Sparring 1

As the briefing session to Li Kui and the rest of the family came to a close, those that barely made a sound started to speak up. Those people included the aunties that were married to the three brothers. 

"Xiao Xian, I heard that your youngest son had recently enrolled into the third year of high school! When I heard this matter, I was so surprised by how smart and talented Tian Er was!" The first to speak up was the wife of the first brother, Zhuge Si Ting.

Once hailed for her undeniable beauty in her youth, Zhuge Si Ting's features, though still retaining a hint of their former allure, have weathered the passage of time. The sharpness in her discerning eyes now holds the weight of experience, and the lines etched upon her face tell tales of battles fought and victories won. 

"Sis Si Ting, indeed Tian Er has made my husband and I very proud." Li Xian smiled graciously as she accepted the praises for his quiet son. "Mu Er is very impressive himself too. He has already become the Tiger of the Year 2 rankings in school."

"Oh that is nothing compared to the achievements of Tian Er," Zhuge Si Ting's eyes glinted with mischief. "Why not we have my Mu Er have a sparring session with Tian Er right now? Mu Er can provide some guidance for our clan's latest genius."

Li Xian knew that the sly middle-aged lady would suggest this. She scoffed in disagreement, "Isn't this unfair for my son? He is only turning twelve this year and you want your nineteen-year-old son to spar with him?"

"Ah? Isn't it just a light sparring session? There is no harm in Tian Er learning from his older cousin? What other chance would he get to do this? Isn't that correct, father?" Zhuge Si Ting turned to look at the patriarch who was quietly listening in on the conversation.

Li Kui smirked as he moved his attention to the also silent boy sitting beside his mother. "It's not up to me. This one, I shall let Tian Er himself decide what he would like to do."

"Tch." Zhuge Si Ting scoffed in disappointment that the patriarch had not supported her suggestion. Li Kui would also support it when it came to Li Xi and Li Mei, but it seemed that the old man took special care of his youngest grandson. 

All eyes were on Li Tian. Everyone present were expecting Li Tian to decline. Even his mother had whispered to him that it was okay to say no. Yet, when Li Tian stood up and walked to the open grass field, everyone received a surprised.

"Well, don't just sit there, cousin Li Mu."

"Hahaha! I must say Li Tian, you're very courageous! More courageous than I thought!" Li Mu laughed as he got out of his seat. Waving his robe, he leaped over the table and reached opposite Li Tian.

"Thank you." Li Tian's arms were behind him as if he was a seasoned elder talking to his junior.

"Since cousin Li Tian is so polite, I shall lower my cultivation to the peak of Qi Gathering to face you." Li Mu's aura got visibly weaker. He lowered his body into a standard military fighting stance. He continued, "You may strike first whenever you're ready my little cousin."

By the table, Li Kui smirked when watching the scene unfold before him. He spoke to his eldest son sitting before him. "Your son is about to lose miserably to Tian Er."

"Mmm?" Li Bu strained his eyes in confusion. In his head, he thought, 'We shall see about that.'

Li Tian did not decline his cousin's kind intentions. Moving along the outer circles of the grass patches, Li Tian circled around Li Mu to analyse his mannerisms. This was one of the people that had bullied his brother and sister for many years. At that time, Li Tian did feel a little bad for not helping out, but he did not want to reveal his abilities at that moment yet. This time, he was adamant on defeating this cousin of his in style.

"Military Combat Tactics." Li Tian legs burst forth with energy. He beamed towards Li Mu's head and slashed sideways with his arm. Li Mu easily blocked with his right hand and proceeded to retaliate with his left.

"Flaming Rotation Palm." Li Mu twisted his hand powerfully in a swift clockwise motion. With the centrifugal force generated, a flaming vortex started to form from the center of his palm. He pushed the vortex towards Li Tian.

Li Tian's eyes widened when watching the move. He quickly dug backwards. Li Mu had predicted the boy's dodge and had already prepared a follow-up move. He proceeded to use a stomp imbued with a fusion technique.

"Fusion technique: Molten Stamp." 

Li Mu's bottom-half of his leg was glowing red, where signs of molten lava was about to drip down from his leg. Without hesitation, he launched his attack on Li Tian whose back was still on the ground. 

"Updraft."

To Li Mu's misfortune, Li Tian was able to react easily. Instead of using an Updraft on himself, he used it on Li Mu, negating the stomp force as he got pushed backwards. 

At the moment, Li Tian did look like he was on the defensive, but what others did not know was that Li Tian was currently ruminating over the Flaming Rotation Palm. With the help of Li Mu, something clicked in him. Li Tian wanted to immediately try out his new hypothesis. 

Hence, while circulating his origin energy, he looked at Li Mu dead in the eye and said, "Just release your cultivation restriction and take my hit. Or else, you may have to be bedridden for a long while."

As he said that, Li Tian's bodily aura exploded with Origin energy. The whitish black hue burst forth from within, his hair fluttering with his rampaging aura. He lowered his stance as he focused his Qi towards the palm of his hand. Li Tian jumped started his hypothesis with the same type of rotation done by Li Mu before. 

He then imagined the swirling of Qi which helped to gather the surrounding Qi into an orb-like ball on his palm. This was a special move he devised himself, dedicated to the anime of his previous life, 'Space Ninjas'.

"Origin Technique: Spiralling Sphere." This move was similar to the move he used on his teacher back in the entrance test, except that back then, it was still unfinished. Over the course of his school term, he had finally perfected it to create Spiralling Sphere. It was the first time he was using it on someone other than through his Virtual Testing Space.