Chapter 220 Insigh (1/2)

Using the techniques Master Zhao had taught him proved far ht it would be simple to return to this foundation, but instead, it seele one of his techniques had undergone nu as he used them both in practice and in corowth over the years, bearing thehis skill and style

But nohat he needed was for these influences to be purged fro what he had to do

First, he identified the techniques he had originally learned froinally simple yet effective Combined, they could be barely considered the skeleton of a style

When he finished deterinated froan to remove the outside influences that had shaped them over the years

The first influence he stripped from his techniques was Doran's He had learned , and as he ed the adept's influences frorow sihtblade To Arran's surprise, despite half a year of training with her, she had barely even left aas already there This was no accident, he knew — she had clearly been careful to limit her influence

Still, he reed, then et

He worked ceaselessly in the hours that followed, perfor techniques without pause as he stripped away layer after layer of influence

The crazed battle against the arainst Darkfire, his training with Snowcloud — each had shaped his skills, and each of these influences he now ruthlessly re him, he would have looked like an expert swords less corossed in the slow labor of purifying his techniques, he didn't notice it when evening fell, and he continuing his ithout pause even as the sky grew dark above hiedtheir power and complexity with each step forward

The 's estate, the ti monastery — piece by piece he stripped ahat he had learned

Finally, as the sun began to rise again, all of it was gone His techniques onceago, years of growth and refineiven hi his sword, he found no enlightenment There was only weakness and inexperience — the techniques of a beginner, lacking any sort of insight

Forehead creased in a frown, he came to a halt

He had been certain he would find so useful, but instead, all he discovered were basic sword strokes, aardly formed and executed

He did not allow himself to be disappointed Instead, he set to work on practicing this see each reat truth would yet be revealed

But in an hour of practice, the only truth he found was that the style was exactly as useless as it seemed

He considered this for soht He had stripped the techniques down to what he had learned — but that was not the sainal foundation wasn't formed when he trained under Master Zhao, but many years before that, when his father had first uardsman, Arran's father had expected his son to follow in his footsteps, andswordplay

While he treasured the s still pervaded his techniques, shaping hishis ability

The realization caused him some pain Some of the happiest ht him the sword, but now, his only way forould be to erase every trace of what he had learned back then

Pain or not, he clenched his jaw and set to work oncehis techniques of their foundation provedthem of later influences, and he knew that only his years of experience rossed as he was in the challenging task, the hours passed quickly He worked through another night, gradually distilling Master Zhao's teachings fro but the techniques theht passed without his notice as he slowly drew closer to his goal By now, any exciteone In its place, there was a single-minded focus that bordered on obsession

As another dawn bathed the green valley in its bright light, he kneas finally nearing his destination

The techniques he had started out ere long gone, replaced with stripped-down uile or cunning to them — they were plain to the point of austerity, condensed as if every hair's breadth of excess old

But for all their simplicity, Arran could tell that these techniques were powerful There was a purpose to them, almost a will They were created to sever, to cut, to destroy all in their way, brooking neither resistance nor deflection

After going days without sleep, he was neither surprised nor pleased with this realization

Rather, what he felt was a faint sense of recognition Although he had not previously realized it, his swordsmanshi+p had contained a trace of this ever since his training with Master Zhao, affecting every strike of his sword over the past years

This hidden strength had doubtless saved his life ht into the open, for the first time he could feel its true power

But at this moment, the poas of little interest to hiuely ht

The insight hidden within Master Zhao's sword techniques was like the opposite of that within the seal Where one sought to bind, the other sought to sever Where one embodied immovable stasis, the other embodied unstoppable movement Where one attacked, the other defended

But different though they were, Arran instantly recognized that both were parts of a greater whole On their own, neither was so he could understand — like a sentence ripped in half, the trueremained hidden

And finally, Arran had both parts