Was Yukino Yukinoshita really that talented? She'd actually managed to condense True Qi so quickly.
A lot of people hadn't even gotten their foot in the door yet, and Yukinoshita had already mastered it. She was even holding her own against Li Yu.
Li Yu had a talent for learning, so that was one thing. But what was Yukinoshita's deal? Did she really seem like someone who'd only just condensed True Qi?
Wasn't she getting the hang of it way too quickly? Was this scientific? Was it reasonable?
Li Yu was just as surprised by Yukinoshita's performance. He hadn't expected her to master True Qi so quickly either.
Was this her talent? Remembering what Yukinoshita had said earlier, Li Yu felt a stir in his heart and focused his mental strength on his eyes.
A flash of purple light flickered across Li Yu's eyes. Every movement Yukinoshita made, every shift in her strength, was reflected in his mind.
This was the first time Li Yu had deliberately activated his Eye of Keigeko. Since morning, he'd only needed to glance at people's moves to learn them; he hadn't used the power of his eyes.
He hadn't even activated his eyes' power when learning through Kato Megumi's passive talent.
Only now was Li Yu truly activating the power of Kenkeiko. As he fought Yukinoshita, he began learning everything about her.
Her talent, her moves—nothing escaped Li Yu's eyes. He even discovered that when he activated Kenkeiko, he could predict every move his opponent was about to make.
Yukinoshita soon learned what it meant to feel utterly helpless. It was as if the guy in front of her knew where she was going to attack before she even made a move.
Li Yu easily blocked every one of her attacks. He saw through all of them.
She even noticed that Li Yu was learning her movements and techniques. He'd copied every last one.
It made Yukinoshita feel as though she were fighting herself, and the thought sent a chill down her spine.
She quickly backed away from Li Yu, then eyed him warily. "Did you learn all my moves?"
Yukinoshita could hardly believe it. He really had copied every technique she knew.
At her question, Li Yu's lips curved into a slight smile. He didn't deny it. "That's right!"
It wasn't just her moves. He'd also mastered her talent: the ability to control every bit of strength within her body.
That was a truly remarkable ability. With it, Li Yu could bring his control over his own body to perfection.
It was no wonder Yukinoshita had been able to master True Qi so quickly and put it to use in combat.
With a talent that let her control her body so precisely, doing that was almost effortless.
But now that talent belonged to him. The thought filled Li Yu with satisfaction. With Yukinoshita's talent, he felt that his strength had increased considerably.
When Yukinoshita heard Li Yu admit it himself, she was dumbfounded. He'd really copied her abilities?
It was infuriating. Yukinoshita felt like she was about to lose it. Li Yu had copied everything about her, and with his own strength on top of that, he was basically an upgraded version of herself.
After taking a deep breath and forcing herself to calm down, Yukinoshita's gaze turned resolute.
Maybe this was for the best. If she could defeat Li Yu, she would have surpassed herself. Having reached that conclusion, Yukinoshita took up her stance again. "Let's continue!"
With that, Yukinoshita launched an attack. True Qi gathered around her fist as she swung it at Li Yu.
As Yukinoshita attacked, Li Yu activated the talent he'd just copied from her.
His control over his body instantly reached its peak. He could easily regulate exactly how much strength to use.
As Yukinoshita charged at him, Li Yu sidestepped her attack and threw a punch.
His fist slammed straight into Yukinoshita's stomach, and a searing pain instantly spread throughout her body.
The sudden agony left Yukinoshita's mind blank. By the time she came to her senses, she felt herself flying through the air.
Then... she hit the ground hard. While Yukinoshita's mind was still blank, Li Yu had grabbed her arm and thrown her over his shoulder, slamming her into the ground.
Quite a few students saw Li Yu show absolutely no mercy. They stared as if they'd seen a ghost.
Even Shizuka Hiratsuka, who'd been watching the scene closely, almost choked on her own spit.
Good grief, she'd seen it all now. That kid hadn't held back at all. He'd been merciless, hitting her with brutal force.
Li Yu's attack left Yukinoshita questioning everything. Wait... this wasn't how it was supposed to go.
Why was she the one lying on the ground? Hadn't he held back earlier? Why was he suddenly beating her so easily?
"Daijoubu?" Li Yu looked down at Yukinoshita on the ground and kindly asked if she was all right.
Had he hit her too hard? The thought had barely crossed his mind before he squashed it. No, he hadn't been hard enough!
Giving it everything you had was the only way to show respect for your opponent. That was how Li Yu showed his respect for Yukinoshita after gaining her talent.
"D-Daijoubu!" At the sound of Li Yu's voice, Yukinoshita finally came back to her senses.
She got to her feet, looking a little pale. After taking a punch to the stomach, she felt as though all the strength in her body had been knocked loose.
But as she stood, Yukinoshita slowly tried to use her talent to shift the pain elsewhere.
Once she'd done that, her color improved a little. With her perfect control over her body, it was easy enough to pull off.
She shifted the pain to her arms, then used True Qi to treat them a little. Only then did she recover enough to come to her senses.
Yukinoshita stared intently at Li Yu. "Were you holding back just now?"
There was frustration in her voice. If Li Yu admitted it, she'd be even more upset. It would mean he'd been looking down on her!
She'd told Li Yu to give it everything from the start. Had he really held back anyway?
"No, I wasn't holding back. I just got stronger while we were fighting," Li Yu explained calmly.
He hadn't held back from the beginning. He'd simply gotten stronger.
Hearing his answer, Yukinoshita looked at the boy before her as if he were a monster.
"Pervert!" Yukinoshita blurted out.
He really was a freak. He'd actually gotten stronger just like that?
"Hey, what's with the name-calling?" Li Yu protested, displeased. "You're insulting me, aren't you? Looks like I still went too easy on you!!!"
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