Chapter 15: No way, you actually know what you're doing?!
"Your left shoulder is too high, and your center of gravity is leaning to the right," Chen Yu said, taking two steps forward.
"Striking like this allows you to exert at most seventy percent of your power, and it's easy to injure your waist".
"Tch!" Zhou Mingxuan laughed.
"I was taught hand-in-hand by a Mid-tier Awakened teacher at the academy. Is it your place, a kid, to make irresponsible remarks?".
He flipped his wrist, and the sword brought up a whistling wind sound.
This strike was both fast and urgent, heading straight for Chen Yu.
The surrounding people exclaimed in surprise, and the female receptionist was even scared enough to cover her eyes.
Zhao Hongbin also frowned, feeling that Chen Yu was likely going to get hurt this time.
Just as the tip of the sword was only half a foot away from his chest, Chen Yu suddenly moved.
He took a half-step forward with his left foot, his body leaning to the right like a leaf.
At the same time, his right wrist rotated slightly, and the sword in his hand slid up along the ridge of Zhou Mingxuan's blade.
Ding! A crisp sound rang out.
Zhou Mingxuan only felt a clever force transmit through the blade; the sword in his hand instantly deviated from its direction, sliding past Chen Yu's ribs.
In the instant the two passed each other:
"There is no problem with what the teacher taught, but is it possible the problem lies with you?"
Chen Yu's voice was clearly transmitted into Zhou Mingxuan's ears: "Your elbow is too stiff. When turning the wrist, you should use finesse, not brute force".
Zhou Mingxuan froze in place, the smile on his face stiffening.
His strike was resolved so easily?
In that instant just now, he clearly felt his force exertion trajectory being easily disrupted by the opponent, just like a smoothly flowing river suddenly having its course changed.
"Again!" He gritted his teeth, turned around, and swung his sword to attack again.
The scene that followed left everyone speechless.
Zhou Mingxuan's sword moves became faster and faster—chopping, stabbing, pointing, lifting—every move carrying a fierce wind, clearly showing he had put in hard work.
But Chen Yu was always able to dodge by a hair's breadth. His movements weren't fast; in fact, they were somewhat leisurely.
Yet, he could always precisely find Zhou Mingxuan's openings.
What was even more surprising was that Chen Yu almost never took the initiative to attack.
He simply dodged while occasionally reaching out to push or press on Zhou Mingxuan's arm or waist.
"Here, the force point is wrong".
"The teacher taught you to sink your hips when turning, otherwise your lower body isn't stable. You ignored this detail for the sake of striking quickly".
"Your breathing is chaotic. Hold your breath when striking, and exhale when retracting the sword".
"Focus your attention. Leave thirty percent in reserve when striking".
His voice was very calm, without the slightest hint of smugness, just like teaching an ordinary student.
At first, Zhou Mingxuan gritted his teeth and retorted, but gradually, his movements slowed down.
The anger on his face turned into confusion, then surprise, and finally, he subconsciously began to adjust his posture according to what Chen Yu said.
When the sword routine was finished, Zhou Mingxuan leaned on his sword, gasping for large breaths of air.
Sweat on his forehead soaked his kendo uniform, but he didn't care to wipe it, staring straight at Chen Yu.
He was secretly shocked in his heart. Chen Yu said to sink the hips just now...
You don't say... you really don't say!
It seems I've found the feeling...
Last year, he awakened an A-Class Sword Type Talent Ability, [Advanced Kendo Talent]. Relying on this ability and his family background, he stood out during military training and successfully entered the Awakened Academy for cultivation.
Unfortunately, after training in the academy for a year, he entered a bottleneck period and was gradually distanced by his peers.
He was anxious inside, so he came to the sword martial arts hall to practice, seeking a breakthrough. But he had changed a whole batch of coaches.
Not one could be like Chen Yu, pointing out his most confusing problems in just a few words.
With those few adjustments just now, he clearly felt his force exertion was much smoother.
Movements that always felt awkward before had actually become natural.
"You... you really know how to do this?" Zhou Mingxuan's tone lost its earlier arrogance and gained a few degrees of awe.
Before Chen Yu could answer, a loud shout of praise suddenly came from the doorway: "Good! So young, yet possessing such eyesight!"
Everyone looked toward the sound and saw an old man wearing a dark Tang suit standing at the door. He had white hair but a youthful face, full of vigor, his eyes as sharp as a falcon's.
Behind Wei Tianyi followed a middle-aged man—it was Ling Wenhe.
"Elder Wei, why have you come?" Zhao Hongbin hurriedly went to greet him, his attitude respectful beyond words.
The crowd watching the excitement was startled.
The Sword Saint has come to Lanjiang?!
The old man's name was Wei Tianyi, the founder of the Tianyi Style Sword Art, a 7th Rank Awakened One hailed as the Tianyi Sword Saint!
Years ago, he once killed a 6th Rank beast with a single sword strike and fought a 7th Rank beast alone for three days and three nights, ending in mutual injury.
Since then, he withdrew from the front lines and began teaching disciples to promote the Way of the Sword. His students were now spread throughout the Alliance.
Anyone who saw him would give him some face. By reason, such a big shot shouldn't appear in a corner like Lanjiang.
Everyone knew this Sword Art Hall was Wei Tianyi's property.
And they all came for this name, but they completely didn't expect Wei Tianyi himself to actually be here!
Wei Tianyi waved his hand, but his gaze remained on Chen Yu, looking more satisfied the more he looked.
Stroking his beard, he smiled and said, "I wanted to come and see what the noise was about, but I didn't expect to pick up a good seedling".
He took two steps forward, examining Chen Yu carefully: "Young man, who taught you this swordsmanship?"
"No sword calluses on your hands, so you haven't practiced the sword for long. But your foundation is solid, your vision is sharp, and your talent is exceptional".
Chen Yu answered honestly, "You praise me too much; I was just practicing blindly".
"Hahahaha," Wei Tianyi laughed. "Don't be humble".
"If you say that, doesn't it mean that the swordsmanship my students practiced all these years has gone to the dogs?"
Hearing this, the faces of the students turned dark.
Sigh, you... you... sigh!
Chen Yu touched his nose.
He really hadn't practiced much; it was completely the enhancement of the Roger template.
The surrounding people had long been attracted by the conversation here, and at this moment, their gazes all landed on Chen Yu.
The faces of several young students standing not far away were full of surprise. Someone couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, "Elder Wei praised someone?"
"Chen Yu actually gained Elder Wei's recognition!"
"I said earlier that Chen Yu knew his stuff; you guys said I was crazy!"
At this moment.
The students who had originally mocked Chen Yu looked at each other, their faces burning hot.
Zhou Mingxuan was also stunned.
First Chen Yu completely destroyed him, then Wei Tianyi appeared, and then this famous Sword Saint actually praised Chen Yu?!
So I... got lucky?
"Zhou family kid," Elder Wei pointed at Chen Yu. "What this kid said is correct".
"Huh?" Zhou Mingxuan came back to his senses. Realizing Wei Tianyi was calling him, he hurriedly cupped his hands. "Elder Wei, please speak".
"Improve upon the problems he pointed out, and your bottleneck can be broken".
Zhou Mingxuan shivered upon hearing this. "Many thanks, Elder Wei!"
"Young Master Chen, I'll treat you to a drink when you're free!"
Chen Yu chuckled lightly, considering it a response to Zhou Mingxuan.
"Um..." He then found Zhao Hongbin's figure and asked, "Can I sign the contract now?"
"Sign! Sign it now!" How could Zhao Hongbin dare to neglect him? He waved his hands repeatedly.
"No, with skill like yours, what use is signing a contract? And what implies being a sparring partner?"
" come anytime; you can use the martial hall's venue as you please! If you don't mind, being an honorary coach is fine too!"
"Sign... contract?" Elder Wei looked back at Zhao Hongbin. "What is going on?"
"Uh... Elder Wei, he wanted to apply for a job as a sparring partner at our Sword Art Hall..." Zhao Hongbin said truthfully.
"Muddled!" Elder Wei glared. "If someone comes to apply, you should test their strength properly. What are you doing?"
"Just messing around!"
Zhao Hongbin dared not talk back after being scolded in public.
Who could have thought Chen Yu really knew swordsmanship, and was actually quite formidable at that?
"Hiss... eh?"
Next to them, Ling Wenhe suddenly made a sound of surprise.
He pointed at Chen Yu's face, looking more familiar the more he looked.
His tone carried surprise: "You... is your surname Chen? Is your mother named Lin Lan?"
Chen Yu froze for a moment. "You know me too?"
(To be Continued )