"Alright, let's start today's training." Grey informed her. "Lower your power level to the 2nd level of Rank One."
"Yes." Lia didn't complain and did as he said. She lowered her realm to the 2nd stage of the Qi Gathering Realm, limiting her powers strictly within the margin of the 2nd stage.
She was a genius; her abilities far surpassed her peers, and she could naturally skip levels and fight across realms. Even at the 2nd stage of Qi Gathering, she could fight someone at the 3rd stage purely with her cultivation alone. So, she sealed her power in a way that only allowed her to exhibit the strength of a 2nd stage cultivator at maximum.
Grey's spatial ring flashed, and the silver longsword he had bought a week ago appeared in his hands.
"For starters, I'll demonstrate how sword control works."
"Huh?" Lia was stunned at first, but then her mouth widened in disbelief the next moment.
Buzz!
Sword energy crackled. Grey took out two other swords—the ones he had looted from the Tiger Claw members earlier—from his spatial ring. Swiftly, he enveloped them in his Nexus Sword Energy. The swords changed shape, glowing a deep purple and crackling with sharp, lethal energy.
"You… This…?" Lia was shocked.
Sword Control and Sword Energy!
This guy had become an Evolver!
Second Awakening!
"You, that means you underwent metamorphosis!" Lia exclaimed.
She knew it!
It wasn't plastic surgery at all!
However, with Albert standing nearby, Grey couldn't reveal the truth—that this was his first metamorphosis. After all, Albert believed Grey was a Rank 3 expert.
"Still, I've never seen someone change this drastically from a first metamorphosis." Lia muttered, confused. "Usually, physical transformation only happens during the second metamorphosis."
"Don't worry about it." Grey spread his hands with a smirk. "How can a genius like me be normal?"
Hearing this, Lia rolled her eyes. "Sure, sure!"
"Now, stop wasting time. Come at me. I'll teach you sword control." Grey said firmly. "In today's lesson, you will try to override my control over my two flying swords using your sword energy."
As he said that, he charged forward.
Swoosh!
His figure flickered from his spot, and in less than a second he was right beside Lia. Controlling his muscles, he swung horizontally with sword energy erupting from his blade.
His speed was incomparable to before. Just his base strength alone now pushed him past the barrier of sound—that was how fast he had become.
Lia's expression turned serious. She summoned her sword energy and tried to guard against Grey's slash.
Clank! Buzz!
Sparks and energy burst through the training room as their blades clashed. Lia gritted her teeth, pushing back with all her might. Grey, however, pressed forward with equal force.
The victor would, without doubt, be the one with stronger sword energy.
Eventually, Lia's sword energy faltered, and she was forced back four steps.
Seeing this, Grey withdrew his sword and nodded.
But Lia was speechless. "Hey! Didn't you say I was supposed to take control over your flying swords? Why did you suddenly attack me?"
"I was measuring your level of mastery over sword energy." Grey replied thoughtfully. "And it is lacking."
"Sword control has to wait. For now, we'll focus on fine-tuning your sword energy. Only by having precise control over your energy can you control swords with perception."
"How do I do that?" Lia asked. She had always believed that unlocking sword energy automatically meant full control. But after clashing with Grey, she realized that wasn't true. She had spent the past week familiarizing herself with sword energy and hadn't encountered any problems while practicing alone—but now, she understood that lack of mastery meant losing control in a clash with another's sword energy.
"Let me think."
Grey pondered for a moment, searching for a way to improve her mastery over sword energy. It didn't take him long.
"Alright, I found one." Grey said. "Draw out your sword energy into the world."
Lia immediately obeyed. From every corner of her body, sword energy erupted like a violent storm, making her look like a shining star.
"What is this…" Grey was left speechless. Her sword energy scattered chaotically in every direction, unstable to the extreme.
Before, he thought she had at least some control. But now, he realized the only reason she had managed to keep up with him earlier was her sheer natural talent.
"You…" Grey facepalmed. "You barely have any control over your sword energy. Honestly, if you had a nightmare one night, you'd probably blow up your entire house from your unstable sword energy running wild."
"Is it that serious?" Lia was stunned.
"Yes." Grey nodded. "It wouldn't have been an issue if you had awakened sword energy later, once your comprehension had deepened. Then you wouldn't have to worry about this."
"Unlocking sword energy this early has its downsides." Grey explained.
"Does that mean you can't control your sword energy either?" Lia asked. But almost instantly, she realized how dumb that sounded. This guy was controlling not one but two flying swords right in front of her. Obviously, his control was perfect.
"From your expression, I take it you already know the answer." Grey said with a deadpan look.
Lia smiled awkwardly.
"I'll demonstrate how it's done." Grey said. Immediately, sword energy rushed out of his body.
But unlike Lia's chaotic eruption, Grey's sword energy flowed like fine silk threads. They formed a perfect circle and rotated around his body. The lethal energy was so sharp that even brushing against it would slice a normal person apart.
He refined his control further—the energy shifted into a triangle, then into the shape of a sword, and even transformed into a blazing ball of fire.
The possibilities were limitless. Sword energy, in essence, was simply a form of lethal energy that could be molded however he wished and however he wanted.
"…"
Lia was utterly speechless.
She didn't know whether to laugh or cry anymore.
Sorry for breathing the same air as you!