It's just as Uruk and Thirdy said, this cave will indeed pose a challenge to him.

The breeze coming from the depths of the cave carries potent sword intent that's neutral. Confronting it is a test for every swordsman who came here, proving their vision and their path were true.

'The Instructor was kind of vague with his explanation.' Cedric mused inwardly, 'He said that I will need to 'confront' the breeze to sharpen my sword. He didn't specify what kind of 'confrontation' he's talking about, but I'm guessing that he did that on purpose.'

'The first instinct of anybody who experiences this is to pick up their sword and 'contend' with the breeze. Clashing with it could figuratively 'sharpen' their sword. I don't think that's necessarily wrong but...that method is too linear. There should be a deeper meaning behind it.'

While musing, Cedric felt another wave of incoming breeze. He was tempted to raise his sword to contend with it once more but he decided against it.

Instead, he returned his sword to his inventory and flared his Sword Intent, forming a thin layer of protection for his body.

As soon as the breeze arrived, he felt the sheer sharpness assaulting him in all directions. With his profound control over his Sword Intent, he defended against it, but not perfectly. His uniform suffered from cuts here and there, but instead of lamenting about it, Cedric felt elated.

"Instructor said that I should wear comfortable clothes here instead of my uniform because this cave will tear it to shreds in no time. He nonchalantly delivered this, like he was imparting unnecessary information, but in truth, I think this was a clue instead."

"I only had to defend myself against the Sword Intent-laced breeze, there's no reason for my clothes to be ruined at all. After all, worse comes to worst, I could just evade it to prevent that from happening."

"What he really meant by saying that, leads to the real way of training here. It's easy to miss a clue like that if one's not paying attention. Thankfully, I was."

Cedric smiled as realized this. He hurriedly changed into a fresh set of clothes that he didn't mind getting ruined, he barely made it before the next breeze arrived.

Despite coming to this realization, Cedric still doubted its validity. After all, he came up with this on his own. He can't say that he had an accurate grasp on the Instructor's thought process but he's fairly confident that he's right.

And even if it turns out that he's wrong, what he's doing now doesn't feel like it at least. The Instuctor said it himself, one's path is forged by oneself. Their enlightenment is theirs alone, and other's opinions might not necessarily be correct.

Cedric sat on the spot he was at, enduring the sharp Sword Intent carried by the breeze from the depths of the cave. Even without actively clashing with it, the mere confrontation caused sparks to appear around him, signifying the struggle.

It wasn't difficult for Cedric to endure this level. After all, his Sword Intent has already matured. The only reason why he hasn't gone deeper yet is because he's still testing the waters.

After a couple of clashes, Cedric opened his eyes and murmured: "There's an improvement...but it's too slow for my liking. I guess I'll have to go deeper."

Making that decision, he stood up and started walking deeper into the Sword Tempering Cave.

From what he remembered, they said that this cave was about 10,000 miles long. It's also big enough to cater to multiple trainees at the same time, and with the help of the isolation mechanisms, the trainees can concentrate on their own progress without being disturbed.

The breeze from the depths of the cave comes to every one-minute intervals, and as Cedric goes deeper into the cave, he also learns that the deeper one goes, the more dangerous this breeze gets.

Upon reaching 10 miles deep into the cave, Cedric paused. He felt the breeze and contended against it, the results were his loss because he got injured. It wasn't serious or anything, just a shallow cut on his left shoulder, but Cedric still considered that as his loss so he stopped there.

"Let's do this...just me and my Sword Intent, let's see how much improvement I could get here."

After deciding that, he saw down and doused himself with his Sword Intent once more. And just like before, the breeze came and the confrontation began.

Aside from its usual sharpness, Cedric could feel the weight and pressure behind this breeze. If it were any stronger than this, he'd certainly be pushed back even while sitting. However, instead of feeling intimidated, Cedric felt excited because, at that same time, he felt his Sword Intent thriving in the competition.

'My Sword feels sharper and more solid after experiencing a couple of rounds. That's good, I shall stay here until this feeling slows down.' Cedric muttered inwardly before returning his focus to his training.

Unbeknownst to him, despite his senses at full bloom, Uruk was watching him from where he was without Cedric's notice.

The blind Instructor smiled as he watched his class' newest student figure out the best way to train within the Sword Tempering Cave.

"I knew his perception was monstrous, but I didn't know he's this witty as well." Thirdy's voice commented beside him. "As expected from a Young Sage, I guess."

"...his status of a Young Sage has nothing to do with his wits." Uruk snorted in reply. "I've seen Sages that are dumber and denser than him. The kid's got a good head in his shoulders, that's all there is to it."

"You seem fond of him." Thirdy pointed out after a brief pause, "Am I gonna have him as my Junior Apprentice Brother for real?"

"Hmph, you wish. I'm afraid that you're forever stuck as the youngest." Uruk mercilessly doused Thirdy's enthusiasm.

"Awww...but why?" He asked.

"I wish I could take him as my personal disciple too." Uruk honestly admitted, "However, he's a budding Sage, and someone already called dibs as soon he becomes a Sophomore, so I'm helpless as well. Besides, I'm not fit to teach a Sage, my knowledge about them is clearly lacking."

"Was it the Headmaster who did it?" Thirdy curiously asked.

"No." Uruk shook his head, "It's...someone else. Can't tell you who because that person has severe trust issues."

"Oh...well, too bad then." Thirdy shrugged. He knew that he couldn't pry anymore since his Master already said his word.

Both of them spent their free time watching over Cedric from the office without his knowledge. They saw him enduring the sharp breeze of winds from the depths of the cave without flinching. They could also feel his progress in real-time, making them feel a bit stunned by how fast he's adapting and growing.

"Hmm?" Uruk let out an inquisitive hum as he suddenly saw Cedric standing up.

He and Thirdy then watched as Cedric suddenly summoned a training sword - the ones that anybody could easily buy from the System Shop because of how cheap and common they were.

They saw him pouring his Sword Intent into it and getting into a sword stance. His stance was familiar to any swordsman who sees it because it was the very basics.

"...is he planning on—, oh! He is!" Thirdy was astonished.

"Perfect execution." Uruk nodded in satisfaction.

They just saw Cedric performing one of the most basic sword moves - a simple Sword Thrust. He timed it exactly as the next following breeze's arrival and contended within using that move.

His performance was reflected in Uruk's perception. And even though Cedric was left reeling from the clash, neither the Instructor nor his disciple could deny the sheer excellence behind his simple move.

Uruk isn't one to casually toss praise towards his students, the same could be said to his disciples. So whenever he does, he truly means it.

When he praised Cedric's perfect execution of the Sword Thrust, it meant just that. The sword move, despite being the most simplest sword move there is, was executed perfectly by Cedric.

It had to be known that even seasoned Swordsmen out there cannot replicate Cedric's execution just now. Learning and performing that basics was simple, mastering them to perfection is another matter entirely.

Cedric was done with just that either. Under their watch, he contended with the breeze one basic sword move after another, each one was perfectly executed of course.

"...geez, this kid's freaky!" Thirdy shivered as continued watching.

Uruk remained silent beside him but at the depths of his mind, he had nothing but praises for this new student of his.

'In this day and age, it's rare to see someone mastering the basics of their chosen weapon. The majority of them are too eager to learn more advanced Martial Arts, preferring flashy moves for the sake of looking 'cool'. Nobody has the patience to stick with the fundamentals, and that's why those people find themselves stuck later on.'

'There is a reason why they're called the 'basics'. They were made to release the full might of the weapon. It's these same 'basics' that drew the first blood in ancient wars. It's also the same moves that allowed us to kill those pesky invaders.'

'If someone can't even comprehend the importance of the basics, how could they even dream of the pinnacle of Sword Arts? Us old folks never held back information so it's their fault for not understanding what we mean.'

'...though I guess this wouldn't be a problem to our resident Young Sage, huh?'

Uruk continued smiling in appreciation.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com