does the tutorial section of nine sols imply that Yi wasn't just rusty from 500 years of being Mostly Dead, but learning his martial arts skills as he went?
Like. The guy was a scientist— and a dedicated one. He really strikes me as someone who learned the theory but never had reason to practice it, y'know? If all the Sols bosses' battle designs match their personality/lore, Yi's being Violence not out of skill but out of rage and spite driving him to pick up the Art of Battle would be... kinda fitting. Also, it recontextualizes why Jiequan was so excited to get to fight Yi at last!
Also, Yi's fighting style being focused on parrying is especially fitting given that this is a revenge story— of course his violence is fueled by the force of those who wield it against him. That being said, all of this being taught by Lear, coupled with the context we get from the comic series... it makes me wonder whether Lear really is the peaceful old man he presents himself as. In this essay, I examine the symbolism between Lear, Jietong and Yi in respectively symbolizing Just War, Wars of Conquest, and the limits of the doctrine of self-defense—