The younger man, Xun, gave a loud shout and pushed off the ground hard with his rear foot, his forward foot barely lifting up. The low stance gave the lunge the appearance of simply sliding across the ground, as if he stood on ice. His right fist shot out at mid-height, a powerful punch that used the momentum of his leap.

Dai Xin drew himself up until he was standing straight, heels together. There was only a slight shift in the position of his body, but the added distance left Xun's extended fist hanging harmlessly in the air. Dai Xin slapped it aside with the palm of his left hand, just as his left knee came up to his chest as if he were stepping on a high ladder.

With a grunt he turned his hips away from Xun and kicked backwards. The motion was similar to a basic side kick, but Dai Xin's leg twisted as it drove into the boy's gut, using his heel instead of the edge of his foot like a back kick. The turning of his body gave it more penetrating power and made the extension of the leg a more natural movement.

Xun was bent double over the red-haired man's leg, pupils shrinking in wide white eyes, and coughed up spit as the air was forcibly driven from his body. He hovered off the ground for half a moment, before crashing down on his rear and sliding backwards until he sat, slumped, legs and arms spread limply in front of him.

"Twisting Spear Kick." Dai Xin announced, before relaxing his stance and folding his hands behind his back. "Your attack was strong, but pointless. Five Wheel Striking Style is known as the ultimate in defense, is it not? Why did you attack first?"

Zhang Li rushed to see to the fallen student, who was still coughing violently as he struggled to get his air back. After placing a hand on the boy's gut, he breathed a sigh of relief--the attack had not been bone-to-bone, so nothing had been broken, and the soft organs hadn't been ruptured. He looked at Dai Xin with his narrow eyes, a bead of sweat forming on his brow.

"Have you no shame, to attack a child in such a way!?" he demanded, helping the still sputtering student to his feet. "You're a grown man! You could have killed him!"

"Then why did you send him to fight?" Dai Xin raised an eyebrow. Zhang Li stepped forward, brow furrowed in anger and mouth twisting at the corners. But he remained calm, even as a slight charge, almost like static electricity, could be felt in the air around him.

"Yes...I am sorry, Xun. I should not have risked my student for this." He took a horse stance as well, but where Xun's hands had been near his hips, ready to lunge out and strike, the instructor's were held up and ready, both arms slightly extended and loose, palms facing outward. "Come! Zhang Li, empty-hand teacher of Five Wheel Striking Style, will be your opponent!"

"Thank you. Please teach me." Dai Xin bowed again, before returning to his own stance. His own eyes narrowed, and the air around him seemed to grow heavier.

"This time, I will strike first."