The Cultivation of the Sword Dao

PS: The following chapters are transitional and might be a bit dull, but they are absolutely essential!

PS+1: Just discovered something quite tragic; it seems the first chapter was censored, so now it jumps straight from the prologue to the second chapter...

PS2: Thanks to 'Shen Su', 'Cong Ci Yi Lai Ni', and 'Mo Mo Mo' for the tips. Thank you for your support!

PS3: By the way, is the protagonist's name really that awkward? I'll open a poll in the book review section later to decide whether to change it. If a change is needed, I, Xiao Jiao, will take advantage of the low word count and edit it chapter by chapter.

PS4: Finally, please vote for this book!

"Coordinate your breathing, unify heart and body, and pay attention to the rhythm of your breath. This is fundamental; otherwise, you will never be able to touch the realm of the Breath of All Things."

Kubo Yamato watched Bai Ina, who was continuously swinging a stone pedestal with one hand in the field, and scolded him coldly.

"Yes, Teacher!"

Soaked from head to toe in sweat, Bai Ina did not feel the slightest bit of slackness despite Kubo's overly strict training.

"Good, switch to your left hand!"

Seeing that Bai Ina had completed three thousand swings, Kubo Yamato did not let him rest and spoke coldly: "Since you possess a tricky and unpredictable technique like 'May Rain', you must train your left-handed swordsmanship as well. This will become one of your greatest killing moves!"

Bai Ina frowned slightly at these words. It wasn't that he was dissatisfied, but rather that he felt this was useless training. He had always trained both hands simultaneously, and to him, training them separately felt like a waste of time.

"What, do you think it's useless?" Kubo Yamato saw through Bai Ina's thoughts at a glance and shook his head in reprimand: "Stop thinking about your old training methods; that is purely a waste of effort. A stronger sword style does not come from having more brute strength. From this moment on, you must make every part of your body feel the sensation of swinging a sword—not just the muscles in your hands, but your legs, your waist, and even your brain must become familiar with this sensation."

"Right now, your swings only mobilize the strength of your arms, while the rest of your body's muscles remain completely uninvolved. Never forget that you are walking the path of a true male swordsman. During training, temporarily seal away that instinctual flexibility of yours; for now, you only need the unstoppable, forward-charging force."

Seal away my flexibility?

Bai Ina gave a bitter internal smile. How does one go about sealing such an ethereal thing?

"Coordinate your breathing, let your brain fall into a state of emptiness, and forget every sword technique you've ever known. Just focus on sensing the potential power within your body and mobilize it all!"

Kubo Yamato said coldly. As he spoke, the same Great Shock that had suppressed Bai Ina during their previous duel descended upon him once more: "Don't think about anything, and don't use your power to resist this pressure. Try to merge with this pressure, feel every inch of strength in your body, and lure it out. Only in this way can you walk the path of a male swordsman; otherwise, you don't even have the qualifications to step over the threshold."

Bai Ina frowned. Even when mobilizing his full strength, he could barely contend with the pressure coming from his teacher. If he didn't use his power to resist, how could this be possible...

However, in the next moment, a look of ruthlessness flashed across Bai Ina's face, and he abruptly retracted all his strength. Since his teacher said so, he would do it. As long as he could become stronger, what was a little pain?

Seeing this, a look of gratification flashed across Kubo Yamato's face.

As he retracted his strength, Bai Ina's body trembled, and he subconsciously changed his posture, curling up slightly. The next moment, he felt an indescribable, piercing pain throughout his entire body, both inside and out. This immediately made his face turn pale, but he gritted his teeth and persisted.

However, the movement of his hand swinging the stone pedestal became incredibly slow, as if every swing exhausted all his strength, making it agonizingly difficult.

"Stand straight! Do not use your instinctual flexibility to resist the pressure; use your physique to withstand it. Otherwise, you will never be able to mobilize the true power within your body!"

Kubo Yamato's extremely stern voice reached Bai Ina's ears once again.

Bai Ina gritted his teeth hard and, enduring the terrifying pressure that felt like the crushing depth of the ocean, straightened his body.

Crack—

The moment he stood straight, a muffled sound came from Bai Ina's body. A pain many times greater than before surged into every inch of his skin, and the immense pressure made his bones begin to creak.

"Ahhhhhhh—"

That piercing pain, which reached deep into his soul, caused Bai Ina's screams to echo throughout the entire area. Just by standing there motionless, the pressure squeezed dense, tiny blood vessels to the surface of his skin, covering his entire body.

"Swing the sword! Don't just stand there motionless. Circulate your blood flow, or death is all that awaits you. If you don't want to die, swing the sword with your life."

"Yes... Tea... cher!"

Bai Ina endured the intense pain and swung his sword. The veins on his arms bulged instantly, as if they might burst at any moment. The tendons in his arms felt like rubber bands stretched to their limit, ready to snap at any second.

With just a single swing, every pore on Bai Ina's body sprayed out tiny beads of blood.

"You idiot, that's not how you swing a sword! Lead with your leg muscles, unify heart and body, use your waist strength as support—mobilize all the power in your body, or just go die!"

Seeing Bai Ina's state, a flash of heartache appeared in Kubo Yamato's eyes, but he had no intention of giving up. Only in this way could Bai Ina take the first step toward becoming a male swordsman; otherwise, he would never be able to utilize the true power within his physique.

Unify heart and body...

A look of contemplation flashed across Bai Ina's grimacing face. He slowly closed his eyes, emptied his mind, and searched for that elusive spark of opportunity.

The world seemed to fall into silence at this moment. A sense of emptiness welled up in Bai Ina's heart, and even the external pressure was forgotten.

This feeling...

An indescribable, profound sensation surged into Bai Ina's heart. At this moment, he felt the trembling of every muscle in his body, as if his consciousness were wandering within himself.

This isn't right... the power being triggered is wrong...

As his consciousness wandered within, every time he discovered a place that felt "wrong," his physical body outside would subconsciously adjust with subtle movements.

"Did he succeed?" Kubo Yamato smiled with gratification. Watching Bai Ina, whose form was constantly making micro-adjustments, he slowly let out a breath. If Bai Ina still couldn't mobilize the true power within his body, he had been prepared to withdraw the pressure.

After all, if Bai Ina couldn't mobilize his physical strength, he had already reached his limit; if the pressure continued, his body might collapse.

After a long while, Bai Ina's eyes snapped open. A sharp glint shot out, and he swung the stone pedestal in his hand—it felt completely effortless.

"Ha—"

With a deep shout, Bai Ina felt a sense of exhilaration radiating from every part of his body, as if his entire physique were cheering. An aura equal to the Great Shock of Kubo Yamato radiated from him, merging into Kubo Yamato's own presence and causing the pressure he felt to lighten significantly.

This "Great Shock" was not the so-called Conqueror's Haki, but an aura naturally emitted from a powerful physique. In the original story, Zoro used this very physique during his duel with the Snow Woman.

Without using Armament Haki, Zoro unleashed a Great Shock that sliced the elementalized Snow Woman in two, simultaneously shaking her spirit and instilling such fear in her heart that she could not recover!

Although Bai Ina's current physique was incomparable to the future Zoro, and even seemed minuscule compared to Kubo Yamato's, one thing was beyond doubt: he...

Had successfully taken the first step—the first step toward becoming a great male swordsman!!!