They forced us to do various things as training for a week, the time we had until the tournament began.
According to the elders, the "essence" of the Fallen Sun Sect was the flexibility of its members. I didn't believe this until I saw how the elders and middle-aged men could stretch their legs until their feet were above their heads.
Auren and Feyra belonged to the middle group; it turns out they are called that because they have not reached adulthood, like the elders.
Neither of them had any trouble doing it, but it still looked painful. When I asked how long it took them to be able to do that, their answers scared me even more.
"Some of us took a year, others up to three," Auren told me with a smile.
I can't stand a whole year of this training. So I'll do my best, because if we lose, we'll have to do things worse than this.
<<>>
"How long do we have until the tournament?" I asked Eugene as I gritted my teeth.
Eugene and Ryna were the ones training us during this time. We had decided that they would train us, only because we thought they would be gentler than Ophelia, who was originally supposed to train us. We were wrong.
"Hmm... I think two days," he said, swinging a wooden sword.
"If we have two days left, then we've already spent five days... Ahhh, we don't have much time left." Lost in my thoughts, I leaned forward, which caused me to receive a blow to the side of my body.
At this time, we were only told that we would focus on two things: the flexibility of our bodies and the circulation of Qi in our bodies.
We achieved the first by opening our legs in different positions, bending our bodies or arms. For the second, we received help from the elders. Ryna, mainly, was the one who helped us. We sat in the lotus position and circulated the Qi in our bodies with her help.
We had done this before, but with Ryna's help, it became easier. Because of this, we were able to increase our strength and endurance, allowing us to endure the training for much longer.
Something I have to admit is that just a few days ago, I discovered that the position we were sitting in was called the lotus position. Which is a little embarrassing to admit.
Right now, we were doing training 1, which focused on stretching and strengthening our bodies. Although it didn't hurt as much as before, we had trouble holding the position for a long time.
At that moment, we were on the floor, keeping our legs open and our backs completely straight. If we failed, as a form of punishment, we received a blow from Eugene. Like the one I just received.
After a while, we were able to let go as soon as we heard Eugene.
"That's enough, relax," Eugene said, putting his sword on his shoulder and looking at us with a satisfied smile.
We had been in difficult positions for several hours, and my body felt as soft as slime.
The bad thing was that now came the second part of training 1. This part was just as painful as the previous one, if not more so. We had to duel each other until we couldn't get up.
The funny thing was that we were forbidden to use any part of our bodies other than our legs. Seriously, this sect had a problem with using legs. But we couldn't complain; we had only been there for five days and I was already seeing changes. The main one being that we could suddenly propel ourselves forward even faster than before.
<<>>
"Ahh... I'm dead," Anna said, lying on the floor.
We spent several more hours sparring, which left us tired and breathless. Not to mention the throbbing pain in our legs from all the blows we blocked.
"All right, now it's my turn," Ryna's smile seemed to grow wider with every step she took. "Now you can rest a little."
With no other choice, each of us sat down, beginning to circulate the Qi in our bodies. Lately, with the increase in my circulation thanks to breathing or spending more time doing it, I could feel every part of my body better.
For example, I couldn't feel the Qi before, but now if I concentrate, I can even feel the air entering me. It felt a little strange, especially if I concentrated on something, like my hearing. Listening to the wind or the trees moving wasn't so nice.
If I concentrate solely on listening, everything ends up hurting my head so badly that I can't even walk without vomiting.
"-Ophelia's Perspective->"
The brats are doing well. I thought they wouldn't be able to handle Ryna or Eugene's training, but they surprised me. I couldn't help but laugh secretly after I heard how they chose those two as their teachers.
Well, it's my fault for never telling them that they're the ones who put in the most effort when it comes to anything related to the sect.
There was a knock at the door, and Hyeol entered. The bitch who signed my students up for a tournament without my permission.
"Hey Ophelia, how are the kids doing?" She had the nerve to ask me.
At first, I thought about making this woman train the kids; she had to take responsibility for what she did. But I gave up on that idea. If I let her train them, the brats would take root in her teachings, and I would most likely lose them.
"They're doing well. I think they'll be ready by the day of the competition."
"Ohhh, that's good news. I knew it from the moment I saw them. Their bodies can easily be overtrained, thanks to the fact that they are slaves." Her tone was becoming more and more amused.
This woman always stood out for knowing where talent lay and where it didn't. The children of today have potential solely because of their slave origins. Even so, no one would be cruel enough to overexploit their bodies.
Without a doubt, what caught her attention the most is that these children's bodies already have the foundation of a 15-year-old. According to what Ryna told me, their meridians are incredibly wide for their age, and many of them have their three Dantians open.
Things like this are rarely seen, even opening up the possibility for those who do not participate in a sect.
"By the way, I heard you lied to them about the day of the competition." Her laughter began to fill my office, an incredibly annoying sound.
Ah, right. I had lied to them about that; the original day was in three weeks. It's more preparation time than an official tournament only because they expect more members to join; more people equals more money.
I did this so they would be under more pressure and try harder, plus I have too much work right now. The intermediate level kids are close to coming of age, so I have to make preparations for their farewells.
So it suited me perfectly to get rid of some brats for a while. Fortunately, I left them to the two most capable ones.
"-Conan's Perspective->"
"Ahh, shit!"
My body feels incredibly hot. Ryna had started helping me with my Qi circulation and pushed it so hard that my meridians are now burning!
"Calm down, we'll heal you in a second," she said, stroking my back.
The pain made me lie down on the floor and clench my teeth and fists. Blood was even dripping from the force with which I dug my nails into my skin.
"I'm here, Conan, get your back ready!" Della shouted at me.
What did she mean? I didn't have time to speak because a large amount of cold water instantly fell on my back. It made me jump because it was so cold.
"What was that?!"
"Your body was hot, wasn't it?" Della replied, creating another ball of water above me.