CHAPTER X: SHAOLIN
At 7:07 a.m., the students had just arrived. Some were getting out of their carriages while others were already present in the courtyard. Classes were not about to start, but the rules stipulate that students must be at the Academy two hours before the start of classes.
Martis, who had just arrived, headed straight for the building, humming:
« They can't back out, they won't miss you, they're real tough guys. »
As on the first days, the same look was given to him. He looked at it out of the corner of his eye but paid no attention to it.
« If I don't look at them, they'll surely drop it, » he thought as he walked.
In front of the main door, he found Leolio doing push-ups on the steps while counting.
« Hey, clingy. »
Leolio stopped immediately and turned around, still with his smile.
« Hi Martis, how are you today? »
« Pretty good, I played truth or dare with a madman last night, I didn't sleep well because of it, but don't count on me to ask you how you are, it's not really my style, » Martis replied in the same tone.
« Yeah, I noticed that since yesterday. »
Martis looked at the students around him and then asked:
« Leolio, I'd like to know if it's possible to go train in the training room before class. »
Leolio thought for a moment and then replied:
« Yeah, it's not forbidden, you can go train, no one will hold it against you. But there's a small problem. »
« Which one? » Martis asked.
« Well, Halnea is training, and when she trains, no one wants to go there. »
Martis thought for a moment and then understood that, since people didn't want to train with her, it would only be the two of them, she would work on her side and he on his.
« Okay, got it, I'm going anyway, thanks. »
« Oh okay, I'd like to go with you, but when she sees me, she always runs away. I wouldn't want to bother her, » Leolio replied.
Martis entered the building while repeating:
« Training, training, training... »
Martis was getting ready in the locker room before entering the training room. Upon arriving, he found Halnea who was already training. She had weights on her hands, each marked with 40 kilos, and was working on the speed of her strikes. Despite the weight, her movements remained fluid and fast. She repeated the same sequence: three strikes, then dodge, three strikes, dodge again and again.
« Well, I'm not going to bother her, I'll just work for an hour and then leave. »
Halnea, seeing him enter, remembered him:
« It's the guy from yesterday. »
Out of habit, she wanted to stop and leave the room, but Martis, seeing her put down the weights, asked her:
« Hello Halnea! Are you already finished? »
Halnea stopped and then replied, hesitating:
« H... Hello, n... No, but I... I wanted to leave you the space to work. »
He replied by saying:
« But why do you want to stop? The room is over thirty meters long, there's enough space for both of us. Don't worry, I won't bother you. »
« Uh, thank you very much, » she said, picking up her weights again, still sitting, troubled by Martis's kindness.
She resumed her exercises with the same fervor, while Martis, for his part, began to stretch. While stretching, he started a discussion with Wukong.
« Hey Wukong. »
Wukong, with a provocative tone, replied:
« Yes, Mommy's little baby? »
Martis:
« In your opinion, which martial art should I start with? Kung Fu or Muay Thai? »
Wukong thought for a moment and then said:
« Hmm, Kung Fu is better. Start with the Xiao Hong Quan kata, it will be easier for the first time in this body. »
« Not wrong, » Martis said, finishing his stretching.
He advanced with a calm step, his hands at rest, then joined his left palm against his right fist. The Shaolin salute.
Then, he opened his legs and sank into a solid Ma Bu, as if rooted in the earth. His fists clenched at his waist, his gaze became sharp.
With a breath, he slid forward and struck in Gong Bu, the right fist projected forward with the precision of a spear.
He brought his leg back, his body fluid like water, and prepared his palm. His left arm suddenly unfolded, and he advanced to strike with a direct palm, a Zheng Zhang that cracked the air.
Pivoting, he descended back into Ma Bu, his back straight, his fists drawn. He threw a punch to the right, then another to the left, fast as two arrows shot at the same time.
He then turned to the left, advanced with a powerful step, and delivered an upward uppercut, the fist rising as if to break a mountain.
Halnea stopped training. Without moving, she watched his movements with fascination. It was the first time she had seen this kata and these movements, yet she mastered all the martial arts of this world and all their extensions with weapons, but this style was unknown to her.
Martis, continuing, his other arm plunged downward for a circular block, before he raised his right hand and tore the air with a sharp, clean, and vertical strike, like an invisible saber.
Halnea put down her weights and then sat down to watch the kata in its entirety.
Martis executed his movements with concentration, without the slightest disturbance. In Halnea's eyes, it was no longer a kata; it was an artistic performance.
He linked the final movements with an almost unreal precision. His fist crossed the air in Gong Bu, followed by a low sweep in Pu Bu that brushed the dust. He straightened up with a fluid turn and launched a circular upward strike, powerful but silent. A sharp palm, a quick block, then a final sliding step sealed the sequence. Finally, he brought his feet together, clenched his right fist, and placed his left palm on it. Motionless, he let his breath fall. The kata was complete.
When he finished, he heard applause. Looking up, he saw that it was Halnea who was applauding. When she met his gaze, she stopped applauding.
She wanted to know what sport it was, but she was hesitant.
« Ah, I wonder what sport it is? Will he agree to tell me? Yes, maybe, he's not mean. »
With a lot of courage, she stood up and walked towards Martis:
« Uh, s... sorry to bother you, but what martial art was that? » she said in a more frightened tone.
« If you don't want to tell me, it's not a problem. »
Martis, stretching, replied with a smile:
« No, it's not a problem. »
He wanted to tell her, but he remembered that it was a Shaolin art from China, and it would be too strange to say that it came from another world, so he improvised.
« It's a martial art that I created, it's called Kung Fu. »
« Wow, you created a martial art? That's incredible, » she said with an interested look.
Wukong, who could see what was happening from inside his head, said to Martis:
« Hey kid, don't you see she wants to learn? »
Martis saw that he was right, she seemed to want to know more about Kung Fu:
« Would you like me to teach you a little Kung Fu? »
She seemed excited by the idea, saying:
« Yes, that would be f... »
She changed her tone to a more reluctant one:
« No, don't feel obliged, I was just asking. »
« Ah, you need to learn, is that what you meant, huh? If you want, I can teach you under two conditions, » Martis replied with a smile.
« Which ones? » she replied.
Martis thought for a moment and then said:
« I will teach you Kung Fu if... One, you stop using the formal 'vous' with me. Two, you tell me why everyone is afraid of you. »
Halnea thought for a moment and then saw that it was something he should know even if she was hiding it, then sighing she said:
« Yes, I will... Sorry... I will tell you and I will stop using the formal 'vous' with you. »
Martis seemed to appreciate this answer:
« Good, I will teach you Kung Fu. First... »
When he wanted to start, he felt a strange sensation, he started looking all around him. Halnea didn't understand this change in behavior.
« What are you looking at? » she asked.
« There's something wrong. It's... »
Wukong had also understood:
« Yeah buddy, it's an assassination attempt, » he said.
« I hadn't felt this sensation for a long time, » Martis said.
Halnea didn't understand what was happening. Suddenly, one of the windows moved and Martis yelled:
« Halnea, duck! »
When Halnea ducked, a machete narrowly missed her, she hadn't seen it coming. Then, in a flash of light, a man in a masked outfit appeared.
The man rushed towards Halnea, machete in hand. When he attacked, Halnea dodged, clenching her fist, blue flames covering her hands, then she gave him a right hook. In the same motion, her legs were covered in fire and she inflicted a spinning kick that sent him to the back of the room, ending his run in the wall, then he fell to the ground.
He got up, then two others appeared to his left.
Martis, looking at them without understanding where they came from, asked:
« Who are they? »
Halnea, taking a fighting stance, replied:
« I have no idea. »