(Rodova Military Academy – Practical Combat Arena)
"50 days! There's only 50 days left until the final Circuits selection begins!"
Major Hen's voice echoed across the arena, sharp and charged with urgency, as he blocked a lightning-fast strike aimed at his left knee.
"Minerva has already reached the Grandmaster realm! That's two of the five main Circuit team spots already locked down! So unless you want to be one of the rotation members—step up your game, Skyshard!"
Leo didn't respond. He couldn't. His body was in constant motion—ducking, weaving, striking—with a level of precision that demanded every ounce of focus.
Hen grunted as he parried another slash, sidestepping a follow-up feint, as his brows furrowed slightly in surprise when he noticed Leo's improved speed and strength.
This wasn't the same kid he sparred three and a half months ago. No… this was someone entirely different.
'His growth speed is monstrous,' Hen thought, narrowing his eyes as Leo adjusted mid-combo, slipping past his reach with fluid footwork and economy of movement.
'What takes most talented students at least three months to learn, he picks up in under a week—and the bastard never even repeats the same mistake twice,' Hen added, jabbing forward as—
*Flash—*
Leo's body shifted—not in the panicked, awkward recoil he used to rely on, where he'd bend backward and lose his balance—but with a clean hip rotation and a precise step into Hen's blind spot, which minimized motion while maximizing positioning.
'Tch… clean transition.' Hen thought, as he appreciated Leo's growth, as the old Leo would've instinctively tucked in his stomach and retreated with a clumsy hop backward—effective at avoiding damage, but disastrous when it came to follow-ups.
But this Leo? He dodged with control, as he had clearly learned the importance of never falling into defensive postures that left him vulnerable to the next move.
'This kid is going to dominate the Circuits—his fundamentals are just too strong,' Hen thought, as even in the middle of battle, he couldn't help but appreciate the precision of Leo's style.
Out of the countless students Hen had trained, very few showed this kind of progress—none, perhaps, as complete and refined as Leo.
Because Leo didn't waste movement.
He fought with purpose. Every step, every strike, every breath—connected seamlessly to the next, as if part of a grand design.
"TAKE THIS—!" Hen barked, shifting momentum with a low kick aimed at Leo's shin.
But instead of jumping back or blocking, Leo activated [Blade Switch], flickering several meters to the side, leaving a ghosted afterimage still mid-motion in his place.
'There it is again—that damn combo.'
The illusions from [Thousand Phantom Strikes] were already difficult to track on their own, but when layered with [Blade Switch] and [Parallel Processing], it was like fighting a phantom made of static and shadow.
Hen could feel the dissonance hit his senses—he was reading five different Leos at once, as even his Grandmaster-tier perception scrambled for clarity.
*Swoosh—*
A blade suddenly came from the right, and Hen spun with speed to parry—
Only to realize it wasn't real.
It was a fake dagger thrown by a clone. A distraction from using [Mirror World].
Because the real strike came from the left.
*Clang!*
Hen's blade deflected the true attack just in time, his heart skipping a beat from the close call—only for Leo to surge in again, his strikes crashing like waves, relentless and overlapping in rhythm.
But Hen wasn't a rookie. He pivoted and countered with a heavy elbow aimed straight for Leo's ribs—
*THUD—*
His strike met resistance.
An invisible wall of force—[Celestial Veil].
*THUNK.*
Hen's elbow bounced harmlessly off, as pain shot up his arm from the impact.
He grimaced.
'[Celestial Veil], huh? The kid baited me into that.'
Only now did Hen realize that Leo had deliberately left his abdomen exposed—not because he forgot to guard, but to invite a counter.
And it worked.
'Cheeky…'
Hen couldn't help but smirk as he skidded back to create distance.
That invisible barrier… he'd clashed with it dozens of times before. But now—it triggered faster. Smoother and just a breath before impact.
'0.3 seconds to activate the move… that's not novice timing anymore—that's battlefield timing,' Hen thought, as he realigned into another defensive stance while Leo lunged forward again.
And while Hen did not exactly feel under threat—he couldn't dismiss this fight either.
Leo still lacked the raw strength to pressure a Grandmaster to fear for their life in a direct clash, but he had reached a point where any lapse in focus could earn Hen a cut, a bruise, or a genuine injury.
And for Hen, that alone was reason enough to stay fully locked in.
'This kid's a damn monster in the making,' he concluded, before finally deciding to end the spar with a precise combo—a sharp elbow to Leo's jaw, followed by a heavy kick to the chest.
As Leo was sent flying across the practice arena.
*SKID*
*THUD–*
Leo skidded to a halt, breathing heavily on the floor, as Hen secretly wiped a couple drops of sweat that had appeared on his forehead.
17 minutes and 55 seconds.
That's how long Leo had lasted today against Hen, and considering there was still a tier difference between them—
That number alone spoke volumes.
'Marvin you bastard? Just how hard have you been training these boys to have developed such monstrous stamina within them?
To be able to go toe to toe against me at full blast for 17 minutes and 55 seconds!
The endurance on this kid is beyond normal—' Hen thought, as he dropped his weapon and ran his hands through his hair, to make sure he still looked good.
"Alright, that's enough for the day, Skyshard, you and Yang have to take your fourth genetic awakening shot today.
Rest and clean up a bit.
YANG! YOU STUPID IDIOT, HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TO NOT SPAR WHILE WEARING THAT RIDICULOUS 150KG VEST.
You're not Goku…. Stop that nonsense now!" Hen screamed, as after instructing Leo to take it slow, he admonished Su Yang to be sparring while wearing that vest, as it could easily lead to slipped disks or other muscular injuries.