"I... uh..." I mumbled, trying to collect my thoughts. This old man, what is he at all! "I wanted to ask you, great master, how did you achieve such a level of physical strength?" I said, finally gathering my thoughts, folding my hands in front of my chest and bowing slightly. The address "great master" seemed most appropriate in this situation, and memories of the light novels I read in my past life suggested this option.
"Hahaha! Great master? Well said, I like it!" the old man laughed. After a couple of minutes of laughter, his face became serious, and he looked at me intently. His gaze caused a slight tremor in my body; something similar happened when I met a three-eyed wolf one-on-one! Could this old man be as strong as a mid-level or true pack leader?! He said in a very stern tone. "You are a mage, why do you need to know the secret of my strength? You already have a path; I see you are young and have gone far on the path of a mage, why seek another way?"
"To become even stronger, isn't that obvious, great master?" I asked, slightly puzzled, using the same address. But I was also concerned about how a person without magic could sense my cultivation? Not to mention that he might know my real strength!
"Ha!" the old man chuckled. After that, a sinister smile appeared on his face, which made me uneasy. "Of course, why else would such a young lad turn to an old man? To become stronger! Simply brilliant! And why do you want my strength, boy?"
"So that no one would dare to covet me or my loved ones," I blurted out without thinking. I had no desire to lie to this old man; it was easier to answer honestly, as that was a higher chance he would agree.
"Ha, a perfectly natural desire, but why should I enlighten you with the knowledge of my strength?" the old man asked, his expression becoming even more sinister.
"I will do whatever you ask, great master, to obtain the secret of your strength. It is simply incredible; I have never seen anything like it. Allow me to become your humble disciple," I said, kneeling. Of course, in China, this is the height of humiliation, but firstly, I am Russian, I don't care, and secondly, I want to know this secret, so I don't care. As for being ready for anything, for such strength, anyone would go to great lengths.
"Haha. Truly for everything," the old man asked seriously, looking directly into my eyes, his gaze seeming to penetrate the depths of my soul.
"Yes," I replied with a slight nod. I had already decided for myself; I needed this strength!
"Good, I can consider you as my disciple, but with a condition," the old man said, folding his hands behind his back and turning to look at the sun hanging high in the sky.
"What is it, great master?" I asked after a minute of silence, not getting up from my knees.
"You will undergo three of my trials: strength, capabilities, and resolve," the old man said, still looking at the sun. How do his eyes not hurt from this? "The first will be a trial of strength. You will fight me using only your physical strength, no combat magic. If you manage to touch me with your dagger, you pass; if not, you don't."
"Understood. May I clarify, can I use any magic, or only combat magic? I am a mid-level wind mage, as you have probably already understood, great master. Wind magic at the initial level is not combat magic," I said, trying to secure more favorable terms for myself. To fight essentially a pack leader without any magic, have I completely lost my mind?
"You can use any magic if it is not offensive or defensive," the old man replied dryly, shrugging his shoulders and turning to face me. "Put your backpack on the ground; it will hinder you greatly," the old man said, pointing to a spot next to his backpack. Nodding, I placed the backpack where he indicated, after which the old man walked up to the alligator's corpse and... Took it by the tail, put his hands behind his back, and with immense strength, threw it off the clearing! "Now the battleground is clear. Stand opposite me, and we can begin," the old man waved his hand, indicating the spot where the alligator had previously stood.
His actions made me even more uneasy, and goosebumps ran down my body. How strong is this old man that he could throw a giant alligator's massive carcass more than ten meters away, and still intend to fight?! I slowly stood in the spot the old man indicated and drew my daggers, assuming a combat stance. The old man stood with his hands behind his back, staring intently at me, as if waiting for something.
"Attack first, be brave," the old man said after a half-minute delay, his voice slightly disappointed.
I didn't argue with him and, quickly finishing the star path of the wind, rushed towards him, preparing to strike him with my dagger. But he easily dodged my direct thrust to the heart at the last moment. I fully expected this, so taking the next step, I turned my body; the dagger that had missed his heart passed only an inch from his neck. Meanwhile, the second dagger aimed for his stomach.
However, even this was not enough to hit him. He spun on the tips of his toes, evading the blow. His back was arched backward, and his body was spinning clockwise. I, following the momentum, rushed to the same spot where he had been a second ago, trying to change direction again, but it was difficult. The old man, using the momentum from his movements while spinning, raised his second leg and struck me directly in the exposed stomach.
The blow sent me flying back a couple of meters, barely maintaining my balance. My abs ached incredibly, my breath was taken away, and I coughed up blood! This blow was comparable in strength to a mid-level servant! If I hadn't prepared for the blow, I could have broken in half! But I had only seen this old man break the alligator's tail ten minutes ago! He's just playing with me!
"Not bad, quite not bad," the old man chuckled, still with his hands behind his back. "If this is all you can do as a mid-level mage, you can forget about becoming my disciple."
His words touched my pride. This series of attacks should have killed him! But he's not an ordinary person; he's a monster comparable in strength to pack leaders! And yet, he's playing with me! Well, if I couldn't hit him with ordinary magic, I'll use extraordinary magic. I used the wind path again and rushed towards him.
"Decided to try again?" the old man smirked, watching my movements.
I did the same, trying to hit his heart with my dagger, but at the same time, I was composing the star path of the wind's charge, which is what I called the spell that PinZholun showed me. The old man dodged again at the last moment, just like last time, only this time I didn't try to finish him off, but instead used the wind charge and flew forward, flipping in the air. The old man merely raised an eyebrow slightly.
I aimed for a tree that was originally behind the old man. Reaching it, I pushed off it with both feet and flew back towards the old man. At this time, he was only turning around, following my actions. I threw one dagger forward, aiming for the old man's heart, but he unexpectedly dodged it quickly. However, I was prepared for this and directed the second dagger at the old man's heart; it was just in time to be under the blow.
But something completely amazing happened. The old man swept his leg across the ground, turning sharply and evading the blow. I didn't have time to change my flight direction. Meanwhile, the old man, as I flew right past him, grabbed my arm and threw me aside, giving me even more acceleration.
I didn't manage to stabilize my position in the air and tumbled across the ground, hitting a tree hard. Getting to my feet, I felt pain all over my body; not only my stomach but also my arms, legs, and back ached from the bruises. The old man stood with his hands behind his back, five meters away from me, my dagger stuck in the ground. What else could I think of? How could he be so strong? He's just an ordinary person, and I'm moving at a speed not inferior to weak pack leaders!
However, I wanted to learn the secret of his strength even more, so using the wind step again, I ran at him. This time, I didn't aim for his chest; instead, when he jumped aside, I grabbed my dagger, quickly turned, and used the wind charge to fly straight at him. The distance between us was only about seven meters, and my speed was quite high, but the old man managed to dodge again!
I was flying straight at his stomach, dagger extended forward, but he skillfully turned away from the blow. But I didn't lose my composure, and the second dagger, which I held closer to myself, I threw at him as I flew past. Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one aiming to attack, so I received a strong blow to the stomach with his knee and flew up a couple of meters. Blood spurted from my mouth, and my eyes were literally about to pop out of their sockets.
When I fell to the ground, I was punched in the side, which sent me flying to the side and rolling on the ground. When I stopped, I no longer intended to get up; my whole body ached, I continued to cough up blood, and waves of pain spread from my stomach and the spot where the old man had hit me, causing me to flinch in convulsions from how painful it was!
"Not bad, kid, you managed to hit me when I wasn't expecting it. If not for that, you'd be dead already," the old man said in a completely indifferent voice, which made me shudder even more than the pain. So, because I hit him, he held back on the final blow?
Turning my head towards him, I looked at the old man with stunned eyes. I'm already half-dead, how much worse can it get! The old man was walking towards me, holding my dagger, and there was a slight cut on his shoulder, fresh blood seeping out! Did my last dagger hit this old man!
"Get up. If you don't get up, I won't take you as a disciple," the old man said sternly, throwing my dagger on the ground near my eyes.
His words made me very anxious. Did he mean he beat me up for no reason? With great effort, I got up and sat on the ground. It was very difficult; literally, my whole body ached with every movement. I was lucky I didn't break anything, at most bruises and small bone cracks, possibly. Still, this old man was holding back, and I think quite a lot. After a couple of seconds, under the old man's watchful gaze, I stood on my feet. They trembled from pain and the wounds on them, and my head was a little dizzy and aching.
"What's next? It seems like a test of abilities, doesn't it, great master?" I forced a cheerful smile out of myself. Internally, I was rejoicing that I had passed his first task, but there were still two left, and that scared me a little.
"Let's go, I'll treat your wounds first," the old man said dryly and headed for the backpacks.
Slung his on his back, he walked away from the forest, and I thought he would get medicine from it, but no. I hurried after him, also slinging my backpack onto my back, although it caused immense pain, and the fatigue was considerable, I hurried after the old man. I absolutely wanted to possess his strength; with my magic, it would make me several times stronger, and then neither leaders nor minions of the guardians, below the high level, would be scary to me.
After about an hour, we came out of the forest and headed along the city streets towards the center. We walked through the city for a short time and stopped near a one-story building with a bamboo roof and a round door, surrounded by a rather high wall. It was a very old building, built in the traditional Chinese style of the late 19th century, or even earlier. Externally, it resembled some ancient dojo from an anime about martial arts. It's worth noting that there were no passersby on this narrow street, which was difficult even to ride a moped through; there were only the two of us.
"Follow me. This is my martial arts dojo," the old man said, passing through the gate. "For enduring the first trial and showing unique skills, I will treat your wounds and treat you to tea, and then you will learn the next task."