Ghislaine Could Only Teach Alice

Of course, Ghislaine was not teaching Alice alone.

Based on the promise she had made to teach him swordsmanship after Cui Ciyou had saved her life,

Cui Ciyou naturally began his true, systematic study of swordsmanship in this world.

Naturally, the lessons began with the most basic things:

the Sword God Style's unique sword grip, basic footwork, and swings, slashes, and thrusts from various angles.

As his "sparring partner" and instructor, Ghislaine carefully checked every detail of his movements and corrected the way he exerted force.

However, Cui Ciyou's learning process formed a stark and interesting contrast with Alice's.

Although he possessed physical abilities far beyond ordinary people and astonishing reaction speed, and could imitate nearly any movement with flawless precision,

his strength and speed had reached frightening levels.

Yet Cui Ciyou lacked Alice's innate feel for the sword and instinct for battle.

More importantly, there was not the slightest trace of Battle Aura within him.

Therefore, he could not, like the true swordsmen of this world, pour his strength and will into his blade and unleash powerful strikes imbued with Battle Aura.

Cui Ciyou's practice was more like an extremely precise and efficient physical exercise than "swordsmanship" in this world's usual sense.

Simply put, Alice and Ghislaine were more like natural instinct-driven, feeling-driven types;

while Cui Ciyou leaned more toward a technical style that relied on rational analysis and logical thought.

The Sword God Style was a school of pure feeling, the Water God Style was a school of pure rationality, and the North God Style was a way of fighting that used every means available.

The Sword God Style and Water God Style were both sword-centered schools; they merely differed in their theories of using the sword.

The North God Style, on the other hand, was more like a combat philosophy. It was not obsessed with using a sword. As long as it could win, it did not matter whether a sword was used.

During breaks in training, Alice would sometimes watch Cui Ciyou practice from the side with great interest.

Seeing Cui Ciyou undergoing those unbearably tedious basic drills in Ghislaine's instruction,

and sometimes getting smacked without mercy by Ghislaine's wooden sword when his movements were not up to standard,

she would... secretly laugh at his misfortune. Cui Ciyou found it rather helpless.

Though Ghislaine was clearly much "gentler" with Cui Ciyou than she was with Alice.

Alice's inner thoughts: He's just some pretty boy.

Ghislaine's teaching method also gave Cui Ciyou a profound understanding of what true "feeling-based" or "beast-style" instruction was.

Whenever Ghislaine frowned and tried to explain some technique for exerting force to Cui Ciyou, she would always say:

"Wrong! When you swing your sword, twist your waist like this. It should feel... like a canine monster pouncing on its prey."

Cui Ciyou responded expressionlessly. He had indeed seen canine monsters, such as the Assault Hounds they had encountered before.

But he had never personally seen the exact posture they used while hunting. Or rather, even if he had, he probably would not have understood it.

"How exactly does a canine monster pounce?"

Ghislaine tried hard to demonstrate with her body, but she clearly could not accurately describe that feeling which could be understood but not put into words:

"It's just... whoosh... with the sound of wind!"

Or she would say, "When you run, your footsteps must be light. Like a feline monster... landing without a sound!"

"...And how exactly do they run?" Cui Ciyou continued to press.

"When you leap up to swing your sword, you must seize the timing. Catch that instant when the enemy's old force is spent and their new force has yet to arise!"

"Like... like an avian monster catching a Hobir Rabbit!"

"...And how exactly does an avian monster catch a Hobir Rabbit?" Cui Ciyou felt the veins on his forehead throbbing.

"I don't understand any of this at all, Ghislaine!"

"Ciyou! Why are you so dumb?!"

I'm dumb? You're the one person I absolutely don't want calling me dumb, okay? Cui Ciyou roared silently inside.

After trying once more to understand Ghislaine's painstaking guidance, which was filled with animal metaphors and sound effects,

Cui Ciyou finally could not take it anymore and declared defeat.

With a helpless look on his face, he asked:

"Aren't you the Sword God's disciple? Tell me, when you were learning swordsmanship, did the Sword God teach you like this too?"

"Did he tell you every day to be like a leopard, a cat, or an eagle? Or tell you to feel a 'whoosh' like that?"

"No." Ghislaine shook her head solemnly, answering with absolute certainty and without the slightest hesitation.

"Oh? Then how did the Sword God teach you?" Cui Ciyou asked curiously, wanting to know how the orthodox Sword God Style had been passed down.

"Master... merely fought me every day." Ghislaine recalled it briefly and spoke in a flat tone.

"From morning until night. If I couldn't win, I kept fighting. Until... I had no strength left."

"..." The corner of Cui Ciyou's mouth twitched involuntarily. For a moment, he was speechless.

All right, that answer... was simple and brutal—very much in line with the Sword God Style's philosophy of relentless offense.

"So... teaching us like this counts as giving us special treatment?" Cui Ciyou could not help complaining.

"At least you taught us the basic sword grip and footwork, and you're willing to spar with us instead of directly beating us half to death like punching bags..."

"Thank you... so very much?"

"But then again,"

Cui Ciyou looked at Alice beside him. Having understood one of Ghislaine's instructions to "pounce like a wolf," she was excitedly swinging her wooden sword and had genuinely produced a hint of fierce momentum. A sense of helplessness and reflection rose within him once more.

It's unbelievable that Alice can actually understand this!

This kind of teaching method, based entirely on bodily instinct and wild intuition, perhaps... really is only suitable for someone of the same kind as Alice.

She really seems to understand. Those baffling metaphors from Ghislaine that make no sense to me, she can rapidly turn them into actual movements of her own. Is that also a manifestation of talent for swordsmanship?... I truly have nothing to say.

But for a "modern person" like me, accustomed to logical analysis and theoretical study, this teaching method is simply a disaster.

Cui Ciyou continued the tedious basic sword-swinging drills expressionlessly, while silently planning his next direction of study.

It seems that if I want to truly master this world's swordsmanship, relying solely on Ghislaine's "feeling-based teaching" is far from enough.

I need theory. I need more systematic knowledge to support me.

I have to work through those swordsmanship theory books in the library as soon as possible.

Then, combined with practical sparring against Ghislaine, perhaps... I'll be able to find a path of the sword that truly suits me?

Note:

In the original novel's setting, most swordsmen of the Sword Sanctum were illiterate. Perhaps that was why their teaching methods were so primitive?