As Solid as a Rock

Zhao Cheng's swordsmanship was neither intricate nor varied. This was not because his technique had reached the point of returning to simplicity, but because the very style he practiced was designed that way.

Steady! Steady! And steady again!

The 17th Basic Swordsmanship 6th Revised Edition had pushed the concept of steadiness to its absolute limit.

And, as it turned out, that was enough.

For a beginner in swordsmanship, breadth cannot compare to depth. Learning a little of everything only leads to mastering nothing; only by focusing on a single path can one achieve success.

From simple to complex, then from complex back to simple—this is the path every master of the sword must tread.

Though swordsmanship has ten thousand variations, Zhao Cheng now relied solely on that one word: steady. Every movement he made was as solid as a boulder.

A sword, by its nature, possesses a keen edge. When combined with the stability of a boulder, its lethality is formidable.

In the real world, with a thousand years of sword culture and a century of national effort poured into creating and refining this technique, it was far from ordinary.

Consider this: in the Panel's assessment, this technique displayed no quality rating, which alone spoke to its potency.

This was because it was the type of technique that becomes transcendent in the hands of the strong, yet utterly useless in the hands of the weak.

Its quality shifted according to the user's own mastery of the sword!

And for Zhao Cheng, his level 8 swordsmanship was already allowing this technique to show its first glimmer of sharpness.

Clang!

Zhao Cheng's blade collided with the Gray Man's fist, producing the sound of clashing steel. The opponent's fist did not feel like flesh and blood, but rather like it had been cast from iron.

Such intensity was beyond Zhao Cheng's expectations. He had assumed that since his opponent was unarmed while he held a blade, he would naturally have the advantage. He had not imagined the opponent's fists would be this durable.

However, despite this turn of events, Zhao Cheng's heart remained as clear as a calm lake. The long sword suspended over that lake had silently sliced away all distractions unrelated to the battle.

Absolute focus!

The effects of the Breathing Visualization Method were manifesting at this very moment.

Even if only temporarily, it allowed one to exert twelve-tenths of their combat potential during a fight.

At the same time, Zhao Cheng felt the immense force transmitted from the opponent's fist—a power capable of shattering stone. Had his swordsmanship still been at level 4, he feared that a single blow would have sent his weapon flying, and the next strike would have been fatal.

Zhao Cheng had to accept the fact that, in the beginning, he would have been killed in an instant by a mere grunt.

Yet now, although his physical strength had not increased in the slightest, the improvement in his swordsmanship allowed him to channel the impact through the vibration of his bones and muscles down to his feet in an instant.

The so-called "steadiness" in his swordsmanship was manifested in this very ability to carry force.

The frame constructed by his flesh and bones acted like a roly-poly toy; naturally, he was as steady as Mount Tai!

This was the true meaning of being steady.

Even so, Zhao Cheng still felt a numbness in his bones, though fortunately, it did not hinder his swordsmanship.

After that single exchange, the Gray Man immediately shifted his stance. His fist movements changed, and he began to "entwine" himself around Zhao Cheng, possessing a momentum that chased the wind and pursued the moon without relent.

From this change, Zhao Cheng realized that the Gray Man before him possessed an extremely high level of combat awareness.

Although its previous behavioral patterns resembled those of a low-level mob in a game, this was definitely not a game.

The opponent's moves were not rigid like a game monster; they were driven by a powerful combat instinct.

Zhao Cheng had no experience fighting martial arts experts. If he were to be honest, having lived two lives, the only fighting he had ever done was a clumsy scuffle with classmates in this life.

That he could now calmly fight the Gray Man without making a mistake was entirely thanks to the miraculous nature of the Breathing Visualization Method inherent to his swordsmanship.

His "memorization" of the manual had not been in vain. He had already contemplated the advantages and disadvantages of both sides: his advantage lay in the principle that "an inch longer is an inch stronger," as well as the sharpness of his blade.

Although the second point had been negated, he still held the advantage of reach.

His disadvantage was his lack of skill in close-quarters combat. Beyond two steps, the "inch longer" rule applied, but within two steps, once the opponent closed the distance, his sword's path would be restricted, effectively "crippling" his martial arts.

The Gray Man showed no sign of intelligence, yet its combat awareness was flexible to the extreme.

In the span of a single move, it had already closed in on Zhao Cheng, attempting to force a clinch to neutralize his weapon.

If the Gray Man truly managed to stick to him, Zhao Cheng feared he would be living out the script of a man being beaten to death—and he would be the one on the receiving end.

As the Gray Man "entwined" him, the impact of that tower-like body rushing forward brought a pressure that instinctively filled Zhao Cheng with a sense of dread.

Without the support of the Breathing Visualization Method, he would likely be shaking with fear right now, and he would be lucky to exert even thirty percent of his swordsmanship.

No one is truly strong enough to fear nothing; Zhao Cheng was naturally capable of fear and terror.

Those who do not know what fear is are not the truly strong. The truly strong are those who know what fear is, yet are still able to overcome it.

The dread the Gray Man instilled in him caused the long sword over his heart to blur for a moment, nearly breaking his focus.

Fortunately, Zhao Cheng stabilized himself in time. Without a moment's hesitation, his body recoiled, widening the distance.

The shift in his emotions happened in a flash, and his physical movements were equally swift and agile.

The Gray Man's joints were not flexible enough; otherwise, given that momentary lapse in his mental state, Zhao Cheng would have been "entwined" and killed.

Human beings are both powerful and fragile. Especially at Zhao Cheng's level, one can easily kill their own kind, but also, if things go wrong, be easily killed by them.

No matter how sharp or steady the sword, it does not change the fact that the body is a fragile vessel of flesh and blood.

Clang!

Another clash, the longsword hummed and trembled, while a white mark appeared on the opponent's fist, proving it was not truly indestructible.

After this strike, Zhao Cheng had already begun to acclimate, displaying a powerful capacity for adaptation.

During the initial engagement, the enemy's first counterattack was undoubtedly the most oppressive, but as for the subsequent ones, the pressure they exerted—at least on a psychological level—diminished sharply.

Zhao Cheng could be said to have taken the first step from practice to real combat at this very moment!

Changes on the mental level are usually subtle, often difficult to perceive in the short term, and drawn out over a long period, only becoming apparent when one looks back and suddenly realizes their own growth.

However, due to the Breathing Visualization Method and a touch of Zhao Cheng's extraordinary talent for swordsmanship, the moment the psychological barrier was crossed, the longsword upon his mental lake instantly became a fraction more refined.

As for the Panel.

Log: Spirit +0.1, Quietude proficiency +3%, 17th Basic Swordsmanship 6th Revised Edition proficiency +10.

His changes, his growth, were immediately visible.

Even if they were not great!