14 Grand Marshal

Caol was confused and looked at the blindfold. Nevertheless, he still took it and put it on.

After being blindfolded, Master Jian's voice sounded out, but he couldn't point where it's coming from. "A normal human has five senses. The senses of touch, hearing, smelling, tasting, and sight. Take one out from the list, that person will have a hard time. There was once a man, so great and powerful, he could take on a whole kingdom's army. One day because of his overconfidence, his opponent caught him off guard and blinded both of his eyes."

The voice stopped for a whole minute before it continued, "That moment ruined the man's life. He couldn't fight anymore as he cannot see. He relied on one sense so much that after losing it, he became useless. The man was strong, however he could not see. It became the darkest moment in his life. He thought there was no hope. A few years passed, he knew that he couldn't rely on his sight alone and trained his other senses to its maximum. He developed them so much, he used those senses to 'see' around him. The man became stronger than he was. That moment of enlightenment showed him the right path and helped him reach the peak." Caol was intently listening. This story made a lot of sense to him. Caol roughly understood why his Master wanted him to use the blindfold, but he still listened to his Master and remembered every word carefully.

"Caol, you are strong. You are one of strongest child I have ever encountered, but you are still lacking. When you feel like you have reached the peak, think again, as there will be higher peaks you will see once you reach the top."

Caol felt like every word was hitting him hard. He knew he wasn't arrogant when it comes to his power, but he always felt like he was ahead of everybody. Master Jian was teaching him not to point his nose up too high, or else he won't see what is ahead.

"Now, you will start your training with the blindfold on." As Master Jian finished saying that, Caol felt a stick hitting his head.

"Ouch, why Master? Did I do anything wrong?" That strike hurt Caol even with his enhanced physique. After asking his Master, he felt two more strikes. This time, it was on his right chest and left waist.

Master Jian was grinning, as if Caol was his new training dummy. "First of all, no questions. This is to test your defense without using your sense of sight. You can do this by concentrating your qi throughout your surroundings. Once you feel something, then you can react faster."

After hearing the explanation, Caol proliferated his qi around him. He can feel anything within 2 meters around him, however this state consumes too much qi. Not long after, he felt the stick coming from his left towards his cheek. Caol dodged under, but he got hit on his right leg. He was surprised because he thought he dodged it perfectly. Caol couldn't think anymore as he sensed another attack heading to his abdomen. This time, he paid much more attention to the changes in his surroundings. When the stick was nearing his gut, he shifted a little bit to his side and redirected the stick with his palm. Caol was using the Gentle Fist at this moment. He successfully avoided the hit and retreated back.

Master Jian saw this and smiled, but he didn't stop attacking. Caol was beaten for 30 minutes before he ran out of qi. He sat down on the ground, panting. The energy consumption was so high that even with his plentiful amount of qi that could sustain him for fighting longer, it was no use.

"Are you tired with that meager amount of exercise?" When Caol heard this from his Master, he nearly vomitted blood. 'That was just exercise?' Releasing qi outside the body and being on a state of alertness drained his physical and mental stamina. Don't even mention the beatings he got.

Master Jian allowed him to catch his breath, "There are plenty of reasons why I had you do this. First, you will develop your other senses without using sight. Believe it or not, losing sight in battle occurs frequently. When you get punched in the face, you lose sight. After that, you start to panic since you can't see where the enemy is going to hit you next. Listening to any type of sound created by movement will allow you to predict where the enemy is. Second, this exercise helps you upgrade your control with qi. You actually do not need to fully release it, you just need to find the right technique. You will figure this out soon, kid. The third is to remove the wasteful and unnecessary movements. It is just like how you used the Gentle Fist as it is a good martial art in using the least amount of energy. Be efficient, but also effective."

Listening to Master Jian's reasons, Caol mulled about it, then he agreed. He had to learn all these stuff and not just plow his way with brute force. This is also going to be helpful in the battlefield as it will be very chaotic, with a lot of people fighting. Stamina is a precious resource.

"Heh kid, today will be a very long day for you. Rest for a couple more minutes, then we'll start again."

Dragon Continent, Imperial Palace.

A lofty throne can be seen above a platform. There was a life-like image of a dragon scuplted around it. A silhouette sat on it. Only his eyes were seen. There was an audience inside the room. Generals, advisers, scholars, famous martial practitioners, and even immortals gathered together. They were talking about the upcoming war. The Emperor overlooked the whole meeting as the advisers. The Emperor scanned the crowd, as if he was looking for someone. He said, "Has anyone seen the Grand Marshal?" The Emperor clearly had a lot of respect for the Marshal, as can be heard from his voice.

The crowd stopped the meeting, but they weren't aware of where the Marshal was. Soon, a servant was brought in by the guards. The servant kneeled, "Reporting to Your Highness, the Marshal has just accepted a disciple, and is teaching him at the moment." The servant continued to kneel as he wasn't pardoned yet by the Emperor.

The Emperor was surprised as the Marshal didn't accept disciples. He knew just how strong the Marshal was, even he couldn't imagine himself defeating the Marshal. The Emperor thought that the disciple he accepted must not be simple, and would grow up to be a very formidable being.

The Emperor's curiosity was intrigued and he asked the servant, "Who is the disciple?"