88: Swordsmanship and Swordsmen

The training grounds.

A cold wind, sharp as a blade, constantly sliced across Lister's face, but he felt no discomfort.

At this moment, his expression was filled with nothing but excitement, because not long ago, Liberi had agreed to guide him in swordsmanship without the slightest hesitation.

Achieving his goal so easily made Lister feel both surprised and delighted.

In truth, he hadn't expected to succeed at all, as swordsmanship masters like Liberi often had somewhat eccentric personalities.

It was usually very difficult to get them to willingly provide guidance on cultivation.

Therefore, his thoughts had changed after meeting Liberi; he had only hoped to build a good relationship first and then slowly bring the matter up later.

However, the result was smoother than he could have ever imagined.

What surprised him most was that Liberi had actually known his intentions all along and had even brought it up personally.

He had thought Liberi's impression of him would decrease because of this, but from Liberi's subsequent expression, it seemed the man appreciated him even more.

Though he didn't understand the thoughts of these powerhouses, at least the result was good for him.

Currently, in the center of the clearing, besides Lister, there was only Liberi, who was standing a short distance away to provide guidance, and Spartacus, who was serving as a guard.

Although the ironthorn whiskey was a great temptation for Spartacus, it was nothing compared to Lister's safety.

Since Red, Locke, and Carlyle—the three strongest knights belonging to the Lord—were away, he was the strongest knight remaining in the territory and naturally had to take responsibility for protecting Lister.

Accompanied by the whistling cold wind, Lister swung the longsword in his hand with a regular rhythm, his body shifting and dodging back and forth.

Every strike was heavy and powerful, accompanied by a piercing whistle of breaking air, as if he were about to cleave through the surrounding space.

Liberi, who had been silently observing from not far away, couldn't help but praise him in his heart.

'To reach the Proficient Realm in swordsmanship at such a young age... this Lord's talent cannot be underestimated.'

Although he was a Swordsman and didn't cultivate Battle Qi, he could still sense the abundant Battle Qi energy within Lister's body, as well as that powerful Spiritual Power.

At this age, to be able to cultivate Battle Qi, Spiritual Power, and swordsmanship to such an outstanding level simultaneously...

In the nearly twenty years since he had become a Swordsman, he had only seen a few people achieve this.

Provided he didn't die young, he believed Lister could definitely become a top-tier Transcendent of the Kingdom.

For a moment, he felt quite fortunate, and even somewhat honored, to be able to guide Lister.

Snapping back to his senses, he called out loudly, "Lord Howard, you may stop now."

This form of address was something Lister had asked Liberi to switch to while they were on their way to the training grounds.

Although Liberi was not a knight and did not serve any lord, with his strength, he was fully entitled to use equal honorifics with a low-ranking noble like Lister.

Moreover, compared to 'My Lord,' the title 'Lord Howard' felt more intimate.

Exhaling a long breath, Lister stopped his movements and stilled his sword.

He then walked quickly to Liberi and said with a humble smile, "Lord McBain, do you think my swordsmanship is up to par?"

"Lord Howard, you are too modest." Liberi gave a light laugh, then said with a sincere expression, "With the talent you've displayed, I'm afraid there aren't many in the entire Kingdom who can compare to you."

Out of consideration for Liberi's social anxiety, Lister had sent Sinclair and the others, who should have been at the training grounds, to train with the Soldiers instead.

Consequently, compared to his nervous demeanor in a crowd, Liberi now seemed more like a 'normal person.'

Lister laughed heartily upon hearing this. "Hearing those words from your mouth, Lord McBain, I truly feel honored and delighted."

"I hope that under your guidance, I can live up to the extraordinary talent you speak of."

As his voice fell, Liberi asked seriously, "Lord Howard, before I guide you in swordsmanship, I would like to ask how much you know about swordsmanship and swordsmen?"

Hearing the question, Lister thought seriously for a moment and replied, "From what I understand, swordsmanship is the cultivation of sword techniques. Through continuous tempering and polishing, one reaches a realm where they can release Battle Qi externally even without using specific skills."

"As for swordsmen, I don't know much. I only know that this Transcendent class seems to cultivate Mana, just like mages, and they are known as Magic Swordsmen."

"Broadly speaking, you are correct, Lord Howard..." Liberi nodded and continued, "But it's not complete. Or rather, those are just the basics."

"First of all, the swordsmanship you mentioned mainly refers to the swordsmanship cultivated by knights. It is purely the cultivation of sword techniques and the physical body, without incorporating any external power."

"And when techniques and the physical body are tempered to the point of a qualitative change, a special sensory energy is generated within the knight's body."

"It is the medium that helps the knight release the Battle Qi in their body at will. At this point, one reaches what we know as the Mastery Realm."

"This pure method of improving through tempering techniques and the physical body is called Origin Cultivation among us swordsmen, and its progress is relatively slow."

"However, because knights cultivate Breathing Techniques combined with Battle Qi energy and do not have a specific weapon to master—and since they mostly focus on frontal charges on the battlefield, requiring a strong body—the Origin Cultivation method is actually very suitable for them."

"But swordsmen, who focus primarily on the study of the sword and swordsmanship, will not adopt such a slow, pure cultivation method."

"This is where the Magic Swordsmen you mentioned, who cultivate Mana, come into play. But Mana cultivation is only one of the paths..."

"Besides Mana, swordsmen can also cultivate faith, the mind, bloodlines, and so on. These can all be said to be a manifestation of special energy, just with different forms of expression than Mana or Battle Qi."

"Swordsmen who cultivate in these ways progress much faster than the Origin Cultivation method of knightly swordsmanship, and their display of swordsmanship will be more varied and powerful."

"Of course, this isn't absolute. If a knight's own Battle Qi energy is strong enough, then the power released through swordsmanship will also be stronger than that of a Swordsman cultivating through other methods."

"The core difference between the two is that a knight's swordsmanship and Battle Qi energy are two separate entities; their improvement does not influence each other..."

"Whereas a Swordsman's swordsmanship is the cultivation of the energy itself. They advance side-by-side, improving simultaneously, and are completely unified and fused."

"Ultimately, knights and swordsmen simply have different areas of specialization; there is no definitive difference in strength."

"One could even say that compared to the complex studies of a knight, a Swordsman who focuses solely on swordsmanship possesses quite an advantage in its cultivation."

Hearing this, a look of realization dawned on Lister's face. He hadn't expected there to be so many intricacies involved in swordsmanship cultivation and the path of a Swordsman.

At that moment, Liberi's expression turned sharp, becoming incomparably serious...