Dai Xiu's eyes lit up like the lanterns as she watched Master properly guide the newcomer. Even though she barely understood a word of what the greatest man alive had said, she cheered from the side with all her heart. And, once the lesson seemed to have been completed, she jumped over like a bolt of lightning.
The times their Master personally guided them were exceedingly rare; he'd either merely nudge them in the proper direction, or simply let the annoying Tao deal with them. And though she was almost sixteen, she yearned to be taught by that man directly, no matter what.
"Master!" she exclaimed before others could. "Could you help me, too? I'm struggling with something..."
"Oh? What are you struggling with, Xiu'er?" Master's new face was just as ordinary as his previous one. But, even if she had never seen it before, she was certain she would have been able to recognize him, and the reason was those eyes.
They were slightly dark, on a border between black and brown, but beyond their color or their shape, it was the look in them. The kindness that shone like a brilliant star.
"Could you demonstrate the World-Sundering Fist once for me?" she asked.
"Ho ho, are you asking your Master to destroy his body?" the man laughed momentarily. "In order to use that art properly, one must have a sturdy body capable of holding vastness of Qi--just like you."
"Oh! Forgive me, Master, I didn't know!"
"But that is no reason I can't help you a bit," he said, shifting into a strange stance for a moment. It wasn't quite the same as the one draw in the World-Sundering Fist manual, however. "Fists have the lowest reach of any weapon; while it is possible to forge projections and strike at a distance through Fist Arts, every foot of distance diminishes the true strength of the Path. However, because of your diminished reach, you have to patiently carve out an opportunity to strike. Unlike Lan'er who can withstand strikes directly and use that as means of creating an opening, your fluidity means that you carve out those openings with your movement. Though it may sound slightly heretical and even antithetical, Path of the Fist is as much in the fists as it is in our feet.
"Establish a position," Master said, slowly but precisely shifting himself. "Use fists as feints, and use your feet to move. World-Sundering Fist aims to accelerate that; rather than posturing defensively and hunting for an opening, its goal is to forcibly create one. The art, though, demands of both body and dantian something that most cannot match, but you can, Xiu'er. Strike with intent, building momentum as you do now, with the intention of either killing them or destroying their defense once they least expect it."
"Y-yes, Master!!"
Dai Xiu beamed as she quickly got into the stance; her Master's words rang clearly through her mind as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, stirring the Qi within her. She was almost at the Peak of Spirit Manifestation Realm, and had hoped she'd break through before they reached the island.
Qi within her began to surge like the tidal waves, raging against every inch of her body; she opened her eyes and started punching. Each strike caused the air to hiss as she began to accelerate, slowly blending into the stances of the World-Sundering Fist. It demanded that her feet be apart more than she was used to, and that she struck with shoulders held a bit higher than she'd learned.
Each strike energized her meridians, Qi within them seemingly growing agitated. At the same time, however, each strike also consumed about ten times as much Qi as any other attack she ever used.
It was a dangerous flux, she realized within a minute; she had to match the perfect pace to equalize the expenditure and recovery of her Qi. But the effects were more than evident: whereas, at the beginning, her fists would 'merely' produce hissing sounds, by the end, they were complete sonic booms.
In fact, she'd noticed that everyone except brother Tao, Master, and the alchemist had retreated, and that even those three were using Qi to cover their ears.
Falling into the rhythm of the dance, she sped up and grew more forceful without even realizing. By the time she did, her arm sloped down midway through the strike, her body fully spent of Qi. She barely had the time to gasp before she saw Master rush over and catch her.
Even as the darkness and silence sunk in, she felt safe. She used to be scared sleeping alone at night, and would have to have brother Hua sing to her when she was younger. Silence was a chain that would terrorize her. But those arms were like shields keeping all her demons at bay. For now and for forever.
**
Xing Feng was pouting.
Master had taught both that new man as well as Sister Xiu! And though Master had taught him chess before and tactics of a battle, he'd never taught him martial arts!
Even if Xing Feng didn't need it, having already grasped the essential parts of the Master's newest gift to him, Way of the Weapon Master, it wasn't fair! And he even caught Sister Xiu before she fell, and she smiled just before passing out.
With every new Disciple Master took in, Xing Feng realized that there were fewer and fewer moments that he'd have for them. What if Master eventually finds Disciples ten times more talented than he was? Even if he doesn't get abandoned... would he even have the courage to look Master in the eye?
Grumbling inwardly, he spun away and walked to the far rear, taking out his weapon.
Taking a deep breath, his countenance changed--were anyone to look at him, they'd hardly believe they were looking at a young child, but more so a seasoned veteran. As he extended his arm and swung the sword violently, he clutched the plumes of Qi within sword-wielding fingers just before the swing completed, transforming it into a spear.
The melding of the two turned the sword array stirring with sword essence into a strange combination--a slash became both a slash as well as a thrust, exploding outwardly and crashing inwardly at the same time.
The first principle of the Way of the Weapon Master: Weapon Combinations. One's ability to change the weapon mid-strike and alter its very nature. Not all combinations were possible, of course; for instance, he could not alter from a sword into a bow... but he could do the inverse.
Why? He wasn't certain. That was a wall that led to the next level of comprehension, and he feared he was still months away from it.
Without stopping, he used the rebound force of the thrust to swap the spear into a polearm, recoiling around counterclockwise with the weapon fully extended, forming a whirlwind. Whilst spinning, he rapidly changed the weapon's form into that of a hammer. Due the sheer weight difference, he immediately slowed down almost to a crawl, but as he still carried some momentum, the forcible winds caused by the spear were transformed into a singular point, whereupon the hammer slammed violently into the ground, causing a massive quake spanning some sixty yards around him.
"Hah!" he gasped for breath and immediately fell to his knees; unlike most of his Brothers and Sisters, Xing Feng felt that his Qi reserves were... quite pathetic. He would grow tired far more quickly, and couldn't match Brother Tao's pace for longer than a minute or so, whereas even Brother Yimu was able to last twice as long by now.
Even if he was of the lowest realm, it still annoyed him.
"Wow, Feng'er! That was amazing!" the familiar, warm voice startled him as he looked over and saw Master standing at the edge of the crater. "You've already reached Minor Comprehension? Ha ha ha! You really are a genius, Feng'er!"
He smiled, feeling his heart swell.
"Master," he exclaimed. "I don't quite understand this one part... could you help me?"