Chapter 218: The Female Sword Saint

On the night when the alliance agreement was signed with the Leyton family, Count Leyton held a grand banquet in his manor to celebrate Port Leyton’s survival through the crisis and to announce the establishment of a full-scale commercial alliance between Port Leyton and Dalaran.

After forming an alliance with Donald, Count Leyton gathered the various factions in Port Leyton to discuss this commercial plan. The usually fair-minded Leyton family even voluntarily gave up some of their share of goods to ensure equal benefits for everyone, which naturally satisfied everyone. They welcomed Donald even more as he was the hero who brought wealth and business opportunities and resolved Port Leyton’s crisis.

While the elite of Port Leyton were enjoying themselves, a servant came to report that Abel, the most famous warrior in the Eastern Region and the Sword Saint, had arrived in Port Leyton.

Count Leyton, with a joyful expression, quickly said, “Hurry! Invite Sword Saint Abel in!”

It turned out that this female sword saint had been in the capital some time ago. Upon hearing that Port Leyton was in crisis, she rushed back from the capital despite other matters at hand. With the most renowned sword saint in the Eastern Region in Port Leyton, they wouldn’t have been so worried these past few days.

Although the sword saint was powerful, her profession was different—she wasn’t a mage and didn’t possess convenient abilities like flight. So she had to ride fast, and after several horses collapsing along the way, it took her a whole day and night to return to Port Leyton. By then, Port Leyton had already achieved a great victory and was holding a celebration banquet.

Originally, this female sword saint didn’t like to attend such noble banquets. But upon hearing that it was the lords of Dalaran and a young genius mage who had saved Port Leyton, she couldn’t help but want to meet this young mage.

When the female sword saint entered the banquet hall, all conversations stopped automatically.

This was the first time Donald had seen this long-famous female sword saint. Princess Cornelia had mentioned her teacher to him many times!

There was a serene aura around this female sword saint, making people feel calm involuntarily. But the perceptive Donald could sense the powerful force surging within her calm exterior.

Sword Saint Abel was taller than most adult men, only slightly shorter than Donald. She had long limbs, but it didn’t seem awkward—instead, it looked very harmonious.

Her skin tone was somewhat dull, appearing gray, but it wasn’t rough; instead, it emitted a strange kind of luster. Donald knew this was due to the transformation caused by the power of the laws after reaching the Gold rank. In this sense, the physique of a Gold-ranked warrior had already begun to surpass that of ordinary humans—calling them superhumans wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

“Ms. Abel!”

Seeing her walking straight toward him, Donald politely offered a mage’s salute as a greeting to this female sword saint.

Abel nodded and said to Donald in a calm tone, “You’re quite good!”

Donald understood that this was her way of acknowledging his efforts in saving the many civilians in Port Leyton.

Receiving praise from a Gold-ranked sword saint, especially from the usually reticent Abel, would bring him great honor.

However, Donald’s current level was already different, and his strength was likely not far behind hers, so he didn’t take it too seriously. It was precisely this calm demeanor that further improved Abel’s impression of him—she disapproved of the flashy and vain behavior of young noble heirs.

Next, Donald and the female sword saint sat in a corner of the hall and talked for a while, mainly discussing the situation with the sea beasts attacking the city, with the rest of the conversation revolving around Cornelia.

From the female sword saint, Donald learned that the young princess of the Ansel family had surpassed the Bronze rank over the past six months, reaching an advanced level within that tier. Donald was very pleased to hear this. But this time, concerned about the safety of Port Leyton, the female sword saint had left her beloved disciple in the capital and rushed back alone.

Donald then took out a dark golden short sword with intricate carvings and asked the female sword saint to give it to Cornelia as a gift for her advancement.

This magnificent sword was one of the weapons Donald obtained from the treasure vaults of the four major families in Scorpion Tail Flower City in the underground world. It was a defensive weapon crafted by gray dwarf craftsmen for a female member of a dark elf family.

Measuring just over two feet in length, it was easy to carry. Its blade wasn’t particularly bright, but it was surprisingly sharp—designed to prevent reflections—and contained a small amount of refined gold, making the blade extremely durable. The scabbard was made from the hide of an unknown magical beast, offering great wear resistance and decent magic resistance.

Although this sword wasn’t the best among Donald’s acquisitions, such a short sword was more suitable for a young woman like Cornelia. The female sword saint immediately understood Donald’s intentions and gladly accepted it on behalf of her disciple.

Next, Donald asked some questions about swordsmanship training and received considerable guidance from the female sword saint. She was also greatly surprised by Donald’s unique insights and the fact that he mastered both magic and combat skills.

Before the banquet ended, the female sword saint took Donald to an open area outside the city to exchange martial skills experiences. As for Count Leighton and the others, Donald could only offer them a helpless smile before leaving early.

He never expected the female sword saint to be such an extreme martial enthusiast who regarded everything but training as secondary. Of course, without such dedication, it would have been impossible for an otherwise untalented woman to become a legendary Golden Sword Saint in just twenty years!

“Go ahead!”
The female sword saint used only an ordinary thin iron sword, while Donald brought out his Moonblade.
Their swords clashed, and under the protection of the Golden Sword Energy, her iron sword remained unharmed and undamaged.
After a few exchanges, Donald began to realize something.
In fact, the female sword saint hadn’t used any fancy martial techniques—just simple horizontal and vertical cuts to counter all of Donald’s attacks.
This made Donald understand the concept of using momentum.
Apart from not having developed Sword Energy, his close-combat skills were on par with those of an average Silver Swordmaster, and with his abilities as a Demon Hunter, his strength was even greater.
However, a mage’s mental energy is diffused, striving for something vast and endless like the ocean, lacking the sharp focus and cohesive strength of a swordsman’s sword intent. That’s why he had never been able to achieve such momentum through his sword.
But today, seeing the female sword saint effortlessly integrate her entire being into her sword momentum, able to achieve that effect with every move without deliberately showing sword intent, made Donald think: Since he already possessed divinity, why not divide some of his mental energy and willpower to simulate a form of sword intent?
When he first merged with divinity, in his consciousness world, he was omnipotent—able to transform into any existence!
At this thought, Donald felt delighted, but now wasn’t the time for such things.
He sighed and said, “As the legends say, it’s not the sword in hand that matters, but the person wielding it! In the hands of a strong warrior, even straw can become a sharp sword, but in the hands of an ordinary person, even a powerful divine sword is just a kitchen knife with more strength!”
The female sword saint frowned slightly.
“You’re right. This principle is quite simple, but few people can understand it.”

Next, Donald explained some theories from his past life’s martial arts novels in terms of the legends of this world, leaving the Female Sword Saint in great shock. Although novels are created by authors, many of their ideas stem from real life. Those principles might be incorrect, but most are derived from the essence of a civilization’s five-thousand-year culture. Translating some of those rules to this world, they could still be applied effectively.

“Is it better to strike first or to strike later?” The Female Sword Saint mused about Donald’s theories as she engaged in combat with him. She had already tried both strategies, and Donald was defeated in each case with just one move. In her hands, no matter whether he struck first or later, Donald, who was a whole rank lower in strength, had no chance to retaliate.

With her intelligence and deep experience and understanding of swordsmanship, she quickly realized that whether striking first or later was merely theoretical—strength alone determined victory. When facing peers or stronger opponents, the timing of attacks depended on one’s ability to seize opportunities in battle.

Next, the Female Sword Saint tested Donald’s principle of simplicity. She performed all the moves of a complex sword technique, then gradually simplified it down to just a few basic strikes—swinging, chopping, and thrusting. From these simple moves, she eventually developed hundreds or even thousands of complex techniques.

“Skilled warriors always defeat their opponents with a single move; they never fight hundreds of rounds to knock them down. That’s sparring, not actual combat! Nowadays, many young swordsmen from noble families pursue flashy moves and elegant postures, neglecting basic training. As a result, they end up on the wrong path and fail to improve their skills. So, techniques are merely means to an end and part of the training process—defeating the enemy is the true goal and outcome!”

After sharing these insights, the Female Sword Saint glanced at Donald and said, “What a pity!”

In her view, someone his age could already achieve the Silver rank in the mage profession and possess combat skills comparable to those of a Silver Swordmaster. If he had focused on swordsmanship, he would surely have reached the edge of the laws of magic and become a Gold Sword Saint before the age of twenty. “Your talent for swordsmanship is the best I’ve seen in years. You’re steady enough to endure the solitude of training, yet flexible in thought with exceptional comprehension. Even those so-called swordsmanship geniuses on the continent can’t compare to you.”

In the eyes of the Female Sword Saint, Donald, who had become a swordsmanship genius, felt both amused and exasperated. Without the Book of Truth, even with all his theories, it was impossible for him to achieve great success—after all, the innate talent gap was one that ordinary people could never overcome. Yet he would not give up on his cultivation as a mage. No matter how skilled he became in swordsmanship, it was merely a means to kill enemies and defend oneself; compared to that, he valued the creativity of magic even more. In Donald’s view, mages were like scientists in his past life, pursuing the truths and origins of the world, while swordsmen merely used their own strength. In the end, the former would surely be stronger. Look at the current gods—among the higher gods, those of the magical lineage outnumber those of the warrior lineage, with very few pure warriors becoming true gods. Even the most famous of the true gods who used swords as weapons, the Lord of Dawn of the Glory Gods, primarily relied on the magical power of light. Among the armed forces under the Glory Trinity Church, their light power was far stronger than swordsmanship and other techniques. Still, Donald would not discuss these matters with this Female Sword Saint who surpassed him in swordsmanship. In any case, through this exchange with her, both sides gained a great deal. After bidding farewell to the Female Sword Saint, Donald teleported straight back to his room to study his recent understanding of sword intent.