“Get out.”
Yu Huaiting glanced at the sparring partner in the corner of the ring, already gasping for breath, and jerked his chin to signal him to leave.
The coach was taken aback and looked to Fu Songcheng in confusion.
Fu Songcheng put away the wooden dagger, casually twirled it once, and nodded to the coach. “That’s enough for today. Thanks for your hard work. I’ll settle your points as usual.”
As if granted amnesty, the coach left the training room, panting, and thoughtfully closed the door behind him.
Only the two of them remained in the combat room.
“How did you find me?”
Fu Songcheng turned around, his breathing still somewhat ragged, the fringe before his forehead soaked with sweat and clinging in strands to his smooth brow.
He stared at Yu Huaiting, his gaze calm, revealing no particular emotion.
“Love letter, and a tracking item.”
Yu Huaiting flexed his wrists and neck as he spoke. “Serves you right for going out without me.”
The corner of Fu Songcheng’s eye twitched imperceptibly. He truly didn’t know whether to call Yu Huaiting persistent or insane. “You had to come with me?”
“Yeah.”
Yu Huaiting spoke directly. He crossed the ring in a few strides, his gaze burning into Fu Songcheng. “Tell me, Fu Songcheng—why am I so stuck on you?”
Fu Songcheng turned slightly, avoiding Yu Huaiting’s highly aggressive gaze, and reached for the towel draped at the edge of the ring to wipe the sweat off his face. “Did you come all this way just to flirt with me a couple of times?”
“Of course not.”
Yu Huaiting casually pulled off his jacket and tossed it onto the ring’s railing.
Beneath it he wore only a black tight sleeveless tank top, instantly exposing his solid, fluid muscle lines and the old scars, large and small, scattered across his arms.
He took out his black greatsword and weighed it in his hand. “I’m here to teach you how to fight.”
Fu Songcheng raised an eyebrow, his movements pausing. “Teach me how to fight?”
“Mm-hm. And no tuition.”
Yu Huaiting’s tone was confident. “Consider yourself lucky!”
Fu Songcheng looked at him without rebutting. He’d never actually seen Yu Huaiting’s fighting techniques—he was indeed quite interested.
Yu Huaiting lowered his center of gravity, taking up a highly aggressive opening stance, the casualness in his eyes instantly fading into sharpness. “Come. Use the fastest speed and greatest force you just had, attack me. Go all out, don’t hold back.”
Fu Songcheng didn’t hesitate. He kicked off the ground, his whole body like an arrow shot from a fully drawn bow, hurtling with a keen whine of wind straight at Yu Huaiting’s face.
Yet Yu Huaiting’s reaction was faster than his. Facing this ferocious strike, Yu Huaiting actually advanced instead of retreating!
Rather than tilting his head to dodge, he stepped forward to meet the dagger’s edge, his body turning at an extremely tricky angle—the dagger grazed past his carotid artery, dangerously close.
At the same time, Yu Huaiting’s hand clamped down like an iron vise, precisely seizing Fu Songcheng’s wrist holding the dagger, and wrenched it hard.
“Mm!” Fu Songcheng grunted in pain, his wrist going numb, the wooden dagger nearly flying from his grip.
Before he could make his next move, Yu Huaiting’s other hand had already become a knife-hand, stopping at his neck. In real combat, Fu Songcheng’s neck bone would already be shattered.
Yu Huaiting released him, stepped back half a pace, and looked rather pleased. “Your attack intent is too obvious—all your power concentrated at the blade’s tip. If your first strike misses, it’s easy to catch your flaw.”
Fu Songcheng rubbed his reddened wrist and said in a low voice, “Again.”
Yu Huaiting traced a wide, sweeping arc through the air with his greatsword—clearly a heavy blade, yet in his hands it moved light as if weightless.
Fu Songcheng took a deep breath and charged again.
This time, the instant he struck, he deliberately lowered his left-side guard by half an inch.
It was an extremely dangerous move—in high-speed combat, half an inch of opening could be fatal.
Sure enough, Yu Huaiting’s eyes lit up sharply. Like a shark scenting blood, he instantly abandoned his original blocking line, his fist driving straight at the left rib Fu Songcheng had deliberately exposed!
Fu Songcheng gritted his teeth. The instant Yu Huaiting’s fist was about to touch him, he twisted his waist, and the wooden dagger in his hand—like a viper flicking its tongue—stabbed viciously at Yu Huaiting’s undefended throat!
Smack!
Yu Huaiting raised his greatsword with his other hand to block Fu Songcheng’s wooden dagger, the two weapons meeting with a crisp sound.
“Yes! That’s it!” Yu Huaiting laughed heartily, his eyes full of undisguised admiration.
Over the next hour, the training room was filled with dull sounds of flesh colliding and rapid, ragged breathing.
Yu Huaiting’s fighting style was extremely wild and sweeping—like a tireless beast, he drove Fu Songcheng into desperate straits again and again.
But rather than calling it sparring, it was more like he was using his own body to feed Fu Songcheng moves.
Bang!
Fu Songcheng seized an opening Yu Huaiting had deliberately exposed and drove a heavy punch squarely into Yu Huaiting’s left shoulder.
Yu Huaiting let out a muffled grunt, but his body didn’t even sway. He answered with a backhand blade pressed to Fu Songcheng’s abdomen.
“Didn’t eat?”
Fu Songcheng said nothing, silently retreating to look for another opening.
Bang!
Another solid elbow strike—this time Fu Songcheng slammed it hard into Yu Huaiting’s back.
Yu Huaiting staggered half a step, yet the arrogant smile still hung at the corner of his mouth.
However, just as Fu Songcheng was about to press the advantage, a sharp pain spread without warning from his own back.
[Damage Synchronization].
Fu Songcheng sucked in a sharp breath, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead.
He looked at Yu Huaiting in astonishment.
Yu Huaiting was turning around, rubbing his back, his face unconcerned—as if this kind of pain were as routine as everyday meals to him.
Fu Songcheng’s heart skipped half a beat.
Looking at Yu Huaiting, still provoking him and signaling him to keep attacking, Fu Songcheng suddenly felt a sour ache in his chest.
“What are you spacing out for? Keep going!”
Seeing Fu Songcheng suddenly stop and stare blankly, Yu Huaiting urged impatiently. He wiped the sweat off his face. “If you were fighting in an instance, spacing out like that would’ve gotten you killed long ago!”
Fu Songcheng shook his head and advanced with the blade.
…
Yu Huaiting’s fighting style was too unique.
Every dodge was just right; every strike left no room. His grasp of an enemy’s psychology—even his tolerance for pain—had reached an outrageous level.
This was not a height achievable by stacking attribute points. It was instinct carved into the very bone through blood and scars, honed in countless frenzied brushes with life and death.
It was hard to believe how Yu Huaiting managed it. He was clearly four years younger than Fu Songcheng, yet he was like a born warrior who had already drifted through life and death countless times.
Fu Songcheng took a deep breath and suppressed the surging emotions in his chest.
He absolutely would not miss this excellent opportunity to spar with and learn from the number one on the Power Ranking.
However, he began to pull his punches.
He was still doing his utmost to find Yu Huaiting’s flaws, but whenever his attacks were about to land on Yu Huaiting, he’d subtly shed most of the force at the last moment.
Yu Huaiting didn’t notice at first—he was still frantically attacking, instructing, taking hits.
But as they fought on, with his rich combat experience, he quickly sensed something was off.
“Fu Songcheng, what’s going on? Looking down on me?”
Yu Huaiting blocked Fu Songcheng’s elbow strike and shouted with a frown.
“No.”
Fu Songcheng lied without changing expression, smoothly retreating two steps to open the distance. “Fought all morning. I’m tired.”
Yu Huaiting scoffed, but seeing Fu Songcheng truly drenched in sweat, chest heaving violently, he gradually reined in his offense too.
And so the two spent the entire morning in the combat room, half-serious and half-playing, thoroughly and exhilaratingly.
Until the electronic clock on the wall pointed to two in the afternoon. Fu Songcheng finally ran out of stamina, sprawled spread-eagle on the soft mat of the ring, gasping for breath.
Yu Huaiting plopped down beside him too, his whole body as if fished out of water.
He casually grabbed a towel to wipe his hair and turned to look at Fu Songcheng lying on the floor.
Fu Songcheng’s eyes were closed, his chest heaving violently. His originally pale face now carried a healthy flush from the intense exercise.
Because neither had struck hard, there were no obvious bruises on either of them, but the muscle soreness still made Fu Songcheng frown slightly.
Yu Huaiting looked at him, his gaze drifting. He’d actually been on edge the whole time.
After last night’s falling-out, and Fu Songcheng vanishing this morning, he’d been afraid Fu Songcheng was still angry with him.
Just now, under the pretext of fighting, the two had communicated somewhat—but now that they’d stopped, the atmosphere had suddenly turned a bit delicate again.
“Um…” Yu Huaiting cleared his throat, trying to break the silence. He tentatively looked at Fu Songcheng’s profile, his tone carrying a caution even he hadn’t noticed. “I haven’t had lunch. Want to eat together?”
Fu Songcheng slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to look at him.
“I haven’t eaten either. Let’s go together.”
Fu Songcheng answered with utter frankness.
He had to admit, this sparring session with Yu Huaiting had been incredibly satisfying. He’d learned a great deal from the practical combat techniques and mindset Yu Huaiting taught him.
The gloom from last night’s argument had also mostly dissipated amid the high-intensity physical clash.
So when Yu Huaiting suggested eating, he’d agreed without much thought.
“Come on, I’ll take you somewhere good.” Seeing him not refuse, Yu Huaiting immediately jumped up happily, grabbed Fu Songcheng’s wrist, and hauled him up. “There’s a system restaurant near here with a really unique cuisine—guaranteed you’ve never tried it.”
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