Hearing this, Yuan Xiansi snapped his head around to look behind him.
Standing there was a man dressed in classical attire, staring at him with cold indifference. In his hand, he also held a sword!
"Are you here to challenge ?" Yuan Xiansi asked. He nodded, downing the rest of his liquor in one gulp. "Co on! Follow to the dojo."
"There is no rush," the newcor chuckled. "Before we go, I want to ask you two questions!"
"Whatever you have to ask, save it for after our bout! And rember to take off whatever caras you have on you. The Way of the Sword is a pure thing; do not think about relying on it to make money!" Yuan Xiansi said, his brows furrowing.
This was already his instinctive reaction. After all, so people had gone entirely too far. After he defeated every kendo dojo and all those so-called "masters" in Tokyo, the title of "Contemporary Sword Saint" had been thrust upon him.
Consequently, the challengers who ca after were not here to defeat him at all. They only wanted to claim the title of "the number one person beneath the Sword Saint" so they could open their own martial arts schools and rake in cash.
"Very well," the man slowly nodded, following him back into the kendo dojo. The two n stood facing each other, bowed, and drew their weapons.
"Clack!" In just a single exchange, the bamboo swords clashed together, swiftly separated, and crossed once more!
"Crack!" Unable to withstand the sheer force from the two n, the bamboo swords shattered simultaneously, turning into two useless pieces of scrap.
Overjoyed by this unexpected thrill, Yuan Xiansi grabbed two fresh bamboo swords from the wall and tossed one to his opponent. "Again!"
"No, let us use real swords," the man suggested, picking up the blade he had left leaning against the wall.
These words made Yuan Xiansi's gaze turn incredibly solemn. "Real blades an real danger... Are you certain about this, sir?"
"A good friend of mine once told that the mont you pick up a blade, there should only be the sword in your mind, and no other thoughts!" The man's words left Yuan Xiansi in a slight daze. Such a mindset, such an attitude... how long had it been since he last encountered sothing like this?
The young swordsman picked up his own sword and walked up to his opponent. "Since that is the case, forgive my offense!"
"Clang!" A crisp sound of colliding tal rang out. Staring at the broken blade in his hands and the sword pointed directly at him, Yuan Xiansi froze.
That sword was far too exquisite, and that strike was simply too fast!
The man sheathed his blade and stood tall. "Thank you for the match!"
"I lost," Yuan Xiansi stated plainly. A loss was a loss; there was no need to look for excuses, nor should he.
"You did not lose to . You lost to the master of this sword!" the man dressed in the robes of an Onmyoji said with a smile. "Now, are you ready to hear my two questions?"
Yuan Xiansi spoke with solemnity, "No, a defeat is a defeat. Having an inferior sword is no excuse for losing!"
He took this matter very seriously, which caused the man before him to regard him with even higher esteem. "Not bad, you can truly be considered a swordsman! So... do you wish to finish the incomplete task of your ancestor?"
"Ancestor?" Hearing this, Yuan Xiansi paused. He watched as the man raised a hand. A flash of light emanated from his sleeve, conjuring an illustration right in front of him.
The image depicted a tale of a group of people battling a great yokai, causing Yuan Xiansi to completely freeze in shock. "This... this display... who are you?"
"I am Abe no Seii, barely worthy to be called a cultivator," the newcor replied with a soft chuckle.
Abe no Seii naturally knew swordsmanship. As the foremost Onmyoji of his era, he had interacted with many samurai and swordsn. Furthermore, he was a rare polymath of his ti, so it was only natural that he possessed such skills.
Only then did realization strike Yuan Xiansi. He searched his mind for this figure's image, and after a long mont, finally connected it to a certain na from his mory. "The Great Onmyoji, Abe no Seii?" he gasped in astonishnt.
Although he was already sowhat swayed, he still wanted to test the waters. "But aren't they saying that rampant ghosts and specters are plaguing Tokyo right now? How can you prove that you are indeed Abe no Seii?"
"I did not co here to prove that to you." Abe no Seii shook his head, the Onmyoji's gaze exceptionally calm. "The current situation in Tokyo is far more complex than Kyoto was during the Heian period. But that is the fault of the nobles. What cri have the commoners committed?"
"I need a swordsman, a master of the Way of the Sword, to force back Shuten Doji and buy this city so breathing room!"
"This person will inherit the will of Minamoto no Yorimitsu. This person will also be placed in endless peril, liable to perish at any mont. Therefore, I need your answer. A simple yes or no will suffice!" Hearing this, Yuan Xiansi did not hesitate for even a second. "If it is true, then I accept! I will not fight for those nobles, but for ordinary people like us, I am willing to try!"
Even the spirit of martial arts, or rather the Way of the Sword, was never sothing selfish at its core. From the very beginning, it was rooted in the primal hopes of the working people.
At the very least, it existed to protect the weak and prevent bullying, rather than being twisted into today's bizarre concepts about "unifying the heart" or "concealing the sun and moon."
Although Yuan Xiansi's teacher, Miyamoto Makoto, belonged to the Miyamoto family, he had never taught Yuan Xiansi anything regarding the "Niten Ichi-ryu" style of the Way of the Sword. He had rely taught him how to draw his blade and how to strike.
Along the way, that old man who had tasted all the bitter and sweet hardships of the mortal world also imparted the most simple of truths, teaching him to do good deeds and walk the righteous path.
And so, the current Yuan Xiansi ca to be. It was for this very reason that Abe no Seii was able to discover a swordsman with such an exceptionally pure and clear heart, a rarity in this realm!
He spoke with calm restraint, "The appearance of ghosts and monsters will put the children around in grave danger. I cannot just stand by and watch them be threatened. So, if there is a chance, I will definitely step forward!"
He did not care about things that had nothing to do with him; he only wanted to protect what was close to him.
"Mhm! Minamoto no Yorimitsu would be very pleased to have a descendant like you. Without such a will to fight for the people, he would never have been able to defeat the mighty Shuten Doji either!" Abe no Seii nodded in satisfaction. "So, are you ready to accept your mission?"
He offered the sword in his hand. "Dojigiri Yasutsuna, the blade of your ancestor. It possesses formidable power. It once severed the head of Shuten Doji, and now, it belongs to you!"
Yuan Xiansi accepted the ancient and unadorned blade with a hint of awe. This was the very weapon that had effortlessly cleaved through his own sword and defeated him just monts ago.
Only when his fingers wrapped around the hilt did he begin to vaguely understand exactly where his opponent's overwhelming strength had co from!
It was this sword! The blade was simply too powerful. Its innate might was enough to make him feel a surge of power coursing through his own veins.
"No wonder it could slay a great yokai. This sword is incredible!" Yuan Xiansi could not help but exclaim. Only as a swordsman could he truly appreciate its magnificence.
He could feel that peculiar "intent." Even though his physical body had not changed at all, his "intent" had abruptly swelled with the sword's assistance.
He could clearly sense that, if he only wished it, he could cleave his own house perfectly in half with a single slash!
"This sword... is very dangerous!" Mustering an imnse amount of willpower to sheathe the blade, Yuan Xiansi slowly exhaled. "I nearly turned my only piece of property into a pile of rubble!"
"Worry not. If you fail, this entire city will be reduced to rubble anyway, so your single building will not make much of a difference," Abe no Seii stated.
"What do you an this city will be reduced to rubble..." Yuan Xiansi blinked. "Does it have sothing to do with the massive ghost from yesterday?"
He had naturally heard rumors about yesterday's incident. However, such matters had little to do with small-town citizens living on the outskirts of Tokyo, so they simply carried on with their daily lives.
That bone-deep apathy had almost beco their instinct, so they did not really concern themselves with the situation in the city proper.
"Look up at the sky!" As Abe no Seii's words fell, Yuan Xiansi raised his head and saw what was happening above.
Endless dark clouds were slowly creeping toward them from the distance. Those pitch-black storm clouds looked as though they intended to completely swallow the city, leaving not a single gap of light.
"Dark clouds bearing down on the city—this is the on of a mass gathering of ghosts. The sins committed by the people of this city, their worship of demons, has birthed a ghost city! This tropolis will beco a city of ghosts, and it is irreversible!"
"Irreversible?" Yuan Xiansi was stunned. "What does that an?"
"It naturally ans the death of this city!" Abe no Seii proclaid. "The sun will no longer be able to shine through. Resentful energy will perate every corner. The people must either relocate or stay and suffer!"
"Then if I slay Shuten Doji, does that an I can prevent this?" Yuan Xiansi hurriedly asked. "Many of my students live here. If there is no sun, they certainly won't have the money to move away. They will suffer terribly!"
His students did not co from wealthy families. If this city truly turned into such a hellscape, wouldn't they be as good as dead?
"If you can slay Shuten Doji, you will indeed be able to enact so change, but you cannot reverse it entirely. This is a heaven-ordained catastrophe!" Abe no Seii said. "Even if you cannot kill Shuten Doji, if you manage to enter his body and slaughter those special ghosts, it will also create a shift. But... are you prepared?"
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