What is Jing? It is the choice a being has when they're in a fight with another. A positive Jing is for attacking or advancing, and a negative Jing is for evading and retreating. That is the most common trope followed by everyone, including benders. But there's another Jing that was mainly used by Earthbenders. It's called Neutral Jing.
It was perfectly explained and used by Bumi when Omashu was captured and occupied by Fire Nation forces one hundred years later. The main concept of it is basically waiting or doing nothing at all until the right moment presents itself and allows for a counterattack. In the canon, Bumi let himself be captured and imprisoned for months without a fight, waiting for a perfect opportunity to take back the city.
That opportunity presented itself when Avatar Aang and his friends infiltrated the city and caused a disturbance in the Fire Nation force. That included fighting Azula and her friends and creating a fake disease called pentapox. That's when Bumi attacked and managed to cripple the Fire Nation by himself, showing how powerful Earthbending is when a master uses it.
Neutral Jing was also the very fundamental of seismic sense, waiting and listening to the earth via vibrations. This skill needs a high concentration and focus during fights, which few could manage. This makes it a highly advanced skill. Toph could use it easily out of necessity due to her being blind, but that can't be said for others.
However, even though Guan doesn't have the same talent or blindness as Toph, he was still able to learn the basics of this skill and for some reason could easily activate it.
"Are you two ready?" Mr. Lu asked, his face unable to contain his excitement.
Guan and Hiro nodded and took their own stances. Hiro's stance is similar to a Kung fu style while Guan's was just a simple boxing style.
This is his first fight, and one that uses Earthbending. He needs to be quick and effective in his moves, and the boxing style has them.
Outside the ring, the older ones were very excited themselves as they all began putting money on a stone table, betting on who is better. Guan didn't like this one bit, as he felt like an animal in a zoo.
Hiding his displeasure, he waited for Lu's signal. It came five seconds later. "Fight!"
Guan immediately kicked the ground. Vibrations were sent in all directions. When Hiro stomped on the floor, he could feel the earth move towards him at high speed. A second later, an bump was created below his foot, but he managed to sense it beforehand and move to the side.
Stomping on the ground as well, five rocks floated towards him, which he punched one by one, sending them to Hiro at fast speed. His opponent managed to evade them by squatting, but that was a bad move.
Hiro probably thought that Guan was a newbie at Earthbending and couldn't execute attacks simultaneously. He couldn't be more wrong. He was right that Guan was new to this, but he was a fast learner and had the aid of his special body.
His body gave him a lot of an upper hand, like always being in perfect condition and the high perception which slows time for him. He essentially could evade any attacks that are not close to the speed of a bullet, and even if he was directly hit, he would always be healed and back at his peak again.
And Guan basically has an unlimited amount of stamina, which means he also has an unlimited amount of Qi. Qi is basically the fuel that a bender needs to use their bending, having to extend that spiritual energy to the environment so they can bend them.
Theoretically, Guan could fill this whole room with his Qi. But he will need larger Qi pathways on his body to release an immediate energy towards the whole room and use it before it vanishes. He also needs a lot of control over Earthbending to do that. However, that doesn't mean he doesn't know how to leverage his unlimited energy.
The moment he entered this circle and used his seismic sense, his Qi was spread out and concentrated around the circle, being continuously supplied so he could attack anytime. Guan stomped lightly again, creating a forward, non-lethal spike towards Hiro's head.
He expected Hiro to be sent out of the circle, but it surprised him when the kid quickly destroyed it with a punch before it could reach his face. Guan could continue the spike until it reached the walls, but he stopped.
He smiles, seeing the seriousness of the kid.
"Well, I didn't expect that move from you, Guan. But continue!" Lu said.
Guan, however, wasn't the first one to attack. Hiro made his move by stomping forward, creating another bump below him. When he evaded it, Hiro quickly sent a barrage of attacks. The first one was large rocks, with the last one being large enough to block him from seeing Hiro.
He destroyed all the rocks sent to him with a direct punch while he split the last one into two, creating a brief explosion of dust, blocking his sight. A second later, Hiro appeared after using his Earthbending to launch himself forward.
This may surprise anyone in his position, but not Guan. He knew and waited for Hiro to appear after sensing him do that move through his seismic sense. He just smiles at Hiro, which just baffles the kid as he flies towards him.
He must be expecting that Guan can't handle close combat. Well, he couldn't, but with his high perception and basic knowledge of boxing, he has a high chance of beating him.
Hiro gave him a spinning kick after touching down. Guan easily stopped it with his wrist, giving Hiro a surprise.
Dropping down his foot, he started sending punches towards Guan's face, which were all easily blocked. Though he won't lie, those punches packed a punch despite the thin appearance of his opponent.
However, he wasn't just blocking. He was also occasionally giving a straight jab, targeting Hiro's nose.
After some time, and after exactly receiving thirty-one jabs straight to the face, Hiro was breathing heavily with a sluggish boxing-style blocking stance. His nose was dented to the left and blood was splattered around it. It was as if he was a new guy.
Guan felt bad for doing that, but he wanted to see how skillful Hiro was at first, and now he also wanted to see his will power. The kid passed those two very easily. This kid took all his hits like a madman with an aim of at least hitting him once.
"The win goes to Guan!"
No one was happy except those who bet on him.
Even Guan wasn't happy, not just because the outcome is predictable, but there's also something on his mind. Hiro fought endlessly until his face was broken or he was close to collapsing due to tiredness. The question is why?
It was obviously not because of ego, as Hiro wasn't even showing an arrogant face or being taunting towards him. He was just serious, taking this fight very seriously. But there's no need for him to do that. This is just a simple sparring so Guan could show off his abilities to Lu.
Guan looked towards Hiro and saw him looking at the approaching Lu. No, not towards him, but towards Guan. Hiro wiped the blood from his nose then left the ring with a defeated back. No one noticed him. No one cared.
That's when he realized something.
If he joined, there's basically a new young champion and a new prodigy on their team. That means being in the shadow of a newbie and possibly not being put into a fight. And no fight is no money.
"Nice fight, Guan. The way you block, predict, and evade all attacks looks like you can see the future, but I know that it's just your uniqueness. I followed your eyes during the fight; even when your sight was blocked, you didn't panic and looked around. You just waited like you knew Hiro was approaching you in a straight line. I don't know how you do that, but I can already see your potential when you practice my martial arts." Lu nodded to himself. "So, do you want to join my group? There's going to be a fight in a few days and it will be great to have you join us by then."
Guan acted like he was thinking about it before shaking his head, causing a frown on Lu. "I can't make a decision right now, though I can say with enough thinking, I will likely join. Give me a day or two, and I will give you my decision."
"That's great! I will wait for the good news!" Lu clapped his hands in celebration.
"Before I leave, I want to know when you all usually leave after training?" Guan asked.
"I usually train them for one hour straight, then they can leave or choose to stay around and get into self-practice since all the equipment and private environment just for them are here. But they usually leave about half an hour from now."
Guan nodded before he started walking towards the exit. "I have to leave now, I still have to check on him in the shop."
--
Contrary to what he said, Guan didn't leave and created an earth elevator up the hill of houses and onto the top of one where he can see the warehouse, but they won't likely notice him. He laid on the roof on his palm while he ate an apple.
Now the waiting began. He wanted to know everything about Hiro, such as where he was living or what his motivations in joining underground fighting, since this kid potentially is close to Bumi when it comes to earthbending, and he wanted to learn more before he can start his recruitment process.
He didn't even notice the time as it went when the warehouse opened up again, and all the underground fighters started leaving one by one to avoid being noticed, with the last one leaving being Hiro. He was covering his broken nose as he walked with a defeated back.
Guan stood up and started following him.
--
Some jumping around, using earth to stick to the hill and distance himself, Guan finally stopped as Hiro finally reached his home. It was a one-story home for Omashu, and this is obviously in a poor part of the city due to it being at the lowest of the hill. Omashu is one hell of a hierarchy.
Two cute girls were lifting buckets filled with water when they noticed Hiro and quickly ran up to him with worried expressions, almost tearing up, seeing him with a broken nose.
[Image]
"I should've really targeted the chest instead of the face…"
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Author Note: Well, to the point of stalking someone, hopefully he gets something from this.
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