One Sword, Instant Kill—You're the Strongest Sequence, Part 9

He then walked over to the sword rack. Made of special wood, it held countless light swords, hanging one after another like rows of weeping willows. Su Xing merely leaned his greatsword against the base of the rack. He did not dare hang the sword he used there. Otherwise, if the rack snapped later, the headmaster would scold him again.

"Hey, Little Su."

The headmaster called Su Xing's name from the second floor. He stretched lazily and looked at Su Xing with little energy, as though he had just been woken up by the noise.

"What is it, Headmaster?"

Su Xing halted just as he was about to head straight back to his room. He looked up at the headmaster and asked.

"Hehe, it's nothing much. Starting tomorrow, could I trouble you to cover classes for the other kendo instructors? They've all taken leave because of all sorts of news and are too afraid to come in. You're the only one living here. If you think it's too tiring, I can pay you extra."

"No problem."

Su Xing agreed without the slightest hesitation. Or rather, there was actually such a good thing?!

This sword dojo normally had three or four classes a day. If Su Xing covered them all himself, it would be a little tiring, but he could earn three or four kendo points every day. This was practically a pie falling from the sky.

The headmaster stroked his graying hair and shook his head. In an understanding tone, he muttered:

"Sigh, I knew it would be too exhausting. It's fine if you don't agree... Wait, why did you agree so readily?!"

"I just want to teach classes. Is there a problem with that?"

Su Xing smiled innocently, as if he truly just wanted to teach.

Like hell I believe that!

The headmaster understood Su Xing far too well. He knew that Su Xing had always liked swords, not working. But since Su Xing had agreed, there was no reason to refuse him. He merely waved a hand and said:

"Since you've agreed, there are three classes tomorrow. Get ready."

"Alright!"

Inside the room,

Su Xing sat quietly on his bed.

Beside him was a huge pile of high-calorie food. Packaging bags covered the bed and the floor. If an outsider entered Su Xing's room, they would probably find it difficult to even walk around.

[Breath Rhythm lv5 (468/1000)+]

[Kendo Points: 2]

Su Xing roared inwardly, "System, add them!"

"System, add them!"

As Su Xing's thought fell,

the kendo points on the system panel suddenly emptied.

[Breath Rhythm lv5 (468/1000)]

It was as though it had suddenly caught fire. The entire text began to melt and twist, gradually turning into a blob of black pigment that was impossible to make out.

In just one or two breaths,

the blob of black pigment seemed to regain vitality. It rapidly rose and condensed into four faint words before Su Xing.

[Congratulations! Your professional skill "Breath Rhythm lv5" has leveled up to "Breath Rhythm lv6".]

[Congratulations! Your professional skill "Breath Rhythm lv6" has advanced to "Sword Breathing lv1".]

Su Xing quickly swept his gaze over the words "Sword Breathing."

With his previous experience, he did not relax. Instead, he clenched his teeth and waited for the pain to come.

Sure enough!

A second later, Su Xing felt as if his skull had been struck by a sledgehammer. His entire body grew dizzy as intense pain and profound memories poured endlessly into his mind.

In his mind, a little figure swung a sword again and again, adjusting his "Breath Rhythm." Who knew how many years passed? His "Breath Rhythm" became increasingly perfect, and each sword strike from the little figure became sharper and sharper, until Su Xing suddenly opened his eyes.

"So this is Sword Breathing..."

It was as though Su Xing had comprehended Sword Breathing himself.

Everything from those years—whether breathing methods or all sorts of intricate details—had been branded into Su Xing's muscle memory, carrying a sense of complete mastery.

Almost at the same moment Su Xing felt that sense of mastery,

his body reacted as well. Weakness and hunger rapidly enveloped his consciousness. The intense exhaustion came from every inch of skin and every cell, making even moving a finger feel extraordinarily difficult.

Su Xing gritted his teeth and stretched out a trembling arm to grab the compressed biscuits beside him.

But just as Su Xing picked up the package and tore it open with a rustle, he felt as though his mind had suddenly shut down.

For no reason at all,

Su Xing collapsed onto the bed and fell unconscious. Though his consciousness had faded, every part of his body seemed to have abruptly activated, beginning to breathe and function according to a peculiar rhythm.

With each breath,

a greatsword formed from pale white airflow gradually appeared within Su Xing's abdomen. However, it had only barely condensed the beginning of a hilt. It was clearly still far from fully taking shape.

Time passed as it slowly condensed bit by bit.

Su Xing's eyelids twitched twice. It seemed to take tremendous effort, and only after several attempts did he finally open his weary eyes.

He stared outside in confusion.

A mirror-like moon hung in the sky, and moonlight as clear as flowing water slanted through the window onto Su Xing's face.

Did I... fall asleep?

Su Xing muttered blankly.

He suddenly climbed out of bed, jolting the huge pile of food on it and sending it clattering all over the floor.

Standing there, Su Xing stared blankly at the food scattered everywhere. He had prepared it to deal with the hunger after a breakthrough, yet he had not eaten anything at all and did not feel the slightest hunger. Instead, he felt more energetic than ever.

This was different from his last breakthrough.

Su Xing mulled over the thoughts in his mind, then walked to the mirror in the room and tore off the clothes that had been soaked through with sweat during his sleep.

In the mirror,

a black-haired young man stood ramrod straight.

He had a sturdy build and long limbs. His muscles fitted together in solid blocks, giving off a captivating silvery-white sheen under the moonlight.

"Something seems different..."

Su Xing ran his hands over the muscles on his body one by one. His originally bulky muscles seemed to have shrunk somewhat, but they had become harder, and every part of them brimmed with terrifying explosive power.

Su Xing was certain this was not muscle loss. On the contrary, his muscles were denser and more refined than before.

Su Xing clenched his fist hard.

His strength had indeed increased again.

This should be the effect of Sword Breathing. It prevented him from feeling hungry after a breakthrough while making his muscles more condensed. It was somewhat different from how his muscles had grown larger when he upgraded White-Line Slash.

As for its other effects,

Su Xing had not felt them yet.

"Better take a shower first."

Su Xing wiped the sweat from his body. He felt sticky and uncomfortable. Stripping naked, he entered the bathroom, squeezed the body wash bottle, then said gloomily:

"Hm? There's no body wash left?"

"Great. I have to go out in the middle of the night."

Su Xing rinsed himself quickly with water, then swiftly got dressed. Leaving the bathroom, he packed the snacks scattered all over the floor back into the box before leaving the sword dojo.

But with his previous experience,

Su Xing brought his greatsword with him when he went out in the middle of the night this time.

It was around two in the morning. Other than the streetlamps illuminating the lonely roads, there was no sign of anything else in the night.

Along the way, Su Xing encountered a few drunken men who looked like thugs.

But when they saw Su Xing's physique and the greatsword slung across his waist, none of them had any intention of bothering him. One after another, they chose to stay away from him and continue their drunken antics.

Soon,

Su Xing bought body wash from a twenty-four-hour convenience store.

Then he headed back the way he had come. The road remained calm and peaceful, and nothing happened. Just as Su Xing thought he probably would not be so unlucky,

he suddenly heard the sound of fighting.

Su Xing was very familiar with such sounds. Sword dojo sparring matches almost always produced them, but this fight was faster and fiercer, and the weapons being used did not seem to be swords.

Su Xing looked toward the source of the noise.

It was that lake again. He tightened his grip on the sword in his hand, then headed toward it.

If it had been somewhere else, Su Xing definitely would not have bothered with this nonsense. But the path ahead was the only route back to the sword dojo, and it would be difficult to avoid.

So he might as well see what was happening.

Su Xing followed the path paved with white stone bricks. The farther in he went, the louder the fighting became. Su Xing's expression gradually turned serious, his right hand remaining on the sword at his waist as he approached step by step.