Chapter 20 - The Fight

Andric's spirit energy coursed through his body at an insane rate. With all his major meridians open, he could move spirit energy through his core almost instantly. The only slowdown occurred when it entered his limbs, where his minor meridians weren’t yet fully open.

Perfect Circulation boosted Andric’s spirit energy activation, but it was his attainment of the Novice realm that truly set him apart. Advancing from the Human realm to the Novice realm doubled his base spirit energy circulation speed. Compared to his time in Einburg, his spirit energy now flowed almost a hundred times faster.

Farvald’s spirit energy circulation was slower than Andric's. He had cultivated a slightly superior meditation technique and opened his first meridian through sparring, but his martial realm lagged far behind Andric’s. The gap between a Human realm martialist and a Novice realm martialist was immense, and Farvald, a town youth with no significant backing, had little chance of bridging it. Only supreme martial techniques or vast experience could allow a Human realm martialist to defeat a Novice realm martialist, and Farvald had neither.

Andric let Farvald make the first move. Within a second of Andric starting to circulate his spirit energy, Farvald charged at him. Farvald’s speed was within human limits, and he didn’t approach Andric very quickly. As Farvald closed the distance, Andric activated the Burning Palm Technique in both hands, ready to meet the attack.

Farvald’s charge ended with a flying kick aimed at Andric’s face. He jumped high enough to level his leg horizontally. For a moment, it looked like he might actually land the kick, but at the last instant, Andric slapped Farvald’s foot aside and stepped out of the way.

A Novice realm martialist had double the strength and reaction speed of a Human realm martialist. When Andric fought Veremund, he kept a long distance to avoid quick attacks. Now, facing Farvald, Andric felt more confident in handling close-combat situations.

Farvald resumed his attack with a flurry of punches. The first rank of the Burning Palm Technique used minimal spirit energy, allowing Andric to maintain it for a while, but not indefinitely. Even when using the Silent Gallop Technique in the forest, he had to stop periodically to recharge his spirit energy reserves.

Farvald’s punches were fast and random, but Andric blocked most of them. Only a few slipped through at first, but he improved as the fight progressed. Initially, he blocked three out of four punches. After thirty seconds, he managed to block seven out of eight.

“Three Horned Ram!” Farvald shouted, punching with both fists. Andric raised his palms to meet the attack, but was surprised when something hit his chest between Farvald’s fists.

Andric was pushed back but didn’t have time to analyze the attack before Farvald resumed his onslaught. Andric blocked with his Burning Palm Technique, hoping Farvald would use the Three Horned Ram again so he could study it further.

Seconds later, Farvald backed up and swung a wide kick. Andric leaned back, deflecting the kick with his palms. Farvald followed up with another kick, which Andric deflected the same way, causing Farvald’s pant leg to smoke. Pleased with the improvement in his Burning Palm Technique, Andric continued to defend.

Farvald’s next punch slipped through Andric’s defense, but Andric flared his spirit energy, deflecting the punch with more burning power. Farvald yelped and retreated, clutching his knuckles. Andric grinned, knowing his Burning Palm had succeeded.

The first rank of the Burning Palm Technique could boil water and char wood, while the second rank could create actual flames. Andric pondered why the Burning Palm was more potent when he activated spirit energy at the moment of impact. He theorized it might be due to the micro-orientation of spirit energy in motion, meaning constant spirit energy expenditure was needed for primed martial techniques.

“Ha, ha, that was a pretty good attack,” Farvald said, sweating profusely. Andric, on the other hand, was clean and not even breathing heavily.

“Your Three Horned Ram was impressive. It caught me off guard,” Andric admitted, genuinely praising Farvald’s technique.

“Thanks, it was given to me by my parents,” Farvald said, his tone changing as he stared off into the distance. Andric recognized the sadness of an orphan, having seen thousands in his past life, but he felt no sympathy.

Andric’s offer to spar was solely to practice his Burning Palm Technique, and the results were great. He discovered a way to maximize its potential. Farvald’s situation or survival was of no concern to him.

Farvald laughed lightly, “It’s tough to find martial techniques. I’ve got my heirloom, but our town doesn’t have any others!”

Andric laughed with him, thinking of the myriad martial techniques in his storage bag. Despite his resources, he lacked experience and knowledge. A mentor could have helped him master the Burning Palm earlier, but Andric valued his secrets too much to trust anyone. He preferred to position himself so others sought his help.

Farvald’s uncle, who had watched the fight, commented, “Did you learn anything? A Novice realm martialist is not something you can contend with. If you meet one in war, they won’t hold back.”

Before the fight, Farvald’s uncle feared Andric would harm Farvald beyond reason, a common tactic of young masters from sects or clans. Observing the fight, he realized Andric only blocked Farvald’s attacks without countering, leading him to believe Andric had a powerful backer and was holding back his true strength.

Other townspeople watching weren’t impressed. In Radegart, fights were common entertainment, and a true fight involved blood. They viewed Farvald’s retreat after burning his fist as a sign of his lack of skill.

“Watching kids fight isn’t very entertaining.”

“What did you expect? Farvald only knows that one move. Martial arts are useless against a higher realm opponent.”

“At least the traveler could’ve used more techniques. He only used that one.”

“And that’s all he needed. Farvald was out of his league.”

The consensus was that Farvald lacked the skill to defeat a higher realm opponent. They didn’t consider Andric’s Perfect Circulation, which made him tougher and faster than any Novice realm martialist in Hochland.