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Blade of the Dragon (messeduprp x Skeith Takahatta II)

Lu Zhi nodded and swam over slowly, as she got closer to Fenji she sat on the woman's Lao, raising herself out of the water a bit. "I can see... You are dead" as she said it she held a dulled knife to Genji's neck. "Unrefined certainly... If you plan to retake an empire we will need to gone your skills, as you can tell. If I had been a true attacker, you would have been slain"
 
Genji was quite surprised to find Lu Zhi in her lap, marginally less surprised by the knife at her throat. She gave her a knowing glance before sighing quietly. "I should have known." She chuckled a little, shaking her head. "There'll be time enough for that while I'm helping protect your own Empire."

"Of course, if the technique you used yesterday is any indication of the skills I can learn here, then I wouldn't mind a more..." She paused, placing her hand on Lu Zhi's waist. "Personal touch in my training."
 
Lu Zhi blushd softly and slid her knife away "ooh... I see" she slid away from Genji and stood up, leaving the warm.water. "it is still early... We... We will start today after you finish your bath."
 
Genji settled back into the water as Lu Zhi moved away, rising up from the bath. She smirked a little, seeing how her flirting had managed to fluster the young warrior. While Lu Zhi may have had the upper hand in combat for the time being, Genji was satisfied in knowing that she had the upper hand elsewhere. "Sounds great. I can't wait to get started." She said, offering a wink.

Once alone again, she allowed herself to relax for a short while. She wondered what manner of training she would pick up training with Lu Zhi and the other locals. Certainly techniques her own people would have seldom seen. She finished bathing, dried herself, and dressed. She left the bamboo covered area, heading back to the cottages.

As she came upon her home, she paused to calm her horse, a little distressed by all the noise the carpenters were making. She was sure that Lu Zhi would come see her when she was ready to begin their training.
 
A small time.later a young boy ran to Genji and offered her a scroll, written in sloppy script was a message, "come to the training grounds. Just behind the cottages -Lu Zhi" the boy trotted away between the cottages.

The training grounds were vast, fields of people figjitn on horses, competingnhsnd to hand, groups moving through weapon and martial fighting drills. There was a group of people fighting while suspended on the side of a wall, and even dome.fighting as they swung from rope to rope.

The most peculiar was a grid of wooden posts. They were spaced about two feet apart on any side. Atop them were two warriors with practice swords made of steel, they jumped from.post to post, attacking and.blocking all while balancing on the posts that could only fit one foot. Standing st the bottom.of the posts, dressed in tanned leather clothes was Lu Zhi. Waiting patiently for Genji.
 
Genji accepted the scroll when it was provided, thanking the boy. She gave a sigh when she read the message. Would it have really been that hard for Lu Zhi to come for her in person? She collected her mother's sword, hanging it from her waist, before departing for the training grounds.

She looked about at the training grounds in surprise. She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised by how expansive they were, maybe in truth she wasn't. She was however, very impressed. Finally spotting Lu Zhi, she walked towards her. "Hey there, coach. What's first on the docket?" She asked, stopping a few feet away.
 
Lu Zhi looked up at Genji and nodded. "We start with strength training." She proceeded to put herself and Genji through a grueling strength program, they ran around the training grounds several times wearing full armor and weapons. Then they proceeded to body weight Exercises, again with full armor, as soon as they took the armor off for the next segment the sun was at it's zenith and Lu Zhi jumped into a koy pond, scaring the fish. She laughed and got out quickly.

From there they stretched and practiced feats of acrobatics and flexibility. Lu Zhi had an uncanny affinity for both, her body contorted like a snake and flew like a bird. As soon as they finished she smiled, "now for weapons training."
 
Ignoring Genji's pre-existing training regimen, her life as a slave had demanded extreme physical performance. The strength training employed by Lu Zhi's people was easy for the foreign woman to take to. Still, her own armor had seen much better days. Local armor would sit quite well on her frame either, making it all the more important she construct her own smithy to build weapons and armor appropriate for herself.

While flexible, her life had little call for acrobatics before, making it more of a struggle for her to get the hang of. Once they were finally finished with the physical exercise, she grew quite excited at the next notion. Weapons training. Learning the techniques and styles of local warriors would serve her quite well when mingled with her pre-existing training. "I've been looking forward to that all morning." She said with a grin. She was familiar enough with most weapon types to be competent and effective, but certainly no master.
 
Genji was stripped of her armor and led over to one of the groups performing drills, these were all partaking in hand to hand combat drills, Lu Zhi stood her in the group, "start here until the drills end." She left to go to the set of sticks, whete others were balancing and fighting.

The others looked at Genji as they did the drills, not in malice but with curiosity and and interest.
 
Genji frowned a little when she was led over to where soldiers were practicing in unarmed combat. She thought she was about to start weapon's training. Still, she did no complaining. There was obvious benefits to learning how to better fight with one's fists. She watched as Lu Zhi left, before turning her attention to the group. She watched for a few minutes to get the gist of the drills they were doing before starting to perform them herself.

In time, the drills did come to an end. She gave another glance around the space for Lu Zhi before wandering off in the direction she had seen her go. "Alright, what's next?" She asked, still amped for the next phase in her training.
 
Lu Zhi smiled and handed her a practice sword, about the same size and wright as her mother's sword. "Now we spar. I need to see how you do now, without training." Lu Zhi led her to a ring of chalk on the stone and smiles, going to the opposite end of Genji. She entered her fighting stance as someone else hit a gong, the match had begun.
 
"Didn't we do this step already?" She asked, walking over to the circle. "Pretty sure this is how I got here." She tested the weight of the wooden sword, not familiar with the weight or dimensions of her mother's sword yet. She gave the weapon a few test swings to gauge it's effectiveness before she adopted her familiar stance, adjusting for the lighter weapon.

As soon as the gong rang out, Genji immediately moved onto the offensive, clearly never a defensive combatant. Her first move was to strike low for Lu Zhi's left leg, yet it was only a feint. An effort to make most warriors move to block a blow that wasn't coming, leaving them open from the other side. Quickly, and even faster than Genji herself was used to due to the lighter weapon, she twirled the blade back up and around to strike high towards the right side of Lu Zhi's neck.
 
Lu Zhi didn't move until the blade was almost upon her, then she duckedunder the blade and rolled out behind Genji. Her practice sword striking out for a stab at her back. "Your feint was impressive but a dress lord will be fast, defensive is the best way to open the fight, a necromancer will be even less forgiving."
 
At Lu Zhi's words about the necromancers, her hand hovered over where she knew her scar was, now concealed beneath her clothing. She looked back towards Lu Zhi, bring her blade back around, raising it high in a defensive stance. "I'm plenty familiar with necromancers." She said lowly. She stepped forward, planting her right foot in front. She swung at a diagonal angle from right to left, a quick step back, tucking the blade in close, she followed with a strong thrust forward.
 
"Yes you have had an experience before I can tell." She parried the thrust and spun around it. "But you did not fight one with sword in hand. The necromancers are deadly without magic and even more so with it." She hopped back and slu er blade around. "You must use your whole body. You are the weapon, learn how to move like water. Only three people have killed a necromancer in the history of this order."
 
Genji stood up straight when the two separated. She listened as she spoke, about being the weapon, rather than relying on her sword. She looked down at the sword before glancing back to Lu Zhi. She wasn't familiar with their terminology. Moving like water and such was strange. Seemingly deliberate in its vagueness. Still, she understood most of what she was saying. "Understood." She came back in hard and fast, releasing a flurry of aggressive swipes, but where another swipe should have come, she ducked low, swinging her leg around to trip her and stepping back into a stance prepared to thrust downward.
 
Genji's trip succeeded in catching Lu Zhi's foot, which causes her yo.humo.up and land balancing on Genji's blade. Her own practice sowrd held to her neck, she gently.piked the foreigner in the neck. "and now you are dead." She hopped off and set the sword down.."you learned. That is good, but yoy have more to learn. But you seem to learn quickly so you will be easy to teach."
 
Genji let out a frustrated exhale as Lu Zhi landed on top of her sword. She was always one step ahead of her, which certainly explained how she was captured to begin with. She set her own weapon aside, looking back towards Lu Zhi. "Well, at least there's a little optimism to be found there." It was certainly frustrating to be so thoroughly and easily bested in training.
 
Lu Zhi put a hand on her shoulder. I have been training for my entire life in the art of killing dread lords and necromancers. It's taken me years to master what I have. You became adept at it in ten minutes.... Think about that for a minute then contemplate being frustrated."

She walked over to the sideline and took a jug of water. Pouring some into her hand. "You need to be water... Water is formless, shapeless. You put water into a jug, it becomes the jug. You put water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can flow or it can crash. Be water."
 
Genji followed Lu Zhi over as she spoke, watching as she collected the jug of water. She watched as she poured the fluid into her hand. "I... I think I understand what you're saying." The way Genji had learned to fight was to plant her feet, to be rigid in the face of opposition, but this was wiser. She had to learn to flow and adapt, grow rigid and forceful when necessary and nimble elsewhere. There was a profound wisdom in so simple a concept.

She wiped the sweat from her brow, thinking on the battle with the dreadlord the day before. The bizarre gifts that Lu Zhi had used in the fight. She recognized that well before such powers were bestowed upon her through training, she would need to master the other tenants of combat among Lu Zhi's people. Skills she was sure she would put to good use.
 
Lu Zhi smiled, "the martial training innhadn to Hans combat will assist in adapting to this fighting style, as will the training in acrobatics. As your body learns to flex and move more, so will your mind. You will be opened to new possibilities of style. Now thenc we will practice that again then move onto balance drills."

She stood up and offered Genji the jug. "It is for drinking firstx explanations second." As soon as they had hydrated they went back to the right if ground and began again. Lu Zhi dashed forward. Feigning with a left ankle slash before turning right and swinging an attack at Genji's neck. "Be aware to use any advantage, any underhanded trick, a dread lord will do the same."
 
Genji graciously accepted the water when it was offered. She enjoyed the crisp cool liquid as it soothed her tired lips and throat. She set it back down, following Lu Zhi to the circle again. It was bizarre to hear her talk about such cerebral combat. Her people had always relied on brutality, ferocity, and feral power. The idea of pulling a total 180 on that almost felt treasonous. She would have to find a way to marry the two concepts if she wanted to grow and preserve her people's art.

She was less prepared for Lu Zhi to go on the offensive. She instinctively fell back into a defensive stance. Waiting till the last minute, she spotted the feint, bringing her blade up and to the side to parry the attempt at her neck. She slid forward quickly, keeping her blade pressed against Lu Zhi's. She drove her shoulder hard into her chest, whirling off of her sword finally, spinning around to build momentum before swinging low at her waist. The red haired warrior smirking slightly. "My people are no stranger to using every advantage. Honor does not translate in actual war."
 
Lu Zhi grunted as the shoulder drove into her chest, turning to block the flash before pivoting and throwing her sword at Genji, while Genji was distracted by the flying swordx she darted in and liked her in the stomach, pushing her down before retrieving her blade.
 
As Genji was kicked in the stomach and pushed over, she let out a sharp grunt. She hit the ground, rolling backward to her knee. She looked up to see Lu Zhi going for her sword. She ran forward quickly kicking at the wrist holding the weapon before bringing her weapon down in a vertical slash at the space where her shoulder met her neck.
 
Lu Zhi kicked away the flat of the oncoming blaxr and spun around. Stopping where she held a practice dagger right against Genji's throat. "Every dirty trick... Like another blade hidden." She stood up and smiled, "you learn fast Genji. It is impressive certainly." She slid her knife away and picked up her sword. "We will break for meal then continue afterwards.
 
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