Chương 7: Dojo

Earth – The Soaring Phoenix Fist Dojo After the adrenaline of the classroom showdown faded, Tim was left painfully aware of how sluggish and soft his own body felt compared to Lia's explosive power. Determined to bridge the physical gap between his two lives, he sat in his car and Googled "martial arts dojo," looking for something that offered real discipline rather than just a treadmill.

The top result was the "Soaring Phoenix Fist Dojo," a name that sent a shiver down his spine because it perfectly matched a legendary martial art from Lia's memories. Taking the coincidence as a sign, he put the car in gear and drove straight to the address on the edge of town. Tim stood outside the wooden building, double-checking the address on his phone. It looked less like a mystical temple and more like a converted warehouse sandwiched between a laundromat and a convenience store.

"Soaring Phoenix Fist," he muttered, reading the hand-painted sign.

"Well, I'm already here." He pushed open the sliding door. The smell of old sweat, tatami mats, and sandalwood incense hit him immediately. The interior was sparse. A large open space dominated the center, with worn mats covering the floor. A rack of wooden weapons lined one wall.

There were only a handful of people inside: a group of elderly men moving through slow, Tai Chi-like forms in the corner, a petite girl doing jump rope with terrifying intensity, and an old man sweeping the floor with a rhythmic, meditative motion.

"Hello," Tim called out, feeling awkward in his brand-new sweatpants.

"I'm looking for... martial arts training?" The old man stopped sweeping. He turned slowly. He was short, with a back as straight as a spear and eyes that seemed to weigh Tim's soul.

"I am Master Kurokawa Ryo," he said. His English was accented but precise. He walked over, his movements silent. Without asking, he reached out and grabbed Tim's wrist. His grip was like iron.

"Hey!" Tim tried to pull back, but the old man held him effortlessly.

"Soft," Kurokawa murmured, palpating Tim's forearm.

"Your body is a house built on sand. Unstable. Unfit."

"That's why I'm here," Tim said, bristling slightly.

"To fix it."

"Come sit, boy." Kurokawa gestured to the mats. The girl with the jump rope stopped and walked over. She was young, maybe twenty, with sharp eyes and a smirk that suggested she knew exactly how out of his depth he was.

"This is Yui," Kurokawa said.

"She will teach you how to exercise and recover. Use Method Number Four breathing recovery technique. Eight weeks minimum before any fighting forms can be taught."

"Eight weeks?" Tim protested. The master ignored him.

"No attitude. Yui, he is yours." Kurokawa walked away, leaving Tim with the girl. Yui cracked her knuckles. Her smile widened, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Welcome to hell, newbie." Before Tim could respond, she grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.

"Fifty squats. Now. If your thighs don't burn, you're cheating." Tim realized too late that this place wasn't normal. Yui moved faster than a human should. She corrected his posture with slaps that stung like whips. By the time the warm-up was over, Tim was gasping for air, his legs shaking uncontrollably. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Pathetic," Yui said cheerfully.

"Sit. Cross-legged." Tim collapsed onto the mat.

"Time for recovery breathing," Yui said, her tone shifting from sadistic to focused.

"This isn't some new-age meditation nonsense. It is the real deal." She knelt beside him.

"Breathe in through your nose. Don't just fill your lungs. Feel the air traveling down different pathways—imagine it flowing through your chest, your abdomen, even down to your lower back. Hold it for a count of seven, then release through your mouth while guiding it back up." Tim tried to follow along, but it felt awkward. How could air travel to his lower back? It felt like trying to push oxygen through imaginary tubes. His body tensed with the effort, sweat beading on his forehead.

"You're fighting it," Yui observed. She pressed her thumb into a spot on his spine.

"Don't force the pathways. Let them open naturally." Minutes passed in uncomfortable concentration. Tim's legs began to cramp. Just when he was about to give up, something strange happened. The air seemed to flow. It wasn't just breath; it was warmth. A tingling sensation spread from his core outward through his limbs, like hot water moving through a pipe.

"There," Yui said with satisfaction.

"Feel that warmth? That circulation? Your muscles are already starting to repair themselves. Do this for twenty minutes every night, and you'll recover three times faster than normal." Tim opened his eyes. The exhaustion was still there, but the sharp pain in his legs had dulled to a manageable ache.

"What... how does this work?" Yui shrugged.

"Old family technique. Most people think it's just breathing exercises, but... let's just say there's more to the human body than what they teach in school." As the other students filtered out, Tim remained on the mat, practicing the pattern. Each cycle felt more natural. From the shadows near the back of the dojo, Master Kurokawa observed his newest student with ancient eyes. The boy had potential. Raw, untrained, and soft—but unmistakably present.

His spiritual pathways were naturally wide, though blocked by years of sedentary living. With proper guidance, he might actually develop into something worthwhile. Cultivation World – Meanwhile Riku was discovering the realities of male anatomy in a hotel room. Varek—piloted by Riku—had just checked into the inn at the city of Bastion. He strode into the room, throwing his bag on the bed with a casual strength that Riku still found intoxicating.

"Shower time," Riku thought. Varek stripped off his desert robes. Riku paused in front of the bronze mirror, looking down at the completely foreign landscape of the male body. She had lived twenty years as a female. She knew curves, softness, and center of gravity. This was... different. Hard angles. Dense muscle. Hair in places she wasn't used to. And the appendage between his legs.

"It's like a useless tail," Riku muttered through Varek's deep voice. She poked it experimentally. It moved on its own accord, twitching slightly.

"Weird," she whispered. She tried to control it—flex it like a muscle—but it had a mind of its own. Ah why wont it go down she thought struggling to hold it down only made it harder. Earth – Riku's Living Room Riku lay on her couch in Tokyo, her face burning bright red.

"Oh my god," she groaned, burying her face in a pillow. Her mother walked into the room, carrying a basket of laundry. She stopped when she saw her daughter's flushed face.

"Riku? Are you okay? You look like you have a fever."

"I'm fine, Mom!" Riku squeaked, her voice an octave higher than usual.

"Just... tired from school!" Her mom frowned, walking over to feel Riku's forehead.

"You're burning up. I'll get a cold towel." She bustled out of the room. Riku squeezed her eyes shut.

"Stop touching it," she hissed to herself.

"Stop touching the... equipment." But in the other world, her curiosity about male appendages was winning. Earth – The Next Day Tim walked into the classroom hobbling like an old man. His legs were stiff, his back ached, and he felt like he'd been run over by a truck. He set his bag on the podium and looked up. Riku was sitting in the front row, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Lia's Ring buzzed. Varek_Official: Teacher, did you get beaten up? You're walking funny. Tim shot her a glare. Lia replied. Lia_Xian: Worse.

Personal trainer from hell. I joined a dojo. Riku's grin widened. Varek typed back furiously. Varek_Official: A dojo? Cute. Varek could teach you proper training techniques. His body is way stronger than yours. Also, check this out. Varek sent an attachment. It was a video of Varek doing one-handed pushups. Tim sighed. Lia_Xian: I don't need training advice from a twenty-year-old student. Riku made a mock-offended face in class. Varek_Official: Hey! Varek has years of combat experience.

Technically, he is the older person in the cultivation world. Respect your elders, Professor. Tim didn't reply. He looked at Riku, then down at his own sore legs.

"I thought switching to a female body would be the strangest part of this experience," he muttered to himself.

"Turns out, getting roasted by my student is worse."