Sometimes, communication between Swords is clearer than words.
Naturally, there's no need for elaborate language to embellish it.
"Thank you! I've learned a lot!" Ryan cupped his fists, his face smudged but his eyes bright, showing no discouragement.
While on the surface he took a beating, in reality, he did take a beating.
But in martial arts, one must first take a beating to become stronger; this is a universal truth.
"Guerrilla Squad's Secret Medicine!" Eula plunged her great Sword into a wooden crate and tossed a bottle of healing salve to Ryan.
"For external use, it works quickly. Change your clothes, then go see Amber."
Ryan mimicked her, sticking his long Sword into the ground nearby.
Looking at his disheveled upper body, there were very few spotsವ that hadn't been struck; besides his heart and head, he was basically red all over!
His thighs also had many scars.
"Can't apply it to my back…" Ryan wiped a wound on his front, looking at Eula.
"Take off your clothes!" Eula's expression was as cold as ever.
"Oh, how embarrassing!" Ryan immediately stripped off his outer robe, then pulled up his shirt. Eula quickly took the healing salve and dabbed it on Ryan's back.
The cool sensation quickly reduced the swelling.
It felt like ice mist flower had been added.
Although Ryan could heal his injuries by taking a bath or jumping into a lake, relying on the Grace of the Spring Spirit, who would be so foolish?
To lick his wounds alone.
"Hehe! I'll be back tomorrow!" Ryan changed his clothes, bid farewell to Eula, and left to take a carriage.
He reviewed the two-hour battle, analyzing it and summarizing his experiences.
At home, Amber breathed a sigh of relief seeing Ryan return unharmed.
It seemed Eula's guidance was very gentle!
She was indeed much more reliable than Kaeya.
If Ryan had truly remembered his promise from registration and sought guidance from Kaeya, he would likely have come back covered in injuries.
He was tired! He opened the window, took a few breaths of the Anemo wind, and practiced the Knights of Favonius breathing method.
Half an hour later, he fell asleep directly.
Ryan felt like he was still being attacked by Eula with her Sword in his dream.
But he fought back valiantly, using his long Sword to cut Eula until she turned red.
The days of carving wood during the day and getting beaten at night continued for five days.
Ryan finally carved a hundred wooden stakes, creating a pile of uniformly thick pieces. Although not as thin as transparent, they were smooth, flat, and an inch thick.
When he was beaten, only half of his body remained red.
On the sixth day,
Early in the morning, birds chirped.
Ryan woke up and washed up and ate breakfast with Amber.
He picked up his wu feng sword and headed to the Training Field at the side gate.
Upon meeting, the trainees, from whom Ryan had been freeloading meals for days, almost prostrated themselves before him.
Ryan, who was brutally beaten by Eula every night, seemed to accumulate his anger and unleash it during lunch every day, forcefully combining meals and eating even more excessively than on the first and second days.
Some people had already secretly apologized.
"Please, just eat by yourself over there! We'll have the chef make you a few more buckets. We won't be jealous anymore!"
Ryan magnanimously forgave them, stating that in two more days, he would enjoy the meal set all by himself.
"Trainees, form four columns!" The stern Instructor shouted from the front, "Squad One and Two, Squad Three and Four, pair up for sparring."
The Sword trainees consciously lined up.
According to their previously demonstrated strength, from front to back, strong against strong, weak against weak, they found their opponents.
This was Ryan's first time sparring with others, and he didn't know who his opponent should be.
The number of other people was exactly even, pairing up perfectly.
He could only stand alone at the front, eyeing the Instructor.
With his current strength, he should… barely be able to claim first place, right? Who would yield?
The Instructor glanced over.
"Ellin, you spar with Ryan!"
Ellin was the strongest female Sword user, ranking among the top ten in overall ability among all trainees, and first in the art of thrusting.
If not for her stamina being inferior to some of the men, purely in terms of Favonius Bladework, she was not inferior to a few of them.
"My name is Ellin, please guide me!" Ellin stepped out and looked at Ryan.
"Ryan, please guide me!" Ryan nodded.
The Instructor called out the man who was supposed to spar with Ellin and had him compete with himself.
That person immediately looked dejected and performed poorly, frequently getting scolded during the sparring session.
After Ryan and Ellin bowed, they simultaneously unleashed Favonius Bladework.
The same Sword, wielded by two different people, had a different flavor.
Two currents of Anemo collided.
Ryan restrained his strength.
Relying on his usual training and Eula's guidance, he was no longer a brute who wielded his Sword like a club.
His pursuit was to use less force and unleash greater power from the blade.
Bullying others with sheer strength deviated from the original intent of Sword sparring.
While beating the trainee, the Instructor multi-tasked, turning his gaze towards Ryan.
Seeing Ryan's greatly improved Favonius Bladework, his eyes lit up.
Soundless, a myriad of Sword shadows.
Streaks of Sword light, like dandelions shining and dancing in Mondstadt.
Ryan used no more than ten percent of his strength, yet the sharp edge he displayed was more powerful than when he previously used ninety percent of his strength.
Anemo was in the Sword, Anemo was in his breath.
The ultimate lightness, the ultimate speed, the ultimate precision.
Gently blowing, dandelions rooted themselves on Ellin's Sword.
One after another, those were delicate Sword flowers, rapid thrusts capable of piercing a human body.
Ellin had never seen such swordsmanship from a trainee. Ryan's Sword reminded her of the time she accidentally encountered Acting Grand Master Jean in the wilderness, and in a fleeting glimpse, saw her light and sharp movements as she slew monsters.
She was defeated!
Her current persistence was entirely due to Ryan's humility, as he lowered his strength, making her feel only like mosquito bites on her Sword.
The crisp clang-clang-clang sounds were so dense, overlapping to become a piercing melody.
Tiny forces continuously gathered, like drops of water forming an ocean, or gathering Anemo to create a disaster, becoming an unparalleled momentum that overwhelmed Ellin.
The familiar upward Sword flick.
That was the disarm, signaling the end!
The Sword flew, landing by her side!
The one who challenged with a Sword was finally challenged by another.
"You yield!" Ryan was neither happy nor sad; defeating Ellin, a character he was familiar with before his Transmigration, brought him no achievement.
"You… are very strong!" Ellin picked up her Sword. Her rank among the trainees had dropped by one again.
"Um… I want to ask, how do you manage to eat so much food every day?"
During the mid-session break, Ellin, for the first time, did not ask the person who defeated her for Sword guidance, but instead asked the question on all the trainees' minds.
"Talents! You can't learn this!" Ryan was afraid Ellin would ask him to teach her, so he immediately shut down the conversation.
The first sparring session ended.
The four Instructors recorded everyone's skill level; some improved, some regressed, some stayed stagnant!
Cultivation is like sailing against the current; if you don't advance, you retreat.
If your growth is slower than others, that is regression!
The Instructors looked at their preliminary ranking list and began to announce important news.
"This afternoon, Acting Grand Master Jean will come to the Training Field to demonstrate Favonius Bladework."
"We have decided to hold a ranking challenge. The person with the best performance will represent our Sword Training Field to showcase their training results to Acting Grand Master Jean."
"And, they will get the opportunity to spar with Acting Grand Master Jean."
"Currently, after discussion among our four Instructors, Ryan is temporarily ranked first!"
"Those who disagree can challenge him at any time!"
"Whoa!" The crowd erupted in whispers!