Chapter 27

"Then it's a deal—no matter who it is, we must surpass that guy Luo En and reach the pinnacle of swordsmen! If one of us fails to reach it, the other will inherit the will."

Zoro grinned, raised his fist without hesitation, and bumped it against hers.

"Deal!"

……

【PS: Begging for flowers, ratings, and bookmarks!!! At the start of the month, begging for a handful of monthly tickets! Any questions or suggestions can be left in the comments section!!!!!!!!】

19, An Extension of the Sun Breathing Art—Thunder Flash! (4/5)

Inside the mountain forest.

Koshiro demonstrated before Luo En what the swordsman's realm of cutting iron truly meant.

With a single wooden stick, he effortlessly sliced a massive boulder—bigger than Luo En himself—clean in two, the cut surface perfectly smooth.

"This is a swordsman's strike."

Koshiro looked at Luo En, smiling as warmly as ever.

Yet the boulder behind him was slowly sliding apart.

"A swordsman's strike moves with the heart. If you wish to cut, even a dull, fragile wooden stick can split hard steel. If you do not wish to cut, even your Lei Qie cannot slice through a thin sheet of paper."

…………

Back at the warehouse.

Koshiro's words were still replaying in Luo En's mind.

"Strike with the heart…"

Inside the warehouse lit by moonlight.

Luo En ran his hand over the Lei Qie resting on his knee.

He felt as though he had grasped something, yet at the same time grasped nothing at all.

"I'm still far from reaching the swordsman's level."

Luo En thought to himself, "But I can feel that I'm already very close to the first stage—the Realm of Momentum."

"In today's real combat, I seemed to have touched a sliver of it. What I need to do now is recapture that feeling."

Luo En closed his eyes.

The Sun Breathing Art began to circulate unconsciously.

This art—the ancestor and origin of all breathing arts. The Sun Breathing Art.

It had helped Luo En far more than he had ever imagined.

He simply did not know it yet.

A night of contemplation.

By the next morning.

Luo En slowly opened his eyes and said with a soft smile:

"Found it."

He slowly drew the Lei Qie.

A faint, almost imperceptible layer of red light radiated from his entire body.

As the blade of the Lei Qie was drawn from its sheath.

The red 'momentum' outside Luo En's body slowly crept along the hilt toward the blade, gradually covering the entire blade.

"This is… Momentum."

Luo En murmured, gazing at the Lei Qie enveloped in red light in his hand.

【Host: Luo En.

Age: 9.

Qi and Blood Value: 141.

Sun Breathing Art Mastery: 16%.

Sword Dao: Realm of Momentum (Initial Entry)】

…………………………

In the blink of an eye, another few months had passed.

Spring gave way to summer; the scorching sun blazed down.

The dojo disciples' training grew ever more grueling.

But for those who wished to grow stronger, this hardship was sweet as nectar.

Zoro had completely become a challenge-obsessed maniac and a training-crazy lunatic.

Every day he was either on his way to challenge Kuina, dragging stones beneath a tree, or carrying people on his back during long-distance runs.

Recently, it seemed that for his self-invented Three-Sword Style, he needed to clench a third sword in his mouth, so he had even begun training his teeth and jaws.

The number of daily challenges against Kuina went from three at first, to five, then to ten.

Latest record: 1045:0.

Not a single victory.

That day, after being defeated by Kuina in a dozen or so moves, a disciple named Umi came to the fallen Zoro's side and said with a grin:

"That makes it 1046:0 now."

"Shut up!"

A disciple beside them asked, "Zoro, why do you always challenge Kuina? Why not challenge Luo En once?"

Hearing that name, Umi instantly shivered.

The incident from last time remained fresh in his memory even after several months.

"Are you an idiot?"

Zoro looked at the disciple who had spoken with a gaze that plainly said 'idiot', "Even Kuina isn't Luo En's match. Right now I can't even beat Kuina, so how could I possibly win."

"I'm going to challenge him, not go get myself beaten up."

That disciple was rendered utterly speechless.

"So—"

Zoro got to his feet, dusted off his clothes, and said with eyes full of resolve:

"Before I go challenge Luo En, I have to beat Kuina at least once!"

…………

That day.

Kuina took her Wado Ichimonji out of the storeroom, then found Luo En and proposed a real-blade duel with him.

"Sure."

Luo En agreed readily.

Three moves later.

The Wado Ichimonji in Kuina's hand was sent flying, and she herself was knocked to the ground.

"Dammit!"

Kuina's face was full of unwillingness. "Why can't I still block your attacks?!"

"Probably because I'm stronger than you."

Luo En laughed, bent down to pick up her Wado Ichimonji, walked over to her and said: "You've already improved a great deal. If we'd had a real-blade duel back when I first came to the dojo, you probably wouldn't have been able to take even one sword strike from me."

"But you've only been at the dojo a few months and you've already reached the Realm of Momentum, while I've been practicing swordsmanship since I was little, and even now I still haven't touched that realm…"

Kuina stood up, took the Wado Ichimonji he handed her, and with a somewhat dejected expression turned and left.

Watching her retreating back, a flash of inspiration struck Luo En, and he called out: "How about trying to create your own sword technique?"

Kuina turned her head, looking at him with a face full of confusion.

"This is just a guess of mine, but in the process of creating a sword technique, you might be able to find your 'momentum'."

Luo En, gripping the famed blade Lei Qie, said to her earnestly.

Kuina's eyes lit up slightly. She said 'I understand' to him, then immediately trotted out of the room — it looked like she was going to give it a try.

After she left, Luo En was the only one left in the room.

"Swordsmanship, huh…"

He gazed at the straw dummy in the distance and murmured.

Then he closed his eyes, gripped the sword hilt, and drew in a deep breath.