Chapter 5

Reincarnated as the Sword Emperor in the Sword Family (5)

A few days later.

There were no days in the Cardenas training camp that could be called holidays. Even on days like the National Foundation Day, they would invite bards and bands to entertain the children.

As usual, the children trained in basic swordsmanship until the sun was high in the sky, and they exchanged whispers in secret, away from the instructors.

If they were caught even once, they would receive a severe beating, but today, their mouths were so itchy that it was hard to hold back.

“Hey, did you hear that?”

“381? Or was it 98?”

“Yeah, anyway, that guy. They say he’s already up to 25?”

“What?!”

The child who was pretending to swing a sword was so startled by the words that he shuddered, and the child who was whispering was also startled and said,

“Hey, what are you doing! If we get caught, we’re both dead!”

“Sorry, sorry. I was just too surprised.”

The child who apologized with an embarrassed smile asked again,

“Tell me more. He went from 381 to 25? Wasn’t he only admitted to the infirmary six days ago?”

The child who started the story nodded.

“Yeah, he went from 25 to 25 in less than a week.”

“No way.”

Seeing the disbelief, the child who brought the rumor tried harder to provide evidence.

“Really, I asked the ones who got beaten, and he didn’t even use a wooden sword, just his bare fists. They said he knocked them out with one hit.”

“Are you sure? Maybe they’re just embarrassed.”

“It could happen with one or two, but when it’s over ten, it must be true. 25, or now 26, all said the same thing.”

“381, or 25, is that strong? I didn’t know. But why isn’t he seen during training?”

Another child who had been listening to their conversation interjected.

“Didn’t they say he could skip training for a week because of his injury?”

“What? Really?”

“So, that injured guy was beating up the kids one by one?”

Soon, the three of them were equally curious.

“Where is 381, or 25, anyway?”

“Who knows?”

* * *

It wasn’t that far away.

Leonard, now 25, who all the trainees gathered in the drill field were curious about, was sweating in the training room.

He came here during the time when basic swordsmanship training was taking place.

Creak, creak, creak.

The steel ball, moving at a steady pace, swung back and forth like a pendulum.

Despite weighing 50 kg, Leonard’s arms easily resisted the inertia, repeatedly bulging and relaxing his veins.

The delicate muscles on the small back of a 14-year-old boy sprouted like ropes, a truly amazing sight.

“Huff…! Huff…! Huff…!”

As soon as Leonard’s breathing became ragged, he released the strength in his hands and let the steel ball he had been pulling and releasing fall.

It was better to take a moment to catch his breath than to ruin his balance by training with a poor posture. Obsessing over weight or repetitions was no different from forgetting the essence.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel, only to realize it was already soaked.

‘How long has it been since I sweated like this?’

Once he reached the Fire Stage and transformed his body through the process of changing bones and taking over the fetus, there would be no change whether he trained in external techniques or not.

His body was composed of the most perfect form based on the martial arts he had accumulated throughout his life and maintained continuously.

The Sword Emperor Lian Wuhexi had only practiced a little external technique, including Confucian techniques, up until that point, but after reaching the Fire Stage, he dedicated himself to swinging the sword and refining his inner energy.

“Well, it’s not bad.”

The burning sensation, as if the muscles and lungs were screaming, was a feeling he had long forgotten, like the taste of food.

Moreover, there was something different from his previous life.

The mind that had reached the Harmonious Fire Stage could perfectly control the body, and with the addition of Confucian techniques, there were a few things that Lian Wuhexi in his previous life could not do.

One of them was the ability to finely tune each muscle and extract strength.

‘If this continues, I’ll reach the level of perfect fluidity in two years, or maybe a little over one year. It’s an unbelievable growth rate.’

Even Leonard himself was captivated by his own growth.

‘The problem is from tomorrow, isn’t it?’

After defeating all the guys who came from three factions, the last one he faced was 25, and no one else came after that.

He had subdued 25, who was in the top tier of the two-digit numbers, with his bare hands.

They would likely judge him as a strong enough to be in the single digits or close to it. If a higher number came and lost, it would damage the faction’s prestige.

‘The last one was a bit troublesome. If someone stronger than that guy comes, it might be difficult to handle with just bare hands.’

Leonard recalled the peculiarity of 25, whom he had defeated yesterday.

‘His body was as hard as if he had used the Body Hardening Technique, and he could reflect the impact. If I hadn’t shaken his brain with force, I wouldn’t have been able to knock him out with one hit.’

Unlike the three-digit numbers, who only had slightly higher physical abilities, the two-digit trainees had special constitutions or abilities.

In terms of pure strength, they could even defeat second-class martial artists.

“Tsk.”

Leonard looked at his right wrist with a dissatisfied eye.

Due to the reflective ability, the impact of the palm strike returned a bit, and he had to use a potion to recover.

In a real battle, and if the opponent was a proper enemy rather than a child, it would have been a fatal flaw.

Even knowing that the Cardenas lineage was special, he had been complacent, and this was something he needed to reflect on.

‘If the ability of the collateral line is this strong, how great must the main line be? I can’t even imagine it.’

It might be a joke, but it could be as if fire was spewing from his mouth or eyes. If he didn’t consider all possibilities, the Sword Emperor Lian Wuhexi would have to suffer the humiliation of being defeated by a 14-year-old.

It was a situation that his pride as a martial artist could not tolerate.

Leonard frowned for a moment as he thought about tomorrow.

“I want to skip the basic swordsmanship training… Is there any way?”

For other children, the repetition of basics was meaningless, a waste of physical strength and time.

It would be much more meaningful to use that time to train in the training room or meditate on past experiences.

The problem was that he couldn’t convince the instructor of this.

‘Hmm?’

At that moment.

Sensing the presence entering the training room silently, Leonard turned his eyes in that direction.

His pupils dilated slightly when he saw the visitor.

“……”

Golden hair, golden eyes.

A beautiful girl with soft hair like a lush wheat field and shining eyes beneath it.

The girl, who possessed the characteristic golden hair and golden eyes symbolizing the main line of Cardenas, looked at Leonard without saying a word.

An unreal atmosphere, like a character from a fairy tale.

‘This girl must be 2.’

Leonard said with certainty.

“Do you have something to talk about?”

“Yeah.”

The golden girl, 2, nodded gently.

And then she spoke again.

“Why don’t you come to me?”

“…What?”

“Why don’t you come to me?”

To Leonard, who had unknowingly repeated the question, 2 repeated what she had said.

It was an unexpected form of questioning.

As if it was natural for him to be on her side, and she didn’t even consider his refusal. Her behavior, which could be seen as both childish and arrogant, gave a mysterious feeling.

But Leonard answered without much emotion.

“Because my training time would decrease. It would just add more trouble.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

2 did not deny his words.

“Have many others come to you?”

“I rejected them all. You’re the first leader to come.”

“Yeah, then it’s fine.”

The conversation flowed, but it also felt unstable, as if it could be cut off at any time. While 2’s way of speaking was detached, Leonard’s lack of friendliness also contributed to this.

‘She doesn’t seem to be here to fight.’

Not sensing any hostility from her, Leonard grabbed the handle of the exercise equipment and started pulling the steel ball again.

2 sat quietly and watched him.

Leonard, who started training without paying attention to his conversation partner, and 2, who started observing without feeling annoyed, had a strangely similar aspect.

They didn’t seek empathy or understanding from others, nor did they try to seek it.

Creak, creak, creak, creak.

The muscles on Leonard’s arms and back bulged again like ropes as he pulled the steel ball.

2 pursed her lips and muttered.

“Amazing.”

Leonard, hearing this, responded.

“What is?”

“It moves completely differently from mine. I can’t even imitate it. This is the first time. How did you do it?”

“…Can you see it?”

Leonard, letting go of the handle, opened his eyes wide, a rare occurrence.

He had a rough idea of 2’s special ability.

Despite the clear feeling of being watched, her pupils and irises were as hazy as those of a drunk person, and her cognitive range had no gaps. These clues suggested that it was definitely an ability related to vision.

Still, looking inside someone’s body?

“Eh? You can’t see it anymore. Did you do something?”

2 rolled her eyes for the first time and looked at him.

Her previously expressionless face, like a doll’s, now had a lively look.

However, Leonard neither confirmed nor denied her words, analyzing her ability.

‘A limited clairvoyance around the body, enhanced with X-ray vision.’

A skilled person who could handle mental images could block it with mental power, but if 2’s ability developed further, the outcome was unknown.

It was a literal superpower.

With a little martial arts training, those eyes could kill someone several levels higher than oneself. They would be a natural enemy to assassins and wouldn’t be caught off guard in a direct confrontation. Learning and mastering martial arts would also be faster, as one could observe the internal workings of a skilled person and steal their techniques.

‘If the old masters without disciples saw this, they would be shocked. Even I, who have little interest in passing on martial arts, would want to teach.’

As Leonard remained silent, 2 tugged at his sleeve and pressed.

“Right? You did it, didn’t you? Can you see it too?”

“I can see it. But it’s a bit different from yours.”

The Sword Emperor’s insight was more advanced than the immature clairvoyance of the young girl. Once the upper dantian was opened, one could see ‘intent’ and read the opponent’s will, which was faster and more accurate than looking at muscles or nerves.

Only a high-level expert at the Harmonious Fire Stage could block it.

‘But if this kid grows to the Fire Stage, it’s more frightening to think about how her ability will evolve.’

If it reaches the level of the Heavenly Eye, one of the six supernatural abilities passed down through the Life and Death Stage, which can see the future?

‘That would be interesting.’

A predatory smile flickered across Leonard’s lips.

Right at that moment.

“Hey, trying to act tough, huh? Were you bewitched by that girl?”

Unlike 2, whose presence was subtle, a presence so strong that even a dull person could sense it entered the training room.

Golden hair, golden eyes.

A boy of the main line of Cardenas, with an arrogance that matched his strength, surrounded his body. His gaze, like a lion’s, was openly condescending to everyone.

If 2’s presence was a cloud, the boy’s presence was the sun.

Not a warm sun that nurtures plants, but a scorching sun that dries up fields during a drought.

“…1.”

2, who had turned away from Leonard, frowned.

Even without saying it, his identity was clear.

The strongest of this batch and the leader of the trainees who had been coming to Leonard since the day he was discharged from the infirmary.

1’s fiery eyes, like flames, focused on him.

Leonard, meeting his gaze, turned his body.

And.

Creak, creak, creak.

He started pulling the exercise equipment, which he had paused while talking to 2.

1, who had been flabbergasted by this, soon shouted.

“25—!”

Leonard, without even turning his eyes, responded.

“What do you want?”

“Grr!”

“Hahaha!”

1, unable to contain his temper, was speechless, and 2, rolling on the floor, burst out laughing at Leonard’s indifferent attitude.

It was a scene that was hard for anyone to understand.