The 'arrogant' words fell.
Ghislaine's expression remained unchanged.
But her tail was whipping the air.
She was very pleased.
At this moment, she saw a faint, familiar figure in Alan.
It was her master.
The man who always had foul language like 'this great one' and 'old me' on his lips, who, with a disdainful attitude and the sword in his hand, sat firmly on the 'throne' of the Holy Land of the Sword's dojo.
The current Sword God—Gall Farion.
She stared straight at Alan, then after a moment, a smile pulled at her lips.
No, he's different. Alan is different from my master.
"You are very suited to the Sword God Style."
"But those words are not your 'desire'."
Her words were cryptic. Eris and Rudeus, standing to the side, looked at each other in confusion.
But Alan understood.
The reason the Sword God Style relied on epiphanies was that there were two factors that drove the progress of the 'Sword of Light.'
First, is the foundation of swordsmanship, accumulated over time, solid?
Second, is the fire of 'desire' burning?
Was Alan's foundation in swordsmanship solid?
The answer was self-evident.
Thus, as long as his 'desire' was strong enough, his epiphanies would come quickly enough.
'Desire.'
It was the fire that fueled the advancement of the 'Sword of Light.' A fire that burned fiercely, only growing stronger!
This also meant that one could not switch fuel halfway through. Because once the fire was extinguished, it would not be easy to relight.
Alan called this 'desire' that drove the growth of the Sword God Style his 'sword heart.'
And his 'arrogant' display just now was very much in line with the traditional characteristics of a powerful Sword God Style practitioner.
The 'stubborn' blood of the Boreas also flowed in his veins, manifesting as a thirst for power.
As long as one constantly desired the enlightenment of standing above all other swordsmen, was that not a kind of 'desire,' a kind of 'sword heart'?
However…
This was not the Sword God path that 'Alan' had chosen.
Because that kind of 'sword heart' was too simple, too direct. It seemed to have few attachments, as if it were very easy to grasp and would allow one to ascend to the rank of Sword God like an overpowered protagonist.
But, that which is too hard is easily broken.
The Sword God Style was different from the empirical, step-by-step progression of the Water God Style.
As long as the 'desire' burned, the Sword of Light would remain sharp and swift. The sword in hand could become unimaginably fast. But with the slightest misstep, the sword could also easily break—that is, the 'desire' could no longer burn. At best, one's strength would stagnate; at worst, one would never recover.
Especially for a desire like 'domination' or being the 'strongest.' Once the 'sword in hand' breaks, no one can help you up. Because you cannot overcome the barrier in your own heart.
When someone has crushed you in a head-on battle, on what grounds can you deceive yourself to preserve your heart of a champion??
On what grounds??
The most obvious example was—the Sword God, Gall Farion.
In the original story, he was defeated by his own student, who surpassed his rank, and fell from his position as Sword God. Afterward, he even began to doubt whether his Sword God Style was on the right path. In the final great battle, he had lost the sharp edge needed to use the Sword God Style and instead resorted to using the defensive and counter-attacking Water God Style to try and gain an advantage over his former student—Eris.
And so, he died.
Cut in half by Ruijerd, who was far weaker than him.
He died cleanly.
Thinking of this, Alan shrugged.
"That kind of 'desire' doesn't suit someone like me."
Ghislaine looked at Alan. She could understand him. Because from the moment she had decided to stay with the Boreas family, she had already abandoned her own 'desire.' This was also why she had remained stagnant at the rank of Sword King.
But she was willing.
Doesn't everyone have a landscape in their life that they are willing to stop for?
It was just a pity that the next time she saw her master, he would probably curse her out.
Thinking of this, she gave Alan a deep look.
Then what is Alan's 'desire'?
Ghislaine's smile faded.
She bowed her body.
And sheathed Heimun.
"Below King-rank, you are the strongest?"
It was as if she had lost the 'desire' to spar with Alan any further.
But not far away, Eris was so excited she was stomping her feet! She stomped so hard that clumps of turf flew up and splattered on Rudeus's face.
The Sword of Light had three opening stances.
This was the one from which it was most difficult to predict the trajectory of the blade—the drawing cut.
It was also the opening stance of the Sword of Light that Ghislaine was most proficient in.
Ghislaine's next words fell.
"Then what will you do against a King-rank?"
"Or, do you need me to slow my sword speed again, and spar with you 'slowly'?"
Alan squinted at Ghislaine, who was poised to unleash a strike the moment he answered.
A Sword King-level Sword of Light…
And from a drawing stance…
At this moment, in his 'Flow Perception,' Ghislaine's killing intent had completely vanished. Even her intention to strike was perfectly concealed within the scabbard. Unlike the middle stance from before, where he had sensed that she would strike the weak side of his neck before she even moved, now, his Flow Perception couldn't 'calculate' when this strike would be drawn, or when it would land.
The Water God Style's keen sensitivity to killing intent was almost the only way for a practitioner of the same rank to win against the Sword God Style. Not to mention that the one standing opposite him was a Sword King preparing to strike with her full strength.
The reason why Iseltr, Tina, and Eris formed a rock-paper-scissors power loop in their spars at the Holy Land of the Sword in the original story was also due to this.
Why could Iseltr beat Eris? Because Eris's killing intent was too obvious.
And why was Iseltr dominated by Tina, who was also a Sword King? Because Tina had grown up in the Holy Land of the Sword. She was too pure. Her past spars had never been life-or-death battles, only 'swordplay games' where they stopped short of landing a blow. This was why Eris, with her 'rough hands' from her travels in the Demon Continent, had been able to beat her so badly she wet herself.
But it was precisely this 'naivety' that Iseltr had no answer for. Because in the 'ivory tower' of the Holy Land of the Sword, where there was no mortal danger and all spars stopped short of a real blow, Tina's killing intent was too weak, which ironically made it very difficult to 'capture.'
If you can't capture the killing intent, how can you talk about defending and countering?
Alan was now facing the same dilemma.
Should he accept Ghislaine's almost taunting suggestion?
To let himself slowly adapt to the Sword of Light at a slower speed? To find a solution step by step?
He could.
But he didn't want to!
Alan smiled at Ghislaine.
He closed his eyes.
Killing intent is hard to sense?
Then I'll just have to make it easier to sense!
In that instant, the Dragon God's Touki in his abdomen suddenly contracted, then expanded.
It spread!
It permeated!
The Touki surged!
His five senses were amplified!
The world became incredibly clear in his senses. The environmental information from form, sound, smell, taste, and touch was completely captured, constructing a mental map of the courtyard in his mind!
In this moment, Alan heard his own breathing.
It was a roar, like a scream echoing through a canyon!
The next instant, the deafening roar vanished.
His 'Flow Perception' had contracted.
He gave up on capturing all information.
All that remained…
was the perception of killing intent.
The constructed image instantly faded. Viscous darkness fell into the sea of his mind, collapsing inward from a distance. In a flash, it washed over Alan's feet.
In the darkness, there was silence.
No killing intent in the courtyard?
No.
A faint white 'line' was pulsing in Alan's perception.
Five meters in front of him.
Where Ghislaine had been, near her lower body.
It was the blade, about to be drawn from its sheath.
It was a deeply hidden killing intent.
The viscous darkness rippled.
Alan 'heard' his own voice.
"No need."
"Just cut me."
"Let me see for myself what a…"
"King-rank Sword of Light… truly is."
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