The girl was skeptical, adjusted her stance, and tried several times, but couldn’t grasp the technique—each time, there was always one or two points where she failed to exert force, or she was too late in doing so.

She was persistent, though; if she failed once, she tried again, refusing to give up no matter what.

After countless attempts, her whole body ached, her arms were so sore she could barely lift them, let alone draw the knife. But she simply refused to give in, gritting her teeth and trying over and over.

Perhaps by chance, in her extreme exhaustion, she inadvertently activated all the power points at once. Several points vibrated simultaneously, resonating with each other, and a wave of heat surged through her body. The hunting knife became incredibly light, and with a gentle motion, it slipped out of the tree trunk.

The girl stood there in a daze, looking at the notch in the trunk, then at the hunting knife in her hand, feeling as if she were in a dream, completely bewildered.

“Remember these two movements, and the method of exerting force. Now, I’ll teach you the third movement: stepping forward.”

Eleanor Clark demonstrated. The basic movement was simply a large lunge forward, like an archer’s step. But his posture was exceptionally steady; from start to finish, there was not the slightest sway, as if he were a machine rather than flesh and blood.

But at this moment, Alice Clark couldn’t see what was difficult about it, nor did she understand what there was to learn about a step even a child could take.

But when Eleanor Clark glanced at her, she stuck out her tongue and obediently followed along.

Chapter 11: A Small Mistake

“Stop!” As soon as Alice Clark lifted her right foot, Eleanor Clark called out to her, telling her to hold the pose, suspended in midair.

“Still exert force from the sole, channel it along here, here, and here.” After pointing out the route, Eleanor Clark tapped a few spots on her body and said, “Channel the force to your waist, these points must exert force simultaneously, then take the next step.”

“Got it.”

The girl was quick to understand. With the foundation of the previous two moves, she had already grasped the basic technique of exerting force.

But her cheeks were slightly flushed at this moment, because most of the power points Eleanor Clark had just indicated were concentrated on her hips. And he was completely unabashed, pointing and pinching, his touch burning like fire, heat surging through her.

No matter how carefree she usually was, she couldn’t help but feel a little shy. If someone in the settlement dared to do this to her, Alice Clark wouldn’t be shy—she’d hit back immediately. But now, the girl had lost her temper.

She followed Eleanor Clark’s instructions to channel her strength, then took a step forward.

As her right foot landed, several power points resonated again. Alice Clark felt a sudden force propel her forward, as if she were gliding on ice, crossing more than ten meters in a single step, nearly crashing into a large tree ahead.

After all, she was still a young girl, and this startled her greatly. She cried out in alarm, quickly leaping to the side to avoid crashing into the tree.

But as soon as she moved, the force pushing her vanished, her footing gave way, and she fell to the ground, tumbling over several times.

The girl landed in a heap, covered in dirt, and then a pair of boots appeared before her. She looked up and saw Eleanor Clark standing in front of her, though she hadn’t noticed when he’d arrived. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out a hand.

Alice Clark grabbed Eleanor Clark’s hand and used it to stand up, barely calming her pounding heart. “What exactly… were you teaching me just now?”

“Just three basic moves. These three moves can be linked together—watch closely.”

Eleanor Clark took the hunting knife. Without any visible effort, he simply stepped forward, and in an instant appeared before a giant tree twenty meters away. His hand moved like lightning, stabbing the tree three times in quick succession, then he stepped back and instantly returned to his original spot.

The whole process was as fast as lightning. Alice Clark hadn’t even seen the details of his movements; she just saw a blur, and Eleanor Clark was back again, as if he’d never moved.

She suddenly ran to the ancient tree and saw three knife marks on the trunk, the cuts extremely smooth, without a single splinter.

This bottle-shaped tree was the same ironwood she’d struggled to pierce and then couldn’t pull the knife out of. She hadn’t expected Eleanor Clark to casually stab three deep holes with a flick of his wrist. If these three strikes landed on a beast—or even a person—what would happen then?

Alice Clark ran back to Eleanor Clark, looking him up and down as if he were a monster. Even with Eleanor Clark’s deep composure, her stare made him uneasy.

“You were pretending to be weak at first, weren’t you? You were tricking me!”

Alice Clark suddenly clenched her fist and punched Eleanor Clark hard in the chest.

This was usually a playful gesture for the girl, but in Alice Clark’s hands, it packed quite a punch. As she struck, several power points in her body vibrated at once, heat surging, her strength overwhelming.

With a bang, Eleanor Clark was sent flying, crashing hard into a big tree, shaking the leaves down like rain.

The girl’s mouth fell open, her mind blank. It took her a while to react. She looked at her fist, vaguely realizing that this move was somewhat similar to drawing the knife and stabbing the tree.

In fact, when the power points resonated, she already sensed something was wrong, but she simply couldn’t control it.

Eleanor Clark remained kneeling on the ground, coughing repeatedly. After a long moment, he finally caught his breath, looked up at the girl still standing there in a daze, and said irritably, “Aren’t you going to help me up? Are you trying to kill me and cover it up?”

The girl snapped out of her daze with a start and took a big step toward Eleanor Clark.