For now, Shang couldn't find the answer. The sword was still too young, simple, and inexperienced. It couldn't even react to Shang's words. Additionally, the dean had said that the sword would be of a bigger help if it absorbed some ore, and Shang was pretty sure that the dean wasn't only referring to the weapon physically becoming stronger.
Shang decided that he should simply continue as it was right now and use the sword as some sort of mirror, but he also knew that he had to verify the sword's feelings every time. At the moment, it seemed to reflect his own feelings, but those feelings might change, and if Shang didn't pay any attention, he might do and feel what the sword wanted him to do and feel.
After looking at the second technique again, Shang practiced it a couple more times. The first technique had been rather easy for Shang to perform since he was familiar with the movements, but pulling off a feint was more difficult. After all, a feint had to seem convincing. If it weren't convincing, the opponent would be the one to gain the advantage.
The sword seemed to warm up to the technique after a couple more tries, and it became interested in it. Shang confirmed that he also felt like this.
Shang liked to end fights quickly, and creating an opening was basically the best way to end a fight. Additionally, the feint allowed Shang to unleash a big strike. Who didn't like using all their power in an attack?
It only took Shang a couple of minutes to become familiar with the technique, and he could pull it off without errors. However, in comparison to the first one, Shang would need to practice this technique several more times, and he would also need to test it in actual fights. Just because someone could do something perfectly in a calm setting didn't mean that they would be able to do the same thing perfectly in a hectic setting.
That was where practice came into play. Shang had to integrate this technique into his fighting style until he could use it without even thinking about it.
For now, Shang decided to put this technique into his daily training routine. It was worth the investment.
Shang looked at the next technique and repeated it a couple of times.
The sword was not fully happy with this technique, but it also wasn't fully against it. It sent feelings that perfectly reflected the words, "meh, maybe."
After unleashing the fourth technique, the sword became excited.
It absolutely loved that strike!
'Makes sense,' Shang thought. 'It's a very aggressive attack that pushes my enemy back while also lowering my stance, allowing me to quickly explode forward after unleashing it. It's the very definition of aggressive.'
'Am I such an aggressive person?' Shang thought.
…
'I don't know. Maybe? Not sure. Probably? Yeah, probably. Okay, definitely.'
As Shang went through his fights, he realized that he loved being the aggressive one. Sure, his fight with the Ice Spear Bear had been a very passive one, but that was simply because the bear had had a far more powerful body than him.
In every other fight, Shang had essentially been in a constant charge forward, unleashing attack after attack.
Shang practiced the fourth technique for quite a while. He didn't need to practice a lot since he was very familiar with these movements, but Shang simply wanted to practice it more. He just liked using it.
Shang went through more and more techniques, and soon, the sun began to dip below the walls. If Shang had decided to look outside, he would have seen a bright sky but no sun all around. That was definitely a sight one needed to get used to.
Usually, even when one walked through a metropolis with gigantic buildings, at least some light rays would pass some of the buildings, leaving bright areas on the ground.
But here?
None of that.
Even more, these bright spots in the cities often only came in the evening or morning when the sun was already near the horizon.
But right now, the sky was still a bright blue.
Warrior's Paradise had a weird contrast. The sky was brightly lit like it were noon, but the streets were slightly darkened. It was a bit like someone turned down the contrast for everything inside the city while keeping the sky normal.
Sadly, Shang missed the first "sunset" of his new home since he had completely lost himself in training.
"Oh?" Shang suddenly uttered as he unleashed a new technique.
At the same time, Shang felt some feelings of positive surprise coming from his sword.
"I like that one," Shang said. "Usually, unleashing attacks that are only useful against humans feel weird since they mostly involve attacking something hard, but this one feels great."
This technique was a way to stop an opponent's attack, but it was also insanely aggressive.
The stance needed to perform this strike was a bit unnatural, and one wouldn't normally find themselves getting into such a stance during a fight, but with a bit of leading, one could get there.
The stance involved the sword hanging from the sword arm. The sword pointed towards the ground, and it could even slightly point behind the user in some cases.
Such a stance was unnatural since it left someone completely open.
The technique itself involved the user taking one step back with the more distant foot from the sword. While stepping back, the user would also put their second hand on the sword.
And then, one would strike upward with the entire power of their body. Both legs, the hips, and the back would straighten at the same time, bundling all the power into the attack.
Then, the user would unleash a single strike all the way from the bottom to the top.
The purpose of this technique wasn't to injure the opponent. After all, one would take a step back, which would result in one's torso also being pulled back a bit.
The purpose was to counter the opponent and break their guard.
If an opponent decided to unleash a strike from the top, this technique was perfect. By unleashing an attack from the top, the opponent could only unleash the power of their arms, their back, and the forward momentum of their legs. On top of that, they would probably only attack with one hand.
Meanwhile, the one using the technique would explode forward with all their power. The weapons would clash with each other, but the one using the technique obviously had the upper hand in the exchange.
pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ The opponent's weapon would be shot upward, and the opponent would be put before a difficult decision.
Let go of the weapon or try to pull it back while it was trying to fly away.
Both outcomes would be positive for the user of the technique.
Shang loved the technique. It was a defensive technique, but it was also incredibly aggressive.
For the next hour, Shang only practiced this technique. He especially loved the sound the ground made when he used it. Since Shang was putting all of his power into an upward motion, the ground below him had to deal with the counterforce.
Each action had an equal and opposite reaction.
Physics.
And before Shang knew it, it had already become night.
However, Shang didn't notice.
He had completely forgotten himself in his training.
All of these techniques were like a treasure trove, and he enjoyed practicing them.
For the first time, Shang had an actual, well-defined guide for practicing his swordsmanship.
These techniques were even better than he had expected!