SSS Cultivation: I Can Conquer Earth's Rank System
Chapter 59: A week (Tuesday) II

Chapter 59: A week (Tuesday) II

She wasn’t holding back. Her movements were quick and efficient. She stayed low, shifted her weight, feinted one way and pulled the other. Leo managed to stay on his feet, but he felt like he was swimming upstream.

They reset. Again and again.

After the third round, Leo tried to step in first. He faked a lean to the right, then moved left—but Rosa read it, swept his foot, and had him on the mat before he blinked.

"Oof," he muttered, staring up at the ceiling.

"You’re thinking too much," Rosa said, offering her hand. "Your body hesitates."

"I’m trying not to screw up."

"Then stop trying. Move."

If only Rosa knew Leo was all pulling a front by maintaining his normal movement speed and dull reflexes. "Wait till I hit you with Jose’s spice, aha."

They reset again.

The room was silent, at least for a moment.

Leo squared up to Rosa at a corner of the room on the pale blue mat, their assigned area in the now-active training center. Students formed loose circles in other zones, each group locked in a different kind of sparring, some wild and disorganized, others calculating and tense. Others... well, bullying their sparring mates.

But all eyes kept sliding back toward one pair: Rosa Morningbolt, the top VIP and arguably the best Combat person in the room, and Leo, the anomaly, the outsider who never backed down.

Fong Yuk’s voice still echoed faintly from the warm-up session minutes earlier. "Stance is your foundation. Let it crack, and everything else crumbles."

Leo remembered the stance well. Feet shoulder-width apart, back foot angled slightly, hands loose but ready. He breathed in. The soreness in his arms from yesterday had dulled, but Rosa’s presence in front of him pulled every nerve taut again.

She moved first, like always.

Rosa came in low, feinting a jab to his ribs. Leo’s body responded before his brain caught up—twist, shift, parry. His forearm met hers in a light smack, redirecting her momentum.

Rosa’s eyebrows flicked upward. That wasn’t how Leo usually moved.

She pivoted, her back foot drawing a wide arc as she spun and drove a leg toward his side in a sweeping kick. Fast. Clean.

Leo ducked, his knees bending deeper than before, feet moving almost instinctively. He barely missed the snap of her heel, and while down, he countered—his fist shooting up toward her midsection.

She leapt back, quick as a whip. His punch sliced air.

"You’re faster," Rosa said, almost to herself, eyes narrowing. "Something’s different today. Been having some private sessions, eh Leo?"

Leo didn’t answer. Couldn’t. His focus was a thin, burning thread. He wasn’t used to feeling this tuned in. His mind wasn’t fogged. Movements made sense before they even happened. Jose’s secret little technique earlier that morning had worked.

But still... Rosa wasn’t holding back.

She lunged again, now with a hook toward his shoulder, but it was a distraction. Leo saw it a split second before she twisted and aimed a sharp elbow strike toward his chest.

He dropped his weight and spun out of range, sweat already dotting his neck.

From the sideline, students whispered. Some were cheering their own matches, but more than a few had turned to watch this one.

Rosa charged. No warning.

They collided—not violently, but tight. She tried to grab his wrist and flip him over her hip. He twisted with her momentum and escaped.

A soft thud as both of them landed back on the mat, springing to their feet. A pause. A breath.

"You’ve been practicing," she said. "Wait, this is more than practicing. We only just sparred yesterday."

Leo nodded once.

They met again. hands clashing, arms tangling. Rosa’s footwork was tighter, more polished. She kept slipping into blind spots, almost clipping him with knees and elbows. But Leo kept deflecting. Sometimes barely. Sometimes with stunning precision.

Every block, every dodge, it felt like he was dancing.

And still, Rosa pressed harder.

Rosa advanced again, this time slower, more measured. She’d realized now that brute pressure wouldn’t be enough. Leo was adapting too fast. Or perhaps, reacting too fast.

She faked left and swept right with a jab. Leo caught the angle. Blocked. His counter came from his left—a quick punch meant to tag her shoulder, but Rosa rolled under it and returned with a rising knee. He twisted sideways, letting it graze his side, and tried to trap her ankle as she landed.

They were blurs.

Around them, the low hum of other matches faded. Even Fong Yuk’s watchful gaze stayed longer on their duel. Visibly no quirks. No tricks. Just motion, sweat, and pure, reactive instinct.

Rosa’s hands shifted to a more defensive guard now. She bounced lightly on her feet, breath even but sharp. "You’re not just faster," she muttered, circling. "You’re seeing things before they happen. I just can’t place it."

Leo didn’t answer. He couldn’t risk saying too much. He didn’t want her catching on to Jose’s enhancement.

But Rosa was Rosa. She had instincts sharpened from years of experience. She threw a flurry now. one-two, elbow, knee, hook. Leo blocked the first three, weaved the fourth, but the fifth—a low sweep—clipped his ankle and sent him stumbling.

This was more than a training spar anymore. Everyone was waiting to see who will come out victorious. Even Fong Yuk, who had shouted against direct attacks for now, was all for this spar. Stopping this without seeing a winner won’t sit right with anybody in this training room.

Rosa instantly moved to capitalize. A palm strike zipped toward his chest. Leo pivoted and slapped her arm aside. The move flowed out of him without effort. His hand came up, fingers brushing the edge of her chin in what could’ve been a solid hit if he’d committed.

She froze for a second. "...Was that supposed to land?"

Leo didn’t answer.

But inside, a storm brewed. That move—it was instinctive. He hadn’t thought it. It had happened. Rosa’s reflexes had saved her, barely tilting her neck back before it connected.

The pause between them lingered a second too long.

Then, Rosa grinned.

She came at him again. Fierce now. Faster. Like she wanted to test if he could do it again.

Leo stepped back, guard up. He didn’t know how long the boost would last. But Jose promised it won’t wear off early as long as he’s in motion. "Well, I’m in motion."

Every muscle screamed to keep going, to stay sharp. However, his body wasn’t built for this level of reaction... not without help. He can somehow feel the looming aftermath of this boost deep in his belly.

But...

Rosa aimed a punch at his ribs. He blocked with his elbow. She flipped sideways, planted a hand on the mat, and kicked up toward his chin. He ducked low, then launched forward with a burst—arm extended for a strike.

This one was different.

It had timing, precision. Power behind it.

It was going to land.

But Rosa, mid-air, twisted like an olden days professional gymnast. Her body folded and rotated mid-kick, flipping over Leo’s head as his strike missed by a whisper.

She landed behind him, sweat beading across her forehead. Her chest rose and fell quickly now. "You almost got me."

Leo turned slowly. "Almost."

Around them, the Fong Yuk clapped once. "That’s enough, you two. Reset."

The class exhaled. This spar session doesn’t seem like it’ll end soon, but it was somehow predictable who will win. Even though Leo had surprised everyone with those sharp reflexes and sudden prowess, Rosa was way experienced and most likely to win.

Rosa offered Leo a hand. "I need to know what came over you today, Leo. That was... scary good. C’mon tell me. I won’t tell anyone," she whispered.

He took her hand, unsure what to say. She didn’t push any further. It was like she wasn’t even expecting an answer. If nothing, she was happy that she got a worthy opponent in Leo today.

But from across the room, a shadow leaned lazily against the wall—Peter Payne, his arms crossed, smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.

He’d seen enough.

And as Rosa and Leo stepped off the mat and everyone was going about their departure, Peter called softly, "Enjoy your little dance, Leo. I’ll be right here... watching. For now."

Leo’s spine stiffened. Rosa turned sharply. "One more word out of you and I will vent this draw on you."

Peter raised both hands in mock surrender. "Easy, princess. I’m just spectating. I’m just becoming a fan of your boyfriend, nothing much."

He turned to walk off, but not before throwing one last glance over his shoulder—a smirk that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Leo was now certain that Peter Payne has really got something on him. Because there is no explainable reason why he’s picking on him all of a sudden.

"Tomorrow?" Rosa.

"Tomorrow." Leo.

And they departed, just like Leo wanted. No drama. No nothing.

*****

Later, in the silence of his dorm, Leo received a notification.

[Group meeting confirmed. Friday. Commander present. Details to follow] —Hunter Man.

Leo sighed, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead.

"I must be cursed."

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.