28/05/1164

At Yuan Mo’s cabin somewhere within the Monastery

Under the scorching heat of the sun, Samuel’s two hands pressed against the ground, pushing against him as he tried to get up. Countless mud stains covered his robes and bruises jaded his hands and feet. His breath came in laboured pants. Sweat dripped down from the top of his head to his chin and down his neck, soaking the bandage over his nose as if he were carrying a leaking bucket on top of his head.

As soon as Samuel’s hands left the ground, before he could even stabilise himself, a kick hit him in his hind-cheeks, knocking him down once more.

Looking at Yuan Mo’s unchanging and expressionless face, Samuel gritted his teeth and pushed against the ground once more. However, before he could balance himself, a kick ruthlessly landed from his side.

Under the immense force, Samuel fell on his side. As a result, he almost let out a muffled groan. Gritting his teeth, he tried his best to hold back from cursing.

However, he had a meagre amount of patience, which had long since ran dry.

“Damn it! Is this even necessary?” He roared.

In response, Yuan Mo shook his head. “This is your eighth time asking that. Now that I think about it, your black-haired friend would also be going through something like this right about now. And since Zhu is the one teaching him, I don’t think he would be faring any better than you. Maybe even worse. What was his name again?”

“Aaaaaargh! Old man! It’s Zack! That’s his name. This is your eighth time asking this. Just remember it alrea—*pfft*” Before Samuel could finish his sentence, a kick cut it short.

The kick slammed into his shoulder from the front. As a result, he toppled back, losing his balance once more when he was about to stand up.

Looking at the boy, Yuan Mo sighed. “Are you angry?”

“You bet I am! I am so angry that… that… forget it.” Samuel growled while getting up once more.

“Feel free to let your worries loose. This old man may not have any other skills, but I certainly can listen to you until you lose the will to speak and get down to focusing even harder on your training. Sometimes, when you feel the pressure building, you need to vent it. Otherwise, when it explodes, it doesn’t end well.”

“Damn it! Old man—tch! That damned baldie is even worse than you? Now I get why Diego would hate him this much. Damned Zhu! Baldie Zhu! Idiot Zhu! Shameless Zhu!…”

Incapable of cursing Yuan Mo, Samuel turned to the next best person. As a result, as if he were muttering a sutra under his breath, a string of curses flowed out of Samuel’s mouth without a stop, all cursing a certain damned baldie who was busy teaching elsewhere. After each curse, Samuel seemed invigorated and would try harder to get up.

In response, Yuan Mo’s expression turned odd. His wrinkled face twitched several times, but he held back his urge to laugh out loud. Even so, his lips still arched in a faint smile.

After another half-an hour of kicking, when his kick was once more about to reach Samuel’s shoulder, the boy prematurely threw his body to the side, evading the kick in its entirety. Landing on his back, he rolled away to create distance. Using the momentum from his roll, Samuel finally managed to stand back up.

But just a moment later, the excess momentum threw him back down.

Looking at Yuan Mo’s figure slowly walking towards him, Samuel closed his eyes and braced for impact. However, even after a while, he didn’t feel a thing.

“Did I do it?” he asked.

“You did well. Take a short break. Then we’ll continue. Remember this feeling. Next time, I’ll be harsher. So you need to work even harder to get back on balance. As you probably understood by now, having a firm foothold is necessary to use your body. The saying, ‘energy comes from the feet’ is not just some meaningless words.” Yuan Mo’s voice drifted through his ears.

A smile of relief filled Samuel’s face as he rested his body on the ground, lacking any intention of standing back up in the slightest. Instead, he threw his arms wide, treating the ground as his own bed. A contented smile played on his face.

Looking at Samuel, Yuan Mo couldn’t help but think, ‘I wonder how that other kid is doing.’

Meanwhile, somewhere else, Zhu’s leg swung through the air in an arc, Hitting Zack in the middle of his chest as he tried to get off the ground. A sudden gust of air flowed out through his mouth, a result of all the air being knocked out of his lungs, and at the same time, his hands and knees left the ground as he cut through the air before striking a nearby tree.

With a pained expression, the boy hastily drew a breath before trying once again to get onto his feet.

However, like a gust of wind blowing away a castle of cards, a kick to his side botched his efforts, knocking the air out of him once more in an attempt to throw him off-balance. But Zack grit his teeth and pressed against the tree to his side. Using the tree as a support, he kept most of his balance.

Without daring to waste the chance, Zack scrambled to his feet. Although still wobbly, his feet planted firmly onto the ground and after hours of excruciating efforts, he finally saw something other than the ground for a change—the light from the sun.

Looking at the sun shining overhead, his damp clothes filled with his own sweat sticking against his skin, feeling the wind rustling against the body as it gave him a chill, he felt moved. A feeling of accomplishment washed over his body. His sore arms and legs felt incomparably heavy all of a sudden, as if a boulder weighed down on them.

Just as he was savouring the feeling, a sneeze broke him out of his thoughts. He saw Zhu sneezing before rubbing his nose while muttering, “Is someone cursing me again?”

Shaking his head to thwart off the sluggishness after sneezing, Zhu turned to look at Zack.

“Good work!” Zhu clapped. “Although you cheated a bit near the end, the result is what matters the most. You finally managed it. Now, take a break and we’ll continue in—”

“No.” Zack shook his head. Hearing Zhu’s words, his fists clenched. “You’re right. I took advantage of this tree. I didn’t do it on my own. It doesn’t count.”

“So you want to continue, huh?” Zhu asked for confirmation.

The resolute gaze within Zack’s lone pupil was all the answer he needed. Zhu sighed inside. ‘This kid… he’s pushing himself too hard. At this rate, I’ll need to force him to rest.’

Without waiting for another word, Zhu kicked at Zack’s feet, causing him to topple down. Following the initial kick, the cycle of Zhu’s periodic kicks sending Zack off-balance and the boy working hard to get back on his feet repeated itself throughout the day.