The shuttle in the second dimension

　However, in order to avoid seeing Lin Xuan's silent smile, Stella could only lower her head and concentrate on finishing the food in the bowl.

Chapter 111 Shortcomings

　After eating, Lin Xuan and Stella walked side by side on campus. Since school hadn't started yet, there weren't many people on campus, and even fewer at night. As a result, on the way back to the dormitory, only Lin Xuan and Stella were there. Since they had only just met, they didn't have much to talk about, mostly chatting about trivial matters. As they walked, the atmosphere gradually became more lively. However, as they walked, Stella suddenly stopped.

　After Stella stopped, Lin Xuan also stopped. However, when Lin Xuan saw that Stella looked like she had made a decision, he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

　"Hey——" Finally, Stella spoke, "Lin Xuan, can I train with you?"

　"Seeing that you look like you have made some important decision, I thought it was some big deal, but it turns out it's just this!" Lin Xuan said, looking at Stella speechlessly.

　"But..." Lin Xuan thought for a while. It was not that Lin Xuan did not want to agree to Stella. In fact, Lin Xuan's current training direction was on fine magic control, but training in this area happened to be what Stella did not need at this stage. So if Stella trained with him in this, then she would not have to think about improving her strength recently. This was not what Lin Xuan wanted to see, nor was it what Stella wanted to see.

　"--Never mind, it's nothing. In that case, let's train together tomorrow."

　Lin Xuan, who was about to say something, suddenly changed his words. This was because he had changed his mind. He originally wanted to keep his training method unchanged, while Stella would tell her how to train.

　But Lin Xuan had a change of heart. His progress in mana control had reached a bottleneck. If he continued to practice mana control through meditation, it would take him a long time to break through. Perhaps he wouldn't even be able to break through even after leaving this world. So, Lin Xuan had given up on relying solely on meditation to achieve a breakthrough. Besides, since he was already in this school, wouldn't it be boring to just keep practicing the same boring training? (That was the point!!)

　"If it's not convenient, then no need." Lin Xuan's sudden change of words made Stella think that her request would have some impact on Lin Xuan. She didn't want to embarrass her roommate who wanted to get along well with her.

　"No, it's not inconvenient." Lin Xuan knew that Stella said this because of his sudden change of words just now. Such behavior would easily make people think that he had caused inconvenience to others, so Lin Xuan explained.

　╯?

　"Because the training I originally did isn't suitable for you right now, I'd like to share my previous training method with you for reference. However, that training has reached a bottleneck. Continuing with that type of training won't allow me to make any progress for a long time. So, I'd like to take this opportunity to temporarily put that type of training aside and try a different method."

　"Are you really okay?" Obviously, Stella still didn't believe it.

　"Don't worry." After saying that, Lin Xuan walked away first. When he left, he still didn't forget to say to Stella behind him, "Stay there. Don't regret it if you can't get into the dormitory after the curfew time~~~~~"

　"Eh!? Wait for me."

　-

　The next morning, after a 20-kilometer warm-up jog, Lin Xuan handed Stella an ordinary iron sword in front of her astonished eyes. Although she was very curious about where Lin Xuan got such an iron sword, Stella suppressed her curiosity and first looked at the iron sword that Lin Xuan handed to her.

　When Stella carefully examined the iron sword in her hand, she realized that this sword in her hand could really still be called a sword. Both the tip and the blade were very smooth. If it hadn't retained the shape of a sword, she wouldn't have thought it was a sword.

　"This is?"

　"It's for your training." Lin Xuan pointed to the ground of the training ground. "Hit it with all your strength."

　"Full force? Just one chop?" Obviously, Stella didn't know what Lin Xuan was doing.

　"Just do it."

　"Okay." As she spoke, a huge amount of magic power suddenly boiled up from Stella's body, and the iron sword that had originally seemed ordinary suddenly bloomed with the brilliance of magic...

　"Hah!" With a delicate shout, Stella swung the iron sword in her hand with all her strength, and slashed at the ground fiercely. The moment the sword touched the ground, the ground began to shake. Along with the vibration, a bottomless sword mark appeared on the ground where the sword had cut. Around the sword mark, one could clearly see tiny cracks spreading outwards.

　"That's a very powerful slash." After praising Stella, Lin Xuan reached out to Stella and said, "Give me the sword."

　"Here." Although she didn't know what Lin Xuan was going to do, Stella still handed the sword in her hand to Lin Xuan.

　"Because the huge amount of magic power has given you a physical enhancement higher than that of ordinary people, and you are using a two-handed sword, each of your slashes is very powerful and gives people a strong sense of oppression, but your slashes are a little lacking." As he spoke, the magic power in Lin Xuan's body began to boil, and the brilliance of magic power bloomed on the iron sword again.

　Suddenly, the sword, which had been motionless, began to move, and in an instant, Lin Xuan completed the slash. From beginning to end, Lin Xuan made no sound. If it weren't for the bottomless sword mark that appeared on the ground, one would have thought that Lin Xuan's slash hadn't even landed.

　"Do you understand? This is the shortcoming of your slashing attack." Lin Xuan chuckled as he handed the iron sword in his hand to Stella.

　“—2.0——!!!” Looking at the sword mark left by Lin Xuan, Stella widened her eyes. She understood what Lin Xuan meant, and then she thought in her heart.

　"My strike caused the ground to shake, and cracks even spread around the sword mark. However, Lin Xuan's strike not only made no movement, but also left only a bottomless sword mark. This proves that each of my strikes disperses the force and cannot concentrate all the force. This is precisely the shortcoming of my strike."

　After hearing the details, Stella gripped the iron sword tightly in her hand, looked at Lin Xuan seriously, and said sincerely.

　"Lin Xuan, please teach me how to concentrate the power of my strike and not waste any excess force."

Chapter 112 Training

　On the training ground of [Pojun Academy],

　Just now, after Stella realized the shortcomings of her slashing skills, she immediately asked Lin Xuan how to make up for it. In response to Stella's question, Lin Xuan told her about his cultivation experience, and then let her digest it for a while. After Stella had digested some of the experience, Lin Xuan took out a wooden sword under Stella's puzzled gaze.

　After making a sword flower, Lin Xuan said to Stella, "You should have digested some of the cultivation experience I told you."

　"Yes, but what are you doing?" Obviously, Stella was very curious about why Lin Xuan took out a wooden sword.

　"Practicing with you in battle, it will be easier for you to digest the cultivation experience I told you. And--" As he spoke, the magic power in Lin Xuan's body began to boil, and then, a layer of magical light began to cover the wooden sword.

　"—It will also allow me to control my magic more precisely."

　Looking at the wooden sword shrouded in magical radiance, Stella's blazing eyes flashed with a strange light. The Bladebreaker could use magic to strengthen his body, and he could also strengthen other objects, but not all objects could withstand magic. Making a wooden sword withstand magic wasn't easy either. If the level of magic control wasn't high enough, it could easily shatter. Lin Xuan's ability to easily strengthen the wooden sword through magic without damaging it demonstrated his mastery of magic control.

　"Then come on." As Stella spoke, she became serious. At the same time, an aura that was familiar to Lin Xuan emanated from her body.

　"The aura of a dragon?" Lin Xuan muttered to himself, and then he became serious.

　Just as Stella thought, using magic to strengthen the wooden sword requires a certain level of magic control. Thanks to previous training, this is easy for Lin Xuan, but the most difficult part is not using magic to strengthen the wooden sword, but strengthening the wooden sword to the point where it can compete with the strengthened iron sword. This requires very high magic control, which is what Lin Xuan wants.

　Each of Stella's slashes was very powerful, which meant that if Lin Xuan wanted to use his wooden sword to collide with the iron sword in her hand, he would need to carefully control the magic power to strengthen the wooden sword during the battle. As the power of Stella's slashes became more and more concentrated, if Lin Xuan did not improve his attainments in controlling magic power, the wooden sword would be cut off by the iron sword due to insufficient strengthening. This was a new training method he came up with.

　Just as Lin Xuan had chosen a wooden sword over a wooden knife, his battle with Stella involved swordsmanship, not his most proficient sabermanship. In reality, the horizontal saber possessed both the kingly qualities of the sword and the dominant qualities of the knife, so much of Lin Xuan's sabermanship could be translated into swordsmanship, making his proficiency in swordsmanship not much inferior to that of the knife. Therefore, in swordsmanship, Lin Xuan still overwhelmed Stella.

　However, the swordsmanship Lin used this time was not derived from the swordsmanship he had honed on the battlefield, but was an imitation of someone else's swordsmanship, and that person was none other than the famous Knight King - Artoria Pendragon.

　As for why he wanted to imitate Artoria's swordsmanship, it was because Lin Xuan felt that Artoria's swordsmanship style was more suitable for Stella. Even though Lin Xuan had not learned orthodox martial arts at the time, he was able to make the servants with superb martial arts skills suffer in the two Holy Grail Wars. That was just because he bullied people with the powerful strength brought by his authority, not because those servants' martial arts were not good enough.

　However, after a period of fighting, although Stella was still suffocated by the wooden sword in Lin Xuan's hand, as Stella's opponent, Lin Xuan could clearly feel that the power of her sword was a little stronger. This was not because she increased her strength, but because the power of her slashing was more concentrated. Although it was only a little, it was just the beginning. This made Lin Xuan sigh at Stella's talent. Maybe her talent in sword was not as good as Kurogane Ikki, but her talent in sword was still far beyond ordinary people.

　After hundreds of collisions, the iron sword in Stella's hand finally couldn't bear it and was cut into two pieces by the wooden sword in Lin Xuan's hand.

　"Hu-hu-hu-"

　Panting lightly, Stella stared at the half-broken iron sword in her hand. Her eyes, blazing with flames, now dimmed. The culprit responsible for Stella's condition was none other than Lin Xuan. It was no wonder she felt so lost. If they had both used the same sword, perhaps Stella wouldn't have been so upset. However, the opponent, using only a wooden sword, was able to overpower her iron sword-wielding self. In the end, her iron sword was severed by the wooden sword. This made Stella realize how weak she was in front of him.

　But just when Stella was still feeling lost, a can that was still steaming was pressed against her face.

　"Ah!?" Stella exclaimed at the sudden coldness of the face, but when she saw that it was a can emitting cold air, she understood what was going on.

　"What? You can't stand it just at the beginning?" Looking at Stella with a lost look on her face, Lin Xuan raised his eyebrows and smiled.

　"No!" Stella retorted, snatching the can of soda from Lin Xuan's hand. But her toughness didn't last long before she softened again. "I just felt I was too weak. You let me win like this, but I still lost so miserably."

　"This~~~" Lin Xuan could understand Stella's current state. Although Stella didn't like others using her talent to cover up her efforts, she still had the pride of a genius. When her pride was shattered by others, she would of course feel very lost.

　"You know what? A few years ago, I was incredibly confident in my strength and swordsmanship. That was until I encountered someone whose sword I couldn't even see clearly. After barely managing to withstand a dozen of his blows, I tried to use my special abilities to overcome the current disadvantage. But his final strike ripped through all my preparations, leaving me utterly defeated." Back then, I was actually somewhat similar to you now. Although I didn't think I'd win, I felt deeply lost when I lost.

　"It's just the beginning, so just keep going, Stella."

Chapter 113: School Begins

　On the fourth day after Lin Xuan arrived at Pojun Academy,

　"Huh——" Lin Xuan let out a light breath, stopped jogging, and ended the 20-kilometer jog.

　When they reached the starting point of the run, which was the main gate of Pojun Academy, they threw the thermos cup that Stella had placed on the ground to Stella. As for Lin Xuan, he thought that the 20-kilometer jog was just a small warm-up, so he did not bring a water bottle.

　After taking the cup thrown by Lin Xuan, Stella took a sip of the sports drink in the cup. However, after drinking one cup, she poured another cup and handed it to Lin Xuan.

　"Here, sports drink."

　Looking at the sports drink handed to him by Stella, Lin Xuan raised his eyebrows. Obviously, Lin Xuan was very surprised by Stella's current actions.

　"Is it okay?"

　"What are you talking about? Hurry up and take the cup!" Stella's cheeks, which were already slightly red from the twenty-mile jog, became even redder now due to idleness.

　"Thank you." Although he had the urge to tease Stella, Lin Xuan suppressed the urge and took the cup handed to him by Stella.

　When Stella saw Lin Xuan taking her cup, she felt a little nervous and excited. However, after seeing Lin Xuan deliberately avoid the place on the cup that her lips had touched, Stella's heart was filled with anxiety.

　'What's wrong with me?!' Stella thought in panic, seeming to notice the strange feeling in her heart.

　"Huh?" Lin Xuan, who was about to remind Stella that it was time to leave, noticed Stella's strange behavior, which made him feel a little strange.

　"What's wrong?" Lin Xuan asked with a little confusion, waving his hand in front of Stella.

　"Ah?" Stella suddenly woke up after being shaken by Lin Xuan, but when she saw Lin Xuan looking at her, her face suddenly turned red.

　"No, nothing. Let's go to the training ground." Stella seemed a little flustered, and her words were a little disjointed when she tried to change the subject. However, after she finished speaking, she saw Lin Xuan looking at her strangely. At first, Stella was a little confused, but when she saw the sign standing in front of the gate, she understood why Lin Xuan kept looking at her strangely.

　I saw that the billboard standing in front of the gate was the notice of the opening ceremony.

　Today is the date of the opening ceremony of [Pojun Academy]. Because of the opening ceremony, Lin Xuan told Stella yesterday that he would not train after jogging this morning. That's why Lin Xuan looked at Stella strangely.

　"Um~~~~ I didn't sleep well yesterday, so my mind is a little confused this morning, hehe~~~" Stella reluctantly explained, and laughed dryly twice, not knowing how to explain her previous abnormality next.

　Of course Lin Xuan wouldn't believe Stella's forced explanation, but he didn't ask any further questions. Sometimes, it's better to pretend to be stupid.

　"Well, then you can rest for a while when you go back. Let's go back now. There will be an opening ceremony later." With a light smile, Lin Xuan took the first step.

　"Hmm?" Looking at the curve of Lin Xuan's mouth, Stella felt for some reason that an unknown threat was approaching.

　"Lin Xuan, you seem quite happy?" After catching up with Lin Xuan, Stella looked at Lin Xuan puzzledly and asked.

　"Well, because I'm going to meet a friend I haven't seen for several years. What's wrong?" Lin Xuan asked, glancing at Stella beside him.

　Stella did not answer Lin Xuan's question, but continued to ask, "That friend, could it be a woman?"

　"correct."

　"Sure enough." Stella muttered to herself, a sudden panic rising in her heart. "No, why am I even concerned about this!? What's wrong with me? Could it be that I'm...?" As she thought this, Stella's already flushed face turned even redder. However, Lin Xuan didn't see this scene. He was imagining what the young lady would look like when she saw him again after all these years.

　-

　After arriving at the teaching building, Lin Xuan and Stella separated because they were not in the same class. Stella was assigned to Class 1, Grade 1, while Lin Xuan was assigned to Class 4, Grade 1. Stella even went to the chairman to complain about this, but was repelled by the words, "If you don't comply with the school's arrangements, you will be expelled."

　After saying goodbye to Stella, Lin Xuan came to Class 4, Grade 1. Because he was a freshman, even though Lin Xuan was an international student, he did not attract much attention when he entered the class. After all, he was not as famous as Stella.

　As soon as he entered the classroom, Lin Xuan subconsciously glanced at everyone in the classroom. However, when he saw a petite figure in the classroom, Lin Xuan was slightly stunned. It was a petite girl.

　'I didn't expect that she and I are classmates~~~~' Thinking in his heart, Lin Xuan raised the corner of his mouth and walked towards the girl's location.

　Meanwhile, the young woman seemed to notice Lin Xuan's gaze lingering on her, and her brows furrowed. When she noticed Lin Xuan walking towards her, her frown deepened, even revealing a hint of disgust. However, when she saw Lin Xuan's appearance, she couldn't help but feel an inexplicable sense of familiarity.