The wind rushed in his ears as the man ran blindfolded across the entire forest, ducking and dodging through numerous branches and sometimes cutting them down with his sword. Priestess Mitsuko was right behind him, possibly allowing him to tire out before she struck him with a pummeling amount of energy.

Once again, akin to a bulldozer, no—a train, rather a cruise ship was sent out to him. It was an incredibly large amount of Ao that swept out in all-consuming rage. Her energy blasted through the forest, uprooting and throwing off trees as it headed towards the man.

The CEO jumped. Mitsuko's lips parted momentarily, as the man flipped into the air to dodge her attack—Li Yang landed right behind her, the tip of his sword poked at her back.

Or at least, would have, if the Priestess didn't spin and kick directly at his wrist to disarm—the sword flew past him and into several trees away from them. He was now weaponless, much to the satisfaction of the Priestess.

Until she looked back nearly a second late and barely grabbed the fists of the man.

.

"Wait—"

He pulled back his fists, dodged back another wave of energy at point-black range by diving downward. He tackled the back of her leg, hooking back her knee and grappled her to the ground.

She lost her footing.

Mitsuko fell back, but the two of them wrestled into the ground.

He had pinned her legs to prevent her from fighting back effectively. Even while she tried to blast him off by sheer Ao pressure alone. The fight wasn't over for Li Yang until he finally heard her surrender.

He needed to be good enough to actually at least defeat her fair and square without any weapons or using his most obvious skills.

The Priestess threw a palm at his chest and trashed beneath him.

He felt the powerful flow of Ao throb at him, but he managed to block it save for the layer of qi he had put up. It was as if his entire being was shaken by the pressure. Didn't she realize that for a person of a weaker stature—she might have already killed someone else?

This was a good test for his survival.

And so he continued with the struggle of pinning her down and moving away from her punches. At least until she finally gave up and surrendered and then he could rest. However, it might have failed—or she didn't care that she kept enhancing her punches with Ao.

It was the reason he could dodge, he read and predicted her movements by Ao.

Mitsuko stared up and glared at him, despite knowing he couldn't see it. He was on top of her and trying to grab for her wrist. The man hovering above her didn't know how to stop—she didn't understand it as she tried to get up, and throw the man off of her, but his legs held her down securely. historical

He still battled her, attempting to pin her into the grass even as she tried to kick him off. She didn't like this kind of fighting at all, without weapons and bare fisted on the ground! It was a disgraceful act she didn't want to get involved with.

"You have no honor—I don't fight this way."

Until he finally reached out beyond her fists, accepted a punch in the face and grabbed the back of her robes. He held it down tight and pressed himself to her, much to the surprise of the Priestess, until he grabbed the other side of her robes with his free hand. He crossed his arms tightly, placing a heavy pressure on her throat and held her down—

A choking technique he once saw.

"Stop!"

Perhaps that was the best surrender she could muster, and so he quickly let go. Mitsuko touched her throat, even if it had been quick, it still placed a significant amount of strain on her throat.

She didn't understand the technique he had done to secure her down by her clothes and then proceed to choke her. "Take that damn blindfold off!" Without waiting for another second, Mitsuko did it herself and ripped it from him.

"Is this a win for me?" he half-said, half-asked.

She stared up at him—and half-wondered how he managed to do it.

Was this because he couldn't even control his strength while blind, exerted more out of a need to protect himself? Did it increase the tension and coil that ran through his body?

Mitsuko gritted her teeth at his words. Was winning what he only cared about? "Fine, you win. Or else you would have choked me.. no, you would have stopped due to the blood seal. So I guess I could have still managed—no, it's because we're in a spar. Argh."

Perhaps she should have specified some more case scenarios in their contract, but it couldn't be changed anymore. Instead, she looked up at him aghast and upset. The man looked back down at her solemnly. "It wasn't too painful for someone like, right, Priestess?"

Being blind was truly disorienting.

The Priestess averted her gaze and glanced at the rich soil and undergrowth she was lying on. This test she made for him, no, just the fact that one's vision was taken away from a person might have made said act out in ways far beyond than usual. It was an attempt for anyone to survive and without care about anybody else.

Especially without the ability to see the displeasure in her face.

She knew that he was usually accommodating, kind and generous enough that Priestess Leila hovered around him like some fruit fly and he had been able to make Setsuko trust him enough to awaken her powers.

But during the fight, those things had been thrown out as if there was something forcing him to move and act far more tense and springy. He acted like a viper that had been found in its nest—he naturally lashed out.

Now that their fight was over, things were different. Mitsuko's heart still rammed loudly in her chest for all it's worth. The Ao in her body had been extended—she had actually used far too much Ao in her first attack. She didn't hold herself back when he ran into the forest.

Could that be the reason for his actions? She herself didn't know if he might have been able to dodge it save for him jumping backwards. He surprised her. Mitsuko thought he was a little bit like her, but perhaps that was far from the case.

She took in a deep breath and looked up at his face. She managed to land a good punch across his face and it seemed like his Ao flickered because a bruise formed around his jaw. Did he notice it?

Right now, he only looked at her a bit worried and guilty.

He probably should have accepted the loss, but then he wouldn't have been able to truly test how far his own skills had gone on by now. Skills.. which were still a cheat in some way due to him purchasing something from the Charm Points Shop for a chance to win at this spar.

[ Body Muscle Memory Enhancement ]

[ Close Combat Knowledge ]

[ Grappling Techniques ]

He managed to purchase information that filled his mind, improved his ability to master lessons and taught him about the technique—and while he couldn't recall and do it all at whim. Practice still necessary, somehow, he could still think about it and understand his way around how close-combat range worked and for him to strategize his movements.

What the man didn't account for, amidst all of this battle and the aching jaw he had from Mitsuko's punch—was for her to reach out and cup his face. It was a gentle motion, possibly expected from a Priestess who truly cared about the people residing in the temple.

But not for him to receive.

That was until she kneed him in the abdomen.

Li Yang grunted and then narrowed his eyes at her. "I thought you didn't like fighting dirty."

It hadn't hurt that much because she had emptied out the levels of Ao in her body and he still had his own layer of qi. Which meant it had hurt more for her, than him. She didn't say a word or express a look of pain .

"It seems we're both even now then," The Priestess moved out from beneath him, fixed her robes and straightened up. She rubbed her face tiredly, pushing back her pink locks and then walked away from him. "Let us call it a day, Yang. I have been exhausted, but you did well."

Li Yang watched her walk slowly away from him and asked. "Do you need some help then, Priestess Mitsuko? You look.. unwell."

"I am in a better condition than you are. I am the teacher here—and class is already dismissed." Mitsuko mustered up her strength and continued walking away from him.

For better or worse, she was the one who had expended all of her energy and was on the verge of collapsing. And yet, if there was a moment of weakness that Mitsuko acknowledged more than the near-empty Ao circulating in her body was when she touched his face.

She didn't need to open up her heart or get involved with him unlike the two other women that already hovered around him. The Priestess needed to get away from him right now. This was only how far she was going to keep their relationship with—

Li Yang grabbed her in time before she collapsed on the ground. The fainted Priestess, no, the two of them had pushed themselves too far today.

—-—-

Author's Note: "Women are hard to fathom" vs "Women are easy to understand"... nowadays, most protagonists are seen on the former spectrum more than the latter. Japanese harem protagonists fall in the former usually. Latter are the Chinese-style harem protagonists who have women drop on their knees at his wondrous skills and understanding of women physique? I wonder if Mitsuko appears annoying, but ah, similar to Bo Lifen, some women are a little difficult xD Different women, different personalities. Do you wish to chuck out the difficult women? Maybe they're painful to read. Thanks for reading!