Chapter 329 - 210: That One
The night passed in silence. Early the next morning.
Su Xing couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept so long. When he finally awoke, he could already hear the sounds of conversation from outside.
Evidently,
Lu Anning and the others were already up.
Perhaps it was because they knew Su Xing had been incredibly busy lately. None of them had disturbed his sleep; in fact, their voices were soft and hushed.
"..."
Su Xing was still groggy when he first woke up. He shook off the lingering drowsiness, quickly dressed, climbed out of bed, and headed for the door.
CLICK—
The door was slowly pushed open.
Lu Anning stood between two other people, wearing a light pink nightdress. Her skin seemed even smoother than before. Upon closer inspection, one could even see a faint film of energy covering it.
But what was most striking,
was the mark of a small, three-layered sword that had appeared on her slender hand, resembling a Command Spell.
[Sword Disciple Panel]
[Sword Disciple: Lu Anning]
[Age: 17]
[Sex: Female]
[Occupation: Sword Disciple, High School Student]
[Talent: Sword Bone]
[Talent: Sword Heart]
[High-Proficiency Skills: Slash, Pierce, Shatter, Point, Flick, Cleave, Exhale, Inhale, Stance, Sword Control, Dark Cuisine, Crane Machine, Gossip Hunting...]
[Sword Disciple Trait: Extrapolate]
[Sword Disciple Trait: Sword Dao Established]
[Lu Anning has undergone countless trials and has finally found her own unique sword. Her sword heart is now resolute, and her Sword Dao is established. As her Sword Master, you will automatically acquire the unique sword skill types she possesses.]
[Congratulations to the Sword Master for acquiring Sword Skill: Flick Lv. 1]
[Flick Lv. 1 (1/1,000,000)]
[Congratulations to the Sword Master for acquiring Sword Skill: Cleave Lv. 1]
[Cleave Lv. 1 (1/1,000,000)]
[Congratulations to the Sword Master for acquiring Sword Skill: Sword Control Lv. 1]
[Sword Control Lv. 1 (1/1,000,000)]
Judging by the proficiency values, the three new sword skills were on par with Lu Anning’s current realm—fifth-rank sword skills. What surprised Su Xing, however, were the names of her skills.
They were so simple and direct. Unquestionably, Lu Anning had begun to comprehend a Sword Dao that was truly her own. Su Xing himself had only reached such a state upon breaking through to the sixth rank.
When he was at the fifth rank, the names of his own sword skills had still been trending toward more and more complexity. This gave Su Xing an even clearer recognition of Lu Anning’s talent.
"Such talent..."
Even Su Xing couldn’t help but murmur.
Su Xing then glanced at Xiao Yu, who was standing off to the side. He hadn’t changed much since Su Xing had last seen him. It was hard to believe the system had judged them both to be geniuses. The difference between them was just too vast.
"Coach Su, you’re awake?"
The sound of Su Xing opening the door hadn’t been quiet, and the three people in the living room had clearly heard it. Lu Anning was the first to speak, followed by the uncle, who said with a warm smile:
"Breakfast is on the table, Su Xing. You probably have some questions for Lu, don’t you? Why not ask while you eat."
Only Xiao Yu remained silent. He gave Su Xing an embarrassed glance, seemingly ashamed that he hadn’t made any progress on the path of the Martial Dao in so long.
In fact,
never mind taking a step further,
strictly speaking, he hadn’t even formally embarked on the path of the Martial Dao; he had barely brushed against its edge.
However,
Su Xing didn’t have much of an opinion about this.
He was his disciple, after all. Even if his performance wasn’t great, Su Xing had no intention of showing favoritism. He simply ruffled the boy’s somewhat dry hair and said faintly:
"Why so silent?"
"..."
Xiao Yu couldn’t possibly voice the thoughts in his heart, but he felt he had to say something to Su Xing. He stammered:
"N-nothing."
Seeing Xiao Yu’s reaction, Lu Anning could only give a helpless smile and say apologetically,
"Coach Su, it’s all my fault. I’ve never taught anyone martial arts before, so I’m probably not very good at it. That’s why Xiao Yu still hasn’t become a Martial Artist. He’s probably been feeling down lately."
"It’s not Sister Lu’s fault."
"Maybe... maybe I really just don’t have any talent."
Xiao Yu said, a little dejected.
Su Xing glanced at Xiao Yu’s system panel. His unique talent was still blacked out, clearly unactivated. Su Xing rested his right hand on his chin, thinking, and murmured inwardly:
’Could it be because he’s been training all this time?’
Taken out of context, Su Xing’s thought seemed ridiculous. For Martial Artists, training through the hottest days of summer and the coldest days of winter was the norm. The idea that diligent training could yield no progress was absurd.
True, but that was how ordinary people thought.
Before Lu Anning’s talent awakened, she had just been an ordinary girl. She was even considered below average in her school’s Sword Dao class.
But after she awakened her talent while facing an enemy alongside Su Xing, her progress could only be described as advancing by leaps and bounds. There were even faint signs that her talent might surpass Su Xing’s own.
Now, Su Xing was almost certain that at Lu Anning’s current level, killing a sixth-rank opponent would be no difficult feat.
Therefore, for a Sword Disciple, awakening one’s talent seemed to be a crucial step. Perhaps the reason Xiao Yu was still unable to become a Martial Artist was precisely that he had yet to awaken his own talent.
Xiao Yu was just a child, after all, and he couldn’t see his own system panel. It was only natural for him to feel disheartened after putting in so much effort and still seeing no hope of success.
"Don’t be upset."
Su Xing gently ruffled Xiao Yu’s somewhat dry hair and said comfortingly,
"You’ll definitely be able to take that step. Once all this recent business is over, I’ll come back and teach you myself."