Bai Chen charged toward Rio.
The training ground was large and circular, slightly bigger than the competition arena.
Bai Chen aimed a punch at Rio's face, but Rio dodged, grabbed his fist, pulled him closer, and struck Bai Chen's abdomen with his other hand.
Bai Chen managed to block the punch in time, but the force still made his arm tremble.
They released each other's hands and returned to their fighting stances.
"Looks like you've gotten stronger since yesterday."
Bai Chen said as he rushed toward Rio again.
"Haha, I don't think so."
Rio replied and charged at him as well.
Five minutes later
They were exchanging punches when Rio decided to try his new technique.
He tried to absorb energy first, but during combat, it was impossible to calmly gather energy.
So every time he attacked, instead of continuing the assault, he retreated.
This allowed Bai Chen to gain more space and attack more freely.
Bai Chen attempted a kick toward Rio's side, but Rio grabbed his leg and threw him aside to focus on absorbing energy.
Seeing that Rio wasn't attacking and was only defending, Bai Chen stopped defending altogether and switched to full offense.
He attacked again.
This time, instead of blocking Rio's punches, he charged straight in without defending.
He punched again. Rio blocked it.
Knowing that Rio would only try to throw him, Bai Chen kicked Rio's side and sent him flying.
At this point, everything was under Bai Chen's control.
He could attack Rio freely without taking any damage himself.
The Grandmaster watched from afar and thought to himself,
"Why isn't this kid attacking at all? Does he have some kind of plan?"
Bai Chen also began to feel puzzled by Rio's lack of attacks.
He charged toward Rio again.
Rio, who was focused on absorbing energy, failed to react in time, and a straight punch was aimed at his face.
But at the very last moment, Bai Chen stopped his fist right before it reached Rio.
"Ah, this isn't fun. You should attack too."
After saying that, Bai Chen lowered his fist and relaxed his stance.
Rio stepped back slightly and explained,
"It's not that I don't want to attack. I learned a new technique, and I need to focus on absorbing energy. Attacking while doing that is troublesome, so I had no choice but to defend."
Bai Chen asked in surprise,
"Hm? So you're saying it's a new technique? What kind of technique is it?"
Rio continued,
"Yeah. I need to fully gather my energy before I can use it."
Since Bai Chen wanted to see the new technique, he allowed Rio to finish gathering his energy before continuing the fight.
Fifteen minutes later
After seeing that Rio was still absorbing energy, Bai Chen decided to circulate his inner Qi to reduce fatigue.
Finally, Rio said,
"I'm done gathering energy. Let's start again."
Bai Chen stopped circulating his Qi and stood up.
"Alright, then you said it's a new technique. You attack first and show me."
Bai Chen said as he prepared himself.
Rio replied,
"No, it's better if you attack first."
After a few seconds, a strange sensation of cold and heat spread through the area.
Bai Chen's bones felt cold, but his skin felt hotter than normal.
"What is this strange feeling? Is this Kai's technique?"
He thought to himself.
He attacked Rio again, this time coating his fists with Qi.
Using all his strength, he aimed a punch at Rio's face.
Rio easily blocked it.
"Huh? My power is weaker? How?"
Bai Chen thought and attacked again, but the same thing happened.
By stomping the ground, Bai Chen kicked up dust, blocking Rio's vision.
He quickly moved behind Rio and aimed a punch at his head.
He filled his fist with energy and focused entirely on Rio's head.
But the punch missed by just a few millimeters past Rio's ear.
Unable to stop the momentum, Bai Chen crashed into Rio's side.
"Haha, what happened, Bai Chen? You fell?"
Rio said as he stood beside him.
Bai Chen was shocked by the miss.
He was confident that the problem wasn't his own skill.
"Hey, Kai, can you tell me what your technique is?"
Bai Chen stood up and asked.
Rio replied,
"This technique weakens your punches so they don't hit with full power."
"Oh, so that's why you could block my punches."
Rio continued,
"And it can even deflect an opponent's attack by just a few millimeters, like the punch you threw earlier."
Bai Chen had never heard of such a technique before.
He didn't even know if it truly existed, or if it belonged to a specific dojo.
While Bai Chen and Rio were laughing, they suddenly felt an overwhelming pressure.
The Grandmaster appeared behind Rio, staring at him with a sharp gaze.
The energy he released was so intense it almost forced them to the ground.
Bai Chen couldn't resist and dropped to his knees.
Rio resisted slightly longer, but the pressure was too strong, and he fell as well.
With his bones under immense pressure, Rio barely managed to say,
"I-I learned this technique from... my master."
Shen-Swan replied angrily,
"I knew Zhang. He never used such a technique. Tell me how you learned it."
Rio had no choice but to lie.
"Master recently found this technique in the ruins of a city."
Although Shen-Swan didn't believe him, he withdrew his energy and said,
"I will see you personally in the hall. Come at once."
He vanished instantly, and the pressure disappeared from both Rio and Bai Chen.
"Huff... huff..."
"Why did the Grandmaster suddenly get so angry? What is this technique?"
Rio, equally confused, said nothing and stood up.
They both headed toward the hall.
When they reached the gate, the guards stopped Bai Chen.
Only Rio was allowed to enter.
Rio went inside and approached the Grandmaster.
He was drinking tea and gestured for Rio to sit.
Rio stayed alert, afraid of being harmed, but Shen-Swan said,
"Don't worry. I won't hurt you."
Monks were known for their honesty, and their words were treated like unwritten contracts sealed with blood.
Rio sat down.
Shen-Swan poured tea for him and handed it over.
Rio accepted respectfully and began drinking.
"Kid, I know Zhang didn't find such a thing. So tell me the truth. What really happened?"
Rio still didn't want to involve his master.
After a brief pause, an idea came to mind.
He began explaining,
"I study ancient archaeology and search for hidden techniques. In Paradise City, I bought a manuscript from a street vendor. It said there was a technique that could weaken an opponent's attacks, located in Moon City."
Shen-Swan listened carefully.
"When the moon becomes full, there is a well there. You must enter it and retrieve the technique from the water."
Shen-Swan didn't know what to say.
This technique had been lost for a very long time, and no one knew about it anymore.
Whether this was fate or coincidence was unclear.
"Can you tell me what that technique is?"
Shen-Swan asked.
Knowing that the technique required reversed absorption and emission of energy, Rio only explained part of it.
Shen-Swan thought to himself,
"I don't think anyone in this world should be able to use this technique. How did this kid manage it? Did he really master reversed energy absorption?"
After a few seconds of silence, Rio felt it was strange how curious Shen-Swan was and asked respectfully,
"Excuse me, Grandmaster. May I ask why you were so shocked when you saw this technique?"
Shen-Swan replied,
"Because this technique belongs to the primal."
End of Chapter 33