Each time Sirius stepped, each time he swung his sword, training to control his energy, he came closer and closer to the mid stage.
His energy was already flowing through his head, his arms, and his legs. Now, he had to guide it through each blood vessel in his body.
In the middle of a battle where he didn't even have a second to rest, Sirius realized something: controlling his energy wasn't that hard. He simply had to desperately want it. With the power of his will, the energy went where he needed it.
Yet, even with this control, the innkeeper was still far stronger. Two stages of difference, that was too much.
Cycle-Ending Bloom, eighth movement: Split Flow.
Sirius launched two horizontal slashes, first from right to left, then from left to right. With internal energy now flowing through his arms, the technique was far faster than anything he had ever done while training with Aurelius. The blade moved at nearly sixty kilometers per hour.
The saber was now too fast and too strong to be grabbed barehanded by the innkeeper. Yet, he simply swung his sword forward, and the technique was countered.
Night was falling. Sirius was tired. The battle would end soon. The innkeeper, for his part, was exhausted too, but less than Sirius, because his energy flowed through his entire body. His stamina was far superior to someone at the early stage.
The innkeeper took a step forward and swung his sword downward. That strike was too heavy to block.
But Sirius had no choice. For some reason, his legs didn't respond. So he placed his second hand behind his blade, bracing for impact.
The strike was too powerful. A crack split through Sirius's saber. He was sent to the ground, he had failed to block the blow.
The innkeeper had already begun to swing again. If this hit connected, Sirius would lose. He had no way to block it.
So he simply had to avoid being hit.
None of his techniques could counter this strike?
Then he just had to create a new one, right?
But what kind of movement could counter such an attack? He had no idea.
So he didn't counter it.
He would just pass through.
Sirius, one knee on the ground, began to move. He had never trained this technique, but he didn't care. He was going to win, he'll definitly succed!
Cycle-Ending Bloom, ninth movement: Sky Rend.
Sirius and his saber shot upward. The blade struck the innkeeper's right shoulder. The man let go of his sword, pain shooting through him and throwing off his balance. Yet Sirius didn't stop, he continued rising, higher into the air. This technique wasn't just meant to pierce; it was also designed to escape in desperate moments.
The innkeeper had thought he would win with that final strike. He had been sure. The young man, kneeling, out of breath, nearly drained, shouldn't have had anything left.
But the child had a sudden flash of insight. And in that moment, he looked up at the innkeeper with a faint smile.
The innkeeper knew it was too late. He couldn't stop his sword. He couldn't do anything.
And then, the young man was gone, and his shoulder was burning. Burning so much that his sword dropped from his hand.
He turned around, and saw the boy in the air, about five meters above the ground, calm, still smiling.
And with only a sigh, the innkeeper knew: the young man had reached the mid stage.
The innkeeper didn't understand. How had he lost? He was two stages above. He had thirty more years of experience. He knew more techniques. He had dominated the entire fight. Yet in one single move… he lost.
"How? How did you do that?"
The young man landed softly and answered:
"You were too strong. So I had to create a new movement to counter you. And because you started swinging your sword, a weak point appeared. You had no choice but to take it."
"You created a new movement… kneeling, exhausted?"
The young man nodded, then handed him the saber.
"It was a good fight, sir. I learned a lot."
Sirius was being honest. This fight had given him tremendous experience. He had created a new movement, reached the mid stage, and learned how to fight against a dao sword, which was quite common in the Ash Realm.
"Oh, and a little advice, sir. In life, your sword should never leave your hand."
Sirius turned around and left. He was exhausted. That night, for the first time in a week, he would sleep comfortably in his bed.
The innkeeper remained on the ground for a long while. He just… couldn't believe it. A fifteen-year-old boy had defeated him, reached the mid stage, and created a new movement, just like that.
The boy was truly a monster. Maybe not yet an imperial one… but the innkeeper was sure this young man would at least reach the Echo of Resolve realm. Maybe even higher.
While every person who reach a realm can, at least, reach the late stage, most people, once they reach a realm, take years to advance within it. He himself had taken five years to reach the mid stage, then ten more to reach the late stage. And he knew that once he hit the peak of Self Vision, he'd never go any further.
But this boy? He seemed to have reached the mid stage in less than six months.
"I… hate geniuses so much."
He didn't even feel the slightest bit of shame that a young man, thirty years younger than him, had given him advice, because it was good advice. From that day on, he swore he would never let go of his sword, not even for a single second.
The innkeeper finally stood up after several long minutes. He picked up his dao sword from the ground and slowly walked back toward the inn, completely drained.
In truth, Sirius had won for three reasons:
The first was that their weapons were made of wood. A real blade would have been much heavier. Sirius would not have been able to block the innkeeper's strike with a true dao sword.
The second was that the innkeeper had underestimated Sirius. He had several techniques he never used, believing he wouldn't need them against a junior still at the early stage.
And the third?
Sirius had watched Aurelius's training—Aurelius, who had reached the peak of the Completion Realm. Sirius's eyes had become accustomed to that kind of speed, the kind of movement and pressure that came from someone far beyond the Self Vision realm.
So the speed of a mere late-stage Self Vision martial artist… was actually quite slow. Sirius managed to dodge most of the attacks because of that. If it had been any other early-stage martial artist, he would have been struck down in a few moves.
And so, Sirius had won his first battle.