The Red-Haired Young Lady's "Talent for Swordsmanship"

Ever since their first meeting, when he had "disciplined" Alice in an almost brutal manner,

and this hot-tempered young lady had fiercely left two rows of fine bite marks on his right shoulder, a week had quietly passed.

That wound, which had looked rather gruesome at first glance,

had completely stopped bleeding that very night thanks to Cui Ciyou's absurd self-healing ability;

by the next morning, it had formed a thin scab; by noon on the second day, the scab had fallen off on its own.

Now, Cui Ciyou sat comfortably in the spacious study of the Boreas Greyrat Family.

He casually rolled his right shoulder. The skin there had already returned to perfect smoothness, without even the faintest scar remaining.

Sure enough, this body's self-healing ability was strengthened too, he realized.

This rate of recovery, combined with how swiftly the wound on his right hand had healed within a day after his encounter with an Assault Hound,

gave Cui Ciyou a deeper understanding of the changes to his body after crossing over:

overwhelming physical strength, bizarre Magic Nullification, and an extraordinary Perception ability that seemed to be Mental Power.

Even his body's natural recovery functions and tolerance for pain seemed far beyond what he had possessed on Earth.

Thinking back to the moment Alice had bitten down on his shoulder with all her strength a week ago,

the sharp stabbing pain had certainly been real, but it had been far milder than he had expected.

Rather than agonizing, heart-rending pain, it had felt more like an unpleasant, persistent numb itch.

It was similar to the pain of being slapped on the back of the hand, entirely within his tolerance.

This probably wasn't merely the result of an all-around increase in physical ability.

Cui Ciyou calmly flipped through a thick copy of the Geographical Overview of the Asura Kingdom, written in ancient Human Common Tongue,

while dedicating part of his attention to quietly sensing the flow of the cool, active "Mental Power" within him, something completely different from magic power or Battle Aura.

It was more like this Mental Power was subtly strengthening and repairing my bodily tissues.

And to a certain extent, reshaping my nervous system, filtering out most negative pain sensations.

Cui Ciyou increasingly believed that Mental Power was the core ability he had acquired after crossing over.

Whether it was his astonishing physical enhancement or the unique Anti-Magic Field, they might simply be specific manifestations of this mysterious power overflowing or being applied.

Although his understanding of this power remained quite shallow, and his methods of using it were limited to passive Magic Nullification and Perception over a limited range,

his understanding of Alice Boreas Greyrat, the other main character in that small conflict a week ago,

had also become more three-dimensional through their "time together" over the past few days.

That red-haired little girl truly lived up to the nickname Mad Dog from the original work.

She was irritable and short-tempered, erratic and impulsive, with an intensely aggressive nature.

Yet at the same time, Cui Ciyou had to admit

that her small body contained immense potential so astounding that it was almost enviable.

The incredible speed and strength she unleashed when driven by rage.

And that beast-like combat instinct that precisely seized openings both far surpassed children her age, and even many ordinary adults.

More frightening still, she already possessed a trace of... Battle Aura at the age of five!

Over the past few days, although Cui Ciyou had not successfully taught Alice a single lesson,

he had stood beneath the training ground's covered walkway and "observed" Ghislaine's swordsmanship instruction several times.

Ghislaine's teaching methods were nearly identical to how they had been described in the original work:

simple, brutal, yet exceptionally effective—a pure practical combat style.

Rather than "instruction," it was more like one-sided "abuse" of Alice.

"Your sword is too slow. You're full of openings!"

On the training ground, Ghislaine's voice was icy.

The wooden sword in her hand became an afterimage, striking Alice's wrist with perfect precision.

Accompanied by a crisp smack and Alice's cry of pain, the wooden sword flew from her hand.

"Waaah... That hurt! You violent cat woman!"

Alice clutched her wrist, tears glistening in her eyes from the pain, yet she still shouted insults defiantly.

"Complaining is useless. Pick up your sword and come again." Ghislaine assumed her stance expressionlessly.

Yet what surprised Cui Ciyou somewhat was that although Alice cried and wailed every time Ghislaine beat her into a miserable state,

and was even left bruised and battered on several occasions, she had never retreated.

In summary: she was fearless. Fearless meant fearless.

Perhaps because Alice had bitten him before,

Cui Ciyou could tell that Ghislaine struck rather heavily during their sparring.

But after a brief bout of yelling and cursing, Alice would always immediately climb back to her feet.

Her bright ruby-like eyes burned with unyielding fire. Then, with an even fiercer bearing, she charged at Ghislaine again.

Again and again, over and over.

By the end of training, Alice often collapsed exhausted on the ground.

Drenched in sweat and without even the strength to stand, she would still glare fiercely at Ghislaine with those unyielding eyes.

Even Ghislaine, a Sword King of the Sword God Style, could not help giving her own evaluation in a low voice after one particularly grueling session.

She walked beneath the covered walkway, picked up a waterskin and took a gulp, then said to Cui Ciyou beside her,

"Tch, what a... child with fangs. Just like... certain people from the past."

Her gaze grew distant, as though she had remembered something.

"She's a natural-born warrior to her core," Ghislaine continued, a rare trace of praise in her voice.

"She has a beast's instincts, terrifying reaction speed, and... that ruthless refusal to ever admit defeat."

"She was practically born for the Sword God Style."

"If she can be properly polished, her future achievements in swordsmanship will be absolutely limitless."

For Alice to receive such high praise from Ghislaine, a Sword King, was enough to show just how gifted she was in swordsmanship.

Cui Ciyou was not surprised by this.

After all, in the original work, her talent had also received unanimous recognition from both Ghislaine and Ruijerd.

Even the Dragon God, Orsted, had praised her swordsmanship later on.

In the original work, Alice had defeated two Sword Saints of the Sword Sanctum head-on at the age of fifteen.

Nina Farion, the daughter of the previous Sword God, and Jino Britts, the next Sword God.

At seventeen, she had even earned the title of Mad Sword King. By the later stages, her strength was likely infinitely close to the Sword God level.

Such talent truly was terrifying.