Ball of Nothing

Zero looked at the stick in his hand and back at Ruth. The vampire wasn't joking and the brunet wondered how he was ever going to be able to accomplish his new mission. True, it took a lot of practice and patience to perform a surgery. However, in a combat situation, how could anyone retain finesse and grace while defending against an attack or plotting a counter move?

Ruth didn't look like he was fooling around and Zero gulped. It was just an ordinary dried up branch that had fallen to the ground in the forest. Other than firewood, this stick was completely useless for battle. Moreover, Zero wasn't allowed to use magic of any kind during the training with Mitchnew. The dark elf was still very strong and merciless when it came to hand-to-hand combat. The stick was useless in defending against the ex-assassin!

The dark elf couldn't help but snap a picture of the teenager's troubled face with Hua Tuo's communicator. It was fun seeing how Zero's mind worked without pause. He was probably still thinking about that insane sparring session with Ruth from before. Now that he finally found his style of fighting, the doctor was told that magic of any kind was banned. That made Zero rather worried.

"Don't worry," Mitchnew smiled. "It's not going to be anything too difficult or dangerous compared to the previous training. We're going to have you master the art of being in control. When you become the centre of your world, no external forces can harm you."

The teenager didn't quite understand what Mitchnew was getting at. In fact, he looked twice as lost.

Ruth nodded and Miutchnew blindfolded herself before getting into a stance.

"Watch closely," she told the brunet.

The physician stood nearby in case there was a casualty. Mitchnew might be a talented warrior but he didn't know who was stronger when he compared her to the vampire and his student. Ruth was skilful enough to control his attacks so that he didn't harm his sparring partner too much but Zero was a wild horse. Anything could happen in a moment of panic.

Ruth circled Mitchnew and Zero watched with bated breath. The vampire made no noise as he walked and Zero felt a slight worry for Mitchnew who was only relying on her sense of hearing to react.

The wind blew past them and Ruth was careful not to stand in the direction of it blowing towards Mitchnew. Even if he could fool her sense of sight and hearing, the half-elf still had a rather strong sense of smell.

Zero covered his mouth with both hands when Ruth lunged forward with sharpened claws aiming to stab the seamstress. It wasn't easy suppressing the scream to alert Mitchnew but the young doctor did it anyway. Mitchnew didn't move away even when Ruth was about a foot away from reaching her.

Once it closed in about ten centimetres, Zero saw it. It was very subtle and quick but effective against Ruth who was no longer able to change his trajectory of attack. The seamstress shifted her weight to her other foot and lowered her centre of gravity to stabilise her grounding, giving her ample time to dodge the move while following up with a small deflection of the claws with a well-timed and precise block at Ruth's wrist.

He didn't know when Mitchnew moved her arm but the fact that she did impressed Zero. He probably wouldn't be able to match her speed. Perhaps that was what the stick was for. On the other hand, Zero was proud of his combat teacher for trying to follow up with Mitchnew's defence by changing that stab to a slash. At the same time, he didn't let the advantage of his lunge end. Another hand went to grab Mitchew's wrist while he used that force to swing a leg towards Mitchnew's middle that was unguarded.

Zero was tense. Mitchnew's stance made her deeply grounded and to dodge that kick to her midriff would mean that she had to abandon the fortress style of guarding. Ruth didn't give her any chance to move away with that grip on her wrist. His other hand was already gripping onto her shoulder while the vampire bent the other leg to prepare for landing after his kick.

To the physician and his apprentice's surprise, not only did Mitchnew manage to dodge it, she unleashed a counter attack of her own that Ruth wasn't fully able to block.

The seamstress bent backwards, pulling Ruth over with her and did a back spring before tucking her legs close to her chest in a curl. Zero thought that she looked beautiful at that moment with her snow-white hair flying in the air as she delivered a double dropkick to Ruth in the chest who was unable to run with Mitchnew twisting his wrist. The initial wrist grab from Ruth was now turned against him with Mitchnew locking his entire arm into a position that gave her the advantage.

The vampire grunted when the kick fractured some bones and felt his shoulder pop on the impact. He shouldn't have gone easy on the dark elf and now regretted being careless during the demonstration. Thankfully, Zero was a fast learner and didn't need a second demonstration. In terms of combat technique, Ruth was still unable to win Mitchnew.

The archer was a master in the art of assassination. Her combat style was very clean which consisted of no wasting movements and it was exactly what Zero needed to learn. In a situation that Zero was unable to use magic or qi, he would have to rely on this skill. Hua Tuo had concerns about Zero's special constitution and Ruth understood it. Zero was not able to produce mana naturally and depended heavily on his environment to 'harvest' his resources for a battle. Mitchnew's skill was going to be very important for Zero on his travels.

As Mitchnew undid the knots to her blindfold, Ruth was already sitting up and shrugging the dislocated joint back into the socket. Zero rushed over to check for injuries while Hua Tuo strolled. Mitchnew was definitely still the best assassin even though she was retired. After several nights of sparring and learning the martial manual with Ruth, she was able to grasp the profound basics. Tai Ji was all about balance and while Ruth had some difficulties applying that concept to his fighting style, Mitchnew took to it like a duck to water.

The physician looked at all three youngsters and nodded. He was glad that Zero had Ruth as his combat instructor for the basic training of magic and combat infusion as well as reaction time. There was literally nobody in Half Moon Village who was faster than Ruth and more battle-honed than the Roth survivor. On the other hand, what Ruth lacked in techniques to teach was made up for by Mitchnew. The dark elf had mastered the art of exploiting weaknesses over the years in her career. The control she had over her body allowed her to become god within the circle of a metre's radius around her. Zero had the best of both worlds between power and technique. Hua Tuo had already thought of the name for Zero's martial art creation - Equilibrium.

However, for Equilibrium to reach its maximum potential, Zero had to overcome his shortcomings. The first was patience and the second was discipline. The tonfa was a weapon meant to disarm and render the opponents immobile. It wasn't a weapon to kill and was relatively peaceful. The only downside Hua Tuo could think of was the strict use of the weapon. It wasn't very flexible and was only going to be a burden in the hands of an amateur in a real battle. Those who didn't know how to use it could find themselves getting hurt.

Zero applauded at the short demonstration and asked when he could begin his training. Mitchnew smiled at the eager apprentice and told him that he had some trials to overcome before they could start teaching him the basics of this martial art.

"What should I do first?" Zero asked.

This time, Hua Tuo stepped in instead of his combat teachers.

"You will be training with me for the first stage," the physician told him.

Zero visibly deflated and Mitchnew chuckled when he whined. Hua Tuo played the part of a strict grandfather by pinching his student by the cheek and chiding him. Zero became teary-eyed and quickly cradled his abused cheek when Hua Tuo finally let it go.

"Humph! Youngsters nowadays have no patience, no respect for the past and culture. how will you ever accomplish great things if you can't persevere a little hardship? Not even learning how to crawl and yet you want to fly. Ridiculous!"

Zero deadpanned. "I know how to crawl! I just need to learn how to shapeshift and practice controlling a shape-shifted form before flying."

Apparently, the physician in his 'shifu' mode didn't take kindly to refutes and Zero ended up cradling his other cheek.

"Aiya! Children nowadays don't know how to respect their elders. How will you learn anything if you keep yapping? I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice, the words of old men like me should be treated like gems! Don't question me and start moving! For every day that you do not succeed you will have to pull the noodles and make dinner for all your teachers here, do you understand?"

Not wanting to risk any more cheeks up for abuse, Zero scrambled to his feet and took off. Hua Tuo's trial was simple. Zero had to go to the waterfall and meditate under it. No, it wasn't the one in the Lake of Reflection. Zero had to go to the depths of Endow Hill's forest to find a unique spring that has three waterfalls pouring into it. The spring was where the rivers around Endow hill get their water and nobody really knows where the source of water comes from because all three waterfalls continue to roar regardless of the season.

Hua Tuo hardly visited it but the physician told Zero that it was known as the Trigression Falls.

"There are three waterfalls that you must conquer," Hua Tuo told Zero. "The first is the Aggression Falls where the water is always fierce and strong. If you do not conquer it, the water will drown you."

"The second it Progression Falls. The water there is very good for nurturing cultivators. However, as you improve, the temperature becomes hotter and more unbearable. It's a strange waterfall and many cultivators get scalded there even if the water temperature is icy cold when drinking. Be careful."

"The third waterfall is the strangest of all, it's called the Regression Falls and the water is icy cold and continues to get colder the longer you stay in it. Not only that, the Regression Falls flows differently from the other two waterfalls in that spring. It flows upwards while the weight of meditating in it pulls you downwards. This is the most dangerous waterfall and you can only attempt it after you've conquered both the Aggression and Progression Falls."

Zero soaked in his mentor's words and nodded, he was going to find the Trigression Falls to add it to his map before lunch. While the teenager wasn't allowed to use magic during his training, nobody said anything about using magic to improve the process of getting to his training.

The young doctor decided that once he found the falls, he was going to make a portal to teleport there at will. That would save him a lot of time travelling and give him more training time.

Mitchnew, Ruth and Hua Tuo watched as Zero left. as soon as he was out of sight, they pounced onto Hua Tuo's communicator. Thanks to the new app, they could trace where Zero went as long as he carried his communicator on him.

"I'll hunt, you watch him."

Mitchnew nodded and the vampire left to find food. Hua Tuo decided to start with washing the rice and cutting the vegetables so the seamstress was left alone to monitor the reckless brunet who had already started to go off tangent from his objective.

Seriously! How hard was it to follow instructions? Find a river and follow it upwards to get to the Trigression Falls. Why was Zero walking away from the river and into the dense forest?

Mitchnew was torn. Hua Tuo told her to strictly observe and report back in half an hour if Zero still hasn't found the Falls. Usually, it would take about four hours for an average human to walk there but Hua Tuo only gave Zero an hour to get back for lunch. The seamstress couldn't quite understand what the Sage God was thinking but she followed the instructions dutifully, hoping that it wasn't a mistake.

As the dark elf watched Zero stray further and further from his target, she wondered if their training could be successfully completed in three months.