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Bruce Pov
Standing Opposite to Jackie, I advanced first, Wing Chun position tight with my elbows in, center-line guarded, feet balanced and weight evenly distributed to maintain balance.
Jackie's response was calm yet immediate. He was faster, yes — not just in movement but in that seasoned timing that comes when the body has repeated certain patterns until they're part of muscle memory.
His hands weren't just tools; they were weapons fine-tuned to read and react according to the situation.
We began trading blows, small exchanges at first with palm's, punches and parries; a step in, an elbow to redirected
Jackie's experience was evident as with a flick of his wrist that opened small angles for his next move. He flowed through one style after another like a stream changing banks.
Setting traps and gut checks, brief flurries of kicks that tested my base but I blocked, rolled or countered no matter what he threw at me.
At 1%, I felt steady and light but Jackie's attacks had that quality that made me taste copper at the back of my throat after each exchange.
He was stronger and faster as he had practiced far more hours than I'd lived.
I had the raw advantage when it comes to Chi as I have a huge amount of Chi and it is ever growing with my Wild Chi potential but right now, I can continuously channel only a portion of it. Beyond that limit, my Lotus Seed and my Body can't handle its power.
On the other hand, Jackie is in his peak form with a very strong body that has been tempered with years of training and is able to channel his full Chi reserves without worrying about any backlash
After a string of exchanges I could feel him overpower me and he always predicted the rhythm, slipping into gaps I'd left thinking they weren't important.
I increased my Chi flow to 5% and my body tightened as power surged within.
The reinforcements in my arms felt stronger and the chain punches flowed faster and my blocks landed with more presence.
At 5%, I could taste the difference but Jackie adjusted. A half-step here, a slight torque of the hip there, and he reasserted the upper hand — his variations were many, seamless in transition, and he had the talent and capacity to pull them out even blindfolded.
We traded harder and Jackie's corners were sharp, an angled spinning back-fist, a low sweep; he slipped behind my guard twice and scored with a palm to my ribs that left an echo of ache.
My breathing remained even. The fight had stretched from quick drills into a prolonged test of will.
"Push it," Jackie said under his breath once, smiling, as if we were somehow still merely practicing. "I know you can handle it."
I pushed my chi flow to 8%. A number that hovered on the edge of my body and Lotus seed's limit.
I had already discovered that around this point, my Chi will surge in such a way my body would start to tremble, muscle fiber burned like wax in a flame if I let it go any higher.
But 8%, put enough force behind my arms and legs to snap joints and bend tree bark.
The exchange became louder, faster, almost beautiful in its brutality. Jackie fired fists as if reciting poetry — a line of beats that resolved into a devastating sweep, then a low leg entangle.
He held the advantage in every aspect like body strength, technique, experience and Chi control which allowed him to move faster, set traps and give counters I hadn't seen before.
Even at 8%, I was being tugged back, forced to react rather than dictate.
He slipped my wrist and drove his elbow into my shoulder; his knee caught my thigh, torquing my balance.
I know that my Chi reserve is vast, but my body and Chi seed has its limits, and right now I'm reaching my limit yet I won't yield.
There are combats that become tests of endurance, and this morning, it could have tipped me into losing if Uncle let it, but he didn't.
After almost thirty minutes of exchanges, breath-stealing and muscle-firing cadence, Uncle lifted his cup and spoke.
"Stop."
It was a simple order, but the tone carried the weight of someone deciding the outcome of a ritual.
Jackie rolled back, breathing easy with his smile unchanged.
My chi flow slowed down under my control to a calm state and let the adrenaline bleed away.
"Enough for today," Uncle said, setting the cup down.
His voice was soft but precise. "Bruce, you have good stamina, your Wing chun is also good and you have proper control of your Chi and your body is strong enough to handle little bit of your Chi"
"Around 8%, Uncle" I said
"You did well Bruce" Jackie said, clapping me lightly on the shoulder. "You're much stronger and with time you will be able to reach great heights" He gave a small nod, acknowledging the significance more than the pain
Uncle just nodded and continued "Your Lotus Seed root formation is strong. It's time you knew why I put you through this."
My chest still hammered, but my mind cleared, the fight's heat cooling into a focused attention.
"It's time for you to participate with the Ten White Lotus Families" Uncle said and inside, I was a bit shocked but maintained a confused look outside.
'Han Zixuan also mentioned this Ten White Lotus'
"What is this Ten White Lotus Uncle?" I was curious to find out how we are related to Han Zixuan but it was Jackie who replied
"The Ten White Lotus" he said, "are a loose confederation affiliated historically with the Shaolin temples.
Each family holds a variant of what we call the Lotus Method. The Lotus Method itself is old — older than any of us think and is among the top Chi mastering methods available in Shaolin.
In the hands of different masters, it was refined and altered and over generations, those variants became family teachings by few specific teachers: techniques, manuals, seedings. Each family took a path — some focused on early access to chi, some focused on faster Chi flow, some focused on Chi healing, some focused on a rock-solid foundation and there are many more like variants"
Uncle's gaze flicked to me with that strange softness and took over. "Our branch — the Chan lineage — practices a version refined by my master and is the most powerful among all the variants of Lotus Methods.
It delays outward manifestation, but the foundation it builds is like bedrock. That means you gain access to Chi slowly and can progress steadily into power and unlike other manuals which focus on specific attributes of Chi, My master's method is versatile and flexible."
Jackie chuckled softly, wiping sweat from his brow. "There are other manuals, like the one the Zixuan branch uses — they grant earlier access to manifest chi, but they do so by taking shortcuts and their base isn't as stable, and many who take that road hit walls later unless they are very talented but according to Uncle's master, no one ever wins a race simply by starting early. It's about who keeps running."
'The Zixuan family, Han Zixuan, is also from the Ten White Lotus but what is this 'To Participate' Uncle mentioned. Is it an event of some kind?'
Jackie continued "Around this time of the year, a closed tournament is organized by the shaolin temple where every family that is affiliated with the Shaolin temple can send their descendants to participate. The fights are between different Chi styles and was started to let the young Chi users experience the abilities of different Chi styles and the top winning Chi style gets a reward from Shaolin temple"
Jackie grinned and leaned back, a flash of mischief crossing his face. "I started fighting back when I was fifteen. Brought my share of artifacts home." He nudged me with an elbow. "You know, your cousin here used to be quite the terror at those matches."
I blinked. Jackie's grin widened and he added with an easy laugh, "Isn't your cousin the best?" It came out as a tease, but there was pride in it.
Uncle nodded, almost reluctantly proud.
"Our family's history in the Lotus tradition started with me," Uncle said. "But you, Bruce — you are unique. The seed formed exceptionally fast. The roots are deeper than I expected, and you have both the wild chi and the steadiness we can harness. That is why I asked Jackie to push you today. You're ready to walk into that arena."
My mind whirred. "So you want me to enter?"
"Yes," Uncle said
Jackie continued "You will participate in the upcoming youth contest. It will be a chance to gain recognition from Shaolin and also to gather items that may help you or the shop"
"The Shop?" I asked
Jackie's smirk was immediate: "We won four years in a row for the Ten White Lotus. Many of those artifacts came through me. If you bring back good things, Uncle can sell it if it is of no use to you"
He pressed his palm against my shoulder, warmth and rough certainty in the gesture. "You're not just doing this for the shop, Bruce. It's a rite. You'll learn more from those matches than any textbook."
Uncle's expression softened. "And be careful. Those fights are safe yet brutal. But they test the mind as much as the body. You must always remain steady."
"Fine," I said, not even a bit worried.
Jackie bared a quick, boyish grin. "Good. And Bruce? Don't forget to bring Uncle some nice pottery. He'll sell it and take half." His joke had everyone laughing, even Uncle, the corners of his mouth creasing.
"Don't be ridiculous," Uncle said, though his eyes twinkled. "Bring back what serves us, and nothing else."
We sat there for a while longer, cooling down, and the morning sun crawled higher.
I watched my hands — callused, the skin healing where Jackie had tapped me during training — and the white veins under my skin that pulsed with the Chi flow.
We went inside to the shop after finishing our tea; Uncle had goods to catalogue, Jackie had errands to run, and I had to prepare.
The tournament would come, and with it, the road that might finally give me answers related to the pearl or the black mist inside
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