Fang Xingjian heaved a sigh of relief. He had not expected the problem of food money to be resolved so easily. With this, he would be able to devote all his energy to sword practice.
As for helping Kyle with the management of the martial school… With his talent in the sword arts, he was not afraid to waste such a little amount of time. After all, there was not much work to be done now that The School of Sword Arts was so run down.
Following this, Fang Xingjian was called by Kyle to the side of the training grounds. Looking at this disciple of his, Kyle was very satisfied.
To him, Fang Xingjian was good in terms of both talent and moral quality. While it was understandable that the rest of the students had stayed silent, he could not help but feel disappointed.
“Xingjian, there aren’t many people in the school now, so there isn’t much work you need to do. Firstly, the food. However, since Aunty Akele has been working as a kitchen helper in The School of Sword Arts for over twenty years, she usually doesn’t make any mistakes. You just need to do a rough check.
“The next thing would be cleaning the place.
“And the organization of the tools, as well as their repair. If things are broken, you can head to the east of the city…
“I’ve kept the spare wooden swords in..
“As for cleaning the toilets, you can get the students to take turns cleaning them up…
“As for the dishes, since Aunty Akele is getting on in her age, you can help her out if she’s unable to manage…”
There were not many things to take care of, but Kyle listed out each issue in detail, and within the wink of an eye, over an hour had already passed.
He smiled and said, “I’ve become more naggy. Alright. I will still return to the school every night. If you have any problems, just ask me in the morning.”
Fang Xingjian nodded and said, “Teacher, please rest assured. I will make sure everything is settled.”
“Mmm.” Kyle took a look at Fang Xingjian, and seeing that he had no intention to leave, he asked, “Is there anything else?”
“Teacher…” Fang Xingjian hesitated for a moment before asking, “I’d like to learn another set of sword techniques…”
Kyle frowned and said, “Learn another set? Xingjian, you are truly talented. But still, you can’t bite off more than what you can chew. You must understand that each person’s energy is limited. Although you’re talented, it would be just your limit to fully master the Eagle Sword Technique, the Grizzly Bear Sword Technique and the Tenauer-Style Body Strengthening Sword Technique within two to three years. If you divert your energy to learning other sword techniques, it will delay your progress.
“You must understand that Ogden and the rest have already spent close to ten years doing tough training, but you’ve only just picked up these three sets of sword techniques.”
Fang Xingjian had expected this, and presented the explanation he had prepared beforehand. “Teacher, I understand. It’s just that I’ve recently run into a bottleneck with these techniques’ training, and the increase in proficiency is lesser and lesser. Therefore, I’d like to take a look at other techniques so that I can draw reference from them, and see if I can gain further progress.”
“Draw reference?” Kyle laughed out loud and said, “With your puny sword skills now, if you were to look at other sword techniques which you hadn’t previously learned, it would only affect your mastery of the sword techniques you already know. It may even put obstacles in the way of your progress.
“Are you having these thoughts after meeting Kaunitz?”
Kyle shook his head. “Don’t compare yourself to him. He is truly a genius, and has received the full nurturing of the Tresia Clan since young. The food expenses spent on him so far could probably be more than enough to last you for ten generations.
“Moreover, he has also fully mastered Tresia’s sword techniques, and has come here only to pursue specialties.”
“Specialties?” asked Fang Xingjian, surprised.
“Mmm. A person’s fighting capacity is dependent on his attributes, skills and specialties. Kaunitz is picking up new sword techniques in order to complete the requirements for ‘Sword Specialist’, namely fully mastering ten sword techniques.”
“I see.”
Realization flashed in Fang Xingjian’s eyes. At the same time, he also understood that he would be unable to convince Kyle, and so he did not insist, but simply nodded in approval. After getting a few pointers from Kyle, he returned to the training grounds.
Thereafter, Kyle waved and called Ogden over to him.
“Ogden, you have now fully mastered all three basic sword techniques and have built a strong base for your muscles and bones. Now, I will impart to you our school’s Nine Yang Divine Sword Technique, Nine Yin Divine Sword Technique and Nine Heavenly Divine Sword Technique.”
Ogden was very agitated. “Nine Yang Divine Sword Technique, Nine Yin Divine Sword Technique and Nine Heavenly Divine Sword Technique?”
“That’s right. The Eagle Sword Technique, the Grizzly Bear Sword Technique, and the Tenauer-Style Body Strengthening Sword Technique all aim to train the muscles, and to toughen the bones, as well as the vital energy and blood. But the Nine Yang Divine Sword Technique, Nine Yin Divine Sword Technique and Nine Heavenly Divine Sword Technique are different. They were brought over from the other side of the world, when a few unparalleled swordsmen crossed the seas from the Western Land.”
Kyle continued, “These three are nurturing techniques which nurture and strengthen the organs, simultaneously improving one’s physique.
“Look at Kaunitz, his attributes far surpass yours. That’s because he has fully mastered all of Tresia’s basic sword techniques.
“It’s not just that his muscles and bones are as tough as rock, but his organs are also compact. His attacks, his body’s ability to absorb nutrition and his explosive power have all been greatly increased.
“Add to that the fact that he has been enjoying only the best food since young, and that he’s had an endless supplies of mystical medicinal supplies, and you’ll see the reason why he is able to surpass you by far in attributes.”
Ogden had now understood. “I see.” But, thinking of how he would also be taking up such sword techniques, he could not suppress the excitement in his heart.
“You must know, however, that out of these three sword techniques, I can only teach you the Nine Yang Divine Sword Technique. If you still wish to pick up the other two sword techniques, you must first pass the certification test[1] and join as an official member of The School of Sword Arts.”
Most factions and schools would only teach the students means to train up their muscles and bones, also known as external techniques.
As for the cultivation of internal strength, it required a more profound set of techniques, so students were merely given a little taste of it. Only those who passed the tests and enrolled as official members of the school would be allowed to learn them.
That is, unless the person was like Kaunitz who was a direct descendant of a great clan. Only then would one then be able to inherit the Tresia’s sword techniques which are only passed down to internal disciples, but yet still participate in the Grand Selection.
Kyle looked at Ogden and asked, “Now that you’ve fully mastered all three basic techniques, I will follow the custom and ask you. Do you want to enter The School of Sword Arts?”
Ogden stayed silent for a while before saying, “Teacher, could I give my reply after the Prefectural Selection?”
Kyle replied, “Do you think that’s possible?” He shook his head, disappointment flashing in his eyes. “Forget it, I will not force you. Let’s just carry on with the training.
“Remember that the Nine Yang Divine Sword Technique trains the organs. But how would mere humans be able to control the organs directly? The answer is that we need to use sword techniques in order to direct the blood flow towards the organs, and thus cultivate them from inside.
“Nine Yang refers to the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, stomach, the small intestine, the large intestine, and the two kidneys.
“Through the Nine Yang Divine Sword Technique, use the movements of the muscles and bones to force the blood to move and massage the organs…”
Fang Xingjian had noticed Ogden being called over, and when he saw Kyle demonstrating a set of unfamiliar sword techniques, he raised his concentration to 120%.
Although he appeared to be practising his own sword technique, he was in fact focusing most of his energy on observing Kyle.
Two hours later, Kyle had ended his demonstration, and he was monitoring Ogden’s practice of the Nine Yang Divine Sword Technique, occasionally giving him some pointers. “No, no, you must relax your stance and imagine that you are compacted into a lump, focusing all your energy onto your stomach.
“Alright, alright, let’s stop here. I’ve taught you all I could. The rest relies on your own comprehension.”
Ogden looked at Kyle, who was leaving in a hurry, and sighed. He knew that his two recent choices had disappointed his teacher. Moreover, now that his teacher had to prepare for the Tournament of the Sword Heroes, it was impossible for him to focus all his attention on guiding his student.
Even so, he did not have any regrets. Moreover, joining The School of Sword Arts as an official member would not change his destiny. It would at most allow him to enjoy slightly better food and pick up more sword techniques.
Since he knew his own potential, he also knew that it would be highly improbable for him to reach the top as an official member in The School of Sword Arts.
In his life, he would be more than satisfied just to reach Kyle’s level of having gone through the first job transition.
Therefore, only by entering the Prefectural Selection, going through the first job transition and afterwards becoming a Knight could he change his destiny, as well as his family’s destiny.
While Ogden was still struggling with the comprehension of the Nine Yang Divine Sword Technique, Fang Xingjian had already raised it to level 1.
Given his supreme talent, although he could not hear Kyle’s explanation, he was already capable of picking up the technique in its depth even only through movement observation.
Suppressing the joy he was feeling, Fang Xingjian had to force himself not to practice the Nine Yang Divine Sword Technique for which he had already attained level 1.
[1] Internal assessment by The School of Sword Arts to see if one had the calibre to join as an official/internal students and thus have access to learn more high notch skills.