"Second North God?"
Hearing this name, Shirou finally remembered where he had heard the name Alex Leibach back before. It was in a book he had read before called "The Heroic Tale of the North God."
And it wasn't just "The Heroic Tale of the North God" that mentioned it. The name of Alex Leibach, the Second North God, was very famous around the world, because he had done countless heroic deeds. He had not only killed the Dragon King who lived in the King Dragon Mountains, but also resolved the conflict between the humans and the demons, destroyed the undead monsters...
Of course, the reason Shirou didn't immediately recognize the name Alex Leibach was because this name appeared a very long time ago, mostly in legends from a hundred years ago.
About a hundred years ago, Alex gave up the title of North God and hid in a deserted place. Most people even thought he was dead.
However, the Second North God was clearly not dead.
The reason Shirou could make this judgment was that he once fought the Undead Demon King Atofe in the Demon Continent, and learned from him that Kalman Leibach, the First North God, and Atofe were husband and wife, and their child was Alex Leibach, the Second North God.
As a descendant of the Undead Demon King, the Second North God was undoubtedly also an undead, with a nearly infinite lifespan. Plus, his strength as the former North God made it harder for him to die than for most people to live.
As for the Second North God's specific strength, you can see how amazing it was from the fact that the [North God] was ranked seventh on the Seven Great World Powers' stone tablets.
However, it's unknown whether the [North God] on the current Seven Great World Powers' stone tablets refers to the Second North God.
But no matter what, Shouder, as the Second North God, had a status equal to Sword God Gal Ferion. His top-level strength had already been clearly shown in the battle with Shirou just now.
Even if Shirou used the Chain of Cranes and the techniques of the Sword God, North God, and Water God styles he currently knew, he couldn't hurt him at all.
Because of this, Shirou no longer had any desire to win or lose. Instead, he became concerned about something the other person had said earlier.
"North God, you said you came to teach me swordsmanship?"
"Yes."
To Shirou's question, the North God nodded very frankly. "As the North God, I have experienced countless battles and challenges. I defeated many opponents with my former companions, and became a hero worshipped by the world. But that was too long ago. I gradually realized that people can't live to become heroes, so I chose to end my life as Alex Leibach, the hero North God, and became Shouder."
"In the name of Shouder, I travel around the world, looking for good talents, and spreading the teachings of Kalman, the First North God, to them. Simply put, I teach those with potential the North God Style of swordsmanship, and train them to become North Saints, North Kings, and even North Emperors. For example, Kikai of the Asura Kingdom, Aubel, the [Peacock Sword] North Emperor, was a disciple I guided."
"The North God Style doesn't have a fixed Training Place, but it's still influential in this world, and even has specific ranks, because I'm secretly supporting it."
"I see..."
Shirou had been confused before.
Why was it that the North God Style was different from the Sword God Style and Water God Style? It clearly didn't have a fixed Training Place, but there were North God Style users everywhere. And there were different levels among the users. You had to know that the levels of Swordsmen in this world were mainly based on whether they could get the approval of the highest-level Swordsman.
For example, to become a true Water Saint, you had to get the Water God's approval. To become a true Sword Saint, you had to get the Sword God's approval.
The North God Style didn't have a Training Place, but it still had disciples everywhere, and it also had strict and orderly ranking. It seemed that all of this was thanks to Shouder, the Second North God.
And if that was the case, Shouder's purpose in coming here was also very clear.
Since he was eager to find someone to inherit the North God Style, and hoped that someone could learn the North God Style techniques, it seemed that he had heard about him from the Sword God, so he wanted him to become a disciple of the North God Style as well.
However, Shirou didn't feel happy because of this. Instead, he answered seriously, "I'm sorry, North God. I don't intend to become your disciple, because I don't want to focus on just one style. Instead, I hope to learn all the styles."
"I already knew that."
"You already knew?"
"Yes, the Sword God told me everything about you. I was very interested after hearing it, so I rushed here from the War Zone overnight."
The Second North God spoke with great excitement, looking at Shirou as if he was looking at a piece of uncarved jade.
Of course, he also saw Shirou's confusion, so he quickly explained, "Shirou, don't underestimate my path. The reason I spread the North God Style techniques everywhere, and treat everyone equally, regardless of their gender or age, is because what I want to do isn't just to get an inheritor of the North God Style, that is, the next North God. I already accomplished that a long time ago. What I really want to do is to further develop the North God Style techniques, and even surpass the original North God Style created by Kalman, the First North God."
"Surpass the North God Style?"
"Yes, The three outstanding people of ancient times, the First Sword God, Water God, and North God, their sword skills have been glorious since they were created. But to this day, all of us are still only following in their footsteps, never breaking through the limits left by our predecessors. I don't know what the Water God and Sword God think, but as the former North God, I regret that we, the later generations, can't surpass the limits of our predecessors. So I spread the North God Style, so that everyone can learn the North God Style. At the same time, I also hope to create a different North God Style. Whether it's the Kikai style, or some other system, as long as it can make changes to the original North God Style, that's enough."
The Second North God expressed his views on the North God Style, and also expressed his desire.
After learning everything, Shirou nodded slightly, understanding why the other person had come to him.
He was naturally very happy about this, after all, he hadn't received any formal guidance since he came to the Holy Land of Swords. He had always been exploring his own path forward.
Although he had barely managed to reach Saint-level in three styles, the other styles were only half-finished, and far from being powerful.
But if he had the North God's guidance, his North God Style swordsmanship would surely improve by leaps and bounds.
"I understand. I hope to get your guidance, North God."
"Hehe, a good attitude."
Shouder was very satisfied with Shirou's attitude. He was very happy with this state of being a teacher, and quickly got into the role. "Then, Shirou, as your North God Style teacher, the first goal I'm giving you is, starting today, you should give up using a sword."
"What?"
Not expecting Shouder to make such a request, Shirou showed a confused expression.
And Shouder quickly explained, "Hehe, what I mean isn't that you should never use a sword again, but that before you learn the true North God Style, you shouldn't use a sword. You know how to use a bow and arrow, right? Just use that usually. If possible, learn how to use a spear, a stick, a knife, an axe, and anything else you can."
"Why? What's the point of this?"
Shirou couldn't easily accept Shouder's request. After all, giving up using a sword was almost the same as making him unable to fight.
Shouder then said very seriously, "Of course there's a point. Let me tell you a story first."
"Okay."
Shirou didn't doubt Shouder's words, feeling that there must be a meaning to something the North God said.
Shouder quickly said, "As the Second North God, I once defeated the Dragon King. You should know about that, right?"
"Of course."
The Second North God defeating the Dragon King was extremely famous in the Dragon King Kingdom, almost a well-known story. Shirou had passed through the Dragon King Kingdom, so he naturally knew about it.
"Then, after the Dragon King died, a demon blacksmith forged the Dragon King's body into forty-eight Holy Magic Swords. You know about that too, right?"
"Yes."
"But in addition to the forty-eight Holy Magic Swords, that blacksmith also forged a hidden magic sword. That sword was his initial goal, and it was also forged from the most precious part of the Dragon King's body. The strongest sword, called the Dragon King Sword."
"There really is such a sword?"
Shirou was very surprised to learn about the Dragon King Sword from the North God. He had always thought it was just a legend, after all, most people had never seen the Dragon King Sword.
But now that the North God said it existed, then the Dragon King Sword must exist.
"Of course, the Dragon King Sword exists, and that was my sword once."
The Second North God said quietly, "That sword was really strong. Even a rookie Swordsman could fight me, the North God, to a draw if they held it. In my hands, it was an even more world-destroying weapon. But after using that sword for a long time, I noticed the Dragon King Sword's weakness. It was indeed an invincible sword, but only the sword was invincible. The person using the sword wouldn't become stronger no matter how long they used it, because the sword itself removed all the user's obstacles, preventing the user from understanding what true strength is."
"As long as you have that sword, no matter how huge a monster, how agile a creature, or how strong a warrior, they can't compete. But was I, before and after getting this sword, not changed at all? Just how strong is Alex Leibach, the Second North God, really?"
"Once I realized this, I couldn't fight the same way I used to. I even couldn't even use basic swordsmanship after Giving Up the Dragon King Sword. At that time, I realized that Swordsmen can't be bound by the sword itself. Powerful weapons and certain extremely difficult techniques are actually denying the user's self."
"So, I randomly picked up a stick on the side of the road, or even randomly picked up a tree branch. I used sticks and tree branches to fight, to challenge those who weren't my opponents before. Undoubtedly, I lost. But after losing, I challenged again. After hundreds of challenges, I won. Giving Up weapons allows you to clearly feel yourself getting stronger, and people can get stronger as long as they can feel themselves growing."
Shouder finished telling his story with emotion, and looked at Shirou expectantly. "Shirou, you weren't blinded by fake titles like Sword God Style, Water God Style, and North God Style. You chose the path to true swordsmanship, so I'm willing to tell you all this, because I believe you can do the same things as me, and even better. So, give up using a sword for now. That way, you can learn true swordsmanship!"
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