After his one-day break ended, Qianshuo returned to his usual training routine—now also preparing for his first entry into the Dungeon.
The books and materials Hedin had forced him to memorize were, by this point, practically carved into his mind.
Out on the Battle Wilderness, that small figure still stood straight under the dying sun. His hand trembled slightly around the hilt of his katana.
Hedin's gaze remained cold and distant, but compared to the beginning there was a trace of something calmer in it now.
When he saw Qianshuo successfully take that sword strike, he gave a quiet nod—clearly satisfied.
"Tomorrow you'll enter the Dungeon. Everything you need to pay attention to is already in those books."
"No extra words. With your temperament, you know what to do. For your first entry, Heith will accompany you."
Hedin looked down at the boy and spoke evenly.
"Huh? I thought you'd be the one leading me, Master."
"Idiot. Do you have any idea what kind of impact a first-class adventurer appearing in the upper floors would cause?"
"Ah… right. I overlooked that."
Seeing Qianshuo's blank look, Hedin only gave him a flat glance and said nothing more.
He sheathed his sword and started walking back toward the estate. Other members of Freya Familia on the Battle Wilderness followed along as well.
"Master! Don't worry—I won't embarrass you!"
Qianshuo rose and shouted after Hedin's retreating back.
Hedin's body paused ever so slightly.
His footsteps never stopped, and he didn't answer—
But behind the gold-rimmed glasses, a faint shimmer appeared in his eyes.
After watching Hedin leave, Qianshuo stood under the last light of sunset and reviewed today's training—and everything he'd learned recently through "imitating sword techniques."
By now, he'd fully digested Hedin's elven swordsmanship, and had integrated it into his own style.
As for the Secret Sword series, he currently possessed two forms, which was more than enough for Dungeon use.
The Secret Sword "ultimate techniques," though, were another matter.
Without activating Ittou Shura, forcing those techniques would be extremely difficult—so difficult that the strain on his body would be severe, and the results would still fall short of their true power.
And Ittou Shura itself was Qianshuo's trump card.
At his current physical strength, he couldn't bear the violent surge of power it produced. That was why both Hedin and Freya had strictly forbidden him from using it.
Of course—
If he ever truly fell into absolute desperation, then he'd use it anyway.
During training, Hedin had estimated that once Qianshuo reached Level 2, he would be able to use Ittou Shura normally, without suffering catastrophic bodily overload—like the time his meridians outright burst.
But the backlash would still be heavy: he'd enter a state of exhaustion, unable to continue fighting.
Less horrific than the first time…
Still dangerous.
Qianshuo lifted his gaze to the sky, his katana raised, his eyes resolute.
"I will carve out a world of my own!"
"I'll make the name Qianshuo echo across the world—crowned as the world's greatest swordsman!"
It might sound overly ambitious.
But he chose it as his target—something to drive him forward and whip him onward.
He carried too much to fall here.
Not only the old man's last wish—
But also Freya-sama's expectations.
The path of martial arts is the climb toward the peak.
Every strike, every form—tempered a thousand times.
One must refine oneself like steel forged a hundred times: discard the dross, keep the essence, clarify the heart, see the true self.
Of all the peerless arts under heaven, none surpass perseverance.
Qianshuo understood it well:
Only by holding fast to that unwavering persistence could he reach the ultimate realm of the sword.
…
The next day.
Qianshuo rose early again to train and condition his body. Even though he wouldn't be following Hedin's training schedule today, the habit was already ingrained.
Heith, as always, prepared breakfast for the familia. Everything had been arranged the night before, so her accompanying Qianshuo today wouldn't leave the household short-handed.
"Let's go, kid."
Heith had changed into her combat outfit. Holding her staff, she lightly tapped the boy—who was resting with eyes closed—and called him.
"Mm."
Qianshuo nodded with a small smile, and the two of them headed out from the Battle Wilderness.
"That brat's really choosing the Dungeon for training…? I don't get it. Isn't the Battle Wilderness better?"
Phaenn watched their departing backs, confusion in his eyes.
He couldn't understand why Qianshuo would abandon the faster growth the Wilderness offered and instead enter the Dungeon.
But since it was Qianshuo's own decision—and Hedin and Freya had approved it—Phaenn stopped thinking about it and began his own training for the day.
Once they left the Battle Wilderness, their destination was the towering Babel.
After walking the entire "Departure Road" and passing through the vast first-floor corridor, they entered the Dungeon's first floor.
A massive spiral structure opened before them: a rough cylindrical space with gentle steps running along the circumference, forming a gigantic helix of silver-like stairs.
Qianshuo saw several adventurer parties descending ahead of them. Heith and Qianshuo followed behind.
After entering fully, the scene shifted into a wide floor of narrow passageways—interconnected in a square, orderly pattern.
This was the Dungeon—where monsters were born.
Stepping in meant danger could arrive at any moment.
Qianshuo unconsciously held his breath.
"So this… is the Dungeon."
He noticed tiny bulges and cracks in the walls—marks left behind by the mechanism of monster birth.
"How does it feel?" Heith's voice came from behind him, carrying a teasing edge.
Qianshuo fell silent for a moment, then answered honestly.
"More oppressive than I imagined."
"Normal. It gets worse the deeper you go," Heith said. "Wait until you join an expedition someday—you'll really understand."
They didn't encounter any monsters on the second floor and moved straight on.
"Kid, up ahead is the third floor. The monsters there are easy for your level," Heith warned. "But training is training, and real combat is real combat. Watch yourself."
"I won't step in to kill anything for you. Everything is on you—unless something special happens."
"I understand, Heith."
Qianshuo nodded. A sharp glint lit his eyes, and his hand settled onto the katana tied at his waist.
In the next instant, the wall ahead stirred.
Several goblins crawled out—this was how the Dungeon produced monsters.
One held a club. The other two came at him with clawing hands. In the blue-lit corridors, their shrill noises sounded especially loud.
Qianshuo's blade was already out.
But he didn't immediately cut them down.
He observed calmly.
A sidestep. A retreat.
The goblins, stubborn and simple-minded, scuttled after him with their short limbs.
A thrust.
A thin line of blood appeared across the lead goblin's throat. Its body stayed frozen in a pouncing posture—yet the light in its eyes had already died.
Qianshuo pivoted. The blade traced an arc through the air.
The other two goblins split cleanly through the middle.
Organs and blood splattered across the ground.
And then—
A shadow, enormous enough to blanket him, dropped fast from above.
Heith narrowed her eyes slightly… but showed no intent to intervene.
Qianshuo, as if he'd expected it, shifted his body with a quick, curved step and avoided the ambush.
What landed was a four-legged lizard.
Rough brown hide. A sideways-split mouth with a thin tongue slipping out.
Counting its long tail, it was nearly as long as Qianshuo was tall.
A "Dungeon Lizard"—the wall-climbing lizard-type monster.
A low-tier creature that appeared on floors two through four, classified alongside goblins and small spirits.
In the monster compendium Hedin had given him, Qianshuo had already memorized everything about the monsters within the first twenty floors: their traits, their spawn patterns, their behaviors.
In terms of intelligence, he held the advantage.
Dungeon lizards used suction pads on their limbs to scuttle across walls and ceilings with ease.
To kill a monster that moved in unreachable places, you needed patience—wait for it to drop down.
That was why Qianshuo had briefly "played" with the goblins instead of ending them instantly.
"First Secret Sword—Rhinoceros Strike."
His body launched forward like a beam of light.
The lizard barely had time to react—Qianshuo was already in front of it.
The blade punched through its scales.
Clang—his hands felt the hard resistance of something dense.
He'd likely struck the magic stone.
The lizard shuddered violently, its upper body arching back—
Then it collapsed, lifeless.
With a small explosion, it dissolved into dust.
Heith watched, smiling softly to herself.
Calm. Composed. Neither arrogant nor impatient.
No wonder Hedin said he was ready.
At this rate…
They might reach the seventh floor—maybe even the eighth—today.
-------
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