Grey stared at Lia with a slight look of confusion and even awe.
'Is this planet filled with unique people?' Grey could not help but muse silently.
First, it was his sister who turned out to be an actual Dragon. Now, standing directly before him, was a being with something known as an "Endless Potential Physique."
In short, it was probably the most terrifying thing he had seen, just a single level below his own cheat.
His sister stood absolutely no chance against the girl in front of him in terms of sheer uniqueness.
Endless Potential. What exactly did that imply? It meant that the girl standing before him had absolutely no limitations. She would never encounter a bottleneck in her surge of power and would continuously grow until the end of time itself, as long as no one managed to kill her.
What was a cheat? This was a true cheat.
To evolve endlessly, completely without limits.
And the absolute best part?
He could easily comprehend it.
A devilish grin slowly formed on Grey's face. He now stared at Lia as if he had just found the most valuable item in the entire world.
He came looking for gold and found a diamond. No, a priceless cosmic gem.
Then, Grey confidently stood up from his spot. It was time to start officially teaching her.
He had already fully comprehended the Zenith Sword Art, which seemed to be a vastly superior version of conventional sword arts. Having instantly reached comprehension-level mastery, he was absolutely certain that no one on this entire planet could teach it better than him.
While this technique was notoriously hard, it was only hard for beginner-level Evolvers. For him, it only took a single glance to fully comprehend its depths.
"Miss Lia, what specific evolutionary path do you follow, first of all?" Grey inquired. He had yet to see the exact flow of energy within her body and planned to carefully do so while guiding her, but first, he needed to know which foundational path she followed.
"I strictly follow the Immortal Evolutionary Path. I am currently at the Qi Gathering Realm, the very first realm of the evolutionary path," Lia replied patiently. "Why do you ask, Instructor?"
Hearing her question, Grey calmly responded with his own. "How much do you currently know about Sword Energy?"
"Sword Energy... it is utilized by Immortal Cultivators and Martial Artists alike. It is one's own internal energy transformed into lethal offensive energy, which can be manifested directly outside the physical body to fight," Lia thought for a brief moment before answering.
"Precisely. Sword Energy is utilized by Martial Artists and Sword Immortal Cultivators alike. But do you know exactly how Sword Energy is born?"
"No," Lia replied in clear confusion. "But what does Sword Energy have to do with me right now? I firmly believe only those who reach the mastery level in a sword technique can give birth to Sword Energy."
"That is completely false," Grey said with a small, knowing smile. "You actually need Sword Energy to even reach basic mastery."
"Huh?" Lia's expression drastically changed. She wore a highly confused look and even genuinely wondered if the esteemed instructor had gone completely crazy.
It was absolute common knowledge that sword control only came at the mastery level.
"Instructor Daniel, are you trying to fool me?" Lia frowned deeply, her purple eyes narrowing with clear displeasure. "Even a stray dog on the street knows that to utilize Sword Energy, you need to successfully comprehend a technique to the mastery level."
She now felt as if she had just foolishly thrown away a huge sum of money for absolutely nothing.
Grey, however, remained completely calm. "I know you have your fair share of doubts," he said faintly, absolute confidence brimming in his smile. "How about this. By the time you walk out of this training room, you will have successfully unlocked Sword Energy. If you do not, I will personally return every single coin you paid me."
"Hah?" Lia raised an elegant eyebrow, her tone incredibly sharp. "Do you take me for a fool? I have spent years practicing on the blade and have never once touched Sword Energy. And you are saying I will miraculously awaken it in one single session? What kind of sick joke is that?"
Her arms firmly crossed over her chest, her rigid stance showing outright refusal. For a brief moment, she even strongly considered storming right out of the room.
"Great. Just another delusional instructor," Lia sighed heavily. This was definitely not the first time she had encountered someone exactly like Grey, someone who desperately tried to amaze her with grand, false words. In the end, it was always just a cheap ploy to make her return for more paid sessions. Lia would absolutely not fall for it again.
But the financial deal was already made, and he had boldly promised to fully refund her if it did not work out, so she reluctantly gave in.
"Tch. Fine," she clicked her tongue in annoyance and looked away. "Since it has come to this, I will see it through to the end."
"Great. Then let us begin," Grey said with a bright smile as he walked directly toward the weapon rack and casually took a basic longsword.
What she said was actually correct. Normally, there was absolutely no way to comprehend Sword Energy without reaching the mastery level in a sword technique first. But that strict rule only applied to ordinary people. The unique person standing right in front of him was fundamentally different.
Sword Energy was the natural byproduct of fully understanding the true essence of one's sword, which seamlessly converted one's internal energy into lethal Sword Energy.
Understanding the profound essence of the sword usually took a very long time. However, with her Endless Potential Physique, he could easily make her skip that grueling process entirely and actively comprehend Sword Energy early.
The Great Zenith Sword Art he had just comprehended contained two highly distinct paths. One utilized Sword Energy from the very first stage of mastery and was clearly intended for unparalleled geniuses exactly like Lia. The other was the standard Zenith Sword Art, simply refined with fewer structural flaws and vastly smoother movements.
Turning back to Lia, Grey spoke calmly, his steady tone carrying the heavy weight of a true expert.
"Lower your cultivation level to that of a first-stage Qi Gathering cultivator. It would be even better if you can strictly suppress it down to a Pseudo level."
Lia complied without a single shred of hesitation. In her critical eyes, it actually made perfect sense. Many profound instructors demanded that their elite students cultivate from the very basics, firmly believing that only by temporarily stripping away their overwhelming power could they build a flawless martial foundation.
She still remained highly skeptical, but the deal was already done. She would quietly learn what she could from him today and simply never contact him again after this session ended in failure.
In the very next moment, dense energy violently surged around her body, and luminous, ancient patterns flashed brightly across her skin. She rapidly traced complex hand seals in the air, smoothly weaving a series of mystical gestures until a glowing character, 'Seal', firmly formed on her abdomen, completely surrounded by intricate runic formations.
Her oppressive aura immediately dropped by several notches, perfectly restrained down to the exact low level Grey had instructed.
"Draw your sword and, using the Zenith Sword Art, actively fight me. I will guide your movements while we spar," Grey said completely calmly as he subtly adjusted his physical stance. The very air around him instantly changed.
This surprised Lia greatly. Just a moment before, Grey looked absolutely no different from an ordinary, powerless person. Now, he fully radiated the imposing air of a highly powerful expert.
Shaking off her stray thoughts, Lia immediately charged forward with explosive intent.
Swoosh!
With a single, blurring dash, she instantly closed the distance between herself and Grey. Even strictly suppressed down to the level of a Pseudo Qi Gathering cultivator, she was still incredibly, terrifyingly fast.
But did that speed concern Grey?
Instant Recoil Step!
Buzz!
Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
Grey's muscles violently contracted and expanded as raw adrenaline surged directly through his physical body like a raging tsunami. Explosive power fired rapidly through his neural pathways, causing absolutely everything around him to visually slow down.
While not as visually extreme as the time he flawlessly dodged the speeding truck, the world was still noticeably, comfortably slower.
With the Instant Recoil Step came flawlessly enhanced bodily control. Grey moved with absolute, perfect precision, wasting absolutely no unnecessary motion. With the massively improved reaction speed granted by the physical technique, he could safely contend with a Pseudo-level Evolver, though realistically only a heavily weakened one exactly like Lia.
Just as that thought crossed his rapid mind, Lia's blunt training sword was already violently flashing straight toward his neck.
Grey did not panic for a single second. With his physical reaction speed forcefully pushed far beyond normal human limits, his hands surged upward, flawlessly intercepting the lethal strike with his own wooden blade.
Whoosh!
Lia's purple eyes widened as her wrist physically trembled from the harsh impact. To her utter shock, she could not forcefully move her blocked sword even a single inch forward.
"What exactly are you? A robot? Why is your physical grip so impossibly rigid?" Grey asked with a deadpan look.