Clash of Blades (Jie Shan)

Galen was just about to finish eating an apple while waiting for Jie Shan when he sensed his energy signature approaching and that made him smile and giggle a bit, feeling rather excited about this little training of theirs. When the hybrid saiyan-elemi finally arrived, Galen swallowed the rest of his apple and quickly got back up his feet, returning his walking bow with a respectful one, chewing as quickly as he could in order to be able to greet him. ”Morning, Mister Jie! I’m glad for that too and I have you and Cleo to thank for that! I won’t ever forget the kindness you showed me.” he said, chuckling a bit and scratching the back of his head, still feeling slightly embarrassed because of the situation.

Suddenly, he remembered the gift he had separated for the hybrid. ”Oh…” he said and then he quickly walked towards the table and grabbed the little gift bag and handed it over to Jie Shan. ”There!” he said, chuckling a bit. ”A Senzu Bean. That’s my way to truly thank you for what you’ve done. I hope this can save your life one day, just like you and Cleo saved mine!” his tone was kind and considerate and, once he handed over the bag, he pointed towards the table filled with food and water. ”So, Mister Jie, do you want to eat something before we start, or would you rather save them for after the training? I’m all set here, myself, but I don’t mind waiting at all!” he said in a calm tone.

Galen couldn’t hide the thrill in his eyes as he truly looked forward for their sparring session. He wanted to test his skill in the legendary Kikoukenjutsu Sword School against Jie’s own. He seemed quite capable with the blade, and moreover, he was absurdly strong. Galen wasn’t sure he could hold himself on a sparring against Jie for a long time, even if he was to release his pinkish ki.

Galen shook his head and chuckled a bit when Jie Shan said that if the senzu ever saved him, he would owe him one. ”We will be even, then. Not like I’m keeping score, though!” he said in a carefree tone. Then, when deciding in between eating or sparring, the hybrid saiyan chose the later and Galen was glad for that, as his expression grew quite excited, especially as Jie Shan drew his sword from the scabbard on his back. The blade gleamed and Galen, in turn, drew his sword too. When the hybrid said he was itching to see what the human could do, he made a brief nod to himself. ”I can feel it too, this uncanny power of yours! And as I am right now I can’t even dream to keep up, so… If you allow me, I will unleash my dormant power!” he said as he slid onto his fighting stance.

Galen’s legs spread opened a bit and his knees bent a bit too, showing his style used quite a lot of impulse and fast footwork. He held his blade with his two hands and put it in an upward angle in front of his body, slightly angled to his left side, with the tip of the blade aiming at Jie’s right eyeball, a quite menacing stance, truth be told. Once he was into his fighting stance, he flared a powerful pink colored ki aura that greatly enhanced his current energy level.

[Last Resort. PL: 365,031]

His power boost gave him a balanced increase in power, unlike Jie Shan’s normal energy, that fluctuated in terms of offensive power and defensive power, but Galen didn’t quite know that, the only thing he currently knew was that it was somehow difficult to determine how strong Jie Shan truly was, almost as if his energy signature increased and decreased all the time. ”Here we go…” he said, narrowing his eyes and frowning his brows. Unlike his strongest transformations, Galen’s Last Resort didn’t affect his mindset at all.

Galen dashed forward with all his available speed and, upon reaching melee range, he raised both his arms above his head and aimed to strike with a powerful vertical cut, aiming at Jie Shan’s head. He was more into testing Jie’s reflexes than actually aiming to strike him, showing he was a careful fighter.

The sole purpose of that vertical cut was to test Jie Shan’s own skill with the blade and, while Galen didn’t doubt he was wicked with it, it was a complete different feeling when you test for yourself. As swordsmen say: the blade speaks, and it truly did. The clash of metal was fierce enough to throw sparkles all over the place and to send gusts of wind away from the epicenter of the strike, showing just how powerful those two were. Jie Shan complimented him slightly but also said that he would have to try much harder and that made Galen smirk with the corner of his mouth. ”I’m just getting started!” he answered as they were about to continue that sparring session.

Jie Shan’s footwork was quite incredible and Galen was paying careful attention to it. ”He moves swifter than me… That’s going to be a problem, so I can’t let him have space!” he thought to himself as he noticed that the saiyan-elemi hybrid was trying to put some space in between them. He also held his sword with both his hands, meaning he was capable of employing a huge power as well as precision to his attacks. ”As if I would let you get away!” Galen roared, chuckling with the excitement of the battle as he once again dashed forward.

One powerful step towards Jie Shan, with his right leg, and Galen released his right hand from the hilt. He would forfeit the power of one hand, in exchange for a stronger power from his whole body, as he twisted his hips, using his right foot as support to try and hit the hybrid with a powerful sword strike to his left flank, aiming in between his ribcage and his pelvis, on the soft tissue area, the most vulnerable one on the flank of a person. Galen spun anti-clockwise, stretching his left arm, making sure the blunt side of the sword was the one to hit; this could be a serious spar with the two of them going all out, but he was by no mean trying to kill his friend.

”YYAAAAA!!!!” he roared as he attacked Jie Shan, putting, once again, all of his skill and power behind that attack. This wasn’t so much of a test now, but more of a way to try and press him to counter or do something; Galen had already analyzed how he blocked and his footwork, but that wasn’t nearly enough to fully evaluate Jie Shan’s style. And he knew all too well that the hybrid was likely evaluating his own too.

No matter how fiercely Galen pushed, Jie Shan showed a degree of mastery over the blade that dwarfed Galen’s own. His finesse and skill was incredible and his bladework was a masterpiece indeed. The way he managed to block his attack completely with the blunt side of his own blade. It was as if he was capable of anticipating Galen’s every single move and react accordingly. The human swordsman knew Jie Shan wouldn’t remain on the defensive for long and since he was still incapable of actually landing a hit, he knew he was in trouble. ”Not only he is fast, but the way he uses the sword… I’ve never seen someone as swift with the blade in my life…” he thought to himself, as he narrowed his eyes a tad bit more as the two locked together in a clash of blades.

Jie Shan complimented Galen’s swordsmanship, and that made the human chuckle a bit. ”You are too kind, Mister Jie. But I had never seen a swordsman as skilled as yourself!” he humbly admitted. Following that, Jie Shan jumped backwards, once again putting some distance in between them. It was clear in his eyes that he was enjoying this fight and Galen felt the same. Maybe not as intensely due to his calmer human blood, but still, he was too a warrior.

Jie Shan roared insisting that Galen should try and push him and wondered if he could make him go towards his below super saiyan form, or whatever that was. In truth, the only different form that seemed below super saiyan was the Great Ape he had faced when he met a few people in the cold north, but it was still daylight and, as far as he knew, they needed some sort of moon to turn, unless Jie Shan’s hybrid blood made him an exception. ”But it doesn’t seem likely. It would destroy the whole purpose of a swordfight. He must have another form… Just like my Last Resort power-up!” he thought to himself.

It was clear now that Jie Shan was about to take the offensive, but Galen wouldn’t allow that without showing him a little bit of the true potential of the Kikoukenjutsu Sword School. ”Alright, then! I will show you the true power of my sword school!” and with those words, Galen’s pink aura burned brighter and his sword gleamed with the pinkish hue of his ki. This time Galen a hell lot faster than before, getting close to Jie Shan again. His eyes were dead serious and he stared right into the hybrid’s eyes.

”Rapid…” and as he started shouting the name of his attack, he began trying to slash Jie Shan multiple times in rapid motions, coming from different angles at an amazing speed. ”Sword Stream!” he roared as he aimed for the final strike, after the flurry of attacks, which consisted of a vertical cut coming from above, unleashing all the power of the ki he poured onto his blade.

This attack was quite tiring, but he had to impose himself a bit and show he was a worthy opponent.

The Rapid Sword Stream worked perfectly as it caught Jie Shan off-guard due to the sudden burst of speed Galen managed to tap in. The flurry of slashes were fierce, but also cautiously used in order to not actually cut him much, giving preference to the blunt side of the blade, even though it wasn’t always possible to hit him with that part. The final strike hit him in the shoulder and he grunted in pain as he once again put some distance in between the two of them. Galen went back to his normal fighting stance, and exhaled sharply, as he tried to recover his breath; the Rapid Sword Stream was a fearsome technique, but it took its tools on Galen’s stamina, as he had to push himself towards half his full capability for a moment, which could be quite tiring.

Jie Shan announced he would be taking the spar into the next level, and that alerted Galen quite a lot. ”Not good… I’m not back in full shape yet…” he thought to himself, knowing that if Jie Shan was to use a powerful technique, he would probably be exhausted. The hybrid changed his stance a bit, spreading up his legs and raised his blade, bursting quite a lot of energy from his body as his energy signature skyrocketed to an amount Galen wasn’t sure he could keep up even if he used all of his available power. The human narrowed his eyes and exhaled slowly. ”That means I have no choice…” he spoke mostly to himself. Galen didn’t particularly like to go beyond his Last Resort power-up because of the emotional implications it had, but with just how much stronger Jie Shan was becoming, he knew it was either that or call the sparring session to an end.

Galen flared his pink ki aura once again and tightened the grip around his sword. ”AAAAAHHHHHH!!!” he began screaming. Galen’s expression became quite tense and he seemed to be getting filled by anger, a deep anger. His blood ran through his veins like crazy and his skin began to turn from its natural tone to pink, much like his aura. Galen’s eyes became crimson red and filled with fury and his hair became purple and slightly spiked up, filled with his powerful ki energy. His aura became round in shape and pulsating in a high frequency.

[High Tension. PL: 1,216,770]

”Now I’m mad!” Galen’s power level skyrocketed too thanks to the unleash of his tension and, if Jie Shan wasn’t half-elemi, they would be pretty much on even grounds now. Jie Shan moved like a hurricane and, with the blunt side of his blade, he attacked him on the ribcage. Galen reacted quickly and tried to block the attack, however, the sheer power of the attack was enough to push Galen’s sword back against him and he suffered the impact of Jie Shan’s attacked, although greatly reduced in force.

Galen groaned angrily as he was pushed aside for a couple feet, dragging his feet across the floor of the wooden dojo. ”Is that all?!” he roared, gritting his teeth as he readjusted his fighting stance, which changed slightly into a more aggressive version of his stance. The human’s tone was also much more angry, almost as if he was trying to shell a blinding rage.