"Idiot."
Seeing Ryan preparing to fight Aurelia, many students watched with amusement, while Derek showed undisguised contempt.
The Golden Saber Maiden was a renowned Rank 4 Blood Warrior in Greyhaven City.
How dare this guy, who was already in danger of being expelled from the academy, challenge her?
It seemed that once Ryan was expelled, he was destined to become a laughingstock.
"What a pity."
Adrian Blackwood, however, showed a hint of annoyance.
A moment of hesitation had caused him to miss the opportunity to fight Aurelia.
Now, looking at Ryan preparing to face her, he instead felt a trace of envy.
Ryan was unaware of what the others were thinking, nor did he have the time to care.
He tightened his grip on his monster-slaying saber before quickly executing the opening movement of the Blazing Heaven Severing Saber.
Whoosh!
As the saber moved, Ryan felt exhilarated.
It was like sitting in a boat moving downstream, without the slightest sense of strain.
Everything flowed naturally.
This wasn't an exceptional performance.
It was simply his normal level.
Ryan had already been in this world for a month and had trained diligently throughout that time.
Combined with the muscle memory inherited from the original owner of this body, his movements had gradually become more natural.
It turned out that although Ryan's original Cultivation Talent had been poor, his talent for martial combat was actually quite good.
Primary Martial Arts Talent.
Combined with his diligent practice, his mastery of the Blazing Heaven Severing Saber was already among the better students in his year.
"Who is this guy? How can his saber technique be so good?"
Seeing this, the instructors and several more experienced students couldn't help but show surprise.
They were clearly astonished by Ryan's saber technique.
The students were surprised.
The instructors were surprised.
Even Aurelia showed a trace of interest.
In terms of strength, the young man before her was naturally extremely weak.
But in terms of saber technique, he was genuinely good.
Without diligent practice, it would have been impossible for him to reach this level.
A slight smile appeared on Aurelia's face.
She raised her own saber and executed the same technique.
The Blazing Heaven Severing Saber was a combat technique taught by Aegis Martial Academy.
As a former student of Aegis, Aurelia had naturally trained in it as well.
She had stopped using the Blazing Heaven Severing Saber after obtaining more powerful combat techniques.
But after years of practice, its movements had long since become deeply ingrained in her.
How could she possibly forget them?
Clang!
The two sabers collided, producing a crisp metallic sound.
"Snort—"
Seeing this, many students smiled slightly.
Although both of them were using the Blazing Heaven Severing Saber, the power of a combat technique varied enormously depending on the person using it.
They had no doubt that Aurelia's strike would send Ryan backward immediately.
"How presumptuous."
Derek muttered contemptuously.
But before he could finish speaking, the rest of his words became stuck in his throat.
The collision didn't end with Ryan being sent flying.
Instead, their sabers separated almost immediately after touching.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two began demonstrating other movements from the Blazing Heaven Severing Saber.
In the eyes of the surrounding students, their sabers repeatedly crossed as they moved between attack and defense.
At first glance, it almost looked as though two evenly matched opponents were fighting.
"How is that possible?"
Derek's mouth fell open in disbelief.
If he hadn't witnessed it personally, he might have thought the person fighting Ryan was another student rather than the famous Golden Saber Maiden, Aurelia Voss.
Most of the students had nearly the same reaction.
Only the six instructors and several students born into powerful founding families vaguely understood what was actually happening.
"Such precise eyesight and control."
One instructor stared at Aurelia with shock.
Even if he were standing in her position, despite knowing his own students well, he wasn't confident that he could accomplish what she was doing.
And this was Aurelia's first time fighting Ryan.
"To be able to do this after only watching him..."
Edwin Harrow was equally astonished.
At this moment, Aurelia had almost turned herself into another Ryan.
Apart from the obvious difference in height, the physical strength she displayed was nearly identical to his.
"So strong."
At this moment, however, the most shocked person was Ryan himself.
The others only noticed that Aurelia's attacks were almost perfectly matched to his.
They didn't realize that Ryan's own saber technique was undergoing a gradual transformation.
That's right.
It was improving.
During the battle, Ryan could clearly feel his understanding of the Blazing Heaven Severing Saber deepening.
Obviously, this was because of Aurelia.
Not only could she control her own strength with astonishing precision, she was deliberately guiding his saber technique as they fought.
His attacks became smoother.
His transitions became more fluid.
Movements that had previously felt slightly awkward suddenly became natural.
This level of control was terrifying.
Even if he ultimately failed to obtain Aurelia's talent, this battle alone would already be worth it.
The guidance he was receiving might save him months of hard training.
At this moment, Ryan finally understood a little of what Aurelia had meant when she said:
"Only in battle can one truly grasp its essence."
Only in actual combat could the flaws in a combat technique truly be exposed.
Any mistake that might go unnoticed during ordinary practice became obvious once an opponent began attacking.
Of course, even a normal battle wouldn't produce such an astonishing effect.
The true reason was Aurelia's deliberate guidance.
That was the crucial point.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
After another series of collisions, both of them stepped backward.
Seeing that Aurelia had no intention of attacking again, Ryan felt a trace of regret.
Even so, he lowered his saber and performed the standard academy salute.
Although he hadn't managed to copy Aurelia's talent during the battle, this spar had benefited him enormously.
His respect was sincere.
"Your saber technique is very skillful. It's clear you've trained very diligently."
Aurelia looked at Ryan with her green eyes and gave him an approving look.
"Thank you for the compliment, Lady Aurelia."
Ryan expressed his gratitude, although he couldn't completely hide his disappointment.
"It seems there's no hope of copying Lady Aurelia's talent."
Just as Ryan was thinking this, Aurelia spoke again.
"Raise your arms straight out."
"Hmm...? Yes!"
Although Ryan was puzzled, he still raised both arms until they were level.
He didn't believe Aurelia had any reason to harm him.
But the next moment, Ryan let out a painful groan.
Fortunately, he gritted his teeth and endured it.
Click, click, click!
Aurelia stepped forward and grabbed his arms.
With several precise movements, she adjusted his posture and joints.
At the same time, Ryan felt a force travel through his arms.
Wherever it passed, a sharp pain followed.
Then information suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Human: Aurelia Voss
Cultivation Talent: Advanced
Martial Arts Talent: Advanced
Resilience Talent: Medium
Despite the pain, Ryan's attention immediately locked onto the first talent.
Advanced Cultivation Talent.
Aurelia had already reached Rank 4 at such a young age.
Her Cultivation Talent really was terrifying, and Her other talents were equally impressive.
Advanced Martial Arts Talent.
Medium Resilience Talent.
But Ryan's goal had always been clear.
Cultivation Talent: Advanced.
While Aurelia's hands remained in contact with his arms, Ryan immediately activated his copying ability.
He copied her Advanced Cultivation Talent.