Martial demonstration

With no time to waste, Shen performed the movements of the martial arts.

This was quite a unique martial art as it focused mainly on footwork and speed, so Shen had to be quite light on his toes as he moved around the floor. Dane watched Shen move around the field as if the laws of gravity didn't apply to him as one moment he would vanish when his feet touched the ground and other moments, Dane could see after images even though it felt Shen was drifting.

However, despite such movements, Shen's hands were in an awkward position of being still near his waist, as if he was trying to remain balanced as he performed the steps. In truth, Shen was actually struggling to maintain his balance as he performed the martial art because it felt like there was no weight on him which threw off his sense of balance and sometimes he felt heavy as a boulder, requiring him to get used to the difference in his ever changing weight. This change caused him to rely on his hands to maintain as much balance as possible, but it also ruined the natural flow of this technique.

Shen was displeased at his performance when he finished all the movements as he panted from his pained muscles and lack of breath. But Dane thought Shen did amazing and was applauding him at his performance.

"That was great, Shen bro!" Dane commented as he walked over, patting him on the back.

Shen looked over to Dane, panting for air, and thought 'What a monster, how the hell did he pass this floor on the first try…'

"I failed Dane. The door to the next area hasn't opened yet. I have to try again." Shen explained to Dane as he straightened his back, ready to try again.

Dane nodded and stepped away again. 'Come on Shen bro, you can do this.' He cheered in his heart for Shen's success.

Shen performed the footwork again, this time he forced his hands to relax, which caused Shen to smash into the wall when he had an explosive acceleration.

However, Shen didn't stay down for long as he tried the footwork again. Afterimages appeared next to Shen as he moved around the room, but it was too obvious which one was the real Shen, as they were always behind him, and he was quite slow so it was clearly ineffective.

Five minutes remained before the two would be locked in forever and though Shen was improving quickly, Dane got worried that he may not grasp it quick enough.

"Shen bro! Come on, you can do it!" Dane cheered for Shen as he performed the movements, hoping it would encourage Shen.

'This technique makes me go fast, but also slow. I either feel light or heavy. Each side has its advantages and disadvantages. When I feel light, my acceleration explodes and I can appear anywhere in this room in near instant, but it's hard to stop myself and I crash into the wall. When I feel heavy, my movements are much slower but afterimages appear behind me but because of that, if I fought an enemy, they would instantly know which one is the real me...;' After failing for the fifth time, Shen pondered the technique again as he most likely only had one more chance before the timer ran out.

'Each side of this footwork feels incomplete, and it feels like it's two separate footworks when it's one. Okay… I got it' Shen gave his signature confident smirk, making Dane cheer inwardly as it meant Shen had a good idea.

'Yes Shen bro, you can do this.' Dane waited in anticipation as he watched Shen with wide eyes.

Shen started the footwork, moving around the room at fast speeds, and then when his feet touched the ground, he vanished, making Dane lose track of him again, but then he noticed Shen was behind him, performing the footwork in afterimages 'What? He didn't crash! And his hands are relaxed!'

Dane wondered how Shen stabilised himself without his hands as previously he would crash at the wall but this time Shen continued performing the footwork with no trouble.

Unlike before, where Shen would use the afterimage footwork in a straight line, he moved in circles this time which gradually made it difficult to tell the real Shen as his afterimages were also circling around him, overlapping each other. It was quite hypnotizing to Dane as he watched the scene, but the next thing shocked him more.

The afterimages disappeared one by one until there was nothing left!

'Wheres Shen, bro?' Snapping out of his daze, Dane looked around in panic but then saw Shen again at the corner of the room with his afterimages circling around.

'How did he-' Dane was confused, the afterimages overlapping and circling each other looked exactly like before? The problem was that it takes a few seconds to make it difficult to tell which is the real Shen through his afterimages but the ones he saw now, it felt like all the afterimages teleported and never actually stopped.

Dane looked around in curiosity as he wondered how Shen did it and saw another Shen circling around!

The afterimages started forming quickly and soon enough; it was difficult to distinguish. Dane quickly looked back and saw that the afterimages previously were still going but dwindling.

'I see! He speeds up while he is creating afterimages, fooling others into thinking he is there when he is actually somewhere else!' Dane was truly impressed with Shen's creativity and control of the footwork 'Shen bro is exceptional!'

Eventually, Shen stopped, completely out of breath as he dropped to one knee panting for air.

*Rumble*

A small quake erupted, and an underground passageway opened up, meaning that Shen cleared the floor.

"Well done, Shen bro! That was amazing!" Dane praised Shen to the high heavens.

'This inheritance ground is amazing...I gained such a powerful technique…'

"Let's rest for a bit." Shen said as he lied down.

"Yes, Shen bro!" Dane agreed, and the two began chatting to pass the time.