Su Chen picked up the Wooden Sword without a word.
He simply began practicing on his own beside Kanao Tsuyuri.
As he practiced, he quietly observed Kanao Tsuyuri's movements.
Su Chen had never held a blade before. His first attempts at swinging the sword looked rather clumsy, almost like a performing monkey.
But with the tremendous boost from his Heaven-Defying Comprehension, Su Chen copied Kanao Tsuyuri's movements and improved rapidly. Before long, his swordplay began to look convincing.
Sure enough, practicing swordsmanship was the fastest shortcut to becoming stronger in this world.
With only the Shadowless Hand he had learned earlier, Su Chen probably could not kill a single demon even if he swung his hands until they smoked.
Since he wanted to grow stronger and survive better, he needed to obtain a Nichirin Blade as soon as possible.
In the courtyard, a gentle breeze brushed past their moving figures.
The courtyard flowers gave off a delicate fragrance, and a few scattered bees busily gathered nectar.
Kanao Tsuyuri suddenly stopped.
She turned and quietly looked at Su Chen.
Su Chen raised the Wooden Katana in his hand, faced the girl, and asked with a smile, "Could you help me hone my swordsmanship?"
Kanao Tsuyuri nodded obediently.
But when she saw that Su Chen was holding a Wooden Katana, she hesitated again.
Her fair fingers produced a coin from somewhere. She tossed it into the air, then pressed it onto the back of her hand.
After seeing the design facing up, the girl made up her mind.
She returned to her room and exchanged her weapon for a Wooden Sword.
"Looks like you're still very gentle, Kanao. I really thought you were going to slash at me with a real blade!"
Su Chen was clearly joking, but Kanao Tsuyuri visibly froze for a moment.
Because that thought had indeed crossed her mind.
Su Chen had livened up the atmosphere.
Aoi Kanzaki, Kiyo, Sumi, and Xiao Caihui walked to the side of the courtyard and watched them quietly.
The three little girls could not help cupping their little faces in their hands, touched by what Su Chen had done.
"Su Chen really is so gentle."
"Yes! Kanao isn't good with words. Su Chen must have done that because he knew."
"But does Su Chen know how to use a sword? Kanao is really strong. What if he gets hurt?"
Although they knew Su Chen was formidable, the girls could not help worrying when they saw him challenge Kanao Tsuyuri.
Aoi Kanzaki also knitted her delicate brows. "If only I could be as brave as Su Chen."
In the courtyard, the boy and girl stood facing each other with their Wooden Katanas.
"My name is Su Chen. I'll be imposing on the Butterfly Mansion for a while. Please show me what you can."
With that, Su Chen took half a step back.
He waited for Kanao Tsuyuri to attack.
Since he did not know swordsmanship, he had to observe her techniques, learn them immediately, and counter them.
While practicing earlier, Su Chen had been watching Kanao Tsuyuri's movements the entire time and had quickly learned how to use the Wooden Sword in his hand.
But practice and actual combat were two different things, so Su Chen had to wait for Kanao Tsuyuri to strike first.
Only then could he react immediately.
Yet even after a long wait, Kanao Tsuyuri made no move.
It seemed they had both arrived at the same idea.
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. You attack first," Su Chen told Kanao Tsuyuri, angling his blade downward.
A trace of confusion flashed through Kanao Tsuyuri's eyes.
Though introverted, she was very confident in her swordsmanship.
Among the young swordsmen of her cohort, no one except the Hashira could beat her in skill!
This was not blind confidence. She truly possessed that strength.
But Su Chen did not seem to know that?
What should I do? Should I attack?
Though puzzled, Kanao Tsuyuri did not want to think too much.
After a moment's thought, she said nothing and swung her Wooden Katana straight at him!
"So fast!"
The wooden blade slashed in front of Su Chen in an instant.
Only after he saw Kanao Tsuyuri move did the sound of the blade cutting through the air belatedly follow.
Though she was only swinging a Wooden Katana, its sharpness still made Su Chen's skin sting.
But Su Chen's reaction speed had already undergone a complete transformation. He could still keep up with Kanao Tsuyuri's movements.
[You observed Kanao Tsuyuri's body movements and gained insight. Through practical application, you learned Mastery of Footwork.] [You observed Kanao Tsuyuri's sword movements and gained insight. Through practical application, you learned Mastery of Swordsmanship.]
At first, Su Chen struggled greatly to handle Kanao Tsuyuri's attacks.
But after analyzing her movements frame by frame, he once again saw through the paths of her attacks.
"First, the left."
With light, flowing steps, Su Chen calmly dodged Kanao Tsuyuri's slash.
"The right."
As Su Chen dodged, Kanao Tsuyuri turned her blade from vertical to horizontal and sliced straight toward his kidney!
Her previous move had merely been a feint!
But Su Chen had already seen through everything. Kanao Tsuyuri's movements had been laid bare.
Su Chen memorized her sequence of attacks like a formula.
Now, all he needed to do was move his body step by step along the predetermined path.
Su Chen dodged again.
"Finally, above!"
As Su Chen's words fell, Kanao Tsuyuri leaped high into the air, just as he had said.
A sword strike descended from the sky.
It was so fast that Aoi Kanzaki and the three little girls watching could not follow it.
But Su Chen saw it, and he had already moved one step to the side.
It was as though he had known Kanao Tsuyuri would attack from above.
So this strike failed to hit Su Chen as well!
Aoi Kanzaki and the little girls all widened their eyes.
Aoi Kanzaki said, "This guy's talent is terrifying!"
Kiyo said, "Su Chen is amazing!"
Sumi said, "Yes! Even Kanao can't land a hit on him!"
Naho said, "Go, Kanao! Go, Su Chen!"
Kanao Tsuyuri stopped.
She looked at Su Chen with confusion in her eyes.
She had seen it clearly. At the very beginning, Su Chen's movements had been quite awkward.
Yet after exchanging a couple of moves with her, his swordsmanship had grown increasingly polished. In just a few minutes, it had risen to almost the same level as hers!
Kanao Tsuyuri blinked and took out her coin again.
She tossed it and flipped it over.
The gesture was quite abrupt, but Su Chen waited quietly for her.
The coin landed on the back of Kanao Tsuyuri's hand, and she quietly glanced at its design.
The next moment, the girl made up her mind.
She tucked the coin into her pocket like a treasure, then gripped the Wooden Katana tightly with both hands.
An extremely dangerous aura radiated from Kanao Tsuyuri.
Su Chen narrowed his eyes. "A Breathing Style?"
The next moment, Kanao Tsuyuri moved!
She changed her previous approach, and the Wooden Katana in her hands swung twice as fast as before!
Her entire body leaped high into the air.
"Flower Breathing, Fifth Form: Peonies of Futility!"
This was a Breathing Style's Sword Technique!
At the sight, the three little girls nearby could not help crying out:
"Oh no! Kanao is using a Sword Technique!"
"Ah! I've covered my eyes! This is too scary!"
"Aoi, hurry and pull Su Chen back!"
Aoi Kanzaki held her breath and concentrated, her eyes filled with anxiety.
Why was Kanao using a Sword Technique?!
This scene had completely exceeded everyone's expectations. As they watched Su Chen in the courtyard, they wished they could rush over immediately and pull him away!
But the Sword Technique was so fast that they had no time!
The girl's figure danced through the air, her white haori like pure wings, making her look like a nimble sprite.
As she danced, nine sounds of air being sliced rang out in succession.
In an instant, Kanao Tsuyuri unleashed nine consecutive strikes, her blade's paths as beautiful as a blooming peony!
Su Chen's eyes widened. He did not dare miss even a single instant.
He was going to analyze every one of Kanao Tsuyuri's movements!
[You observed Kanao Tsuyuri's Sword Technique! Deeply awed, you perfectly replicated the Sword Technique-Peonies of Futility-through mental simulation.]
Su Chen distinctly felt as though his body had naturally gained a new set of muscle memories.
The next moment, he moved!
An eerie Auspicious Cloud Pattern appeared on Su Chen's neck like tadpoles.
Poised to strike, he actually assumed the exact same stance Kanao Tsuyuri had taken moments earlier!
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