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Chapter 33: Martial Techniques – Tower Ascension Sword Art

When he saw the more than 800 blue-grade Martial Techniques, Ashura once again felt how insignificant he and his family were in the face of Saint Gobban Academy’s vast collection.

Ashura shook his head with a wry smile, then his eyes lit up.

He ignored the blue-grade manuals and instead fixed his gaze on the 100-plus purple-grade Martial Techniques of higher rank.

Had the arsenal held any yellow-grade techniques, he would not have bothered with the purple-grade ones.

He had planned to put his sharp memory to work memorizing an entire manual, but the moment he opened a purple-grade volume he realized something was wrong.

He found that he could read only the introductory blurb and not a single word beyond it.

Stunned, Ashura unwillingly turned back to a blue-grade book, only to discover that it too revealed nothing but its summary, nothing else.

Only then did Ashura realize how naïve he had been, no wonder the tutor at the entrance had not bothered to mention the rules inside.

The rule here was simple… you paid credits to read.

Ashura carefully examined the placard beneath each Martial Technique on the shelf.

Besides the name and grade, each card listed a figure labeled borrowing credits.

In other words, you spent that many credits to gain the right to read the manual.

Ashura clicked his tongue; a blue-grade manual cost roughly 800 to 2 000 credits to borrow.

Purple-grade techniques started at about 100 000 credits, while white and green-grade manuals were free, though their dust-covered pages suggested few people ever touched them.

Ashura had thought his 1 000 credits were a fortune for a freshman, yet here they did not buy him many options.

He even still owed Instructor Ella another 1 000 credits, and rumor said magic spellbooks cost even more.

Ashura took a deep breath to calm his swirling thoughts, then steeled himself to skim the summaries of all 1 000 blue-grade manuals so he could pick the one that suited him.

After all, his purse was painfully light.

Fortunately, Ashura was bright and caught on quickly.

He did not know how much time passed before he finished reading every blue-grade summary.

After thinking for a moment, he sped through them all a second time from beginning to end.

When the youth had read every summary a third time, he held a single sword manual in his hand.

The technique was called Tower Ascension, and its summary was concise: “Wield the blade as though climbing a tower; each higher level reveals a new vista.”

The art directed the practitioner to mobilize vital blood energy and hack again and again, each slash stronger than the last.

A warrior’s talent decided the maximum number of blows he could strike, and even relentless practice could add only a handful more.

The art’s creator was a wandering swordsman reputed to have reached 18 slashes, yet 18 was said not to be the true limit.

Borrowing this manual cost exactly 1 000 credits, so Ashura clenched his teeth and pressed his badge against the placard.

When only 20 credits remained on the badge, the Tower Ascension manual finally unlocked.

Ashura had no idea what time it was, yet he dropped to the floor and eagerly immersed himself in the manual, and it seemed he was now the hall’s only occupant.

Not until dawn broke did Ashura rub his eyes and step out of the Magic-Martial Hall, realizing he had studied the technique all night.

He hurriedly pulled some dry rations from his spatial belt, eating as he walked and mulled over Tower Ascension.

Ashura joined the line of Warrior Class 7, which had already begun, and Instructor Enge cast a glance at the youth in his magic robe.

It was the boy’s first time being late in ages.

Instructor Enge made no issue of it and simply started the students’ sparring early.

Lan Yu noticed the distracted boy before her, felt he was acting oddly today, furrowed her lovely brows, and gave a soft cough.

Ashura snapped back to himself, grinned at the blue-haired beauty opposite him, and said, “Not sparring with you today, I’m off to find Magina!”

The formerly haughty blue-haired girl bristled like a startled cat, dashed behind Ashura, and launched a spinning kick at his backside.

Ashura was no longer the weakling of months past; feeling the wind at his back, he rolled forward to dodge the blow.

Holding a defensive stance, he shouted, “What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?”

Lan Yu snorted, offered no reply, and charged at him with full force.

An hour later Lan Yu sat astride Ashura’s back, thumping it repeatedly with her small fists.

Ashura lay on the ground covering his head yet still mouthing off, until Lan Yu finally gave in and asked the question burning in her heart: why was he going to Magina?

Ashura felt the beating was rather unjust… if you had asked earlier, I would have answered earlier!

A little disgruntled, Ashura told her, “I’ve just mastered a powerful sword art, but I haven’t tested it yet; I have no idea how strong it is, so I need someone to try my sword on!”

“Your strengths are speed and burst power, while Magina excels at balanced offense and defense, so I’m afraid of hurting you and think she’s the better target.”

Lan Yu’s heart warmed when she realized he was looking out for her, yet she still felt he was underestimating her, since she was a whole minor stage above him.

The girl rose from his back and drew a blue-gleaming dagger strapped to her right thigh.

With disdain she said, “Let me see what amazing sword art you learned; come at me, and don’t worry, you can’t hurt me!”

Ashura climbed to his feet, rolled his aching shoulders, and thought, Fine, I’ll test the sword art on this little spitfire.

With that thought he drew his Twin Swords from his spatial belt, closed his eyes, and recalled the movement patterns of the technique.

He suddenly opened his eyes, dashed forward, unsheathed, and swung in one fluid motion, and Lan Yu met the slash head-on with her dagger, easily blocking it while thinking, This is it?

After his first strike was parried, Ashura did not pause; he spun and brought his right arm around for another chop, and Lan Yu again reversed her grip and met it.

Slash followed slash; Ashura’s assault came like a tide, and Lan Yu met each blow head-on.

This was Ashura’s first time using Tower Ascension, and the more he used it the better it felt; every slash filled him with fervor, and aside from the heavy drain it was thoroughly satisfying.

Lan Yu grew more alarmed with each block; after the ninth slash, every strike crashed onto her dagger like a thousand-pound wave, each higher than the last, giving her no chance to breathe.

Even so, she grit her teeth, refused to dodge, and kept parrying with her dagger.

When Ashura swung the fifteenth slash… perhaps his current limit… he let out a roar and smashed the sword down.

With a loud clang, the girl’s dagger was knocked from her hand and she staggered back several steps.

Ashura had not yet begun to celebrate the success of his new technique.

He saw the girl raise her hand and glance at her torn palm where blood oozed, then look from the wound to Ashura.

She promptly burst into tears with a loud wail.

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