Chapter 5: Sword Master and Sword Slave
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After all the fussing around, Isha was nowhere to be seen in the bedroom anymore. The only one left was Su Ling, now in a fresh change of clothes, standing in front of the mirror admiring her new look.
A light yellow one-piece dress wrapped around her upper body, with the hem still sitting around the top of her thighs, though with the bloomers underneath, there was zero risk of any wardrobe malfunctions.
Her long silver hair, with its blood-tipped ends, had been tied up into a high ponytail. Her legs, just like Isha's, were wrapped in tall knight boots that were surprisingly flexible at the joints. The only downside, if you could even call it one, was that they were a bit heavy, though that was completely a non-issue for Su Ling at this point.
There was also a white knitted cardigan that filled in the last piece of the puzzle for her somewhat bare upper half. Even so, despite the similar style of dress, the vibes Su Ling and Isha gave off were completely different.
If Isha gave off the energy of a genuinely cool and capable female knight, then Su Ling gave off the energy of some runaway noble young lady playing dress-up as a knight.
"Hmm... this actually looks really good." Su Ling tugged at her cardigan, turning left and right in front of the mirror with a pretty satisfied look on her face.
"Top-tier looks, sure, but what a shame she's a flashy little scrub." Lu was sitting at the desk not far away, her gaze still fixed on the book in her hands, but throwing cold water on people seemed to be baked into her instincts, it just rolled right off her tongue.
Su Ling had, however, gotten somewhat used to it by now. Hearing Lu's words, her expression didn't even flicker. "I've been meaning to ask, what on earth are you reading? Is it really that good?"
"It's actually pretty interesting." Lu gave a candid nod, then continued, "That book is basically your memories. I'm almost done with it."
"Oh, so it's my memories." Su Ling waved her hand with an exasperated look, completely uninterested. After all, she knew her own memories better than anyone, what could possibly be interesting about them?
Hmm? Wait! My memories?!
"You are NOT allowed to read that!!!"
Almost on reflex, Su Ling pushed off with her right leg and launched herself at Lu like an arrow off a bowstring. Lu, however, simply stood up with a casual air, pivoted to the side, and dodged Su Ling's flying tackle without breaking a sweat.
"You're my sword master. What's wrong with me getting to know a little about your life?" Lu didn't even bother to look up, and that infuriatingly flat tone of hers only stoked Su Ling's burning shame and rage even further.
Those were her memories! All the stupid things she'd done that she wished she could forget, all the embarrassing history she'd rather bury forever, and now someone else was just casually reading through all of it. Her carefully maintained image hadn't even had a chance to take shape before it was already in ruins, damn it all!
In that instant, rage surged from the depths of Su Ling's heart. She instinctively grabbed the sword hilt and slashed at Lu following the sword techniques from her memories, but Lu moved like a butterfly weaving through flowers, graceful and fluid, dodging every single strike with the smallest possible movements.
She kept slashing for 3 minutes straight, and not only did she fail to land a hit, Su Ling didn't even graze the hem of Lu's clothes. The two of them were like a pair dancing a duet, one rough, one graceful, and the rough one was always being led by the graceful one.
Snap.
The sound of the book closing marked the end of this brief little farce. Not that Lu had given in, of course, she had simply finished reading through all of Su Ling's memories, and now had a much clearer and more direct understanding of Su Ling's current level of strength.
"You picked it up and put it all together pretty fast. Your sword talent really is something." The book vanished from Lu's hand into thin air, and she looked at Su Ling with a smiling expression, though to Su Ling, no matter how she looked at it, that smile felt like pure mockery.
"Tch, 'something' and I still couldn't even graze your hem." Su Ling clicked her tongue, her face full of displeasure.
Lu shook her head helplessly. She could understand Su Ling's feelings. After thinking about it for a moment, she offered a word of comfort, "Even with a Mastery-level skill boosting you, you've only just stepped through the door. Setting your sights directly on me is a bit too much reaching for the stars right now."
"I know, but I'm still annoyed." Su Ling let out a sigh. The fact that she was a rookie was something she knew better than anyone. Isha was a sword master trained by Lu, even compared to Isha, there was still a huge gap, let alone compared to Lu herself.
But this sword spirit was genuinely infuriating. In all the novels, once a sword spirit acknowledged its master, the master would instantly skyrocket in power, sweeping all under heaven undefeated, sword qi spanning thirty thousand li, a single blade chilling nineteen states and all that.
And hers? Besides throwing cold water on her master, she was completely useless. The sword itself was still a rusty piece of junk on top of that. Great.
"Are you sure the role you're imagining in your head is the sword master, and not the sword slave?" Lu clearly had no trouble reading what was going through Su Ling's mind, though she wasn't annoyed about it. She simply took her time and turned the question back on Su Ling.
Su Ling paused. She had heard the term "sword slave" from Isha before, but while she had her guesses about what it meant, she didn't dare say for certain, so to be safe, she went ahead and asked, "What exactly is a sword slave?"
"A sword slave, as the name suggests, is a slave to the sword. A sword spirit can channel their own power through the sword slave's body. If I were to turn you into a sword slave, then yes, you could do exactly what you're imagining, instantly rocket up to become a powerhouse in the upper tiers."
Watching the half-smiling expression on Lu's face, Su Ling felt a chill crawl up her spine for no particular reason. She swallowed, then asked the most important question, "And the price?"
"The price, naturally, is that your soul gets locked inside your body. From that point on, you can only 'watch,' no control over your own body, no way to even take your own life."
The corner of Su Ling's mouth twitched hard. She had guessed the price of becoming a sword slave would be brutal, but Lu's words still sent a shiver through her. That kind of living death, she didn't even want to think about it.
"And a sword slave has no ceiling, their strength is frozen the moment they become one. A sword master, on the other hand, won't see any particularly dramatic power boost right at the start, but I will stay with you as you grow, until you can fully control the sword, until you become a truly powerful figure in the real sense of the word."
Hearing this, Su Ling was genuinely a little moved, if she were being honest. People who are willing to walk with you from weakness all the way to strength are rare, very rare. Maybe Lu had her own motives, but in that moment, Su Ling could feel the sincerity behind those words.
As for what the future held, she'd leave that for her future self to worry about.
"There's also one thing you said that wasn't quite accurate." Lu added one more thing, pointing her right hand at Su Ling's chest. "What the Silver Dragon gave you is only your physical constitution and physical potential. Aside from your innate abilities, every bit of your strength comes from me."
Well, that left Su Ling with nothing more to say. She slid the sword into the scabbard Isha had given her, then hung it at her hip. Her belt had a spot for a sword, and compared to carrying it on her back, she felt the hip carry was both cooler and more practical.
She pushed open the bedroom door and headed downstairs. There were still several hours before dawn. Isha's schedule was the same as everyone else in the small town, sleep during the day, up at night. Stick a pair of fangs on her and she'd be a dead ringer for a vampire.
Noticing the sound of Su Ling coming down, Isha turned her head away from the goddess statue she had been praying at. Catching sight of Su Ling's current appearance, she couldn't help but light up.
The outfit was one she had picked out for Su Ling, but she hadn't stayed in the room to watch or help Su Ling change. Knowing Su Ling needed some privacy, she had left the bedroom and come downstairs right after picking the clothes.
Now, looking at her own handiwork, she felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction and pride. It proved her fashion sense was indeed solid, though of course, Su Ling's own naturally high looks did most of the heavy lifting on the compliment front.
"What are your plans from here?"
Su Ling walked over to Isha's side. She thought it over for a moment, recalling the 3 minutes of being "toyed with" by Lu, and also the rapid comprehension and integration of sword techniques she had experienced within those 3 minutes. She asked the question.
Isha, for her part, didn't really think about it much and answered quite plainly, "No particular plans? Just live normally for another couple of days, then head outside to see what's out there on my birthday."
"Then..." Su Ling hesitated for a moment, but didn't hesitate for long. She steeled herself and put forward her request, "Could you guide me in sword techniques over these 2 days?"
Hearing this, Isha was mildly surprised, because from where she stood, Su Ling clearly had a far better teacher available, so why would she want to learn from her?
"I need a lot of real combat to put the sword techniques I've learned into practice. She can't spar with me." It seemed like Su Ling had read Isha's confusion, and before Isha could even voice it, she offered the explanation herself.
Isha understood. For the hands-on sparring side of things, coming to her for help was definitely the more practical option. Besides, she genuinely had nothing to do for these 2 days anyway, killing time was one way to spend it, and guiding Su Ling in sword techniques was another. The latter was probably a bit more interesting than the former, since this church really had nothing in the way of entertainment.
After only a few seconds of thought, Isha agreed to Su Ling's request and patted her own chest, promising that she'd handle everything.
And being someone of action, the very next second after making up her mind, Isha grabbed Su Ling and headed toward the back garden deep in the church, talking as they walked: "No time like the present, and no present like right now. Come on, let me see what your basics look like first!"
Su Ling was genuinely touched by such decisiveness and efficiency. She made up her mind to train hard and never let down Isha's wholehearted enthusiasm. As for just how long that resolve actually lasted. Well, that's a story for another time.