Saul quickly pulls out the katana from its sheath and poises himself in position as he’s ready to fight the stranger. The stranger then dashes towards Saul and kicks him in the gut but he tried to block the kick with his left hand but he was still knocked back across the garden.

“Is that all you have already?” she said.

The contract mark on his hand began to glow as it repairs his broken hand and the counter drops from 6 to 4. Saul then flicks his hand as he grips the katana again and charges at her again. The stranger then leaped over him using her bo staff and roundhouse kick Saul to his side as she unleashes her fury of her bo staff. Saul tried to block as many as he could but then the stranger force palmed his stomach as he felt all of the air from his body blown out. He dropped to his knees, gasping for air while trying to stay conscious.

“Again, but with intention this time.” She said.

Saul got back up and swung the katana again but the stranger blocked it with her bo staff and legs sweep Saul from below.

“Again!” she yelled.

Saul got back but he kept falling back down. The stranger is barely even trying as she whacked Saul harder for each failed attempt, breaking some bones in his body in the process. But he didn’t acknowledge them and kept trying to get at least one hit on her. Again and again, he tried to land one hit one but the stranger kept dodging and was becoming more aggressive by disarming Saul from the katana and upwards kicks him high into the air. He began to fall but then he was stopped midway by a web of wire. Surprised, he could barely see the wire as they were so thin, almost invisible. The stranger then jumped and landed on the wire herself.

“Is that all the strength you could muster within you or are you just an idiot who can’t know his surround?!” she yells.

“Easier said than done with your level of combat!” he yells back.

“Combat makes a difference yes. But the will is everything!” she yells as she snaps some of the wire Saul was on as he fell and landed on another web of wire. The stranger then dropkicks up from above then backflips a few times and whacks her bo staff on the web as Saul bounces up in the air.

“The will to act! The will to react! The will to survive! The will to win! And the will to learn!” She yells as she strikes Saul’s back, arm, and thigh, multiple times, breaking multiple bones and muscles.

Saul fell back down to the web of wires and tries to get back but couldn’t, his spine was broken from her strikes. Gripping his hand, he lets the contract mark heal his spine as the counter drops down further from 4 to 2. He then quickly got back up and bolted towards the stranger and tries to swing his sword at her but she then swung her bo staff under him and snaps off more wire below him.

But this, Saul, wasn’t falling for that again as he jumps off the last minute and grabs the stranger as they both plummet down to the ground. However, the stranger kicks Saul away from her and lands on the ground safely while Saul fell short on one of the tree’s branches. The stranger then quickly jumped from tree to tree as she attacks Saul from above. Expect now she was wielding a different set of weapons, sizes.

However, Saul quickly turned around and blocked one of the sizes but from the other as it impales his left shoulder. He then quickly kicks her off and removes the sizes from his shoulder and purses her to the ground. Unarmed, she seemed defenseless however, she then shows cases her fighting style in Shaolin kung fu, mantis. Saul was a bit nervous as he never had to deal with someone in Shaolin martial arts. But from what little he has learned, he had to at least try. He then sheaths his katana and tosses it to the side as poises him to fight her in hand to hand. He then dashes towards her and threw a few punches but the stranger quickly deflected them and took a few jabs at Saul’s stomach and legs sweep him from below.

She then high jumps into the air and twirls her body to do a somersault kick from up above but Saul quickly dodge out of the way and legs sweep her while he was down. But the stranger quickly recovered as she changes her fighting stance from mantis to snake.

She then strikes at Saul with an open palm as Saul yells from every palm he tries to block and misses as some of hitting him at the side and chest. She then counters by quick jabbing at her gut and leg sweeps again but she blocks the sweep and roundhouse kicks across his face. She backflipped away from him as she switched her fighting from snake back to mantis. She then lunges her leg upwards performing an upward split then slamming down as a boulder erupts from the ground. With a powerful strike, she hits the boulder towards Saul but he dodges the last minute as it shatters upon impacting the tree. Saul couldn’t believe what he witnessed for a moment.

“Don’t be so distracted!” She yells as she slams her fist to the ground as a fissure opened below Saul.

Swiftly he grabs an edge of the fissure and climbs back up. The strange would then slam the ground again as she lunges her body forward as the ground erupted again as pillars of rock were coming from below him and strike him for each time he steps back. However, Saul used the rocks to his advantage as jumps on each raising bolder and jump across each one to reach the stranger. Pleased with how he’s holding up, she removes her mask slightly to expose her mouth. She took in a deep breath and breath huge combustion of fire. Frighten of her power, Saul stopped midway as he almost fell into the fire. The stranger then leaped on top of the rock across from him as they continue their duel.

Gesturing her arms, she slowly summons the fire from below and hurls a fireball at Saul. He then evades the fire but again almost falls into the flame but he gets back up. Their duel continued as the flames below raged higher and higher for every punch, kick, jab, and sweep they make. Exhaustion starts to take a heavy toll on Saul as he was getting from the fire below and trying to stand his ground again with the stranger. However, the stranger pulled two fans from her sleeves as she performs a twirl as the fire pulls towards her fans igniting them and empowering them with fire. She then swung her as a huge fire wave blows Saul away and toss him across the garden. The fear slowly crept upon him as he feels like he was fighting a true monster. She wasn’t anything like Sara or Frey, she wasn’t holding back or anything, she wants to kill him. The exhaustion began to take him as his body could barely hold itself together and he is suffering from third-degree burns all over his body. His clothing was burnt in the process as well. However, an opportunity arrives as he sees the katana across from him. He crawls and reaches for the katana.

Struggling, he tries to get back up but the bruises, broken, and burns are not making it easy for him.

“Even with your state, you continue to persist?” She asked.

“You said yourself, didn’t you? One must have the will to press on. And... I .. made a promise. To the …others.” Saul grunts while trying to stand. “that I must … live up… to their expectation. To prove… that I am a member of their group or … die trying. Even if it means… that my body breaks… before I do…. I will…. Press on …. Until I drop dead…” he said as his hand was shaking, struggling to keep hold of the katana.

The stranger admires his persistence yet fool will to win. To her, it wasn’t just making him use what he has learned. Now it was time to put him in his place. She puts away her fans and pulls out a Katana from her sleeves and pulls the blade from its sheath as she prepares for her final strike.

“Then what you’re made out of. Show me what it means to be one of us, by killing me.” She said as she holds her katana with both hands.

Kill her? Kill a member of The Dark Children of The Night? The thought occurred to him. Would killing her be something the other are okay with? Would this be considered treason? But he’s come this far hasn’t he? It was now or never to put to the test. He took a deep breath, cleared his mind, steady his breath, and holds his katana firmly. The stranger does the same, they wait, for the right moment, the moment to strike.

Ready, they both dash towards each other, yelling at the top of their lungs, and they both swung their blade at each other and their blades clashed. Saul's shoulder was cut, but the stranger’s mask snapped in half. Amazed yet, disappointed she applauded him for his efforts.

“You weren’t so bad, Xiao Saul.” She said in a clear voice.

“You weren’t bad…. Yourself…either.” He said. .. Saul drops to his knees as with the cuts on the shoulder, to run deep across his back and eventually, the cut burst in an explosion of blood as his blood was spraying out from his back forcing him to drop flat on the ground. The stranger then sheaths her sword away and slowly slipping it into her sleeves. She walked over towards Saul and kneels next to him.

“Persistent yet foolish. I could see why others have taken a keen interest in you. But to be honest, I barely see anything in you. You destroyed my mask I’ll give you that, but I still had the finishing blow. I doubt you’ll be worth teaching under tutelage.” She said. She then rolled him onto his back places a talisman sheet on him as blood stopped from gushing out from his back.

“This should stop the bleeding for now. I suggest that Andrea will be expecting you now.” She said.

She places another talisman on him and puts her hands together and performs hand mudras as a purple portal appeared below Saul and swallowed him whole. She then makes her way over towards the center of the garden which remains untouched by the carnage of their fight. She then removed her shoes and behind the blanket and proceeds to make tea for herself.

“Was it really necessary to take him from our sight for you to pulverize him?” a voice asked behind her. It was Frey and he was not in a good mood.

“Hello to you too, brother.” She says as she continues to make tea.

“What were you thinking?!” He shouted.

“I suggest that you not shout and come and sit with me, brother.” She said. Frey groans in anger and removes his shoes and joins her for tea.

“So, what is your conclusion with our newbie, Xin?” he asks as Xin was pouring out a cup of tea for him. She said nothing at first but then she pulls out her broken mask and showed it to Frey.

“He’s persistent and determined, I’ll give him that much. But I still don’t see why you and Sara took a keen interest in him. He’s only a human after and he can be broken so easily. If I were you, I’d suggest he’d quit while he still has the chance. But then again, he would refuse to do so.” She said as she pours a cup of tea for herself. “Though I don’t know if what the others think of the newbie.”

“He said he wants to join and we’re making sure he lives up to his word.” Frey said.

“Do what you will with him. So long it doesn’t concern me, I don’t mind having him around.” Xin said.

“Then why do it if you don’t want to be bothered with him?” Frey said.

“To see if he’s worth the time to train under me and he showed any progress.”

“Meaning?”

“I got bored.”