Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

"Do I think more than others? But how could I possibly think more than my teacher?" Joan of Arc lowered her head.

Joan of Arc learned most of her knowledge from her teacher, Aaron, who taught her how to fight. Over the course of three years, Joan of Arc under Aaron's tutelage underwent a transformation.

She was full of confidence in herself because, having been personally taught by her teacher, she was hard to beat among her peers. Both her blessings and her achievements showed that she was special and that her talent was not bad. Some even called her a prodigy.

But her opinion of her teacher remained the same as on the first day. On the first day of sword practice, facing her teacher who held a beautiful wooden sword, she felt that her teacher was unfathomable.

Three years have passed, and she has become proficient in using the three blessings, making her virtually unmatched among her peers. Yet, when her teacher holds that beautifully carved wooden sword, she still finds him unfathomable.

To this day, she has never even seen her teacher's blessing; that beautifully carved wooden sword is an insurmountable chasm for her.

Joan of Arc didn't know if she was the only one who felt this way when facing her teacher, or if everyone else felt the same way when facing their teacher, as if facing a bottomless abyss, where it was difficult to even see the water ripple, let alone the bottom.

“I may never be able to beat my teacher,” Joan of Arc said.

“But teachers teach students with the hope that one day the students will surpass them. You will eventually surpass me,” Aaron said.

Joan of Arc considered this possibility, but she didn't expect it. What was wrong with her teacher always being there to protect her? She just wanted to be able to help her teacher and receive his blessing. It wasn't so bad if she could never beat him.

Even though three years have passed and Joan of Arc has grown into a young woman, some of her thoughts remain unchanged from when she was a child; her teacher will always be her teacher.

She didn't know that many years later, when she had grown up to a point far beyond what she was in today, some of her thoughts remained unchanged from when she was a child, deeply hidden in her heart.

Joan of Arc was simply wondering how her teacher fought when she was 16? Did she wield a weapon like her? After all, her fighting style was taught to her by her teacher.

Joan of Arc actually asked, and Aaron was about to answer when a voice rang out above them: "You two, you're doing well."

Aaron looked up and saw Cilio, Joan of Arc's nominal swordsmanship teacher, sitting on a high earthen slope, holding a wine bottle and waving to them.

Aaron released Joan of Arc from his arms and said to Cyrio above, "I thought you weren't coming today."

"I was planning to go for a drink, but I ran into a jerk on my way out, so I lost interest." Cilio slid down the slope and stood in front of Aaron, reeking of alcohol. Although he said that, he had drunk quite a bit before coming.

After the awarding ceremony, he originally planned to go to the tavern that night and drink himself into oblivion. However, when he got to the tavern, he lost the interest in drinking there all day.

The most infuriating thing is when a plan that was originally full of enthusiasm becomes dull because of someone, especially after drinking. Cilio became particularly eager to fight, and he set his sights on a pub brawl as his first target.

Fights in taverns are common; it's normal for fights to break out in taverns for any reason. But Sirio gave up. As a member of the Omniscient Knights, if he were caught fighting in a tavern, his career would be over. Besides, fighting with people in taverns is meaningless to him. He can take down everyone in the tavern with a single finger, and there isn't even a single superhuman in the tavern.

He considered finding an excuse to beat up the Knights, but he rejected the idea. First, he had drunk so much that going back to fight would be seen as premeditated brawl.

Secondly, he went back to fight right after receiving his medal. Everyone could tell he was angry. If he could, he would have gone back and beaten up Xiwan'er long ago. Unfortunately, Xiwan'er wisely did not succumb to his provocation, which only made him angrier.

Go find other knight orders to fight? He was very willing, but after a little thought, he knew it would be suicide. It wasn't because he wasn't strong enough, but because of the consequences. If nothing happened, it would be fine, but if something did happen, it would escalate into a conflict between knight orders, which would be much more than just a brawl. He wasn't going to invite such trouble upon himself.

After much thought, Cilio came to this conclusion.

He suddenly realized this was the perfect arena for a brawl. There was a Black Obsidian Knight right here, the perfect opponent. Plus, nobody knew they were here; even if they fought fiercely, the news wouldn't get out. Perfect for a fight. Most importantly, their fight was completely legal! It could even be used as a teaching exercise! It was the perfect place. Although he'd said it many times before, he still had to admit he loved his job!

So he immediately ran over and saw Aaron training Joan of Arc. He slid down the slope and came to Aaron.

"You guys are training, right? Do you need any sparring partners? I'll even take a beating if you want!" Cilio patted his chest loudly, reeking of alcohol and looking like a drunkard bragging.

Although Syrio said that, his eyes remained fixed on Aaron, his gaze unusually enthusiastic, even somewhat obsequious.

His biggest fear wasn't losing, but rather not having a worthy opponent. After all, he was currently burning with anger and had nowhere to vent it, so of course he wanted to find a worthy opponent. But at his level, worthy opponents were extremely hard to find, but Aaron was a perfect opponent!

The third seat of the Obsidian Knights. I've always heard that the leader of the Obsidian Knights intends to let him succeed him, which perfectly suits his wishes. He has a great chance of taking the lead!

In terms of seats alone, Cilio is actually lower than Bron, but he doesn't care about that.

Cyril had previously told him that three or four seats in other knightly orders were roughly equivalent to six or seven seats in the Omniscient Knights. Although Cyril disliked the prince, he agreed with this.

Many people are prejudiced against Xivan, believing that Xivan is so proud because he is a prince, and that it is only natural for princes to be arrogant and domineering.

But those who think this way certainly don't understand Lucert. In Lucert, if you haven't received a blessing, even if you're a prince, you'll be looked down upon in the supernatural world.

Cyril's pride wasn't because he was a prince, but because he joined the Omniscient Knights at a young age. His arrogance didn't actually come from his palace, but from the Omniscient Knights. The Omniscient Knights were a group of arrogant people who didn't know the meaning of the world. Everyone in them was a top-notch egomaniac, and Cyril was the epitome of this.

“No matter how many times you teach her, it’s not as good as letting her actually practice it herself. If she can’t practice it herself, it’s better to watch her practice it herself,” Syrio said. Although he was only a swordsmanship instructor in name, Syrio would occasionally instruct Joan of Arc in swordsmanship, so the two of them did not feel that he had suddenly changed his personality.

“You’re right,” Aaron agreed.

With Aaron's approval, Syrio became even more enthusiastic, spreading his arms wide and saying, "Isn't today even better? There's no time like the present. The kingdom's two great knights are right here. Is there a better opportunity than this? Why not just demonstrate it to her right here?"

Aaron paused for a moment, realizing that Cilio was right; today was indeed a rare opportunity, and he was also troubled about how to teach Joan of Arc.

"Come on, let's have a fight. It's been a long time since I've fought. Joan of Arc, you should watch and learn carefully. You should not only practice yourself, but also watch how others fight. That's how you accumulate experience."

Although he was speaking to Joan of Arc, Syrio kept his eyes on Aaron as he spoke. He had already drawn his sword and distanced himself from Aaron, clearly itching to fight.

"Alright, let's give it a try today." Aaron didn't refuse and distanced himself from Syrio.

“Yes, yes, let’s spar! Let’s spar with the Third Seat and the instructor of the Omniscient Knights, how fun would that be?” Sirio spat on his hand, gripped his sword, and said to Aaron not far away, “I’ll use this sword, you can summon your blessing if you want.”

“It’s alright, I’ll just use the wooden sword,” Aaron replied.

Sirio smiled. He suddenly realized that there were occasional competitions between the three major knight orders in the kingdom, and sometimes there were scenes of the three major knight orders fighting each other. Although it was just a friendly exchange, the two sides usually did not even summon their blessings, but it could still show the strength of the three knight orders to a certain extent.

The older, more experienced members of the Knights of Omniscience usually don't participate in the matches themselves; instead, it's often their students who have trained them who take the field. In such matches, the Omniscience Knights have consistently won more than they've lost.

Therefore, even though he was a prince, he didn't dare to accept Cyril's provocation when he met him today. Instead, he changed the subject because he knew the outcome of his battle with Cyril.

But then he suddenly realized that Aaron was so much younger than him. Logically, Aaron should have fought against the students he had trained during their sparring sessions, but in Sirio's memory, Aaron had never appeared once.

In his memory, in similar situations, Aaron always stood quietly at the back, silently watching the knights in front compete, and thus unknowingly climbed to the third seat of the Obsidian Knights.

I haven't heard much about his deeds, but I haven't heard of any dissatisfaction with him within the Obsidian Order either. At least within the Knights Order, there's no objection to him holding the third seat.

If this kid didn't get it through connections, how did he climb to the third seat? Thinking about this, Cilio became even more curious about Aaron.

Chapter 19 Aaron's Strength

Are the six or seven seats of the Omniscient Knights really equivalent to the three or four seats of the Obsidian Knights?

As he pondered this, Syrio had already gracefully assumed a sword stance, and Aaron, without uttering a word, faced him and similarly raised his wooden sword.

"The most traditional starting stance?"

Aaron's starting stance was exactly the same as Joan's, holding the sword in one hand and facing him sideways. It seemed that Aaron really wanted to demonstrate for Joan. This most classic starting stance was something that Syrio couldn't understand. What meaning could the most classic and traditional starting stance have?

But Syrio wasn't disappointed, because his Swift Sword was also quite remarkable.

On his first day of teaching students, he would usually introduce his Swift Sword. His philosophy was speed, extreme speed. Within his speed lay his swordsmanship philosophy and aesthetics. He also intended to use this to fight Aaron. He wanted to attack Aaron with his proudest speed. He wanted to compete with Aaron in pure ability, pure killing ability.

There is a legend in Lusset about a swordsman who can approach his opponent without them noticing and slice off their nose. Many people doubt the truth of the legend, but Syrio scoffs at it because he thinks that speed is too slow. If it were him, he could slice off the head of even a superhuman without the opponent noticing.

Sirio, nicknamed the Swift Swordsman, is a renowned swordsman in Lucretia known for his speed. He is the chief swordsmanship instructor of the Omniscient Knights, and his swift sword is feared even within the Omniscient Knights.

But he seems to have forgotten that when Aaron was teaching Joan of Arc, besides emphasizing that she should see more than others, the second thing he emphasized the most was speed.

"Since you've chosen to kill me in the blink of an eye, you must see more clearly than anyone else, think more than anyone else, anticipate situations that no one else can foresee, make preparations that others won't make, and be faster than anyone else—faster in both sword and mind. While others are still hesitating, you'll already have your sword pressed against their throat."

Aaron never teaches himself anything he doesn't know.

Aaron drew his sword. Joan of Arc watched her teacher's movements intently. All her swordsmanship was taught to her by Aaron. Her teacher told her that the ultimate purpose of weapons is to kill, so he never talked about "swordsmanship," something that only sword masters would often talk about.

At this moment, in order to teach Joan of Arc, the teacher finally revealed his fierce, almost showy side as a master swordsman. Just as a corner of the ocean of a swordsman's inner strength was finally lifted, when the teacher drew his sword, Joan of Arc was struck as if by lightning, goosebumps rising all over her body, as if a huge tide had come crashing down on her.

Syrio also saw Aaron's movements. In fact, the moment Aaron drew his sword, Syrio's sword had already been raised. But as soon as he raised the tip of his sword, Aaron deflected it with his wooden sword.

Sirio struggled, dodged, and maneuvered, using every swordsmanship he had ever mastered, but Aaron's hand remained firmly gripping his collar. He saw how Aaron moved; he saw Aaron charging directly at him, but he was utterly powerless to retaliate!

Sirio reacted extremely quickly, his wrist flicking, and in an instant, the tip of his sword was only inches away from Aaron's throat. But the moment he raised his sword, he knew he was too slow; it was impossible to get any closer.

The next moment, Cilio's entire perspective shifted. He suddenly felt the world spinning around him. Just a moment ago, he could clearly see Aaron, but the next moment, his perspective was forcibly reversed, and he saw the ground.

Aaron grabbed Syrio's collar with his left hand, holding a sword in his right, but he didn't use it at all. With one hand still on Syrio's collar, his body was already ahead of Syrio's. He didn't even glance at Syrio, but just grabbed him and slammed him hard to the ground.

"bump!"

Sirio's body slammed into the sunken ground with tremendous force, causing the grass, trees, and soil to surge up like water droplets in an instant. Sirio opened his mouth wide and spat out saliva.

The moment his body hit the ground, Cilio sobered up, and his first thought was, "What's going on?!"

Then a second thought flashed through his mind: "That brat Xiwan'er actually wants to challenge this kind of guy!"

Then a third thought flashed through his mind: he should have just let Sivan challenge Aaron! Instead of foolishly doing it himself!

The next moment, Syrio's mouth was filled with grass and mud, and he could no longer say a word. Like a drowning man, he struggled desperately with his hands.

Not only did he sober up, but he was also unusually clear-headed from fear, his whole body drenched in cold sweat, because he suddenly realized that if Aaron could grab his collar in that instant, then he could grab his own throat.

As a master swordsman, Sirio knew very well that for people like him, what weapon they had was completely unimportant, or even whether they had a weapon at all, because no matter what they used, they could pierce through a person's flesh.

In that split second, Aaron really had the chance to kill him. In his drunken state, he had risked his life against his opponent without even realizing it!

The sudden realization of danger brushing past him sent a chill down Syrio's spine. Was this real? Was this really happening? Was he drunk, or was he dreaming?

After slamming Syrio to the ground, Aaron released his grip, and the wooden sword in his hand barely moved throughout.

Cilio quickly got up from the ground, spat out the dirt from the grass, and looked at Aaron, panting.

“You cooperated very well,” Aaron said, turning to the side and sheathing his wooden sword.

Cilio opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to say "one more round," but the words caught in his throat as a static-like fear flashed through his body, causing him to swallow them back.

He dared not play another game.

His mind was unusually calm. He recalled everything that had just happened. He was sure he had seen Aaron's movements. The tip of his sword was already raised. He was certain that if he had just a little more time and a little more opportunity, he could have gotten there first and pressed the tip of his sword against Aaron's body.

The reason why Sirio was able to become the swordsmanship instructor of the Omniscient Knights was because he was knowledgeable and very clear that sometimes a seemingly small difference actually contains a huge gap. At this moment, his hand holding the sword trembled because he was not sure how much of a gap there was between himself and Aaron.

Perhaps it was just a matter of being a little short, and Aaron was just lucky... Perhaps there was a gap between them that was as vast as an insurmountable chasm...

The answer was simple: another fight. But he was afraid. The cynical Syrio, who had no fear of nobles or even the monarchy, was afraid. His hand holding the sword trembled as he remembered the feeling when Aaron grabbed his collar.

In that instant, Aaron's body passed him, his gaze fixed straight ahead. In that instant, Sirio couldn't see his eyes clearly, and he didn't know what Aaron's eyes looked like at that moment.

He wasn't sure if Aaron had played a game against him, or if he had really just been outmaneuvered.

Aaron said that one should think more than anyone else, and further than anyone else. Cilio agreed with this statement; he was certain that he had thought ten steps ahead and considered dozens of possible scenarios...

But he wasn't sure if Aaron had considered a hundred steps ahead and hundreds of possible scenarios when facing him to create such a gap in skill and instantly defeat him. He rarely felt that he couldn't predict a person's strength.

The other person who could give him this terrifying feeling was called the Omniscient Sword.

And the Omniscient Sword... is the emperor among knights, a man known as the King of Knights!

While Syrio was still in a daze, Aaron came to Joan of Arc's side and asked, "Did you learn anything?"

"Teacher is so amazing..." Joan of Arc said, looking at Aaron with a lovestruck expression.

"You know that's not what I want to hear," Aaron said with a hint of helplessness.

Joan of Arc nodded earnestly: "Teacher's swordsmanship is very cool, and I feel that I have learned something."