The battle's outcome had been decided from the very beginning.
Isolte was confident.
Not only was her swordsmanship already unrivaled among her peers, and not only had she earned the title of Water Saint at such a young age, but the opponent before her was merely a novice swordsman who looked as though he had only just started learning.
Yet the next moment, just as Isolte confidently swung her sword, intending to defeat him...
Something Isolte had never expected happened...
Luo Ge merely leaned slightly to one side, a slow movement, and the strike that should have hit precisely brushed past his clothes, missing without touching so much as a hair.
Before Isolte could react, the corners of Luo Ge's mouth had already lifted. "With skills like that, you have the nerve to call yourself a Water Saint? You're nowhere near my level."
"Are you done talking?"
"Now it's my turn." Isolte gritted her teeth and slashed at him again.
But no matter how she attacked...
Swift strikes, feints, changes of direction, sweeping blows...
Luo Ge remained unhurried, as relaxed and comfortable as though he were strolling through a courtyard.
He seemed able to read all her moves in advance. Every dodge was perfectly timed, every movement precise.
After only a few exchanges, cold sweat had already seeped onto Isolte's forehead, and her initial confidence began to falter.
Dodged?
He dodged everything?
How was that possible?
This person could actually predict every move I made, to this extent...
Was he really a novice swordsman?
Doubt began to creep into Isolte's mind despite herself.
"...You dare let your mind wander while fighting me?"
Luo Ge's voice suddenly rang out beside her ear. Isolte's pupils contracted, but it was already too late to react.
A sharp pain struck her chest.
Then her entire body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, slamming heavily into the wall behind her with a dull thud.
Clutching her chest, Isolte stared in disbelief. "How is that possible? You defeated me with just one strike. You... who exactly are you?"
Luo Ge's expression remained calm, his tone casual. "Didn't I already tell you? I'm Rudeus Greyrat."
"Rudeus Greyrat!"
Isolte's expression grew grave. The way she looked at Luo Ge had now changed completely.
The force, angle, and timing of the strike that had sent her flying...
It was absolutely not a strike a novice swordsman could deliver.
"You may have held back just now, but I'm not someone who admits defeat easily."
"Again!"
At that moment, Isolte finally put aside all her contempt. She focused intently on her opponent, gripping her wooden sword with both hands and assuming a standard Water God Style stance.
She no longer dared be overconfident.
She had originally thought victory was certain. As a Water Saint, dealing with a boy who looked so much younger than her should have been effortless.
She had taken the initiative to attack, only to nearly suffer an unexpected defeat.
Although she did not quite understand why he had suddenly held back on that strike, Isolte did not believe he could still defeat her easily now that she had assumed her Water God Style stance.
After all, he was a Water Saint!
And so Isolte stood where she was, maintaining her defensive stance. From here on... no matter how her opponent mocked her, she intended to keep her composure.
However...
Luo Ge ignored her defense and walked toward her, step by step. He moved very slowly, but with every step, the oppressive pressure radiating from him intensified.
It was as though an invisible mountain were slowly bearing down on her. At one point, she even felt the same sensation from Luo Ge that she only experienced when facing her grandmother, the Water God Reida.
It was the helplessness born of an enormous gap in strength.
"No! Impossible... I'm a Water Saint. I can win."
Isolte concentrated, instinctively leaping backward.
Without realizing it... she had become completely unable to sense his presence, as though he had evaporated into thin air.
He suddenly vanished from before her.
"Where? Where is he?"
Isolte's pupils abruptly contracted. She had clearly been watching him the entire time, yet he had still suddenly disappeared.
"Are you... looking for me?"
Then, in the next second, Isolte heard a voice beside her ear. With no time to turn around, she swiftly swung her sword backward, delivering a perfect counterattack.
This was precisely the signature move of the Water God Style.
But it was too slow.
As she swung her sword, her opponent punched her in the abdomen, sending Isolte flying backward again.
"No!"
"How is this possible? You can actually do something like this! You... you're definitely no novice swordsman!"
Isolte swallowed, her voice trembling. The intense pain throughout her body made her feel as though she might die at any moment.
Luo Ge walked up to her, looked down at her, then delivered another strike.
Bang!
Isolte flew backward again.
She got up again.
She was sent flying again.
The force of every strike avoided her vital points, enough to injure her... but not kill her.
In just a few minutes, she had been sent flying more than a dozen times, beaten black and blue, and completely broken.
Finally.
Isolte collapsed in despair.
Her sword had long since left her hand, and her knees and elbows were covered in scrapes.
When she tried to stand, her legs had already lost all strength. She slumped limply to the ground, her consciousness gradually blurring.
"Bastard..."
"I actually lost..."
She took one last look at that retreating figure silhouetted against the light and began sobbing, with even two tears slipping from the corners of her eyes.
She later passed out.
She did not know how much time had passed. By the time Isolte woke up, it was already late afternoon, approaching dusk.
The setting sun dyed the entire street orange-red. She leaned alone beside the wall she had struck.
She sat there alone for a long time, so long that the sun was about to sink behind the mountains.
She, Isolte, the most outstanding Water Saint among her peers at the Water God Style dojo... had actually been so easily overwhelmed by someone's strength, and someone who looked younger than her at that.
That was what she found hardest to accept.
"How could something like this happen?"
"Why did this happen? Didn't Grandmother say I was a genius? Why... why on earth?"
On her way to the dojo, Isolte could not make sense of it, no matter how hard she thought.
Every detail of that battle replayed over and over deep in her mind.
The boy's figure lodged in her heart like a thorn she could neither pull out nor forget.
Was a loser like me... really outstanding?
Did I really have the potential to become the Water God in the future, just as Grandmother said?
Ever since she was little, everyone around her had praised her extraordinary talent, saying she would surely become an outstanding swordsman.
But if I really was outstanding...
Why could some random child who appeared by the roadside completely overwhelm me?
She had clearly given it her all, yet her opponent had needed only a single strike each time he attacked.
And with that, he had completely shattered all her confidence.
Isolte was late.
It was the first time in her life she had been late.
When she entered the dojo, everyone noticed her bruised and swollen face, and expressions of disbelief appeared on their faces.
Some people asked after her with concern, but Isolte remained completely silent.
The Isolte who had always been pleasant and greeted everyone with a smile was gone.
In her place was a girl with slumped shoulders, sighing with her head lowered, dejection written all over her.
Her head hung low!
She did not even dare look at anyone around her. She had been beaten until she questioned her whole life, completely broken.
"What's wrong with Isolte?"
"Did she get her heart broken? But she doesn't have a boyfriend..."
"Maybe something's troubling her."
Whispers spread through the dojo.
Even one of the Water Emperors noticed her condition, personally approached her to express concern, and reported the situation to the current Water God Reida that same day.
Night.
The moon shone bright, the stars sparse.
In a quiet courtyard behind the Water God Style dojo, grandmother and granddaughter sat facing each other.
Water dripped from a bamboo tube in the courtyard, and the fragrance of tea drifted through the air. A breeze brushed the treetops, carrying a fallen leaf between them.
Holding her teacup, the Water God Reida listened to Isolte's halting account, then set down her cup, tucked her hands into her sleeves, and tilted her head with interest.
"Heave-ho!"
"So that's what happened."
As she looked at her granddaughter's dejected appearance, a playful smile rose at the corners of her mouth.
"Isolte... someone beat you until you cried? How pitiful."
"Huh? Grandma!"
"It's one thing not to comfort me, but saying something like that is just rubbing salt in my wounds."
"...Sorry, force of habit. Ahem!" The Water God Reida dropped her teasing tone, but her eyes remained full of curiosity.
"Hmph..."
Isolte pouted as though sulking.
"Isolte!"
"Victory and defeat are part of battle. There isn't a swordsman in this world who never loses. Even your grandma often lost to that fellow, the Sword God Gal, in the past. If you lose, can't you just win next time?"
Reida leisurely lifted her teacup and took a sip.
To be honest, she was quite happy to see something like this happen.
In her eyes, her granddaughter Isolte's life had gone far too smoothly. Extremely smoothly.
As her grandmother, she actually wanted to see her granddaughter experience a setback and then pick herself back up.
Only then could she go further.
But Isolte covered her forehead, her voice muffled. "Grandma... this is completely different, okay? If it really were that easy, I wouldn't be like this."
"Do you know?"
"That guy named Rudeus is simply a monster. Do you know how old he looks?"
"How old?"
The Water God Reida asked curiously as well.
Isolte took a deep breath, then gestured as she said, "She only comes up to my chest at most. Definitely no older than ten."
At those words, even the Water God Reida froze slightly, an extremely surprised expression appearing on her face.
Then Isolte continued, "Ah, Grandma, he's clearly so much younger than me, so much younger... but every time he attacked, he sent me flying with just one strike."
"He's not only proficient in the Sword God Style, he also knows the Water God Style, and even a little North God Style..."
"He... he's simply a monster."
Recalling the beating she had suffered, Isolte still could not help feeling lingering fear. She had nearly been beaten into developing psychological scars.
"Oh?"
The hand holding Reida's teacup paused slightly, and a flicker of genuine surprise crossed her eyes.
She knew her granddaughter's strength better than anyone. The people in the entire Water God Style dojo who could push her this far could be counted on one hand.
And her opponent was a child, no less?
A swordsman proficient in all three major styles?
This reminded the Water God Reida of the past. She seemed to have taught a genius like that once, but that brat had relied on his talent and neglected his swordsmanship studies, preferring to chase women instead.
She had heard that he had only become an Advanced Swordsman in the end, which the Water God Reida found rather regrettable.
Countless people in this world wanted to improve, but because of their own talent, even if they devoted their entire lives... practicing the sword for a lifetime, their skill ultimately remained at the Advanced Rank, or at the intermediate or beginner levels.
Such people lacked talent, but those who worked hard were not shameful. The shameful ones were those who clearly possessed talent yet made no effort to improve.
She truly disliked people like that.
"Heh..."
"He sounds like an interesting young fellow."
Reida set down her teacup, an intrigued smile appearing on her face. "If I get the chance someday, I'd like to meet that genius swordsman who defeated my granddaughter."
"By the way, Isolte, you're not going to give up just like that, are you?"
"Grandma!"
"Stop talking!"
Isolte's face flushed red. "No matter what... I've made up my mind. Starting today, I'll train twice as hard and catch up to that person."
"If I ever run into that guy again-what was his name? Right... Rudeus-I'll defeat him with my own hands and wash away this humiliation."
"That's admirable resolve."
Seeing the light rekindled in her granddaughter's eyes, Reida nodded in satisfaction. "Isolte, it seems you've thought things through. I'm very glad."
"Mm-hmm!"
Isolte nodded firmly and clenched her fists.
Yet Reida's gaze quietly passed over her head and settled on the bamboo shadows swaying in the wind deep in the courtyard, the smile on her lips growing a little deeper.
She really was growing more and more curious.
Just what sort of boy could bring about such an enormous change in her ever-proud granddaughter in so little time?
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