As Ais began chanting, pale green light immediately wrapped around her. Her golden hair fluttered in the wind.
Then Ais gripped the hilt with both hands and closed her eyes tightly.
The pale green light surrounding Ais began gathering on the blade, visible to the naked eye. As the wind coiled around her, a sharp aura radiated from her, and the blade began to hum.
Suddenly!
Ais opened her eyes and swung the sword in her hands toward the distance with all her strength.
A green sword arc flew from the blade, whistling into the distance.
The air split apart, and the earth was cleaved in two. Anything in the sword arc's path was destroyed, leaving a deep scar in a wall several hundred meters away.
"What is this?"
Ais stared in disbelief at the scene she had created, unable to believe she had done it.
"Congratulations, Ais. See? I told you, anyone with hands can do this. It's easy."
Lu Qiming completely ignored the looks Finn, Tiona, and the others were giving him. He especially ignored the werewolf Bete, who raised his hand and waved it a few times toward the front, but nothing happened at all.
Could it be my hands are fake?
"Thank you, Qiming!"
Ais sheathed her sword and looked at Lu Qiming with an unusually excited expression on her normally expressionless face. She had recently hit a bottleneck, and her slowly improving strength had left her feeling restless. But now, with this move, her strength had improved once more.
"It's nothing. I only taught you the principles behind the move. Being able to do this much is thanks to your own hard work."
As he spoke, Lu Qiming jumped down from the rock and headed toward the woods in the distance.
"Ais, come with me. As a fellow swordsman, I'll teach you a few more moves."
"Mm."
Ais nodded and followed Lu Qiming.
Behind them, Finn and the others exchanged helpless looks before continuing to study the move Lu Qiming had just demonstrated. They still hadn't learned the one that supposedly anyone with hands could do, so going over there would only be discouraging. They might as well master this one first.
While they practiced, the second group also arrived on the eighteenth floor.
The dwarf Gareth looked at Finn, Bete, and the others in confusion, then walked over to Riveria, who was sitting on a rock with a smile. He pointed at the people over there, who were repeatedly punching the air, and asked,
"Riveria, what are Finn and those brats doing?"
"They're practicing a little trick that anyone with hands can do."
"?"
Gareth couldn't understand what Riveria was talking about. He shook his head and walked over to Finn and the others.
In the end, after Finn told him something and pointed to the sword scar Ais had left behind, Gareth also began repeatedly punching the air.
The little grove was a place full of endless legends. In every sense, it was the perfect spot for "outdoor action": secluded surroundings, shadowy trees, and few people. The characters in all kinds of "adult stories" made the best use of places like this.
Here, they would conquer one "enemy" after another, making each of them surrender "body and soul."
At that moment, in just such a little grove, a golden-haired girl followed behind a black-haired boy. She watched the figure ahead without a trace of wariness, utterly unaware of what was about to happen.
At last, the black-haired boy stopped deep in the grove and turned around to look kindly at the golden-haired girl behind him.
"Ais, are you ready for what comes next?"
"Mm."
"It might hurt a little, but you'll feel good soon enough."
"Mm. I'll endure it!"
"Then here I go."
Lu Qiming walked up to Ais and slowly reached for her skirt. He grabbed the sword at her waist and removed it together with its scabbard.
"Ais, watch closely."
After speaking, Lu Qiming recalled the stance for Sword Soul's skill. He rested the sword at his waist with his left hand, held the hilt with his right, crouched slightly, and began gathering power as he faced the trees ahead.
As Lu Qiming gathered his strength, an invisible current of air began converging on the scabbard.
"Draw Sword Strike!"
Whoosh!
A flash of sword light flared. A terrifying sword arc shot directly from Lu Qiming's waist and swept across the area ahead.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Amid the rumbling of trees crashing to the ground, the view ahead opened up. Everything taller than a meter had been cleaved in two and toppled over.
"What is this?"
Ais stared at the utterly devastated trees before her, then gazed blankly at Lu Qiming. She could tell this was an advanced version of the move she had just used—and that it was even more powerful.
"This is Draw Sword Strike. You gather power before drawing the sword, then kill your enemy in the instant the blade leaves its scabbard."
After speaking, Lu Qiming returned the sword to its scabbard and placed it at his waist again, then had Ais come stand beside him.
After gathering power for a moment, an even more terrifying sword arc flashed into view. Centered on Lu Qiming, a ring-shaped arc shot outward. By the time it disappeared, the entire grove was gone.
"This is Void Draw Sword Strike, an advanced version of Draw Sword Strike. It takes time to charge, but it's much more powerful."
"Is this what you're going to teach me, Qiming?"
Ais stared blankly at her surroundings. The dense grove that had once stood there had completely disappeared. From where she stood, she could even see Finn and the others punching more vigorously in the distance, apparently alerted by the commotion.
"Mm. There's one more move. I'll teach you that one too."
As he spoke, Lu Qiming raised the sword in his hands and pointed it forward, crouching down.
"Phantom Sword Dance!"
With Lu Qiming's low shout, the sword in his hands blurred into a phantom. Endless Sword Qi flew from the blade, densely bombarding the ground and blasting a crater hundreds of meters in diameter into it.
"All right, I've taught you all three moves. The principles are much the same as the one I just taught you. With your talent, Ais, I'm sure you'll learn them soon."
After speaking, Lu Qiming handed the sword to Ais and let her practice on her own.
"Thank you!"
Ais took the Despair Sword and bowed to Lu Qiming.
"All right, there's no need to thank me. I wanted to teach you these moves, too."
Lu Qiming smiled and sat down on a nearby tree stump. It was surprisingly comfortable, without a single splinter, and as smooth as a mirror.
Seeing this, Ais copied Lu Qiming's earlier movements and placed the sword at her waist. Pale green light once again enveloped her body. Her right hand gripped the hilt, and the wind around her began gathering toward the scabbard.
After charging for ten seconds, she drew her sword, and a pale green sword arc shot out.
The almost-solid sword arc split through the air and flew nearly five hundred meters before dissipating.
"Did I succeed? No, not yet."
Ais murmured to herself. Thinking of how Lu Qiming had performed Draw Sword Strike almost instantly, she sheathed her sword again and began practicing.
As she practiced, though, Ais kept wondering what Lu Qiming had meant when he said it would hurt a little but feel good soon enough.
Could he have meant my muscles would ache after training?
Nearby, after seeing that Ais had indeed learned Draw Sword Strike, Lu Qiming quietly left the tree stump and headed toward the camp that was being set up.
He hadn't expected Ais to learn Draw Sword Strike after just one demonstration. She really was worthy of a woman who had her own spin-off story. Her talent was truly terrifying!
Thank you to reader 20180406082759699 for the four monthly tickets, and to reader 20170620004208721 for the four monthly tickets!
Monthly tickets are currently doubled. Please support the new book with follows, reads, recommendations, and monthly tickets. Thank you to everyone who has supported me. Love you all (′‵)Ｉ L
Before you continue