Time continued to fly by, and soon a month passed. With only four months left until the entrance exam, Yang Bin didn't dare slack off, using every moment to improve himself. Even though he was still at the fifth rank, he had become a degree stronger than before. Through constant practice, he was now barely able to perform Extreme Piercing Finger. His current mastery with it: 0 afterimages. His Phantom tracks had improved. Although there still weren't any real afterimages, his movements have become a lot smoother.
On the other hand, his Mystic Pupils still haven't shown any signs of improving. However, that wasn't able to stop Yang Bin from cultivating it every morning. He's still holding onto a hope that he might break into the Spirit Condensing Stage.
Ever since the day he obtained the book "Four Elemental Runes," Yang Bin's schedule included studying runes. Naturally, he failed countless times, and still isn't able to recreate any one of the runes.
Seeing his struggles, Li Jing decided to help him. After spending countless hours studying and experimenting, she was able to create four simpler runes for Yang Bin to practice. Since they were derived from the four timeless runes, practicing these simplified runes would help Yang Bin tackle the original runes in the future. Although it was still difficult, Yang Bin felt like he was making progress, especially with Li Jing's help.
"This stroke is too short. Restart." Li Jing said, as she pointed at the mark Yang Bin just drew. She was seated next to him, patiently correcting his runes.
Yang Bin picked up another short sheet of yellow parchment paper. With a look of complete concentration, Yang Bin held the brush and carefully redrew the rune. As his brush flowed, his spirit power was carefully injected from the brush to the ink.
"Now that stroke is too slanted." Li Jing commented, pointing at a different line.
Frowning, Yang Bin looked at his work and compared it to Li Jing's. "I don't see the difference." He complained.
"After you draw a few more strokes, you will see the difference." Li Jing explained.
Sure enough, after three brush strokes, Yang Bin felt a faint and subtle difference between the two. It was almost unnoticeable, but this tiny flaw will cause the rune to fail. He clicked his tongue in displeasure, then restarted.
"Why don't you take a quick break? You've been doing this for an hour now. Channeling your spirit power for that long is taxing." Li Jing suggested.
"I won't stop until I do it correctly." Yang Bin said with a resolute expression. He could feel himself on the verge of success, though Li Jing didn't think so.
"Even though you are close to perfecting the strength rune, you'll probably still need another two days of practice, before you get your first success. Taking a short break won't hurt you." Li Jing said.
Yang Bin stubborningly shook his head.
"Alright. Take your time and don't rush it. I'll go make lunch." Li Jing gently patted his back and left.
Silences descended onto his room, as Yang Bin made brush strokes one after another. In the past, Yang Bin would have felt restless or annoyed at his constant failures, but now he accepted failure and understood that with each failure, he grew closer to success.
As the minutes ticked by, Yang Bin grew calmer and calmer. He became completely focused on the paper in front of him, forgetting everything else in the room. Then, perhaps by a stroke of luck, when he drew the last line, the rune lit up in a flash before returning to normal.
Awoken by this occurrence, Yang Bin became slightly stunned. Then a huge grin appeared on his face. He picked up the paper and leaped from his seat.
"Mom! I did it!" Yang Bin cried, as he ran to the kitchen.
Hearing this, Li Jing was surprised. "You did? Let me see."
Yang Bin proudly displayed the paper he was holding with a wide grin.
Taking it from his hands, Li Jing studied it for a few seconds. Then she smiled as well. "Good job for taking your first step! Looks like you got it right. Do you think you can do it again?"
Yang Bin's smile froze on his face. "Err, I'm not sure if I can recreate this." He said awkwardly. Unable to recall the exact process, all he could remember was drawing lines after lines before a sudden flash of light.
"Since you were able to make this, even if it's by luck, it shows that you are understanding this rune. You'll probably have a decent accuracy after one more week of practice." She rolled it up and handed the newly created talisman back to him. "Keep this with you. Even though it's not as strong as the original one, it should help you beat those that are one rank above you."
Yang Bin nodded happily.
"Now go eat lunch. Afterward your father will train you." Li Jing said, as she brought food to the table.
Yang Bin felt a chill when hearing that. All his previous joy of success was immediately washed away.
About three weeks ago, Yang Gang unexpectedly decided to train Yang Bin combat. But his method of teaching was a bit different compared to Li Jings. Unlike her gentle and patient method, Yang Gang was much more brutal. He would "spar" with Yang Bin.
Since Yang Gang is much stronger than Yang Bin, Yang Gang would restrain himself to Yang Bin's level and only use the techniques that he knows. Even with these restrictions, Yang Bin still didn't stand a chance. Everytime this "spar" happened, it was always just Yang Gang pummeling Yang Bin.
After being frozen for a few seconds, Yang Bin let out a long sigh, resigning himself to his fate.
****
"Too obvious!" Yang Gang yelled. Dodging Yang Bin's attack, he moved to the left. When Yang Bin crossed him, he whacked the back of Yang Bin's head. Then he slid back, putting distance between them.
Yang Bin stabilized himself and turned around to face Yang Gang. His eyes showed traces of surprise and amazement.
He remained motionless up until the last moment. Yang Bin thought. In an instant, he was able to completely dodge my attack. It was too obvious? Let me try this then! Yang Bin started to sprint forward again, but this time he used Phantom Tracks.
Watching multiple images of Yang Bin charging at him, Yang Gang smirked. Standing completely still, he curled his finger at him, an obvious taunting gesture.
It was enough to rile him; Yang Bin charged forwards even faster. "Take this!" He yelled, as he activated Extreme Piercing Finger.
Unfazed, Yang Gang proceeded to step out of his way.
But unlike the last attempt, something unexpected happened. When Yang Bin was where Yang Gang once stood, he suddenly twisted and changed directions. Stomping with his right foot, he launched himself to his side where Yang Gang was.
Surprised at this abrupt occurrence, Yang Gang raised his eyebrows. "Not bad. But too slow!" He said, as he leaned aside and dodged Yang Bin's attack again. Then Yang Gang rewarded him with another smack to the back of his head.
Yang Bin stumbled a few steps before regaining his balance. He was amazed again. How is his reaction speed so fast? It seems like I must plan something even more unexpected.
Pondering new tactics, Yang Bin stood up and turned around to see nobody. Yang Gang had already disappeared from his previous spot.
"Too stupid!"
Yang Bin heard a shout on his left, before feeling another blow to the back of his head. This one was strong enough to send Yang Bin falling face first into the dirt. Groaning, Yang Bin picked himself up.
"Dad, I wasn't ready." Yang Bin complained.
"So what if you weren't ready? Do you think your enemies will give you time to prepare?" Yang Gang scolded.
Feeling glum, Yang Bin didn't have a reply to that.
"Your last stunt was clever. If not for the fact that you were a little slow, you would have landed a hit on me." Yang Gang commended.
"It's not that I was slow, you just react too fast." Yang Bin mumbled.
"That is a bad mindset. You should be finding ways to improve yourself." Yang Gang shook his head disapprovingly. "Had you been faster you definitely would have hit me, considering our distance. Take a short break then continue training!" He ordered before leaving.
Letting out a sigh, Yang Bin collapsed onto the ground. Too difficult, Yang Bin thought. I'll take a break before continuing.
Lying down, Yang Bin closed his eyes. In his mind, he replayed the scene of the entire fight.
Even though Yang Gang wasn't really fast, he was still able to dodge all of Yang Bin's attacks, moving just enough to not get hit. With this knowledge, Yang Bin began to come up with new techniques and patterns.
The wind ruffled his hair, carrying an odd scent. Yang Bin's nose twitched. Opening his eyes, he sat up, and sniffed the air again. A look of confusion came across his face.
"Blood?"