Another day arrived.
Now that Noah had broken through to the Condensed Core (Low) stage, he was finally capable of learning the next form of his Weapon Art.
After informing Akari about it, she agreed to let him train by himself first.
Currently Noah stood alone in the open yard, his sword resting quietly in his right hand.
A gentle breeze drifted across the clearing, causing the surrounding leaves to rustle softly.
He slowly closed his eyes. The inheritance engraved within his mind began surfacing once again.
Frozen Lotus Blade Art.
Until now, he had mastered only two forms.
First Petal — Dewdrop Stance.
A stance that gathered every ounce of strength into a single perfectly balanced strike.
Second Petal — Still Surface Cut.
A nearly invisible slash of condensed frost capable of slicing through enemies before they even realized they had been attacked.
Now the third form appeared within his mind.
---
Third Petal — Petal Scatter (The Bloom Begins).
"When the lotus sheds its first petals... the water remembers."
A stream of knowledge poured directly into Noah’s consciousness.
It wasn’t merely a description. There were sketches in his mind how to perfome this.
It was in detailed that he felt as if he was watching some swordsman perform it.
He focus on every movement. Every shift of the feet. Every rotation of the wrist.
Every flow of mana. Everything was engraved before his eyes. Slowly he opened his eyes. A sharp blue light flashed within them.
"So this is how it’s done..."
He took a deep breath. His feet shifted naturally into position. His left foot moved half a step forward.
His knees bent slightly. His shoulders relaxed. Mana quietly flowed from his core into his sword. The blade gradually became wrapped in a pale blue glow.
The third Petal was based on second Petal. So it was not that hard.
Noah slowly raised it. Then he swung.
Swish!
A beautiful crescent of frost shot forward. However only one appeared.
The second and third never formed.
The frost crescent flew a few meters before shattering into countless ice particles.
"...Failed."
Noah wasn’t discouraged.
Instead, he replayed the inherited memory inside his head.
"The first strike isn’t supposed to stop..."
He realized his mistake immediately. This technique wasn’t composed of three separate attacks.
It was one continuous movement. Like flower petals scattering naturally through the wind.
Everything had to flow together. He adjusted his footing once more. Mana circulated calmly through his meridians.
This time he moved without hesitation.
Swish!
The first slash swept outward. Before it had completely finished. His body rotated naturally.
Swish!
A second arc followed immediately behind the first.
Without stopping his sword completed another elegant rotation.
Swish!
The third strike flowed as smoothly as running water.
Three pale-blue crescents finally emerged.
They resembled translucent lotus petals drifting gracefully through the air.
They were beautiful. Yet carrying astonishing killing intent. The petals spiraled outward before flying across the yard.
Unfortunately only the first remained stable. The second dispersed halfway through its flight.
The third shattered almost immediately after leaving his blade.
Noah lowered his sword.
"Closer."
From the side Akari quietly observed everything.
She didn’t interrupt him. She merely watched. She could clearly tell Noah wasn’t simply memorizing movements.
He was understanding them. Hours slowly passed.
Again.
Swish!
Again.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Again.
Again.
Again.
The yard echoed endlessly with the sound of his sword cutting through the air.
Sweat gradually soaked his clothes. His breathing became heavier. The mana inside his core steadily decreased.
Yet Noah never stopped. Each failure revealed another flaw. Sometimes his timing was off. Sometimes the second strike carried too much strength.
Other times the mana between the three slashes wasn’t distributed evenly.
Every mistake forced him to refine the technique further.
As the afternoon sun slowly descended.
His body once again started to feel the pain and ache in muscles. Each moments felt like they were tearing his muscles. Even after weeks of training non stop. He wasn’t used to it. Rather if he felt no pain he would feel unsatisfied with his training.
Something finally changed.
Noah’s movements became noticeably smoother.
His body no longer paused between attacks. The three slashes flowed together like a single graceful dance.
Mana surged through his blade. His eyes narrowed.
"This time..." His breathing slightly heavy.
His foot stepped forward. His sword danced.
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Three glowing frost crescents burst forth simultaneously.
Unlike before they remained perfectly intact.
Semi-transparent. Pale blue. They spun through the air like lotus petals drifting away from a flower in full bloom.
They were elegant, beautiful, and deadly.
The three frost crescents spiraled outward like drifting lotus petals before suddenly changing direction.
Rather than flying aimlessly, they curved gracefully through the air and converged upon the exact spot Noah imagined his opponent had occupied only moments earlier.
The instant they struck.
BOOM!!
A deafening explosion of frost erupted across the training ground.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The earth split apart as an overwhelming wave of freezing energy surged in every direction.
A thick sheet of ice spread rapidly over the ground, swallowing everything in its path before blooming outward in the shape of enormous lotus petals.
Jagged ice crystals burst from the frozen earth, while a cloud of glittering frost rose into the air.
The surrounding trees trembled violently from the impact, their leaves instantly coated in a thin layer of white frost.
A chilling wind swept through the yard as countless ice particles drifted downward like shimmering snow.
Noah stood silently, staring at the destruction before him.
A slow smile spread across his face.
"It won’t take much longer before I truly master it."
Although he still lacked speed, power, and precision...
The Third Petal—Petal Scatter had finally begun to bloom.
---
Evening settled over the yard. The sky glowed soft orange, though the sun itself was not present in sky.
After all day hard training, Noah was finally resting in what he believed to be the most peaceful place in the world.
Noah lay on the wooden veranda after a long day of training his third form. His head rested on the soft lap of his master, Akari.
She sat in seiza, knees folded neatly beneath her, wearing a dark violet kimono that looked almost black in the fading light.
Her black hair was tied up in a neat bun, a few loose strands brushing against the fair skin of her neck and scales.
Those calm blue eyes looked down at him with quiet fondness. Her fingers moved slowly through his snow-white hair, gentle and steady.
"You’re getting bolder every day," she said, a soft smile touching her lips. "Asking for a lap pillow out of nowhere..."
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