"This is the second skill, called Ethereal Deceit… Commit it to memory," said the woman.
"The third technique is Tempest Blitz…," she continued, "the fourth, Obsession's Edge..., and the fifth, Cyclone-cutting LeafStrike... These are the core skills of the unnamed Six-Technique Swordsmanship."
She demonstrated a series of sword moves so intricate that they dazzled the boy. It was his first exposure to the true concepts of swordsmanship and his initial glimpse into its mysteries.
However, these sword techniques appeared too complex for him who had lived his entire life in sewers and dark corners like a rat.
The path of "Strong To Weak" seemed an impossibly distant concept, so remote that even imagining it was a challenge for him.
Therefore, the boy couldn't possibly grasp or understand the complex sword moves the woman had shown in a short time, nor could he comprehend the explanations and instructions she provided as she demonstrated each technique.
Having finished demonstrating the unnamed swordsmanship, the woman withdrew her hand under her cloak and, with a smile, approached the boy.
"You're still young, and all of this is overly complex for you. It's normal for you not to understand or comprehend these things at once. Only when you've fully learned the first technique, Eclipse Strike, will you gradually come to understand and see the essence and focus of the next. "
"Even true geniuses, dedicating their entire life, rarely master all these five sword techniques. I don't have the time to spend decades teaching you slowly, so you'll have to rely on your own efforts to slowly recall and learn these sword techniques throughout your life."
As soon as she finished speaking, the woman extended her finger, which emitted a soft blue glow, and touched the boy's forehead before he could react.
In that instant, the boy felt the world spinning as countless memories and knowledge about the swordsmanship were forcibly inserted into his mind through the woman's finger.
Whether the boy agreed or not, the memories and knowledge recklessly surged into his brain and settled deep within his memory, unforgettable…
This process lasted a full fifteen minutes. Once the woman removed her finger, the boy collapsed, drenched in sweat. He gasped for air, feeling extreme mental fatigue, his mind filled with unfamiliar memories and knowledge that were difficult to understand.
He found himself unable to think or sort through the jumble of thoughts in his head. Chaotic fragments of memory and knowledge would occasionally flash through his consciousness, completely disrupting his thought process.
Holding an infant, the boy struggled to his feet slowly. The baby girl seemed to sense something was amiss and began crying loudly. It took a long while before the boy, utterly exhausted, leaned against the rock wall with a dull gaze staring at the woman, now his master.
"It might feel uncomfortable at first, but it will soon pass," the master said, looking down at him with her hands behind her back.
"Just now, I've sealed the essence, cultivation methods, and key movements of the 'Six-Technique Swordsmanship' into your brain. In a little while, your brain will completely adapt to the knowledge and memories that were forcefully pushed in, and they won't interfere with your thinking or actions anymore."
"Whenever you wish to think about it, the knowledge and memories of the 'Six-Technique Swordsmanship' will emerge bit by bit in your thoughts, showing you what to learn and how to learn. You'll have to learn and practice according to these memories and knowledge on your own."
During the speech, the chaos in the boy's mind finally began to calm. He exhaled slowly, and the images and words that had been rampaging through his brain finally vanished.
After calming the baby girl down again, he tentatively closed his eyes and, following the instructions, began to explore the newly acquired knowledge and memories.
...
In his mind's eye, a figure molded from clay emerged, holding a slender twig. The little clay figure simply stood still, motionless. Idiot watched it for a long time, unable to discern its purpose. Just as he grew restless and was about to open his eyes, the clay figure suddenly thrust the twig forward and then reverted to its original inert stance.
The speed of the clay figure's sword move was so swift that his eyes could hardly keep up. Yet, with each subsequent thrust, its speed decreased significantly. By the third thrust, it had slowed enough for Idiot to clearly see each movement, the grip on the twig, and even the rise and fall of the figure's chest with each breath. Everything was crystal clear.
Accompanying the figure was a sequence of text, presumably explaining the essentials of the first sword technique of this swordsmanship. However, Idiot, being illiterate, found it faster to learn it by observing the clay figure's actions.
More clay figures appeared, each demonstrating different sword techniques of the swordsmanship. Although they were collectively referred to as "Six-Technique Swordsmanship," each technique appeared to have endless variations.
The accompanying annotations became increasingly complex, leaving him feeling overwhelmed. Despite this, he persisted in memorizing the moves until his head felt like it was splitting, at which point he opened his eyes.
Upon opening his eyes, he saw the infant in his arms sobbing, her bright green eyes shimmering with tears. Was she afraid, or was she… worried? How could a child, with whom he had been for less than half a year, worry about him? The idiot thought.
Nonetheless, he adjusted the infant to a more comfortable position, holding her with a gentleness that did not match his icy stare. The infant's sobs subsided, and after a few whimpers, her eyes closed, and she fell back into a peaceful sleep.
He exhaled deeply, lifting his gaze. Before him, his young master was rummaging through a backpack on the shoulder of a giant wolf. She quickly retrieved scissors and some thread and a needle.
"It looks like you have questions for me," she said without glancing. She sat comfortably against the wolf's belly, her hands like carved white jade as she lifted the hem of her cloak and cut a piece of fabric after measuring.
The boy watched intently, unsure of her intentions. After a moment's hesitation, he spoke slowly, "You mentioned six techniques of the swordsmanship. But… there are only five."
The corner of her mouth, hidden beneath the cloak, lifted in a smile. Her fingers, tipped with faintly pink nails, picked up the cut fabric and began sewing with the needle and thread, making rough alterations with the scissors.
"The last sword skill… I simply cannot find a way to accurately express it to you. And unlike the first five swords, the sixth is the one I most wish for you to master."
The girl bit off the thread with her teeth, started threading the needle from the other end, and weaved something.
"I have witnessed the transmission of this swordsmanship. Before the last epoch's destruction, it had been passed down to over fifty successors."
"But," she continued, "among those fifty successors I know of, apart from the founder and the first successor, none have truly commanded the swordsmanship."
"I cannot describe the power of the sixth technique, but if the power of the first five could be likened to streams and rivers, then the destructive force of the final is akin to a tsunami that could engulf the world. To my knowledge, this skill has only been wielded twice in this world. I can't explain the technique to you, but I can implant its essence and symbolic meaning into your mind, in the hope that you will come to understand it in your own life."
With a snap, she bit through the thread. The needlework continued as she adjusted the fabric in her hands.
"Once, the first successor used this skill to kill his master, the founder of 'Six-Technique Swordsmanship.'"
She raised her hand as the boy listened intently, a thread-like beam of light shot from her fingertips, striking his forehead.
"And the other time, the first successor…"
In a flash, the darkness clouding inside Idiot's mind was dispelled, replaced by a radiance composed of countless shining blades.
"…defeated me."
With her needle-holding hand raised, the woman's lips curved slightly, biting off the thread's end.
But the boy, overwhelmed by the sudden burst of light from countless shining blades in his mind, didn't manage even a groan before he fainted, having received the memory and knowledge of the final technique of the swordsmanship that once defeated the Warrior Goddess…