Sparring

Even though her body was freezing, Thea's mind became clearer. Even someone with a low IQ could understand the purpose of this training.

Normally, she thought her perception was pretty good. But today, under external stimuli, she saw its limitations. If she were to face external interference in a fight, would she end up in a situation like this? Clearly, her foundational skills weren't solid enough!

Understanding the purpose of this training, Thea adjusted her attitude. After all, a little discomfort was worth the improvement; she treated it like being on the beach. She tried hard not to focus on the chilly breeze brushing against her skin and instead concentrated on exploring her surroundings. Whether it was due to numbness from the cold or personal progress, she faintly felt the surroundings quieting down, and the bird calls that had seemed intermittent became more distinct.

After an unknown amount of time, Lady Shiva's voice echoed, "Catch." A gust of wind followed, and Thea instinctively caught it. It seemed like a stick?

"Come, let's see how much you've understood? Attack me!"

For this unconventional training method, Thea had a rough understanding. Afraid that the established mental state would disappear, she didn't dare to remove her blindfold. She blocked out the surrounding noise and focused on sensing Lady Shiva's position. Slowly, she approached, and when she felt she was three steps away, she struck with all her might.

Lady Shiva, without any surprises, blocked the strike, and countered by hitting her left shoulder. "Not bad, but you can be faster. There's a vulnerability on the left. Again."

"Smack!" "Your right hand is too high. Again."

"Smack! Smack!" "Your footwork needs to be faster. Again."

This woman was too violent! Thea was itching with frustration. She felt like she had never been hit so much in her life. The sense of achievement from her previous sparring sessions with Malcolm vanished instantly.

But for the sake of her own improvement, she persevered and continuously adjusted her attack stance.

After who knows how long of being beaten, Lady Shiva's voice, as if from heaven, reached her, "That's enough for today. Take off the blindfold; I'll apply some medicine on you."

Supporting herself with the stick, she slowly pulled down the blindfold. It felt like returning from hell to the human world. For a moment, she saw the light again and felt that everything around her was beautiful. Those blind swordsmen in anime and movies all looked so powerful, but it seemed like they were all deceiving people. Massage was the only way out for blind people. What was the point of practicing swordsmanship?

Touching her body, she felt numb all over, not feeling cold at all, but feeling pain everywhere. There was no part of her body that didn't hurt. This lesson in the 'junior high' was much tougher than before. But for the sake of improvement, what else could she do but persevere?

"Sit down; I'll apply some medicine for you." While Thea was still in a daze, she saw Lady Shiva pouring some medicine on her hands, rubbing them together, and preparing to apply it to her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Thea didn't know why she was so nervous, but she felt like she should stop her.

"I'm applying medicine on you. You can't reach many places yourself. Stop dawdling and sit still!" Lady Shiva didn't understand why this girl was always so hesitant. She thought maybe it was because they weren't familiar with each other yet and didn't pay much attention.

Tingling and warmth spread through Thea's body. It felt like Lady Shiva's hands were magical, moving constantly on her body, as if there were millions of ants traversing her veins and bones. She pretended to be uncomfortable, but deep down, she felt embarrassed. She suppressed the pleasant sensation, fearing she might make a sound, her face turning red with the effort.

After applying the ointment all over her body and giving it a few pats, Thea was covered in sweat. She wasn't sure if this was a normal part of the training or if it was the result of her own wild thoughts. Her skin had become much more sensitive to the environment, and she felt a sense of heightened awareness, like the cicada sensing the coming wind.

"Your progress is much faster than I expected. Let's skip perception training for today and spar!" After giving her a massage for a while, Lady Shiva also felt a bit warm. She thought they had completed today's teaching task and decided to see how much Thea's combat skills had improved.

Thea agreed without hesitation. Although her hopes were slim, perhaps she could avenge herself for the beating she had just received. Feeling fiery all over, she didn't rush to put on her jacket and instead picked up her stick, charging forward.

The two women quickly engaged in intense combat. Thea felt a burning sensation inside her, feeling powerful. Leveraging this mysterious feeling, she executed her techniques with a fluidity she hadn't felt before. She pushed Lady Shiva back with her aggressive attacks, catching her off guard.

"It's exhilarating! Thea Queen, you qualify as my opponent!" Lady Shiva saw an opening and jumped out of the circle and removed her long windbreaker. Underneath, she wore a red tight-fitting tank top. Her arms showed well-defined muscles, and her flat abdomen displayed elegant lines.

It was clear that when Lady Shiva got serious, she truly lived up to her title as a Grandmaster and the world's top assassin. Despite Thea's initial momentum,she was quickly defeated by Lady Shiva's exquisite martial skills and adept techniques. Although Thea kept trying to find opportunities for counterattacks, changing through two sets of staff techniques in a short time, they were all effortlessly broken by Lady Shiva.

"Let's fight hand-to-hand!" Thea threw her stick far away; she hadn't practiced much with weapons. To satisfy her pride, she could only resort to empty-handed combat. Afraid that Lady Shiva wouldn't cooperate, She tried to goad her into cooperating by tossing her weapon first, thinking that with her arrogant personality, she might fall for it?

Indeed, Lady Shiva did as she guessed and threw her weapon away. However, ten seconds later, Thea regretted it so much that she wanted to bang her head against the wall. Weapon combat allowed for some exchanges, but hand-to-hand combat was on a completely different level. Lady Shiva was more formidable without weapons!

Despite Thea's efforts to persevere, driven by the determination not to lose or at least not to lose too embarrassingly, she found herself pinned to the ground under the immense gap in strength. Lady Shiva's fists moved like lightning, throwing numerous shadows of punches in front of her. It was evident that Lady Shiva was holding back; if these fists landed on her face, she'd probably need plastic surgery in Korea.

But why did this scene resemble a certain martial artist from Ip-Man? Without thinking, she blurted out, "Wing Chun?"

"Little Thea has a good eye. Interested in learning?" Lady Shiva had returned to her usual demeanor from combat state. While her tone still carried a hint of aloofness, she was no longer as distant towards Thea as she had been at the beginning. There was even a touch of teasing in her tone.

Was there Wing Chun in this world? After thinking carefully, it seemed there was. Oliver had practiced on a wooden dummy, creating resonant claps.

Learn? Why not? In a world without internal energy or lightness skills, finding a martial art that suited her was crucial.