Child of Destiny

...…

Shin did the new reflex training until noon. He had a lot of trouble keeping up with the new rule given how complex it was. But even if that was the case, he didn't even raise any complaint and just did what he was told.

While he was doing this training, he discovered that he really still had some habits that he didn't notice before. And this training method really helped him at getting rid of it.

Currently, Shin could only stand inside the circle for 3 minutes max, before he got hit by a wooden block or made a mistake.

It was quite slow compared to his previous progress, but he didn't get disappointed at all. It was because he could clearly feel the immediate changes on his body which was giving him a more flexible battle style in battle.

After that training, Shin immediately went to the cottage to have his lunch before proceeding to his Mentalism Training. And when he arrived in his usual spot, he immediately saw David and Grandmaster Benn waiting for him there.

When Shin arrived, Old Benn squinted his eyes a little before observing Shin. And after a few moments of observation, the old man suddenly smiled with satisfaction before nodding his head.

Then Grandmaster Benn looked at Shin before asking. "What do you think about your progress?"

Hearing that, Shin thought for a moment before saying. "I felt that my control over my Mental Energy became slightly better. It seems like they become much lighter compared to before."

"Is that so?" said Old Benn before crossing his hands behind him while asking. "Then-... what do you think about having a little sparring match right now?"

Hearing that, Shin's eyes suddenly turned wide before nodding his head repeatedly. Then he immediately answered without having any hint of hesitation. "Sure!"

Seeing that excited look at Shin's face, Grandmaster Benn suddenly wore a huge grin on his face before turning his head at David who was lazily laying on top of the huge boulder. "So, I am leaving him in your care now."

After that, Old Benn walked to the side and waited for the two to start.

Seeing that, Shin immediately looked at David before putting his hands together and returning the latter's respective bow. "Please, enlighten me."

Meanwhile, David suddenly smirked when he saw Shin's actions. After that, he suddenly shook his head a little as he remembered something from before. 'Let's see how much improvements you make compared to that time. I really am starting to get curious right now.'

Then he jumped down from the top of the rock boulder before putting his hands together while returning Shin's respectful bow.

After that, both of them immediately assumed their respective battle stances before releasing their own Mental Energies.

Bang! Bang!

Right after they released those Mental Energy, a powerful pressure was also released from their bodies. Though, it was also quite noticeable that David was only matching Shin's aura.

Shin was fully aware of that, so he immediately calmed himself down before doing the trick that he learned just recently while doing his previous training. Which was separating his consciousness from his body.

Earlier, he discovered that he could use his Metal Energy much better when doing this trick. What's more, he could also draw the Mentalism Runes much faster when he was in this state. So, he was thinking to test it out if it could really help him in battle.

He still hadn't mastered this trick yet, but he could at least maintain this state for a few minutes which was enough for him to hold his ground against someone like David in a short amount of time.

After all, Shin was aware that he was still no match against David. So, all he needed to do was to last for as long as he could so that he could enjoy this sparring matching.

But it didn't mean he was going to wait for David to attack. Instead, immediately took the initiative to start his attack.

Bang!

Shin immediately swung his fist forward, sending a powerful Mental Energy Wave towards David.  And when the latter saw that, the smile that he was wearing suddenly curved further up and made him remember his previous battle against Shin who was under the influence of a Demonic Possession.

Bang!

With that, he just waved his hand to deflect the incoming energy wave. And at the same time, he suddenly threw a palm strike with his other hand and sent an energy wave of his own.

Bang! Swoosh!

This energy wave that David had sent was much faster and more powerful compared to the one that Shin had sent earlier, indicating the difference in their battle prowess.

Seeing that, Shin wanted to also deflect the incoming energy wave with the same manner that David had done. But he immediately rejected the idea when he saw that the Mental Energy wave suddenly spun in the air and turned into a swirling attack.

With that, Shin immediately crossed his arms in front of him while making the Mental Energy around him to spin with a rapid pace. Then he quickly uncrossed them once again while swinging them downwards in a very strong manner.

"Ha!" With those actions together with a powerful shout, Shin pushed his spinning Mental Energy outwards which immediately turned into a dome shape barrier around him.

Bang!

Whistle~♪

David suddenly whistled when he saw Shin do those actions. Even though it was not flawless and perfect, he could still tell that the latter didn't have much problem at doing it.

"It will be not long before this kid turns those movements into natural ones. He just needed to get rid of those useless movements," muttered David before throwing a few more energy waves towards Shin's direction.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Being bombarded by those energy waves, Shin's movements immediately became restricted which led him to be in a passive state. David's movements were so natural and didn't have any flaws that he could expose, so doing a counter attack right now was going to be tough for Shin.

Realizing his current situation, Shin immediately decided to take a couple of steps backwards, having a tactical retreat.

But the moment he took the first step, David suddenly appeared right behind him while saying. "Wrong, if a Mentalist is trying to overwhelm you with these kinds of attacks, you should be advancing rather than taking a step backwards. It is to show them that their attacks are ineffective against you."

"That way, you can redirect the pressure towards them instead," he added while throwing a palm strike at Shin's back.

Bang!

Shin didn't know how David managed to bypass the barrier around him but he didn't have any time to think about that as the latter's palm was already approaching his back.

Sensing the incoming attack, Shin felt that it was already too late to dodge it given how perfect David had executed that palm strike. All he could do was to brace himself and build a wall of Mental Energy on his back while bracing himself.

Though, his mind was having a slightly different thought. He was thinking that he could throw a good counterattack if he managed to dodge the incoming strike with a perfect timing.

But it was already too late.

Or so he thought…

Because the moment that thought flashed inside his mind, his body seemed to move on its own and started moving to dodge the incoming palm strike.

He slightly twisted his waist before moving his feet alongside it, making a quick turned around. And with those simple movements, David's palm was just going to graze his back due to how unexpected it was.

But that was not the end. Because the wall made by Shin's Mental Energy earlier finished the job and redirected the course of David's palm strike at the final moment, which made Shin completely dodge the sudden attack.

"Huh!?"

"What!?"

Both Shin and David became shocked at what had happened. Though, it was because of a slightly different yet similar reason.

The former was thinking that he had no choice but to directly receive the attack due to how perfectly executed it was. Meanwhile, the latter was sure that he was going to land that attack because he timed it perfectly.

Regardless, both of them immediately made their next moves right after throwing those thoughts at the back of their heads.

Shin quickly threw a powerful palm strike according to what he was thinking before while David raised his other arm to block the incoming strike for as fast as he could.

Bang!

That attack didn't put any harm at David at all, but it was more than enough for them to be separated from each other given how strong it was.

After that, both of them stayed still and stood in their respective spots as they were trying to figure out what really happened earlier. And after a few moments of thinking, they finally figured out how Shin pulled it off.

"The Reflex Training!"

"Mind becoming one with the body?"

They blurted their thoughts out with a different tone as they understood it differently; one was excited while the other was confused.

But despite them having a slightly different thought in mind, those thoughts only led to a single thing. And it was the training finally showing its results!

...…