"Warm-up finished. Next, I'm getting serious."
The moment the words left his mouth, Bang rushed toward Aomori. Aomori started at the same time, and the two converged in the middle, their fists colliding with blurred afterimages.
'What hard fists, what fast movements!' After just a few exchanges, Aomori was already struggling. His movements were completely seen through, and every one of his attacks was blocked halfway before he could even put his full strength into it.
In a trance, Aomori felt as if he were in a river, his hands and feet bound. No matter where he moved, the current would suppress him, making it impossible to budge. At the same time, he vaguely sensed Bang's underlying philosophy: to defend is to attack, to retreat is to advance, to disdain slaughter, and to revere martial arts!
'Is this the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist? This is the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist! This is the true spirit of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist!'
He recalled his previous fight with Atomic Samurai, who also seemed to have revealed a brief flash of his Sword Intent.
Aomori's defense was broken, and Bang's fist struck him squarely on the chin, sending him flying a considerable distance to land far on the other side.
"Oops, I wasn't careful. I didn't hold back," Bang said with an innocent expression.
Hiss!
The observing disciples gasped, and couldn't help but think, 'Bang-sensei is ruthless. A punch like that would probably put me in the hospital for a year and a half.'
'The old man is pretty strong. If I were in his place, I wouldn't last many more moves either,' Garou muttered with unconcealed reluctance.
Aomori slowly picked himself up from the ground. He placed a hand on his chin and used Healing Spell, which quickly made the swelling subside, though a trace of blood still remained at the corner of his mouth.
"Aomori, are you alright?" Bang walked over, asking with concern.
"I'm fine." Aomori stood up, his eyes shining brightly. "Bang-sensei, may I try to grasp the intent of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist once more?"
Bang clutched his old back, but spoke with forced composure, "No problem."
Standing to the side, Garou heard their conversation and understood Aomori's intention. Unwilling to fall behind, he also walked up to Bang and said, "Old man, it's been a while since we sparred. Let's have a match afterward."
"Er, alright!" Fighting one is fighting, and fighting two is fighting. Bang simply decided to let Aomori and Garou come at him together. He was committed for the day.
...
The guidance match between Bang and his two beloved disciples continued until midnight, punctuated by repeated calls of "Again!"
Finally, Bang could no longer keep up, and he made a promise: "Just grasping the intent of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist isn't enough. Starting tomorrow, I will take you to visit masters of other schools. You two will survey a wide range of techniques, take what serves you best, and truly forge your own path."
"Isn't that a dojo challenge? Will that be alright?" Aomori asked.
"It's fine. I still have some standing in the martial arts world, and most martial artists will give me a little face," Bang said with a smile.
"That's even better. I've been wanting to experience other styles of martial arts for a long time," Garou said, flashing a villain-like smile.
Thus, starting the next day, Bang began visiting martial arts masters with Aomori and Garou. Aomori even pushed back a lot of his work to accommodate the trips.
The first stop was the Fang of the Tiger Severing Fist Dojo, also in Z-City.
"Haha, Bang, this is a rare visit."
Inside the Fang of the Tiger Severing Fist dojo, the dojo master, Tiger, greeted them with a beaming smile. His face was covered in wrinkles, making him appear older than Bang.
"Tiger, long time no see. You look much older," Bang said. Decades ago, when Tiger was being ostracized, it was Bang's personable nature that brought him to Z-City, and the two had a good relationship.
"I can't compare to you. I'm ten years younger, I just look old."
After exchanging pleasantries, Bang got straight to the point: "My two disciples, Garou and Aomori, say they admire your Fang of the Tiger Severing Fist and wanted to come and witness it."
Garou and Aomori lightly nodded toward the dojo master.
Tiger was first taken aback, then showed an expression of admiration. "Bang, you've taken on two excellent disciples."
As one of the older generation in the martial arts world, he naturally understood Bang's unspoken meaning. He knew Bang's two disciples were starting to find their own path and had come to him for assistance.
However, the intent of a fist style contains the most essential part of the school. Aside from when it's used in actual combat, it is generally not easily revealed to people from other schools. This is why aggressive individuals force understanding through dojo challenges, while a congenial person like Bang has to use up his 'face' and past goodwill.
Tiger knew how important 'face' was in the martial arts world. He was filled with respect for Bang's choice, and coupled with the favor from thirty years ago, he sighed and said to Bang, "My body is not what it used to be. I can only perform it three times. How much they grasp will be entirely up to them."
Bang clasped his fists. "Three times is more than enough. Thank you!"
Seeing Bang's earnest demeanor, Garou and Aomori, who initially didn't understand the rules of the martial arts world, realized that visiting masters was not an easy undertaking.
'Hmph, old man, don't think I'll thank you,' Garou grew proud and rebellious again.
Aomori, who always adhered to the principle of 'repaying kindness and vengeance,' decided that he would repay Bang's kindness tenfold in the future. 'If Garou becomes too rebellious, I'll help you discipline him.'
As their thoughts raced, Tiger had already led them to the sparring area. The two quickly dismissed their scattered thoughts to receive the coming intent of the Fang of the Tiger Severing Fist.
Once they had adjusted their mindset, Tiger, standing on the other side, took the starting stance for the Fang of the Tiger Severing Fist.
"The Fang of the Tiger Severing Fist takes the intent of a ferocious tiger's fangs ripping apart everything. It focuses on offense and heavy damage. Watch closely. Fang of the Tiger Severing Fist First Form, 'Night Tiger!'"
Tiger stepped forward twice, his hands moving as if tearing the sky. Garou and Aomori suddenly felt their vision go black, as if night had fallen. And just at that moment, a fierce tiger tore through the darkness, its long, sharp fangs lunging toward them.
The tiger was vividly lifelike, and its savage aura assaulted them like a real creature. Their bodies tensed, and they barely managed to control themselves from counterattacking.
After the illusion faded, Garou and Aomori saw that Tiger's two arms were placed less than a centimeter in front of them. Cold sweat streamed down both their foreheads.
"Not bad," Tiger praised. Clenching his teeth, he continuously performed the second and third forms of the Fang of the Tiger Severing Fist. When he finished, he coughed incessantly and took a large gulp of tea before recovering slightly.
"Ah, I really am old. I remember back in the day, I could perform a whole set without even catching my breath."
"You should be more like me and get out more often. If you don't move, your body rusts."
Bang thanked Tiger again, then bid him farewell, leading his two disciples, who seemed deep in contemplation, out of the dojo.
"How was it?"
Garou answered without hesitation, "The fist intent was impressive, but in a real fight, I could beat him."
Aomori also gave his opinion: "He has dedicated many years to the Fang of the Tiger Severing Fist, and its fist spirit is so masterful it's almost tangible. In a fight, the opponent could easily be affected by his intent and greatly lose their edge. I think the fist intent is more like a mental attack."
Bang neither confirmed nor denied, simply smiling as he said, "I'll take you to the next dojo."
————
You can read the ahead chapter on Patr-eon if you're interested: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]