Shang looked at his sword with a lifted eyebrow. Earlier, he had assumed that his sword didn't like the technique because he hadn't perfectly used it. After all, the sword had only been mildly disgusted, not completely.
But apparently, it was the opposite.
The sword really didn't like the technique.
"What don't you like?" Shang asked.
He still felt a bit weird talking to his sword like it was another person or a pet, but he knew that he should get used to it.
Of course, the sword didn't answer.
Shang had a couple of suspicions, but they would need further testing.
So, Shang tried the second technique. All of these techniques were short, singular movements. They weren't a complex array of complicated moves or something like that. At most, they described how one should move one's arms generally and how one should move their legs. One could call these techniques even basic instruction manuals.
When Shang finished the technique, his sword gave feedback again.
It felt a bit weird.
It was like it was eating something with an unknown flavor. It was like it wasn't certain if it should like that flavor or not.
After unleashing the strike and feeling the sword's feedback, Shang stopped with a frown.
He felt the sword's feelings to be familiar.
'Actually, I felt similar to the sword,' Shang thought. 'Although, during the first technique, I wasn't as disgusted as it. However, I still didn't like it.'
'Why is that? Why do I not like this technique?' Shang thought as he scratched his chin.
Shang thought back to the first technique.
The first technique was an upward slice with a simultaneous jump to the back. The purpose of this slice was to reset the flow of battle.
In a battle, one side nearly always had the advantage. One of the two sides was very often the aggressive one, while the other one had to react. The reason why one side could be aggressive in the first place was that the other side had been unable to completely stop the aggression.
Being on the offensive in a fight was incredibly advantageous.
If one performed a subpar strike during one's offense, no one would get injured.
However, if one performed a subpar block, one would be injured.
So, as long as the offensive side didn't lose the offense, they could theoretically continue attacking forever. They only had to wait for their opponent to make a mistake.
Now, the first technique, the upward slice with the jump to the back, was a technique to get one out of such a bind. The upward slice would include nearly all of the power of the user, and since it went from the bottom to the top, it basically went through the entire fighting space.
This slice was meant to threaten the opponent with an attack and also block a strike, as long as they used a fitting strike during that time. Not every technique could be used under all circumstances.
So, with the opponent attacked and their own attack blocked, the user could jump back, resetting the fight. At that point, the opponent would lose their momentum, and the two of them could have their first clash again, which often decided the offensive and defensive side.
The sword had hated that technique, and Shang also hadn't been the biggest fan of it. However, he had still been willing to give it a try.
'Why don't I like the first technique?' Shang thought as he scratched his chin.
'It definitely has its uses. If I were in a passive situation, it would definitely be useful. Just looking at its performance, I see no flaws. It's a good strike.'
Shang thought about this situation a bit more.
'It just feels wrong,' Shang thought with a frown. 'I mean, it is strong. I can't deny that. It's also very useful.'
'But it just feels wrong. It's like it's disrupting my flow or my rhythm.'
Shang scratched the back of his head. 'I mean, that's the point, right? It's supposed to disrupt the flow of the battle.'
'I'm not entirely sure why, but I think the issue is that I simply don't like it. It's like some amazing series TV show about crime. Everyone loves it, and every crime fanatic recommends it. However, I don't like crime shows.'
'I just don't like them.'
Shang looked at his sword.
'I guess it's similar with this technique? I can see the quality, but I just don't like it.'
'What about the second technique? The sword felt unfamiliar with this technique, and I know why.'
'I've never really used something like this.'
The second technique had been a feint. Feints had the goal of making the opponent move in a certain manner, which would make it harder for them to react to unsuspecting attacks. In short, feints attempted to take away the reactive flexibility of the opponent.
The second technique was a slash that came from the top right, but instead of slashing at the enemy, it went into a curve and went back to the right side, but on a lower level. This left the user in a very wide and open stance, but it also gave them a lot of space and wind-up time for a devastating strike.
If the opponent fell for the feint, they would have either slashed to their left or blocked.
If they slashed towards the feint, they would be caught off-guard, literally. Their equilibrium and power would be fully focused on their front. If they decided to block, they would lose their opportunity to counterattack.
Attacks with long wind-up times were risky since the enemy could simply unleash a quick counter. If a boxer just suddenly started pulling back their shoulders to unleash a devastating hook, the enemy would unleash a quick jab at them.
Of course, a quick jab wasn't really devastating to a boxer.
However, if that quick jab were accompanied by a sharp weapon, things would be different.
Going for wide swings left someone open to quick stabs.
But with the feint, the enemy wouldn't be in a situation to take advantage of the opening, which gave the user of the feint the opportunity to unleash a devastating strike. Even if such a strike didn't hit the body of the opponent, the opponent would still be thrown back. They might even fall down.
Shang hadn't really used any feints up to now.
Why?
Because he had only really been fighting beasts.
Weapons were hard and could block Shang's sword, but beasts couldn't easily block it. If they tried to block it with anything, that thing would most likely be cut off. Because of that, nearly all beasts focused on evasion instead of blocking.
As for parrying?
Beasts were too stupid for that.
Because of that, beasts could only avoid attacks or counter with an offense.
That was why Shang felt unfamiliar with this technique.
And the feelings of his sword reflected that.
'So, the sword is actually reflecting my own feelings, but with more clarity,' Shang thought as he scratched his chin. 'Although I can't be sure if it is reflecting my current feelings or if these are its own feelings. They could also just be identical since it went through all the training I did. After all, how am I supposed to train my swordsmanship without a sword?'
'This means that this is either a mirror of my current feelings or simply a case of feeling the feelings of an identical twin.'
'Is my sword its own being with its own feelings, or do its feelings come from my own mental state?'
