The Sword Emperor Transmigrates

Chapter 167

“The reason I wanted to meet you isn’t all too serious, so you can relax,” Grace said.

But Leonard couldn’t simply do that. I’m even more nervous now because I can’t sense anything properly even when I concentrate.

She had the signature golden hair and eyes of the direct descendants, but combined with her hazy aura, they didn’t stand out much. It was hard to believe that her presence was this obscured when she wasn’t even trying.

If she were part of nature itself, it would likely not be possible to even read her movements.

Of course, Grace had no idea what Leonard was thinking. “I heard that you received a penta-core after the Blood Awakening Ceremony. So did I. A lot of people were disappointed because I’m a direct descendant, but once I became a commander—actually, a little after I became a commander, all those attitudes disappeared.”

“I see,” Leonard said. He understood a little.

Out of the Cardenas’ special mana cores, the penta-core was split into five elemental attributes. Unlike in murim, this world didn’t meticulously research cultivation methods or ponder deeply about philosophical aspects of martial arts, so having more mana cores was less advantageous.

The maximum number of elements a body could handle was five. With their inner resources stretched so thin, penta-cores were seen as the most inferior type of mana core by the Cardenas family.

It doesn’t make much of a difference once one reaches the Transcendence Tier... but you can’t ignore how much faster someone with a single core progresses before then. And it’s also easier for them to develop the use of their elemental energy.

It was a well-known fact that how much innate talent someone had affected how fast they grew. Someone who became a Peak Realm expert at twenty was more exceptional than someone who became a Peak Realm expert at thirty. Leonard had seen plenty of this in his past life.

So he knew that a lot of the “talented” youngsters were actually dunces who often had to go back and re-learn the basics.

That was why the term “late bloomer” existed. Quickly reaching a high level of skill wasn’t all that beneficial on its own. There were fundamentals that one absolutely had to master, and there were things that could only be gained through time and experience. Hastily trying to reach a higher level prevented one from building a sturdy foundation.

Of course, being a fast learner was useful. If one could learn ten things from a single lesson, they had more time to spend on training.

In the end, though, the sole speed of improvement couldn’t predict how far someone would go. Even if someone became a Peak Realm expert at twenty, they weren’t guaranteed to reach the next stage just as fast. They might not be able to reach the Apex Realm until they were eighty. Reaching an even higher level required not only innate talent but also effort and luck.

If someone used an incorrect training method, didn’t have enough innate talent, or had bad luck, it was impossible for them to reach a more advanced stage.

Someone who was a fast learner had more time to train, but that was all. Finding the right ways to train and using them effectively was an entirely different skill.

That was the difference between someone who was average and someone who was exceptional.

“I’ve never considered my penta-core to be a stumbling block,” Leonard explained.

Grace’s eyes glinted with interest.

“Having just one path can let me go further and faster, but having five paths means that I can feel and experience more things than someone with one path. Wouldn’t you agree? These paths have an end to them, so if someone gets used to walking on the same one, they’ll likely linger for longer,” he said.

This was why rising stars in murim often shined when they were young and became average martial artists a few decades later.

But that wasn’t a result of their own intentions and choices—it was because they became stronger by being fed elixirs and given martial arts books by their families. Once they learned everything they could learn from someone else, they wouldn’t know what to do, so they just spent their time idling away, never going any further.

Of course, a very small minority would reflect on themselves once they reached that stage and then progress much faster than the average person.

“Wow! What wise words. It’s hard to believe you’re sixteen,” Grace exclaimed, not even trying to hide how impressed she was. “Not only are you at the very peak of the Transcendence Tier, but you’re also not even the hasty type. I understand now why Audrey wants you. And there’s nothing that concerns me.”

“Concerns you?”

“You’ve progressed exceptionally fast, so I was wondering if you were pushing yourself too hard. But I see now that there was no need to worry.”

Her suspicion was understandable. Penta-cores were notorious for slowing down training, but Leonard had already reached the Transcendence Tier at sixteen.

And who would ever consider that this speed was a result of the memories of his past life? Leonard quietly held back a bitter smile. If he were a third party like Grace, he would think the same thing. She had no idea.

“I appreciate your concern, Commander Grace.”

She twirled her hair. “Now all the things I was going to tell you are pointless... I still have two hours left, though, so why don’t we chat for a bit?”

Though she had only watched Leonard train for a little bit, there were many things she’d picked up on.

His swords moved as one unit, but each one was imbued with a different elemental attribute. His perfect command over the five elements granted to him by his penta-core made him quite similar to Grace herself.

She raised her right finger. “Something like this, was it?”

Fwooooo. At that moment, several ribbons of wind flew across the training ground, suddenly condensing into five swords. As they began to glow with a soft white light, the wind died.

Normally, people couldn’t even see natural energy, yet Grace had not only materialized it but also made it incredibly dense.

Leonard’s eyes widened. Those are at least as strong, if not stronger, than augmented qi!

Manipulating the natural energy outside the body was simple enough once one reached the Transcendence Tier, but condensing it like augmented qi was difficult. It was inefficient, of course, but it also took tens of times longer, about as long as generating augmented qi from energy inside the body.

“Woosh.” Grace twirled her finger, and the wind swords moved in an orderly fashion to create a sword formation.

The Five Wheels Sword Formation.

She appeared to have picked up the ideas of how they moved by watching Leonard train, but since she had created the formation without knowing the core principles, several aspects were insufficient.

But then, Grace immediately spotted her own mistakes.

“Oh right, I can’t use just wind.”

She gestured with her finger.

And then, Leonard was truly shocked.

The four swords began to transform.

One began to blaze and became a fire sword.

One began to drip and became a water sword.

One gathered the dirt from the ground and became an earth sword.

“...What is that?” Leonard asked, astounded.

The last one began to glow a bluish-green.

It should have represented metal to complete the circle of the Five Elements, but the power it emanated was most definitely not metal. He didn’t know what principles Grace was drawing on, but it was different from the Five Elements.

“Oh, this? It’s an aether sword,” she said nonchalantly. “There are these things called classical elements in magical theory. It’s one of the five.”

So her elements were fire, water, earth, wind, and aether. When Leonard realized this, he was astonished.

They were the same ones that the Five Wheels Sword Formation represented.

Aether was like the spirit sword or the void sword. He knew that it existed, but it represented something that wasn’t fully fathomable.

Commander Grace’s penta-core is a little different from mine, he thought.

The Five Elements and the Five Classical Elements. Four of them were the same, but one was not, and that made all the difference. Both were concepts that described the flow of nature, but their principles were entirely different.

What came next wasn’t something that could be understood through words.

Both Grace and Leonard knew this.

“I was planning to have a cup of tea together with the time we have left...” She waved her finger, and the five swords dissipated. “But since you’re a boy, I assume you’d prefer to play with swords?” she said teasingly.

“Please,” he said without a moment’s hesitation. He raised his sword.

While the Five Elements and the Five Classical Elements had many things in common at their core, he had so many things to learn from her. He couldn’t just waste the time they had left on small talk.

Grace grinned, sensing his determination and excitement.

“You didn’t even hesitate. I like it.”

Unlike the other commanders, she was free-spirited by nature, and she felt a little uncomfortable with the way people seemed to revere her. Leonard, however, wasn’t scared to express what he wanted. Her opinion of him improved.

They moved to opposite sides of the training ground. While Grace’s presence was as evasive as ever, Leonard was nearly bursting with anticipation.

“Shall we begin—”

Before she even finished her sentence, Leonard charged.

He shot forward like a bolt of lightning. Unlike opponents who were of equal strength or had slight differences, going on the defensive was not an option when facing someone far more powerful. Being pushed into a defensive stance even once meant death. He had to go all out from the very start.

One Origin Five Elements Sword Art

Five Elements Style

Strike of the Azure Dragon

This was the fastest attack he could use without applying a unique trait. As he swung his sword from his hip, the light enveloping his blade became a bolt of lightning, aiming for Grace’s throat. He had long since exceeded the speed of sound.

She stood her ground.

“Woosh.” She raised a finger just as she had when creating the sword formation.

Booooom! The ground shot up and blocked Strike of the Azure Dragon. Even with its sharpness, the lightning couldn’t pierce through the wall and bounced off.

Leonard studied her shield, his processing speed accelerated by hundreds of times. It looked like a wall, but that was only because of its enormous size. Its shape was actually more similar to a sword—an earth sword that was several times bigger and wider than the greatsword of White Dragon Knight Hugo.

It’s very durable, and it’s not something Strike of the Azure Dragon can break through.

As soon as he sensed this, he swiftly changed to a different Form. The augmented qi faded from blue to white, letting out a tiger’s roar as it surged forward.

This move was one of his top three techniques with the most destructive power.

Five Elements Style

White Tiger Sixteenth Form: Sky-breaking Demon Quell

He disregarded her defensive power and broke through her earth sword. It shattered with one hit and was reduced to a pile of earth. Leonard met her eyes.

They were filled with interest and amusement, not shock.

Even though he should have known what her demeanor would be like, he couldn’t help but be angry.

Let’s see how long she’ll stay passive. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

In the same way that she wanted to see his capabilities, Leonard also wanted to see the Blue Dragon Commander’s full power.

The difference between them was like night and day.

But he was a martial artist. He would never give up, even if he knew that.

Five Elements Style, Four Swords Style

Azure Dragon Thirty-Sixth Form: Surge of the Dragon King

Leonard took aim at Grace. Four swords came together to form the Azure Dragon. It bellowed as it flew forward.

This technique was on a completely different level than when he’d used it against Conrad at Atlantis City.

The Form had kept up with Leonard’s own growth, and it came down with immense power. Even the bones of a Demigod Tier expert would shatter under its force if the expert wasn’t wearing armor.

“Oh? That’s an interesting-looking dragon.”

But the shape of the augmented qi technique only piqued her interest even more. This time, she held up two fingers like a pair of scissors.

That tiny gesture brought on a colossal effect.

Fwoooooo——!

Without warning, the wind condensed into the shape of an enormous beast’s maw.

Suddenly caught in its fangs, the Azure Dragon tried to pull back.

Thooooom!

The wind beast bit down violently, and the augmented energy of Surge of the Dragon King was crushed as if it were nothing.

Leonard’s face fell as he watched.

Grace hadn’t simply neutralized his attack. She was more like a mage than a swordswoman, and he’d realized how her techniques worked.

Myriad changes based on myriad swords... I don’t know who came up with that saying, but that’s the perfect description.

While he marveled at her might, there was something he was sure of.

I lost, but I learned something.

Grace’s path was not one that he could choose.