"Ouch... this is brutal..."
Roy supported his aching back as he returned to the abandoned building, his clothes in tatters and bruises visible everywhere.
"Hmph! After two months you've shown zero improvement. What a disappointment!"
Fan Xinglou threw the Crimson Lotus school emblem at him with clear dissatisfaction, her icy gaze piercing like arrows.
"From now on, I'm going to train you mercilessly. Prepare yourself!"
Was today not brutal enough? Roy gave a pained smile. Fighting four opponents simultaneously was practically equivalent to taking on an entire Festa team by himself—and all at the level of Page One combatants. The battle had been far more grueling than anticipated, leaving his prana completely depleted with nothing left for healing. His body was covered in wounds.
Fortunately, he was quite resilient—otherwise, he might have been beaten to death.
"Fan Xinglou, according to your estimation, how long will it take for me to reach your level?"
Despite the training being far harsher than expected, Roy felt no desire to retreat. Instead, a stubborn determination surged within him. After some thought, he cautiously posed the question to Fan Xinglou.
"Reach my level?"
Fan Xinglou suddenly burst into wild laughter.
"Hah! That's the spirit! With that kind of ambition, you'll eventually reach a level that satisfies me. I'm relieved!"
"But you're still far from matching my strength! Even with three more years of training, at best you'd only reach a level comparable to mine in martial arts—and that's only if I pour everything into training you!"
Fan Xinglou's strength could be divided into two aspects: martial arts and Seisenjutsu.
According to Fan Xinglou herself, after reincarnating into this body, her martial arts prowess had dwindled to only 30-40% of its original state. However, due to the higher concentration of mana in the atmosphere, her Seisenjutsu had instead grown several times stronger.
For Roy to reach Fan Xinglou's level, mastering Seisenjutsu would be relatively easy—his Mystic Eyes were naturally adept at learning techniques. But matching Fan Xinglou in martial arts?
According to her, it would take at least three to five years.
"Do you mean your current body, or the body you'll have in three to five years?"
Roy's gaze flickered with insight as he pointed out the ambiguity in her words.
"Hmph! Of course, I mean my prime!"
Fan Xinglou snorted, but a trace of melancholy surfaced in her expression.
"As much as it frustrates me, martial arts have their limits. What can be achieved with fists, feet, or blades will never surpass the laws of this world. That is the greatest sorrow I've felt in my thousand years of cultivation—the principles of this world have become shackles..."
Martial arts had an endpoint—a limitation imposed by the world itself.
Fan Xinglou had already reached the pinnacle of this world's limits, unable to progress further for countless years. If she devoted herself fully to training him, Roy could reach the world's limit in three to five years, approaching her level—but he too would eventually hit that same impassable wall.
"My world does have some martial arts that defy common sense, you know? Like dimensional folding phenomena, or reality collapse phenomena..."
"Hmph, no need to bait me. If what you're saying is true, I'll bite sooner or later—at the very least, I'll go take a look."
"Heh."
Roy gave a dry laugh, unfazed by the awkwardness.
Fan Xinglou had lived a thousand years—there wasn't a trick she hadn't seen. She saw right through Roy's intentions.
"Alright, now I'll lay out your next steps in training. Listen well!"
Fan Xinglou scolded Roy, then proceeded to outline his training regimen without waiting for his reaction.
As before, she wouldn't assist him in swordsmanship. Hand-to-hand combat would still be taught through practical sparring with disciples like Wu Xiaofei, while the other eighteen martial arts would come after he mastered the basics.
"Next is the realm of 'Perception.' In the Amagiri Chinmei-ryū, Perception is a state achieved only upon reaching the Okuden level. But beyond Okuden lies the Gokuden level—meaning Perception has further stages, and not just one, but three!"
"Seriously?!"
The realm of Perception was already incredibly powerful—activating it was like gaining a bird's-eye view, making it exceptionally effective in chaotic battles and rendering sneak attacks useless. And now there were even higher stages, with three whole variations?
What could he even say?
Was this what it meant to be the protagonist's school?
Okuden-level Perception extended one's awareness into the surrounding space, allowing them to see through all movements within a certain range as if viewing from a 360-degree overhead perspective.
Gokuden-level Perception, however, deepened this awareness further, sharpening one's senses to the extreme. It wasn't just the surrounding space—even an opponent's breathing, pulse, muscle movements, and every subtle shift could be perceived.
From this, three distinct applications emerged.
Gokuden I: Obscurity—focused on the first move. By detecting the slightest muscle twitches, one could predict an opponent's initial action and strike with overwhelming force before they even began, crushing them in a single motion.
Gokuden II: Grace—adjusted the precision of Perception, concentrating perception within one's immediate vicinity. The moment an opponent's attack entered this range, the user would move automatically, evading all strikes without conscious thought. By abandoning deliberation, their speed surpassed even instinct—the ultimate counterattack technique.
Gokuden III: Constrictor—maximized and deepened Awareness to predict even the uncontrollable openings an opponent revealed in an instant—flaws even they weren't aware of—while simultaneously analyzing all surrounding conditions to deliver a single, fatal strike. The ultimate preemptive technique, impossible to evade because the opponent couldn't anticipate their own vulnerabilities.
Roy was dumbfounded.
The ultimate counterattack? The ultimate preemptive strike? Was this for real?
"If you were a prodigy of the Amagiri Chinmei-ryū, with guidance from a master after reaching Okuden, you might grasp these three realms within a year or so."
Fan Xinglou glanced at Roy's stunned expression, her face clouded with uncertainty.
"But you haven't trained in the Amagiri Chinmei-ryū. Even with exceptional talent, I can't say how long it'll take you to comprehend them..."
And there were a full three different applications—mastering any one of them would significantly enhance one's combat prowess.
If he could learn all three, even Fan Xinglou wouldn't be able to defeat Roy within a hundred moves.
Aside from "Perception," Roy also had to master the footwork technique "Shukuchi" and the Yabuki clan's "Koushiki no Jutsu"... Even if he split every second into eight, it still wouldn't be enough time.
To fully learn everything she had arranged for him, it would take at least three years.
By then, Roy should be approaching her level.
As for now?
He still had a long way to go!