It was the last day to prepare, the boys got ready and separated, off to train with their respective teachers.

For Silas it was finally time to learn what Haitao was planning to teach him. He hoped it’d be something that could give him an advantage against opponents. When he reached the platform, it was just Haitao, “I guess Fang really does have nothing more to teach me.” Silas thought to himself as he greeted Haitao.

“Today we’ll be going over a technique I created. It’s one of the easier ones in my arsenal, but if you master this, you’ll be able to take down a lot of people.”

Haitao lowered his blade, the tip hit the ground, and water seemed to flow from the blade rapidly. The water around him carried traces of Ether. Wherever Haitao stood, Silas would constantly be in range no matter what. Silas recognized the stance he was in, left foot back and turned to a forty-five-degree angle, right foot straight forward. Blade down, turned inward, practically begging him to attack. 

Silas focused his ether in his eyes, examining Haitao. Haitao had concentrated most of the ether in his arms, blade, and legs, but upon closer inspection, Silas looked around. The water around him had traces of ether in it, wherever he went, Silas would constantly be in range no matter what. Haitao had closed his eyes, probably to focus, but Silas needed a way to make sure. He picked up a rock and threw it full force at Haitao, a powerful, thin stream of water erupted from below, splitting the rock in half.

Silas knew Haitao's range now. The problem was just how could Silas approach this.

“In this situation, there’s nothing you can do. If you attack me, you die. Throwing something at me is pointless, and using water magic would only strengthen me. Your best bet would be to run, I'm sure you’ve realized that by now.” Haitao explained.

“Throw your sword at me. I’ll demonstrate just what would’ve happened had you rushed me.”

Silas gripped his sword tight, holding it back. He thrust his arm forward, throwing all his weight into it. It flew straight towards Haitao, who still had his eyes closed. As it flew, all the water on the platform quickly retreated to Haitao, building up in a large pool of water that took the shape of a circle around him.

As soon as the sword entered Haitao’s range, he swung upward, Silas just barely saw the lightning-fast motion. In reaction, the water erupted upward in a raging torrent. It crushed the blade. When it fell it was in pieces. Silas had never seen an attack like that.

Haitao’s eyes opened and he relaxed, “it’s a pretty ferocious attack. I worked on it for three days straight, it’s a technique I use often against close range opponents or other swordsmen. Shīluò zhī Rèn, Water Form: Overturning Sea, that’s the name of the attack. Pretty cool right?”

Silas grinned excitedly, “that technique is amazing. I was watching everything you did, I think I'm ready to try it out.” Haitao walked to the side, off the platform, he motioned for Silas to start, “stage is yours kid.”

Silas copied Haitao’s stance, but Haitao shook his head in disapproval. “Relax more, nobody's out to get you right now.”

Silas tried again but just couldn’t seem to get it, Haitao would say things like,

“Close your eyes.”

“Breathe.”

“The sword is supposed to be inward, not outward kid.”

After about twenty minutes, Silas finally got it right. He hated the nagging, but he understood he needed to have these things down perfectly for this to work. He imagined water pouring down his blade, from the guard to the point, spreading across the ground. He watched as it poured slowly, spreading across the ground, it was satisfying and calming.

“Good, good. Don’t ever let anger seep into your mind, always stay calm and focused, keeping your eyes closed, and steady breathing. Feel your remaining senses, the feel of the water, and cold steel of your blade. Smell the air, breathing it in and exhaling calmly. Hear the movements of your enemy, of the grass, the water gently moving across the stone.”

Haitao placed a leaf onto the water and used wind to blow it across. Silas sensed it, a jet of water erupted right under it, piercing the leaf and destroying it.

Silas smiled, “I think I'm getting it now.”

Haitao placed three leaves this time, all in different areas, all at different speeds. Silas easily destroyed them all simultaneously, “you’re going to have to give me a bigger challenge than that Master Zhou.”

“Alright don’t get cocky kid.” Haitao said.

He used wind to lift up thirty, leaves and drop them all, the breeze carried them all to different places. Silas used the water to take some down, with so many targets, he neglected a rule, staying calm and focused. He was too focused on targets that were far, he forgot to watch close to him, a single leaf drifted, touching Silas blade.

“Stop.” Haitao yelled to Silas.

“You failed. You forgot to watch yourself. Getting excited and cocky caused you to lose focus. Always make sure to stay calm.” Haitao explained.

Silas nodded, “yes sir.”

He tried again, with a new batch of leaves, Silas didn’t have to take them down simultaneously, just the ones that got close to him, anything that even drifted close to him, he took down. Cutting down the numbers quickly, and then he expanded outward, feeling the movements of the remaining leaves, taking them down simultaneously.

They continued for the entire day, until Silas could simultaneously take down two-hundred leaves. Before Silas could leave, Haitao pulled him to the side, he had a serious look on his face. “Listen, kid. I’ve been around war my entire life, I can’t tell you how many times Ihuoin Mechu and Ishu Chu have battled it out. I’ve had countless duels with many different swordsmen from all walks of life.” 

Haitao paused, putting his hand on Silas’s shoulder.

“My point is, if you find yourself in a life-or-death situation, there’s no shame in running. Me and the rest of the monks can handle ourselves. You’re a bright kid, with a promising future there’s no doubt in my mind, so don’t cut your potential short.” Haitao pointed to the gate, “I think you’ve got your friends waiting for you. Make sure you guys watch each other’s backs out there.”

Silas fist bumped Haitao, “thanks Master Zhou.” He ran to the gate, happy to see his friends, they caught up, learning what each other had done. Deandre went on and on about his beast transformation, he had been experimenting all day with Master Wang, seeing just how many animals he could transform into, so far, he had a Gorilla, Hawk, Cheetah, California Condor, and a South African Lion. Killian just focused on being able to create different things with his electricity and reinforcing his body with ether. Silas couldn’t wait to tell them how strong he’d gotten. He talked about learning from Fang, his spar with Haitao, and the new technique he learned.

“Wow Silas, seems like you’ve gotten really strong.” Deandre said proudly.

“I just hope we’ll be strong enough to not be liabilities in battle.” Silas said. The group went silent after that, walking slowly to their rooms.

Walking back, it hit Killian for the first time, this wasn’t training. This wasn’t a trial. This wasn’t a spar.

This was war.

People would die. Maybe a lot of people. Maybe… even one of us.

He stopped the group.

“Listen,” Killian said quietly. “Tonight isn’t like anything we’ve done before. Out there, we watch each other’s backs. We stay together. No hero stuff. No wandering off. People are going to die tonight. Let’s make sure it isn’t one of us.”

Dre nodded. “Trust. I got you guys.”

Silas rested his hand on his sword. “Nothing’s taking us down. Not while we’re together.”

Their confidence made the weight on his chest a little lighter. Back in the room, Silas and Dre passed out instantly. Killian lay down too, knowing the second he woke up…

It’d be go-mode. No breaks. No fear. No hesitation.

This would be the biggest challenge they’d faced since landing in this world.

And no matter what—

Killian wouldn’t let anyone else die on him.