Swordsmanship Cultivation

"Huh? Mm, that's right. Kikuichimonji must be waiting for its true master to arrive." Kenkon nodded with great seriousness. Roy no longer wanted to say anything. He realized he had been completely fooled by Kenkon's solemn expression. Who would have thought his true nature was... such a goof?

That said, although Kikuichimonji did not look like much at the moment, its sharpness could definitely rank first among all the famed blades Roy had seen so far. Even standing at a distance, he could sense its piercing edge.

With a sweep of his right hand, Roy activated his ability, removing the dust and restoring the treasured blade's gleam.

"Swish!"

He lightly swung it once or twice in his hand, and it actually tore through the air with a sharp whistle. Before this, Roy had only been able to achieve that when striking with full force. A weapon was a swordsman's second life—those words truly were not wrong.

"Not bad, not bad. I'm very satisfied. With this blade in hand, I'm already invincible in North Blue." Roy felt a little of that lonely invincibility, though thankfully, he still had enough shame not to sing it aloud.

"But where's this blade's scabbard?" This was the one thing Roy was dissatisfied with. Without a scabbard, how was he supposed to use his Drawing Sword Strike?

"Eh, right. Where is the scabbard?" Kenkon replied blankly, nearly making Roy cough up blood in anger.

"Ah, what a cursed fate!" Roy could only raise his head and sigh at the heavens.

"Oh, I remember now." Kenkon frowned deeply as he thought hard, then suddenly slapped his palm in delight.

"Hm? Where is it?" Roy was somewhat surprised. He had not expected Kenkon to actually be useful at a crucial moment.

"Kikuichimonji's scabbard was lost long ago when our ancestors were fleeing."

"Hehe, I'm so stupid. Really." Roy raised his lifeless eyes and continued. "I only knew that goofs would show up in anime. I never knew they would show up in real life too."

After playing the part of a bitter complainer for a while, Roy said helplessly, "By the way, after all these years, did none of you think to forge a new scabbard for Kikuichimonji?"

"How could we? A scabbard worthy of Kikuichimonji would not be easy to forge. Otherwise, the Sword Qi stirred up when Godspeed was drawn would be enough to damage it." Kenkon looked utterly wronged, like a resentful little wife.

"Fine, fine. I was being greedy. Obtaining Kikuichimonji is already a blessing beyond measure. I'll figure out the scabbard myself. Oh, right—later, explain the secrets of your Flying Heaven Sword Style to me." Having a ready-made teacher and not using him would be far too wasteful. Roy felt that for a goof like Kenkon, the only proper thing to do was squeeze out his remaining value. At least when he fought, his mind was fairly normal.

The group returned to the surface. By now, the others had also learned that Roy and Kenkon were both safe and sound. Quite a few secretly sighed in disappointment, though none dared reveal even the slightest hint of it on their faces.

When they arrived at the dojo's usual training ground, Kenkon seemed like a completely different person. With righteous solemnity, he explained the secrets of the Flying Heaven Sword Style to Roy.

"The essence of the Flying Heaven Sword Style lies in speed and ruthlessness. It pursues ultimate speed, emphasizing defeating the enemy before they can react. The Godspeed state I entered earlier is also an application of its secrets. In that state, my speed increases drastically, but the drawback is excessive stamina consumption. It can even damage the body."

"Dragon Nest Flash is the basic form of attack, centered on ferocity. Earth Dragon Flash shatters the ground to restrain the opponent, making it a control technique. Dragon Twister Flash twists the body in a circle to evade an opponent's attack, then uses the centrifugal force of that rotation to deliver a powerful slash. It is a counterattack technique. Double Dragon Flash is a two-stage drawing technique designed to overcome the sole weakness of drawing sword techniques, using the same trajectory as the slash after drawing the blade to strike again with the scabbard."

"Finally, there are the Flying Heaven Sword Style's two ultimate secrets. The one I used earlier was Nine-Headed Dragon Flash, unleashing nine Godspeed sword strikes from nine directions, leaving the opponent unable to defend or evade. As for Heaven Soaring Dragon Flash, it is the ultimate secret that surpasses Nine-Headed Dragon Flash. It is a drawing technique of super-Godspeed, faster than Godspeed itself—an attack made faster than any opponent can respond. It delivers a flawless two-stage attack. The first strike releases an airflow, creating a vacuum ahead that pulls the opponent in, then the second strike uses the extreme centrifugal force of rotation."

After hearing it all, Roy could not help but sigh. This was a true and complete inheritance: attack techniques, control techniques, counterattack techniques, combo techniques, ultimate techniques—it had everything. It was completely incomparable to his own unorthodox methods.

However, Roy was not discouraged. The Flying Heaven Sword Style had also developed through generation after generation of inheritance. And he possessed the Dream-Dream Fruit, a cheat for cultivation. He would surely establish his own unique swordsmanship upon the foundation of these inheritances.

After absorbing Kenkon's swordsmanship experience, Roy's mastery of the Flying Heaven Sword Style was already no weaker than Kenkon's. With the cultivation manuals left by Kenkon's ancestors as well, his progress in swordsmanship advanced by leaps and bounds.

It had to be said that the Flying Heaven Sword Style was not some benevolent school. The style was filled with violence and hostility. Many practitioners had to train with extreme caution, lest a moment of carelessness caused them to suffer backlash. To Roy, it felt like the demonic martial arts from the wuxia novels of his previous life—one careless mistake, and one could suffer deviation.

But Roy had no such concerns. He cultivated in his dreams every day, so he did not need to worry about injury or backlash at all. He trained without regard for his life within those dreams, and his understanding of the Flying Heaven Sword Style soon surpassed even Kenkon's.

While repeatedly calling him a monster, Kenkon also became even more determined to follow Roy.

"Captain, Captain, I've found out! The most famous weapon maker in North Blue is the patriarch of the Black Hand Clan in the Gilia Kingdom." Among Roy's subordinates, Kayou seemed to be the only reliable one. Naturally, this "important task" of gathering information fell to him.

"Huh? Black Hand? The Black Hand Gang?" Roy remembered that there seemed to be quite a few Black Hand Gangs in the Pirate World. One of the Supernovas five years from now seemed to have come from a Black Hand Gang.

"Uh, no. Their clan has forged weapons year-round, so their hands look as though they were pulled out of coal. That's why people call them the Black Hand Clan. They themselves like the title as well, and over time it became established."

"Alright. People actually like such a ridiculous name? I admire their taste."

"Cough, cough." Kayou had no idea how to respond to that.

"Never mind. Since they're the most famous clan of weapon makers, forging a scabbard should not be difficult, right?"

"Hard to say. After all, the most famous weapons their clan has forged are only at the level of Skillful Grade Sword 50 Works. Even if it's only a scabbard..." Seeing Roy's dangerous look, Kayou immediately changed his tune. "But there definitely won't be any problem!"

Roy was greatly pleased. "Very good. We've stayed here long enough. Our next destination will be the Gilia Kingdom."