The forest near the cabin became the training ground for Ling Feng and Kirito, a slightly more open area.
With no one around, even though it was daytime, only the chirping of insects and birds could be heard.
A gentle breeze rustled through the leaves, a surprisingly cool, pleasant sound, perfect for a clandestine training session.
Ling Feng and Kirito stood facing each other, one in white, the other in black, their clothes billowing in the wind.
"Kirito, I can't really teach you anything about Dual Blades."
"Huh?"
Kirito froze, glancing down at Elucidator and Dark Repulser in his hands, utterly bewildered.
I've already drawn my swords, and now you say you can't teach me? Are you kidding me?
Ling Feng's tone shifted as he slowly drew Flamescion from its sheath, facing Kirito and assuming a combat stance.
"Although I can't teach you, I can help you learn on your own."
"Since Dual Blades is your unique skill, there must be a reason behind it."
"Come, let me see your current understanding of Dual Blades."
Ling Feng immediately sent a duel request to Kirito.
Kirito quickly understood the implied meaning in Ling Feng's words – let's have a fight first.
So, without hesitation, he clicked accept.
As the duel notification sounded, both Ling Feng and Kirito lowered their stances, gripping their longswords, their eyes locked on each other.
The countdown ticked by.
3...
2...
1...
start!
As the final second of the countdown fell.
Instantly, both men shot from their positions, charging at each other.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sword lights of red, black, and blue intertwined.
Ling Feng fought with his usual fierce and dominant style.
His strength, sword techniques, and skills were honed to perfection, giving him the upper hand and forcing Kirito to retreat.
Though they hadn't dueled thousands of times, they had certainly had hundreds.
Kirito's assessment of Ling Feng was: aggressive offense, direct attacks on enemy weaknesses, and unpredictable swordplay.
You might call him reckless, but he could defend, and after defending, he would attack fiercely, with a sense of unwavering courage.
As for his swordplay, they had fought over a hundred matches, and each time Ling Feng's swordplay was different, as if he were using Kirito as a practice dummy to explore the most suitable techniques for himself.
Unless you proposed a full-power fight, then he would employ a set of traceable sword techniques, but these techniques improved with each encounter.
This time, Ling Feng was using this set of techniques against him.
The duel concluded with Ling Feng losing one-tenth of his health to Kirito's half.
Kirito, panting, looked at the dual swords in his hands, confused.
"Phew, why is my disadvantage in this fight even greater than before?"
In previous duels with Ling Feng, his swordplay had also evolved.
Although he always lost, Ling Feng would at least lose a quarter of his health.
Unlike this time, where the defeat was so thorough.
"Here, have some water to calm your nerves."
Ling Feng handed Kirito a water skin.
Kirito sheathed his swords, took the water skin, took a long drink, exhaled, his eyes still filled with confusion.
Ling Feng looked at Kirito, took a drink himself, wiped the water from his mouth, and said calmly.
"Kirito, do you know why you lost so much worse than before?"
Kirito shook his head.
"Your basic understanding of Dual Blades is the same as mine. You can block, you can attack, and you swing your two swords very smoothly. You have great talent. However, you have a flaw right now."
"A flaw?"
Kirito looked at Ling Feng, eager to know what he was doing wrong.
"Yes, your offense isn't fierce enough, and your focus has always been on my sword, thinking about blocking first, then attacking."
"Your thinking is half right and half wrong."
Kirito fell silent upon hearing this.
Seeing this, Ling Feng continued.
"Your attention should be mostly on me. Blocking and dodging should be secondary, not the primary focus."
"Dual Blades, Dual Blades. Why isn't it called Twin Swords Style or Two Swords Style?"
"The technique and core of Dual Blades lie within these three words."
Kirito pondered, a spark of inspiration suddenly igniting in his mind. His expression brightened, and he quickly said.
"You mean the word 'Blades'?"
Ling Feng nodded, raising a finger, and smiled.
"Still only half right. The correct answer lies in the words 'Blade' and 'Flow' from Dual Blades. Neither word can be omitted."
"Using blades emphasizes ferocity, and the word 'flow' represents the speed and smoothness of the strike."
"I don't know how others view Dual Blades, but for me, the strength of Dual Blades is its ability to continuously launch fierce attacks on the opponent."
"Once the attack speed is ramped up and the offense is fierce, the opponent will be completely suppressed by you."
"But for you, Kirito, your offense isn't fierce enough, and your strikes aren't decisive. If you weren't focused on blocking my sword and instead attacked with all your might, with your talent for dual-wielding, I might have lost this duel."
Upon hearing this, Kirito's pupils contracted, and a flicker of realization appeared in his eyes.
"So that's it, Dual Blades... is used like this?"
Ling Feng's words made him suddenly enlightened, understanding how to use the Dual Blades skill.
"Kirito, let me ask you a question."
"Suppose you are now alone facing the floor boss of the 74th floor, and you have two choices, one is..."
Before Ling Feng could finish, Kirito responded first.
"I will choose to fight with all my might!"
Kirito's gaze was firm, his answer given without a trace of hesitation.
Ling Feng's question offered two choices: one was to wait for death, the other was to fight desperately.
The reason was simple: given the current difficulty and strength of the floor boss, he alone could not defeat it.
However, victory was not impossible, but the probability was extremely small, as rare as finding a needle in a haystack.
No one wanted to die so easily, and he was no exception. He had family waiting for him outside.
If he died in the game, his mother and Suguha would be heartbroken.
And wasn't the purpose of all his struggles and efforts to survive and return?
Even if the opponent was incredibly powerful, he didn't want to simply wait for death. He would give his all to grasp that tiny sliver of hope, and even if he died, he would take a piece of the enemy with him!
Ling Feng nodded in satisfaction. Kirito's unyielding spirit was one of the reasons many fans liked him.
"Exactly. If you had faced the floor boss with Dual Blades for the first time instead of me, your performance would have been several times better."
Ling Feng had initially expected a tough duel and had prepared himself mentally.
But as the fight progressed, he realized that Kirito was completely different from his portrayal in the anime.
He lacked the ferocity of the anime and fought hesitantly.
After a brief thought, he understood why.
In the anime, Kirito's first use of Dual Blades was against a floor boss. At that time, if he didn't go all out, Kirito and the others would have died.
But fighting against him, without the risk of death, caused Kirito's Dual Blades skill level to drop significantly.
This made the fight less enjoyable for Ling Feng, who wanted to spar with the powerful Kirito from the anime.
Ling Feng took a few steps back, Flamescion unsheathed again, pointing at Kirito, his eyes fixed on him.
"Come, Kirito. From now on, treat me as that unbeatable enemy."
"Let me see your true strength!"
Kirito was stunned for a moment, then a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He nodded slightly.
"Alright!"
Kirito rose from the ground, slowly drawing his twin swords, his gaze fixed on his current "mortal enemy."
He gripped the hilts of his swords, assumed a fighting stance, and honestly felt his blood boiling.
He understood how to use Dual Blades.
As Kirito agreed, the system's countdown began.
3...
2...
1...
start!
As soon as the notification sounded, Ling Feng and Kirito leaped out like cheetahs pouncing on prey, engaging in a fierce battle.
Sparks flew from the clashing blades, and the sound of metal colliding echoed through the forest.
Kirito, now understanding how to use Dual Blades, launched an incredibly swift offense, abandoning some of his previous sword techniques and attacking fiercely.
Fighting with a single sword against dual blades was already difficult.
Furthermore, Kirito was a natural genius with Dual Blades.
Under such an onslaught, even Ling Feng couldn't withstand it, being forced to retreat repeatedly. It was the first time he had been so disheveled in a long time.
"Ling Feng, you're going to lose this time!"
Kirito, watching Ling Feng's health bar dwindle, was incredibly excited, his swords swinging with even more vigor.
Since the start of SAO, he had dueled Ling Feng hundreds of times and had never won. This time, he finally saw a glimmer of victory.
"It's not over until the end, who wins and who loses is not yet decided!"
A flame seemed to burn fiercely in Ling Feng's eyes. Fighting intensely against a formidable opponent was exactly what he had longed for, his hands constantly moving his blade.
The speed of the three swords colliding increased, and the two fought more ferociously. In the end, both abandoned defense and unleashed their ultimate moves.
Ling Feng checked his health bar; he had only 60% remaining, while Kirito still had 80%.
If he continued like this, he would surely lose.
So, he stopped holding back. His gaze sharpened, he cleaved through Kirito's guard with a sword, and retreated a few steps.
His hand swept across Flamescion's blade.
"Streamer Sword!"
Instantly, a golden light surged from Flamescion's blade.
This was a combo sword skill created by Ling Feng, unleashing ten consecutive attacks on the enemy with streamer-like speed, causing massive chain damage.
Seeing Ling Feng use a sword skill, Kirito didn't hesitate and used one of Dual Blades' exclusive sword skills – Starburst Stream.
"Starburst Stream!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
If someone were watching from a distance, they would see sword energy and sword light flashing through the forest, along with shattered trees.
After some time, by the lake shore, Ling Feng and Kirito stood, gazing at the calm surface of the lake, enjoying the gentle breeze.
Ling Feng had lost the duel, his first loss in over a year of dueling.
However, he had enjoyed the fight immensely. Kirito with Dual Blades was indeed at the peak of his strength. Ling Feng couldn't defeat him even without using his dual swords. He accepted his defeat wholeheartedly.