Collapse, Cross-Dressing Strategy Kiana, Then

In the next moment, perhaps to ensure the beginners present could understand, a long sword formed entirely from ice instantly appeared in her snow-white right hand.

Bai Yan straightened his mind and watched Jingliu's demonstration intently.

Although it was a basic routine, something so simple it might as well have been taught by an earlier disciple, comparable to the alphabet, in Jingliu's hands it was like a detailed breakdown of some terrifying sword art.

After demonstrating, Jingliu sheathed her sword, formed a sword gesture with one hand, and gently tidied her slightly messy hair.

She walked over to Bai Yan's side. Seeing that he was completely absorbed in recalling the movements, she didn't disturb him, simply waiting patiently.

After a short while, Bai Yan came back to his senses. The icy long sword was offered to him.

"You can try it when you're ready. Don't worry about how well you do it; just perform the movements you just saw according to your own understanding."

"Mhm."

Bai Yan took the long sword. While his memory was still clear, he raised the sword and began to move.

The ice long sword felt cool in his hand, but the chilling aura seemed locked within, lacking the bone-piercing cold he'd expected.

It was merely cool.

The sword gleamed under the moonlight, and as Bai Yan moved, streams of moonlight seemed to be scattered down.

His movements lacked any killing intent, the complete opposite of Jingliu's demonstration.

Jingliu, observing from the side, couldn't help but show a hint of surprise in her eyes.

"To merge with heaven and earth, to fight against gods and men... his demeanor is more like a dancer wielding a sword, rather than a swordsman..."

The more she watched, the more Jingliu's expression became one of sudden realization.

"That explains it..."

As the light flashed, the person and the sword existed in harmony.

In Bai Yan's mind, Jingliu's figure gradually blurred, leaving only the sword techniques.

He moved at a steady pace, simply executing all the moves according to his own feelings.

Finally, just as Jingliu had finished her stance, Bai Yan also formed a sword gesture with his left hand. As he flipped his hand, no stray strands of hair were disturbed.

"Master Jingliu, how did I do?"

"There weren't many mistakes, but..."

"But what?"

"This set of movements was originally meant to help beginners. I've modified it to help beginners discover their own style and direction."

Bai Yan nodded, knowing that the insights of a millennium-old Sword Master held immense value, far beyond what a short-lived being could grasp.

This meant that, with her discernment, she had already identified a suitable path for him.

"Currently, you dislike killing and contention, preferring peace and harmony.

"But I can see that what you truly desire isn't those two things...

"Whether it's swordsmanship or anything else, your true inner self needs to be explored by you alone. Therefore, I can only say so much.

"As for swordsmanship alone, I cannot give you an ambiguous answer."

Bai Yan suddenly noticed a fleeting smile on Jingliu's face.

Jingliu continued, "Therefore, even if you might find it difficult to accept, with my thousand years of swordsmanship experience, there is one sword art that is undoubtedly most suitable for you."

"What sword art?" Bai Yan had a bad feeling.

"To use water as the artistic conception, and formless momentum to replace tangible moves.

"Upon initial mastery, it's not about simply wounding others with a sharp blade. Instead, it's like water, immersing the enemy within your sword techniques, your heart guiding your every move."

Bai Yan pondered, "So, it also involves elemental and spiritual attacks?"

"That's not entirely accurate, but for now, you can understand it that way."

"What is this sword art called? It sounds like it's related to water?"

"That's right."

Jingliu paused, gazing at Bai Yan, who was currently in his female disguise, and softly uttered:

"This sword art is called 'Luoshen'."

Volume 1: Chapter 15: Jingliu: Come Here

Bai Yan remained silent for a long time, not immediately confirming the meaning of those two characters.

It was a bizarre coincidence that different star systems shared similar cultures, but considering he had already transmigrated, he found it understandable.

Luoshen too.

Since he was already cross-dressing, learning a sword technique called "Luoshen" was also acceptable.

It was still training, and it wasn't like he had to castrate himself for it, which was much better than some divine cultivation technique. It was fine.

It was fine!

"How does it feel? If you can't accept it, we can look for others."

"But this one is more suitable, right?"

"Not bad."

"I'll train this one," Bai Yan stated decisively.

He was tired of being weak. It didn't matter if the first martial art he practiced was called "Luoshen." Becoming stronger required a price, and this was already quite cheap.

Jingliu nodded and asked, "How much time is left?"

"About ten minutes."

"Then I'll verbally give you the general principles. We'll discuss the rest next time."

"Okay."

As Rita's assistant, Bai Yan had undergone training in rapid memorization.

The general principles of the sword technique that Jingliu slowly recited were profound. Bai Yan managed to grasp the main points within a few short minutes.

"As I said before, the key to this sword technique isn't in the specific moves, but in the understanding of its artistic conception.

"The general principles are the same. You need to remember the most crucial characteristics of 'Luoshen.'

"All sword techniques lead to the same destination; however, at your current stage, you must still distinguish between the different schools.

"It's like a path forward. Although the destination is the same, travelers cannot deviate midway without reason, or the consequences would be unimaginable..."

As Jingliu explained carefully, Bai Yan gradually understood the general idea.

"This sword technique's element is water?"

"Yes, you could say that."

"Then I have a question. My birth element is fire, what should I do?"

"...Water is the bane of fire. Using it to kill enemies aligns perfectly with the five elements and eight trigrams. If you feel the water attribute of the sword technique is too oppressive, you can choose materials belonging to the wood element to forge your sword. Water gives birth to wood, and wood gives birth to fire, which can neutralize it in the center."

Bai Yan began to ponder.

Fine sword, Ziwei soft sword, Xuan iron heavy sword. Only then, the idea of using grass, wood, bamboo, and stone as a sword, transforming the tangible into the intangible.

To completely break free from the constraints of a physical sword, he would need to reach the same realm as Gu Du Qiu Bai in his later years.

Wait?

Bai Yan suddenly had a new idea.

A wooden sword might not work, but that didn't mean wood was the only attribute.

The Xun trigram belonged to wood and represented wind. Therefore, he could use the wind attribute, something like the East Wind, as a substitute.

Having settled on an idea, Bai Yan reined in his wild thoughts.

He shook the Frost Ice Sword in his hand and said to Jingliu, "Master, has your swordsmanship reached the realm where grass, wood, bamboo, and stone can all be your sword?"

"A formless sword better suits my will. Only by not being bound by external forms can true power be unleashed."

His memory was a bit hazy, but he vaguely recalled that Jingliu's swordsmanship was terrifyingly profound, and she was a woman who aimed to destroy the Abundance.

At this moment, Jingliu looked at Bai Yan's hands.

"You don't seem to lack talent for combat, so why don't you have any martial arts? Why insist on learning in this manner?"

"You can think of it this way: I'm currently living under the same roof as a terrifying being who might go berserk at any moment, and my supervisor's mission is to get close to her."

"Can't you pull her into this space and restrain her?"

"However, I can't decide who enters this space. Otherwise, I wouldn't be trying so hard to secretly become stronger behind the organization's back."

Jingliu glanced at the thin film of water on the ground and asked, "What level of power does that being possess?"

This question stumped Bai Yan, and he didn't know how to answer.

After thinking for a long time, he finally said, "In her prime, she could throw garbage from another planet over 300,000 kilometers away and kill over sixty million people. She probably still has more than half her strength now."

Peak Sirin had 6 cores, and the current Kiana seemed to have 3 cores, roughly half.

Probably.

Jingliu was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Develop the power of this space well. See if you can find a way to send me back to my hometown, or for you to take refuge here with me."

Bai Yan subconsciously began to sense. He wondered if the inability to carry items was a rule-based restriction, and what if the person themselves could pass through?

In his senses, the two in the hyper-dimensional space were physical entities. However, it felt as if there was a lock here, securing the contents of a safe. To open this lock, Bai Yan needed a specific key.

As for what the specific key was, Bai Yan was clueless. He only vaguely felt that when he saw it, he would recognize it.

Thinking of this, Bai Yan finally came to his senses.

At this very moment, Jingliu was looking at him, her gaze unwavering.

He couldn't discern any emotion in her eyes, but neither was there the coldness of a thousand years of solitude.

She was simply looking.

He looked back at Jingliu, their eyes meeting. "Master, do you mean I'm done for?"

"From a perspective of general rationality, escape is the most correct course of action."

"…What if I train hard for three years, plus an item that boosts my strength by two levels, and a laser cannon that weakens the opponent's abilities?"

"I still suggest coming to my side."

So the question is, which side is more dangerous?

He had a faint feeling that the other party might have actually learned to use an abacus, so the sensation of abacus beads bouncing off his face probably wasn't an illusion.

Don't let Jingliu's current normalcy and calmness fool you; it's only temporary.

She's Mara-struck!

"I haven't fully figured out this space yet, but I'll find a way once I understand it better," Bai Yan replied evasively.

"That's good then."

As soon as the time was up, Bai Yan fled the scene.

It was hard to say what a 1,800-year-old beautiful girl would think of someone who could suppress her Mara-struck state.

Returning to the dormitory, he checked the time; the time on both sides was synchronized.

Red wine stood quietly on the floor, and a partially burned spiral mosquito coil next to it slowly emitted blue smoke.

"If the time spent in the hyper-dimensional space gets longer, I'll need to find a good excuse for my disappearance here.

'Going to the restroom' is a pretty good excuse. Although taking too long is a habit of beautiful girls, it can be turned into a positive factor at specific times."

St. Freya was about to officially start classes, and according to the course schedule, Bai Yan couldn't avoid practical combat training.

Training was training, but in the past, his main goal was to avoid teaming up with Dumb Goose.

Now, setting aside the Herrscher core, everyone's talents were not far apart, and they wouldn't be competing every day, so wouldn't life get better?

Unlike Dumb Goose, whose talent was terrifying, she also competed as if the world was going to end the next second.

The above problems were all minor. The key issue was that Dumb Goose didn't adhere to basic matching mechanics when facing Bai Yan.