Even though Teacher Yuan had stated, “The primary goal of learning to take a beating is to learn how to protect yourself and conquer fear,” this was far easier said than done.
Avoiding injury was an instinct deeply ingrained in human nature from ancient times.
Thus, when confronted with a ferocious barrage of punches and kicks, dodging and fear were subconscious physiological responses. Even Huang Xiu was no exception.
She stood upon the small arena, watching a white blur of fists rapidly growing larger in her vision.
Her slender eyelashes fluttered, stirred by the ill wind.
Before she could even think, Huang Xiu instinctively tried to dodge, her right foot pushing off the ground to retreat. However, her assailant stepped forward, seizing her collar with their left hand. Their right hand, transforming from a fist into a palm, snatched Huang Xiu’s delicate arm.
“Hmph!” the person exclaimed, a soft cry of effort.
Using their right foot as a pivot, power erupted from their spine, executing an over-the-shoulder throw that sent Huang Xiu crashing down.
Bang!
Huang Xiu landed heavily on the arena, flat on her back. The impact left her disoriented, her vision swirling with golden stars.
Under the intense physiological response to the pain, tears welled uncontrollably in her eyes.
Yet, Huang Xiu quickly sniffled, forcefully suppressing them.
She lay on the ground, her body aching as if it would shatter. She couldn’t even begin to get up for a while.
Nor did she want to!
As she gazed at the row of white incandescent spotlights embedded in the training room’s ceiling, her lips twitched slightly. ‘Damn it, I was taken down in a single move!’
“How utterly humiliating!” Huang Xiu covered her face, a profound sense of mortification washing over her.
“Are you alright?” A clear, cool female voice accompanied the appearance of a soft, tender right hand in Huang Xiu’s field of vision.
Huang Xiu’s pride would not allow her to show weakness. She shook her head, grasping the outstretched hand and using its leverage to stand.
“Truly alright?” the other person asked again.
“Truly,” Huang Xiu replied, moving her body. Although her entire body still throbbed faintly, the pain had significantly lessened compared to earlier.
It was clearly just a superficial injury.
Observing Wen Erya, clad in a training uniform on the opposite side of the arena, Huang Xiu understood.
During that throw, Wen Erya had not only held back her strength but also adjusted Huang Xiu’s landing posture. Otherwise, her injuries would not have been so minor.
“Senior Sister Wen, do you study Jujutsu?” Huang Xiu inquired.
“Not really,” Wen Erya smiled. “Jujutsu is merely a hobby of mine. What I truly study are Xingyi and blade techniques.”
“…Just a hobby, and you’re already this strong?” A bead of cold sweat trickled down Huang Xiu’s forehead.
“It’s not that I’m too strong,” Wen Erya corrected. “It’s that you, Junior Sister, simply don’t understand martial combat.”
Huang Xiu remained silent, turning her head to glance at her surroundings.
The vast training room, numbered one, was now evenly divided into fifteen small arenas.
On each arena, new and old students were currently engaged in combat. This was Teacher Yuan’s doing.
He claimed it was to allow the new students to experience realistic martial combat, so he had specially invited a group of senior students to serve as assistant instructors. Wen Erya was one of them.
Huang Xiu scanned each arena, discovering that almost all the new students were being thoroughly beaten. Pandas with black eyes were everywhere, and some new students were even unable to stand.
However, the senior students were all very careful, inflicting mostly superficial wounds, with no broken bones. After looking around, Huang Xiu suddenly realized that she was, in fact, the one who had been beaten the least severely.
She couldn’t help but feel a little pleased.
After a brief recovery, once the pain in her body had receded to a level that no longer hindered her movements, Huang Xiu issued an invitation to Wen Erya.
“Let’s continue!”
Huang Xiu, mimicking a pose from a movie, struck a random boxing stance. Once the other nodded, she charged forward with a yell.
This time, she had no intention of passively dodging and defending. Instead, she planned to take the initiative.
Simply taking a beating wasn’t in her nature. Regardless of the outcome, Huang Xiu wanted to land a punch on Wen Erya.
After all, her body had undergone a second enhancement. Without employing any special abilities, her physical prowess was superior to that of an average Mercury Rank Awakened individual.
However, ideals were grand, but reality was harsh.
Huang Xiu charged, wildly flailing her ‘king of eight’ punches.
But her opponent moved like a butterfly, deftly evading and shifting within the five-meter-square arena.
Finally, after she had thrown more than ten consecutive punches, her strength slightly diminished and her punch speed slowed.
Wen Erya suddenly landed a punch on Huang Xiu’s stomach, causing her to drop to one knee, speechless from the pain.
“Can you continue?” Wen Erya asked with a touch of concern.
“Continue!” Huang Xiu gritted her teeth.
Even though she knew this was merely a special ‘getting hit’ training session for martial arts class, being repeatedly struck without even touching her opponent fueled a rising tide of defiance and anger within Huang Xiu.
Twice, thrice, four times…
Huang Xiu was knocked down again and again, but after a brief regrouping, she rose to her feet time after time.
She was still charging with clenched fists when the dismissal bell rang.
“Class dismissed!” Cheers erupted from the students in the distance. They seemed to be celebrating that this brutal ‘getting hit’ training had finally, temporarily, come to an end.
The arenas, which had risen from the ground, began to descend one by one. The continuous creaking of mechanical gears filled the air.
But Huang Xiu heard nothing; her eyes were fixed solely on the graceful figure in the training uniform before her.
“Junior Sister, I didn’t expect you to last this long!”
Wen Erya’s voice held undisguised surprise. Although she had held back power with each attack, the pain was undeniably real.
With her excellent eyesight, she could clearly see Huang Xiu. Each time, due to the pain, a misty cloud of tears would well up in her eyes. She would purse her lips, then sniffle, suppressing the tears, and with red-rimmed eyes, charge forward again with a cry.
‘I remember when I was in my freshman year of combat class, I think I only got up three times before refusing to get off the ground,’ Wen Erya mused, recalling her own experience from a year ago.
“Class is dismissed! Do you still want to continue?” she asked, but received no answer from Huang Xiu.
“Alright, then, this will be the last one!”
Wen Erya smiled helplessly, then her expression turned serious, her eyes locked on Huang Xiu. Her hands captured the trajectory of Huang Xiu’s attack.
Swish!
She tilted her head slightly to the right, dodging Huang Xiu’s direct jab. Then, her right fist struck the girl’s soft stomach.
At the last moment, she still retracted sixty percent of her strength.
This scene had played out several times during the class, but an old move was not to be feared as long as it was effective.
Wen Erya watched Huang Xiu’s body tremble, her knees bending as if she were about to collapse to the ground, and prepared to withdraw her right hand.
But suddenly, a smooth, soft hand, like warm jade, shot up from below and firmly gripped her wrist.
“…” Wen Erya was slightly startled. She looked down to find Huang Xiu staring at her with red eyes.
Those eyes held pain, but also the triumph of a successful scheme.
“You’ve been hitting my stomach this whole time! Take this headbutt!”
Huang Xiu gritted her teeth, pushed off with both legs, and abruptly stood up, violently ramming her head into Wen Erya’s stomach.
Bang!
It hit, but it also felt like it didn’t quite connect. Huang Xiu looked up, realizing that Wen Erya had reacted, blocking her headbutt with the palm of her right hand held horizontally across her abdomen. Her left hand was already raised, seemingly ready to strike down.
Even so, this was the first time Huang Xiu had forced Wen Erya to defend rather than dodge. Her goal was accomplished, after all.
“Class dismissed, no more fighting!” Huang Xiu quickly retreated; she certainly didn’t want to take another hit.
“Junior Sister, you performed really well this time.”
Wen Erya withdrew her hand, praising her with a smile, but not forgetting to promote the Blood Assault Association. “Our Blood Assault Association truly welcomes girls like you!”