Chapter 18

“Today, we’ll begin practicing twin swordsmanship. Preferably the same weight and the same type of sword, so I’ve prepared two identical blue steel swords.”
“But more than that, I want to ask: why are you practicing twin swords?”
I’m curious about what you bought, but the real question is: Why do you practice dual-wielding?
“Do you think your two hands are equal in strength, flexibility, dexterity with tools, and feel?”
“No, I’m right-handed, so it must be different.”
“That’s right. In a fight, your right arm could be broken or mangled. What are you going to do when that happens? Are you going to sit still and wait for your opponent to kill you?”
“No, I can’t do that.”
“Okay, that’s it. Then the only thing left is your left hand. You’re going to have to swing the sword with your left hand, right? That’s why you practice dual wielding. You can’t just practice with your left hand. You must practice with all four eyes at the same time, in comparison to your right hand. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
Convinced by the master’s explanation, he strapped one sword to his left waist and the other to his right.
“As I explained, you can do it right away, but you should eat first. You won’t die if you don’t train, but you will die if you don’t eat.”
With his eyes and words, he pressures her to hurry up and prepare the rice.
“Okay.”
“I’ll take care of it,” I say to myself, and go to prepare the food.
Simple porridge and vegetables.
I ate the same breakfast I had yesterday, the day before, and the day before that, and I started practicing.
“First, test your feet. Start with your right hand.”
“Yes.”
At his instructor’s words, he stepped forward with his left foot and prepared to strike.
He held his sword at an angle, his hand slightly raised, and held his breath.
Then, in an instant, he struck.
Boo-woo-woo.
“Huh?”
A dull sound.
The sound of a pleasure-oriented katana, not the katana I was using.
“Tsk, tsk, getting used to it doesn’t make it go away.”
“Ah, right.”
I’d forgotten about the iron ring on my wrist because I’d been wearing it all day, even though it was only two days.
“I’ll take it off while you practice your twin swords. Come here.”
“Yes.”
I slid my sword back into its scabbard and stood before Master.
As he stroked each one of them, they fell apart.
It was a chilling sensation to see something that was supposed to be a training tool fall apart.
“Now that you’ve unlocked the iron ring, the seal on your power must have been broken. Check your power.”
He closed his eyes and tried to channel his chi.
The power coursed through his body’s acupuncture points at a faster rate than before he kicked the iron ring.
The pulsing was impressive.
“Wow, that’s even better than before.”
“The body needs rest, too. The first purpose is to train the body, yes, but the second is to give it rest, which is why I chilled the iron ring on you.”
“I see.”
I twirled my arms and stomped my feet, convinced.
I feel more energized than before.
“That’s enough. Get ready.”
The master frowned at me, as if I’d taken too long to relax.
He quickly resumed his foot-sword stance.
“Huh.”
He took a deep breath.
He was pleased to see his inner power in action, and he focused his mind.
He stabbed at the imaginary enemy in front of him, aiming for his opponent’s heart.
A silent sword.
A soundless slash, reaching the point of impact in an instant.
“As expected…….”
Slash.
A second of deployment of the transformed plum blade showed no abnormalities.
My mind was overcoming my body.
“It seems that my advice from the other day has taught you something.”
There’s still life left in it, but it’s weaker than when you first unfurled the Transformed Plum Blade.
Progress.
“Whatever, this time it’s my left hand.”
He slid the sword back into its scabbard and struck again, this time with his left hand.
“Hot!”
Qiuwu!
In an instant, the sword was out.
But it wasn’t the same as with my right hand.
It was unfamiliar, and it felt strange.
“It’s too powerful, and unlike my right hand, there’s an unnecessary strength and muscle movement. The turo is also a little different.”
I felt it too.
A silent sword and a sound that seemed to tear through the air.
In some ways, the left-handed foot sword seems stronger, but foot sword is not a sword path that emphasizes weight.
It is a sword that aims to be stealthy and extremely quick.
In terms of foot swords, the right hand was more advanced.
“Let’s try again.”
At Sensei’s command, I take up the stance with my left hand again.
And again, the sword.
Yip!
“Too slow this time. Again!”
He was so focused on controlling his strength that he didn’t pay attention to his speed.
He was twice as slow as before.
He sheathed his sword and struck again.
“Too weak this time. Again!”
Each time I was criticized, I corrected what was wrong.
After about fifty repetitions, he was finally able to perform a slash that resembled his right hand.
“There’s still some work to be done, but you can’t just do swords forever. Let’s try something else.”
He drew the sword I’d handed him.
Thrrrrr.
With a clear sound, the sword revealed a pristine blue blade.
“I’m going to attack with the Three Talents Sword Method. It is an attack of Heaven, Earth, and Yin. It’s a vertical slash, a horizontal slash, and a thrust, so you should be able to block it.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than he charged.
I quickly drew my sword and blocked his blade.
The vertical slash was blocked by raising the sword, the horizontal slash was blocked by holding the sword upright and supporting the back of the sword with the left hand, and the thrust was blocked by slashing at an angle along the blade of the incoming sword.
“Good parry. Left hand this time.”
He slid his sword back into its scabbard and readied it.
Just as quickly, he drew his sword and brought it up, parallel to the ground.
Bam!
Something was off.
It felt like the beat was off.
His sword felt a little faster than hers, but it also felt unnatural.
As I parried a horizontal slash and narrowly deflected a stab, I was convinced.
“Why are you attacking faster with your left hand?”
“I’m faster?”
Sensei asked, puzzled.
He really did find it strange.
But I trusted my instincts.
“You made the exact same movements with the exact same beat, and you barely missed on the last stab, so of course you moved the sword faster, right?”
Sensei laughed at my absurdity.
“Hehe. I told you so earlier, and you felt it with your own body, don’t you see? I moved at exactly the same speed. It was only because you felt the difference between your left and right hands that you felt different.”
“Then this…….”
It wasn’t the same as when I used the sword.
When I felt that I had an opponent and that I was threatened by a real sword, it finally dawned on me.
“Isn’t the difference great? I easily blocked it with my right hand, but I can barely block it with my left hand, and that’s the simplest of the three sword techniques.”
“I see.”
“Then you should be more serious. Don’t argue with your master.”
“I don’t think I can honor that last one…….”
“Shut up, here we go again.”
Bang! Kang! Ka-kang!
The sound of steel clashing against steel rang out several times, violently, on the stage of the Drunken Rock.
“Again!”
And each time, there was a whistle.
“Huh…….”
I drooped with exhaustion.
It was harder than kicking an iron ring.
“How is it that every time you point out a problem, you create a new one?”
Sensei laughed in disbelief.
“How can you not…….”
I don’t do this because I want to.
My left hand was also cupped and used often, but I never held a sword.
The only time I’ve used it was when I first learned a little bit about two-handed swords?
I’m not used to it, so every time I do it, I see something wrong, something bad.
“You have to make it work. If it doesn’t work ten times, swing it a hundred times, if it doesn’t work a hundred times, swing it a thousand times to get used to it.”
“I’m just starting, it’s not a thousand times.”
“I’m giving you an example, yes. Stop being loud, stop crying, and start eating.”
My rebuttal was a bit disconcerting, and the master coughed and went back into the hermitage.
“Hmph, why not?”
I thought I was doing everything the same, both in terms of the operation and the reaction, but when I unfolded it, it was different.
“Is it because I’m not used to it?”
Then all that’s left is training thousands and thousands of times.
“Yeah, well, martial arts is just repetition of the same actions, training, so what’s the difference?”
Shaking my head, I finished my food and entered the hermitage.
I put my chopsticks, cutlery, and bowl on the table and was about to eat.
“Stop.”
“Why?”
I was just about to put a spoon full of porridge in my mouth.
“Let go of that hand and raise your other hand.”
“…….”
“Every day should be a practice and training. As you know, time is running out, not even this week. If you understand, go ahead and raise your other hand.”
“Yes…….”
At the master’s words, he put down the cutlery, picked it up with his other hand, and poured the contents into his mouth.
“Oops…….”
“Oops, you spilled it.”
I scooped up the porridge with my left hand a few times, spilling a bit of it.
A few more times after that.
I was so shocked that I realized I had such a big difference between my right and left hands.
Some time later, after we finished eating, Master said.
“You’ll be fine once you get used to it. Put it away for now. Oh, and do it with your left hand.”
I washed the dishes, washed the rag, and picked up everything with my left hand.
Sensing that I was getting bored with using only my left hand, Sensei said.
“Use your right hand once in a while to compare with your left hand.”
I did as I was told, and my body sagged.
When I finished and stood up from my exhaustion, the master said.
“There is no such thing as enlightenment. Repetition, repetition, and familiarization is the only answer.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t feel bad for being bored or monotonous. It will all help you one day.”
“Yes.”