Grey stared at Lia with a slight look of confusion and even awe.
'Is this planet filled with unique people?' Grey couldn't help but muse speechlessly.
First, it was his sister who turned out to be a whole Dragon, and now standing before him was a being with something known as "Endless Potential Physique."
In short, it was probably the most terrifying thing he had seen—just a level below his own cheat.
His sister stood no chance against this girl in front of him in terms of uniqueness!
Endless Potential. What did that imply? It meant that this girl standing in front of him had no limitations. She would never encounter a bottleneck in her surge of power and would continuously grow until the end of time itself, as long as no one killed her!
What was cheat? This was cheat!
To evolve endlessly without limits!
And the best part?
He could comprehend it!
A devilish grin formed on Grey's face. He now stared at Lia as if he had found the most valuable item in the world.
Looking for gold, he found a diamond—no, a cosmic gem!
Then, Grey stood up from his spot. It was now time to start teaching her.
He had already comprehended the Zenith Sword Art, which seemed to be a superior version of the Sword Art. Having reached comprehension-level mastery of it, he was now certain that no one on this entire planet could teach it better than him!
While this technique was hard, it was only hard for beginner-level evolvers. For him, it only took a glance to fully comprehend it.
"Miss Lia, what evolutionary path do you follow, first of all?" Grey inquired. He had yet to see the flow of energy within her body and planned to do so while guiding her, but first he had to know which evolutionary path she followed.
"I follow the Immortal evolutionary path. I'm currently at the Qi Gathering realm, the 1st realm of the evolutionary path," Lia replied patiently. "Why do you ask, Instructor?"
Hearing her inquiry, Grey replied with his own question. "How much do you know about sword energy?"
"Sword energy… it's utilized by immortal cultivators and martial artists alike. It is your own energy transformed into lethal offensive energy, which one can materialize outside the body to fight," Lia thought for a moment and spoke.
"Precisely. Sword energy is utilized by martial artists and sword-immortal cultivators alike. But do you know how to give birth to sword energy?"
"No," Lia said confusedly. "But what does sword energy have to do with me? I believe only those at the master-level mastery of a sword technique can give birth to sword energy."
"That's false," Grey said with a small smile. "You need sword energy to even reach basic mastery."
"Huh?" Lia's expression drastically changed. She wore a confused look and even wondered if the instructor had gone crazy.
It was known to everyone that sword control came at the master-level mastery…
"Instructor Daniel, are you trying to fool me? Even a dog on the street knows that to utilize sword energy, you need to comprehend a technique to the mastery level…" Lia frowned, her eyes narrowing with clear displeasure.
She now felt like she had just thrown away a huge sum of money for nothing.
Grey, however, remained calm. "I know you have your doubts," he smiled faintly, brimming with confidence. "How about this—by the time you walk out of this room, you will have unlocked Sword Energy. If you don't, I'll personally return every coin you paid me."
"Hah?" Lia raised an eyebrow, her tone sharp. "Do you take me for a fool? I've already spent years on the blade and not once have I touched Sword Energy. And you're saying I'll awaken it in one session? What kind of joke is that?"
Her arms crossed over her chest, her stance showing outright refusal. For a moment, she even considered storming out.
"Great… another delusional instructor," Lia sighed. This wasn't the first time she had encountered someone like Grey, who tried to amaze her with false words. But in the end, it was just a ploy to make her return. Lia wouldn't fall for it again.
But the deal was already made, and he himself had promised to refund the money if it didn't work out, so she unwillingly gave in in the end.
"Tch. Fine," she clicked her tongue and looked away, clearly reluctant. "Since it's come to this, I'll just have to see it through."
"Great, then let's begin," Grey said with a smile and made his way to the rack with weapons, taking a long sword.
What she said was right—there was no way you'd be able to comprehend sword energy without reaching mastery level in a sword technique. But that only applied to normal people. The person standing in front of him was different.
Sword energy was the byproduct of understanding the essence of your sword, which in turn converted your energy into sword energy—lethal and deadly.
And understanding the sword normally took a long time. But with her Endless Potential Physique, he could make her completely skip that and comprehend sword energy early.
The Great Zenith Sword Art he had comprehended contained two distinct paths. One of them utilized Sword Energy from the very first stage of mastery—clearly intended for geniuses like Lia. The other was the standard version of the Zenith Sword Art, refined with fewer flaws and smoother movements.
Turning to Lia, Grey spoke calmly, his tone carrying the weight of an expert.
"Lower your level to that of a first-stage Qi Gathering cultivator. Even better if you can suppress your power down to that of a normal human."
Lia complied without hesitation. In her eyes, it made sense. Many profound instructors often demanded their students to cultivate from the very basics, believing that only by stripping away their power could they build a flawless foundation.
She was still skeptical of the instructor, but in the end, the deal was already done, and she would learn what she could from him—and never contact him again after this.
In the next moment, energy surged around her body, and luminous patterns flashed across her skin. She traced hand seals in the air, weaving a series of mystical gestures until a glowing character—Seal—formed upon her abdomen, surrounded by intricate runic formations.
Her aura immediately dropped by an entire notch, perfectly restrained to the level Grey had instructed.
"Draw out your sword and, utilizing the Zenith Sword Art, fight me. I'll give you guidance while fighting," Grey spoke calmly, and the air around him instantly changed as he subtly adjusted his stance.
This surprised Lia quite a bit. Before, Grey looked no less than an ordinary person, but now he looked completely different, radiating the air of a powerful expert.
Shaking her thoughts away, Lia immediately charged forward.
Swoosh!
With one dash, she closed the distance between Grey and herself. Even reduced to the level of a 1st realm Qi Gathering cultivator, she was still incredibly fast.
But did that concern Grey?
Instant Recoil Step!
Buzz!
Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
Instantly, Grey's muscles contracted and expanded as adrenaline rushed through him like a tsunami. The power instantly fired up his neural pathways, causing everything around him to slow down.
While not as exaggerated as the time he dodged the truck, everything around him was still slightly slowed.
With the Instant Recoil Step technique came his natural ability to control his body. He had perfect control and could utilize it without wasting movement. With better reaction time from the technique, he might have a chance of fighting a 1st rank evolver, of course only the weakened ones like Lia.
As that thought crossed his mind, Lia's sword was already flashing toward his neck.
But Grey didn't panic. With his reaction speed boosted to inhuman levels, his hands surged forward, intercepting the strike with the sword in his grip.
Whoosh!
Lia's eyes widened as her wrist trembled. To her shock, she couldn't move her blade an inch.
She stared at Grey, who calmly met her gaze. "What are you? A robot? Why is your grip so rigid?"
Clank!
Grey deflected her sword with a heavy sweep, the force driving her back several steps before she managed to stabilize herself.
Then, she saw Grey utilizing the same movement as hers.
Like flowing water, he closed the distance in an instant and launched a strike.
Lia quickly raised her sword to parry, but her eyes widened again—the strike was faster than hers!
"Zenith Sword Art focuses on flexibility," Grey instructed coolly. "Relax your grip—you don't need to use so much strength. You are only slowing your sword movement by gripping it too hard."
Clank!
Grey knocked her blade aside again, his movements sharp yet unhurried.
"Your posture is collapsing," he said firmly, stepping in with effortless balance. "Zenith Sword Art isn't about locking your knees or forcing strength. Bend them slightly, feel the ground beneath your feet. A firm foundation allows the sword to move freely."
His blade traced a swift arc, and Lia stumbled back, barely blocking in time. Grey shook his head. "Without balance, even the sharpest strike loses its edge. You focused too much on the moves of the technique, completely forgetting the basic foundation."