Blood Bath

"Nine days?"

Sha Lie paused in the middle of wiping his sweat. His expression shifted from surprise to calm. "Are you sure he never trained before?"

"I don't think he did."

Sulai said, "I checked the registration records. He came to the boxing gym in March this year and trained on and off for a little over a month. Then he stopped coming altogether. He said he was going home to prepare for the big exam.

"After the exam, I personally trained him and watched him grow from a beginner, bit by bit..."

Sulai hesitated. "Senior Brother, do you suspect... Cheng Sheng is a spy sent here by another style?"

"It's only a guess."

Sha Lie said calmly, "I know of a style with a secret technique that can keep a person looking very young. If they also pretended never to have practiced martial arts, it would be easy enough for them to infiltrate another style.

"But our Black Killing Style doesn't seem to have anything worth coveting. And if this Cheng Sheng were a spy, he would be drawing far too much attention to himself..."

"Here's what we'll do."

Sha Lie thought for a moment, then said, "I'm going to Bangtun to bring Master back.

"While I'm away, I'll have An Sai look thoroughly into his background.

"If there's no problem, we'll arrange his core promotion ceremony after we return..."

"Mm-hmm."

Sulai nodded, then added another question out of habit. "Father went to Bangtun alone. Why does he need you to bring him back, Senior Brother?"

"That's just what I was going to tell you, Junior Sister."

Sha Lie's expression softened. He considered his tone for a moment, then said, "Master was injured. He's in a hospital in Bangtun now.

"But don't worry, Junior Sister. He's all right. He asked me to come mainly because he was worried that an old enemy might seize the chance to come after him. It's just in case..."

"Oh," Sulai said. The faint worry in her eyes gradually faded.

Sulai had no memories of her mother. Su Tai had raised her himself, and he had been exceptionally strict with her since she was little. Only in recent years had he gradually eased up.

So what Sulai felt toward Su Tai was mostly awe. Sometimes, the father and daughter might not even have been as close as Su Tai and his disciple Sha Lie.

Having said what she needed to, Sulai said goodbye to Sha Lie and started to leave. But after only a couple of steps, she suddenly turned around again.

"Is there something else, Junior Sister?"

"It's nothing..."

Sulai shook her head. Then she looked at Sha Lie, her eyes bright with curiosity and anticipation. "Senior Brother, what's that secret technique you mentioned called? The one that can keep someone looking young?"

Sha Lie froze, then laughed.

"You little girl..."

"I was just asking. Never mind if you don't know."

Sulai looked embarrassed, her cheeks slightly red.

Sha Lie watched Sulai run off, amusement on his face and affection in his eyes.

Once she disappeared from sight, he stood alone in the center of the spacious training hall.

"Nine days..."

Sha Lie softly rolled the words over on his tongue. The slight change in his expression soon gave way to calm again.

He walked calmly to a vat of black water in the corner of the training hall and imitated what Su Tai had once done-scooping up the black water one ladleful at a time, then pouring it back one ladleful at a time...

Gradually, he entered a subtle state that was difficult to describe.

A fist landed on Cheng Sheng's chest as lightly as a feather, yet the instant it touched his body, it burst forth with incredible force.

"Bang...!"

Cheng Sheng involuntarily staggered back several steps. Beneath his clothes, the effect of Spiny Skin slowly faded. Wearing a helpless expression, he said, "Instructor Songpa... Senior Brother, you hit too hard."

"Sorry."

"Hm?"

Cheng Sheng jerked his head up, wondering if he had misheard. It was unbelievable that he had actually heard the word "sorry" come out of Songpa's mouth.

But Songpa was looking at his own hand with a strange expression, as though he were still savoring the punch that had just struck Cheng Sheng.

Several seconds later, he gave his assessment.

"Your talent really is... very good."

"But you started formal training a little late. You're clever in small ways, but you can't be called focused, and your enthusiasm for training burns out in three minutes... You need to correct all those faults."

Songpa spoke as he looked calmly at Cheng Sheng.

Cheng Sheng met his gaze, a faint sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

Songpa was a very strict man. Someone like Mo Jiang, who was obsessed with fighting to the point of madness, was better suited to being his disciple.

As for Cheng Sheng, he preferred a gentle, pleasing-to-the-eye teacher like Sulai. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be teaching him from now on...

"Come with me."

Unaware of the random thoughts running through Cheng Sheng's head, Songpa left him with those words, turned around, and walked off.

The gym was open for its regular classes that day, and the afternoon was for combat training. As Cheng Sheng followed Songpa past the training ground, he could still see Badan sparring with someone, grunting and shouting as he fought.

Cheng Sheng had moved beyond the level of an ordinary student, so naturally Badan had a different sparring partner now. Cheng Sheng wondered how many more years Badan would have to slog away here.

The two passed several wooden cabins and went deep into the rubber grove, arriving at a clearing with a natural spring.

Beside the spring, where clear water bubbled constantly out of the ground and dampened a circle of grass around it, stood a large rubberwood bathtub covered with an oilcloth. Cheng Sheng didn't know what was inside, but before he even got close, he caught a strong, pungent smell of blood.

"Nurturing Sha. First, you need to know what Sha Intent is."

Without wasting any words, Songpa came to a stop and said, "Now watch me closely."

Cheng Sheng didn't know what Songpa was going to do, so he could only stare at him without blinking.

Songpa made no visible move, but at one instant, his gaze suddenly changed. Immediately afterward, an intangible pressure, cold and damp, radiated from his entire body.

The pressure bore down on Cheng Sheng along with Songpa's gaze. Cheng Sheng's body instantly tensed, and his heartbeat quickened involuntarily.

"Thump-thump-thump!!"

At that moment, Cheng Sheng remembered the mutated saltwater crocodiles in the crocodile pool in the swamp. Sometimes, the way they looked at him was just like this!

After an unknown amount of time, the cold, damp presence around Songpa dissipated, and his gaze returned to normal.

"So that's Sha Intent?"

Cheng Sheng asked at once, breathing a little heavily.

Songpa nodded.

"Nurturing Sha means nurturing the Sha Intent in your body. Sha Intent is formed by blending Qi and blood, killing intent, and damp poison.

"There's not much to say about Qi and blood. That's what you'll mainly be cultivating from now on. Come here every day and start by drinking a bowl of medicinal decoction. It can nourish your muscles and bones and speed up your body's natural recovery...

"The damp poison comes from a secret medicine that you'll also need to apply every day. This medicine is unique to the Black Killing Style. It does some harm to the body, but it does more to stimulate the development of your potential. Used together with the medicinal decoction, its toxicity can be ignored.

"Outside boxers fall far behind disciples of a style on this step alone. Without the aid of secret techniques and medicines, the Sha Intent they nurture can at most frighten people with a look. It has little substantial effect.

"As for killing intent..."

Songpa paused, then pulled the oilcloth off the bathtub with a swish.

Only then did Cheng Sheng discover that the tub really was filled with blood. He didn't know what animal it came from, but the tub was full, and a black crust had congealed on top. It reeked horribly.

"This may be the hardest part for you. You're a student, and you don't look like a natural-born villain..."

"Is that a compliment?"

Cheng Sheng couldn't help muttering. Songpa ignored him and continued, "The method I came up with is to use blood baths to cultivate your killing nature in an extremely foul, bloody environment...

"You can also visit Lunba more often when you have time. I'll have him arrange the most suitable opponents for you..."

When Songpa finished, he looked calmly at Cheng Sheng.

Clearly, he wanted Cheng Sheng to get into the tub.

Cheng Sheng looked at the huge tub of filthy, viscous black blood and smelled the bloody stench pounding into his head. He hesitated, but in the end he gritted his teeth, took off his clothes, and climbed in.

Being immersed in blood was indeed unpleasant. Once it soaked into the pores of his skin, the bloody smell became even more pungent and unbearable.

Cheng Sheng sank into the blood until it reached his chin, leaving only his head above the surface. Only then did Songpa, standing beside the tub, look a little more satisfied.

"Next, I'll teach you Crocodile Breath..."