You Take the Dawn, I Take Your Foundation

“Lock him,” Su said. “Your target doesn't have to be your opponent.” At 1:12, Lu looped resistance bands around his waist and anchored them in four directions. The tension changed without warning. He had to recover his base before a foot left the floor. He fell on the ninth attempt. On the sixteenth, his old injury turned his vision black. “Pain above six. Stop.” Su reached for the timer. “Five point nine.” “When did you learn to bargain with pain?” “My first day as a sparring partner.” Instead of forcing speed, he reduced the range and named the cause of every lost balance aloud. At twenty minutes, silver text appeared. [Effective same-category training complete. Target: WEI SHAN.]