Master Sun Lu

The entire time, I almost felt as if the four men's gazes were piercing through me intermittently. I presume that whenever I didn't have that feeling, they were taking mental notes of the building or observing Mark.

Even though this was a friendly visit and just a demonstration, these men have honed their instincts through blood and sweat. Every room they enter, they know how they are getting out. Every person they meet, they know how they would take them down. These things are ingrained in their very being.

When we arrived at the reception hall, there was a female android waiting for us. She smiled. "Good morning, Dr. Mittermit." She then turned to Fukido and gently nodded her head in a show of respect. "Ohayō Fukido san. Watashi wa kyō anata no hon'yaku-sha ni narimasu. Watashinonamaeha Lily."

Fukido nodded in return. "Dōmo arigatōgozaimasu, Lily san."

Mark leaned over to me and whispered. "She introduced herself and told him she'd be his translator."

I nodded, smiling gently. "Well, let's head in." I gestured towards the double doors so that no translation was needed.

After scanning my badge, the doors slid apart and into the wall. As I walked through the doors, I looked towards Mark. "Mark, can you make me a coffee? I'm going to get the lights."

Mark nodded, turning towards the kitchen as the refreshment table had yet to be set up. There was a catering kitchen attached to the reception hall. It made it easier for wait staff to serve food in the hall.

While I was waiting for my coffee, I approached the lighting panel that was adjacent to the door. It was concealed behind a panel that was flush with the wall. If I didn't know it was there, I would never notice it.

Sun Lu walked up behind me, observing what I was doing. "Doctor, do you practice martial arts?"

I tilted my head, turning towards him, curious as to why he was asking such a thing. "I do, why do you ask?"

Sun Lu nodded. "I can tell that you are a capable man by the way you move. However, I can't tell for the life of me which discipline you practice."

I chuckled. "I have been training in more martial arts disciplines than most people could count."

Now it was Sun Lu's turn to be confused. "Why would you do such a thing?"

I shrugged, pointing at Mark who had just emerged from the kitchen. "To program him. The more knowledge he has, the better he can adapt to the situation."

Sun Lu now wore an inquisitive look on his face. "Hmmm, I would like to test his maker then. Would you care for a spar?"

My brow immediately shot up, somewhat shocked. "Now?"

Sun Lu nodded. "Yes, now. Is there an issue?"

I shook my head, feeling slightly excited. "I'll just need to change into something more flexible."

I then quickly hurried off to my office. I kept a few sets of workout clothing here for when I use the company gym. I prefer it over any public gym.

Several minutes later, I returned in sweat pants and a t-shirt, carrying my dress clothes with me. I handed them to Mark. He had just finished preparing the fighting mats in the middle of the room.

Sun Lu stood up from the chair he was sitting in. "Are you ready?"

I nodded. "Yes."

Sun Lu nodded, turning towards the fighting mats. He stepped straight onto them, not appearing to have any intention of taking his slippers. It made sense, though, because kung fu practitioners wore these slippers when fighting.

I eagerly followed him, trying to hide my excitement. I doubt it escaped his eyes. I was so excited for this because Sun Lu was a world class fighter. He is undefeated on the professional stage and has taught thousands of students over the past century. Impressively, he was already 130 years old and still in his prime. This was insane considering that he should be almost at the end of his life span.

We faced each other, about 8 paces apart. I put my right fist into my left palm and bowed. Sun Lu did the same. Once we showed our respect, I got into my fighting stance. When I looked up, the sight before me sent cold sweat rolling down my back.

Sun Lu was standing straight. His left hand was behind his back and his right hand was held with his palm facing his face as if he was inviting me to come to him. I had never felt anything like this before. There was an intangible pressure emanating from him that just screamed of danger. He resembled a prehistoric beast, stalking its prey in the jungles of Pangea.

His eyes were no better. They held the appearance of an all seeing deity that emerged from the void. I doubted that there was anywhere I could go to escape his gaze.

The worst part, however, was that I could see countless openings in his stance. However, I knew that this fight would be over as soon as I made a move.

Not wanting to waste the opportunity that this spar was, I decided to move in. Maybe once he defeated me, the teacher in him would compel the great Sun Lu to give me some instruction.

I smoothly moved forward, towards my expected demise. Left, right, left, right… I was now just a few feet away from the beast and he hadn't moved an inch. For fucks sake, the man hadn't even blinked.

Not being able to bear the pressure any longer, I dashed forwards. I decided I'd go with my favorite approach; feints.

My right hook exploded forwards as I punched with all my might, trying my best to sell the feint. The moment I was planning to halt my fist, Sun Lu finally broke his statue-like behavior. The one action he took was something so simple, but it ignited a sense of fear in me that I had never expected. All he did was huff out a breath of air from his nose while narrowing his eyes.

That slight fear caused a bit of hesitation between the stoppage of my fist and the beginning of my left kick. Somehow, my growing concern didn't stop here as he still refused to move while my foot shot towards his head.

In this moment, this very second, he reacted. Like flowing water, his entire body bent, ducking under my kick, his left hand remained behind his back as his right hand had only two fingers sticking out. He moved around to my left, keeping out of reach when it came to my arms but still just inches from my swinging leg.

What happened next appeared to come in slow motion. Well, at least everything was slow motion aside from him. His two fingers snapped towards my ankle like a bolt of lightning, striking right above my heel with unbelievable strength. My entire leg immediately went numb.

While he did this, the rest of his body didn't stop moving. He was instantly behind me, appearing as a blur with how fast he was moving. I could barely track his body.

This was when his left hand came out from behind his back, grabbing my left wrist and pulling it behind my back. Then he used his right foot, pressing into the back of my right knee, forcing me to the ground. Lastly, he placed his right hand on my head, preventing me from moving with two of my limbs and my head pinned.

Sun Lu only said one word. "Yield."

It was only then that I breathed. I had been holding my breath ever since exhaling during my kick. It had only been less than 5 seconds since then but it felt like 5 minutes.

After sucking in a deep breath, I replied. "It's my loss."

Sun Lu then released me. "Stand up."

I nodded, turning towards him and bowing in the same way we did when the fight started. "Thank you, Master Lu."

Sun Lu returned the bow, but did not welcome me as I thought he would. "Remove your shirt."

I tilted my head in confusion. "Excuse me?"

Sun Lu glared at me. "I said remove your shirt. If you were my disciple, I'd have you remove your pants too but out of respect for your status, I will allow you to retain some of your dignity."

I immediately realized what was happening, so I quickly complied. It was not abnormal for a disciple to remove their clothes before their master. It allowed the instructor to more accurately critique their form and posture. Every muscle, every joint, the angles that your limbs extended off of your body, each was just as important as the last.

As I took my shirt off, I heard giggling from where the other three fighters were. Once I got my shirt over my head, I noticed that Tim was the culprit. It appeared that he was barely able to hold it in.

Tim realized that I noticed and waved dismissively at me. "I'm not laughing at you, I promise. This just reminds me of the first time Master Lu beat my ass. He was the first person I lost to as I traveled the world during my MMA hiatus."

I now remembered something interesting I found in my research. Tim did train under Sun Lu for 15 years while he took a hiatus from MMA fighting. While he was already undefeated, all of his fights were close. After training with Sun Lu, he obliterated every single one of his opponents until he retired after just a few years. He supposedly got bored with the "lack of challenges" in the heavyweight division.

Sun Lu was walking in circles around me, slowly scanning his eyes up and down my body. Occasionally he would nod, and then other times he would shake his head. Several comments accompanied these actions.

"You must stretch your achilles tendon more. Your legs are too tight."

"Your hip flexors are weak. Train them more or you'll keep pulling muscles."

"Tai chi will help with how you keep pulling your groin."

Sun Lu then stopped in front of me. "Get in your stance."

I nodded, following his instructions. Not wanting to keep him waiting, I fell into my boxing stance. It was what I considered most comfortable. It was loose, yet stable. Safe, yet aggressive.

He then continued walking in circles around me, occasionally correcting my stance. He pulled my left leg back, pulling the heel off the ground generously so the knee bent. He pulled my left leg slightly forwards, putting the foot flat on the ground. He then jabbed into my back, straightening it out.

Sun Lu sighed. "The worst part of the boxing stance is how the back isn't straight. It gives you less of a counter weight for kicks, which are not used in boxing."

The adjustments continued as he pulled my shoulders back and tilted my head down slightly. He then stopped his circling in front of me, just out of range of my kick.

He nodded, putting both hands behind his back and sliding them into his sleeves. "Now push off with your right foot and kick with it."

I nodded slightly, wanting to see what he could possibly do in such a short amount of time. I had to admit, however, that my body felt like a compressed spring. There was an unbelievable amount of power waiting to be released. Without further adieu, I did just that.

Pressing off the ground with my right foot, I immediately felt how my body automatically torqued to compensate for the change in footing. It almost felt natural as my right foot shot off the ground, exploding into the air. I almost thought I heard the air being cut by my foot.

My foot reached the apex of its trajectory, stopping right at the spot where it would hit an opponent's head in front of me.

*BOOM*

An audible explosion spread through the room, the rippling air almost becoming visible as my foot stopped moving. I was absolutely shocked. Just a slight change in my form multiplied my power tenfold. Just how much was I limiting myself?

Sun Lu nodded in approval. "Well done. The fact that you improved this much in just a few short minutes attests to your genius."

I smiled with pride, immediately bowing deeply in thanks. "I don't know how to repay you, Master Lu."

Mark then cut in, ruining the moment. "James, I didn't want to interrupt before, but the guests have arrived."

I froze, slowly turning towards the doors to the room. Standing in front of the doors was a large group of people with Arthur at the helm. There were at least 40 of them.

However, I could only see one thing in that group. That thing was the steam that appeared to be evaporating off of Arthur's seething face. I was sure to get an earful for being half naked in front of the investors.