Chapter 65
Kanzaki stood right behind Jingliu, his chest pressed against her back. His right hand covered her small one on the sword hilt, while his left hand rested on her waist, gently but firmly adjusting her stance.
"Plant both feet firmly on the ground. Draw power from your heels and keep your torso from tilting too far."
As he spoke, the palm on her waist applied steady pressure, guiding her to lean slightly forward. A surge of power traveled up from the soles of her feet, through her spine, and into her shoulders.
"Just like that. Stay steady."
With his hand enveloping hers, Kanzaki guided the longsword in a swift upward arc.
The two of them were extremely close. Jingliu could feel the steady rise and fall of her master's chest against her back and catch the faint warmth of his breath.
An unfamiliar sense of security wrapped around her. The anxiety that had built up from her string of mistakes melted away almost instantly.
Master's hand was warm, nothing like the cold expression he usually wore.
"Focus on that line. Remember exactly how this power feels and the posture you're holding."
"Eyes, heart, and sword must become one. The battlefield shifts in an instant. Your body has to move before your mind even gives the order, so your strikes catch the enemy completely off guard."
"That's it. Strike!"
This time Jingliu did not rely on brute force. Following the path Kanzaki had guided her through, she drew in her abdomen, held her breath, and let the power flow step by step through her body until it gathered in her palm. At that moment the longsword truly felt like an extension of her own arm.
Suddenly the blade sliced through the air.
There was no unnecessary whoosh of wind, only pure speed. The edge cut cleanly through the black line marked on the Borisin's neck.
The Jade Sign let out a crisp hum, confirming a successful strike.
"Remember this feeling."
Kanzaki released her hand and stepped back.
The reassuring warmth disappeared in an instant. Jingliu felt a brief pang of loss, but mostly she was stunned.
That sword strike had felt incredible. There was no resistance, no wasted energy. It was as if the blade itself had wanted to cut exactly there.
She turned to look at Kanzaki. The awe in her eyes softened, replaced by a faint new emotion.
"Thank you for your guidance, Master."
Kanzaki met her sparkling gaze and gave a small, inward nod, though his face stayed expressionless.
When he had guided her hand earlier, he had felt the stiffness and trembling in the young girl's arm muscles. That was a natural side effect of her high-intensity training, an unavoidable part of the process.
He did not want her to grow dependent on him, so he kept his face stern and spoke coldly.
"Strike while the iron is hot. If you can land ten swings in three seconds tonight, hitting four different vital points in a row, I'll let you rest for a full day tomorrow."
Jingliu's eyes lit up. She straightened her back at once.
Taking a deep breath, she returned to her stance. In her mind she replayed the exact path of the sword strike Kanzaki had shown her, savoring that perfect feeling.
The young girl swung again.
It was not as flawless as the first strike and a little slower, but the blade pressed steadily against the black line with no sign of shaking.
Undeterred, she kept attacking. Each swing grew more precise than the last.
Kanzaki watched the petite figure swing her sword again and again at the training phantom, adjusting her posture each time. Deep in his eyes, a quiet sense of satisfaction flickered.
Innate shortcomings could always be overcome with enough hard work and sweat.
In this harsh era, if you wanted the strength to cut down Abominations of Abundance without mercy, there were no real shortcuts.
You had to forge yourself like a blade, tempered a thousand times. Only persistence mattered.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Jingliu finally completed the goal Kanzaki had set.
And for once she did not collapse on the spot from exhaustion.
"Ma… Master…"
The breathing rhythm Jingliu had carefully controlled for so long finally broke. She panted heavily, gripping the sword with both hands.
"I… I did it!"
"Mm. Starting the day after tomorrow, your morning run must be at least eighty li per hour. Everything else stays the same."
"…" Jingliu's small face froze.
At her young age, a faint trace of resentment stirred in her heart.
No wonder Master had offered her a day off. It turned out a new kind of hell was waiting right after the rest.
Her current pace was already no slower than forty li per hour. Doubling it… Just thinking about the exhaustion that would leave her fainting again made her battered body protest silently.
Her emotions and breathing fell out of sync. With her body and mind already at their limits, the clash of all those negative factors hit her at once.
Jingliu fainted on the spot.
The last thing she thought of before consciousness slipped away was her master's stern, unyielding face.
Clang!
The longsword fell to the ground with her, but her fingers never let go.
The cycle of day and night continued.
Jingliu had already grown used to waking at first light.
Everything was routine: changing clothes, washing up, eating breakfast, then heading straight to the training grounds.
The moment she caught sight of that familiar figure, the memories of what happened before she lost consciousness yesterday came rushing back.
Master had said she could rest today.
"Mas—"
ter?
Before the greeting could even leave her lips, Jingliu froze in place.
She saw Kanzaki strip off his upper garment while two Aurumaton Gatekeepers nearby immediately swung their massive iron fists, slamming them hard into his back and chest.
Jingliu's first thought was that the Xianzhou was facing another Aurumaton crisis.
But when she noticed that Kanzaki's upper body only trembled slightly and his horse stance remained perfectly steady, she realized this was no crisis.
It was simply part of his training.
The Aurumatons' iron fists fell like rain, merciless and unrelenting.
Whenever a particularly heavy blow landed, he would at most frown a little, never even blinking.
Jingliu focused her senses on the force behind each punch, roughly estimating their power, and her mouth twitched.
A single hit like that could probably shatter her skull…
"Could it be…"
She remembered skimming a training program during a past pilgrimage: physical tempering.
The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She swallowed hard.
Did that mean… in the not-too-distant future, she would also have to endure those massive iron fists?
The thought barely formed before she shook her head vigorously, forcing her attention back to Kanzaki.
One glance, and half an hour had already passed.
The Aurumatons never stopped. Their punches only grew faster at set intervals.
Kanzaki's upper body and limbs were covered in bruises and swelling from countless strikes.
Every so often Jingliu heard the faint crack of bones breaking. She unconsciously covered her mouth.
Only when the Aurumatons finally halted did she snap out of her daze and quickly wipe the corners of her eyes.
She had known the hellish training Master gave her was not meant to torture her, but she had never imagined his own regimen was this much more brutal.
Kanzaki stepped out of his stance, brow slightly furrowed, saying nothing.
Jingliu noticed many strange protrusions along his well-defined muscles, clearly the result of broken bones that had yet to heal.
Especially when he turned around, the shape of his spine looked almost hunched like a camel's…
"Master… are you alright…"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized how pointless the question was.
How could anyone possibly be alright after something like that?
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Bonus chapters
200 - Stones
400 - Stones
600 - Stones
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