Sparring Class, Xiao Wu's Flexibility Techniques

The afternoon sparring class was held at the martial arts ground beside the playground.

The venue was not large—a circular arena paved with bluestone slabs, roughly ten meters in diameter. Several hemp ropes stretched around it as railings, and a white boundary line was painted on the ground. Stepping beyond it counted as a loss.

The teacher in charge of the sparring class was surnamed Zhao, a broad-shouldered, burly man said to be a Soul Elder-level expert.

Standing in the center of the arena with his hands on his hips, he shouted in a booming voice, "Listen up! Sparring class isn't for you to play house! Show me what you've got. Anyone who slacks off will run an extra twenty laps later!"

The students responded halfheartedly, clearly not taking the threat seriously.

"The usual rules: pairs of two, stop before anyone gets hurt." Teacher Zhao took out a list and began calling names. "First group, Wang Sheng versus Zhang Lei... Second group, Liu Long versus Chen Xiao... Third group..."

When he reached the end of the list, Teacher Zhao looked up. "Lin Chen and Xiao Wu, you two are a pair."

"Coming, coming!" Xiao Wu had been waiting impatiently. She rolled up her sleeves and ran onto the arena.

She wore a white fitted training outfit that day, with a red sash tied around her waist, accentuating her slender figure.

Her trouser legs were tucked into her boots, revealing a section of shapely calves. She looked neat and energetic, like a little rabbit poised to spring.

Lin Chen strolled onto the arena and stopped across from her.

"Ready?" Xiao Wu bent forward, hands braced on her knees, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "I won't go easy on you this time!"

"Come on." Lin Chen beckoned to her.

Xiao Wu moved.

She was even faster than yesterday, as if the wind were beneath her feet. In just a few steps, she rushed before Lin Chen.

Rather than kicking straight at him like last time, she feinted, leaning her body left as her right leg swept toward Lin Chen's lower body from a tricky angle.

Lin Chen tapped off the ground and lightly leaped up, avoiding the sweep.

Xiao Wu's strike missed, but she spun with the momentum, and her left leg immediately followed with another kick. This one carried far more force, cutting through the air with a howl.

Lin Chen raised an arm to block it, and the impact left his arm slightly numb.

This girl was much stronger than yesterday. It seemed she had not been joking that morning when she said she wanted to fight seriously.

"Not bad." Lin Chen smiled.

"Cut the crap!" Xiao Wu's offensive intensified. Fists and kicks flew together, one move after another, as dense as a storm.

Her flexibility techniques truly were impressive. Every punch and kick carried a unique rhythm, graceful as a dance.

Her body was astonishingly flexible as well. Several times, she pulled off movements that even Lin Chen found unbelievable.

Lin Chen did not rush to counterattack. He merely dodged while observing her style.

He found that although Xiao Wu's attacks were flashy, they lacked decisive finishing power.

Her flexibility techniques were better suited to controlling an enemy than defeating one directly. If someone could seize her limbs and restrict her movements, she would basically have no ability to fight back.

Just like yesterday.

But Lin Chen did not intend to do that today.

He wanted her to win.

He wanted her to unleash herself against him and enjoy the thrill of battle.

Xiao Wu kicked at him again, and Lin Chen deliberately reacted half a beat too slowly, allowing her to strike his shoulder.

He retreated two steps and shook out his arm. "You've got quite some strength."

"Of course!" Xiao Wu proudly raised her chin. Before he could regain his footing, she darted forward again.

This time, she did not punch or kick. Instead, she leaped straight up, wrapped both legs around Lin Chen's waist, and hung from him like a koala.

The entire arena fell silent for a second.

Xiao Wu's legs tightly coiled around Lin Chen's waist, while her arms looped around his neck. Her whole body was practically pressed against his.

Her face was only inches from Lin Chen's. Her breath brushed his face, warm and quick.

"Now you can't run away, can you?" Xiao Wu said smugly, tightening her legs further.

Lin Chen could clearly feel the warmth of her thighs through their thin clothing. Her body was soft and springy, like a warm ball of cotton candy pressed against him.

"What exactly are you trying to do?" Lin Chen asked with a smile.

"A stranglehold!" Xiao Wu declared righteously. "One of my flexibility techniques uses my legs to lock an enemy's neck and squeeze him unconscious! But you're too short—I can't lock your neck, so I can only lock your waist."

"...Does that move even work on someone's waist?"

"I don't know. Let's try it!"

As Xiao Wu spoke, she genuinely began exerting force. Her legs tightened like a python's, trying to restrict Lin Chen's movements.

Lin Chen stood where he was, completely unmoved.

Xiao Wu struggled for quite a while, only to discover that she could not do anything to him at all. Embarrassed and irritated, she snapped, "At least move a little!"

"If I move, you'll fall off."

"Then move!"

Lin Chen took one step forward.

Xiao Wu's body swayed with his step, and she nearly slipped down. She hurriedly clung tighter around his neck, squeezing his waist even harder with her legs.

"Slow down!"

"Didn't you tell me to move?"

"I told you to move, not move around however you wanted!"

The students below stared in stunned disbelief.

Wang Sheng's mouth hung open, his jaw nearly hitting the floor. "Th-this... what kind of fighting style is this?"

Zhang Lei, standing beside him, swallowed. "Why do I feel like... this doesn't look like a fight?"

"It really doesn't." Liu Long stroked his chin thoughtfully. "It looks more like... acting spoiled?"

Teacher Zhao stood beside the arena, the corner of his mouth twitching several times. In the end, he did not call a stop.

On the arena, Xiao Wu was still working hard to execute her "stranglehold technique," but no matter how much force she used, Lin Chen stood steady as a pillar.

"Fall over already!" Xiao Wu grew anxious.

"Don't cry when I do."

"Whoever cries is a dog!"

Lin Chen smiled, then suddenly tipped his body to one side.

Xiao Wu cried out as she fell along with him.

But just before they hit the ground, Lin Chen reached out to brace himself against the floor, while his other hand firmly supported Xiao Wu's back, protecting her in his arms.

The two fell onto the arena in an extremely suggestive position.

Lin Chen supported himself with one hand, while Xiao Wu lay entirely on top of him, her legs still wrapped around his waist and her face buried against his chest.

The entire venue was silent.

Xiao Wu lay atop him in a daze for several seconds before she came back to her senses. She abruptly raised her head, her cheeks red as ripe tomatoes, and stammered, "Y-you..."

"You won." Lin Chen smiled. "You strangled me."

"You obviously fell down by yourself!"

"That was still because of your stranglehold."

"It doesn't count! This doesn't count!" Xiao Wu climbed off him and stomped her foot. "You did that on purpose!"

"How does it not count? You locked me up. I couldn't move, so I had no choice but to fall. Isn't that your flexibility technique?"

Xiao Wu opened her mouth but could not say a word.

She clearly knew Lin Chen had deliberately let her win, yet she had no way to refute him.

By the rules, Lin Chen really had fallen, and her "stranglehold technique" really had worked.

"...Hmph!" Xiao Wu finally stomped her foot again, turned, and jumped off the arena. She walked toward the edge of the field without looking back.

But after taking a few steps, she turned around and shouted at Lin Chen, "I'm fighting you again tomorrow! Next time, I'll definitely beat you with my own strength!"

With that, she ran off quickly, her braid swinging behind her.

Lin Chen sat up from the arena and brushed the dust from himself, a faint smile on his lips.

Teacher Zhao stood nearby, looking at him as if he wanted to say something. In the end, he merely shook his head. "You kid... you've got some tricks."

"Thank you for the compliment, Teacher."

"I wasn't complimenting you."

At the edge of the arena, Tang San stood among the spectators and watched the entire "battle" from beginning to end.

His expression was calm—so calm that no emotion could be seen on his face.

But his nails had already dug a deep bloody mark into his palm.