[@Leah][@Exit]

Moments before the ring of the gong, Shu temporarily broke his usual personal rule. He actually spoke to his opponent, "Whatever it is you're after, you [i]won't[/i] find it here. Just pain, and maybe some blood for good measure." very surprising to most of the viewers, as that was something he rarely - if ever - did. Most of his fights followed the same general bullet points. His opponent arrived - some taunting him, others trying to be equally stoic - and with no words nor acknowledgement of them, Shu would beat them half to death with rock, stone, and sometimes his bare hands. But this one? If this one was going to insist on being unconventional, then so would Shu.

His opponent widened their stance. Shu considered launching them up into cage's ceiling by Earthbending the section of the floor he stood on, but quickly ruled that strategy out. The direct approach was probably not the way to go - a shame since that was his usual forte. Oh well, he'd have to be more direct at a later time. For now, though, cunning was required more than brute force. As soon as he heard the ring of the gong, Shu shifted his feet and used his arms to make a quick motion as if to grab at the air and pull it toward him. From somewhere behind his opponent, a lance of solid rock jutted upwards, angled to punch into the spine between his shoulder blades. This motion was followed by a forward thrust of Shu's fist, and a second lance of earth shot up from the ground, this time from his opponent's front.