Elementary to Junior High?

At this moment, Thea was still unaware that Malcolm's little classroom was still recruiting students, and that her dear father had told a massive lie to cover up his injury.

She walked steadily along the mountain path. Her "black long-haired beautiful sister" really knew how to find a place. This place was even more remote than the previous small forest, making Thea search for it. Thankfully, she had gotten up an hour earlier, or she would have been late.

Observing the surrounding environment, she noticed lush vegetation and could hear the sound of flowing water in the distance. This place could be described as picturesque, completely contrasting the bleak industrial cityscape of Starling City that had been ravaged by the Queen family's steel enterprise. It seemed that it took some effort to find this place in the vicinity of such an industrial city.

Compared to Malcolm's dark little forest, this place was much more pleasing to the eye. Could this be considered a step up in her academic career? Was this the legendary transition from elementary to junior high?

Expanding her perception to the maximum, she quickly noticed a woman standing not far away with her back to Thea.The woman had her hands behind her back, and her black waist-length hair fluttered in the breeze of the valley, resembling a swirling mist. For a moment, even Thea, as a fellow woman, couldn't help but be mesmerized.

But she was quickly snapped out of it because Lady Shiva was quite elegant and graceful, and she recited a poem in Mandarin with a strange accent.

"The white sun sets behind the mountain."

With a snap, Thea nearly lost her footing. In such a beautiful setting, couldn't she recite something like "The smoke locks the willows by the pond"? How could she recite such a basic poem that even elementary school students knew? Your aloof demeanor and flowing hair are all ruined, do you know that?!

Lowering her eyes, she replied in Mandarin, "The Yellow River flows into the sea."

"Hey, little Thea, I didn't expect you to speak Mandarin. Impressive!" Lady Shiva was surprised that she knew Mandarin, as if a prodigal child who had been away from home for years had returned to her hometown, and her expression became much warmer.

Suppressing the urge to recite a tongue twister to her, Thea nodded solemnly, indicating that they should stop beating around the bush and start the lesson.

Lady Shiva was very pleased with her expression. Not proud or impetuous, not affected by praise or insult, she was quite an interesting girl.

"Since you're learning from me, we must have some fate. You can know my name. Since you're proficient in Mandarin, that's great! I'm of Chinese descent, and my name is Sandra Wu-San." Lady Shiva introduced herself calmly.

But her words stunned Thea. What kind of Chinese name was that?! Call the police from your hometown and reprimand them for being so irresponsible during registration, and dock their monthly bonuses!

Deciding to ignore this so-called Chinese name, Thea decided to continue calling her Lady Shiva. It rolled off the tongue and was easy to remember.

Lady Shiva was unaware of Thea's thoughts and continued at her usual pace. "I saw your fight last night. I have to say, you showed great combat wisdom in defeating a stronger opponent, but it's still far from enough. You haven't fully utilized your own advantages. Do you know where your strengths lie?"

Six months ago, Thea definitely wouldn't have been able to answer this question, but now she was well aware of her exceptional abilities. "My perception? But I feel like I've already done my best. Please teach me, teacher."

"Very good. Recognizing your strengths and weaknesses means you've already surpassed 90% of people in the world. I'm starting to admire you more and more." With that, she gave Thea a smile, but it seemed cold no matter how you looked at it.

"Perception, as Dark Archer might have told you, I'll explain it to you based on my own experience."

"Everyone has perception, but to varying degrees.In nature, animals can sense earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, relying on their perception for early warning. However, human perception has been degraded to varying degrees due to the chaotic environment we live in. Only by returning to nature can we reawaken this innate ability."

Thea nodded. Malcolm had said something similar before, but perhaps he was just paraphrasing the words of Ra's al Ghul to her. His focus was more on self-realization, while Shiva emphasized returning to nature. This might be the fundamental difference between the two martial arts masters.

Different paths, same destination. No one is entirely correct, but compared to Ra's al Ghul's pursuit of breakthroughs in combat, Lady Shiva's words seemed more suitable for Thea.

"Today's lesson won't involve practical combat. I want you to take the first step in returning to nature, to feel nature. Stand next to me."

Obediently, Thea stood where Lady Shiva had been standing. Her first impression was that the wind was strong here! Could she be blown into the valley? She was just about a hundred and thirty pounds.

"Close your eyes and carefully listen to the sound of the wind." Lady Shiva then blindfolded her with a strip of cloth.

The sound of the wind? Losing sight immediately throws people into chaos, and it took Thea a while to realize that this was the beginning of her training.

After a moment of focused observation, she mentioned, "There's a breeze from the south, around level three, with gusts up to level four. Besides that, there are some distant bird calls, though I can't quite distinguish them."

"Not bad. You indeed have extraordinary talent. I divide perception training into four stages."

"The first stage is listening to the wind. The second stage is listening to bird calls. Now we're entering the third stage: listening to insects. Sit down and take off your clothes."

What does she mean by this?! Why does she want me to undress? Is this some kind of demonic technique? 

"Don't just stand there, hurry up and undress," Lady Shiva, unaware that Thea was having an internal struggle, urged her.

Might as well just do it! If I die, I die. She's a woman anyway, so whatever! Trembling, she took off her jacket.

"Why are you so awkward? Are Americans more conservative than Asians?" Lady Shiva, seeing her tremble like she had Parkinson's disease, was a bit curious.

"This is prejudice! What's wrong with Americans! It's a matter of personality!" Thea, still with her eyes closed, couldn't help but retort. Asians also have open-minded individuals. This has nothing to do with geography!

For the first time, Lady Shiva, who had always been cold as ice, was amused by her expression. "Alright, it's a matter of personality. Hey, I didn't ask you to take off your underwear, did I?"

What? Couldn't you have said that earlier! Thea quickly put her clothes back on. This woman, who seemed serious, turned out to be shameless! At this moment, Thea particularly missed her father's small forest classroom. Although it was dark, the atmosphere was bright. Here, although surrounded by the fragrance of flowers and the twittering of birds, it was easy to get led astray!

After this unexpected episode, the solemn atmosphere between the two disappeared, replaced by a bit of warmth.

Lady Shiva also didn't continue to stand there like a javelin. Instead, she found a tree stump to sit on, observing from a distance.

It's really cold. Without the outer garment and blindfolded, a gust of wind brought a chill to her skin, immediately washing away her mental perception, and the brain was filled with signals of coldness. She couldn't feel the insect chirping or bird calls anymore.