By the time the sun had reached its zenith, I was ready to complete my final training. This last challenge was much more difficult than any of the previous ones. My task was to defeat the man standing before me - the current leader of our lineage. In our previous battle, I had not been able to defeat him, even though I had wielded the sword with balance. But now, I had to try again and see if I could emerge victorious.

My master stood silently beside me. He was about to say a few words before the battle began. As he spoke, my mind raced with thoughts of how best to attack. But then he quickly interrupted my train of thought.

"The rules are quite simple," he said. "You will not use your sword during this battle. We will fight with sticks instead. You may make superficial attacks, but the first one to give up will lose."

I wanted to make sure that I understood everything correctly.

"Is there anything else?" I asked.

"That's all," he replied.

It was going to be difficult for me to rely solely on superficial attacks and not use my sword. Although I was proficient with the club, it didn't feel like enough for this battle. I could control the sword with my current level of skill and use it against him, but there was nothing I could do now. The rules had already been set.

I put down the sword that I had been carrying on my back and picked up the club. Before the battle began, I said one last thing to my master.

"May the best man win," I said.

My master added one more sentence in a prestigious manner.

"Remember," he said. "History doesn't write about the righteous. It writes about the strong."

When my master finished speaking, the battle had officially begun. I was expecting the leader of the Cronus clan to approach and attack me, but he had something else in mind. He raised his ordinary club into the air and swung it around once or twice before gripping it tightly with both hands.

With all his strength, he struck the ground beneath us. At first, I didn't understand what was happening, but then I saw it. A large crack appeared in the ground and raced toward me. It wasn't very deep, but it was strong enough to shake me off balance. As I stumbled slightly, my master seized the opportunity to hurl a rock the size of my head toward me using the end of his stick.

My master must have thought that I would be hit in the face by the rock because I was off balance. But when he saw me smash the rock to pieces with my stick, he realized that our fight was far from over. The old me would have struggled to smash that rock, but thanks to my training with the sword and my newfound control over it, such feats were no longer so difficult.

As my master continued to throw rocks at me, I tried to get closer to him. I smashed the incoming rocks and narrowly avoided them at the same time. When my master realized that I was closing in on him, he stopped throwing rocks and powered up his legs. He jumped as high as he could - so high that for a moment he seemed to disappear from sight.

When I saw him again, he was high in the sky and coming towards me at great speed. It was too late for me to run away, so I threw my stick forward and planted my feet firmly on the ground. When our sticks collided, there was a tremendous sound.

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The sound was so powerful that it could be heard throughout the kingdom. But what surprised me was not the sound itself, but the way it shook the huge mountain we were standing on. The mountain shuddered from the impact. Could the leader of a clan really possess such power?

I pushed my club forward to parry my master's attack. He retreated, sneaking backward as he saw my attacks coming. When I swung my club at him, he ducked and dodged the blow. But he didn't stay back for long. He swung his club at me after my attacks and I blocked it with my own club, stepping forward.

As I put my foot forward, he stepped on it, using it as an opening to land his first blow - a club strike to my immobilized body. Even though I was defeated, I had no intention of losing so easily. I blocked his next attack by throwing my club forward and gathered all my strength to headbutt him with all my might. Our heads and clubs clashed until I channeled his strength into my club and pulled it down, making him bend over. I jumped over his back to the other side and swung my club at his bent head.

As the stick swung towards me again, I reacted quickly by flinging my own stick forward, using it to block the attack. But that wasn't enough for me. I focused all of my energy onto my head, channeling my ki until I felt like I was about to burst. Then, with all my might, I slammed my head into my master's body, finally managing to strike him for the first time.

Despite his pride in my successful attack, my master remained composed and took the blow with barely any reaction. He retaliated by shaking his head at me and delivering a powerful blow that sent me reeling. Our battle continued, with our sticks and heads clashing back and forth.

But then, something shifted. I channeled my master's strength into my own stick, using it to pull him down and force him to bend over. Seizing the opportunity, I leapt onto his back and swung my stick towards his head. He thought he had dodged it, but I quickly changed direction and brought the club crashing down onto his chest with all my might.

Feeling confident in my abilities, I made the mistake of launching another attack. But my master was too quick for me. He spun around and delivered a powerful kick that sent me flying backward, my club slipping from my grasp. As I stumbled and tried to recover, he dealt the final blow, slamming his fist into my stomach and sending me crashing to the ground several feet away from my club.

I found myself in a tough situation once again, facing my master who was determined to win the battle. As I reached for my trusty stick, my master quickly countered by increasing his strength and picking up a large rock nearby. I was taken aback by this unexpected move, never before had I seen him wield such a massive object with ease.

Before I could react, my master hurled the rock toward my head with astonishing speed. I tried to dodge it, but it was too late. The rock struck me, leaving me no choice but to find another way to defend myself.

As I scrambled to my feet, I realized that I had no weapon left. My master had taken away my only means of defense, leaving me vulnerable to his every move. I knew that I had to act fast if I wanted to survive this battle.

Gathering all the strength I had left, I focused on my left hand and prepared for the worst. There was no turning back now, I had to face my master head-on and hope that my efforts would pay off.

I raised my hand high in the air and with all my might, I struck the incoming rock causing it to shatter into pieces. My master and I were both amazed at my newfound strength and development. Without wasting any time, I grabbed my trusty stick and resumed attacking my master. With each strike, I grew faster and stronger, shedding my old self and transforming into a warrior.

Our movements were lightning-fast and created a cloud of dust around us. I swung my stick with incredible speed, but my master countered each move with equal agility. He responded with his hand when I attacked with my stick, and with his own stick when I attacked with my hand. Even when I launched myself into the air with kicks, he met me with his knees.

Finally, as the dust cleared, we found ourselves pointing our weapons at each other, ready to start anew. My master grinned, giving me a nod of approval, "Now you're ready, iron fist babu."

I knew deep down that my master had held back his strength, but he seemed satisfied with what I had shown him. He declared my training complete, and I was ready to join the battle and fight alongside my friends.