimes even throwing what was arguably a real punch, but deliberately miss in an attempt to strike with the elbow or shoulder instead, he didn't shy away from headbutts either, which allowed the old man to check just how thick that skull of his was.
'I suppose his bones are more durable than normal as well… They are certainly bigger too'
Gang made sure to analyse everything, and failed to find anything that was definitely bad, certain things were certainly not as good as the rest, but still well-above what was expected of a newly recruited disciple.
Edrick was clearly learned in many martial arts and could meld them together and seamlessly switch from one style to the other like he had done this countless times already.
Thankfully, despite the barrage of powerful strikes he was launching, Edrick was unhurt despite dealing no damage, this was to be attributed to Elder Gang, naturally, who was blocking and taking hits using a special technique he had learned to teach others, had he never taken up the mantle of instructor within the sect, Gang would have only known how to make sure his opponents broke their bones when hitting him, but having to teach younglings, he had learned how to soften attacks both for himself and the one on the offensive.
'This little rascal will definitely get along with her…' as the spar went on, Gang realised that Edrick was a pretty foul combatant, he attempted to do things that a honourable warrior would deem wretched and perhaps even non-conductive to victory.
But it also made him even less predictable, as Anoteros could go for an uppercut, or be a fiend and try to grab his enemy's ear to tear it off, he had no qualms about aiming for the groin, eyes or attempt to grab a singular finger to snap it in two, Gang even had to deal with straight up biting, which looked rather foreboding considering that Edrick seemed capable literally biting someone's head off when he went for it.
Of course, it was an exaggeration, but in any case, even if this was training, he wasn't willing to let himself get bitten.
"Alright, enough- Time for some real sparring!" without any lingering around, the elder dropped his guard and dodged a backfist strike, his palm nearly immediately up against the disciple's solar plexus, Edrick stepped back and acted like he had been hit head-on.
'Freaking actor as well! You clearly stepped back before the full force could be driven in!' Gang could tell that his attack hadn't been that effective, but may the gods act as witnesses, it was a convincing performance.
Edrick even bit his own tongue to feint coughing up blood, which he coughed directly toward the elder's face too.
"Alright" speaking under his breath, Gang moved forward again and this time, he didn't mess around, deflecting one of Edrick's punch with a punch of his own, feeling the flesh tenderise under the strain before grabbing that very same arm and effortlessly slinging the goliath of a man above his head, still holding on, Gang stepped on the other arm.
With his superior straight, Gang had both of Anoteros's arms locked in place.
"I have your arm in my grasp, and with my speed, I could easily break it if you were to try doing anything else- So that should be your cue to throw the towel and admit defeat" he explained.
"Makes sense" but Edrick still contorted around with serpentine ease, folding in on himself to line his legs up with the elder, the strike landed but did not do anything.
"Aherm… Are you not going to give up?"
"I stand by my words, if your potion can heal it, then just break my arm"
"Huh… Well sure, it can get that fixed up and running in a second, but you know, breaking your arm hurts and all" Gang was the one standing tall but, Edrick was still managing to creep him out.
"And I am the elder here anyways! I don't break bones during sparring" the old man let go, and began fishing for something hidden inside of his robes.
"Take this, a gift I prepared if you impressed me… It honestly feels lacking now, but well" it was a manual he had personally written.
"Nothing much, just me compiling the breathing techniques available to disciples and giving my opinion and some tips, breathing properly depending on the activity is important, after all"
"As I said earlier, to see Ku Xing, just go to the main building and ask around, make sure to go just before nightfall- No need to go tonight though, she wants to see you tomorrow"
"Alright, take care, Elder Gang" Edrick sat up and waved at the old man, as his wives came up to him.
'These two might seem normal but…' Gang had not missed how Fanqia and Linmin reacted, and they seemed to know exactly how their husband was, they didn't even flinch when he asked for his arm to be broken.
Gang would have expected at least one to chastise him a bit for willingly putting himself at risk, but they only had praises and attention to offer.
'Young people, I swear…'