A Focused Path: Technique and Principle, the Invisible Blade! Effect Eight: Plague Calamity, the Breathing Method Completed Again

Since the River God had been kind enough to place both the golden and silver axes before him,

did Uesugi Tetsu really have any reason to refuse the option of "taking both"?

"Putting two options in front of someone, only to let them choose one, is a little too stingy, don't you think?"

Thus, Uesugi Tetsu stared at the golden and silver [Sword Technique] and [Sword Principle] options and said matter-of-factly, "I don't want to give up either the path of Sword Technique or the path of Sword Principle."

"I want to walk both."

A moment later, a flash appeared before his eyes, and another prompt popped up—

[Detected: You have fulfilled the hidden conditions for Sword Technique - Tennen Rishin-ryū.]

[You have triggered the hidden choice - Technique and Principle!]

[Technique and Principle]

The colorful, dazzling option floated above the golden and silver ones, finally bringing a satisfied smile to Uesugi Tetsu's face.

Now that was more like it.

—Ririko had once said that the vast majority of Menkyo Kaiden, assistant instructors, and even instructors at small dojos only possessed expert-level swordsmanship.

—And most of them would choose either Sword Technique or Sword Principle as the path they would continue walking from then on.

It was the most unwilling, most resigned, yet also the most down-to-earth choice.

That was because the vast majority of swordsmen who could cross the threshold into transcendent Sword Technique had reached that point only after countless days and nights of training and who knew how many deadly battles, soaked in sweat and blood.

That was precisely why they understood better than anyone how much talent they possessed, how much they had paid to reach their current level, and how much more they could bear.

Aside from the very few swordsmen who harbored