Sparring with master Ru

The moment the sparring match started, Mo'an instinctively erased her sense of presence. Her breathing slowed down, becoming so faint that if one didn't have keen ears, it was impossible to hear it. Her body heat also decreased to the lowest temperature it could without endangering the vital functions of her body. If someone were to touch her skin, they would certainly jump in fright; the teenage girl was now as cold as ice, quite similar to the temperature of a corpse.

Unlike Shi'an, who specialized in scouting, Mo'an wasn't able to completely erase her presence, but it was enough to deceive a careless opponent or someone with weak situational awareness. It also increased the probability of succeeding in her sneak attacks, even when the person was relatively strong. If they didn't look at her, people wouldn't realize that she was in the vicinity, thinking that there was nothing but air in front of them.

Earlier, when Mo'an was fighting with Tiel, she purposely leaked her killing intent, making herself know. However, with master Ru as her opponent, there was no need to alert him before attacking. Even if she did hit him as hard as she possibly could, the teenager knew the man would still be standing on his own two feet afterward – she couldn't say the same for the training ground, though.

For many decades, master Ru had improved his martial art techniques and strengthened his body to the point where it became as hard as steel. Mo'an didn't know how he did so, and she probably would never find out as the specifics of this particular martial art were only passed down from masters to disciples, and master Ru's disciples were La'en and Tiel, not her.

Tiel, like his master, would also never disclose the secrets behind their martial art, not even to her. He would only hand down his heritage to his very own disciple. Until then, his mouth was tightly shut. Even if Mo'an were to beat him half to death, he wouldn't say anything. Some secrets were too precious to be shared, even with his childhood friends.

In the end, Mo'an could only infer how master Ru improved his body's robustness. Fighting with him and observing his technique would undoubtedly help her in her quest to figure out the basics of his martial art - it was one of the reasons she was so eager to fight with the man. In the past few years, she had often tried to pry and even sneak on master Ru's training lessons, but to no avail. The man always managed to feel her presence and send her back before she could learn anything useful.

Although master Ru was fond of her, and he also felt quite upset that there was nothing left for Mo'an to learn from their tribe, it still didn't mean he would teach her the precepts of his martial art, even less when she refused to be his disciple. It was a small thorn in his heart, and thus he never allowed her to watch over his training session with Tiel.

Moreover, master Ru had to admit that her body type was not very well adapted to their martial art style; neither was her unruly spiritual energy. In the end, it would only be a waste of time if she stayed and observed them practicing. Being petty, he never told her that, thinking that she should find it out by herself. It wouldn't hurt her to use her brain once in a while.

In truth, Mo'an still learned a lot from her sparring matches with Tiel over the years, but her friend was still young and inexperienced. His techniques were lacking and quite immature compared to a master. Hence, what she could comprehend from his fighting style was limited. Thus, having the chance to spare with master Ru made her feel like she was on cloud nine, and she told herself that he had to fight well, or else it would be quite disrespectful to him.

Soon, Mo'an discarded every extra thought she had, clearing her mind, and concentrated all of her attention on the man. She had to seize this opportunity and learn as much as she could.

Her gaze turned resolute as she stared at the tall man on the other side of the ring. Master Ru was standing a few meters away from her, and his relaxed upright posture gave the impression that he wasn't taking her seriously. It felt as if he wasn't on guard. However, Mo'an knew it wasn't the case; she couldn't find any opening. Any way she thought of attacking, it slightly showed in her stance, and the micromovements master Ru made in response told her that he understood her thought. He could easily block her every move.

For a while, neither of them moved until Mo'an ran out of patience. Even if master Ru could block her attack, so what? It was only the first move, and she was planning on following up with a combo of her own. She would bet on her speed and fast reflexes.

Propelling herself, she shortened the distance between the two in less than a second, and with a sidekick, she targeted his calf. Master Ru sidestepped to avoid being hit, and Mo'an followed with another kick, putting her hands on the ground to balance herself and allow her foot to reach higher. This time, the man didn't avoid it and instead blocked it with his left forearm. A loud 'bang' resonated throughout the public square, making the spectators suck in a breath, while the shockwave made the leaves of the closest trees trembled as if a violent gale was blowing.

Master Ru was unfazed by the strength behind Mo'an's kick, and the teenage girl quickly moved her foot away before the man could grip her ankle. Although her advantage was her speed, she also knew that this master's reaction time wasn't slow. Like Tiel, master Ru had eliminated the unnecessary movements that hindered his every move, but contrary to his disciple, it was done to a higher degree. When he avoided an attack, it was always by an inch; when he blocked, it was perfectly timed with his opponent's movements. He wasted no time and no energy.

For half an hour, Mo'an restlessly fought, but every punch, kick, knee, and elbow collided with the man's hands, forearms, and legs. When that wasn't the case, master Ru merely avoided her attacks. As time passed by, her speed increased to a frightening level, and some spectators couldn't follow her movements with their eyes anymore. However, that was still not enough to deal a blow to the man because, in response, master Ru's movements became smaller and more accurate, while the training ground started to creak more and more.

When Mo'an was about to lose her mind to her inner beast, master Ru stepped outside of the ring, saying, "The match is over, Mo'an."

The teenager abruptly stopped her attack, stumbling. Then, with a dumb expression on her face, she lifted her head and blinked at the man, who had a serene smile on his lips.

Biting her lower lip, Mo'an slightly bent down, "Thank you for your guidance."

Although she probably could beat him if she handed the reins over to her beast, she didn't want to win this way. While muddleheaded, she wouldn't learn anything, and it would go against the purpose of this match. All along, master Ru adapted his techniques to her speed, which gave her the chance to comprehend how worked his martial art. Every time he blocked her attack, she could feel a subtle layer of spiritual energy covering his skin. She also felt it when she sparred with Tiel, but it wasn't the same. Master Ru's spiritual energy was more tranquil and even, whereas Tiel's wasn't as smooth as his. It was still a little unruly, which was probably why his defense wasn't as strong as his master.

'I will need to analyze it later,' thought Mo'an, looking at the man with gratefulness. She repeated, "Really, thank you for your guidance." In the corner of her mind, she knew it was his parting gift. He could have hidden how his spiritual energy worked, but he purposely let her feel it. At the thought, a warm feeling spread in her stomach. Really, she was blessed with the best elders.

"It was my pleasure," laughed master Ru before disappearing into the crowd, not letting her the time to say anything more.

Stretching, she looked at the crowd for a short while, then at Nael, who was pretending not to see her even though she was still standing in the middle of the ring, making her quite conspicuous. While she ran her hands through her short, damp hair, she said with a mischevious tone, "Nael! It's your turn!"

By the side, Tiel glanced at his friend with a smug face, snorting in his heart, "No matter how much you scheme, you can't escape your fate, duh."

Knowing that it was impossible to flee, Nael accepted his fate much quicker than Tiel. At least, the previous matches tired her out, and in the worst-case scenario, he just had to stay close to the edge of the ring and step out the moment things turned grim.

Afterward, for an unknown amount of time, Mo'an dragged her friends into fighting with her, even Shi'an wasn't sparred. She only put an end to the sparring matches when her poor friends were too tired to move. Lying near the ring, they looked like corpses. So, she decided to be magnanimous and let them off. Anyway, she now felt confident in her new body and didn't see the need to keep on sparring with them. Moreover, the feast was about to begin.

Although she knew she needed to practice a lot more to be as agile as she usually was in her female form, it could wait. Tonight, they should eat, drink, and have fun. The gloomy thoughts were for tomorrow, not today.

"Stop pretending to be dead and come with me. It seems like the stalls are open," said Mo'an, a smile in her voice. The irresistible smell of meat drifted into the air, whetting her appetite. If her friends didn't want to stand up, she wouldn't mind abandoning them. She was quite hungry after exercising for so long, and she was sorry to say so, but her stomach was first, and her friends, second.

Not too surprisingly, her words barely left her mouth that the three men jumped to their feet and scrammed to the nearest stall, drooling. Laughing loudly, she didn't wait before following them and soon ran in front of the small group.