Cixi told Akiza to fight the next skeleton they encountered. "Focus on defense," said Cixi. "These skeletons look tough, but if you hit them the right way, they will fall easily."

Akiza had to learn everything as she went. Cixi wanted to make sure that Akiza had a chance to observe and practice the techniques that Cixi was teaching her.

"Everything has a weak spot," Akiza thought to herself. The turtle had its head. The wolf had its under belly. The skeleton has its chest.

Akiza got close and slow advanced, waiting for the skeleton to release its powerful shockwave first. The moment she saw the skeleton charge up the swing, she backed off. BOOM. That was loud sound of the skeleton's swing and the release of the shockwave. By increasing the distance between them, she could reduce the impact of it. However, she still had to back off by a few steps. Her body weight was simply too light and the shockwave could push her down if she was too close.

Akiza then followed what her Master had done. She ran up to the skeleton and used her sword to smash the arm of the skeleton. The arm of the skeleton could no longer move. "I did it!" said Akiza.

"Be careful," said Cixi. "A fight isn't over until one of you falls."

The skeleton swung with its other arm and tried to hit Akiza. Akiza kicked the skeleton in the pelvis to disorient it. "Attacking and defending at the same time," Akiza said to herself. She then charged foward. "Rising Phoenix Strike!" she shouted as she smashed her fist into the rib cage of the skeleton. It had hit dead center! The skeleton flew several meters before falling to pieces on the ground. The main rib cage had shattered. The body then disappeared.

"I did it!" said Akiza.

"Congratulations," said Cixi. "But you made a huge mistake."

"Mistake?" asked Akiza.

"When you used your final attack, your punch hits too small of an area," said Cixi. "The skeleton might be shaped like a human body, but the actual spots you can hit are few due to the empty spaces between the bones. Had you been even slightly off center, it might not have been enough to finish off the skeleton. Then you would have been open to a counter attack."

"That was why you turned the sword sideways!" said Akiza.

"Yes," said Cixi. "But that isn't just the only reason. Turning the sword sideways adds to the area that you spread your weight, so if you are pushing something and attempting to crush it, spreading the damage over a larger area is preferable to hitting a small area. When you only hit a small area, there is a chance you might pierce it instead."

These were all things that were new to Akiza. She had never considered things like this before. It had always been add speed or power and just smash. For the most part, it had worked, but now, it was no longer working. Akiza needed to fight in smarter ways, not just with more strength.

"In addition, there is something even stronger here that you must learn to fight," said Cixi.

The two wandered throughout the ruins of the city. They eventually found it. It was something that looked like a human, but it had pale green skin and hopped around with its arms straight out in front of it.

"I saw that thing at the Immortal Realm," said Akiza to Cixi.

"Do you know what it is?" Cixi asked.

"No," responded Akiza.

"That is a Jiangshi," said Cixi. "It feeds on the Internal Energy of others and has the ability to use strong hand to hand skills. You must be very careful when fighting it."

Cixi walked forward to demonstrate. The Jiangshi turned to Cixi and lowered its arms and raised its hands near its chest area. It was in a fighting stance. As Cixi approached it, the Jiangshi suddenly did a high kick. Cixi had to back off. "Learn to read its movements like a person," Cixi said.

Cixi closed in again and stabbed it in the abdomen. "This thing is tougher than the skeletons that you fought because it has actual flesh holding it together," she said.

As Cixi pulled out the sword, green blood flowed out. "But that means it also has some of the same weak points as a normal person," said Cixi as she stabbed the Jiangshi in the chest.

"But like a person, you can also kill them the same way!" shouted Cixi. She quickly thrusted the sword inside the head, destroying its brain as well as its heart. "Everyone and everything has vulnerable spots, you just have to find it," said Cixi.

A talisman was left on the floor. "This is an example of something that can be made into an Artifact," said Cixi. "Can you feel its energy?"

Akiza at first only felt a fading Dark Energy. She concentrated and felt that it also possessed a very small amount of Internal Energy. "Yes, I see it."

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"Good," said Cixi. "You will try to find something that is suitable to make a weapon for you," she said. "The bone of something big is usually good for a sword, but I'm not sure if you can find something like that here."

"We won't know unless we try," said Akiza.

"Well said," said Cixi.

The two made their way forward and Akiza followed the way Cixi fought. Watching for cues and aiming for certain spots in the body. It took longer to kill some enemies, but it was much safer than charging in. "Watch its pattern, cripple the enemy, then get close to finish it off," these were the words that Akiza inscribed into her heart.

Akiza began to be more effective against fighting the skeletons. Rather than just charge straight in, she got close enough to trigger the shockwave of the skeletons first. When she heard the BOOM, she charged in and smashed her sword against their chest, instantly killing them without the need to disarm them first. It was a riskier move, but just as strong.

"Don't forget to pace yourself," said Cixi. "If you are tired when you encounter an enemy, you might be dead."

Akiza spent many days with Cixi doing this. Learning by fighting the undead while searching the ruins. On rest days, Akiza was told to train her fire in an attempt to shape it, but it often went poorly. She was still unable to properly shape her fire.

"Your next test is to fight the Jiangshi," said Cixi.

"That's the undead with flesh right?" said Akiza.

"Yes, a Jiangshi not only has flesh and Internal Energy, it also has skills, so you must be careful when fighting one," said Cixi. "I finished it off before it could use it, but you probably could not.

The two looked around for a Jiangshi. Akiza fought the skeletons they found along the way. When they finally encountered a Jiangshi, Cixi stood back to watch Akiza fight it.

When Akiza got close, the Jiangshi sensed her presence and switched into a fighting pose. One hand in front of the other. Akiza held her sword with both hands in a defensive stance to compensate for her lower strength. The Jiangshi charged in and swung. Akiza turned the sword sideways to block.

BOOM. The Jiangshi's fist made contact with the sword. Akiza was pushed back two steps, but she did not fall over. "I'm a little stronger now," she said to herself. "I can do this."

The Jiangshi unleashed a flurry of punches. Akiza dodged what she could and parried what she could not. That was when she saw a weakness. The flesh of the Jiangshi was already peeling off. It had hit the sword so many times that it was hurting itself, but since it was an undead creature, it did not realize the damage it had caused itself.

Akiza readied her sword. The Jiangshi charged again. This time, Akiza met the fist of the Jiangshi with her sword. SSHHLUCK. The sword tore through the arm and up to the elbow. "I got you!" said Akiza.

"Careful," said Cixi. "You're not paying close enough attention."

The Jiangshi had spun around after losing part of its arm. Akiza did not see it, but she felt something on her right side. The Jiangshi had used a kick. BOOM. Akiza was sent flying by the power of the Jiangshi's kick.

Akiza picked herself up, but she was injured by that kick and was bleeding from the mouth. The Jiangshi was extremely strong. Akiza held her left hand on her side, applying the healing fire while keeping an eye on the Jiangshi. The Jiangshi turned to face her and ran towards her.

Akiza kept her eyes on the feet of the Jiangshi this time. With one arm gone, the Jiangshi had to rely on kick attacks. It led with another roundhouse kick. Akiza dodged back to avoid it. The Jiangshi followed with another straight kick. Akiza raised her sword to block it. BOOM. The power of the kick still knocked her back a few steps, but she did not fall.

The Jiangshi rushed her again preparing for another kick. This time, Akiza jumped forward. "The undead are highly predictable," she thought. Her sword pierced the chest of Jiangshi. Using the force of her jump. She continued to push the sword through, knocking the Jiangshi down. She then followed up with several punches to the head, finishing it off.

"We'll stop here for today," said Cixi.

Akiza was exhausted after that fight. The Jiangshi was extremely strong for her. "If I had been fighting the same as always, I would have died," she thought. In the future, she would have to observe more carefully and keep her eye out for any possible attack at any moment because if there were more creatures like the Jiangshi, they could attack in unexpected ways and instantly kill her.