Exercise

Sean stood before Jim, sword in his right hand, after taking up an opening stance. The two faced each other from five meters apart.

Sean relaxed and adjusted his state as he waited for Jim to make the first move. Sure enough, Jim could not hold back for long and charged in with his sword. His Wooden Sword stabbed swiftly toward Sean's chest; Sean swung his sword back to parry, and the two blades collided in midair with a dull smack. Sean dodged to the left, then stepped forward with the momentum, placed his left hand on the Sword Hilt, and exerted force with both hands. His Wooden Sword slashed diagonally upward and came to rest against the vital point of Jim's neck. The series of movements was swift, smooth, and completed in one fluid motion.

Ben's mouth hung wide open as he stared at Sean in utter shock. Jim himself wore an equally incredulous expression. Sean calmly withdrew his sword and stepped back to his original position, though his heart was far less calm than his expression suggested.

At the very moment Jim rushed in to attack, Sean had almost immediately sensed Jim's intent and the path of his attack. He had instinctively chosen what he believed to be the most appropriate sword technique, and even Sean himself was stunned by the result.

The original Sean had often sparred with Jim as well. Though he won more often than he lost, the two would usually trade dozens of moves before a victor was decided.

Sean suppressed his shock. After making a slight adjustment, he raised his hand to signal Jim to attack again. Seeing Sean's gesture, Jim stopped overthinking and swung his sword straight down. Sean immediately sensed Jim's intent once more. At that instant, time seemed to stop. Sean narrowed his eyes slightly and thrust his Wooden Sword diagonally upward. Its tip accurately struck the tip of Jim's descending blade. Power burst forth in an instant, knocking Jim's Wooden Sword aside. Jim was forced back a step, while Sean withdrew his sword and stood still, calm and composed. He did not take the chance to press the attack.

The first exchange could be blamed on carelessness, but the second truly shocked Jim. He could not understand why Sean was performing so powerfully today. Seeing Jim's astonished expression, Sean's thoughts raced, and he immediately explained, "Jim, what do you think? I practiced these moves specifically to counter you." Seeing that Jim still had not recovered, Sean continued, "One of the essentials of swordsmanship is to always hold something in reserve. I told you before, but you never listened. If you use all your strength in every move, you lose the possibility of adapting your technique flexibly."

At the same time, Sean clearly realized that he had to dispel the doubts in his two good friends' hearts right away. Seeds of suspicion were easy to plant and hard to remove. For his own safety, his secret absolutely could not be known by anyone—not even through assumptions or guesses.

After hearing Sean's words, Jim and Ben hesitantly put away their shocked expressions. Jim had never been a particularly scheming person, and he immediately shouted that Sean was a freak. Sean rambled on for a while afterward and finally managed to fool them completely. After all, Jim and Ben were only fourteen-year-old children, and their minds and logical thinking were far from mature.

Afterward, Sean suppressed his perception and sparred with Jim several more times. He tried his best to ensure that both sides had chances to attack and defend, and only after more than a dozen exchanges did Sean exert himself to decide the match. After finishing with Jim, Sean asked him to rest to the side. Then Ben stood before Sean with his sword held in both hands. Ben could barely make Sean feel any pressure at all, and their spar became more like Sean teaching Ben swordsmanship.

Time passed quickly. Sean and the other two had already trained in the training ground for over two hours. At this point, all three put down their Wooden Swords and began resting. Sean then suggested that Jim and Ben practice today's Knight Secret Method. This had originally been part of their usual training routine.

Sean himself went to the archery training ground next door, intending to take the opportunity to practice archery. After saying goodbye to the two, he arrived at the archery range. The range had shooting positions with targets at twenty, thirty, and fifty meters. Sean chose the hard bow he usually used and went to practice at the fifty-meter target.

Sean nocked an arrow, drew the hard bow with both hands, then held his breath and aimed at the target. After a sharp whistle of an arrow, it flew toward the bullseye like a meteor. A moment later, with a soft thud, the arrow embedded itself very close to the center. Sean continued firing without pause, and soon an entire quiver of arrows had been emptied. He slowly walked over to the target and saw ten arrows lodged in it. Three had struck the bullseye, while the other seven were not far from it.

Such results were far better than Sean's past performance. He had discovered that his attention was extraordinarily focused. Once he concentrated, his focus far surpassed that of ordinary people, greatly increasing the strength he could display, whether in swordsmanship or archery.

Since transmigrating and taking over this body, he had first gained the ability to sense attributes, then abnormal memory, and finally this exaggerated degree of concentration. Sean knew that he had undergone a fundamental change, and that change could only have come from the soul or something related to it. It was not difficult to reach such a conclusion, and Sean could not help recalling the emptiness and deathly silence from before his transmigration.

Sean shook his head vigorously and quickly cast off the unpleasant memory. After pulling the arrows from the target, he slowly returned to the shooting position. Sean was not merely training his archery now; he was also continuously testing the specifics of his own perception.

With each shot, Sean discovered that he could instinctively control that mysterious state. As long as he focused his attention slightly, he could naturally enter a state of concentration. It truly was like an instinct, entirely under his control.

More than half an hour later, the sun was about to set, and evening had arrived without anyone noticing. Jim and Ben came over to Sean. Both wore tired expressions, with beads of sweat still hanging from their foreheads.

Sean put away the hard bow and arrows and returned them to their proper places. After finishing the day's training, the three headed toward the dining hall together, discussing the training plan they had talked over earlier as they walked.

Sean stood on the dormitory balcony in his sleeping robe, letting the wind blow over him. After dinner, the three had said goodbye to one another, and Sean had returned to his dormitory. He then took a change of clothes and his washing supplies to the academy's public bathhouse. After bathing, he handed his changed clothes to the middle-aged maid at the laundry before returning to his dormitory. The Noble Academy only had women in the laundry...

Entertainment in this world was extremely limited and generally only appeared at noble banquets or large celebrations. Especially for a fourteen-year-old noble boy like Sean, if he did not find someone to chat with at night, then all he could do was sleep.

Sean helplessly returned to his bedroom. He read by candlelight for a while, then blew out the candle and went to sleep.

Imperial Calendar 1156, April 18, Friday, clear. Sean got up shortly after six in the morning.

After washing up, Sean dressed neatly and left the dormitory. Although April's weather had already begun to warm, the mornings were still somewhat cold. Sean met up with Jim and Ben, and the three began jogging along the academy's gravel paths.

The academy was very quiet in the early morning. Along the way, they only occasionally encountered a few academy servants who had risen early. Sean and the other two soon ran for more than half an hour. At this point, Sean and Jim could still keep going, but Ben was already breathing heavily, and his face had grown somewhat pale.

"Ben, stop here for today. Walk back on the return trip. Remember to walk slowly, and whatever you do, don't stop to rest." After noticing Ben's condition, Sean spoke to him. He then signaled Jim to turn back and continued, "Ben, Jim and I will wait for you at the starting point. Take it slow. There's no need to rush..."

"O-okay, Sean. You and Jim... go on ahead. I... I'll be there soon." Ben spoke while adjusting his breathing, immediately slowing down as well. When Jim passed him, Ben even waved to show that he was fine.

By the time Ben walked back to the starting point, his breathing had mostly steadied and his complexion had returned to normal. Sean and Jim were walking in circles nearby to recover their strength. Once the three had met up, they agreed to have breakfast together.

By then, most of the academy's students had already risen. On their way to the dining hall, Sean and the other two encountered other students heading there as well.

After breakfast, Sean and the other two headed together to the Horsemanship Class training ground. That morning's lesson was Horsemanship Class. Whether one was a noble or wished to achieve something in the Imperial Army, one had to master horsemanship proficiently.

The horsemanship training ground was located at the edge of the academy. Students generally brought their own horses when enrolling, though those unable to do so could occasionally use horses provided by the academy. Once horses entered the academy, they were immediately cared for and managed by the academy's servant stablehands. There was a Lounge beside the stables where students could store riding equipment and other items. After entering the Lounge and putting on protective gear, Sean and the other two grabbed their saddles and headed straight for the stables.

Students first enrolled at the age of twelve. Because they were so young, the academy required all students under sixteen to wear protective gear when riding to train their horsemanship. The only exceptions were those whose talent and ability had been recognized by the horsemanship instructor and who had received special approval.

Sean's horse was a five-year-old stallion that had received training from professional horse trainers in Sean's family since it was young. Since the age of ten, Sean had often participated in feeding the horse, and they had formed a deep bond.

When Sean's horse saw him approach, it snorted in a remarkably humanlike manner. It rubbed its head against Sean's hand, appearing very affectionate. The horse's body was glossy black, with only a diamond-shaped white marking on its forehead. It stood over 2.2 meters tall at the head and weighed nearly a ton. Sean personally fitted the Black Horse with its saddle. After inspecting it carefully, he led the Black Horse out of the stable and to the open space beside the training track.

There was still half an hour before class began. Sean gripped the upper part of the saddle with both hands, placed his left foot in the stirrup, and pushed off with his right foot before swinging himself onto the Black Horse's back. Holding the reins in one hand, Sean extended the other and gently stroked the black fur on the Black Horse's neck. At this time, Jim and Ben also led their own horses over to Sean.

Sean lightly squeezed the horse's belly with his legs while giving the reins a small shake with both hands. The Black Horse immediately began trotting along the track. Sean's upper body remained very relaxed as he rose and fell with the Black Horse's movements.

In horsemanship, a rider's skill was certainly important, but the coordination between rider and horse was equally important. The academy allowed students with a certain amount of riding experience to exercise their horses outside class.

Jim and Ben also mounted their horses and began trotting along the track. Before Horsemanship Class began, giving the horses a proper warm-up was quite necessary.

More and more students were now leading their horses to the edge of the track.