After Fellaf took Raiden Ei on a tour of the entire Kendo Hall, they arrived at a plaza where many students were watching from the sidelines. He asked with a smile, "Hehe, how is it, Raiden Ei? Isn't my Kendo Hall quite good!"
Raiden Ei recalled the scenes she had seen along the way: "It's very good. The atmosphere here is excellent, very suitable for a Kendo Hall."
Fellaf said proudly, "I spent fifty years of my life building this."
Raiden Ei couldn't stand the old man's smug expression: "And yet you're still just a swordsman. If you randomly pick any strong person from the sea, you wouldn't be their opponent."
Fellaf... Can we please stop talking about swordsmen? Do you think I wanted to be a swordsman for decades? I also want to become a Sword Master! "Raiden Ei, let's not talk about that anymore. It's getting late. Let's start our sparring!"
Raiden Ei thought for a moment and decided to share her understanding of a Sword Master with Fellaf. Whether he could become a Sword Master or not was no longer her concern.
After listening to Raiden Ei's explanation, Fellaf thanked her with a serious expression: "Raiden Ei, thank you for telling me this. It gives me hope to fulfill my dream."
Raiden Ei picked up a wooden sword from a nearby rack: "Then I hope you can become a Sword Master soon! Now, come and witness the strength of me, a Sword Master!"
Fellaf put away his serious expression and also took a wooden sword from the rack: "It's been so long since I've touched a wooden sword, has it been 20 years? I haven't used one since I taught my last disciple."
Raiden Ei swung the wooden sword in her hand: "Then you, as a curator, are quite derelict in your duties."
Raiden Ei walked to the center of the plaza and stood opposite Fellaf. Both held wooden swords, their expressions turning serious the moment they faced each other. The surrounding atmosphere became oppressive, like a volcano about to erupt at any moment. The students around them held their breath, fearing that even a slight reaction would cause the volcano to explode.
But the silent atmosphere was destined to be broken. With the chirp of a small bird, Fellaf in the arena made his move, lunging straight at Raiden Ei like a shadow.
Raiden Ei... This old man has some skill. I need to hold back a bit, so I don't break him apart. Her wooden sword parried, striking later but arriving first, deflecting Fellaf's wooden sword. She stepped forward and thrust her wooden sword, cornering Fellaf.
Fellaf's heart trembled at such a dangerous sight. He had thought he might not be Raiden Ei's opponent, but he hadn't expected to be defeated in a single move. His decades of experience wouldn't allow him to fail like this.
Fellaf hardened his resolve and, without changing the force, drew his sword upward to block. His other hand quickly supported the blade, using the full weight of his body to push Raiden Ei's wooden sword upwards.
Even though Raiden Ei had held back some strength, her sword was not something that could be easily blocked. The wooden sword, with the force of the block, continued its attack towards Fellaf.
Their exchange was incredibly fast. In an instant, the wooden sword had reached Fellaf's shoulder, gliding past it. No blood flowed, only a white mark was left on his clothes.
The surrounding Kendo Hall students who witnessed their curator being defeated in one move were in an uproar. Who was their curator? A famous strong person in the Hilton Kingdom.
Not to mention that no one in the kingdom was his opponent, and even if there were, they would only fight him to a stalemate. Today, a Damselette, whom the curator personally welcomed at the door, defeated him in one move, leaving them all bewildered and discussing amongst themselves.
Seeing that the attack had injured Fellaf, Raiden Ei, who had intended for the sparring to be a friendly match, chose not to continue her attack and instead retracted her wooden sword.
Fellaf also breathed a sigh of relief. If the offensive had continued, he wouldn't have lasted more than a few moves. He stood up from his half-crouching position and wiped away the cold sweat that had just appeared with his sleeve.
Fellaf praised, "Raiden Ei is truly young and promising; your swordsmanship has reached its peak. I am ashamed of my inferiority."
Raiden Ei paid no mind to these flattering words; on the sea, it was all about strength: "Old man, your strength is not bad, but have you been living in comfort for too long, without fighting enemies? Your moves are too reckless, completely lacking the sense of crisis in life-or-death situations. Sparring with you is like sparring with a swordsman who knows how to use a sword but not how to kill."
Fellaf chuckled awkwardly. Being criticized by a junior, and one stronger than himself at that, left him unable to refute. When what the other person said was also true, it made him feel even more embarrassed.
However, decades of experience had made him thicker-skinned, and he wore an expression that said, 'You're right': "Raiden Ei, you're right, I will pay attention."
Raiden Ei felt that this old man was full of tricks and didn't plan to beat around the bush with him. She had her own goal here: to force out all of the old man's swordsmanship.
"Alright, let's continue!"
Seeing that Raiden Ei was no longer pursuing the matter, Fellaf also breathed a sigh of relief, taking his wooden sword and standing opposite her again. This time, he learned from the previous lesson, making his attacks a bit more steady, hoping to recapture the feeling of fighting enemies from back then.
And so, under the watchful eyes of the Kendo Hall apprentices, their curator was defeated again and again. They no longer discussed who Raiden Ei was; they all wanted to know how she could be so strong.
The sparring continued until evening. Raiden Ei was still energetic and seemed to want more, but Fellaf was done for. His stamina had long reached its limit, and he was now relying solely on willpower to endure.
Raiden Ei felt that her goal for the day had been achieved. She had forced out and used all of the old man's moves, and she had also learned a lot in the process. She kept what she found useful and discarded what she considered superfluous, which helped her complete her basic swordsmanship techniques.
Raiden Ei said in a good mood, completely ignoring the exhausted Fellaf beside her: "Old man, that's enough for today! I think you've also gotten a grasp of a Sword Master's strength. We'll have a proper practice match tomorrow to see if you can ascend to the Sword Master realm."
"Hoo hoo hoo... Okay, we'll continue tomorrow." Fellaf didn't think that way at all. 'I said I wasn't going to fight anymore, but you forced me to fight for so long. Sword Master, hehe!'
Seeing Fellaf still panting heavily, Raiden Ei didn't want to disturb his rest: "Then I won't disturb your rest. I'll come again tomorrow morning!"
Fellaf responded as if he had no strength: "Okay, take care."
After Raiden Ei left, the surrounding onlookers came over, all wanting to ask who that Damselette was, that she could beat him to this state. However, seeing Fellaf gasping for breath, they wisely refrained from asking.
A disciple under 10 years old, however, wasn't as discerning as the adults and boldly asked Fellaf with a curious expression: "Grandpa Curator, who was that elder sister? She's so amazing."
Fellaf chuckled upon hearing this: "That's a Sword Master. Envious, aren't you? That is a true strong person on the sea, the realm we swordsmen pursue our entire lives. No more talk, you'll know how strong they are when one of you reaches that realm. Now, help me back to rest."
Only then did everyone understand why the curator had personally gone to the main gate to greet her. They quickly helped Fellaf to rest.
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