Chapter 27

Reincarnated as a Sword Emperor in the Sword Saint Family (27)

‘A straightforward approach, not a bad choice.’

Leonard evaluated.

Even without using mana, the difference in physical capabilities between the Inner Body Realm and the External Force Realm is significant.

Although Hayden’s physique had become similar after breaking through to the 10th stage of the Inner Body Realm, the gap of one major realm was akin to or even greater than the difference of five to six minor realms.

If they were to engage in a direct confrontation, Hayden would have the upper hand.

Clang!

Taking two steps, Hayden entered the range of the sword and struck down, but Leonard easily deflected it and kicked his inner thigh.

A low roundhouse kick aimed at the foot that carried his center of gravity.

Having rolled on the ground several times due to this, Hayden blocked it with his knee instead. With both wearing shin guards, a dull and heavy collision sound echoed briefly.

“Haaah!”

Feeling a bit more confident after successfully defending, Hayden’s sword strikes became more aggressive.

He knew that his attacks wouldn’t affect Leonard, but he tried to confuse his vision by moving the sword tip around.

Like the heat haze around a flame.

Like a snake’s head concealing its fangs.

He thrust continuously.

“Senior Hayden, when thrusting, you should use your feet more than your arms.”

But the tip of the sword never reached Leonard.

With just half a step, or even less, he dodged all the thrusts and gave a brief piece of advice.

Just look at the Four Seasons Sword Technique (射日劍法) of the Pointed Sword School.

They don’t just stab from a stationary position; they simultaneously kick explosively with their back foot to charge forward. The range of a sword isn’t determined solely by arm length; the distance that can be closed with footwork is also part of the effective range.

Additionally, the thrust of a sword, unlike a spear, is typically done with one hand, so relying solely on brute strength significantly reduces both power and speed.

“Is that so? Then, like this!”

Hayden took the advice at face value and added strength and variation to his previously monotonous footwork.

Though it couldn’t be called proper footwork, the difference from his previous, overly exposed movements was like night and day. Indeed, he could be proud of being one of the most talented among the Cardenas descendants.

Swoosh!

Stopping with his knees, he then accelerated again from a stationary position by pushing off with his ankles.

Even for a martial artist of the Inner Body Realm, such harsh treatment made his joints ache.

A few strands of Leonard’s hair, grazed by the reckless attack, were cut and scattered in the wind. If he hadn’t dodged, a cut would have appeared on his forehead, but no one present was worried about that.

“Does it still not reach!?”

“There’s no way it would reach.”

Leonard, inwardly praising the movement, answered Hayden’s complaint indifferently.

His forearm muscles swelled as he dodged all the thrusts.

Having taught him how to improve his immature sword movements, it was now time to teach him the danger of those movements.

Clang!

Hayden’s entire body staggered when his sword was struck.

A force moving in a straight line is extremely vulnerable to interference from the side. With a wide center of gravity and a short range, this was a weakness rarely found in spear techniques.

In the moment when Hayden’s upper body opened up while trying to catch his sword, which was about to be knocked away, Leonard’s blade flew towards his neck.

“Guh!”

Hayden instinctively raised his arm to intercept the sword’s trajectory.

Sacrificing one arm to protect his neck.

His quick decision to take desperate measures, a sign of his extensive combat experience, was very prompt.

And.

Clang!

Leonard’s sword, which seemed about to cut off Hayden’s arm, was deflected by a protective barrier formed over Hayden’s right arm.

The protective aura, a symbol of the External Force Realm, was quite strong even though it was used unconsciously.

‘Well, even if he hadn’t used the protective aura, I would have stopped it.’

Leonard looked at the protective aura surrounding Hayden’s arm with renewed interest.

Though it was translucent like a heat haze, its reddish color indicated that Hayden had primarily cultivated a fire-attribute mana core.

The heat from the rebounding force that flowed into the sword was also mixed in.

“Hayden, you lose by foul!”

“Coward! Leonard, you couldn’t stop it!”

Ian and Gail, who had been watching the sparring from the edge of the clearing, raised their voices in derision.

They were urging him to get out of the way as quickly as possible.

“Tch, I used it without realizing. Is your grip okay?”

“Fine.”

Leonard nodded, showing his palm.

The protective aura, which can be used by peak experts from the External Force Realm, not only protects the body but also injures the contact point.

Since Hayden’s realm was only at the 2nd stage and he hadn’t used it intentionally, it only felt hot. If he had recklessly collided with a proper protective aura, he would have suffered serious internal injuries or even died on the spot.

‘The External Force Realm is indeed the upper echelon of peak experts. To use the protective aura to that extent, one must be at least in the middle stages, not just the initial stage.’

With all the meridians in the body open, the difficulty of using qi is significantly reduced.

At the initial peak level, the limit was to勉强地覆盖全身的保护气或集中气以减少伤害。

“好！现在轮到我了！”

海登刚退下，盖尔就跳了上来。

“拜托了，伦纳德！”

伦纳德没有回答，而是举起了剑。

和之前一样，冰冷的风紧紧抓住盖尔的身体，从毛孔中挤出冷汗。

然而，盖尔和海登一样露出了凶狠的微笑。

除非达到和谐境界并分离心灵，否则心灵通常会跟随身体。

即使不悲伤，哭泣也会变得悲伤；即使不高兴，笑也会变得高兴。

对抗恐惧的方法是笑。

轰！

盖尔像粉碎地面一样冲了过来。

看着身后飞溅的泥土，伦纳德继续观察着像野猪一样移动的盖尔。

虽然看起来毫无一致性，但海登和盖尔的基础体系是相同的。

“我误解了。不是这个世界的剑术都是无形的，而是卡德纳斯的剑术疯了。”

通过与三人组的对练，了解了这个家族教授的武功体系，伦纳德几天都回不过神来。

这是无法想象的。

谁能想象到有武功是逆向万流归宗的呢！

“虽然说将某一方面修炼到极致就能应对其他一切，但通常在那之前人就会死或放弃。”

除了天赋、努力和运气，如果还有其他不足，就无法达到极致。至少要达到超凡，大多数要突破化境，才能入门万流归宗。

然而，在这个世界，如果这样修炼，连外力境都突破不了就可能死去。

正因为如此。

卡德纳斯的始祖提出了解决方案。

一个连剑帝练武赫都怀疑自己是否清醒的，激进且绝对的解决方案。

“教万种武功再整合为一，庸才和凡人即使一生学习也无法使用。”

卡德纳斯的武术体系从基础阶段就开始区分敌人的形态，并根据每个修炼者的具体情况指导具体的技巧和窍门。

对人剑形。

对野兽剑形。

对鸟类剑形。

对爬虫剑形。

入门阶段仅仅是熟悉应对各种形态的姿势、攻击和防守方式。

“在掌握了形态后，还要解释敌人是大是小，其动作和能力是否可以用自己修炼的武艺攻破。即使天才，全部学会也要至少十年。”

即使天才，全部学会也要至少十年。

然而，卡德纳斯为了缩短修炼时间，从小就开始通过实战经验磨练孩子们。

所有族人都天生是天才的家族特权！

“普通家族或门派如果这样培养后继者，恐怕撑不过一代就会灭亡。”

在实战中经历生死比在练武场练习一百天更快。虽然没有人不知道这一点，但存在不这样做的原因。

庸才无法度过生死关，会死去。

凡人勉强活下来，但仅此而已。

然而，天才以上的人会迅速将脑海中想象的武艺内化。

“呃！”

即使陷入沉思，伦纳德的剑依然锋利。

面对盖尔狂暴而粗糙的剑击，他找准了其中暴露的几个要害，一击即中，攻守之势逆转。

海登喜欢用快，而盖尔的剑则沉重。

如山崩般的剑势后退，身体各处无法防守的破绽暴露出来。盖尔也意识到了这一点，但已经晚了几拍。

“……输了。”

“辛苦了。”

看着停在喉咙前的剑尖，盖尔下意识地吞咽口水，确认自己的喉咙是否完好无损。

伦纳德收剑说道：

“对战人类时，不要固守一种剑形。虽然你听从了我的建议，但你对不同剑形的熟练度差异太大。而且，为什么对我用对付熊的技巧？我的动作中没有熊的影子。”

盖尔尴尬地回答：

“呃，我觉得这样可以出其不意。”

“心理战确实不应总是出最佳招数，但故意出最差的招数也不对。”

“我会记住的……”

盖尔自作聪明却遭到了嘲讽，变得垂头丧气。最后，轮到伊恩站在伦纳德面前。

第三次对练开始了。

* * *

“今天也谢谢你了。四天后我还会来！”

“好好练习！”

“需要什么随时来找我！”

结束了日常的对练时间，三年级见习骑士三人组互相道别后离开了。

虽然连一次攻击都没能成功，但因实力日渐提升，他们的脸上洋溢着笑容。

无意中成为剑术教练的伦纳德叹了口气。

“虽然有时很有趣，但毕竟还是麻烦。我还是更习惯独自行动。”

三人组离开的同时，一直观察着伦纳德家周围的视线也远去了。

应该是某个中级骑士转移了注意力。

“结果好像成了掩盖我行踪的烟幕。”

完全的漠不关心也不好。

如果一直看不见，反而会显得可疑。

从这个意义上说，与三人组的对练正在让人们对伦纳德的存在产生认知。一个认真修炼，与前辈们相处融洽的少年。

“昨天是海登……今天该轮到伊恩了。”

使用了易容术，伦纳德的脸变成了刚才看到的伊恩的模样。由于经常使用，熟练度更高，现在即使在眼前也难以分辨。

不仅改变了脸，还换上了衣服。

自制的夜行衣是用岛内捕获的怪物皮和向前辈们求购的盔甲拼凑而成的。

深色的服装在日落后像保护色一样使用。虽然对靠嗅觉和听觉感知的怪物无效，但可以避开远处教官的视线。

“剑帝练武赫秘密暗行，如果被那个老家伙看到，恐怕会笑得前仰后合。”

伦纳德感觉到嘴角露出了一丝苦笑。

——学了就要用，对吧？这小子，连暗行术也学了！

练武赫曾说暗行术没什么用。

但今天，伦纳德再次体验到了暗行术的好处，消失在众人的视线之外。

许久未去的地方是“骨堆沼泽”。

在外围区域危险度为两个骷髅头，但深入内部则上升到三个骷髅头，成为避之不及的区域。

三个月前，他首次进入岛内时，就是这里。

“那些家伙精心培育的灵草也该收割了。”

不知何时，伦纳德已经完全适应了这个岛。