Female Swordsman Training Dojo

The cozy hour passed quickly, and the loudspeaker sounded again.

"The first match of the semifinals! The third-generation master of the Natural Harushin-ryu school! Taira no Nobu—"

Hirako, who was sitting on Harunobu's lap and enjoying her meal, paused. Her nimble tongue reluctantly released Harunobu's fingers and began chewing the fried chicken in her mouth. Harunobu leaned down and kissed Hirako's oily lips, then stood up and picked up his asahi katana amidst the blaring of a horn.

"—A duel between the tenth master of the Echigo Itto-ryu school of Bishamontenbutsu! Uesugi Yoshinobu!"

"Such a strong opponent right from the start..." Harunobu tightened his grip on the Asagi tucked into his waistband, preparing to borrow Hirako's Haruyuki Maru, but the trumpet immediately blared again.

"Semi-final Round Two! Natural Harukin Style - No Permission Granted! Draw!"

Chapter 360

Sachiko! A duel! Natural Rishin-ryu - Menkyo Kaiden! Minamoto no Yukisakura!

"So, this is how it works..." Harunobu said, taking the dream message from Hosho Amu. "Looks like I have to finish this quickly. I can't miss your match."

"Don't let your guard down, Master." Hirako also stood up, wiping the grease from her lips with a handkerchief. "Besides, I'm also very eager to see Master's spectacular performance in the ring."

"Yes, yes, then let's see who's faster."

As Harunobu spoke, he patted Hirako's large buttocks beneath her loose robe, "Don't let your guard down too much, Minamoto Yukisakura's thoughts seem quite troublesome."

"Yeah, I'll win!"

Hirako spoke confidently, then noticed that Harunobu's expression was a little off.

"What's wrong? Teacher's college?"

"No, just remember to dodge if Yuan Xueying uses any strange slashes later." Qingxin shook his head, and under the urging of the loudspeaker, he and Pingxingzi left the private room and went onto the arena respectively.

On the other side, Genkuro, who hadn't gotten a lucky turn, patted Uesugi Yoshinobu on the shoulder with dissatisfaction: "Good luck! But don't go too far. You wouldn't be thinking of something as stupid as marrying Misuru-hime, would you?"

Uesugi Yoshinobu took off the rosary from his wrist, shook his head with a wry smile, and said, "Do I look like such an extreme person? Besides, you overestimate me. I wouldn't even dare to say I can beat Taira no Harunobu."

“Based on his performance in the previous matches, your chances of winning are not small,” Genjiro said bluntly. “So you really shouldn’t go too far, or it will make everyone feel awkward.”

Whether considering that Taira no Harunobu was helping them avenge their grievances, or that the champion would be betrothed to Misuru-hime, neither of these two old men was suited to defeat Taira no Harunobu. Especially since Taira no Harunobu's strength was not lacking; although his willpower was somewhat weak, his combat prowess was indeed at their level.

Therefore, Genkuro didn't see anything wrong with asking Uesugi Yoshinobu to go easy on him, and Uesugi Yoshinobu felt the same way; he didn't want to find a woman at all, especially a troublesome woman like a royal princess. He'd leave that to the philandering Taira no Harunobu; he really couldn't handle it.

Removing all his jewelry except for a jade Buddha pendant, Uesugi Yoshinobu leaped onto the ring. Meanwhile, Minamoto Yuki Sakura and Hirai Sachiko had finished calling out their names and were now locked in a standoff.

Therefore, as soon as Uesugi Yoshinobu stepped onto the stage, Harunobu eagerly announced his name, releasing all his breath. Two thunderous sounds from different sources reverberated in the venue, as if an invisible thunderstorm was taking place, instantly putting the audience into a state of excitement.

Looking at the excited Harunobu, Uesugi Yoshinobu first called out the name again before saying, "Harunobu, how about we settle this with one move?"

Harunobu raised an eyebrow slightly: "I'm fine with it, but it seems like your Echigo Ittō-ryū style isn't good at this kind of fighting style, is it?"

Uesugi Yoshinobu smiled slightly: "So I'm going to use my self-created secret sword technique to deal with you. If you can take this down, I'm bound to lose no matter how much we fight."

"Okay," Harunobu readily agreed.

Their conversation wasn't deliberately lowered; it was amplified through the referee's megaphone and immediately drew everyone's attention.

The two took their positions.

The author says:

Author's Note: I currently have +12 votes for urging updates. I think it's Brother Tianqiu who wrote "Half a Lifetime of Joy." Although 24 votes are tempting, 10000 words is too much, and I'm a bit overwhelmed right now. I'll wait until the climax at the end of the volume to avoid being forced to stop writing later. There aren't many days left! /_ Yeah, Black Myth won't be out for much longer either.

Chapter 335: The Secret Sword - Becoming a Buddha

On the number one arena, which had attracted everyone's attention, Harunobu and Uesugi Yoshinobu stood ten meters apart, each assuming their fighting stances. Uesugi Yoshinobu was the first to draw his sword, Echigo no Ryu, from his waist and raise it above his head. The gleaming silver blade reflected the light from the arena's lights, appearing incredibly noble, while a subtle luster emanated from Uesugi Yoshinobu himself, making him seem like a god descended from heaven.

That's the spell of the same name as the Dragon of Echigo, capable of comprehensively enhancing the holder's physical attributes and mental will, turning mortals into true, divinely aided "Uesugi War Gods"! "The Dragon of Echigo"!

Harunobu then stepped back with his right leg, bent his left leg slightly, and lowered his upper body. He held the hilt of Yume Tsurunbu's sword with his left hand and loosely gripped the handle with his right, his gaze fixed on Uesugi Yoshinobu's raised, fully exposed hands.

call--

The thunder rumbled, stimulating the hearts of everyone who had been holding their breath. A decisive blow is uncommon in swordsmanship duels, as many sword techniques emphasize a war of attrition. However, it cannot be denied that this type of duel is the most thrilling, and also the most dangerous.

After all, a single strike determines victory, which means there's no room for holding back or considering variations. Victory is achieved by unleashing one's strongest and most powerful attack to kill the opponent and survive.

Considering that the two sides doing this are a veteran powerhouse, Uesugi Yoshinobu, the descendant of the Echigo Dragon, and a rising star, Taira no Harunobu, who first slew the Demon Dragon and then slaughtered Fujiwara no Fujiwara—wow, to witness such an epic battle, it would be worth dying for!

The referee swallowed hard twice, carefully raised his right hand at the furthest distance allowed by the rules: "The match begins!"

The moment his right hand landed, the referee had already jumped back and dodged a considerable distance, only managing to breathe a sigh of relief. The aura of the two men facing off in the ring was so powerful that he could barely breathe; they were truly terrifying people.

The moment the referee's right hand struck down, thunder roared. Harunobu's right foot left a half-footprint on the solid floor, and he instantly rushed in front of Uesugi Yoshinobu.

Thunder Breathing, Seventh Form, Fire Thunder God, Overload!

Under the excessive pressure, the capillaries on his face burst, and blood flowed freely, instantly transforming Harunobu's handsome face into a hideous demon mask; coupled with the surrounding thunder, it could easily frighten an ordinary person into losing their will to fight. Even though Uesugi Yoshinobu was not afraid, he couldn't help but be drawn to this bizarre scene.

Although it was only for less than half a second, Harunobu had already taken the opportunity to draw the Dream Transmission Letter from its sheath—Flying Sword Style: Secret Technique: Heavenly Soaring Dragon Flash!

Open your mind completely!

In a blur, Uesugi Yoshinobu felt as if a lifelike dragon had appeared before him, baring its fangs and claws as it lunged straight at his head.

This is the Flying Sword Technique—

In that critical moment, a thought calmly flashed through Uesugi Yoshinobu's mind, and then he forcefully swung down the Echigo Dragon he was holding high!

In an instant, a tall, majestic, pure gold Buddha, radiating endless Buddhist light, replaced Uesugi Yoshinobu, indifferently looking down at the dragon, which was only the size of one of his fingers; while Harunobu was not even as big as his fingernail!

With the appearance of the giant Buddha, a powerful deterrent and oppressive force struck Qingxin's heart heavily. His protective will resisted with difficulty, but the difference in strength made his resistance seem so fragile, barely managing to keep him from being completely crushed.

Is this the secret sword of the school of Uesugi Kenshin, one of only three hatamoto samurai in all of Japan and a war god?

A sense of awe and frustration involuntarily surfaced in Qingxin's mind, as if it were entirely from the bottom of his heart, and he even had the thought of giving up the fight.

The vast difference in their mental strength put Qingxin at a disadvantage. Fortunately, guarding one's mind is their primary duty, and they managed to keep Qingxin's mind clear, preventing him from actually surrendering and abandoning his sword.

In reality, Harunobu's horizontal slash and Uesugi Yoshinobu's uppercut were close to each other. Although Harunobu's physical abilities were still superior to Uesugi Yoshinobu's, the latter's influence on Harunobu's mind leveled out the gap.

And so, under the breathless gaze of everyone, the two rare and powerful demonic swords clashed heavily together, producing a tremendous roar.

Chapter 361

The incredibly piercing metallic clanging sound made the audience in the front row instinctively cover their ears.

The moment the message was blocked, Harunobu used his left leg as a fulcrum, twisting all his strength into one, and spun around to strike again! As he suddenly spun and swung, a powerful suction force was generated from the point where the two demon swords had collided, firmly controlling Uesugi Yoshinobu in place, unable to dodge or even make an effective change in posture.

This is the Sky Soaring Dragon Flash, an evolution of the Sky Soaring Dragon Flash, which combines the control and manipulation of air by the Wind Control Sword Technique!

In a daze, the dragon, having missed its prey, swung its long tail again, its sharp and sturdy claws lashing back, roaring as it grabbed at its prey's heart.

The Toshogu Shrine Master and the other spellcasters who came to watch the semi-finals couldn't help but stand up and prepare their spells as they watched this swift and unpredictable strike.

The defenses set up on the arena were simply no match for this strike!

The outcome is decided!

Ordinary spectators and experts like the other samurai all made the same judgment. Only Genkuro and a few bald men made a different judgment.

Then, the majestic face of the giant golden Buddha before Qingxin suddenly changed, becoming identical to Qingxin's. In that instant, Qingxin's protective will was shattered, and the overwhelming mental pressure forcibly suppressed his spirit, causing him to lose control of his body.

The dragon, soaring through the heavens, seemed to have suddenly forgotten how to fly, and plummeted stiffly downwards—

Suppressing his almost boiling brain matter, and enduring the excruciating pain and blurred vision, Uesugi Yoshinobu broke free from the suddenly weakening suction force and thrust the Echigo Dragon towards Harunobu's right shoulder.

At the same time, Harunobu also made the same move.

This is the secret sword technique created by Uesugi Yoshinobu, which surpasses the usual style of his family and is a terrifying sword technique that can only be achieved by combining mental focus: Secret Sword: Buddhahood!

Forcibly seizing control of another's body with one's mind, and briefly distributing his or her power to the target's to be equal, and then using the fairest, exactly the same swordsmanship to decide the winner and who will become a Buddha!

But he will be the only victor, for the sword he wields is a pure sword where mind, body, and skill are united as one! The sword wielded by his opponent, who has lost control of his body, has neither mind nor skill, and even his body has been temporarily pulled to the same level!

With this one sword, I will guide you to Buddhahood.

The two unassuming katanas crossed paths, and a glint of light flashed across the tip of Echigo no Ryu's blade, as if heralding the final victor.

As the two swords hurtled toward each other, the audience couldn't help but clutch their chests, instinctively suppressing their breathing; some even fainted from the effort, including some samurai.

Is Taira no Harunobu going to lose?

The remaining people thought to themselves, "Is this the first failure since Hiraharu's debut?!"

Amidst everyone's diverse thoughts and their remarkably uniformly wide-eyed stares, Harunobu, stiff and wielding a thrust that even a layman could intuitively sense was amiss, suddenly seemed to come alive... no, it should be said that his right hand came alive, and... was extremely angry!

The audience could all sense it, so Harunobu naturally wouldn't be unresponsive. But he didn't know the reason either; he just felt that his right hand had suddenly regained control and seemed unusually active—but now was not the time to be a detective.

He manipulated his right hand to deflect the path of the Dream Transmission Sword, and the two demon swords, which should have passed each other, collided! Under the collision of two almost identical forces, the tip of Echigo no Ryu grazed Harunobu's shirt, while Harunobu's Dream Transmission Sword fell into thin air.

The next second, Harunobu had already punched Uesugi Yoshinobu in the face!

Outstanding effect!

Yoshinobu Uesugi was sent flying and crashed into the ring railing.

Harunobu looked at his right hand and suddenly had a guess—if there was anything different about his right hand from the rest of his body, it seemed to be that it had been smeared with the shrine maiden's blood not long ago.

Chapter 336: Shrinking the Earth

"The victory is decided!"

"The victor! Aozorakan! Taira no Nobuyuki!"

The referee's loud ruling made Harunobu withdraw the knife he had been holding to Uesugi Yoshinobu's neck, and he reached out to pull Uesugi Yoshinobu up from the ground. The latter gently touched his swollen left cheek and looked at Harunobu bitterly: "Master Taira, was it really necessary to be so ruthless? I thought you were going to smash my head."

"You can't blame me for this. I couldn't break free from your mental control without using force—after all, is that even swordsmanship?"

"Swordsmanship, of course."

After exchanging a few amicable words, the two left the ring from opposite ends. Harunobu eagerly looked towards ring number 2, unaware that Uesugi Yoshinobu on the other side was bowing his head and clutching the jade Buddha in front of his chest.

He couldn't understand why Hiraharunobu was able to break free of control; it was impossible! He could even accept Hiraharunobu turning the tide in that stiff state by relying on his superb swordsmanship or physique, but breaking free of control?

Uesugi Yoshinobu stroked the jade Buddha in his hand and walked up the stairs to the second floor. The shadow fell on his face, making his expression inscrutable.

……

On the second arena, the battle was not over, or rather, it had not yet begun.

Hirako maintained the same stance as Harunobu, a stance that allowed her to use Thunderclap Flash and Fire Thunder God techniques as well as Flying Sky Sword Style sword-drawing techniques, while gazing at Minamoto Yukisakura not far away.

Meanwhile, Gen Yuki Sakura held the sword in her hand upright to the right side of her head, with the blade facing upwards and level with her eyes; the tip of the sword was pointing straight at Taira Sachiko's brow, which is a famous feature of the Tennen Rishin-ryu school: Taira Blue Eyes!

With the Hirai-gan stance as the starting position, it's obvious what move the Tennen Rishin-ryu swordsman is going to make—the secret sword of the famous genius swordsman Okita Souji: Hirai-gan Three-Stage Thrust!

This is also a highly offensive sword technique. To put it simply, it involves continuous thrusting in the shortest amount of time. It is incredibly fast and accurate; so fast that even knowing this, many people cannot stop the first thrust. It is no exaggeration to call it a sword technique that can win with a single strike.

Meanwhile, Hirako Yukiko, the Inamitsu Gozen, was defeated in one fell swoop, basically never having to make a second move – meaning this was also a duel where the outcome was decided in a single move.

Although they didn't make any prior arrangements like Harunobu and the others, the two of them clearly had no intention of testing each other or holding back.

So, even though viewers were initially drawn to the constantly shifting duel between Harunobu and Uesugi Yoshinobu, they immediately noticed the other two after their fight ended. Then, they were surprised to find that the two were still locked in a standoff.

Harunobu had already arrived at the second arena and stood next to a samurai whose face showed signs of aging: "Master Kondo, who do you think has a better chance of winning?"

Kondo Yugoro, the sixth master of the Tennen Rishin-ryu school, let out a low laugh: "Master Taira, isn't this the kind of question we should be asking?"

After all, whether one is a teacher or a school principal, one should and must support one's students.

Harunobu crossed his arms: "I think my Sachiko has a better chance of winning. Although the Hiraogan Sandan Tou is a powerful sword technique, its offensive trend is too obvious, while the Battōjutsu is the complete opposite."

As Harunobu spoke, the Tennen Rishin-ryu disciples behind Kondo Isagoro were visibly indignant, but they could only harbor their resentment in their hearts. They dared not interrupt Harunobu, much less refute his comments on swordsmanship—that was the benefit of fame.

Kondo Yugoro nodded in agreement: "Hmm, that's true. But a samurai's battle isn't just about the compatibility of swordsmanship. Master Taira should know that all too well."

Harunobu truly understood this; he had just experienced it firsthand with Uesugi Yoshinobu. The presence of mental energy significantly impacts swordsmanship, however…

Chapter 362

Taira Yukiko's mental strength is much higher than his, and Minamoto Yukiko probably doesn't have a mental strength as strange as Uesugi Yoshinobu's, right?

Harunobu gazed at the top of the arena. Behind Hirako, the free-spirited, unrestrained phantom had appeared, casting a strange look at Harunobu, clearly already at full power. Meanwhile…

Harunobu gazed at Minamoto no Yuki, and all he could see was her standing there simply, her posture perfectly standard and reasonable, but nothing more. There were no mountains or rivers, no thunder or lightning, and no majestic or powerful phantom.

She just stood there naturally.

“Nenryu…it shouldn’t be, right?” Harunobu murmured. “If it were Nenryu, her personal aura would be noticeably higher, not so calm. And if it were Nenryu, Sachiko wouldn’t have remained in this stalemate for so long without making a move.”

Nen-ryu's defining characteristic is extreme self-confidence, much like Hosho Amu. She firmly believes that her Fang-thrust is indestructible and unstoppable. The more stalemate and hesitation the enemy faces her, the greater the power of her Fang-thrust will be! Therefore, if Minamoto Yuki-sakura were Nen-ryu's mind, Taira Yukiko should have already launched a preemptive strike.

As Harunobu pondered, Kondo Isagoro chuckled and asked, "Master Taira, did your father ever tell you stories about the Amanto?"