Chapter 124: Sparring
Mo Shan was momentarily stunned.
"I also want to stay by Hua'er's side… to see him marry, have children, and fill the house with grandchildren." Liu Ruhua's eyes shimmered with longing. "But as for the future, who can say for sure?"
Mo Shan comforted his wife softly, "You don't need to worry."
Liu Ruhua shook her head. "I'm not worried. I know you're afraid Hua'er will face danger, but tell me, what cultivator's life is without danger?"
Mo Shan thought for a moment, then nodded slightly.
A cultivator's life, no matter how smooth, was never free from peril. Especially for independent rogue cultivators like them, every breath they took was wrestled from the jaws of death.
Liu Ruhua continued, "They say parents who love their children must plan for their future. We are only Qi-Refining cultivators. We can't protect him from danger, so we must teach him to face it."
Mo Shan fell silent. He gently stroked his wife's hair, his expression softening.
"You're right. The path of cultivation is long. We can't protect him forever, we can only teach him to protect himself."
...
The next evening, Mo Shan called Mo Hua to the courtyard.
"How's your movement technique coming along?"
Mo Hua froze, thinking his father might scold him. After a brief pause, he replied, "Almost mastered."
Mo Shan nodded. "Let me test it."
Mo Hua's eyes brightened. "Okay!"
He had been wanting to know whether his father—who was in the late Qi-Refining stage—could see through his Flowing-Water Step.
He moved ten zhang away and turned to face Mo Shan. His gaze sharpened. "Father, I'm ready."
"Good. Stay alert."
Before the words had even fully left Mo Shan's mouth, his figure blurred into an afterimage and shot forward like lightning.
So fast!
Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat. He released his Divine-Sense and pushed his spiritual power to the limit, his body floating backward.
Midway through his retreat, his father's figure vanished from sight. A faint pressure suddenly rose behind him, Mo Hua's heart tightened, and he twisted aside instinctively, gliding to the left.
Mo Shan appeared behind him without warning, his hand grasping only air. A flicker of surprise crossed his face before he instantly shifted again, his right hand darting forward once more.
Mo Hua's expression grew grave.
Mo Shan's speed was overwhelming, and his years of fighting beasts had honed his instincts razor-sharp. His movements were unpredictable—sometimes real, sometimes illusory—so even within Mo Hua's Divine-Sense, his father's position was almost impossible to pinpoint.
And whenever he could sense him, it was already too late.
Mo Shan's Divine-Sense wasn't necessarily stronger than his son's; it was his sheer decisiveness and battle cunning that made his presence deceptive.
Mo Hua couldn't help but sigh inwardly, his combat experience was still sorely lacking.
After a few more exchanges, Mo Hua was being pushed to the edge, barely managing to hold on.
But after several rounds of pursuit, Mo Shan's figure within Mo Hua's Divine-Sense began to grow clearer, easier to anticipate.
His evasions gained rhythm.
When Mo Shan feinted east to strike west, Mo Hua responded in kind, blending illusion and intent, meeting trick with trick.
The longer they fought, the smoother Mo Hua's movements became.
Just as his Flowing-Water Step began to flow like a seamless current, Mo Shan's hand suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grabbing him by the collar and lifting him clean off the ground.
Mo Hua stared wide-eyed. "Father, how did you still catch me?!"
Mo Shan snorted. "You need more practice."
But though he said that, a wave of shock rippled through his heart.
This movement technique of Mo Hua's… far surpassed his expectations.
Even cultivators at the same level as him might not have avoided all those attacks so deftly.
Mo Hua not only managed it, but even looked relaxed by the end. Aside from his early fumbling, his later footwork was elegant, precise, nearly on par with seasoned beast hunters.
And this technique—formless, traceless—revealed no clear starting motion or moment of exertion.
Judged by ordinary body-cultivation methods, it was completely unfathomable.
Mo Shan hadn't truly "seen through" it either; he had only caught Mo Hua because of years of life-and-death combat experience, and, frankly, fatherly intuition.
Had it not been for that, he would've needed dozens more exchanges before fatigue forced Mo Hua into a mistake.
His heart churned with emotion.
Mo Hua… was only at the fifth layer of Qi-Refining!
Mo Hua, seeing his father standing still and silent, asked carefully, "Father?"
Mo Shan came back to himself. After a moment of thought, he said, "Your technique isn't bad, but keep practicing. Don't slack off."
"Oh." Mo Hua nodded, a little deflated, but then realized that was basically praise, and perked right up.
"Father, do you also have a movement technique?"
Mo Shan shook his head. "Not really. I just picked up a few things fighting beasts, watched how others moved, pieced together my own."
"So it's purely for battle use?" Mo Hua asked, eyes wide with respect.
"You could say that."
Mo Hua's eyes sparkled. "Can you teach me?"
Mo Shan hesitated. "Didn't you already learn one? Don't mix too much, you should master one before learning another."
"I'll just… borrow a few ideas."
Mo Shan thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."
He demonstrated a few of his basic movement patterns.
Some resembled Flowing-Water Step but with subtle differences; others were simple advance-and-retreat motions; still others were scraps of different techniques, yet together, they formed a style that was clean, sharp, and brutally efficient.
It might have looked like a hodgepodge, but Mo Hua didn't dismiss it.
To him, this was the most threatening movement he'd ever faced, and he couldn't yet think of a counter.
It was simple, adaptive, and left no wasted motion, winning through improvisation, through no technique within technique.
It seemed full of flaws, yet perfectly flawless if used right.
If he could break these moves down and merge them into his Flowing-Water Step, would that technique become even stronger?
Mo Hua's spirit lit up. He memorized every motion carefully, determined to practice them later.
Mo Shan, still astonished by his son's technique, finally asked, "This movement art of yours… did Enforcer Zhang teach you?"
"Uncle Zhang told me not to say."
"Mm." Mo Shan nodded, thinking dryly, That's as good as saying yes.
"Father, you're not angry anymore?" Mo Hua asked in a small voice.
Mo Shan shot him a glare. "So you knew I'd be angry?"
Mo Hua just grinned sheepishly.
"Be up early tomorrow," Mo Shan said.
"Tomorrow morning?" Mo Hua blinked.
Mo Shan said nothing more and turned to leave.
...
At dawn the next day, Mo Hua rose and walked into the courtyard, where Mo Shan was already waiting.
"Your mother made breakfast. Eat first," said Mo Shan.
After the two finished eating, Mo Shan led Mo Hua out of their home.
They walked through the quiet morning streets, out the gates of Tōngxiān City, and onto the mountain path beyond.
"Father, where are we going?"
Mo Hua couldn't help asking.
Mo Shan was silent for a moment before replying,
"I'm taking you into Black Mountain."
(End of Chapter)