Chapter 152 - Challenge

"Since you're odd, can you be my sparring companion for the lesson?"

When Hei heard that question, he was surprised. Hei didn't imagine that someone he didn't know would approach him and ask him to do as a sparring companion for the lesson.

'He didn't approach our group by addressing everyone. He pointed directly to me, which means he deliberately chose me as his sparring partner. The problem is, why? I don't know him, and I don't seem to have ever interacted with him this week. The only reason I can think of is the episode in the canteen a week ago. Only that. Could it be that he is affiliated with Feng Gengxin?'

While Hei was thinking, Lian at his side asked in a wary voice, "Why should he be your sparring partner?"

The blue-haired young woman had stood next to Hei; Ye and Xing had also come out as they uncovered their teeth toward the newcomer. They, too, like Hei, had come to the hypothesis that it was someone affiliated with Feng Gengxin who had come to bother them.

The young green-haired man with red spots laughed and replied, "It isn't for the reason you think, even though it is related to it. Let me introduce myself; my name is He Fen. The reason I'm asking this request is that I want to fight you. Look there."

He Fen, therefore, indicated a specific point on the whole of the training grounds. There, Teacher Song Yazhu was fighting with a bald, black-skinned young man. They were exchanging blows after blows using only hand-to-hand combat techniques. Incredibly, the young man, who was a student like all of them, was keeping up with Song Yazhu. It must be said, however, that Song Yazhu had limited his power to that of an ordinary spirit soldier. However, it was still a challenge for anybody to keep up with Song Yazhu even in those circumstances.

"He is Hu Jie, son of the Jie Family head, one of the Eight Big Families and the owner of the White Tiger Bloodline. Members of the Jie Family are adept in the Law of Metal; however, even among them, Hu Jie is a genius among geniuses. His talent is said to be the highest ever in the family. The particular thing about Hu Jie is that he doesn't use weapons. Despite the hardness of their bodies, users of the Law of Metal use weapons to overcome their lack of long-range attacks. But Hu Jie no. He only fights with hand-to-hand combat techniques without using weapons. The reason why Teacher Song Yazhu is fighting with him isn't that he is making preferences. There is simply no one in here who can sparring him in hand-to-hand combat at his full strength, not even the Imperial Prince Long Tian or the son of the Feng Family head, Feng Chen."

Listening to He Fen's words, Hei replied promptly. "Nice to meet you, He Fen; my name is Hei. From how you speak, you know the Eight Big Families very well. However, I still don't understand why you chose me."

"My surname is He, that's the surname of my family. We are a family that owns a bloodline - the Bifang Bird Bloodline. Families with pure bloodlines, although they aren't part of the Eight Big Families, have very close relationships with them. Since I was a child, I have dealt with Hu Jie and Feng Chen, although they have never paid me much attention. Therefore, I have seen many people who considered themselves geniuses, and I can recognize who is the real deal and who is just a braggart. The murderous intent you emitted in the canteen, your bearing, and your aura. You are someone who has tremendous talent, perhaps comparable to that of Hu Jie and Feng Chen. Right now, I can't ask them to make me sparring companions; they wouldn't calculate me at all. You are the best solution I have found."

Hearing these words, Hei began to understand a little the reasons that led He Fen to propose that request, although there were some details that he didn't understand. "Do you have any grudges against those two?"

"No, I don't have anything against them. In fact, I even admire them a lot for their strength. But I have my reasons for doing what I'm doing. I need to reach a level that allows me to fight them on equal terms. No, not like them, I have to be stronger than them. So please, be my sparring companion, and don't spare your strength."

"Alright. If this is what you want. Lian, Ye, Xing, go with the others. Rest assured, everything will be fine." Hei, therefore, reassured Lian and his little sisters before moving away from the group a bit with He Fen.

"Thanks, Hei, for accepting my request."

"You don't have to thank me. After all, fighting with someone, I don't know is a good workout."

The two young men then activated their spirit power. Quickly, they snapped towards each other and began to exchange a series of blows. He Fen's style used quick punches that roared through the air, but Hei was dodging them all without difficulty with Snake Run. The techniques that Bao Bei taught in Hei weren't elemental techniques but could be defined as hand-to-hand techniques to which the Elemental Laws could subsequently be applied.

Although the use of Elemental Laws was prohibited for the hand-to-hand combat lessons, spider-style and snake-style techniques were still dangerous to deal with. He Fen was soon thrown to the ground after receiving a flurry of Snake Fists from Hei.

"As I thought. You are strong. But you're still limiting yourself. Don't do it, please. Use your true power over me."

"Some of the techniques I know have been designed to kill, not to be used in training. If I use them, there is a risk that I won't be able to brake at the last moment. It means that I could end up killing you or seriously injuring you."

"Do it. I'll take the blame. Don't worry, I swear. "

Hei thought about it for a moment. He Fen was a first stage spirit soldier like him; his hand-to-hand combat techniques could be defined at the amateur level at the most. Yet, during the fight, Hei had noticed that He Fen was improving little by little. Therefore he thought it was better to start gradually, but He Fen wanted him to use all his techniques immediately.

'Spider Lance is too powerful. Even if he says he'll take the blame, I can't risk it. I don't trust someone I just met. But I can use other techniques. While I'm in it, I could see if I can invent some new variation to use in combat.'

After making his decision, Hei and He Fen resumed fighting. This time Hei used Spider Run, Two-Legged Mode, to run around He Fen, who was surprised by the speed reached by Hei. However, the He Family's member wasn't intimidated. He also used a footwork technique, starting to move quickly to intercept Hei. However, it was clear that there was a clear gap between the two techniques.

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"Vibrating Fist! Vibrating Kick! "

Peng! Peng!

Hei used his dominant left arm to punch He Fen's face. The young man was taken aback, but his defensive layer of spirit power cushioned the blow. Unfortunately for him, Hei's offensive wasn't over. Taking advantage of the momentary sense of disorientation due to Vibrating Fist, Hei used the variation of this technique through a kick toward He Fen's spleen, making He Fen fly several meters until he landed abruptly on the ground.

Cough!

He Fen stood up, spitting out the saliva that had built up in his mouth as he took a breath of air. Vibrating Fist and, therefore, Vibrating Kick were simple techniques. They consisted of sending one's spirit power forward against the enemy. With the same spirit power, even if they had encountered the enemy's defensive layer of spirit power, part of the technique power would have been transmitted as a wave. In a sense, it resembled the characteristics of specific techniques of the Water and Blood Laws. But since Hei didn't possess such laws, he was unable to use this technique perfectly. In this regard, Lian was decidedly more adept than he in using Vibrating Fist or Vibrating Kick. However, it was still a suitable technique in these sparring situations.

After getting up, He Fen smiled. Inside him, his blood was boiling as he relaunched his attack. Unlike Hei, He Fen's main techniques were based on his Elemental Law from a distance, enhanced by his bloodline. He didn't have many close combat techniques. So he was in extreme difficulty against someone like Hei, yet he didn't seem to be discouraged at all every time he was thrown several meters to the ground. Every time he went down, he would get up full of energy and more and more determined.

From a distant point in the training grounds' complex, Teacher Song Yazhu was high in the sky. After sparring with Hu Jie for a while, he left him to rest on the ground so he could check on the situation of the other students. Moving his eyes to every occupied training ground, he saw numerous interesting students that had potential. At one point, his eyes stopped on Hei and He Fen.

'That boy... has experience in hand-to-hand combat. It can be seen from its fluid movements. It is an unusual thing seen nowadays; everyone focuses more on the laws and the use of weapons. It isn't at Hu Jie's level who has mastered a high number of different fighting styles, but the few styles he knows have been trained to a very high level. That other green-haired boy with red spots is just an amateur in hand-to-hand combat. But he has the spirit and, above all, a great determination. If this continues, he will improve by leaps and bounds.'

Song Yazhu looked away to observe the other students. Although several students intrigued him, his job was to train all of them without giving preferences. Regardless of their background, he had to make sure that even the least talented of them could have the means to improve themselves. Coming from a zero background, he much appreciated those who worked hard until they sweated blood to become stronger. After all, it was only through his continuous training that he had reached the rank of spirit king.

*

Thud!

He Fen fell disastrously to the ground. Small streaks of blood came out of his lips and were falling drop by drop to the ground. Hei had by now lost count of how many times He Fen himself had. Yet, each time, He Fen would have risen, prompting Hei to continue and hit harder.

Hei was very surprised by his determination. He understood that there was an important reason that was supporting He Fen. "He Fen, can I ask you why you are doing all this? It isn't just to overcome Feng Chen and Hu Jie. I feel there is something else, no, someone else who is motivating you to move forward."

Hei's eyes focused intently on He Fen's. The young man from the He Family returned his gaze and sighed intensely. Sudden streaks of fire came out of his mouth and then mysteriously vanished.

"Do you know the difference between a Pure Bloodline and a Royal Bloodline?" He Fen asked as he clenched his fists.

"No, I know the difference between a Pseudo Bloodline and a Pure Bloodline, but I don't know the details of the Royal Bloodlines," Hei sincerely answered as he became even more curious.

"Regarding the increase in power and understanding of the laws, the difference is zero. So why such a distinction? Simple, the Royal Bloodlines are those that have the purest concentration and, therefore, a higher probability of transmitting the bloodline to one's descendants. My family hadn't produced a member with a pure bloodline for dozens of years. Then suddenly, my older sister was born and then me. Except that my sister's bloodline isn't very pure, it's almost at the pseudo-bloodline level. However, since she is very beautiful, the elders of the family have agreed to give her as a bride to the son of one of the elders of the Que Family, the Vermilion Bird Family, one of the Eight Big Families.

My sister is still young; she is only twenty years old. She has a whole life ahead of her, yet she has been denied the opportunity to fall in love and live her life as she wishes. If it were possible, I would take her and run away with her, but there are our parents and my other brothers and sisters who cannot survive without the help of the family. For them, my sister would be willing to sacrifice herself and live a life locked up in a building as a prize to be displayed when guests come. I can't let that happen.

The elders of my family say there is still time for the actual wedding. Three years. Within this period, I have to beat in an official one vs. one challenge one of the members of the Que Family. Obviously, he will be a martial artist belonging to the younger generation, but if he were someone with talent equal to Hu Jie and Feng Chen, my chances of winning are practically zero. This is why I desperately need to get stronger at all costs. You're the only one who gave me a feeling similar to the geniuses of the Eight Big Families. And after receiving your blows, I know you're still hiding your strength. Please, I beg you, without going through the wrath of hell, I will never be able to reach the power I desperately need."

At He Fen's plea, Hei closed his eyes. He could understand his despair. Hei also had sisters, after all, Ye and Xing. He would do anything for them to make them happy. If they had been forced into a life of unhappiness as if they were a bargaining chip, he would have been inundated with anger.

"Alright. Since I perfectly understand how you feel, I will no longer restrain myself. Don't die, He Fen. Not now that I'm starting to feel sympathy for you."

Hei then began to rotate his left arm with Snake Coiling as he prepared to use Spider Lance. With Spider Run, he moved around He Fen to confuse him. However, the latter chased him and began to launch a series of attacks to prevent him from attacking. Seeing this, Hei smiled, though. Then, while pretending to be overwhelmed, he received a kick from He Fen, who pushed him backward.

'Now!'

Forcefully thrusting his toes into the ground, he braked the backward momentum and launched his technique.

'Snake Whip + Snake Coiling + Beast Claws + Spider Lance, Piercing Lance Javelin.'

Dislocating all the bones of the left arm and shoulder to increase the radius of action, the lethal hand like the tip of a spear came against the defensive layer of He Fen's spirit power. The young man, totally taken aback, had no way of parrying. Hei's technique broke his defensive layer of spirit power and penetrated him into the flesh. But before he could reach even more in-depth, He Fen heard a dry sound, and Hei's claw-sharp nails were pulled back.

To avoid seriously injuring He Fen, Hei had asked Lian to stop him using her ribbons. The young blue-haired woman carried out the order, and as soon as He Fen's defensive layer broke, she used her ribbons to push Hei's arm back. However, since Hei's spirit power was all about attacking, the only way to stop him was to break his arm while performing his attack.

Clenching his teeth to suppress the pain, Hei was now standing as he looked at his dangling arm, tilted at a strange angle. Promptly, he turned to Lian.

"Lian, nice job. Don't worry; you did what I asked you to do. Don't be sad because you think you've hurt me. I am the one who is sorry for asking you to do such a thing."

"I know, but even so, I don't like to see you hurting yourself, even more so if I'm the one doing it."

Hei then approached Lian and stroked her head as usual with the other arm. Quickly, their other companions approached them, surprised by Hei's injury.

"Hei, lie down. We will medicate you immediately." Mia said worriedly.

"Okay. Wait a minute, though."

Hei clenched his teeth again and, using his spirit power, folded his arm back to its original position. The others looked at him in surprise because Hei was doing all this without batting an eyelid. Eventually, Hei sat up while Mia and Lilian used their healing techniques.