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Chapter 115: Training Completed
Chapter 115: Training Completed
Chapter 115: Training Completed
Strangely fueled by a sense of challenge, I spent the last three days immersed in training without realizing how time flew by.
It seemed I had unknowingly fallen into a routine.
I never realized learning something new could be this enjoyable.
And then came the morning of the fourth day.
After early morning exercise and breakfast, Mei Ling said to me,
“I’d like to go somewhere far today.”
“Suddenly?”
“The Fierce Tiger Piercing Spear is our school’s secret technique. Even though I’ve decided to pass it on to you, there’s no need to expose it to too many eyes.”
For that reason, today, we decided to take a long train ride to a distant place.
Specifically, we decided to go to Mount Fuji, the most famous mountain in Japan.Nowadays, with improved transportation, it takes about 2 hours from Shinjuku station to Lake Kawaguchi near Mount Fuji by express train.
Of course, the fare was expensive, but I had enough saved allowance to afford it.
Mei Ling said she would properly repay her share once her reissued card arrived in the mail.
So, after quickly eating breakfast, we immediately took the subway to Shibuya station.
Personally, when I thought of Japanese train stations, the first thing that came to mind was bento boxes.
Each station sold a variety of bentos, and since they were made with local specialties, they were generally all good.
Even Mount Geumgang was better after a meal… or rather, even Mount Fuji was better after a meal, so although we had just eaten breakfast, we bought bento boxes as snacks on the train.
I wondered if a penniless high school student like me should indulge in such luxury, but since I had already decided to spend money, I went for it.
Actually, it was also my first time going to Mount Fuji.
Choosing Mount Fuji as our training location was also influenced by my own desire to visit it.
On the way, Mei Ling listened to music on her phone, and surprisingly, most of the songs in her playlist were K-pop.
Curious, I asked her about it, and she said that K-pop was popular among teenagers and people in their twenties in China these days.
She started listening to it at the recommendation of a college friend and found it quite good, so she listened to it often.
…So, the constant chatter on TV about it being a national craze wasn’t an exaggeration?
It was truly surprising.
“Do you want to listen together?”
Seeing me glancing at her phone screen, perhaps misunderstanding my interest, she offered me one of her wireless earbuds.
Having no choice but to accept at this point, I took her offer.
Given her profession, I expected her to listen to fast-paced rap or dance songs, but surprisingly, her music taste leaned towards ballads.
…Why is the “Butter Prince” here?
We got off at Kawaguchiko Station, the terminal stop of the express train.
Lake Kawaguchi was a large volcanic lake located at an altitude of 800 meters on Mount Fuji.
It was the second-largest of the five lakes on Mount Fuji, and fittingly for a famous tourist spot, the area around the station bustled with climbers looking to ascend the mountain.
Suddenly in tourist mode, Mei Ling, reading a pamphlet from the tourist information center, said,
“This place is famous for its sulfur hot springs formed by volcanic eruptions.”
“Don’t we have no time to go into the hot springs?”
“Tsk.”
She clicked her tongue as if disappointed, but the prices here were astonishingly high, costing tens of thousands of yen for one night at a hot spring inn.
No matter what, I couldn’t just spend such a large amount.
Instead of the usual trails used by climbers, we entered through a back path where no one else went.
Actually, doing this in a national park would be perfect for getting lost, but we had no choice since she insisted on secrecy.
After walking for about 10 minutes, we arrived at a clearing in the middle of a forest, completely detached from the tourist area, and unpacked our belongings.
In fact, our ‘belongings’ were just water, towels, and a change of clothes in our travel backpacks.
After taking off our bags and feeling more relieved, we slowly headed towards the center of the clearing. Mei Ling, dressed in comfortable clothes like me, stood opposite me and said,
“Then, I will now start teaching you the secret techniques.”
“Yes.”
With a serious expression different from before, I looked at her nervously.
She drew a circle around herself with her toes pointed straight.
“The Breaking Heaven Six Harmonies Great Eight Trigram Palms I’ve learned is a unique martial art created by my master, known as Invincible East, in his youth. It’s a practical martial art that combines the best of the Six Directions of the Harmonized Mind and Will, Eight Trigram Palms, and many other Chinese martial arts, resembling a dance in its execution, which is why it’s also called Sky-Breaking Dance.”
“Sky-Breaking Dance!”
It sounded like the name of a peerless martial art from a martial arts novel.
Eventually, the figure she completed was not just a simple circle.
It was a figure known as the Eight Trigrams, also used in our country’s national flag.
“The main principle of the Eight Trigram Palms lies in these Eight Trigrams, where these lines represent the eight natural formations. Of course, there’s a deeper meaning to this, but it’s not something to teach someone who’s only skimming the surface, so I’ll summarize it briefly.”
As she said this, she stretched out her right arm.
“The martial principles (Muri) in the Fierce Tiger Piercing Spear technique you’ll learn are Li (Fire) and Son (Wind). That means you have to strike fiercely like fire and swiftly like wind.”
“Fiercely like fire, swiftly like wind?”
What kind of vague talk is this?
“You’re thinking, ‘What kind of vague talk is this?’ right now, aren’t you?”
“Not at all.”
“Really?”
“Truly.”
I flinched inwardly but feigned ignorance.
She still looked doubtful, but seemingly, due to the lack of time to explain, she moved on.
“Anyway, that’s all the advice I can give. Now that you can perfectly handle True Stance and Direct Thrust, it’s important for you to realize how to use them on your own. You already have all the necessary conditions.”
After hearing her words, I slowly clenched and unclenched my fist.
I felt as if I was on the verge of understanding something.
Honestly, I wish she would just tell me the answer, but she must have her reasons for holding back.
“So, do I continue practicing alone today as well?”
Mei Ling shook her head in response.
“No, today I will spar with you.”
“What?”
Surprised by her unexpected words, I stared at her in astonishment.
But she didn’t seem to be joking.
“In our martial arts lineage, gaining enlightenment is crucial for inheriting the secret techniques. And the best way to achieve enlightenment is to push your body to its limits.”
“You said it’s only the second generation, right?”
“…This is how I learned.”
In other words, it meant to just fight without further ado.
I swallowed hard, seeing her demeanor changed completely from when we fought at the Yaguchi dojo a few days ago.
This was the aura of a top-level fighter…
Though not as overwhelming as when I first fought with Ivan, her sincerity revealed her to be a strong opponent.
Perhaps I couldn’t beat her as I was now.
But just because I thought I couldn’t win didn’t mean I was going to give up in advance.
After all, I was here to learn.
I slowly changed my stance.
It was the ready stance she had shown me before.
One arm lightly rested at the waist, and the other extended in front of the chest.
It was different from the boxing or combat sambo stances I often imitated.
Then, both of us, in exactly the same stance, began the fight simultaneously.
“Half-step Crushing Fist Striking the World.”
Bang!!
It all happened in an instant.
Before I could even react, she dove into my arms and delivered a spinning punch to my abdomen, right in front of my nose, using True Stance.
Unlike before, despite being clearly enveloped in qi, my body flew backward as if it were a lie.
Upon realization, a sharp pain was rising from the abdomen where I had been hit.
It was something inconceivable in ordinary terms.
“With just a half-step’s movement in the Crushing Fist, one can easily conquer the world.”
She, with one hand behind her back, flicked her palm towards me.
“I won’t use the edge of my hand. You could die by accident.”
Then she said, with a provocative smile,
“Instead, come at me prepared to die.”
I clenched my teeth and charged at her.
A tall pine tree, pierced by my hand, fell backward.
Thud!
The endless sparring that started at 11 AM barely concluded at 7 PM.
In a situation where life and death hung in the balance, I finally learned the Fierce Tiger Piercing Spear, the secret technique of her Sky-Breaking Dance.
Despite being on a highland located at an altitude of 800 meters where cool winds blow even in midsummer, both of us were drenched in sweat by the time the transmission of the technique was complete.
Though I was the one taking hits, it seemed she was also physically burdened from continuously using her powerful techniques.
Both of us, drenched in sweat, returned to the train station where we had arrived in the morning.
It was late, but it was time to return to Tokyo.
However, the news we heard at the ticket counter in front of the station was shocking.
“The last train has long gone, you know? There are only two trains a day to Tokyo, so you should have come earlier.”
“What?”
Suddenly, it seemed we had to spend a night at Mount Fuji.
And that, too—just the two of us, both adults.