Three days later.
Ryōken walked out of the Secret Pavilion expressionlessly, silently sorting through what he had gained over the past three days.
The Secret Pavilion's collection covered everything imaginable. With time limited, Ryōken had chosen his reading selectively, starting, of course, with research on natural energy.
Although the samurai had yet to find a practical method, they had still developed many worthwhile insights, some of which left Ryōken with a renewed sense of clarity.
From the Secret Pavilion, Ryōken learned that even before chakra appeared, people had already begun researching natural energy. It was only after ninja became widespread that such research had stagnated.
They had turned instead to cultivating chakra.
Thinking of this, a trace of mockery appeared in Ryōken's eyes. They had thrown away a watermelon to pick up sesame seeds.
But after giving it some thought, he understood. At that time, the samurai had likely been struggling just to survive, forcing them to begin cultivating chakra.
Moreover, cultivating natural energy carried risks. It was not so easy to master.
Next came nearly every insight on swordsmanship he could find. Ryōken had not intended to learn any specific sword techniques. Instead, he focused more on reading deductions about the way of the sword and all sorts of imaginative ideas.
With these, Ryōken had built a foundation—not a foundation for elemental sword techniques, but one for the pure way of the sword. It would provide him with deep reserves for developing swordsmanship techniques in the future.
Lastly was his understanding of chakra nature transformation.
It could be said that although Ryōken had not learned any concrete moves in these three days, his mind now contained enough knowledge to support his climb to the pinnacle.
Ryōken had always believed that only those who truly understood the truths of the