Suguru Geto's punches cut sharply through the air, driving straight at Qingxiao's face. His footwork was nimble, and he controlled the rhythm of offense and defense exceptionally well.
Qingxiao stood quietly where he was, unhurried and composed.
He never took the offensive, only raising his hands to block and turning aside to evade, precisely meeting every attack Suguru Geto threw at him. Dull thuds rang out one after another as their fists collided, their punches and kicks crossing in rapid succession.
Not bad. Geto's hand-to-hand skills are improving so fast.
Within those brief dozen or so seconds of exchanging blows, Qingxiao had already reached a clear assessment.
Suguru Geto's timing in applying force, transitions in footwork, and approach to offense and defense were all highly developed. His strength and speed far surpassed those of an ordinary first-year, and his overall level was roughly equivalent to Qingxiao's own six months ago.
After countering a few more moves, Qingxiao raised his hand to firmly block Suguru Geto's straight punch, smoothly took a small step back, and called a halt. "That's enough. Let's stop."
Suguru Geto immediately pulled back and landed steadily. His breathing was slightly quickened, and a thin sheen of sweat covered his forehead, but his eyes were bright. "How was that? Any obvious weaknesses?"
"Very good," Qingxiao assessed honestly. "There's nothing wrong with your rhythm or approach. You're just a little short on explosive power. I'll take you through some targeted training for that later."
Suguru Geto let out a relieved breath and nodded with a smile. "Thanks for the effort."
The two had barely finished sparring before Satoru Gojo, who had been watching from the sidelines the entire time and could no longer contain himself, immediately squeezed his way over. He eagerly planted himself in front of Qingxiao, his eyes behind his sunglasses brimming with fighting spirit.
"Qingxiao, Qingxiao! My turn! Fight me!"
Seeing how eager he was, Qingxiao raised an eyebrow helplessly. "Pure hand-to-hand for you too?"
"Yeah! Pure hand-to-hand! No Cursed Energy!" Satoru Gojo nodded vigorously, his tone especially cocky and confident. "And you have to go all out! No holding back! I want to see what you can really do!"
Qingxiao paused briefly, a little surprised.
All out? He sure is confident. Isn't he afraid I'll wipe the floor with him?
He had originally intended to hold back a little and play along with Satoru Gojo. After all, hand-to-hand combat was not his strong suit; he mainly overwhelmed opponents with Jujutsu.
But since Satoru Gojo had specifically asked him to go all out, there was no need to deliberately pull his punches. He simply nodded in agreement. "All right, I'll go all out. Be careful."
"Bring it on!"
Satoru Gojo immediately took his stance, his body taut. He looked casual, but in reality, he was fully on guard, without the slightest carelessness or underestimation of his opponent.
The next second, the spar officially began.
Qingxiao held nothing back, fully displaying the strength and speed honed through Heavenly Motion.
Every punch, kick, and block was precise and swift, backed by substantial force. His footwork was nimble, and his offensive and defensive rhythm was perfect.
Satoru Gojo, by contrast, possessed exceptional talent, extremely quick reactions, and remarkably agile footwork, always managing to keep his vital points out of harm's way, but his foundation in pure hand-to-hand combat was undeniably weak.
Accustomed to overwhelming his opponents with Limitless, he rarely settled down to hone his body and close-combat skills. Against Qingxiao's solid hand-to-hand skills, refined again and again through countless grueling training sessions that pushed him to his limits, he immediately fell behind.
Qingxiao's attacks were fast and steady. Every close-range press precisely hemmed in Satoru Gojo's movements, cutting off his room to dodge.
Throughout the exchange, Satoru Gojo could only dodge passively and block in haste, unable to find any opening to counterattack.
Again and again, he tried to break through and strike back, only for Qingxiao to neutralize him easily every time. He was outmatched in strength, speed, and rhythm alike.
Satoru's reactions really are fast, and there's no questioning his talent. Too bad he's been so halfhearted about training his hand-to-hand skills.
Qingxiao silently reflected on this, but his hands never paused. He continued fighting steadily, exercising exactly the right degree of restraint. He went all out, but never hurt him, stopping each attack short.
After just a dozen or so moves, Satoru Gojo's breathing grew increasingly rapid, and the rhythm of his dodging gradually fell into disarray.
On the twentieth move, Qingxiao turned aside to avoid his hasty counterattack, reached up to catch his wrist precisely, and applied a light downward press while redirecting his force, instantly dismantling Satoru Gojo's final attack.
"It's over."
Qingxiao eased off at the right moment, stepped back half a pace, and came to a steady stop. His breathing was as even as before; he had barely exerted himself throughout.
Satoru Gojo, by contrast, stood frozen in place, his hair disheveled, his clothes slightly rumpled, and several faint red marks from bumps and knocks on his body.
His hands hung at his sides, his earlier swagger vanishing in an instant. He wilted, his face full of defeat and dejection. "Damn it... I got pushed around the whole time. I didn't have a single chance to fight back..."
Seeing him so downcast, Qingxiao could not help chuckling. He stepped half a pace closer and offered gentle reassurance. "Actually, you're already pretty good."
He silently added to himself, It's just that your foundation in hand-to-hand combat really isn't as good as Geto's. By quite a lot.
But he certainly would not say that aloud, afraid it would damage Satoru Gojo's confidence.
Then Qingxiao deliberately spoke in a half-joking tone, giving him a way to save face. "Besides, you don't train in hand-to-hand combat to begin with. You overwhelm everyone with your Cursed Technique. Don't take the hand-to-hand skills you practice casually and use them to challenge the skills I make my living with. It's perfectly normal for you to lose."
Sure enough, Satoru Gojo's eyes lit up at those words. His confidence returned, and his dejection vanished.
"Exactly! I don't rely on hand-to-hand combat anyway!" He immediately straightened his back, returning to his usual cocky self. "My Cursed Technique is my real strength! I was just going easy on you and messing around!"
Standing nearby, Suguru Geto helplessly pressed a hand to his forehead as he watched Satoru Gojo's abrupt change in demeanor.
After the spar, the three did not return to the dorms right away, staying at the Training Ground to continue their morning exercise.
Qingxiao and Suguru Geto were both genuinely hardworking types. They earnestly worked on their hand-to-hand coordination and refined the timing of their power delivery, repeating basic drills again and again to identify and address their shortcomings, giving every exercise their all.
Only Satoru Gojo spent the entire time slacking off.
He squatted nearby playing with blades of grass, lay down to bask in the sun, or came over to interrupt with a few remarks. Occasionally, he made a couple of token motions with his hands before complaining that he was tired and shirking again, utterly unwilling to train seriously.
Sure enough, it would be a miracle if this guy could stick with training for ten minutes.
Catching sight of him slacking off out of the corner of his eye, Qingxiao silently grumbled, but did not push or force him.
The sun gradually climbed higher, its warmth spreading across the entire Training Ground. A gentle breeze blew, pleasant and comfortable.
The three stayed at the Training Ground like that, two training hard in earnest and one lazily slacking off, sometimes joking and fooling around, sometimes training quietly.
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