The Copy Mage

Kong was in his small form so his speed was unbelievably fast, but Damian was wielding wind energy and using the Wind Blade Ability, so could also display great speed.

[Since Kong's body is invincible as long as it isn't pushed past its limit, I should keep my distance and tire it out. While doing so, I will land as many ranged attacks as I can and that is the advantage of being a mage that is also fast and well-versed in combat] 

Blade Kick

The power and speed of the Wind Blades that Damian was able to unleash not only depended on the amount of energy that he supplied them, but also the force of the swinging motion that he released them through.

That made it so that a kick would allow him to release the most powerful Wind Blade, but it was also the easiest to read, while it was also the most difficult to pull off.

Releasing the kick towards Kong who was charging towards him, since it was in its small form it was a smaller target and was also much faster, so evaded to the side.

However, Damian wasn't underestimating the incredible beast he was facing and had expected that to occur, so had followed up that attack with another Wind Blade released from his hand.

Wind Thrust 

Swinging his arms backwards, Damian released blades of Wind Energy, however, they were compressed and were also blunt and not sharp like the usual blades he unleashed.

That was because Damian's intention wasn't to attack anyone but to launch himself in the opposite direction, similar to the Flame Burst Skill.

Then while he was mid-air after being launched by the Wind Thrust, Damian formed Wind Blades on his feet and found that he was able to glide.

The possibilities with any form of energy and versatile abilities were limitless, and Damian was one that was creative and able to explore many of them.

Kong had never seen such an application of energy and was impressed by it, while it was also unable to dodge the follow-up attack that struck it and slammed it into the wall.

It was perfectly fine and seemed unharmed, but Damian knew that it could only take so many attacks.

After their spars, he monitored how long Kong needed to sleep and recover for and estimated that the amount of damage that it could handle was improving as it grew stronger and the more it fought.

It was an incredible ability or characteristic to have while it was definitely different from normal Monkey Beasts, however; it was far from invincible.

If Kong were to face a peak Mortal Cultivator that was skilled, like any elder-level individual within the country, it was unlikely he would be able to survive, let alone leave unscathed.

The attacks needed to be ones that his body could handle, and everyone and everything had its limit.

Damian had created distance between himself and Kong once again and wanted to avoid close combat until after he tired out Kong, since Kong also had limited stamina.

After a few minutes, Kong stopped attacking and also kept his distance from Damian, dodging all of his attacks.

They had reached a stalemate, and both were starting to become tired.

"Let's finish this off"

As he said that, Damian launched himself towards Kong and formed blades around his hands out of Wind Energy.

Seeing that Damian was finally willing to clash with him in close combat, Kong did the same and their battle lasted for another 20 minutes.

By the end of it, they stood in a puddle of sweat and could barely move their limbs any longer, bother collapsing on the ground.

Damian used a derivative of his Adaptive Sword Style that matched the hand blades he was using, while Kong fought using a similar style that he had developed by watching and sparring against Damian.

Their battle was not what one would expect of mid Mortal Cultivators, and since they were so evenly matched and had a good understanding of each other's capabilities, they were the perfect duo.

They had a mental, emotional and physical link.

One was more skilled and capable at close combat, while they also both had complete trust and great power.

They had sparred each other so many times and most of the time, they would reach a stalemate or they would stop the battle so that they didn't push themselves too far.

In terms of raw physical capabilities, Kong far surpassed Damian, but Damian made up for it with combat prowess, strategy and by harmonising his cultivations.

The Inner Student Test was nearing and there was no time to slow down his training.

That was not something he was particularly worried about or looking forward to, but after it, he would become an Inner Academy Student and have access to many more resources and facilities.

Along with that, there would be many more capable and interesting individuals to spar against and the thing he was looking forward to the most was the Inter-Academy Tournament.

He was itching to test his blade-wielding skills against that of Darren and to fight against other young prodigies, but he knew that thinking ahead wouldn't do him much good.

In the meantime, he needed to progress as much as he could while also helping his friends and Kong progress, owing them for coming to save him and also wanting to compete with them.

Time passed quickly for Damian who didn't waste a single minute of his time.

Even during the times that he would rest and eat, he would be going over what he had experienced or seen during the day, trying to find any way to improve or something he could learn.

His friends were the same way, and he missed his mother, but he knew that she was just as busy and wanted her to focus on her own progress.

Before they knew it, weeks passed and the Inner Student Examination was around the corner.

Admissions into the examinations had begun, but before signing up, Damian wanted to have one final spar with Kong and his friends.