The image of the sword disappeared from Aizen's mind, leaving him with a slight sense of regret.
He felt that the image was not entirely useless; at least the movements when wielding the sword were something he could reflect upon.
Even if he couldn't fully understand it, just feeling the force and intent behind the sword was like igniting a small spark within him.
Unfortunately, the image only lasted for a limited time, and the system wouldn't provide overly excessive benefits to its host.
"Ding!"
The pleasant sound of the system rang out.
"Congratulations, host! You have learned the incomplete sword technique—The Head-Cutting Sword Technique!"
Aizen calmed himself and looked at his skill attributes.
The Head-Cutting Sword Technique (Incomplete: Originally a Fourth-tier sword technique, now downgraded to a Second-tier sword technique due to its incomplete state): Proficiency 5%, Sword Technique Killing Moves: Neck Coil Style, Execution Ground Decapitation!
Aizen's eyes brightened slightly.
This sword technique may not have been the fastest in the world, but it had the most difficult strike to avoid—Execution Ground Decapitation!
At least, based on the Second-tier evaluation, there were still many Sorcery techniques more powerful than this sword technique in the world.
Aizen stood up, hooked his five fingers like claws, and suddenly thrust them into the edge of the bed beneath him. With a bit of internal Aura , the sturdy bed frame crumbled under his fingers like tofu.
Repeating the process on the other side, he thrust his hand out again.
"Crack!"
A piece of the wooden board was directly snapped off and held in Aizen's hand.
This would serve as his sword!
Even though it was just a broken piece of wood.
Aizen's eyes suddenly sharpened.
Recalling the delicate moves had performed while wielding the sword, his body began to move as well.
The wooden board danced in the air, and Aizen's wrist followed with slight tremors and twists. As he performed the Head-Cutting Sword Technique, it was as though he had been practicing for a year, barely entering the basics.
His body moved with the sword, and the sword moved with his mind.
Practicing sword forms… practicing and fighting were entirely different.
Practicing sword forms focused on becoming familiar with moves, stringing them together, and understanding whether one's actions while executing the moves were smooth and perfect. Through constant repetition and refinement, the moves became second nature.
As for the higher realms of swordsmanship, where one could forget moves or even transcend them entirely, that wasn't something Aizen needed to think about right now.
Unlike practicing sword forms, combat required adaptation—observing the environment, listening to all directions, and responding with the appropriate move at the right moment.
In a fight, deciding which move to use to secure victory happened in an instant.
If one fought as if practicing sword forms, the opponent, unless they were a fool, could easily outmaneuver the rigid sword practitioner.
After concluding his movements, Aizen's body trembled slightly, and his forehead was already dotted with sweat. His body was emanating heat.
He raised his hands to his forehead, then slowly lowered them to his chest and abdomen, letting out a soft breath. His eyes were sharp, and the internal Aura within him had stabilized.
Despite only practicing for a short while, his Aura and blood had been stirred by the practice of the sword technique.
Sword practice was also a physical cultivation process, requiring full concentration and total involvement to synchronize the sword with the body.
The body's strength must be unified and slowly applied through sword moves, while the movement of the sword stretched the muscles and transported the Aura and internal power throughout the body, ultimately achieving the goal of sword practice for health.
This, of course, was not feasible in combat. A fight tested endurance, and the use of skillful strength with flexibility, to win with the smallest cost, was the ultimate priority.
After becoming familiar with the Head-Cutting Sword Technique, Aizen had a clearer understanding of his own strength.
Mastery came from refining both internally and externally, leading to the ultimate balance of yin and yang.
Unlike ordinary people, who needed to first strengthen their bodies before cultivating internal power—otherwise, their bodies couldn't handle the strength of the internal Aura , leading to deterioration—Aizen had the Wisdom System, which gave him a shortcut far beyond ordinary demonic disciples.
By casually acquiring a manual, he could directly gain entry into a cultivation technique, with his body strengthening along the way, skipping the process of physically tempering his body. His internal Sorcery arts had already reached a foundational level, and his progress was lightning fast.
Packing his bags, Aizen left the thatched hut.
The gray-clad servants passing by looked at their former companion with eyes full of fear and respect, none daring to get too close, bowing their heads to avoid him.
In the orthodox path, this would be seen as being unpopular and lacking charm.
But in the demonic path, this was called authority, symbolizing great power and status.
Two different concepts, briefly summarizing the difference between the righteous and demonic paths.
With light steps, Aizen reached the middle of the mountain, preparing to descend into the valley when a figure blocked his way.
He was dressed in the same black robe as Aizen, but unlike Aizen's black hair, this man was bald.
Not only bald, but he also had no eyebrows.
He looked like a strange man.
And indeed, he was doing something strange.
He was sharpening a sword.
It was a very ordinary steel sword, already sharp, but he continued to grind it.
The glare from his shiny bald head reflected the sunlight, making it slightly blinding.
Aizen's eyes were momentarily dazzled by the glare, and so he stopped walking.
A strange man sitting in the middle of the path, sharpening a sword with such seriousness that even as Aizen approached, the man continued, showing no intention of giving way.
Aizen stood there for a while, then smiled and set down his two bags.
Behind him, some black-robed disciples were also making their way down the mountain path. When they saw the bald-headed disciple, they hesitated, then, seeing Aizen's figure, understood the situation and stopped as well.
Everyone knew who the bald man was, or more precisely, they knew who the bald man's backer was.
Given that, no one cared who Aizen was.
Because soon, Aizen would become a dead man. Or rather, in the minds of the black-robed disciples, Aizen was already a living dead man.
But Aizen paid no attention to the crowd behind him.
He only knew one thing: today, he had to make a powerful statement.
Having just learned the Head-Cutting Sword Technique, a bald man had conveniently presented himself to be decapitated!
This was the perfect practice target!
Aizen walked to the side of the path, and under the strange gazes of the black-robed disciples, snapped off a sturdy-looking tree branch.
A very ordinary tree branch, Aizen broke off the tip of it, making the branch appear just a bit sharper, giving it a slight hint of threat.
The sound of sword grinding stopped.
The bald man had already stood up when Aizen broke off the branch.
His eyes, with more white than black, locked onto Aizen like a beast eyeing its prey.