The next few days passed in their usual routine.
Hao Ming trained from early morning until late at night, stopping only to eat. In the morning, he focused on strengthening his body. During the day, he practiced with his sword, and in the evening, he returned to physical exercises.
He concentrated on basic strikes and movements. He worked on his stance, relearned how to shift his weight properly, and made sure every movement was precise. He had no need for complicated techniques yet. First, he had to learn how to use his own body effectively.
His endurance gradually improved. Thanks to his rapid recovery, fatigue no longer affected him as severely after training. Naturally, however, there was no significant leap in his strength.
Hao Ming understood that training alone was not enough. He needed to hone his skills and put them to the test in practice.
After dinner, he stopped Xiao Yu.
"Xiao Yu, let's spar."
The elf tensed slightly. Almost nothing changed in his expression, but his smile grew a little strained.
"When you say 'spar,' you mean an actual training match, right?"
Hao Ming paused for a moment. Remembering how he used to behave, he understood the reason for that reaction.
"Yes, yes. Just an ordinary spar. Find yourself a pair of wooden daggers."
Xiao Yu hesitated. Hao Ming had said himself that he was now an ordinary human. Agreeing to spar with him seemed rather pointless. But when he met his companion's determined gaze, he eventually nodded.
They headed deeper into the forest, toward a small makeshift training ground. The clearing was level, its earth firm and packed down. Trees grew around its edges, concealing the place from prying eyes.
Hao Ming stopped opposite Xiao Yu. He held a wooden sword, while his opponent carried two short daggers—lightweight weapons well suited for quick thrusts.
Xiao Yu casually spun one of the daggers between his fingers.
"Don't blame me if you get hurt. You're the one who asked for this."
"Just make sure you don't get hurt yourself," Hao Ming replied with a smirk.
Xiao Yu froze, then burst out laughing. He definitely liked this version of Hao Ming. The latter had become less withdrawn and even occasionally joked back.
"Shall we begin?" Hao Ming asked.
"Let's."
Xiao Yu moved first.
He shifted to the side and, in the next instant, appeared beside Hao Ming. His right dagger darted toward Hao Ming's shoulder.
Hao Ming turned and met the strike with his sword.
Wood struck wood.
Xiao Yu immediately pulled back his first dagger, slid along the length of the sword, and thrust his second toward his opponent's torso.
Hao Ming retreated. The dagger passed within a few centimeters of his abdomen.
Fast.
He did not attempt an immediate counterattack. Instead, he focused on Xiao Yu's movements. The position of his shoulders. The shift of his weight. The direction of his gaze.
Xiao Yu advanced again.
Hao Ming noticed him shifting his weight onto his front foot and moved aside in advance. Xiao Yu rushed past him, leaving himself briefly open to a counterattack.
Hao Ming twisted his body and thrust his sword toward Xiao Yu's chest. But the elf managed to lean away and jump back to a safe distance.
"Whoa! That was close!" he exclaimed with a mischievous grin.
Hao Ming narrowed his eyes.
He had noticed the first problem. Even when he managed to anticipate his opponent's actions, his body could not keep up with his thoughts. He saw an opening for an attack but could not always seize it in time.
Too slow.
Xiao Yu lunged forward again and swung his right arm.
Hao Ming deflected the first strike. The impact made his arm tremble. While he tightened his grip on the sword, the second dagger was already flying toward his side.
The wooden tip touched his left flank.
"You're dead!" Xiao Yu announced cheerfully.
"Let's continue," Hao Ming said curtly.
"Your call!"
Xiao Yu took several steps back, giving him a chance to catch his breath.
Hao Ming inhaled deeply and raised his sword again.
He's faster. But his movements are predictable.
Xiao Yu attacked once more.
Strike after strike.
Hao Ming no longer tried to block every thrust. Instead, he dodged, shifted to either side, and waited for the right moment to counterattack.
One strike passed his shoulder. He deflected the second with his sword. When Xiao Yu tried to circle around him, Hao Ming turned in advance and forced him to retreat. On another occasion, Hao Ming countered almost immediately after dodging. His wooden sword passed close to the elf's shoulder.
Xiao Yu had to increase the distance between them.
Is he reading my attacks? His smile became less carefree.
Hao Ming was inferior to him in both speed and physical strength. However, he noticed patterns in his opponent's movements and anticipated the direction of his next strikes.
This made it difficult for Xiao Yu to fight in his usual manner. In a real battle, an opponent like this could become a serious problem.
Time to pick up the pace.
Six yellow spirit rings rose beneath Xiao Yu's feet. The first one flared.
"First Spirit Skill: Wind Step!"
Xiao Yu accelerated sharply and attacked from the flank.
Hao Ming managed to meet the first strike with his sword. But his opponent had already changed direction and appeared behind him.
The first strike landed on his forearm. The second hit his thigh.
Hao Ming retreated, trying to regain his balance. Xiao Yu gave him no respite. He moved swiftly across the clearing, changing direction and attacking from different angles.
Hao Ming tried to keep his eyes on his opponent's feet.
His gaze darted downward, then rose again. But Xiao Yu had already moved elsewhere. Every step was faster than Hao Ming could follow.
I can't keep up.
He decided to change tactics. If his body could not react quickly enough, he had to anticipate the moment of attack. Rather than trying to catch up with his opponent, he needed to meet him where he intended to strike.
Xiao Yu attacked from the side again.
This time, Hao Ming turned in advance and met both daggers with his sword. Taking advantage of the brief pause, he stepped forward and aimed his blade at his opponent's shoulder.
But Xiao Yu managed to retreat in time. At the same moment, wind swirled around the elf's figure. His outline distorted for an instant.
"Third Spirit Skill: Phantom Trail!"
Ghostly copies of Xiao Yu appeared around him. They moved in unison with him, mirroring his movements and making it difficult to determine his real position.
Hao Ming did not attack blindly.
He shifted his gaze from one silhouette to another, trying to spot differences in their movements. He watched the position of their shoulders, the direction of their daggers, and the currents of air between the figures.
But the longer he observed them, the clearer the problem became.
The phantoms did more than distract him. They deprived him of his greatest advantage—the ability to determine in advance where the real attack would come from.
One of the silhouettes moved forward.
Hao Ming raised his sword, but at the last moment, he realized his mistake.
The real Xiao Yu was at his side. A wooden dagger touched his back.
Hao Ming stepped forward to regain his balance and spun around sharply. He managed to raise his sword and deflect the next attack, but Xiao Yu had already changed direction.
Another tap landed on his shoulder.
Hao Ming retreated.
Tch! I can't find the real one.
He tried to focus on the nearest figures, but that only narrowed his field of vision. The moment he chose one target, the real attack came from another direction.
Xiao Yu continued moving.
Hao Ming deflected another strike, but this time he was too late. The wooden dagger grazed his forearm. His muscles grew heavier with fatigue. His breathing became labored. His movements lost precision, and he now had to expend more and more strength just to maintain a simple defense.
Xiao Yu, by contrast, maintained his previous pace.
"Maybe we should call it here?" Xiao Yu suggested, slowing down a little. "You've already taken several hits. And I haven't even used everything I've got."
Hao Ming lowered his sword and thought for a moment.
He understood that his opponent had not been fighting at full strength. Xiao Yu had used only part of his abilities, yet that had been enough to overwhelm him.
Continuing the fight in his current condition was pointless. Hao Ming had already learned enough about his own weaknesses.
"All right. I lost."
Xiao Yu put away his wooden daggers and smiled.
"Don't be discouraged. You're an ordinary human now, after all. For someone sparring against a Spirit Master, you did exceptionally well."
"I'm not discouraged," Hao Ming replied.
Hao Ming looked at the wooden sword in his hand.
His experience allowed him to read his opponent and find opportunities to counterattack. But understanding alone was not enough. Even when he correctly anticipated Xiao Yu's intentions, his body could not always take advantage of that knowledge.
And when his opponent used spirit skills, the situation became even more difficult.
I need to strengthen my body. Improve my control over my movements.
He could not regain his former strength through sheer force of will. So he decided to focus on what he could actually change.
"Thanks for the spar. Would you mind doing it again tomorrow?" Hao Ming asked.
Xiao Yu looked at him in surprise, then laughed.
"Sure."
Xiao Yu headed home, while Hao Ming remained in the forest.
He looked at the wooden sword in his hand, then slowly lowered it. Sparring with Xiao Yu had revealed several problems. He lacked speed. Strength. The explosive power needed to turn an opening into a decisive strike.
Hao Ming tightened his grip on the sword.
Not long ago, he had possessed power that his current self could only dream of. Now his body had become ordinary, and no matter how much he trained, he could not bridge the gap between himself and a Spirit Master in just a few days.
Hao Ming was confident that he could defeat a one-ring Spirit Master. But that was not enough.
Do I really need to become stronger in every aspect?
He recalled how Xiao Yu had changed direction, rapidly closed the distance, and retreated before Hao Ming could land a counterattack.
It was not just a matter of speed. The moment an opponent transitioned from movement to attack was equally important. If Hao Ming could anticipate that moment, he would not need to move faster than Xiao Yu at all times. He only needed to reach the right position before his opponent completed the strike.
Hao Ming looked down at his legs.
I can't maintain high speed constantly. That means I need to learn how to generate it at the right moment.
The idea seemed simple, but he had no idea how to put it into practice. Ordinary training gradually strengthened the muscles, improved endurance, and developed coordination. But all of that took time.
He needed something else—a way to briefly draw more out of his body than it normally allowed.
Hao Ming fell into thought.
The human body possessed hidden reserves. In critical moments, a person could sometimes accomplish things that would be beyond their strength under ordinary circumstances. But such bursts of power occurred involuntarily. A person could not trigger them at will, much less control them precisely.
If I can understand what happens to the body in those moments, could I reproduce the effect intentionally?
Hao Ming did not know the answer. All he could do was experiment.
He closed his eyes and focused on his body. His steady heartbeat. His calm breathing. The tension in his muscles and the pulse of blood in his wrists. Once he sensed these things, he opened his eyes and began to move.
At first, he walked around the clearing, paying attention to his breathing and heartbeat. Then he increased his pace, broke into a run, and changed direction sharply several times. After each attempt, he stopped, caught his breath, and listened to the sensations within his body.
His heart beat faster. His breathing grew deeper, and his muscles warmed up. But nothing unusual happened.
Hao Ming repeated the exercise. Then again. Finally, he pushed off the ground sharply, trying to accelerate over a short distance. The result was slightly better than expected, but he was still nowhere near Xiao Yu's speed.
He stopped.
Simply making my heart beat faster isn't enough.
Increasing the strain without thinking only exhausted his body more quickly. He needed to learn how to distribute his effort properly and release it at precisely the moment it was needed.
This time, he focused on his legs. He visualized the movement in advance: how his foot pressed against the ground, how his muscles tensed, and how the force traveled through his calf and thigh, propelling his body forward.
Then he tried to coordinate the movement with his breathing and heartbeat.
Inhale.
Tension.
Push-off.
Exhale.
At first, nothing worked. He tensed his muscles too much, restricting his own movements, or pushed off too early. Several times, he nearly lost his balance.
Hao Ming stopped and analyzed each attempt. Gradually, he noticed a slight difference: if he prepared his body for the movement in advance and applied force at the right moment, his first step became sharper.
It was far from the result he wanted, but now he had a direction to pursue.
Hao Ming picked up his wooden sword and chose a tree several steps away. He did not need to move faster than his opponent throughout the entire fight. He only needed to learn how to close the distance in a sudden burst, get out of the line of attack, or put more power into a decisive strike.
He assumed his starting stance.
Inhaled.
His heart beat faster. The muscles in his legs tensed. He could feel his body preparing to push off.
Now!
Hao Ming pushed off the ground sharply, trying to control his breathing, monitor his heartbeat, and direct the force into his legs all at once.
But everything went wrong.
The moment he focused on his breathing, he lost awareness of his own pulse. When he tried to follow his heartbeat, he forgot about the tension in his muscles. And by the time he finally directed his strength into his legs, he could no longer judge the timing of his push-off correctly.
He took several quick steps, but the expected burst of speed never came. His body merely lurched forward awkwardly, and Hao Ming barely managed to keep his balance.
He stopped, frowning.
Hao Ming tried again. This time, he prepared his legs in advance and waited for the right moment. However, he tensed his muscles too much. His movements became stiff, and his first step was even slower than usual.
He tried once more, attempting to correct his mistake.
To no avail.
The more he tried to control every process, the worse the result became. His breathing grew erratic, his heartbeat quickened under the strain, and his muscles gradually grew tired. Yet he still could not achieve the acceleration he wanted.
Hao Ming slowly exhaled.
"I'm trying to do everything at once... I need to focus on just one thing."
He thought back over each attempt. His breathing had become irregular, his muscles had tensed at the wrong moments, and the repeated bursts of movement had gradually made his legs feel heavy. He had tried to control all these things separately, but the more attention he paid to the details, the more he lost control of the movement itself.
No. I started in the wrong place.
Hao Ming placed a palm against his chest and listened to his heartbeat.
My heart... Perhaps that's where I should begin.
During physical exertion, the heart beat faster. He had noticed it every time, but had never considered the reason. He had regarded the increased pulse as a natural bodily response, rather than something he could focus on separately.
But what if he made his heartbeat the starting point of the entire process?
Hao Ming straightened, closed his eyes, and concentrated on his heart. Not on his breathing, not on his muscles, and not even on the movement of his legs—only on the steady beats inside his chest.
It was merely a guess. He still did not know whether it was possible to consciously control his heartbeat, let alone whether doing so would produce any results.
This time, he decided not to rush.