Sailing at Sea: The Breath of the Day at the Start

Kuina snapped out of her reverie, remembered her intention, and immediately bent down to pick up the two bamboo swords, her eyes resolute as she said to Ron:

"I'm here to challenge you."

Ron scratched his head.

"Didn't we already fight yesterday?"

"That was because I was too careless. Today, today I will show my true strength."

"Oh, okay."

…………

After a while.

The bamboo sword in Kuina's hand was knocked away.

She stared at her trembling hands, clenched her teeth, and glared at Ron, saying:

"I'll be back tomorrow!"

"Anytime."

Ron smiled at her, carrying the bamboo sword.

Kuina glared at him and turned to leave.

She had only taken a few steps outside.

Ron's voice rang in her ears:

"You have good speed, but you lack strength. You won't be able to defeat me if you continue like this."

Guina stopped abruptly, clenched her fists slightly, and bit her lower lip.

Her lack of strength was her pain. She hated herself countless times for being a woman because women are naturally weaker than men.

And this difference becomes more and more obvious as time goes on!

That's why her father, Koushirou, bluntly stated that as a woman, she could never become the world's strongest swordsman...

"I know! I know that my lack of strength is my weakness!"

Kuina shouted, her head down and her back to Ron.

"But what can I do?! No matter how much I train, my strength can't keep up with you boys!"

"If I could, I'd want to be a boy too!"

Her voice was full of resentment.

Ron was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then realized what he meant.

"You seem to have misunderstood me. I wasn't trying to mock you. I was asking if you'd like me to teach you how to increase your strength?"

Kuina trembled.

"Methods to increase strength...?"

She turned to look at Ron.

"Really... it can increase my strength?"

Ron nodded.

"Probably."

The days are numbered 30.

In the mountains and forests behind the dojo.

Ron handed Guina a grilled fish.

"Eat it."

"Will eating this increase my strength?"

Guina looked on with confusion.

"That's a premise, I suppose."

Guina immediately devoured the entire grilled fish; the taste was better than she had expected.

"Are you full?"

Ron looked at her and said.

Guina nodded.

Ron said okay, and then began to instruct her.

"Now close your eyes and do everything I say."

Guina obeyed him and closed her eyes.

"From now on, you must change your breathing rhythm as I tell you."

Ron's voice rang in her ears.

"Phew, exhale all the air out of your lungs in one breath..."

What Ron is teaching Kuina now is a simplified version of the Sun Breathing technique.

He accidentally discovered that by using breathing techniques after eating, he could absorb the energy from the food very quickly. Although it could not directly increase his Qi and blood value, it was very helpful in increasing his strength.

"How about it?"

Upon hearing Ron's words, Guina slowly opened her eyes. Her previous feeling of fullness disappeared, replaced by a sense of hunger.

Clenched his fists.

It seems... my strength has indeed increased a little.

A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

But to be sure it wasn't a misperception, she suddenly stood up, ran in one direction, and left a message behind.

"I'll go test it!"

"Hey."

Ron watched the figure run away and shook his head with a helpless smile.

After a while.

Guina walked back dejectedly.

"It seems like I'm just imagining things, but I still can't lift that stone bell with one hand..."

Ron said as he brandished his bamboo sword:

"Your strength won't grow that fast. Try again in ten days."

The next few days.

It seems he was provoked by Ron.

When Ron got up at four o'clock and arrived at the open space, Kuina was already waiting there with her bamboo sword.

The two will have a match first.

Then they each exercised separately, without disturbing each other.

After sunrise, we had breakfast at the dojo and then studied swordsmanship with Koushirou.

Swordsmanship includes footwork, body movements, sword grip, sword drawing, sword retraction, slashing, and so on.

in the afternoon.

Then Ron and Koushirou wielded real swords and engaged in actual combat.

Kuina sat beside her watching, and the more she watched, the more pressure she felt. Often, she would go out and practice on her own after watching for only a short while.

……

The dojo was quite deserted in winter.

The children who came to learn swordsmanship stayed at home because of the cold and didn't want to come to the dojo.

Occasionally, only a few acquaintances from the village would come to the dojo to sit for a while. Usually, it was just Koushirou and Kuina, but this year Ron joined them.

It won't be lively here until spring.

14. Momentum, Intent, Cutting Iron: The Path to Sword Mastery (4/5)

Soon, half a month passed.

Inside the gym.

Wearing a white taekwondo uniform and with short blue hair, Kuina looked at the stone bell marked 60kg in front of her and took a deep breath.

He then raised his hand to grasp it and exerted force.

This time, she finally managed to lift it up with one hand.

"Great!"