The rhythmic whistling of wooden swords cut through the air as the three disciples' attacks repeatedly missed by a hair's breadth.
Compared to yesterday's suffocating practical combat drills, today was focused on ordinary guidance—or rather, meticulous fine-tuning. For a moment, it actually made them feel a bit uneasy. Their bodies didn't hurt as much as they had expected, though that might have been because their "demon instructor" had personally treated their wounds and applied medicinal salves the night before.
Nearly two hours had passed, yet not a single one of them had collapsed.
Today's schedule, arranged by Kuguruma Natsunishi, was the "tuning" of their Breathing Styles. As they fought, he observed them to find exactly where the jarring inconsistencies lay in their technique.
At the moment Doujima's strike missed and he retreated to catch his breath, Kuguruma Natsunishi stepped on the bridge of his foot, causing the swordsman to stumble instantly.
"You're too impatient! Your breath and your power burst are completely out of sync!"
"You're not practicing Divergent Fist here."
"A breathing rhythm disconnected from your sword techniques will only discount the power of your strikes. Slow your breathing down!"
When Mitsujiro overextended his move, Kuguruma Natsunishi slapped his wrist, nearly sending the wooden sword flying from his hand.
"Retaining reserve power in your moves is a good habit, but the prerequisite is that your breath must remain steady."
"Can't you hear the static in your own breathing?"
"Your blade is neither decisive nor does it possess the fluid agility that water should have!"
"Inhale, and then, just like my Water Breathing, exhale slowly."
"Hey, you idiot! Use your core! Exert force from your abdomen!"
When teaching Sashiko, Kuguruma Natsunishi used minimal footwork to constantly evade her every slash.
"Sashiko, you are learning Water Breathing, not Flame or Thunder! Your intent is too obvious!"
"You must learn to feel the 'momentum' of your Breathing Style, and then swing your sword along with it!"
"It's flow, not brute force!"
"Don't let your breath turn into a bellows and exhaust itself all at once with your moves; keep half of it in your chest!"
"You need to make the remaining air flow."
Kuguruma Natsunishi's observations were comprehensive. Having touched the underlying mechanics of the Breathing Styles, his understanding and cognition far surpassed that of an average Cultivator.
Perhaps those Cultivators had a more refined or "standard" mastery of their styles. But it was precisely that "standard" that limited the vast majority of swordsmen. Because when it comes to the "Mind," "Body," and "Technique" of an individual, there is no standard answer.
A thousand swordsmen should ideally have a thousand unique breathing rhythms. In reality, however, most people were only given five possible answers. And which of those five they received depended entirely on luck. Regardless of whether it suited them, swordsmen could only follow the experience and cognition of their Cultivators, repeating the traditional path to strength that had existed for centuries—even if that path wasn't the right fit.
Now, Kuguruma Natsunishi was making delicate micro-adjustments to their existing "test papers" based on their unique individual traits. Even if it wasn't a perfect "Best Match" like a Rabbit and a Tank, it was still superior to their previous "standard" answers.
Through his eyes, Kuguruma Natsunishi captured the uncoordinated "frames" in their movements. Through his hearing, he identified the chaotic "beats" in their breathing. Through his body and words, he constantly guided the "flow" and "logic" of their power.
Kuguruma Natsunishi would deliberately slow his attack speed and frequency, actively pressing forward and closing in at the exact moment Doujima's old strength was spent and his new strength was yet to form. He forced Doujima to instinctively compress his breathing cycle to accelerate energy regeneration within a manageable danger zone.
He pressured Mitsujiro with a continuous stream of light, brisk attacks, leaving him no time to "think" about the next move. Mitsujiro was forced to rely on a continuity pushed to its absolute limit to respond. There couldn't be too much downtime between sword forms, and the breathing couldn't be hesitant. Water is fluid and ceaseless.
Facing Sashiko's one-dimensional slashing trajectories, Kuguruma Natsunishi didn't force her to adapt to the "flow" of water. After a brief thought, he switched to a different plan. He constantly dodged her blade, occasionally using her momentum to give a light push, quietly shifting her breathing rhythm. He moved her away from the smooth, straight riverbed of a stream and toward a sharper direction, one more adept at finding weaknesses.
Unknowingly, a hint of biting chill seeped into her breathing, like the hidden current of a winter spring.
All three swordsmen faintly felt that their Breathing Styles seemed to have changed in some way.
Kuguruma Natsunishi was tuning their unique Breathing Styles for them; at the same time, he was using them to verify his various hypotheses regarding Breathing Styles. The more samples he had, the clearer the path ahead became.
The next few days followed much the same pattern. Sometimes it was Kuguruma Natsunishi's brutal training methods. Other times, if someone went out on a mission, Kuguruma Natsunishi would arrange a sparring schedule for the remaining pair. Occasionally, it was simply Kuguruma Natsunishi's own solitary cultivation.
The results of Kuguruma Natsunishi's coaching began to reflect clearly on the system panel. In just over a week, the attributes of all three jumped by several points. Sashiko's energy level, in particular, was approaching the threshold of 70.
Kuguruma Natsunishi also regularly pulled up their data panels for comparison. He found that within the same training duration, as long as he engaged in interactions like experience sharing or teaching, the speed at which the three gained Breathing Style experience was significantly faster than when they sparred alone. He estimated the increase to be around 10%. This was likely the effect of his "Instruction" skill, which had already reached LV.1.
Moreover, it wasn't just a simple increase in training speed. Occasionally, special probabilistic events occurred. For instance, after an extreme physical training session when Mitsujiro was nearly exhausted, Kuguruma Natsunishi demanded he perform an extra set of Total Concentration Breathing. Mitsujiro gritted his teeth and completed it just as his consciousness was about to drift away, and Kuguruma Natsunishi found that his attributes had taken a massive leap. His "Body" and "Mind" increased by nearly five points in total.
One had to realize that initially, even after a full day of hard cultivation, the energy level wouldn't necessarily increase by even one point. So, his [Instruction LV.1] didn't just enhance training effects—did it also have a chance to trigger hidden breakthrough effects, similar to a "Great Success" in cultivation?
While Kuguruma Natsunishi was calculating his skill mechanics, the Storm Hashira, Igarashi Uzen, was sitting on an old bench by the side of the training field. A book was spread across his lap, and a cup of steaming coffee was in his hand, looking like a still-life painting.
In his occasional free moments, he would come to watch his junior brother's recent cultivation and see how he taught those "grand-disciples." Kuguruma Natsunishi's progress had clearly exceeded his initial plan. Judging by the light, shadow, and breathing in the training field, his junior brother had already touched the edge of "Logic." Even his own Storm Breathing had been unknowingly mastered by the boy. All that remained was long-term, persistent training—the kind that drips through stone.
Perhaps... it was time to start arranging the final stage of his cultivation. After that, he could be sent to the Rengoku family in Tokyo for the final step of Breathing Style advancement.
The only thing he could still teach him now was [Total Concentration: Constant].
"Constant," he mused... How long did it take him to reach that step back then?
Igarashi picked up his coffee and tasted it quietly. It was ground and brewed by Kuguruma Natsunishi. The taste wasn't world-class, but for a beginner, it was quite impressive. Even though they were just ordinary beans.
A small wisp of white steam rose, lightly fogging Igarashi's glasses. He couldn't help but ponder another question. His junior brother, Kuguruma Natsunishi, seemed to have inexhaustible energy every day. In addition to his own rigorous cultivation, he could meticulously guide others and even find time to learn how to brew coffee, just so his senior brother could ease his fatigue?
"What a thoughtful child... truly heart-warming," he thought.
The Storm Hashira drank his coffee very slowly and gently. Because this cup of coffee seemed smoother and more fragrant than any he had ever tasted before.