When she woke up again, it was already dusk.

As she stood from the park's bench, she could finally feel the qi in the environment.

She couldn't see it, but she could feel its presence.

"Hahaha," she laughed, amused by the experience.

She returned to her house in a good mood.

***

A week passes, and the school finally begins allowing the students to learn basic techniques.

"Before we begin, tell me, what is cultivation?" The instructor asked.

"It's increasing your magical powers!" A student replied.

"Wrong! Cultivation is a philosophy. It is the study of nature and existence."

"By understanding the world, we borrow its powers. And by understanding the power we have borrowed, techniques are born!"

"And to understand the world, one must possess the Meikyou Shisui, the state of being free from all emotions. A heart akin to a clean mirror. One without dust, cloud, or condensation. A mind free from unnecessary thoughts like still water."

"Uhh... instructor... why is a 'clean mirror and still water' important?" A girl asked curiously.

"Because if water is filled with dirt, ripples, or a mirror is cloudy, it will not reflect the image properly. In our case, while we do not reflect, we are capable of imitation..."

"And all forms of learning start with imitation..."

"From an infant to adulthood, we learn from our parents, extended relatives, neighbors, and the environment around us."

"When you learn martial arts, you imitate your teacher. And when you have perfected the imitation, you begin to understand how it works. By then, you probably have your own style of martial arts perfectly suited for yourself."

When you imitate your enemies, you begin to understand them. You will know what they're about to do and how you can counter their plan."

The teacher ended his explanation.

"So, any questions?" The instructor asked his students.

"What about the activity today, sir? What kind of technique are we learning today?" One of the male students asked.

"The technique we will be learning today is the defensive martial art, Iron Skin!" The teacher answered.

Iron Skin was originally just a qi technique and not a martial art. It uses qi to cover the skin with a thin layer of protection. It absorbs most attacks and prevents severe injuries during sparring sessions. After its creation, a martial artist added a variety of defensive techniques like blocks, clinch, evasions, and counterattacks to it which later created the said defensive martial art.

The instructor demonstrated the basic movements. After explaining the moves, he told them to practice only the qi technique and not the moves.

"We will begin the movement training tomorrow. Today, we will practice the qi technique." The instructor announced.

"Ehh, but this is very boring, sir!" A male student complained. "Can't we just spar?"

"No! If you can't even use Iron Skin (Qi Technique), you'll only make the defensive techniques useless. You have to learn it first because it is very hard to maintain during live combat, let alone combining it with the movements." The instructor shouted as he glared at the boy.

"But this is so boring..." The boy mumbled to himself.

After that, the students practiced the technique until the end of the class.

Ayame followed the instructions and practiced the qi technique.

"So I have to create an image of the outer layer of my skin inside my mind and imagine the qi creating a layer of protection in front of it, right?" Ayame asked herself.

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It only took 3 minutes for her to activate Iron Skin.

She could see a translucent light covering her skin.

"So this is Iron Skin..." Ayame thought to herself.

Suddenly, a rock was flung at her hand.

It was the instructor.

"Hoh, you learned it quickly! But it's too fragile. Don't get distracted, and try again!" The teacher instructed.

Ayame tried to focus on the technique.

"I see. Now I understand what it means to be free from unnecessary thoughts. It is indeed hard to maintain. It reminds me of when I had difficulty breathing properly during workouts and combat." She thought to herself.

This time, she imagined her qi flowing as it covered her body.

She concentrated on the technique.

The translucent light appeared. This time Ayame did not get distracted.

The instructor flicked another rock, but it was entirely blocked by Ayame.

"That's it!" Ayame thought to herself.

"That's good! Keep maintaining it until the end of the class." The teacher clapped while

Ayame continued practicing.

She repeated the process and successfully maintained Iron Skin until the end of the class.

When the class ended, she went to the cafeteria and sat down.

"Oh, you quickly learned it. Good job!" Mina said as she approached Ayame. "I already knew how to do it, but I didn't know the teacher would throw rocks at us. It was scary."

"It is quite scary," Kaito agreed. "But it's really useful for spars and self-defense."

Ayame nodded.

After they were done with their lunch, Ayame left the campus and returned home.

As she lay on her bed, she recalled the teacher's lesson...

Meikyou Shisui, huh...

***

The next day, during the cultivation and martial art class...

"Kōta Setsuko. Step forward!" The instructor ordered.

"First, I want you to demonstrate your Iron Skin." The instructor told Kōta.

Kōta nodded and took a stance. He then activated Iron Skin.

"Now, try to block my attacks!" The instructor shouted.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!" Kōta screamed as the instructor's punches threw him to the ground.

"Kaoru Takuma. Step forward!" The instructor ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Kaoru replied.

"Show me your Iron Skin."

"Right away!" Kaoru said and activated Iron Skin.

"Hahaha! That's quite impressive!" The instructor laughed. "But your lower body isn't protected well!"

The instructor kicked his lower leg knocking him down.

"That's not good. Keep practicing until you can maintain Iron Skin on your whole body."

"Yes, sir!" Kaoru replied as he got up.

***

It took quite a while, but it was Ayame's turn.

"Ayame Yuuna. Step forward!" The instructor ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Ayame replied.

She took a stance, closed her eyes, and activated Iron Skin.

"Meikyou Shisui... A mirror without dust, a lake without ripple..." Ayame chanted the technique's name in her mind.

"Alright, now try to block my attacks!" The instructor yelled.

The instructor punched, but it was parried by Ayame.

Ayame countered with a swift jab to the instructor's face.

"!?" The instructor flinched and fell backward. He didn't use defensive qi techniques because he never thought anyone would try to counterattack. His fist was fast, and it was impossible for a newbie to parry the attack and throw a counterattack.

Ayame stood without even bothering to check if the instructor was alright.

The instructor stood back up, activating iron skin and using his martial art, Ryūsui Denkō-ken.

It was a martial art that used qi, creating powerful and swift punching attacks. Of course, its highlighted ability is its speed and number of attacks that don't give time for the enemy to attack. It was a qi martial art that was based on Boxing. If fully mastered, its users could crush a boulder in one attack and execute 500 punches in under a minute without getting exhausted.

The instructor punched once more, this time faster and more powerful.

Ayame swatted it again. As the instructor retracted his arms, Ayame bit his hand and swung a downward elbow strike on the instructor's arm joints.

The instructor used his other hand to punch Ayame, but she let go of the bitten hand and swatted the instructor's attack once more.

"This kid... What a savage fighting style... she actually damaged my arm even with Iron Skin..."

The instructor retreated and recovered from the shock.

This time, Ayame dashed forward and punched the instructor.

They exchanged punches.

It was barely visible to the spectators due to their speed.

All of the instructor's punches were swatted.

Ayame used alternating hands to parry and attack. Her left hand would punch; the next, it would swat or catch the instructor's punches. The instructor took all the damage while Ayame was unhurt.

Noticing the instructor's exhaustion, Ayame swiftly ducked down and held the back of the instructor's lower legs before turning her own legs and pushing the instructor. He was immediately knocked down. He did not expect a double-leg takedown from Ayame.

Ayame mounted the instructor before grabbing both of his hands and biting his face.

"!?" He could feel a burning sensation on his face. He didn't notice it, but his nose, lips, and face were bleeding badly.

But Ayame was not done yet. She moved her hand towards each other before removing her left hand and using her right hand to grab both arms of the instructor. Ayame unleashed a deadly amount of elbow attacks on the instructor's face. Every time her elbows connected, the teacher's face spurted out blood.

The teacher knew that he needed to escape immediately or else he might die. But he was already losing consciousness.

Ayame released him.

The instructor groaned.

She was covered in blood.

***

When the class ended, Ayame went home and changed into a different outfit. She wore a white short-sleeved shirt with black pants.

She did not have lunch with Kaito and Mina this time.

She had something else to do. The adrenaline in her blood has not yet settled.

She walked around for a few minutes until she found what she was searching for.

It was a Yakuza outpost.

She smiled. She found her precious sandbags.