Female Swordsman Training Dojo

But it came to nothing.

Without retreating to parry, but instead circling around to Hirako's side and behind the moment the wooden swords clashed, Hayama Yoten's lips curled slightly. He admitted that Hirako's swordsmanship was very good and her strength was great, but as long as he didn't clash with her head-on, it would be fine!

Qingxin, who was watching the battle from the sidelines, was very interested in the scene. Ye Shanyangtian's movements and footwork were the Xuan Ye Sword without any external flow, but of course, it was not the standard kind. This move was originally meant to be a defensive counterattack, but he used it as an attack.

However, to think that one can defeat his top disciple is wishful thinking.

boom!

A breathing sound, even louder than Hayama Yoten's breathing technique, exploded out. Realizing her mistake, Hirako immediately used her killing move—Thunder Breathing, Third Form: Gathering Mosquitoes into Thunder!

With the explosive power of Thunder Breathing fully unleashed, Hayama Yoten felt a ringing in his ears, and the enemy who was right in front of him suddenly appeared on his left. Then, he was stabbed in the arm—the force was not heavy—but immediately afterward, he was stabbed in the chest!

So fast!

If she had a real knife, he would be dead now!

In terms of sparring and challenges, he has already lost to the point of no return!

So he simply dropped the wooden sword, and the next second he was pleased with his wise decision, because Hirako's wooden sword was stopped in front of his throat.

Even a wooden sword can kill if you use enough force, especially if you aim for a weak point like the throat...

Hirako sheathed her wooden sword, and Hayama Yoten swore he saw regret on her face; this guy genuinely wanted to keep fighting…

He guessed correctly. Hirako put away her wooden sword with regret: "What's next?"

“There’s no next one.” Ye Shan Yangtian looked behind him. He came with ten companions today, hoping to at least have a match with Hiraharu, but well… he was the strongest last one.

Chapter 30: The Effects of Advertising

"I told you so, Ye Zi! This older sister is super—strong!"

"I know, I know, just be quiet!"

Saten Yoko, holding onto the bouncy Hanazawa Nana, felt the surrounding gazes become incredibly piercing, and she wished she could disappear into a hole in the ground. Especially when the handsome female swordsman and the man next to her also looked over, she lost her grip on Hanazawa Nana for a moment.

Then, without thinking, she darted away, like her big white dog imported from Russia, and rushed to the female swordsman: "Big sister~ do you take disciples? My friend wants to learn swordsmanship from you, she's very good, you know, she was already very skilled when she was little..."

"Hana! Sawa! Nana!"

Saten Yoko was furious.

On the other side, Ye Shanyang, who had been ignored because he had attracted too much attention with his lack of common sense and his unhappiness, breathed a sigh of relief, winked at his fellow disciples who had come with him, and quietly slipped away.

But after walking a few steps, he suddenly stopped: "Miss Baosheng?"

Hojo Amu nodded to Hayama Yoten, then waved her hand. Hayama Yoten hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something, but then left with the rest of the group.

Anyway, he's no match for Miss Baosheng, it's a pity he's a teacher's college student... sigh.

However, the two people who were looking at each other did not notice that there was another gaze watching them, mainly from above Hojo Amu's head.

Another SR?

But it seems to be someone from the Hosho Dojo... What a pity, he should just focus on luring the kitten.

Harunobu withdrew his gaze and turned to Saten Yoko, who had already suppressed Hanazawa Nana. However, before being suppressed, Hanazawa Nana had almost finished recounting Saten Yoko's dark history.

What kind of self-proclaimed "One-Handed Demon Sword Princess" or "Kanda's Female Sword Saint" is this? She wreaked havoc in her mother's garden with a wooden sword, and as a result, she was dressed up as a Girls' Day doll for a month...

Harunobu suppressed a laugh: "So, you two want to come to our Aozora-kan to learn swordsmanship, is that right?"

"Eh? Nana didn't... uh, Nana wants to learn!"

Faced with the deadly hand strike of the one-handed demon sword princess, Hanazawa Nana yielded, and Saten Yoko nodded: "Yes, I want to learn swordsmanship from you. May I ask what the tuition fee is?"

“The price was supposed to go up, but you’re the first customers to come to us on your own initiative, so let’s keep it at five yen a month,” Harunobu said, hands in his pockets. “By the way, Sachiko is still the one mainly responsible for teaching you. She’s currently the instructor at this dojo.”

Saten Yoko and Hanazawa Nana had no objections; in fact, they thought it was better this way. After all, Harunobu was a man, and a very young one at that. Practicing swordsmanship inevitably involved some physical contact, and they wanted to avoid that situation as much as possible.

“See, Sachiko.” Harunobu nodded seriously. “It was definitely better to have you as the teacher’s representative. Otherwise, those two female college students might have given up—even if they had agreed, their reputations would have been damaged, both for me and for them.”

Having already damaged her reputation, Taira Yukiko gave Harunobu a somewhat resentful look: "I've already agreed, haven't I?"

After defeating Arima Ichiro and his group last time, Harunobu brought up the matter of becoming a substitute teacher again. He successfully persuaded Taira Yukiko to start working as a substitute teacher by arguing that although there were no students, there were troublesome challengers.

“Hahaha…” Harunobu chuckled dryly, while Hirako shook her head: “It’s about time, I should go to the factory. I’ll leave the entrance test for these two to you, Shiban.”

Having decided to become a teacher's assistant, Hirako naturally had to resign from her job at the textile factory, and as usual, today was the day for Hirako to settle all her wages.

"Be careful on the road. If you have any problems, just come find me." Although he didn't think the factory manager of Anxin Textile Factory could do anything, Harunobu's memories as a corporate slave still reminded Hirako to avoid situations like a black factory withholding wages and then being slaughtered by a female swordsman.

Wooden swords can also kill, especially since Hirako has mastered Thunder Breathing to a high level. If she were to fight Arima Ichiro now, she would most likely win.

"Then let's leave it at that." Harunobu looked at No-Brain and Unhappy, who were clearly tense, which Harunobu found quite amusing.

"Don't be nervous, we can just take the test here. It's not a very important test, just to see which sword style you are more suited to start learning."

As Qingxin spoke, he glanced at the tops of the two people's heads again, and sighed with emotion.

Hanazawa Nana, who clearly doesn't want to learn swordsmanship, is an R-rank, while Saten Yoko, who seems eager to learn swordsmanship, is only an N-rank. Talent really is a illogical thing.

"I see... You... You... Master, do you know many sword techniques?" Saten Yoko called out to Master with some discomfort, while Harunobu nodded. "Our Tenten Seishin-ryu has many branches and styles. For example, Sachiko just used the Lightning Sword, and there are also the Wind Sword, the Water Sword, and so on..."

As I said before, now that only Harunobu is left in the Natural Harunobu style, he can fool people however he wants, even though Water Breathing and Wind Breathing are still in the cold gacha pool.

But anyway, let's show him their talents first.

Harunobu extended his hand to the two of them: "First, please pay your tuition."

No-Brain and Unhappy took out their wallets and counted out the money. Harunobu then opened the system panel. The disciple list changed from 1/2 to 2/2 after he confirmed that he had accepted Hanazawa Nana's tuition fee. However, Harunobu was not worried about being occupied by an R-rank. As a teacher, he had unlimited rights and could expel disciples at any time.

But before that, let's take a look at this person's talent... Harunobu opened the disciple list and looked at Hanazawa Nana's information, focusing on her talent.

Talent: Enlightenment (Increases learning efficiency of Flow Sword Techniques by 10%)

Harunobu glanced silently at Hanazawa Nana, whose round face was once again being held hostage by Saten Yoko, and sighed, "You can know a person's face but not their heart."

Then Harunobu dismissed the lazybones who was clearly only good at working for three days and then slacking off for two, and added Saten Yoko to the list. Although the latter was a little less talented, she was definitely hardworking enough and might bring more study points.

Having confirmed the situation of his two new disciples, Harunobu decided not to teach them Thunder Breathing for the time being. After all, they did not have the same talent as Hirayukiko, who was very well suited to Thunder Breathing, and Harunobu already had more than one sword technique that he could use.

So, it's you I've chosen—Flying Sword Style!

Just as Harunobu was about to start making up a name for the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu style, a "natural Haruno-ryu" style, the new SR... oh no, Hojo Amu walked over.

"Director Hira, hello, nice to meet you. My name is Amu Hosho. Yes, I am Ichijo Hosho's daughter."

Chapter 31: Since you want to see it so much, I'll let you see it.

Hirako walked through the gates of Anxin Textile Factory. The familiar scenery didn't evoke any feelings in her. Instead, the gatekeeper gave her a strange look as she wore a kendo uniform and had a wooden sword hanging at her waist.

"Um... are you Ms. Hirako?" the doorman, who was usually condescending towards ordinary workers, asked cautiously, a wary smile on his face.

Hirako had no interest in making things difficult for him, and simply nodded: "Hello, is the factory manager here now?"

"Ah, yes! Yes, he is, in his office." The doorman said with a somewhat apprehensive tone. Hirako glanced at him, feeling that something seemed a little strange, but it also seemed reasonable, after all, her status was different now.

In short, Hirako became more vigilant, switched to Thunder Breathing mode, and then headed towards the factory manager's office.

Because of the time constraints, the factory area was quite empty, with everyone concentrated in the workshops. Hirako was able to easily reach the factory manager's office and knock on the door.

"Hello, I'm Hirako, here to complete my resignation procedures."

As Hirako spoke, a somewhat chaotic sound came from inside the room, but it quickly subsided, leaving only the sound of steady footsteps approaching the door.

The door opened smoothly inward, and a man whom Hirako had never seen before stood behind it, slightly raising his head to look up at her, but with a smile on his face: "Hello, Ms. Hirako."

"Hello, is the factory manager in?"

Hirako scrutinized the man before her. He had regular features, a peaceful expression, and wore a very sophisticated Western-style suit. A bright red tie hung between his gray coat and white shirt, and his brown leather shoes were paired with dark gray trousers. A wooden sword was tightly fastened to his belt at his waist.

Swordsman?

Hirako was on high alert and decided not to talk to the man at all, even skipping the polite small talk. After all, she was just there to collect her wages, and what happened to the factory after that was none of her business.

But things were not so simple. As Hirako asked the question, a reply came from inside the room: "Miss Hirako, I'm here."

The voice was undoubtedly that of the factory manager of Anxin Textile Factory, but the tone was clearly somewhat awkward. As the factory manager came out of the room, his awkward expression further confirmed Hirako's judgment.

Despite the bad predictions, Hirako made one last effort: "Factory manager, I'll collect the rest of my wages."

She's stopped mentioning resignation procedures. Anyway, she's already done most of her work, and the most important thing left is getting paid. In the end, both the factory and she, as a worker, only care about money; nothing else matters, especially since she won't be doing this job again.

But the worst still happened. The factory manager, sporting a receding hairline, awkwardly clutched his remaining hair and stammered, "Um... I'm sorry, your paperwork isn't complete yet, and your salary payment will be delayed... Also, I'm no longer the factory manager of this textile factory starting today."

"Huh?" Hirako raised her voice, her eyes sharpening. "Mr. Kawada, this isn't what we agreed on. Didn't we already complete all the formalities? And today's salary settlement was scheduled in advance!"

"Um...this..." The Mediterranean factory manager was scratching his head in a dilemma, looking like he was about to burst his hairline. But more than that, he was worried about his life and dared not continue to confront Hirako. He could only look to the last person present for help.

Hirako followed his gaze to the man, whose face was beaming with an undisguised smile, as if he were watching a play. Even when he noticed Hirako and Kawada's gazes, he did not look away, but instead smiled even more brightly.

"Hello, Ms. Hirako, my name is Naito, Naito Ichiyo. It's a pleasure to meet you." As he spoke, the man named Naito Ichiyo extended his hand to Hirako as if to shake hands, but Hirako's hand rested firmly on the wooden sword at her waist, and her tone turned cold.

"Hello, Mr. Naito, it seems you instructed Mr. Kawata to embezzle my salary?"

Naito Ichiyo's smile faltered for a moment, then she laughed even more exaggeratedly as if she had been provoked: "You're going a bit too far. I'm just conducting a rigorous investigation into the assets of my factory, especially the cash."

"Your factory?" Hirako emphasized the key point, then understood. "I see, you bought this factory?"

Naito Ichiyo raised an index finger and shook it: "No, no, no, it would be too wasteful to buy out such an outdated factory. I just bought some shares and made some new investments—ah, you don't seem interested in this, so let's just say that."

When Hirako saw the repulsive arrogance on the face of the man named Naito, she had a bad feeling. Sure enough, what came out of his mouth afterward was even more disgusting venom.

Naito Ichiyo said confidently, "From today onwards, all financial expenditures of this factory will require my consent and approval, and will be subject to the procedures I have set out for—or, we can make a deal."

Hirako frowned and turned to leave.

Naito Ichiyo's voice then came from behind, still as confident as ever: "Don't misunderstand, Ms. Hirako, I don't like old women like you. What I want is your swordsmanship. Tell me its true essence and secrets, and not only will you get back your salary from last month, I can also give you an extra five... no, fifteen times the reward!"

Hirako turned back, and Naito Ichiyo's smile was full of confidence. Of course he had reason to be confident. After Arima Ichiro's idiot failure, he immediately investigated the information about this Aozorakan teacher and learned that she was short of money, while he was not short of money at all.

As for why he suddenly wanted Hirahara Harunobu's swordsmanship, you should ask the lady in front of him, Hirahara Sachiko. Generally speaking, no matter how talented she is, it is impossible for her to grow to the point of being able to rival Arima Ichiro in half a month, right?

Therefore, there must be something special about Taira no Sei's swordsmanship. And if it can make a mere woman so strong, wouldn't he become even stronger if he learned it? Strong enough to become the top disciple of the Shin-Kage!

To be honest, Naito Ichiyo is now very glad that he chose to cause trouble for Taira Harunobu because he was in a bad mood, because it turned out to be such a big surprise for him!

It should be noted that Hayashi Uemon also had no children, and had already formally told his disciples that he would choose the strongest one to inherit his family name in the future!

That's why he took the risk of personally approaching Hirako instead of using someone else as an intermediary as before, hiding behind the scenes, just to be on the safe side!

“Well, Miss Hirako, you don’t want your parents to die in their hospital beds because of a lack of money, do you? They ask for quite a lot every month.” Naito Ichiyo said with his hands clasped together, looking confident. “After all, you’re not a samurai. Even if you’re very talented, it’s very difficult to earn this much money as a swordsman. Such a chance to get rich quick is not common.”

However, Naito Ichiyo's confidence did not last long, and it gradually crumbled under Hirako's look of disbelief, turning into anger.

“Miss Hirako, are you still trying to bargain? Being too greedy is not a good thing…”

Hirako interrupted him: "Don't use your foolish thinking to speculate about others. It's true that I'm short of money, but I can always borrow money from my teacher's college. I won't do business with someone like you."

"Is that so?" Naito Ichiyo said fiercely, "Even if he can lend you money once, twice, or even ten times, how many times can you actually borrow from him, and how will you ever be able to pay it back? Or perhaps..."

Hirako took a deep breath and slowly said, "I see. You're the type who won't know when to stop until you get beaten up... Alright, since you're so eager to see the swordsmanship of our Natural Harushin-ryu school, I'll grant your wish."

"Raise your sword, swordsman, don't accuse me of sneak attacking."

Naito Ichiyo's remaining trash talk got stuck in his throat. His carefully made-up face twitched twice, and then he gripped the wooden sword at his waist and slowly drew it out.

"Natural Seishin-ryu·Beginner, Sachiko Taira - join in!"

Chapter 32: Amu Hosho's Question

When Hirako called out his name, Naito Ichiyo did not respond according to the rules. Instead, he raised his wooden sword in front of him, the blade standing straight up with the tip pointing towards the sky.

"Eight Phases?"

Hirako was somewhat puzzled. She recognized the unusual configuration, but not knowing anything about the Katori Shinto style, she still couldn't figure out what her opponent was planning.

But it doesn't matter anymore.

She took a deep breath and, at the moment of exhalation, forcefully pushed off the floor with her left foot.

Thump! A loud shout came from the floor, and Hirako rushed towards the enemy.

A flash of thunder!

When Naito Ichiyo heard the thunderous sound of breathing, his eyes widened suddenly, and he slashed straight forward with his vertical wooden sword, creating a fierce whooshing sound.