Originally Bella had wanted to ask about Ashina's current situation, but she didn't know where to begin. She could hardly tell them that Wolf would kill them all, or that Owl—that three-hundred-pound ninja—was a traitor, could she?
She picked up the thread-bound book titled Ashina-Style Swordsmanship and flipped through it. Inside were records of many sword techniques Isshin Ashina had used, but more importantly, his insights on integrating hundreds of schools into one.
Unconventional—any suitable technique could be added to your own swordsmanship.
Guns worked well? Then this counted as Ashina-style swordsmanship!
The cross-bladed spear was effective? That could be added too.
Theoretically, those Spanish and French sword styles Bella mastered could work the same way. The old man explained the core elements of swordsmanship from a commanding perspective, which she found very inspiring.
When it came down to it, the Golden Apple was just a tool, not a teacher. It could show her the techniques used by various Assassins, but how to apply them? It didn't know—it was just an apple, after all.
Bella had always used pirate fencing as her core, building on that foundation by incorporating various sword styles. Now the Ashina style aligned perfectly with her ongoing approach, just taken much further.
The core techniques were as follows:
Quick withdrawal and repositioning—the Nightjar Slash Reversal, a technique of the Nightjar shinobi.
Slow to start and finish but immensely powerful—the Ichimonji and Ichimonji: Double slashes.
Extremely fast after sheathing—the Secret Technique: Ashina Cross.
Slow to execute but with tremendous reach—the Esoteric Art: Dragon Flash.
These last two were the techniques that had wounded Bella. They were also Isshin Ashina's current favorites.
The old man used them with complete freedom—four regular slashes followed by an upward rising cut worked fine, or he could go straight into an Ashina Cross. Mid-combo he could jump back, pull out his cross spear for a sweeping strike or direct thrust. His techniques varied greatly, yet every transition flowed naturally.
Bella wasn't at that level yet. She was still in the phase of absorbing others' excellent techniques.
Some techniques were commonly used by the old man. Others were brilliant but didn't suit him.
The book included the Secret Technique: Floating Passage and Esoteric Art: Spiral Cloud Passage—moves Isshin knew but no longer used.
Bella practiced all the techniques according to her understanding. She wasn't a beginner in swordsmanship. Dropped into Japan's Warring States period, becoming a Sword Saint was out of reach, but becoming a renowned swordsman was well within her capabilities.
Japanese swordsmanship, strictly speaking, was just so-so—not as mystical as anime made it out to be.
Following the book's descriptions, Bella tried each technique one by one. She looked fairly competent.
Among all the techniques, the Secret Technique: Floating Passage and Esoteric Art: Spiral Cloud Passage—abandoned by Isshin—were the most beautiful! The old man had even annotated that these moves suited women and looked strange when men used them.
When Bella executed these two techniques, they could be called ethereal. Suspended in mid-air, her sword danced rapidly, leaving multiple shimmering arcs in its wake. It looked amazing!
However, because they had too many strike sequences, they weren't as refined as secret arts like the Cross or Dragon Flash. They belonged to the category of "devastating when enemies use them, suicidal when you use them."
After practicing the entire Ashina style once, she stored the book in her suitcase along with the empty pistol.
Emma had given her a gourd containing some healing medicine that would speed wound recovery.
Bella rested for another ten-plus minutes, her mind filled with scenes from the battle with Isshin Ashina. Just like the old man's catchphrase: hesitation is defeat!
During their fight, it had been pure life-or-death combat. Every thrust she made was lethal, and when the old man fired his gun, he showed no hesitation either.
Would her opponent, old and frail, die from one of her sword strikes? Would her opponent, young and vigorous, die from one of his bullets? Neither had considered these questions. Combat was combat—simple and pure.
Bella's psychic magic had been stuck below the fourth tier, mainly because the real world's constraints were too great. Her accumulation was sufficient, but she lacked that flash of inspiration.
Epiphany couldn't be forced. Mages could break through with accumulated study, while certain unorthodox mental sorcerers had to rely on their own psyche to find that spark.
A fresh perspective can sharpen your edge. Painting, music, even cooking could provide such opportunities—they were just usually hard to grasp.
Now, borrowing from her advancement in swordsmanship and the slightly higher magical density of the Sekiro world, Bella felt like she'd broken free of her shackles. She naturally completed the breakthrough, mastering an entirely new fourth-tier spell.
A spell she'd never anticipated—Divination!
Her psyche deemed she needed this spell, so at the moment of breakthrough, it granted her comprehension of it.
Tiers one through three were foundational. Tier four was an entirely new realm, representing that her psyche had moved past the gestation stage and formally entered the growth phase.
"Divination?" Bella was puzzled. Why had such a spell emerged from her inner self?
She had no interest in being a turret mage. Fireball was inferior to an RPG. Lesser Missile Storm and Missile Storm couldn't match a Gatling gun. Meteor Swarm, in her view, could be replaced by cruise missiles.
But Divination was too mystical...
Channeling her psychic energy, she cast Divination to predict her next actions.
Divination wasn't some reality-warping Greater Divination. It was more like using psychic energy to categorize, summarize, and fuzzily calculate known information. As the spell took effect, Bella dimly glimpsed some information.
Her original plan was to go straight to Senpou Temple, obtain the Mortal Blade, then head to the Divine Realm to find the Divine Dragon—completely following Wolf's game route. But Divination told her she should slow down and consider the human factor.
"Humans?" Bella felt completely confused.
Which humans? All humans, or a specific person? The divined information was difficult to interpret.
Setting the divination matter aside, she began drawing magic circles, attempting to connect to her original world.
Twice in a row, just as she was about to succeed, some external force disrupted the connection at the boundary layer.
Unwilling to give up, she tried again, only to find that her abilities truly couldn't break through the barrier.
"What do I do?" She felt troubled.
Unless she abandoned her body and used her spiritual form to borrow a path through the Dream Realm back to the real world—but then her body would be left here forever.
She had some of her DNA preserved at Clone Island. She could either possess a new body or directly occupy a clone.
But that sacrifice was too great for her. The psyche was fundamental—best not to change bodies if she could avoid it.
The environment was harsh, but not so dangerous she couldn't survive.
She finally decided to follow the divination's result. "First, go back to the beach to save people, then play it by ear."