From these four options, it was clear that Jingliu was not skilled at commanding troops. She became the Sword Champion purely because of her combat prowess, which naturally resulted in high morale.
That's how it is for people who are exceptionally strong. If you're powerful enough to kill everyone on the other side, you don't even need morale!
If Jingliu were truly commander material, she would have been a general.
But the fact that her [Swordplay] was only Gold-tier was also proof that Argenti's [Sincere Praise, a Childlike Heart] was truly in a league of its own.
The strength of Jingliu's swordsmanship was objective; the sincerity of Argenti's praise was subjective.
"My swordplay... if you wish to learn it, I will teach you," Jingliu said softly.
"Thank you very much, Miss Jingliu. Oh, wait, I mean, Teacher."
"I have two methods for learning swordplay. Do you want the crash course, or the crash course?"
"The crash... wait, are you even giving me a choice?"
"Good, you choose the crash course, then. Here." Jingliu nodded and tossed the Shard Sword to Chen Li.
"What's this for? Training equipment?"
"Correct. Now, take it and kill me." For the first time, a smile appeared on Jingliu's face.
But the more Chen Li looked at that smile, the more unhinged it seemed.
"Whoa, Teacher Jingliu, is your Mara-Struck acting up?"
"Hahaha! What Mara-Struck? I know not of what you speak. I only know that I am now going to give you a crash course in swordsmanship! Come, kill me. Otherwise..." A sliver of moonlight seemed to appear in Jingliu's hand, and in an instant, a longsword condensed from solid ice was raised, its tip pointed directly at Chen Li.
"This is bad. Teacher Jingliu, you need to calm down."
"Calm down? How can you expect me to be calm after you showed me the Aeon of Abundance?"
"I already apologized for creating those Abominations of Abundance with the blessed item!" Seeing Jingliu charge towards him, Chen Li turned and ran.
Perhaps Jingliu had seen the scene of him begging for medicine from Yaoshi by tracing the cause and effect of the blessed item, but the problem now was how to get her to calm down.
"If apologies were useful, what would we need the Cloud Knights for? Relax, my dear disciple. I have not succumbed to the Mara-Struck. I am merely over-excited after catching a glimpse of the Aeon of Abundance. Come now, do not resist. Let me help you master the Cloud Knight sword style."
"I'd have to be an idiot to believe you!"
"Running is useless!"
Jingliu's cold voice echoed in his ears. Chen Li could even feel the airflow from her words gently brushing against his face.
He looked down at the icy sword tip protruding from his chest, then glanced at Jingliu standing beside him, and rolled his eyes.
Chen Li had never imagined that his "first blood" would be taken by Jingliu.
Good news: dying in the training space wasn't real, and it didn't hurt.
Bad news: Chen Li was probably going to die a lot.
"This is the first lesson I'm teaching you. Never turn your back on your opponent," Jingliu said faintly.
---o---
"My apologies. I became a little... over-excited from glimpsing the Aeon of Abundance," Jingliu said after an unknown amount of time had passed, gently touching her forehead with one hand.
"If apologies were useful, what would we need the Cloud Knights for?" Chen Li retorted casually, a sword still stuck in his stomach, his face a mask of nonchalance.
One couldn't tell that just a moment ago, he had pulled the Shard Sword from Jingliu's heart.
After what felt like countless days and nights, Chen Li had finally solo-killed Jingliu.
Jingliu's kill-death ratio: 998-1, a clear sign of her decline! Chen Li's: 1-998, a true display of flair!
Sure, Chen Li could revive after dying while Jingliu's injuries were permanent within the trial, meaning he had essentially worn her down with 998 lives... but you can't deny she died in the end!
And due to the death-reset mechanic, Jingliu had now regained her composure.
"Besides, when you apologize, isn't it common sense to show your stomach?"
"..." Jingliu glanced up at Chen Li, then looked down.
"Ahem, just kidding. The process was a bit arduous, but I learned a lot in the end," Chen Li added hastily, his expression turning to one of alarm.
Although Jingliu had run him through at the very beginning and taken his first blood, she had also been instructing him in swordsmanship afterward, not just relentlessly hacking away at him.
Looking on the bright side, at least his treatment was better than Blade's.
This didn't mean Chen Li was now as skilled as Jingliu, only that he had learned her sword techniques.
A new skill had appeared in his life skills section: Cloud Knight Sword Style LV6 (25/600).
It was second only to his Forging skill, which had long since reached LV7.
He just didn't understand why the Cloud Knight Sword Style was classified as a life skill.
"Your tone just now did not sound like you were joking. I could feel your sincerity."
"???" - Chen Li.
Hey, Sincerity passive that's a special attack against beauty, don't activate in such a weird situation!
Chen Li truly wasn't... empathetic towards Jingliu's crash course teaching method. But right now, he just hoped she could tell which part of his words was sincere, and not misunderstand that he actually wanted to see her stomach.
"I can offer you compensation," Jingliu said suddenly.
"Eh?"
"However, this training session has ended. So even if you have a request, you can only make it when the next training session begins." Jingliu's body was already starting to fade.
The "teacher" projections from trial certificates of the same person would inherit memories, as it was the only way to effectively teach based on the student's progress. So, Jingliu's promise wasn't an empty one.
"Alright," Chen Li nodded.
"Think carefully about your request. Remember, you only have one chance." As her voice faded, Jingliu's form completely dissipated.
Watching her disappear, Chen Li wondered if Jingliu would curse him for disrespecting his master if he asked her to teach him the erhu while wearing an evening gown and black stockings.
Then again... did Jingliu even know how to play the erhu?
The massive martial arts stage that Jingliu had conjured began to crumble in her absence. Chen Li returned to the initial space, a place that strongly reflected Jingliu's personal style, with a cold moon hanging in the sky and the ground dotted with ephemeral night-blooming cereus.
The boon, condensed based on his performance after completing the training, now materialized before him.
The training space guaranteed you'd learn, because it wouldn't let you leave until you did.
But the final boon would be adjusted based on each individual's specific training experience.
For example...
[Unbroken Mind-Mirror]: So long as the mind-mirror remains unshattered, its master shall not perish. The martial skill forged through a thousand deaths has allowed you to evolve an extreme resistance to death. As long as your state of mind is not broken, you can fight on in a complete state until your body is utterly destroyed. In this state, you will lose all fatal weaknesses and gain extreme immunity to instant-death and mental attacks.
"'Battle Continuation'? Doesn't quite seem like it," Chen Li muttered, scratching his head at the boon's description.
Reading between the lines, it meant that if his state of mind broke, the ability wouldn't activate.
"Who would have thought? Training with Jingliu, whose attacks are based on burning her own life force, would result in an ability focused on self-preservation."
Swordplay, no matter how beautifully described, was for killing.
This skill, no matter how fiercely described, was for staying alive.
In the end, it was all the world's fault. It definitely wasn't because Chen Li was afraid of dying!
Absolutely not!
Chen Li just wanted to perpetuate miracles. What was so wrong with that?
"Oh well. My swordsmanship has improved, and I'm tougher to kill now. All in all, it's a good thing. Hopefully, the next time I get one of Jingliu's trial certificates, an [Sword Intent] training option will pop up." Seeing the glowing portal that appeared after he completed the training, Chen Li stepped through it.
Of course, he was looking forward to an erhu-teaching option even more.
"Maybe... I should send Jingliu a message and tell her to start learning the erhu now?"