Rean looked behind him and smiled in response. The one who brought the cultivators was Marcela, the old woman who also was one of the first elders to pass the tests. As for the cultivators, there were three of them, two men and one woman.
Of course, Rean recognized them. They did pretty well during the first time the tests were done in the System Sect. Fosxin was one of them, the cunning cultivator that Roan looked forward to in terms of development. After this year, while they were gone, his cultivation went up an entire realm. He was now in the Initial Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm. Well, the reason for that was due to his high talent.
The second one was the guy with a similar ability to Roan's first disciple, Leonardo Abril. He was the cultivator with Iron Element Affinity. Of course, Leonardo wasn't taken in as a disciple by Roan. He hadn't even heard anything about the possibilities his affinity held.
As for the last one, it was Tatiana. In her case, she scored very high on the cultivation tests. She was the girl who found a cultivation technique that suited herself.
"So, it was the three of you who came to understand the weapon intents," Rean mentioned. "From what I heard, you kept watching Ophilia as many times as possible after I left, which eventually led to you guys understanding them."
Fosxin nodded, saying in response, "Obviously. There's no way I wouldn't get to use it." Fosxin was full of confidence as always."
Leonardo was also there, telling Rean, "Well, I was the first to awaken my Saber Intent Seed, though."
"Hmph!" Fosxin snorted after hearing that. "That's because of your affinity. You have a metal affinity, so you obviously had an easier time understanding it."
Rean shrugged his shoulders, asking him, "And where did you get this idea from?"
Fosxin looked back at Rean, replying, "That's what I believe. It's simple as that."
"Then what about Ophilia?" Tatiana asked in response. "She only has Wind Element Affinity."
Fosxin narrowed his eyes as he replied, "I still haven't understood how that happened. However, the times I was allowed to spar with her made me certain of one thing. That girl was born to use the sword. Tatiana, you also awakened your sword intent, but your sword intent simply doesn't give me the same dread that I feel when this kid is using hers."
Rean nodded, explaining, "That's the point, Fosxin. As Roan and I mentioned before, weapon intents can't be taught. At most, we can talk about our experiences and let you feel what it's like to fight against them. Each person will understand their own weapon intent in their own way."
Rean looked at Tatiana and continued, "Ophilia's sword intent is sharp like a blade, made for the battlefield. As for yours, it's a lot more gentle. Although I didn't come into the Dimensional Realm during this past year, I could still see what was happening every now and then. It's obvious to me that you aren't exactly in love with fights. Your sword intent gives me the feeling of avoidance and self-protection. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that."
Rean then raised his own sword against those three, asking them, "Now, how about you guys show me what you can do? Just like Ophilia, you might benefit a lot from fighting against my sword intent, which is already at the third level."
Rean didn't need to ask twice for all three to take out their weapons.
Fosxin used a spear and learned his own spear intent. Surprisingly, his spear intent was just like his personality. For Rean, it felt like he was fighting a snake, trying to catch him off guard nonstop.
Leonardo's saber intent was also like his personality. It was pure overbearingness. It tried to push through all obstacles with absolute strength. Once he learned what his Iron Affinity could do with his opponent's blood, then it was certain that he would become even more dangerous.
As for Tatiana, she kind of acted as the middle ground. The moment Rean was supposed to land a hit, her sword intent shined the most, appearing at the right moment to reflect the danger away. As Rean mentioned, there was nothing wrong with the kind of sword intent she awakened.
Then again, even though Rean reduced his output of Divine Soul Power to match their Nascent Soul Realm strength, they were still not his match at all. The reason the fight wasn't over in an instant was that Rean held back to give them the chance to learn.
*Thud, thud, thud...*
One might think that with higher cultivation, the battle would last longer. However, Rean pushed those three to use even more Divine Energy proportionally than Ophilia did. With that said, the three-on-one fight only lasted an hour instead of two before the last one fell to the ground, exhausted.
Rean then put the wooden sword back on the ground from where he took it earlier. Yes, while Fosxin, Tatiana, and Leonardo were using their real weapons, Rean never let go of the wooden sword. "Very good progress, you three. You're still far from reaching the second level of your weapon intents. However, your Weapon Intent Seeds have already taken a solid foundation. You did the most difficult part, which was to awaken them. You can only improve from now on."
Fosxin then tried to get up as he punched the ground. "Fuck! His suppressed cultivation was definitely on par with ours. Neither his speed nor his strength was better than ours either. But even with that, we haven't hit him a single time!"
Leonardo sighed in response. "That's what experience means. Sect Master Rean has been fighting and training with Sect Master Roan all this time. I'm already impressed we lasted this long."
Tatiana didn't really care that much. As Rean mentioned, she wasn't exactly fond of fights to start with. If she could choose, she would select cultivation over battles. "It's fine. I think I comprehended a lot about my own sword intent. I'll go back to my house and think about it... once I gather enough energy to get up, that is."
Rean was satisfied with them. "Well, that's all for now. Oh, right! Leonardo, I need to talk with you, so come with me."
