After Wan Bo had a little talk with the leader of the defense corp's Zen Ping, he was asked a couple of questions about his abilities , and he was allocated to the rear. As he didn't know how to use a bow and didn't know how to ride a horse he couldn't travel in the carriages , so he was given the next easiest job, protecting the rear. Of course he couldn't just walk of foot so he was paired with another of the defense corp's, Men Du.

Men Du was a man in his late twenties with a rough face, large sideburns , and medium length scruffy hair. He had an annoyed look on his face as he tightly held the reins of his horse and tried to answer Wan Bo's questions as shortly as possible. Of course Wan Bo knew this , but the mission given by his master to learn as much as possible made him unrelenting to the point Men Du asked for someone else to be assigned to Wan Bo, but everyone refused so he was stuck with him.

On the third day of the journey as the caravan was taking a rest 100 m away from a village, Wan Bo noticed that some of the defense corp's Men were lightly sparring with staff's. They had forgone their armour and we're wearing only some light clothing as they sparred on an open area.

"Haap..huapp..

*Tack tack.....tack*

"Huupp....haaappp...

This of course intrigued Wan Bo as he drew closer to look at them sparing, but after a couple of minutes he slightly shook his head. The ones who were sparing weren't amateurs per see, but their attacks were bland, without a natural flow. Their footwork wasn't optimal and they primarily focused on thrusting followed by swiping, but no grappling. As he saw this Wan Bo came to the conclusion that it was because they were used to fight in groups, in crowded spaces, and they mostly used spears as he had seen that their main weapon was a spear.

' It's no wonder that they seem so bland in their movements. I guess that it's not only because they are not that much versed in martial arts, but also because that's only what's needed. Fully devoting your time to master your weapon or a type of martial arts takes much time.  Heh, I almost feel sorry for them....'

As Wan Bo was watching them train, Men Du was also watching him with an annoyed look on his face. He had suffered under Wan Bo's unrelenting questions, so he decided to mess with him a little. He approached Wan Bo and patted his shoulder with a smile."Brother , it seems that you are interested in our sparring?"

"Ah, just taking a look. I don't have anything better to dy anyway" answered Wan Bo nonchalantly.

"Indeed, indeed..." said Men Du as his anger immediately flared up. How could he let this opportunity slip from his fingers? 

" Brother Wan Bo, how could you say that?!" dejectedly said Men Du " Do you mean to say that the martial arts that we were taught by Zen Ping are nothing in your eyes? Are the martial arts of the Grey Mist Sect so much superior than ours?!" 

"..........

Wan Bo speechlessly stared at Men Du who had almost shouted the last sentence. He wanted to say something to refute him, but he only shook his head and headed towards the place the sparring was happening. He took a staff from the ground, weighted it in his hand, spun it some times, and finally nodded his head.  

This was clearly seen by Men Du , but he was stuck in place with confusion.' What is this sect brat trying to do? Is he trying to get out of the situation? No...don't tell me he's....'

Under the gaze of more than ten of the members of the defense corp's, he stood on an open space which could be used to spar. This behavior of course caught the attention of the others who were waiting for their turn. One of them even went to Wan Bo to ask what he was doing, and Wan Bo's answer made him stop in his track's.

" I'm going to tech you how to properly use a staff."

The answer was so unexpected that instead of becoming angry, the man laughed. " Hahahaha, little brother, you're such a funny guy. I almost fell for it. "

Seeing the response, Wan Bo didn't interject and just smiled. " Hehe, glad you liked it, but I'd really like to do some sparring with some of you. Seeing as you fight with your lives on the line, it'll be a good learning experience."

"Haha, indeed, indeed it's true that a real fight is different from training. Good, I'll oblige with you and be your sparring partner."

"Oh, I'm very thankful for that....uh....

"Qing, you can calle brother Qing." answered the man in front of Wan Bo. He was a couple of years older than Wan Bo, but his wide frame made him look older, especially his shoulders. 

"Good, I'll call you brother Qing then." said Wan Bo as he couped his fists " Please, tech me brother Qing."

"Haha, of course or course....

Qing also took a staff from a pile of them, and booth of them took their stance. Qing took a thrusting stance which was clearly used with a spear, but could be used with a staff , while Wan Bo raised his staff over his head. It was a strange stance that left his body completely open , completely different from Qing. 

"Haha, such insolence...

"Well, I guess that the Grey Mist Sect is not that great as it thought....

"Hmmm......

Unknowingly, some of the other members of the defense corp's had started to watch them with interest.

"Brother Wan Bo, sorry in advance. This may hurt a bit....

"Hmmm.... it's okay. I'm used to it."

"Used to it..." The answer threw Qing off, but he let the comment slide and immediately thrust forward , trying to feel the difference, but didn't expect Wan Bo to also move. Instead of  defending Wan Bo did a wide swing as he took a step back and the staff hit Qing's  arm with some force.

*Bam*

"Ssssss....

Qing winced in pain as he didn't expect this kind of move. He felt embarrassed at such a loss so he changed his stance and became more serious. He lowered his body and moved the point of the staff up and down repeatedly to confuse Wan Bo. It was a good and easy strategy to open the opponents defense, but Wan Bo not only had more experience with the staff that all of them, he had fought with his evil clone more than a thousand times. All the tricks he had suffered under, he had learned to use.

"Hmph....."

With a breath, Wan Bo threw the staff towards Qing like a spear, hitting him in the chest, but it didn't do much damage. I'm fact it was more for breaking Qing's  rythmn , and he did so.  Qing was flustered by such a move and Wan Bo immediately crossed the distance, grabbed his staff and disarmed him. The crowd was stunned at the line of events, some even laughed out loud.

".........

"This... this...

"Puaaahahahaha....

"Qing, you idiot! You got your weapon taken...

"Brother Qing, I'm learning a lot, but I suggest you don't hold back anymore." said Wan Bo with a straight face making even Qing believe he had just gone easy on him, but even after a couple of bouts, Qing was defeated over and over until the last time he had won.