Descendants of the Dragon, Book One: The Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 17: Hunting Dragons

They were clearly improving, and although Jia considered herself miles ahead of them in everything that mattered, Sam and Aiden's rate of growth was grievously alarming.

Sam and Aiden circled each other in the training round, each drenched in sweat from the midday heat and from the physical exertion they'd placed themselves through for hours on end.

"That all you got?" Aiden catcalled. It would have been more convincing if he hadn't been swaying unsteadily on his feet, and if his voice hadn't trembled from exhaustion.

"Not even close," Sam replied, although he did not look much better than Aiden.

Jia begrudgingly admired Aiden's progress. When they had first begun their training three weeks ago, Sam had held a distinct physical advantage over Aiden, but now the playing field was just about even. Aiden had thrown himself into his own training with a strange enthusiasm that left her wondering. He didn't want to be here, so what was the source of his newfound motivation?

Even Liang, wherever he was, had markedly improved. They had all chosen forms of the Neijia Quan—martial arts that required precise control of one's qi. The three of them were by no means masters of their chosen combat forms, but because of their level of control over their qi, they certainly were prodigies.

Sam's face was calm and composed, whereas Aiden's radiated fierce concentration. Their motions and states of mind showed where their similar forms of martial arts diverged away from each other.

Aiden moved in to attack, darting in quickly, striking with his fists and hurling his body forward like a bull. His preferred form of combat, Xing Yi Quan, seemed to be attuned to his shape-shifting abilities. The Five Element Fists allowed for a diverse system of simultaneous striking and defending.

Aiden moved in with Fire, also known as the Pounding Fist. It was so named for its explosive and swift movements. Jia noted that Aiden's adept tactics would have been enough to break most opponents' guards. Unfortunately for him, Sam favored the Taiji Quan form.

Unlike Aiden's blunt and heavy motions, Sam's were marked by grace and clean efficiency. She would have expected Sam to choose a combat form more suited to a muscular advantage, but Taiji Quan was still a very effective and respectable combat form. It utilized the body's leverage through coordination and relaxation—the fine-tuned precision of a surgeon's scalpel, instead of the brute force of a butcher knife.

Sam slid beneath one of Aiden's strikes, but rather than punching, he swept his arms out, like he was throwing water out of his hands. His arms struck Aiden in the chest. The fluid strikes from the Taiji Quan style conserved energy, while still carrying a lot of force.

Aiden was thrown off-balance, as his left foot crossed over his right, causing him to stumble. Sam politely allowed him time to recover, which annoyed both Aiden and Jia.

That was dumb. He could have won the fight there! Jia thought, pursing her lips. I would have.

Aiden was peeved, because he didn't want to be pitied or helped. He growled, then renewed his attack on Sam with fury in his stance. Jia knew even before it happened that that would be his downfall. Sam turned aside a clumsy punch and brought his knee up into Aiden's armpit.

It was a well-placed strike to the nerve clusters. Paralyzing pain shot through Aiden's shoulder, down to his fingertips, and he doubled over. Sam, finding his leverage, then used Aiden's own body weight to flip him over onto his back.

"Match over!" Kun yelled loudly, entering the ring.

Sam helped Aiden to his feet. "Man, you're getting better every day."