But the next moment, perhaps so the beginners present could understand, a longsword condensed entirely from ice instantly appeared in that snow-white right hand.
Bai Yan pulled himself together and watched Jingliu demonstrate the movements with rapt attention.
Although it was a basic routine, perhaps something that should have been taught by an earlier disciple to introduce newcomers, simple enough to stand alongside the twenty-six letters of the alphabet, in Jingliu's hands it seemed like a breakdown of the details of some terrifying sword art.
After one demonstration, Jingliu sheathed her sword, formed a sword seal with one hand, and lightly gathered her slightly disheveled hair.
She came to Bai Yan's side. Seeing that he was immersed in focused recollection, she did not disturb him and simply waited quietly.
Before long, Bai Yan came back to himself, and the icy sword was held out before him.
"Once you're ready, give it a try. Don't worry about how well you can do it. Just follow your own understanding and perform the movements from earlier once."
"Mm."
Bai Yan took the sword. While the memory was still clear, he raised it and began to move.
The ice sword was held in his hand, yet its chill seemed locked inside it. It was not as piercingly cold as he had imagined.
It was merely cool.
The blade glittered beneath the moonlight. As Bai Yan moved, streaks of moonlight scattered down.
There was not the slightest killing intent in his movements, completely unlike Jingliu's demonstration.
Watching from the side, Jingliu could not help revealing a trace of surprise in her eyes.
"In harmony with heaven and earth, contending with men and gods... His bearing is more like that of a dancer holding a sword than a swordsman..."
The more she watched, the clearer the realization in Jingliu's expression became.
"No wonder..."
Amid flashes of radiance, man and sword resonated in perfect harmony.
In Bai Yan's mind, Jingliu's figure gradually blurred until only the sword movements remained.
He was neither hurried nor slow, merely presenting every move as he pleased.
At the end, just as Jingliu had finished her sequence, Bai Yan formed a sword seal with his left hand as well. Yet when he turned, there was not a single stray lock of hair.
"Master Jingliu, how did I do?"
"Not many mistakes, but..."
"But what?"
"This set of movements was originally meant to help people get started. I modified it so it could help beginners discover the direction of their own style."
Bai Yan nodded. He understood that a Sword Master who had lived for a thousand years possessed insight no short-lived species could match.
In other words, with her eye, she had already found the path best suited to him.
"You currently dislike killing and do not care much for conflict. You prefer peace and harmony.
"But I can see that what you truly like is neither of those things...
"Whether it is the way of the sword or anything else, you must explore your true heart yourself. That is all I can say.
"But when it comes to swordsmanship alone, I cannot give you an ambiguous answer."
Bai Yan suddenly noticed that a faint smile had flashed across Jingliu's face.
Jingliu continued, "So, although you may find it somewhat difficult to accept, based on my thousand years of experience with the sword, there is one sword art that is undoubtedly most suitable for you."
"What sword art?" Bai Yan had a bad feeling about this.
"Take water as its artistic conception, and use formless momentum as tangible moves.
"When you first master it, it is not merely about wounding people with a sharp blade. Instead, like water, you submerge your enemy within your sword moves, letting your heart move as your intent wills."
Bai Yan pondered. "So there are elemental and spiritual attacks mixed into it?"
"That is not entirely accurate, but you may understand it that way for now."
"What is this sword art called? It sounds like it has something to do with water."
"That's right."
Jingliu paused, looked at Bai Yan, who was currently fully disguised as a woman, and softly spoke.
"This sword art is called 'Luoshen.'"
Jingliu: Come Here
Bai Yan was silent for a long time, not asking which two characters made up the name.
The fact that different star systems shared such similar cultures was bizarre enough, but considering that he himself had crossed worlds, he accepted it.
Luoshen was the same.
I'm already cross-dressing, so learning a sword art called "Luoshen" is fine.
Training is training. It's not like I have to castrate myself. It's much better than some divine technique. No big deal.
No big deal!
"How does it feel? If you cannot accept it, we can keep looking."
"But nothing else fits me as well, right?"
"Correct."
"I'll learn this one," Bai Yan said decisively.
He had already had enough of being weak. Even if the first martial art he learned was called "Luoshen," it did not matter. Becoming stronger required a price, and this was already cheap enough.
Jingliu nodded and asked again, "How much time is left?"
"About ten minutes."
"Then I'll first recite the general outline to you. We can discuss the rest next time."
"Alright."
As Rita's assistant, Bai Yan had undergone training in rapid memorization.
The general outline of the sword art Jingliu slowly recited was lengthy, but Bai Yan memorized the gist of it within a few minutes.
"As I said before, the key to this sword art does not lie in the details of its moves, but in one's understanding of its artistic conception.
"The same applies to the general outline. You must remember the most crucial trait of 'Luoshen.'
"All sword arts lead to the same destination by different paths. But at your current stage, you must still distinguish between the various schools.
"It is like a road forward. Though the destination may be the same, travelers cannot arbitrarily stray from their route midway, or the consequences will be unthinkable..."
With Jingliu's careful explanation, Bai Yan gradually understood the general idea.
"This sword art belongs to water among the five elements?"
"Mm, you may put it that way."
"Then I have a question. What if my innate element is fire?"
"...Water restrains fire. Using it to kill enemies aligns perfectly with the five elements and the Eight Trigrams. If you feel that a water-attributed sword art carries too much baleful energy, you may forge a sword from wood-attributed materials. Water generates wood, wood generates fire, and it can mediate between them."
Bai Yan began to think.
A sharp sword, the Ziwei Soft Sword, a heavy black iron sword, and finally, grass, wood, bamboo, and stone could all become swords, turning the tangible into the intangible.
To completely cast aside tangible swords, he would need to reach the level of Dugu Qiubai in his later years before he would qualify.
Huh?
Bai Yan suddenly had an entirely new idea.
A wooden sword would not work, but wood was not the only thing with a wood attribute.
The Xun trigram belonged to wood and represented wind, so he could use something wind-attributed as a substitute.
Having settled on an idea, Bai Yan reined in his wild thoughts.
He shook the Ice Sword in his hand and asked Jingliu, "Master, has your current realm of swordsmanship already reached the level where grass, wood, bamboo, and stone can all become swords?"
"A formless sword better suits my heart. Only by not being bound by outward form can one wield true power."
Because his memories were somewhat distant, Bai Yan only vaguely remembered that Jingliu's attainment in swordsmanship was terrifying. She was a woman determined to destroy Abundance.
At this moment, Jingliu looked at Bai Yan's hands.
"You do not seem to lack the talent to fight others. Why is there not the slightest trace of martial skill on you? Why must you seek instruction in this manner?"
"You can think of it this way: I am currently living under the same roof as a terrifying existence who could fall to demonic corruption at any time, and the task my superior gave me is to get close to her."
"Can't you draw her into this place and restrain her?"
"But I cannot decide who enters this place. Otherwise, I would not be trying every possible way to grow stronger in secret behind the organization's back."
Jingliu looked at the thin layer of water covering the ground and asked, "What level of power does that existence possess?"
This question stumped Bai Yan. He did not know how to answer.
After thinking for a long time, he finally said, "At her peak, she could throw trash from another planet more than three hundred thousand kilometers away and kill over sixty million people. Now, she probably still has most of her strength left."
Peak Sirin had six cores, while Kiana now seemed to have three. Roughly half, perhaps.
Perhaps.
Jingliu fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Develop the power of this space properly. See if you can find a way to send me to your homeland, or for you to come to my side and take refuge."
Bai Yan instinctively began to sense the space, thinking that being unable to carry objects might be a rule-based restriction. Perhaps people themselves could pass through.
In his perception, the two of them in the Hyperdimensional Space were physical entities. But there seemed to be a lock here, sealing the contents of a safe. To open it, Bai Yan needed a specific key.
As for what that key was, Bai Yan had no idea. He only vaguely felt that when he saw it, he would recognize it.
At that thought, Bai Yan finally understood.
At this moment, Jingliu was looking at him without shifting her gaze.
There was no emotion visible in her eyes, but neither was there the coldness born of a thousand years of loneliness.
She was simply looking at him.
He looked at Jingliu, their eyes meeting. "Master, are you saying I'm doomed?"
"By common reasoning, escaping is the most correct course of action."
"...What if I train like hell for three years, add an item that raises my strength by two levels, and a laser cannon that can weaken her abilities?"
"I still advise you to come to my side."
So the question was, which side was more dangerous?
He faintly felt that she might really have learned how to use an abacus, so the sensation of abacus beads smacking him in the face was probably not an illusion.
Do not be fooled by how normal and calm Jingliu was right now. That was only temporary.
She had Mara-struck madness!
"I still haven't completely figured out this space. Once I understand it later, I'll find a way," Bai Yan replied evasively.
"That is good."
When time was up, Bai Yan fled the scene.
With an eighteen-hundred-year-old beautiful girl, it was hard to say what thoughts she might have toward someone capable of suppressing her Mara-struck condition.
Back in the dormitory, Bai Yan checked the time. Time flowed in sync on both sides.
The red wine stood quietly on the floor, while the Spiral Incense beside it, already burned down a little, slowly released bluish smoke.
"If I spend longer in the Hyperdimensional Space, I'll need to come up with a good excuse for disappearing over here.
"Using the bathroom is a pretty good excuse. Although taking too long is a problem associated with beautiful girls, at certain times, it can also be turned into a positive factor."
St. Freya was about to officially begin classes. According to the course schedule, Bai Yan could not avoid practical combat training.
Training was training. In the past, he had mainly wanted to avoid being paired with Dumb Goose.
Now, setting aside Herrscher cores, their talents were not that far apart, and they would not be competing constantly. Wouldn't life get better?
Unlike Dumb Goose, whose talent was terrifying enough, she also trained with the urgency of someone expecting the world to end the next second.
Those issues were all minor. The key was that when Dumb Goose faced Bai Yan, she did not follow even the most basic matchmaking rules.
Before you continue