"Show me what you've learnt so far." Qin Shaoqing moved to the opposing side of Sushang.
"W-wait, I'm fighting Teacher!" Sushang said in bewilderment.
"Haha, don't worry, I won't attack you nor use any fancy footwork." Putting both of his arms behind his back, Qin Shaoqing simply waited for Sushang's initiative.
Sushang, after hearing this, calmed down. If she had to fight multiple illusionary Qin Shaoqings, she couldn't imagine herself winning.
After taking a deep breath, her eyes sharpened, and without a second's hesitation, she closed the distance.
'Upward cut, followed by an overhead slash.' Qin Shaoqing's new skill instantly came to life and fed him the sword's path. His eyes could see the line where the sword would exactly go.
Slightly dodging to the side, he easily avoided them, but without missing a beat, Sushang slashed toward him again.
'Vertical into a horizontal slash.' Moving out of the sword's path once more, it missed by a hair's breadth.
This exchange continued for one minute before Qin Shaoqing stopped the duel.
Sushang, hearing his command, stopped obediently.
"Sigh, where do I even start?" Qin Shaoqing muttered under his breath. He could clearly see what was wrong, but with so many flaws, it was hard to even begin.
Sushang, who faintly heard him, couldn't help but feel downcast. She, who had spent years honing her craft, had been easily seen through and outmaneuvered. Saying her pride wasn't hurt would be a lie.
Wait, pride? What was she talking about? She needed to forgo pride itself to fully absorb her Teacher's teachings. If she was stuck holding onto her pride, she would get nowhere.
"Alright, I'll give you two options," Qin Shaoqing, who was in deep thought, spoke up. "You could either forget your foundation entirely or fix it." Faced with his serious face, Sushang couldn't help but feel nervous.
"U-um, could Teacher explain what both of them mean?" Sushang felt embarrassed because she thought she should have known what both options could do for her.
Upon seeing her reaction, Qin Shaoqing smiled. 'If I'm gonna teach her, might as well give it my all.'
"Don't be afraid to ask, Sushang. I am your Teacher, and it's my duty to explain what you don't understand." Upon hearing this, Sushang felt reassured.
"For discarding your foundation, you need to forget everything you have learned so far. Though the Cloud Knight swordsmanship is solid, it is unsuitable for your body."
"And as for fixing it, I will point out every flaw you have, everything from slashes to stabs."
"What do you recommend, Teacher?"
"Me? Hmm, I'll say discard it. Cloud Knight swordsmanship is too well-known; it's quite hard to create an advantage against a knowledgeable opponent."
Sushang, who had already forgone her pride, moved forward. She was sure that with her Teacher, she would go further. "Alright, then I'll discard it!"
'No journey is without hardship.' Recalling a line from The Silver Wind, she steeled herself to move forward.
Qin Shaoqing acknowledged her decision and went into deep thinking.
Qin Shaoqing, who recalled every move Sushang made. Though the Cloud Knight swordsmanship was good, for someone of her body weight, wielding such a heavy sword was more of a burden than a benefit.
"Absolute Sword Sense" gave him every bit of information about his opponents and their flaws, and he could clearly remember what she lacked. Now he just needed to eliminate every flaw.
Something lighter, like a longsword, would be more suitable—a sword with no flaw… light… fast…
Qin Shaoqing's mind worked overtime, creating a set of moves tailor-made for her.
"Sushang, do you have any longsword?"
"No, Teacher. This sword was passed down by my family, so I didn't need any other sword." Sushang showed the sword she had been wielding.
"Hmm then, Sushang, could you cut that bamboo?" Qin Shaoqing pointed at one of his planted bamboo trees, which had been there ever since his transmigration.
"Alright!" Sushang, who was about to cut the bamboo, paused and looked at her Teacher again. "Umm, do I need any special move to cut this?" Sushang felt this was a test somehow.
"No, just cut it normally!"
"Y-yes!" With a vertical swing, the bamboo fell into his yard.
"Now cut it here." Qin Shaoqing pointed at another section, cutting it to a size he could handle.
Picking up the small bamboo, he retrieved a small knife and began carving the handle to be smaller while reinforcing the hollow inside with sand.
He also filled the "blade" with an appropriate amount of sand and tightly packing it to replicate the weight of a longsword.
Of course, it would be better to buy a longsword directly, but he was currently poor, so he couldn't supply her with one.
"Umm, Teacher, what are you doing?" Sushang was curious about what her Teacher was doing.
"Making you a sword. Your heavy sword is unfit for your physique." Testing the weight, Qin Shaoqing was satisfied and handed her the bamboo longsword.
"Try this." Sushang nodded, putting down her sword and trying the "stick" her Teacher gave her. With a handle small enough for one hand, Sushang felt awkward swinging it at first but soon got used to it.
Swoosh. The air resistance created by the thick blade howled every time she swung it.
"How is it?"
"Well, it feels lighter than the heavy sword, but it's awkward to swing."
"Well, the wind resistance is probably the cause of that, but other than that, your arm should feel fine after one swing, right?" Qin Shaoqing had already noticed before they fought, she always let her sword hang low, as if dragging something heavy. With something lighter, she should be able to swing faster yet still strike with deadly precision while maintaining a stance mid-fight if needed.
"Yes, Teacher, you're right."
"Alright, now try swinging—"
The day moved forward as Qin Shaoqing taught her, and before they knew it, night was approaching.
Seeing it was getting late, Qin Shaoqing offered to cook her some food, but she refused and said she'd eat on her own.
Qin Shaoqing, not insisting, let her be. As she left, Qin Shaoqing reminded her to request a longsword from the Cloud Knight Commission.
Knowing she hadn't received any weapon from the Cloud Knight Commission yet, she could still request one for free.