​"Showing me what?" Isaac asked, confused, watching Ian walk over to the weapon rack along the wall and grab a finely crafted steel sword.

​"Just go and sit over there," Vincent said, pointing to a wooden bench on the sidelines. "You will understand soon enough."

​Isaac didn’t reply. He simply walked over, took a seat on the bench, and stared blankly at the sparring platform.

​"I thought you would choose a wooden practice sword first. Look at you, being confident and choosing a fine steel sword," Vincent remarked, also pulling a sharp steel blade from the rack. "Aren’t you afraid I might cut you by mistake?" he asked, suddenly releasing his heavy, murderous intent.

​"I’m not scared. Don’t worry about me; worry about yourself," Ian replied confidently. He dropped into a two-handed stance, staring back at Vincent and releasing his own raw, oppressive intent to clash against the Head Guard’s.

​"Ha-ha-ha! Look at you, trying to push back against my intent! It wasn’t that long ago you were trembling on your knees, but now you’re getting cocky," Vincent said with a wide grin.

​Vincent suddenly amplified his Aura, increasing the pressure tenfold in the room. "Look at yourself, you are still struggling to even stand properly"

"I’m not strug—"

​"Huuuuh... is all this talking really necessary? I’m about to fall asleep over here," Isaac sighed, loudly interrupting the intense standoff. He had laid back on the bench, staring at the ceiling. "Hurry up and fight already."

​Both Ian and Vincent blinked, completely thrown off guard by the sudden complaint.

​’This kid...’ Vincent thought, his eyebrow twitching.

​’You totally ruined the epic mood we were setting!’ Ian complained internally. ’Sigh, there is nothing to be done about it anyway.’

​Ian refocused on his stance, analyzing his own body. ’I can feel it... the passive effect that multiplied my strength by three times when both my feet were planted on the ground is completely gone,’ he noted. ’Now I see exactly what the System meant. Because I didn’t choose the follow-up attribute technique to the Ox Hide, I lost the stance buff. Luckily, the permanent physical change of the Adamantine skin stayed.’

​"If you aren’t going to make the first move, then I will!" Vincent shouted, dashing forward with terrifying speed.

​He brought his sword down in a heavy, overhead cleave. Ian quickly raised his blade to block, but the sheer physical weight of Vincent’s strike was overwhelming. Ian was forced to let go with his left hand and press his bare palm directly against the back of his own blade to brace it, his boots skidding back several meters across the stone floor.

​’Tsk... That strike had a massive amount of power,’ Ian thought, his arms vibrating.

​"I didn’t think you would actually be able to block that. It seems you really got some muscle in there," Vincent said, relaxing his posture slightly. ’Although you could have dodged that though’

​"Tsk." Ian clicked his tongue and suddenly exploded forward.

​Channeling the explosive power of his newly forged Abyssal Dragon bones, his heavy boots completely shattered the solid stone platform beneath him. A massive spider-web of thick cracks violently rippled across the floor from the sheer force of his launch. He closed the distance in a flash, leaping high into the air to bring his sword down on Vincent. The heavy steel blade whistled violently with terrifying momentum.

​But to his shock, Vincent was faster. Before Ian could even swing, Vincent sidestepped and drove a devastating, punch directly into Ian’s stomach. Ian was sent flying backward, sliding across the cracked floor, though he managed to stay on his feet.

​"Huh. That is a ridiculously strong body you have there. I just punched you with my full physical might, yet you are still standing," Vincent said, his eyes widening in genuine surprise.

’What the hell is up with this brat’s body? It’s so insanely tough that my knuckles are actually throbbing in pain. It felt like punching a solid boulder!’

​Ian didn’t say a word. He tightened his grip on his sword, his golden eyes burning with serious focus as he stood back up.’ Shitt... he is playing me for a fool’

​"Not in the mood for talking now, are we?" Vincent smirked.

​Ian suddenly dashed, aggressively targeting Vincent’s left side.

​’Mmmm... aiming for my left side, huh? Since you noticed I favor my right more, you thought I would be weak on my left,’ Vincent thought, his smirk growing wider. ’That would be a brilliant tactical move against anyone else. But you see, Young Master... I am a dual wielder.’

​In a fluid, instantaneous motion, Vincent tossed his sword from his right hand into his left. Ian’s face twitched in surprise, but he didn’t panic and didn’t recklessly jump in. He planted his feet and unleashed a devastatingly powerful horizontal swing.

​Vincent casually parried the heavy blow, taking a single step back. He didn’t counterattack. Ian pressed the advantage, swinging his sword in wide, brutal arcs, forcing Vincent backward step by step. But Vincent never swung back; he only effortlessly deflected the strikes, his sharp eyes carefully watching Ian’s footwork and form.

This exchange continued for about ten more minutes with Ian still swinging fearlessly, until Vincent started slowly down.

"Sigh. Let’s stop," Vincent said in a calm voice, easily batting Ian’s blade aside.

​"What?! I can still go on!" Ian complained, catching his breath.

​"The funny thing is that I actually believe you that you can still go on." Vincent said looking at Ian with a smirk. " But that’s not actually the issue why I wanted you to stop"

​"Then...What is it?" Ian shot back.

​"You might possess a physical body stronger than most Fourth-Stage Aura Users, but you have absolute zero swordsmanship," Vincent stated bluntly. "You were just wildly swinging a piece of metal around. For a second, I thought I was fighting a greenhorn trainee trying to awaken to the First Stage."

​Vincent let his harsh words sink in before adding, "And did you forget? I am a Fifth-Stage Aura Master... and I didn’t use a single drop of Aura during this entire exchange."

​Ian froze, the reality of the power gap crashing down on him.

​"You need to learn how to actually wield a blade first. Once you master that, with your monstrous physical strength, you might actually be able to take down a real Fourth-Stage expert," Vincent said, turning his back and walking down the steps of the platform.

​Ian was left standing on the stage alone, staring at the steel in his hands.

​"Since you are my helpless, unskilled nephew," Vincent called back over his shoulder, "I will teach you how to properly use a sword. Be here every day starting tomorrow at nine in the morning."