July 15th.
The heat was maddening.
The sun hung high in the sky, the ground felt like it was on fire, and a low-hanging haze, neither cloud nor fog, filled the air, making it feel suffocating.
Inside a Sword Hall located in the Cang City Suburbs,
The air conditioner whirred rhythmically. Billows of refreshing, cold air drifted down onto the training hall floor, swirling around young people dressed in gray and black training uniforms.
These young people were all practicing on their own.
So swung their swords again and again, so were sparring, and others were doing physical conditioning.
The whir of swinging swords, the heavy panting of bodies being trained, the pained cries of those struck during sparring, and the cheers from the spectators.
One after another, these sounds filled the spacious indoor training hall, seeming to infuse even the scorching sunlight filtering through the windows with a fiery passion.
GLUG, GLUG, GLUG...
Su Xing tilted his head back. His lips, chapped from spending so much ti in the air-conditioned room, slowly approached the cup. He gulped down the yellowish, chrysanthemum-infused tea, only stopping when he got a mouthful of flowers. Su Xing then spat the petals back into the cup.
"Ahem... Everyone, fall in!"
He moistened his lips, placed the cup on the floor with a soft CLINK, and strode over to the trainees.
Upon hearing Su Xing’s voice,
The students quickly abandoned their training routines and ran to stand before him. Even the most mischievous among them didn’t dare to disobey.
Every student in this Sword Hall had heard of Su Xing.
If you listened to him obediently, he was the kindest, most approachable coach. But if you had even the slightest thought of causing trouble, you were done for.
Your behind was guaranteed to get a harsh taste of Coach Su’s Wooden Sword.
The other coaches didn’t dare get physical with the students. Only Su Xing was truly ruthless. But because his talent in the Sword Dao was so exceptional, the Hall Master was always reluctant to reprimand him.
Su Xing stood before all the students.
He was about 1.8 ters tall. His solid muscles strained against his white coach’s uniform, threatening to tear it open. He looked at the students’ obedient expressions, nodded, and said:
"Alright, that’s enough practice for today."
"Class will be dismissed soon. Before we end, I’ll go over the key points of the slash we covered in this lesson one more ti."
Su Xing’s gaze swept across the students. So looked serious, eagerly awaiting his words. Others seed unimpressed. A few had their minds wandering elsewhere, their eyes glazed over with a dull, lifeless gray. Of course, they all kept their eyes on Su Xing’s face, not daring to slack off so openly.
"The most fundantal slashes are divided into downward slashes and upward slashes."
"I’ll demonstrate for you. Watch my movents carefully."
As Su Xing spoke, he drew a slender sword, about half his height, from his back. The edge was blunt; it had clearly never been sharpened.
He gripped the hilt, aligning the knuckles of his four fingers with the blade facing the ground. This was the most basic grip for a slash.
"Once you have a firm grip, there are three types of slashes, each with a different level of power and function."
"They are: the powerful slash, driven by the body or shoulder; the dium slash, driven by the elbow; and the light slash, driven by the wrist or hand, used for harassing the opponent."
With each type of slash he described, Su Xing swiftly executed a strike through the air. All three slashes stopped precisely just above the floorboards, accompanied by the sound of a blade cutting through wind. It looked as if the slightest touch would have caved the floor in.
The students couldn’t help but show envious expressions.
’Using a sword is so cool.’
Su Xing’s movents were clean and efficient. After sheathing his sword, he added a few more simple words, then waved his hand, returned the sword to its rack, and announced:
"Class dismissed."
"Goodbye, Coach."
The students all returned their swords to the racks. After respectfully bidding Su Xing farewell, they scattered like ripples from a stone tossed into a lake, as if afraid that moving too slowly would displease him and get them held back for extra practice.
Nearby, a man dressed in the loud, colorful clothes typical of middle-aged n stood on the second floor of the Sword Hall, silently watching the scene. Only after the students had all left did he speak, a hint of surprise in his voice:
"Su, made so progress again recently?"
"I saw those slashes. Their montum is much stronger than it was a couple of days ago."
The speaker was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties or fifties. He wasn’t tall, but his body was packed with muscle. Ti had begun to gray his temples, but it had also filled his dark eyes with a kind light.
"A little bit, Hall Master."
Su Xing replied with a smile.
He was indeed happy, not because of the Hall Master’s praise, but because he had taken another step forward in his Sword Dao.
[Taught a Sword Dao lesson.]
[Sword Dao Points 1]
This was Su Xing’s golden finger—his system. A light blue panel suddenly appeared in his field of vision.
[Sword Saint Profession System]
[Na: Su Xing]
[Age: 22]
[Profession: Swordsman, Sword Hall Coach]
[Professional Skills: Slash LV 6 (Perfected), Thrust LV 5 (125/1000), Stance LV 3 (12/250), Breathing Rhythm LV 5 (450/1000)]
[Sword Dao Points: 1]
Su Xing had been in this world for twenty-two years.
At first,
He had always believed it was a world as ordinary as could be.
Su Xing just had to wait until he graduated from college, and then he could use the knowledge he’d gained from his previous life’s career to start a business and make money. That was until a month ago, when this system suddenly appeared.
The Sword Saint System.
He could gain Sword Dao Points just by teaching classes.
A single Sword Dao Point could level up a skill instantly. Even without points, he could grind proficiency to level up each skill.
At that mont,
Su Xing knew this world wasn’t ordinary.
’If it were truly ordinary, what’s the point of giving a sword training system? It couldn’t have been sent by mistake!’
From then on, Su Xing abandoned his entrepreneurial plans, found a Sword Hall, and began to practice like a man possessed. Today, his Swordsmanship had already surpassed all the other coaches, making him the top Sword Hall Coach.
Although he hadn’t yet discovered what was so unusual about this world, the salary of a top Swordsmanship coach wasn’t bad. It was enough for Su Xing to cover his own expenses and support his younger brother, who was still in high school and had already lost both his parents.
"Haha, Su, you should be a little nicer to your students in the future. The custor is king, you know... I’ve already had several parents co to with complaints."
"Also... go a little easier on the floorboards. We’ve had to repair them several tis already."
"Got it."
Su Xing replied after taking a sip of his chrysanthemum tea.
’Well, that’s as good as saying nothing.’ The Hall Master knew Su Xing too well. From the tone of his reply, he could tell Su Xing hadn’t listened to a word.
But he couldn’t bring himself to really reprimand him. After all, Su Xing had only been practicing for a little over a month, and he was already the best Swordsmanship coach in the entire hall. ’Give him a little more ti, and won’t he beco a world-renowned master of Swordsmanship?’
"Oh, right."
"It’s Friday, isn’t it? Your brother should be out for sumr vacation. Aren’t you going to pick him up?"
Hearing the Hall Master ntion his brother,
Su Xing put down his cup, a rare smile appearing on his face as he said:
"Don’t worry, Hall Master. Yu said a teacher is coming for a ho visit today, so he’s having that teacher give him a ride."
"But since I’m always living here at the Sword Hall, I put this as the address. That won’t be a bother, will it?"
"Not at all."
"That’s good."
’This kid really doesn’t hold back!’
...
「Cang City.」
A light blue convertible roared down the road, its engine a constant growl. The top was down, and the wind relentlessly poured into the car, battering the two people inside—one big, one small.
The older one looked to be in his thirties.
The younger one was just a teenager.
"Su Yu, is that your brother’s Sword Hall over there?"
"Yeah, Teacher Li, haha..."
Su Yu couldn’t help but laugh when he said "Teacher Li," as if it were the most ridiculous thing in the world.
The wind whipped through Su Yu’s black hair, revealing his sowhat childish face. On his forehead was a mysterious, bright gold pattern that resembled a hamr.
If anyone stared at it for too long,
They would even feel waves of dizziness.
"What’s so funny? Even though I’m not a teacher, I’m still your senior in the organization. There’s nothing wrong with you calling ’Teacher.’"
The man called Teacher Li glanced at the laughing Su Yu.
"You spoke so highly of that brother of yours, and you even made co all the way here to see if he has the aptitude to manifest a sequence. Honestly, this is just a waste of ti."
"It’s basically impossible for soone to awaken a sequence after they turn twenty."
"Hehe, we can at least try... What if my brother is so hidden master? Wouldn’t that be a huge score for you?"
Su Yu said cheerfully.
It had been a while since he had awakened his sequence. He had even personally participated in a battle between Sequencers. In a fight of that level, ordinary people would just be cannon fodder, killed in an instant.
Although Su Yu knew
That his brother had gone to study the sword,
A normal person with a sword could, at best, only fight other normal people. Against a Sequencer, they would be utterly powerless.
’If only my brother were a Sequencer too...’
’It’s okay. Even if you’re just a normal person, brother, I, Su Yu, will protect you for the rest of your life... just like you protected .’
Su Yu murmured to himself, his eyes fixed on the faint, blurry outline of the Sword Hall in the distance.
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