People in the Dragon Clan planted a sacred tree, infinite moon reading

Chapter 13 This is the horizontal sword
[Option 1: Reject (Reward: Ninjutsu Branch - B-Rank - Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu. Use the water environment to condense the water from the lake into a water dragon and attack the enemy.)]

Option 2: Accept the challenge (Reward: Taijutsu Branch - B-Rank - Konoha-ryu Kenjutsu: Yanagi. This unconventional technique combines illusion and swordsmanship. Disappearing into the swirling leaves, it simultaneously binds the enemy, a deadly move capable of killing with a single blow.)

It was the first time that Qi Xiuyuan saw a stupid system without any nonsense. It just gave two options: "reject" and "challenge".

"Why?" He looked at the serious old man in front of him, still smiling, and said jokingly, "Teacher, are you dissatisfied with me in some way?"

"No." The old man just shook his head. "You can refuse, but..."

"I hope you'll accept that."

There was even a hint of begging in the old man's tone, and Qi Xiuyuan couldn't help but recall what the other person had said.

Qi Xiuyuan first met Chu Zihang in this kendo class, but he actually came to the Children's Palace intending to sign up for the vocal class.

However, he didn't expect to arrive too late. Popular classes such as vocal music and martial arts were already full, and only the least popular kendo class was left. In the end, in order not to make a wasted trip, Qi Xiuyuan had no choice but to sign up for the kendo class.

Who would have thought that this old man speaking an authentic dialect would be a Japanese?
He is also a miser who values money like his life and is unwilling to spend a penny.

Even the graduation gift for the kendo class was a pirated Jedi lightsaber from Star Wars, with two AA batteries in the hilt. The kind that lights up and plays the Star Wars theme song when you press a button.

Although he always laughed and joked as if he never considered himself their teacher, Qi Xiuyuan had to admit that his teaching ability was actually very good.

Moreover, not only to him and Chu Zihang, but also to anyone who signed up for the kendo class, Old Man Yuan would teach them everything he knew.

It’s a pity that what he teaches is not fancy swordsmanship, but real swordsmanship. To learn this kind of swordsmanship, you need perseverance and determination, but the most important thing is talent.

Old man Yuan once said that he had learned almost all the sword techniques of current Japanese swordsmanship. He had stayed in China for ten years to learn ancient Chinese sword techniques. To some extent, he could be considered a "swordsman expert."

During these ten years, he not only studied, but also tried to find talented students.

"My teacher was a swordsman at the time, but he lost to a Chinese swordsman. He then stubbornly believed that Japanese swordsmanship was inferior to Chinese swordsmanship and that he was just a mediocre person."

"He even broke his own sword and vowed never to touch it again in his life."

"I was still young and couldn't understand what he said. He even said shamelessly that he would help the teacher get revenge."

"But my teacher said that I have very poor talent in swordsmanship. I am destined not to go far on this path. Even if I devote my entire life to learning, I will still end up like him, defeated by a natural."

"So, here I am, looking for the one he called the natural."

Qi Xiuyuan and Chu Zihang are the students with the most kendo talent he has discovered so far. They are like two unpolished jades.

When Qi Xiuyuan heard this, he just thought he was joking.

But now, I hear what he calls "the victory and defeat between mediocre people and naturals."

Thinking back to when the old man was teaching Chu Zihang and me swordsmanship, he would intentionally or unintentionally teach us some Chinese and Japanese swordsmanship concepts separately...

Qi Xiuyuan finally understood what the old man's purpose was.

Teach him the ancient Chinese swordsmanship and teach Chu Zihang the ancient Japanese swordsmanship, just to see who is stronger between the two natural people who master different swordsmanship concepts.

If Chu Zihang wins, then he will get rid of his obsession. If Qi Xiuyuan wins, then he will stand up and ask for a fight.

Just to verify whether the efforts of mediocre people are really inferior to talent.

"..."

Looking at the face in front of him that was full of age, with wrinkles on it that looked like nameless tombstones, Qi Xiuyuan suddenly felt that the old man was a little pathetic.

The victory or defeat between him and Chu Zihang in just one match did not represent the outcome of the battle between Chinese and Japanese ancient swordsmanship. In fact, both of them were only half-baked. It was only because he had mastered his body and mind, and his strength and brainpower had been greatly improved, that he was able to defeat him so easily.

Or maybe the old man knew it in his heart, but as he said himself.

Walking on the road of kendo, the cruel time will not stop for anyone.

As he progressed, his companions gradually drifted away. Some had to quit because of their talent, some had to leave because of family reasons, and some realized their lack of talent and switched careers to become teachers...

He could no longer remember how many companions he had sent off with his own hands. Only when he stopped and looked back did he realize that he was the only one left on this road. Even the teacher who had denied him in the past had passed away.

One by one, his companions bid him farewell with tears in their eyes, including his deceased teacher. They all said the same thing to him:

"Gen-kun, please, take my share with you."

The instructions and expectations of countless people are like shoulder straps. They seem weightless, but the countless expectations wrapped around them are heavier than Mount Tai.

In every silent night, those heavy instructions would carry the weight of the past half of his life, pressing down on him and making him breathless. It was like a curse, almost covering his ears, eyes, mouth and nose, and tightly entangling him so that he could not move.

So, he stayed away from his hometown for more than ten years, took over his teacher's obsession, and lived for it.

He has waited too long.

He is old.

I can even feel that my end is approaching.

If I can't fulfill my obsession today, I will die in a foreign country with regret.

"..."

Qi Xiuyuan slowly closed his eyes, the smile on his face gradually faded away, and he sighed and opened his eyes.

"I understand, teacher."

[You have responded to Maruboshi Kosuke's expectations, reward: Taijutsu branch - B-rank - Konoha-ryu Kenjutsu - Liu.]

Qi Xiuyuan didn't even look at the light curtain, because facing the old man's obsession, he didn't intend to respond with external objects.

Old Man Yuan also smiled, picked up the two weapons on Lan Qi's side, and threw one of them to Qi Xiuyuan in front of him.

"I know you always say I'm stingy, but as long as you can defeat me, this weapon will be your graduation present."

Click...

Holding the black handle and silver guard in his hand, Qi Xiuyuan pulled out the blade bit by bit.

The edge of the sword was sharpened to a cold shine, and under the warm light it appeared extremely sharp, reflecting Qi Xiuyuan's face.

This weapon is different from most long swords. The blade and edge are straight and centered, but the sword spine is thicker than ordinary sword spines.

The knife moves heavy, while the sword moves light.

But this weapon has both the kingly style of the sword and the domineering spirit of the knife.

The Tang Dynasty Six Code, Volume 16, Weiwei Zongzheng Temple, states that "there are four types of swords: the ceremonial sword, the slashing sword, the horizontal sword, and the mo sword."

——This is the horizontal sword.

(End of this chapter)