Chapter 27: Sharp

Sunlight spilled into the room through the window lattice. Luo En had finished today's meditation and was preparing to start practicing "Corona Sword Technique".

Since killing Darren last time, his understanding of this sword technique had undergone a qualitative leap.

Especially in that life-and-death struggle, he realized the mystery of the combination of sword technique and breathing method more deeply.

"Let's start."

Luo En adjusted his breathing, and the wooden sword in his hand slowly raised.

Under the guidance of the "Corona Breathing Method", every movement of his was filled with a certain special rhythm.

First breathing, seven breaths of inhalation.

The wooden sword drew a beautiful arc from bottom to top, the sword tip pointing to the sky, as if a knight was paying tribute to the sun.

This is the "Dawn Ring" move in the Corona Sword Technique, which emphasizes dissolving attacks from all angles with a rounded arc.

Second breathing, three breaths of breath-holding.

The sword body was parallel to the ground, holding the sword with both hands in front of the chest, posing in a classic defensive stance.

This is a defensive posture derived from ancient heritage, which can guide the enemy's power to the surroundings.

The light halo on the surface of the wooden sword gradually became bright, which was the energy unique to the "Corona Breathing Method" accumulating on the sword body.

Third breathing, five breaths of exhalation.

The sword momentum changed suddenly, turning from horizontal grip to straight stab, the sword tip as swift as a poisonous snake out of its sheath.

This move is called "Dawn Cross", a rare change move in the Corona Sword Technique that combines offense and defense.

The blade drew a perfect cross in the air, which could not only block incoming attacks but also contained powerful counterattack power.

After a complete set of sword techniques was performed, the wooden sword drew a beautiful arc in the air, perfectly matching his breathing.

Unlike the previous awkwardness, every movement now began to appear smooth and flowing.

[Current Progress: Basic Sword Technique (Entry 49/50)]

"Just a little bit more..."

Luo En took a deep breath and began to practice the last set of sword moves.

This was the most complex set of movements in the "Corona Sword Technique", requiring multiple changes of direction in a short period.

But this time, he found that his body seemed to have its own consciousness.

Every turn was just right, and the connection between sword momentum was flawless.

A set of movements was completed smoothly, and Luo En could clearly feel a certain change in his body.

[Basic Sword Technique Breakthrough!]

[Basic Sword Technique (Entry 50/50) → Basic Sword Technique (Proficient 1/100)]

[Obtained Additional Characteristic: Sharp (Penetration increased when using sword technique attacks)]

He raised the wooden sword and waved it gently.

The trajectory drawn by the sword edge seemed to carry a certain invisible fluctuation, and even the air trembled slightly.

If he faced Darren at that time again, he could probably defeat the enemy in one encounter.

"Is this the gap between proficient and entry level..."

Luo En sighed in his heart. In fact, the evaluation standards such as "entry" and "proficient" were all judged by the panel itself.

He felt that his sword technique, which was only "proficient" on the panel, was already not inferior to those long-famous sword technique competition champions in the kingdom.

Putting away the wooden sword, he began to prepare for today's body tempering.

With the deepening of the "Corona Breathing Method", he became more and more proficient in the process of this set of breathing body tempering.

[Breathing Body Tempering Experience +1]

[Current Progress: Breathing Body Tempering (Entry 43/100)]

Although the progress was just over halfway, Luo En was not in a hurry.

Body tempering is different from other skills, requiring cooperation with special essential oils, and the body needs a certain recovery time after each body tempering.

Moreover, this kind of foundation-laying work is more likely to cause problems if one is impatient.

After finishing body tempering, Luo En felt his whole body soaked in sweat and essential oil, and decided to go to the public bathhouse to wash up.

Tidying up his belongings, he was about to go out when he suddenly remembered Andre's reminder.

In this world, even if you go to take a bath, you have to stay vigilant. After all, bathing and going to the toilet are the moments when people are most relaxed.

"Hope it can be quieter today."

Luo En whispered to himself, pushed open the door, and walked into the corridor.

The public bathhouse was filled with steam. He chose a corner position and began to wash off the essential oil and sweat on his body.

The warm water washed over his body, making his tense muscles gradually relax.

This period of body tempering made his physique stronger, especially the lines of his meridians and muscles became extremely distinct.

When several candidate apprentices walked into the bathhouse, they subconsciously avoided Luo En's figure and chose a farther position.

After Darren's incident, plus Andre helping him out before, they were both in awe and wary of this neighbor who could kill an aberration with a wooden sword.

After washing, Luo En put on his clothes, took his toiletries, and prepared to return to his room.

The corridor was quiet, with only a few dim magic crystal lamps flickering.

Just as he was about to reach his room, a figure suddenly walked out from the corner.

"Master Luo En."

It was a young woman dressed exquisitely. Luo En recognized her as one of Marcus's servants.

Compared to other servants, her clothes were more gorgeous, and she also wore a necklace inlaid with gemstones around her neck.

"I am Danny, Master Marcus's personal maid." She bowed slightly, her voice soft and pleasant:

"I heard you work in Lady Allen's herb shop?"

Luo En looked at her blankly: "Something up?"

"It's like this." Danny showed a decent smile:

"My master has always been interested in potion-making, and I heard you have made great achievements in this area recently. I don't know if..."

"No." Luo En directly blocked what she was about to say.

He knew these servants' tricks too well—first probing for information, then trying to find handles from it.

Moreover, he had a confidentiality agreement with Lady Allen. This kind of trick of asking what one already knows was too clumsy.

"This..." Danny showed a difficult expression on her face:

"If it's a price issue, we can discuss it. Master said that as long as you are willing to share some formulas, he is willing to pay..."

"Not interested, move aside."

Luo En didn't want to continue this meaningless conversation and bypassed her to leave.

Just at this moment, Danny, who brushed past him, had a cold light in her eyes, and the corners of her mouth hooked into a successful smile.

Her slender fingers made a special gesture under her sleeves, and at the same time, she silently chanted a spell in her mouth.

This was a zero-ring spell called "Light Hand Clever Take". Although it had no attack effect, it was hidden and difficult to detect.

A dark energy tentacle, invisible to the naked eye, overflowed from her fingertips, drifting quietly towards Luo En like light smoke.

At this distance, even an experienced apprentice would find it difficult to detect this kind of energy fluctuation without preparation.

While casting the spell, her eyes stared closely at the bulging cloth bag at Luo En's waist.

Inside it were not only magic stone fragments but also several potions that Luo En had worked hard to refine.

The energy tentacle had already quietly approached the cloth bag. As long as there was another moment, this stealing spell could transfer the cloth bag into her hand.

By then, she only needed to frame him by saying that he intended to steal her personal belongings, and she could easily...

—At the critical moment, Luo En's mental perception suddenly captured that trace of strange energy fluctuation.

It was an extremely subtle sense of disharmony, as if something was repeatedly plucking the strings of his mind, making him irritable.

Danny saw the young apprentice who brushed past her suddenly stop, and her heart rang with alarm bells.

But it was too late. The speed of drawing the wooden sword was unbelievably fast, and the proficient-level "Corona Sword Technique" showed its terrifying power for the first time.

The sword light flashed, and a shrill scream followed.

Danny's right hand, along with the dark energy tentacle, was cut open, and blood sprayed out instantly.

She looked at her broken wrist in horror and was about to scream again when she was kicked away by Luo En without any pity.

At the same time, he caught his cloth bag that was about to fall to the ground, which contained his magic stone fragments and potions.

"If it weren't for this public area with 'surveillance eyeballs'..."

Luo En shook the blood off the wooden sword, his eyes carrying bone-chilling coldness: "You would already be a dead person now."

Danny rolled to the ground and couldn't get up for a long time. Her originally gorgeous dress was covered with mud and dust, and there was an extremely conspicuous footprint on it.

She tried her best to cover her bleeding broken wrist, her elegance completely disappeared, leaving only horror and pain: "You... how dare you..."

Just at this moment, a cold voice suddenly came from the end of the corridor:

"Hmph, just as the rumors say, a brute with nothing but muscles in his head!"

Marcus didn't know how long he had been squatting there. He was wearing a dark gray apprentice robe, and the green badge on his chest flickered with a faint light in the dim light.

"I just witnessed with my own eyes how you cruelly hurt my servant."

This ugly, short man had a ferocious smile on his face:

"The school has strictly forbidden internal fighting, especially you, a mere candidate apprentice, who actually dared to lay such a heavy hand on the property of a formal apprentice..."

(End of chapter)