Chapter 12 – Sword Arts Training and Death?

“Son, come out for breakfast.” Kranos was interrupted by his mother’s voice. He sighed in disappointment as he glanced at the one-ninth completed time orb in his sea of consciousness. It seems I’ll need another day to complete the first orb, he thought.

With that, Kranos quickly got up, freshened himself, and made his way to the dining room for breakfast. Even though he barely slept the previous night, he still felt refreshed. Kranos attributed it to the fact that he had almost stepped onto the path of cultivation and didn’t think too much about it.

When the time neared 9:00 AM, a knock came at the door. Kranos rushed to answer it, already guessing who it was—and just as expected, it was his teacher.

“Good morning, Teacher,” Kranos greeted politely upon seeing the familiar face.

“Hmm. Let’s head to the training ground. Apologies for the delay,” Donald said curtly. He didn’t bother waiting to greet Kranos’ parents—he could tell they weren’t home. Since Kranos was already dressed, he followed Donald directly to the open training field.

This was the place where their usual training sessions took place. Finally, I get to practice sword techniques, Kranos thought. As soon as they reached the field, his teacher began demonstrating the moves.

“The basic sword techniques form the foundation for mastering the way of the sword. There are twelve core moves. Each one, when fully understood, gives your sword the semblance of life.”

Donald raised his wooden sword and demonstrated as he spoke. “The techniques include: stab, chop, flick, swing, tick, slash, slide, and so on.”

Once he finished, he turned to Kranos. “Did you grasp the movements perfectly?” he asked as soon as he was done.

Kranos had anticipated this, so he paid close attention to each motion. “Yes, sir,” he responded confidently and proceeded to replicate the techniques with precision.

Donald nodded with a look of approval. He couldn’t help but be impressed—this student never ceased to amaze him. What he didn’t know was that Kranos had the soul of an old man, so he could easily recall the movements displayed.

“Now, we move on to combinations. By fusing two basic sword techniques, you enter the intermediate stage. For example: stab and chop, flick and swing, stab and flick—it doesn’t matter how they’re combined, as long as you execute two moves together, you’re in the lower intermediate level.”

He began demonstrating again, fluidly displaying more than twelve different combinations. Kranos noticed that each was a seamless combination of two sword moves.

“Understood?” Donald asked as soon as he was done.

“Yes, Teacher,” Kranos replied and began his own practice. At first, it was difficult—his body wasn’t yet accustomed to the rapid shift in muscle movements—but soon he got the hang of it. After finishing the routine, he was visibly exhausted and panting.

“Rest for thirty minutes,” Donald instructed. “Use this time to mentally formulate more combinations. It’ll help you grasp the next stage of training faster.”

“Yes, teacher.” Without any delay, Kranos sat cross-legged to calm his mind. After meditating for five minutes, he switched to the Knight’s Breathing Technique to rebuild his mana reserves. After all, he hadn’t yet embarked on the orthodox path of cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, thirty minutes passed. Donald stood from his own meditation and began explaining.

“To perform upper-intermediate sword techniques, you must combine three basic movements. This is where true difficulty begins.”

With a deep breath, Donald began his demonstration, showcasing over a dozen complex techniques that fused three different basic moves.

Once finished, he stepped aside. “Now, show me.”

Kranos watched and listened attentively, but even then he had to close his eyes for a bit to deeply comprehend the sword techniques that his teacher had just seamlessly displayed. He could tell the difficulty of displaying three different basic sword techniques.

After a few moments, Kranos opened his eyes as a sharp glint passed through them, without hesitation, his wooden sword began to move. Slash! Stab! Flick!

He executed the moves fluidly, causing Donald’s eyes to sparkle with praise.

“Hah…” Kranos panted heavily. Just that one combination left him breathless. He couldn’t help but praise his teacher inwardly because even after displaying such techniques, his teacher didn’t display any hints of fatigue.

“Take another thirty-minute break,” Donald advised, to which Kranos just nodded and then proceeded to meditate to regain clarity, similar to the previous time Kranos waited for five minutes before replenishing his mana reserves.

Once recovered, he began demonstrating the remaining upper intermediate techniques one by one. Time passed, and by the time the sun was nearing the horizon, Kranos had performed all fourteen combinations.

“That’s enough for today,” Donald said. “I have something to tell you. I’ll be traveling tomorrow and won’t return for a month. During that time, keep practicing what I’ve taught you. If you can master even a few advanced techniques by the time I return, that would be ideal. But don’t overexert yourself.”

“Yes, Teacher. I wish you a safe journey,” Kranos said respectfully.

With a nod, Donald vanished just as mysteriously as before. Left alone, Kranos contemplated his next step.

I’m close to completing the first stage of the Time Condensation Realm. Why not make the breakthrough now? Since this was his family training yard, Kranos didn’t think anyone would interrupt his training process. With that thought, he sat down and began absorbing the surrounding particles of time.

As the sky darkened, inside Kranos’s sea of consciousness, Kranos could feel something within him changing, his physique was becoming stronger and more refined at an alarming rate. He could feel the shackles of a mortal loosening within him as though he was no longer a caged bird.

I’ve become a cultivator, Kranos realized, smiling at the sight of the now fully formed, glowing silver orb. It feels different. He stood up—and the moment his foot touched the ground, it slightly caved in.

Intriguing, Kranos thought. He then slowly controlled his strength before walking home, humming a tune, but suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.

Suddenly Kranos felt a tingling sensation. What is this feeling? Kranos abruptly turned around as he felt a chill creeping up on him. As soon as he turned around, he saw a masked man. The man was clothed in all black, and at the same time, he was muttering something under his breath.

“W–Who are you?” Kranos asked, his voice trembling as he could feel a wave of fear just by looking at the black-clothed masked man.

“Me?” The man sneered before replying, “I am just someone assigned to kill you.” As soon as the man finished speaking. Before Kranos could react, the man disappeared and reappeared behind him like a ghost.

So fast, how can he be so fast? I have no time to react at all. Wait—why is my vision turning… sideways? Kranos was shocked for a moment before coming to an understanding as soon as he saw blood spilling from what seemed to be his body.

He laughed bitterly. In the end, I still died. After everything I did to live long and strong in this world… to think someone would come to assassinate me. Truly laughable… Kranos lamented at his misfortune as his eyes slowly closed, he was slowly slipping into eternal darkness.

As soon as the darkness clouded him, Kranos thought he was done for, but his eyes widened in shock the next moment as he saw a light coming from a distance.

Is this the so-called light at the end of the tunnel?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep