Demon Lord's Reincarnation

John had watched the video records of each of the Emperor's matches multiple times and had gained a lot of insights. Even though he has not figured out a way to beat the legendary Emperor, he had learned a little bit of the Emperor's swordsmanship.

The Emperor's sword was not as flashy as the other swordsmanship styles in the empire and had no excess movements. It uses but a single swing to cut everything in its path. It felt less like a swordsman style, but more like an assassin's style.

...

John got excited as he went out to do some of the forms of the Emperor's swordsmanship. It was already night and most of the prodigies have gone to sleep. Still, there were some of them continuing to practice.

John went to look for a secluded spot and started to practice the Emperor's style. The more he swung his sword, the more he understood. The Emperor's sword was as simple as it could be, and it functioned in the form of the origin of the sword.

Nowadays many swordsmen have different philosophies in the way of the sword. Some believe that the sword was a means of enlightenment. Some practice the sword as a means to protect others. The others use it to take whatever they want. Then there were others that use it for the thrill of the kill.

On the other hand, Emperor Ren was different. He used the sword as nothing more than a tool. In the eyes of the Emperor, the sword wasn't anything beyond what it was, it was simply a tool nothing more nothing less. In Ren's eyes, the sword could be used to kill, it could be used to protect, it could be used as a tool for enlightenment, it could be used in any way he wishes it to be. He was unlike the others who practically believe the sword was something beyond what it was. To Ren, it was nothing more than what it was, but it could also be whatever he wanted it to be.

It was like the Emperor took all the other philosophies and turned them into one thing. The sword path the Emperor was on, was where the sword was but decoration and the real power came from the owner. To John, that felt like the truth of the sword.

John wasn't sure if his theory was correct, but that's what he felt. As John continued to swing his sword in different forms, he came to an understanding that there was no need for any of those ridiculous techniques that he has learned. All of those things were simply impurities in his swordsmanship.

...

After a while, John finally stopped swinging his sword, the moment he did so he heard someone clapping. John quickly lifted his sword and took a defensive stance.

He looked around and finally noticed that there was a girl that look to be around ten years old standing near him. The little girl had long wavy black hair and deep dark eyes that felt like they could peer to your very core. Despite being a young child, John could already see that she would grow into an unimaginable beauty.

At first, John thought that he didn't notice the girl because he was too focused on his training, but now as he looked at the girl he had a different opinion. Despite seeing her there standing right in front of him, John could not feel her presence, nor could he sense her mana flow.

"You have a rather good grasp on the formless sword for an outsider, big brother. It still pales in comparison to the real deal, but I guess you're on the right track."

As she was talking the girl suddenly disappeared from John's sight. He was rather surprised that he could not catch her movement at all. As his tension rose, somebody suddenly spoke beside him.

"You should loosen your stance a bit more."

When John heard the voice beside him he reflexively attacked and swung his sword sideways. The moment he did so he wanted to stop but he couldn't. He was already afraid that he would accidentally cut the little girl, but to his surprise, she was no longer there.

"Did I startle you?" He once again heard the little girl's voice, he saw that she was now standing right in front of him. John breathed a sigh of relief as he lowered his weapon.

"Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself. I'm also a participant in the upcoming tournament. My name is Kiara."

Hearing what she said, some things finally made sense. Normally John would be surprised to hear such a young child was joining the tournament, but after seeing her capabilities he wasn't that surprised.

"I see... I'm John, it's nice to meet you, Kiara." Seeing that John was no longer hostile, Kiara smiled at him.

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you, big bro."

John was a little embarrassed to be called a big bro and wanted to tell Kiara to stop, but when he saw her smile he sighed and just accepted it.

"So big bro, about your stance you really should loosen up a bit. The main point of that style of swordsmanship is flexibility. So being too tight would stop you from mastering the formless sword. Hmm, I guess, I can show you how it's done."

Kiara created a sword made of mana and took a stance she felt comfortable with. It was a similar stance to what the Emperor had used in the previous competitions. The weapon was lowered and her whole body was relaxed. She then slowly moved forward towards John. Once she got near enough the sword was suddenly placed in John's neck. He was unable to respond to the movement, as everything she did was so natural it was as if the sword near his neck was supposed to be there.

"That's how you do it."

"How do you-" John was about to ask how she knew so much about the Emperor's swordsmanship when someone suddenly spoke.

"My lady, it's about time you head back home. If you're late again, your mother will scold you, and increase your training."

John could not detect where the voice was coming from, as he looked around he could not find any trace of the person.

"Oh fine... Hey big bro, I need to get home. I hope the next time we meet you can play with me."

Kiara waved her hand and disappeared. John was amazed from start to finish. It would seem that he had grossly underestimated the other geniuses that would fight in this tournament. He then gritted his teeth and a few seconds later he sighed. He scratched his head and calmed himself.

"... So I need to loosen up..." John whispered to himself as he decided to sleep.