What A Dream Wants

Zero's eyes wandered elsewhere. He glanced at a cerulean butterfly that strayed away from the grassy fields, flying around him without a care in the world.

Steven looked at the butterfly. Its wings, like an illusion, phased in and out of existence, blending in with the colors of the sky. It fluttered all around the place, the soft sound, like the opening and closing of window shutters, could be heard. As if the wings were singing along to a melody only it could hear, the wings softly flapped to an invisible tempo.

Zero raised his hand, and the blue butterfly danced around it for a while, before deciding to land on his finger.

After a pause, he said,

"Blue butterflies aren't blue due to pigment... They're blue due to their texture. The blue color is formed by minuscule scales. It creates an illusion of being blue when in reality, they're not. In nature, the color blue is a rarity. Blue butterflies are brown butterflies who have found a loophole in nature. And cultivators, try to transcend the boundaries of nature."

His gaze glossed over as if remembering something.

"If you don't have the will to improve, then, how can you strive for greater heights."

Indeed, nobody was motivational and inspiring when he wanted to be.

'Such pretentious!' Steven thought to himself.

"Which is why the first move I'm going to teach you is..." Zero started to say.

Steven waited in anticipation.

"A punch."

"Wait, what?"

"You only have two days to learn. You can't possibly expect to be able to learn some fancy martial art technique in two days, right?"

"Oh."

Zero did a demonstration.

"Incorporate Qi into your punches."

Steven practiced punching.

Punch.

"Put your entire weight into the punch. Punch with your body, not just your fists."

Punch!

"Punch, like you're gonna kill someone!"

PUNCH!

"Oh, that worked," Zero muttered to himself.

. . .

"Next, we're gonna focus on some kicks!"

Zero did a demonstration.

Steven started kicking.

Kick.

"Higher."

He kicked higher.

Steven fell down on his butt.

'Ouch.' Steven got up again.

"Use your other leg to balance the body," Zero advised.

KICK!

. . .

"Here's how to do jabs."

Zero did a demonstration.

Steven started jabbing.

Jab.

Jab.

Jab.

. . .

"Here's how to defend against frontal punches."

Zero did a demonstration.

Steven withheld the defensive posture, while Zero tested a few punches on him.

. . .

He nodded, satisfied.

"Sparring?"

"You'll be dueling with me."

"Wait..." Steven muttered. "I don't think I can defeat you."

"I'll suppress my cultivation. I won't use Qi at all. You can throw out the first punch."

Steven threw out the first punch, a distraction, which was immediately followed up by a fierce kick.

Zero easily intercepted the punch and grabbed his ankle, causing Steven to lose balance and fall on his asterisk*.

"Fun Fact #1: Don't let your opponent grab onto your leg. You'll lose balance."

Steven did not think these were fun facts.

"Again." He beckoned for Steven to make a move.

This time, Steven threw out a punch and another.

Zero intercepted both of the punches.

He then proceeded to try to kick at the side, where Zero's arms were occupied guarding.

Zero did a simple sweep kick on the leg that was grounded.

Steven fell flat on his face.

"Fun Fact #2: Don't be blinded by a false sense of victory. When you kick, you leave many openings. Don't rejoice too early." He stated plainly. "Again."

Steven decided to throw out multiple consecutive punches... which resulted in Zero jabbing at his sides.

"Fun Fact #3: Never lose your guard. When you try to attack me, I can also attack you." He softly stated. "Again."

Steven got beat up again.

"Fun Fact #4: Use your qi. You can use defensive qi to stabilize your legs, so you don't fall over so easily, and you can use qi to strengthen your punches and attacks. You can use it to defend against my attacks."

"Again."

. . .

After a while of Steven getting beaten up and Zero's "helpful" fun facts, perhaps a dull training montage could have been compiled. It was getting late, 8:00 pm, and Zero mercifully decided to end training there.

Finally, after hours of turmoil and distress, Steven was able to eat dinner and relax.

He rejoiced. At last, training was over.

Perhaps, due to his jolly mood, he forgot that the "Liang Tian Martial Art Technique" needed two days for initial completion.

He forgot Fun Fact #2...