Chapter 229: Breaking the Limit
Chapter 229: Breaking the Limit
Her fundamentals had already been practiced until calluses covered her hands.
They were so familiar that they could not be more familiar.
How to grip the sword.
How to swing it.
Cerys had carved every detail into her mind.
After learning the sword techniques of Cloudrift Style, she felt capable again.
Caelum asked, "Have you learned every technique of Cloudrift Style?"
"More or less."
Cerys said with confidence, "Aside from Cloudrift Style’s ultimate technique, Cloudflash, I have already mastered the rest."
"And you still dare challenge me?"
"Swordsmanship is not just about techniques. What matters is one’s understanding and insight into the sword. We will only know who is stronger after we actually fight."
"Even without the ultimate technique, I can still beat you."
Caelum looked at Cerys with fresh respect.
"It seems your understanding of swordsmanship improved a great deal this month."
"Of course."
Cerys tightened her grip on the wooden sword.
A faint red seeped through the bandages around her hand.
Over the past month, she had trained harder than anyone.
She had practically thrown her life into practicing sword techniques.
Whenever she could not grasp something, she repeated it again and again until she thoroughly understood and mastered it.
Because of that, her body was covered in injuries.
Even the male disciples felt a chill when they saw how recklessly she trained.
"Now I will show you the results of my month of hard work."
The two faced each other with wooden swords in hand.
Caelum spoke.
"Come."
The moment his voice fell, Cerys released explosive force like a hunting leopard.
Her movements were clean, powerful, and decisive.
Compared with three months ago, she had changed completely.
The wooden sword tore through the air with a sharp whistle.
Cerys’s focus sharpened to its limit.
The instant she attacked, the blood throughout her body seemed to flow faster.
It felt as though time itself had slowed.
There was no flaw in this strike.
Just as that thought rose in her mind, a faster blur swept past.
As it had three months ago, a crisp crack sounded.
The wooden sword in her hand was knocked aside by Caelum.
The difference was that this time, Cerys kept a tight grip on the weapon.
By the time she came back to herself, Caelum’s sword was already resting against her neck.
Cerys fell silent.
Her confidence had been shattered by that unreasonable strike.
Her grip on the sword tightened so hard that blood seeped through the bandages and dripped down slowly.
After several breaths, she lifted her eyes again.
The stubborn, unwilling light in them had reignited.
But her blind confidence was gone.
She retreated two steps and opened the distance between herself and Caelum.
"Again!"
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
No matter how many times she tried, Cerys could not last a single move against Caelum.
She used every sword technique she had learned over the past month, but the result did not change.
At some point, the disciples inside the training hall had gathered nearby to watch.
At first, they cheered Cerys on.
Later, all of them fell silent.
The gap was too great.
There was not the slightest chance of victory.
"That is too cruel."
One disciple shook his head and left.
Caelum swung his sword.
Cerys blocked the strike with her own wooden sword, but her entire body was sent flying.
She crashed heavily into the wall of the rear courtyard.
Her bandages were completely soaked in blood.
The wooden sword in her hand was battered and worn.
Caelum, by contrast, had not even breathed hard from beginning to end.
He was like a mountain standing before Cerys.
The closer she came, the more she realized that the mountain was so high it was hopeless.
It could not be crossed.
Looking at Caelum’s figure, the disciples of the training hall felt his strength clearly for the first time.
A faint pressure unsettled their breathing.
"Again..."
Cerys gritted her teeth and struggled to stand.
Caelum, however, had no interest in continuing.
"That is enough."
The master walked over and brought the match to an end.
"Treat your injuries first."
Only then did Cerys stop.
After her wounds were treated, she sat alone in the rear courtyard.
Tears began spilling from her eyes before she could hold them back.
At first, she sobbed quietly.
Then she broke down and cried aloud.
Hearing her, the master came over and sat beside her.
Cerys cried as she spoke.
"My fundamentals are already solid."
"Morven and I both learned Cloudrift Style."
"So why can I still not beat him?"
No matter how stubborn she was, she was still a young girl.
Today, she had truly felt the cruelty of the world.
Some things could not be achieved simply by working hard and gritting one’s teeth.
Caelum had struck her deeply.
The master thought for a while before speaking.
"Sometimes, you have no choice but to admit that some people in this world are born stronger than many others."
"That is called talent."
"But talent does not represent everything."
"As a swordsman, you must have the resolve and mindset to cut through every obstacle before you."
"Remember the taste of this unwillingness."
"It will make you stronger."
"I understand."
Cerys sat in thought for a long time.
Then she wiped away the tears on her face and swore, "If three months is not enough, then three years. If three years is not enough, then thirty."
"I refuse to believe I will never win."
From that moment onward, she no longer cared about whether men or women were stronger.
What mattered to her was the victory and pride of a swordsman.
In the days that followed, Cerys trained even harder.
To break her physical limits, she pushed her body with near madness, enduring the pain of her muscles tearing and healing again and again.
Others trained with wooden swords.
She trained with heavier real blades.
Not only that, she also added weights to her body and desperately refined her sword techniques.
As time passed, bandages covered almost her entire body.
Even under such conditions, Cerys’s physique gradually broke through the limits of ordinary people.
The power system of Legend of the Empire was quite interesting.
There was no point discussing the endurance of carbon based life forms here.
The ability for the human body to break its limits was one of this world’s rules.
Some people could even train their physiques to an exaggerated level.
Without relying on Haki or any external power, they could shatter a mountain with one punch.
This was the same principle as the Grand Sword Master.
Everyone was a swordsman.
Yet some could swing a blade and release a massive slash capable of splitting a mountain.
To ordinary swordsmen, such a thing was extremely difficult to comprehend.
Clearly, not everyone could easily break their limits.
It required extremely harsh training, external pressure that tempered both body and mind, and a measure of luck and talent.
Without Caelum’s impact and tempering, breaking through her own limits would not have been so easy for Cerys.
What was even more surprising was that Cerys’s body did not change much.
She still looked like a delicate and pretty young girl.
If an ordinary person trained the way she did, it would not take long before their muscles exploded.
Caelum remained completely focused.
Day after day, he devoted himself to swinging his sword and meditating.
Swordsmanship: Proficiency plus 1
Observation Haki: Proficiency plus 1
Armament Haki: Proficiency plus 1
Conqueror Haki: Proficiency plus 1