Chapter 5 - My loss? (1/2)

In the end, Wu Zhangkong only sent Xie Xie flying by smacking him in the shoulder. After rolling over the floor twice, Xie Xie slowly got up. He clutched his shoulder and grimaced in pain.

I was starting to feel bad for him.

”You have one minute to rest. After that, the finals will begin.” Wu Zhangkong shook his wrist once again, wrapping the belt around his waist before walking off to the side.

I was making fun of the whole scenario, but watching Wu Zhangkong using that belt as a sword, I was quite amazed.

During that thrust, no matter how Xie Xie dodged, his attempts were futile. Wu Zhangkong's sword seemed to lock on to his body. I had to admit, Wu Zhangkong's skills with the sword were really good.

At this moment, I couldn't properly see through his skills. This was to be expected though. If I could see through Wu Zhangkong's skills so quickly, he might as well quit being a teacher.

A minute went by quickly. Xie Xie got up still holding his shoulder before summoning his martial spirit, the Light Dragon Dagger.

Facing me, his face was calm, a stark contrast from his anger earlier. He got into his stance, ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

I summoned my sharp blade once more. I was in the same stance as before. I wanted to try out Wu Zhangkong's sword style, but I bȧrėly understood anything about it.

The tension was high as we looked at each other in the eye. I relaxed my grip on my sword, taking long and deep breaths. Soon, Wu Zhangkong's voice sounded for the last battle today.

”Begin!”

Both of us instantly disappeared from our spots, appearing with our blades clashing at the centre of the ring. We exchange tens of blows in seconds, causing sparks to fly out.

These exchanges were quite close, slightly favouring Xie Xie. It couldn't be helped. He was slightly faster than me and although I was stronger, his skill in the blade was greater than mine.

Rich kids like him have masters since a young age after all.

Nicks and tiny cuts were left on my body as the battle went on. The damage wasn't serious, but it accumulated over the course of those strikes.

Keeping my breathing steady, I dodge a stab from his dagger. Though I was at a disadvantage, I was beginning to understand his way of fighting. It was a strange feeling, but somehow, I could begin to tell which moves he would use and how he would use them. This comprehension served as a form of precognition as it became easier and easier to dodge his moves.

Not only that, from seeing his movements, I started to mimic them. It wasn't exactly the same, but I could get the basic gist of his fighting style.

My fighting patterns changed as I learnt from his blade style. My dodges became parries. My wide blade swings became more precise. I was beginning a better swordsman overall.

Eventually, I got the advantage in the fight. Xie Xie seemed to realise that as well as he instantly tried to retreat.

I couldn't stop his retreat but I could punish him for it. Swinging downwards, I left a small cut on his wrist.

The cut was quite small, not even being large enough to inconvenience him. However, that cut was exactly what I wanted.

Having managed to retreat from me successfully, a yellow spirit ring appeared behind Xie Xie indicating the use of his 100+ year old spirit ring.

[Light Dragon Blade]

A loud dragon roar reached my ears as a blade of light flew at me. It was fast, but I was faster. Jumping to the left, I dodge the blade of light only to be met by Xie Xie with his striking at me.

I parried his dagger. The force from my parry was great as it sent the dagger flying from Xie Xie's hand. He revealed a surprised look at his disarmament.

He was under the effects of my spirit ring. That cut on his hand had sent a weak paralytic poison into his bloodstream. The poison would numb him, weakening the strength he could exert with that limb.

It wasn't much but in a close quarters fight like this between similarly skilled opponents, it was a massive edge.