Understanding that his opponent was very strong, the moment Xiao Wu moved, Yu Yan's eyes fixed on her, observing her every move.
Xiao Wu quickly moved to Yu Yan's side and raised her leg to kick him.
Yu Yan, who had been paying close attention to Xiao Wu's movements, hurriedly raised his arm to block. Simultaneously, his other hand was already clenched into a fist for a side strike, punching toward Xiao Wu's position with all his might.
Yu Yan didn't need to worry about whether he would injure Xiao Wu, because he couldn't beat her at all.
Since he couldn't beat her, he naturally didn't need to have such concerns.
Xiao Wu's leg collided with the arm Yu Yan used to block the attack, letting out a muffled thud.
To Yu Yan's surprise, Xiao Wu's leg bent at an incredible angle and hooked onto his arm.
Immediately after, Xiao Wu's body rotated with power, using the leg locking Yu Yan's arm as a pivot. She evaded Yu Yan's arm and circled behind him.
Xiao Wu grabbed Yu Yan's waist with both hands, and with a simple exert of force, she broke Yu Yan's balance.
The consequences of losing balance in battle were obvious; Yu Yan was thrown to the ground by Xiao Wu.
Judging from the pain coming from his back, Xiao Wu had definitely held back.
This battle had lasted only five seconds from start to finish.
Yu Yan lay on the ground staring blankly at the sky. He was someone who was invincible among the children of Yu Village, yet he lost to Xiao Wu in five seconds.
There were many reasons for this, and Yu Yan didn't want to summarize them one by one. He only knew that he had to work hard on actual combat.
If you're bad, practice more, until diligence makes up for lack of talent and compensates for the weakness in actual combat.
Xiao Wu's cute face appeared above Yu Yan, blocking the sky in his field of vision.
"Yu Yan, was I too heavy-handed just now?"
Xiao Wu, who just a moment ago was bent on hitting Yu Yan a few times, was now concerned about his condition as she watched him lie motionless on the ground.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. I was just thinking about how to respond to that fight just now. You weren't very heavy-handed; I could feel you held back."
Yu Yan rolled over and stood up, patted the dust off his clothes, and invited Xiao Wu again: "Come, let's continue."
Seeing that Yu Yan was indeed fine and confirming it with him twice more, Xiao Wu finally stood opposite him again.
The battle began once more. This time, Xiao Wu did not choose a particularly fierce offensive. After approaching Yu Yan, she began to feed him moves.
Before starting the fight, Yu Yan had thought of many ways to counter Xiao Wu's Soft Technique in his mind.
But when it came to actual combat, facing the continuous stream of moves Xiao Wu threw at him, Yu Yan could only struggle with all his might to respond, having no time to think about anything else.
This battle lasted for a full twenty minutes. When his spirit power was completely exhausted, Yu Yan waved his hand with a weak expression, pleading for mercy from Xiao Wu.
"Xiao Wu, tell me honestly, how much of your strength did you use just now?"
After drinking the tea Xiao Wu helped bring over, Yu Yan was curious about his approximate level.
"Thirty percent."
Xiao Wu thought seriously for a good while before giving a very precise answer.
Hearing the answer, Yu Yan was stunned for a moment. This was much better than the twenty percent he had expected; he had still been too cautious.
In high spirits, Yu Yan immediately declared his grand ambition: "Then I must work hard and strive to return those words to you soon."
"Ha, it's impossible to win against me with only thirty percent of your strength. You're not the only one improving; I'm always improving too."
Xiao Wu waved her hand, not taking it to heart at all. If Yu Yan could defeat her with thirty percent of his strength, she would... she would... she would consider him impressive.
After thinking for a long time and not wanting to set any severe punishment for herself, Xiao Wu thought of a punishment that was very easy to complete.
Flexible enough for offense or defense without any loss, Xiao Wu felt she was simply a Genius.
Having rested, Yu Yan sat cross-legged and used the Meditation Technique to recover his spirit power.
Without the help of purple qi, the performance of this most ordinary Meditation Technique was truly pathetic. The speed of spirit power recovery was slow, very slow, super super slow.
Three consecutive adjectives could illustrate Yu Yan's most objective evaluation of this Meditation Technique.
Yu Yan was no peerless Genius, nor could he create a more efficient Meditation Technique out of thin air.
Therefore, obtaining a more efficient Meditation Technique must be listed as an important thing to do in the future.
When his spirit power recovered, Yu Yan was pleasantly surprised to find that his Spirit Power Level had increased slightly.
"Xiao Wu, let's go again."
Taking a deep breath, Yu Yan, back at his Peak state, stood up and invited Xiao Wu again.
Twenty minutes later, Yu Yan was once again leaning back in his chair, panting heavily due to the exhaustion of his spirit power.
His spirit power grew through consumption and recovery, and his combat experience also improved rapidly with Xiao Wu's help.
As night fell, Yu Yan, who had successfully lasted thirty minutes against Xiao Wu, looked at the bright moon hanging high in the sky and laughed happily.
The feeling of making progress is so good!
"Xiao Wu, thank you."
After his moment of joy, Yu Yan did not forget to thank the greatest contributor to his rapid progress.
If it weren't for Xiao Wu's sparring and her untiring feeding of moves, he wouldn't have been able to improve so quickly today.
"You're welcome. You've helped me a lot too; I should be the one thanking you."
Having just entered human society and being able to meet such a good person as Yu Yan, Xiao Wu was truly grateful to him—except for his slightly poisonous tongue.
"This is mutual assistance, so let's not say polite things like 'thank you' to each other anymore."
Faced with Xiao Wu's thanks again, Yu Yan, who disliked such formalities, made a suggestion.
Thanking each other back and forth would make them seem very distant.
"No problem."
Xiao Wu, who also disliked formalities, immediately agreed to the proposal... As the days passed, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu became more and more familiar with each other.
Every morning, the two would climb to the mountaintop to Cultivate in the rising sun, and then descend the mountain together after performing two sets of Tai Chi Fist.
In the afternoon, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu would begin actual combat practice. Under Xiao Wu's continuous guidance and move-feeding, Yu Yan was already able to go back and forth with Xiao Wu using thirty-five percent of her combat power.
Yu Yan knew that Xiao Wu was a Spirit Beast in human form, so he specifically told her a lot about common sense in human society and taught her many principles of being human.
Xiao Wu, not noticing anything wrong with the things Yu Yan told her, listened happily as if they were stories.
Between the two of them, a subtle and harmonious tacit understanding was maintained. They talked about many topics, yet also left many topics unsaid.
Yu Yan, who had lost track of time in his busyness, received a reminder from the village chief, Old Man Yu, who came to his door.
The merchant caravan passing through the village had arrived, and the day to take Xiao Wu to Balak City to obtain her martial soul awakening certificate had also come.