"Killing is easy," D said, standing in the middle of the chamber. "Any idiot with a sharp object can kill. What I'm going to teach you is how to kill with purpose. But, it will be up to you when the ti cos if you have the nerve to kill and not go crazy."
Grim sat on the floor, his body covered in bruises from days of brutal training. The weights still hung from his limbs, but sohow, they didn't feel as heavy as before.
"Take these off," D ordered, gesturing to the weights.
Chen Xing stepped forward and unlocked the tal bands. As they fell away, Grim felt oddly light.
"Stand up," D commanded.
Grim pushed himself to his feet. Without the weights, his body felt strange, almost weightless.
"Throw a punch."
Grim did as he was told, throwing a punch at the air. His fist moved so fast that it surprised even him. He stared at his hand in shock.
"The weights forced your muscles to work harder," D explained. "Now those muscles are stronger. Your body has adapted. When your body grows so more, put weights back on your body. Except this ti, double if not triple the weight."
D walked to the side of the room and picked up a sword. It was simple, not fancy like those in the palace armory, but well-made. It was the standard sword of the Celetis Empire. Doubled edged, unlike the swords from Colere, which use a single sided blade. He tossed it to Grim, who caught it by the hilt.
"Show what Sword Dao's you know," D said.
Grim began performing the basic forms Rowan had taught him. The Celestial Mist Sword Dao was based on smooth, flowing movents ant to mimic the nature of mist. Grim moved through the forms, his newly strengthened body making the movents sharper and more precise than ever before.
When he finished, D was silent for a mont.
"The Celestial Mist Sword Dao," he finally said. "Your grandfather's creation."
Grim lowered the sword. "You knew my grandfather?"
"Everyone knew of the White Death," D replied. "He was quite famous in certain circles."
"White Death?" Grim repeated, confused.
D's eyes narrowed slightly. "Your father never told you about your grandfather's... career?"
Grim shook his head. "He hardly ever ntions him."
"Interesting." D began to circle Grim slowly. "Your grandfather was a lot like Caius. Except not being able to channel light mana irked him to no end. It made him bitter and angry. So he ca up with that technique you just showed . He even managed to cultivate six mana hearts to their maximum. That was his limit, but the anger never stopped despite his talent."
Grim listened, trying to process this new information about a man he knew almost nothing about.
"He ended up becoming a rcenary," D continued. "Even fought in small skirmishes between smaller nations. That's why your family never went poor. Your grandfather was a rcenary for hire, and he was damn good at it."
D stopped pacing and looked directly at Grim. "When it was a sunny day and the battle was about to start, if you saw mist covering the battlefield, you knew death was coming. The White Death ca and took lives." D paused. "I wonder where your grandfather is now."
"Dead, I think," Grim said. "Father never talks about him, but I got the impression he died before I was born."
"Perhaps," D said, though he didn't sound convinced. "But enough about the past. Today, we begin learning the Aurora Flash Sword Dao."
Chen Xing stepped forward, drawing his own sword. "Master D will demonstrate the Aurora Flash technique. I can not perform it."
D nodded and took his position in the center of the chamber. He drew a plain-looking sword from his belt. "Pay attention."
D took a stance, his feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. He held his sword at waist level, pointing forward. Then, with a motion almost too fast to follow, he swung the sword in a horizontal arc. As the blade moved, it left a trail of multicolored light—blue, red, green, purple, pink—that hung in the air for a brief mont before fading.
"The light blinds your opponent," D explained. "It disorients them, makes them vulnerable to your next attack. In battle, even a quarter-second advantage can an the difference between life and death."
"Try it," D ordered.
Grim mimicked D's stance and swung his sword. Nothing happened.
"You're just swinging a piece of tal," D said. "The technique requires aurora energy. Do you know what that is?"
Grim shook his head.
"Aurora energy cos from mixing light mana with natural energy from the world around you," D explained. "It's not just your own mana—it's combining your power with the energy that exists everywhere. When drawn correctly, it fluctuates through multiple colors."
Grim looked confused. "Wait, how can you use light techniques? I thought only those with light affinity could use them."
"Perceptive question," D said. "I was good friends with Caius. I've seen every one of his Sword Dao techniques. It took years, but I eventually learned how to use this one. I have light affinity, but not like Caius does. One would say Caius was bathed in light affinity before he was born."
D's expression hardened. "I won't teach these techniques to anyone except an Ambrose. Your great-grandfather wanted his legacy preserved within his bloodline."
Chen Xing nodded. "Master D is the only person besides an Ambrose to have mastered these techniques."
D placed his hand on Grim's shoulder. "Close your eyes. Feel the energy around you. not just your own mana, but the energy in the air, in the earth, in the very space between objects."
Grim closed his eyes, trying to sense what D was describing. At first, he felt nothing but his own mana circulating through his body. Then, gradually, he beca aware of sothing else. A subtle energy that seed to perate everything.
"I think I feel it," he said.
"Now, draw so of that energy in as you draw in your light mana," D instructed. "Mix them together, like blending two liquids."
Grim tried, but the energies resisted mixing. It was like trying to combine oil and water.
"I can't get them to blend," he admitted.
"Because you're trying to force them," D said. "Don't push. Invite the energy in, welco it, and make it part of you."
Grim tried again, this ti imagining the external energy as sothing he was welcoming rather than capturing. Slowly, he felt the two energies begin to mix.
"Good," D said. He was able to sense what was happening inside Grim. "Now channel that mixed energy to your sword."
Grim directed the blended energy down his arm and into the sword. The blade began to glow faintly, the light shifting between color. Not as bright as when D did it, but definitely not just regular light mana.
"Now swing," D ordered.
Grim perford the horizontal swing again. This ti, the sword left a faint trail of multicolored light that hung in the air for maybe a tenth of a second.
"Pathetic," D said, "but it's a start."
For the next several hours, Grim practiced drawing in aurora energy and channeling it into his sword. By the end of the session, he could create a flash that lasted about a quarter of a second. Jjust enough to cause a mont's disorientation.
"The second form is Sundering Slash," D said after Grim had managed a few successful Aurora Flashes. "This is far more difficult. Watch closley."
D took a different stance, his right hand on his sword hilt, the blade still sheathed. He stood perfectly still for a mont, then drew his sword with blinding speed. The blade left an arc of intensely bright light that actually cut through a stone pillar D had aid at. The pillar's top half slid off at an angle, the cut surface glowing with residual aurora energy.
"The attack happens the instant you draw your sword," D explained. "So fast they won't even see it coming. Only the lingering glow remains as evidence of your strike."
"I can't do that," Grim said, staring at the cleanly cut pillar.
"Not yet," D agreed. "Sundering Slash requires far more control and much more aurora energy. But you need to learn the concept now, so you can work toward it."
D demonstrated the stance for the Sundering Slash. "The key is gathering aurora energy and compressing it into your blade's edge before you draw. The compression is what gives the technique its cutting power. When you unleash it, the sword releases an arc of concentrated light energy that cuts through nearly anything in its path."
Grim attempted the stance. D corrected his foot position and the angle of his arm.
"For now, just practice the stance and the drawing motion," D said. "No aurora energy yet. You need to master the physical movent first."
Grim spent the rest of the day practicing the drawing motion for Sundering Slash, over and over, until his arm felt like it might fall off. D and Chen Xing took turns correcting his form, sotis physically moving his limbs into the right positions.
When it was finally night, D called a halt to the training.
"You've made progress," he said, which was the closest thing to a complint Grim had heard from him. "Tomorrow, we'll continue with Aurora Flash and basic sword techniques. After that, we'll begin incorporating your water affinity."
"Why?" Grim asked. "These are light techniques."
"Because you have two affinities, fool," D snapped. "Your strength lies in using both, not in relying on just one. Caius understood this, even though he only had light affinity himself."
D tossed Grim a small bundle. Inside was more food than he'd received in the previous days combined—bread, cheese, dried at, and even so fruit.
"Eat. Sleep. You have eight hours. Tomorrow will be harder."
For once, D and Chen Xing left Grim alone to eat and rest. As he wolfed down the food, he thought about his grandfather. The White Death. A rcenary famous enough that even soone like D knew of him. It was strange to think that his father had never ntioned any of this.
[Your family has more secrets than you realize,] the voice comnted.
"Did you know about my grandfather?" Grim thought back.
[I know many things, but not everything,] the voice replied cryptically.
"That's not an answer," Grim thought.
[It's the only one you're getting for now,] the voice responded. [Focus on your training. You're making progress, but you have a long way to go.]
Grim finished his al and laid down on the stone floor. Despite the hard surface, he fell asleep almost instantly.
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