Koji Fights The World - Chapter 35 Fighting With Grace

Koji sat on his bed and cultivated until a servant returned to summon him to the banquet hall for breakfast. When he saw Zelea entering the hallway while rubbing her eyes, Koji greeted with a loud, “Good morning!”

His wife shot daggers at him because she knew he startled her on purpose.

He responded with a boyish grin. Koji grabbed her hand and followed the servant. As usual, the young couple was the last persons to join the Royal Family at the table.

King Aphraphus had a puzzled facial expression because he expected Koji to arrive sooner since the son-in-law woke up so early this morning. But he glanced at Zelea and realized she was the culprit who made Koji late. The king forgave Koji, though, because the Bonder shares the fate of his Bond Keeper. Thus, if Zelea was tardy, then he should be late as well.

Prince Heretrios looked at his brother-in-law and asked, “Will I see you again for saber training today?” Although prince was a busy man, he wanted to set aside time to help Koji master the Saber or least become an expert in it.

Koji tilted his head and thought for a moment. “I think I’m better off reading another Saber skill book in the library for now. Thank you for the offer,” he declined with a polite nod.

“Okay, suit yourself,” Heretrios replied with a shrug. He didn’t mind Koji’s refusal because now the prince had more time to manage his affairs.

“Koji, it’s not healthy to bury your head in books all day long,” King Aphraphus chided mildly. “I’ll meet you in the back courtyard after dinner tonight,” he ordered.

“Yes, Sire!” the son-in-law bowed deeply in appreciation. Koji didn’t know what the king planned to teach him, but the young man found his father-in-law’s instructions to be extremely helpful.

King Aphraphus saw the excitement in Koji’s eyes and laughed.

The servants returned with servings of rice congee for everyone.

Koji noted today’s meal included a generous portion of fish cakes. He finished his meal quickly and waited for Zelea to finish eating. Then they departed for the library.

The guards saluted the two and permitted them entry.

When Koji and Zelea entered the building, Mao Tian soon accosted them with a deep bow. “Prince Consort, are you here to read another Saber skill book?” the assistant librarian inquired politely.

“Yes, I am, Senior Mao,” the young man replied with a smile. “I almost advanced to Tier 4 in Saber Proficiency. Please give me a suitable book to read,” Koji requested.

Senior Mao was shocked by the Consort’s answer because the young man indicated his Tier 3 proficiency in saber. The librarian expected Koji to be at Tier 2 because he started training in the Saber weapon just recently. The Beginner Level was Tier 1 and 2; Tier 3 through 5 were Intermediate Level; Tier 6 through 8 were Advanced Level; Tier 9 and 10 were Expert Level; any Tier beyond was Master Level proficiency. The librarian recovered and escorted the royal couple to the Reading Room.

Koji quickly crossed the room to claim the table he had used in his previous visits to the library.

Senior Mao walked away to retrieve a Saber skill book for the visitor to read. Once he took it off the shelf, the librarian picked up a new writing pad; Senior Mao placed the two items gently on Koji’s desk.

The consort looked at the book cover to read the title: “Fighting with Grace: Saber Edition.”

“Last time, you read a book on saber defense. So this time, you should learn offensive techniques,” the monk explained.

“Thank you, Senior Mao,” Koji replied with a nod.

The librarian bowed respectfully and walked away.

“We can stay here until lunch and then return if you haven’t finished reading the book,” Zelea said. She closed her eyes and started cultivating.

Koji opened the book and read the first page: “Grace is the refinement of movement. It is the pinnacle to which all practitioners should aspire.” The reader’s heart moved as he continued reading the introduction. The author emphasized the need for the reader to consider his style of fighting, whether this meant a preference for quick jabs or powerful and wide swings, and synchronize the entire body to support this style of attack. These ideals constituted the essence of fighting with grace in the author’s opinion.

The book used diagrams to demonstrate each saber attack. The author offered practical advice to economize the movement of each strike. Unfortunately, Koji spent a lot of time copying those drawings into his pad, and by lunchtime, he was less than halfway through the book.

Koji and Zelea joined their parents for lunch, which was steamed chicken over rice with Chinese broccoli. Koji also received a small bowl of bone broth soup. The conversation was kept to a minimum as everyone was anxious to return to work.

Koji and Zelea politely excused themselves and walked back to the library. The two reclaimed their seats and table at the corner of the Reading Room. Zelea resumed her cultivation while Koji continued reading his book and copying the detailed diagrams into his writing pad.

As Koji spent the afternoon jotting notes and drawing into his booklet, he gained valuable insight into fighting techniques with the saber. In his mind, he incorporated saber strikes with the vital points from Dim-Mak while using Wing Chun to parry and counterattack at a close distance.

Zelea became startled when she heard her husband mumbling, “fight with grace,” repeatedly as he read the book. She resisted the temptation to smack his head and make a scene. Zelea decided if Koji became too loud, then the other library patrons will speak up and complain to him. The lamia sighed and resumed her cultivation.

Thud! Koji finally closed the book and took a deep breath. He felt mentally exhausted from reading Fighting with Grace: Saber Edition. Some of the movements in this book were similar to sword dancing where the weapon constantly twirled while changing hands. But the point of these exercises was to make the practitioner’s body accustomed to the saber’s movement from every angle and starting point to ending point.

Unfortunately, Koji was right-handed, and he realized it would take plenty of practice with his left hand to copy the movements and become fluid with them. However, Koji resolved to make the time to practice swinging with his off-hand because he realized this would increase his Saber proficiency tremendously.

As Koji contemplated his training regiment for the Saber, he felt Senior Mao standing behind him.

“A servant has arrived to take you back to the banquet hall,” the librarian said politely.

Koji nodded and stood up. He handed the book to Senior Mao. “Thank you for suggesting this book. It has been beneficial,” he said.

The assistant librarian bowed deeply.

“I won’t be here tomorrow. I need to practice the new techniques that I learned,” Koji said.

“Let’s not keep my parents waiting,” Zelea said. She pulled Koji’s hand, and the two quickly left the library.

As the young couple walked through the palace, Koji raised a question. “I appreciate the fact that you’ve been babysitting me for all this time. But is this necessary?” he asked.

His wife stopped slithering and turned to face him squarely. “Do you dislike having me around?” Zelea asked with a dangerous glint in her reptilian eyes.

“No!” Koji answered defensively. “I’m concerned that I’m taking up all your valuable time,” he explained.

She touched his cheek gently, and her snake tongue flickered abruptly to rub his nose. “Our bond is newly formed. By custom, the Bonder and his Bond Keeper should stay together for the first week. For us, half a week has passed. If you find my presence overbearing, you have to tolerate it for just a few more days,” Zelea noted with a sly grin. “Now, let’s go!” The lamia looped her arm through his and pressed her breast against his arm.

Koji obediently followed her back to the banquet hall.

“Ah, so nice of you to join us!” King Aphraphus said sarcastically as the young couple took their seats at the table.

Koji bowed deeply to his father-in-law. “I apologize for our lateness, Sire. I was trying to finish reading my book and lost track of time,” he said.

“Oh?” a look of interest crossed the king’s face. “What’s the book title?” Aphraphus inquired.

“Fighting with Grace: Saber Edition,” Koji answered.

The king exchanged glances with his first-born son, Heretrios. The book which Koji mentioned was difficult to understand because the theme was very philosophical. Frankly, King Aphraphus never finished the damn book! Neither did his son. However, the two men wished to avoid mentioning this because they didn’t want to lose face to Koji.

“Can I see your notes?” Prince Heretrios requested.

Koji handed the writing pad to Zelea, who then used her Telekinetic ability to send the item across the table. The writing book landed safely in her brother’s hands.

Koji’s saber instructor slowly skimmed through the book. He spent time scrutinizing the diagrams and their accompanying notes. After five minutes of examination, Prince Heretrios passed the book to his father.

King Aphraphus noted the guarded expression on his son’s face. The father eagerly skimmed through the notes in the writing pad. He was astonished by how much clarity Koji expressed in those writings, which clearly showed the son-in-law enlightenment in this theme. Wordlessly, he passed the book to his wife, who handed it to Zelea and finally returned the item to its owner.

As the Royal Family enjoyed their meals of roasted glazed duck with vegetable fried rice, the monarch pondered what he should do. Initially, the king planned to offer pointers on Saber fighting. But he felt that Koji would be better off learning from the books in the library and training on his own. If Aphraphus insisted on imposing his saber style on Koji, this would confuse the young man. Thus, the king decided to teach his son-in-law another skill after dinner.