"I'll do it!"
Natsu leaped off the wooden crate, nearly stepping on the three horizontal lines Erza had drawn as he landed.
Erza grabbed his scarf and dragged him half a step away.
"Don't damage the marker."
"It's just three lines, isn't it?"
"Then redraw it exactly the same."
Natsu glanced down at the options, then decisively turned to Lin Yuan: "Let's fight!"
Lin Yuan dispelled the true Boundary-Severing Blade, leaving only a black and silver outline on the wooden sword. The outline could change in three lengths, but it lacked the sharpness to cut through space; at most, it would leave a bruise on a person.
"Why did you switch him?" Lin Yuan asked.
"Because Natsu doesn't know swordsmanship," Erza said.
"Hello!"
"But he's very good at avoiding danger. You already knew where your sword was; now it's time to see why the enemy knew it too."
Before the two could finish speaking, Natsu's fist was already engulfed in flames.
" Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Lin Yuan dodged to the side, his wooden sword slashing towards Natsu's ribs from below. The sword's outline suddenly extended mid-strike, transforming into a long blade, preemptively blocking Natsu's dodge.
Natsu suddenly leaned back just before the blade arrived.
The black and silver outline brushed against the tip of his nose.
He braced himself with both hands on the ground and kicked Lin Yuan in the chin while standing upside down. Lin Yuan quickly shifted his feet, retreating three steps away in an instant.
How do you know it will get longer?
"I felt it." Natsu rolled over and landed.
How does it feel?
"That's the feeling you're about to call."
This answer is useless.
Lin Yuan attacked again. He first slashed diagonally with his sword, forcing Natsu to move to the left, then closed the distance between them and appeared behind Natsu's side. As he retracted his wooden sword, the outer edge shrank into a short blade, thrusting straight at Natsu's lower back.
Natsu didn't even turn his head before his body fell to the side.
The short blade missed its target.
He swept his leg out from the ground, but Lin Yuan dodged it. Then, a burning fist came chasing up from below.
The two repeatedly missed each other in the backyard. Flames left messy red trails, while the black and silver sword's edge moved intermittently, sometimes blocking Natsu's escape route, but always falling just short in the end.
Gray, who had been watching for a while, suddenly said, " Natsu escaped really fast today."
"I'm hiding!" Natsu roared.
What's the difference between running away and hiding?
Of course!
While he turned around to argue, Lin Yuan thrust his sword into his chest.
Natsu let out a strange cry and twisted his body in mid-air. The sword blade grazed past his clothes, only flicking off a small piece of the scarf's down.
As soon as Natsu landed, he covered his scarf and pounced angrily.
"Don't touch this!"
He had only charged halfway when Erza blocked his forehead with her sword sheath.
"Pause."
Lin Yuan looked at her. "How exactly did he find out?"
"You tell him," Erza said to Natsu.
Natsu paused, then pointed at Lin Yuan's eyes. "He always looks at where he's going to cut first."
The finger then moved down.
"Then this part will move too."
He was referring to his right shoulder.
"When the sword grows longer, the magic here is especially prickled. It's similar to Happy's fur standing on end; you can feel it immediately."
"I won't get angry!" Happy protested, sticking his head out of the window.
Lin Yuan recalled each of his attacks.
He could already accurately sense the position of the sword's edge, yet he would still subconsciously look towards the target. The Boundary-Severing Blade had no weight, and his body didn't need to gather strength to swing it, but his shoulders retained the habits he had when using a wooden sword and his fists.
Before the sword even arrived, the gaze, the shoulder, and the magic had already given the enemy the answer.
"Let's do it again," Lin Yuan said.
This time, he didn't stare at Natsu.
His spatial awareness expanded outwards, and the walls, wooden crates, people under the eaves, and Natsu's constantly shifting position all appeared in his consciousness simultaneously.
Natsu tentatively charged in from the right.
Lin Yuan's gaze remained fixed ahead, but his wooden sword accurately blocked the fiery fist. At the moment the swords collided, he lowered his right shoulder forward, making a thrusting motion.
Natsu immediately turned to the side.
The wooden sword did not thrust out.
Using the momentum from his shoulder Lin Yuan turned around, and the sword swept across from the other side. The outline of the sword shrank into a short blade mid-air, grazing past Natsu's hastily raised arm.
Smack
The wooden sword gently tapped his shoulder.
The backyard fell silent for a moment.
Natsu looked down at his shoulder, then at Lin Yuan, a resentful expression gradually appearing on his face.
"Again! You lied to me just now!"
"You can always deceive people in battle," Lin Yuan said.
"Then I'll lie to you too!"
Natsu yelled, "I'm going to hit the left side!" but his fist went straight for Lin Yuan's right cheek.
Lin Yuan raised his wooden sword and easily blocked the attack.
"That's not lying."
"Why?"
"Because you're looking to the right, your shoulders are moving to the right as well."
Erza sheathed her sword and returned to the arena.
"This is the next step. A master won't just look at your weapon. Your gaze, breathing, footsteps, and magic will all betray your intentions. You can determine distance without your eyes, but you still can't make your body perfectly synchronize with the sword's edge."
She raised the wooden sword again and pointed it at Lin Yuan.
Just because you managed to fool Natsu once doesn't mean you can fool him a second time. Nor does it mean you can fool me.
Lin Yuan looked at her shoulders, which were so steady that there wasn't a single unnecessary movement, and raised his sword again.