CLEAVER OF SIN Chapter 948: Family Jewels

By the middle of the third day, Asher had achieved his goal with his swordsmanship and had finally taken a step into the next stage. He couldn’t help but feel extremely proud of himself. He had endured numerous injuries for this, and in the end, he had achieved it. Not only that, but his combat experience had also increased. Although the improvement wasn’t massive, progress was progress, no matter how small.

FatelessPen was also happy for him, but there was no time for celebration. They only had two weeks, and not a moment more.

Asher immediately wanted to dive straight into hand-to-hand combat, but FatelessPen declined, stating that Asher first had to spar with him for a few more hours in order to fully understand and adjust to the level he had just stepped into.

The few more hours passed, yet the hand-to-hand combat training still didn’t begin immediately.

"Although we’ll be working hard, working hard without resting could backfire. Resting is still part of the training," FatelessPen said, offering his words of wisdom.

Asher sighed and nodded before speaking. "I probably need it. Three to five hours of sleep should be enough to get me back into top-tier shape for the hand-to-hand combat training," he replied.

"Then we shall do just that. Four hours of sleep it is, then," FatelessPen stated calmly as his Sword Master Personification ability vanished.

His soul-bound pen appeared in his hand as he drew a bed and a pillow for Asher. Asher accepted them without protest. He set up the bed beneath the shade of several trees before lying down and falling asleep within a couple of seconds as exhaustion completely claimed him.

As for FatelessPen, he simply teleported out of the separate space to keep an eye on what was happening in the outside world. It wasn’t long before the four hours had passed, and by the time he returned to wake Asher up, the alarm... ahem... the System had already done the job for him.

Asher transferred the bed and pillow into his System Inventory before preparing himself for the hand-to-hand combat training.

FatelessPen summoned the soul-bound book once again, its pages flipping rapidly as he activated the next ability meant specifically for this training.

FatelessPen’s entire demeanor shifted once more. This time, he stood like a man who had reached the absolute pinnacle of unarmed combat, as though no one alive could surpass him when it came to fighting with nothing but their bare hands.

Asher couldn’t help but sigh as he already knew another brutal beating was coming, but he genuinely looked forward to it. After all, this was growth forged through pain. But make no mistake, he wasn’t a masochist or anything of the sort, he simply loved the process, not the pain itself.

With explosive force, Asher shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, determined to land the first hit this time, or at the very least avoid being injured by FatelessPen’s opening move. Appearing before FatelessPen in an instant, his fist rocketed toward the man’s chin with the force of a falling comet.

FatelessPen’s body simply flowed to the side as he evaded the punch with insulting ease, his movements resembling the calm, uninterrupted flow of a gentle river. The moment he slipped past the attack, his left foot left the ground, the sole of his boot hurtling toward the side of Asher’s face.

The sole of his foot connected squarely with the side of Asher’s face. Asher’s body shot sideways like a cannonball, tearing through mountain after mountain before he finally regained control in midair. Twisting his body, he landed firmly on his feet, only to continue sliding backward, carving trenches across the ground before finally coming to a halt.

Asher winced from the pain on the side of his face as he could literally make out the imprint of FatelessPen’s boot on the side of his face.

FatelessPen appeared before him once again in a flicker, his leg sweeping toward Asher’s chest with terrifying speed.

Asher reacted instantly. Both hands shot forward as he caught FatelessPen’s leg. His center of gravity shifted immediately as he used the momentum to swing FatelessPen overhead before slamming him toward the ground with overwhelming force.

FatelessPen didn’t panic, as his body rapidly descended toward the earth, both of his hands shot forward, planting themselves into the ground just before impact.

His descent stopped instantly. He had completely canceled the throw.

A smirk appeared on his face as he effortlessly pushed himself upward with his hands, rotating his body as his free leg whipped toward Asher’s temple with blinding speed. Seeing the incoming strike, Asher had no choice but to release FatelessPen’s captured leg in order to evade the attack.

The very moment he let go, FatelessPen landed gracefully on one foot before lunging forward with the agility of a hunting cat. Before Asher could even react, FatelessPen had already wrapped both arms tightly around his waist, and in one fluid movement, he stepped behind Asher.

Without wasting a single motion, FatelessPen hoisted him upward before violently driving him backward toward the ground, intending to shatter both his neck and skull through sheer impact.

Asher remained completely calm, instead, he simply copied the exact movement FatelessPen himself had demonstrated moments earlier. Both of his hands struck the ground first, instantly catching his body and canceling the devastating slam.

However, FatelessPen still had both arms locked firmly around Asher’s waist. Unable to free himself normally, a mischievous smirk spread across Asher’s face. His left leg suddenly shot skyward, and without the slightest hesitation, he drove the heel of his foot straight toward FatelessPen’s family jewels with absolutely shameless intent.

FatelessPen’s eyes narrowed instantly. Without a second thought, he released Asher and immediately threw him aside before pushing himself off the ground and returning to his feet. Asher likewise rolled away before standing up almost simultaneously.

The two simply stared at one another, and without exchanging another word, both figures vanished like twin blurs, their speeds increasing with every passing moment.

FatelessPen immediately seized control of the battle’s tempo.

Apparently, he had decided to teach Asher a very personal lesson for that last sneak attack.

A punch to the chest. An elbow to the temple. An uppercut to the chin. A palm strike to the stomach. A knee to the ribs. A descending knife-hand strike to the shoulder. A knuckle strike to the throat.

FatelessPen’s entire fighting style transformed as he unleashed an endless barrage of attacks with ridiculous efficiency, delivering nearly ten strikes in what felt like a single moment and reducing Asher to little more than a human punching bag.

Days gradually blurred together as the training evolved from hand-to-hand combat into battle experience training. FatelessPen began making full use of his drawing ability, continuously raining down attacks of different attributes, trajectories, and destructive properties, forcing Asher to adapt on the spot while simultaneously counterattacking.

He also offered every bit of insight he could regarding Song Of Virelass. There wasn’t much he could contribute, however, as he wasn’t truly a swordsman and had never cultivated a sword technique of his own. Even so, his perspective as an outsider often allowed him to notice flaws and possibilities that Asher himself had overlooked.

Afterward, they moved on to a series of additional training sessions, including improving the Formless Body Technique. They also tried brainstorming another trump card capable of rivaling Star Form, but despite both of their efforts, neither of them could come up with anything that could surpass such a skill within such a limited amount of time.

FatelessPen wouldn’t deny it, he was having the time of his life.

Never before had he truly taught anyone or taken on the responsibility of training another person. Most of his life had been spent wandering across the world in search of new experiences, entertaining himself, or entering long periods of secluded cultivation.

Yet now... Training a genius and personally witnessing the absurd speed at which that genius improved caused him to genuinely wonder whether he should become a teacher at the Star Academy someday.

These two weeks had made him understand why these four Academies treasured talented students so dearly.

It had also made him understand why numerous masters cherished their disciples once they finally accepted one. Watching someone grow with every lesson, every correction, and every battle was a uniquely satisfying experience that even FatelessPen hadn’t expected to enjoy.

And with that, Asher successfully spent the entirety of his two weeks within the separate space,

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