While I was chanting a curse, the system said I was Xiao Yan?

The sudden heaviness in the air made Tianyan stop in his tracks.

Kusakabe removed his hand from above the hilt of his sword, reached into his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled. The smoke rose in the sunlight, blurring his expression.

"Fellow students of the Zen Academy," he said, turning around, his voice a few decibels deeper than before.

Tianyan turned around and glanced at him: "Is there anything else, Mr. Kusakabe?"

Kusakabe held the cigarette between his fingers, tilted his head and looked at him, a bitter smile on his lips.

"That old woman isn't very strong, but she's extremely concerned about her own safety."

Tianyan turned around, looked at him, and said nothing.

Kusakabe put the cigarette back in his mouth, took a deep drag, and then exhaled a thick cloud of white smoke that swirled between the two of them like a thin wall that could dissipate at any moment.

"I don't know what you're going to do."

His voice came from behind the smoke, tinged with helplessness: "But the killing intent emanating from you is just too obvious."

Tianyan's expression remained unchanged, but his eyes narrowed slightly.

Kusakabe took the cigarette out of his mouth, stubbed it out on a tree trunk, and then threw the cigarette butt into the roadside bushes.

He gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist, and with a gentle push of his thumb, the hilt slid silently out of the scabbard, revealing a section of the gleaming blade. The blade reflected a dazzling arc of light in the sunlight, leaving an almost invisible afterimage as it sliced ​​through the air.

"I am a disciple of the Shinkage school."

"Before I joined the sect, I made a vow to protect the legacy of the Shinkage-ryu school and to protect that... old woman."

His lips curved slightly, but there was no real joy in that smile, only a sense of helplessness that said, "Therefore, I can't let you go like this."

Tianyan looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke.

"Mr. Kusakabe, do you know why I'm going?"

Kusakabe shook his head: "I don't know, and I don't want to know."

He paused, the bitterness in his eyes deepening. "But whatever you want to do, I can't let you go. This is... a constraint."

"So, I can't let you go over there like that."

He paused, then sighed.

"If only you had come half an hour later."

His tone carried a sense of helplessness, as if to say, "I'm about to get off work, and you've given me a new task."

Tianyan looked at Kusakabe's face, which seemed to say "I don't want to fight," remained silent for a moment, and then spoke.

"Mr. Kusakabe, I understand your position."

Kusakabe looked at him without saying a word.

"But I have my reasons."

Tianyan's voice was calm, but there was an undeniable certainty in his tone: "I still want to go up."

Kusakabe looked at him, remained silent for a long time, and then he smiled, a smile that carried a sense of resignation, as if to say, "I knew this would happen."

He shook his head, sighed, and then drew the knife from his waist.

The blade gleamed coldly in the sunlight, its thinness like a cicada's wing. It trembled slightly in the air, emitting a faint hum, as if it were alive. He gripped the blade with both hands, the tip pointing to the ground. He crouched slightly, lowering his center of gravity, his entire being like a spring compressed to its limit, ready to spring out at any moment.

"Then there's nothing we can do."

His voice wasn't loud, but he enunciated each word clearly: "Fellow students of the Zen Academy, please forgive me."

He sighed inwardly, his mind racing.

Let's act it out a little later.

If the future head of the Zen family is really harmed, then things will get complicated.

Although he had heard that those old folks didn't like this adopted son, he was, after all, a member of the Zen family. If something really happened, he, as an "outsider," would definitely not fare well.

They act until they give it their all, and in the end, they fight to the death, resulting in a "lose-lose" situation. Of course, they themselves suffer minor injuries, while the other party is just exhausted.

This way, we can prevent him from going there without completely escalating the conflict.

perfect.

Kusakabe mentally gave himself a thumbs up.

Tianyan smiled slightly as he looked at Tianyan's expression, which seemed to be facing a formidable enemy.

He cracked his neck, his knuckles making a crisp snapping sound, then pulled his hands out of his pockets. Power surged from his body, and black iron-colored bone armor began to spread from his fingertips, layer by layer covering his palms, wrists, forearms, and upper arms, until his entire upper body was enveloped in that dark, scale-like armor.

Two bone blades, each about thirty centimeters long, pierced out from his elbows. Their edges were as thin as cicada wings and gleamed with a cold light in the sunlight. The surfaces of the bone blades glowed slightly under the infusion of magical power, like two sharp swords just taken from a furnace.

Kusakabe's eyes narrowed slightly.

He looked at the bone armor on Tianyan's body, at the bone blades protruding from his elbows and the bone structure that gleamed coldly in the sunlight, and a slight twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"The people from the three main families are indeed monsters." He sensed the other party's curse power, his tone carrying a sense of helplessness.

The woods fell silent for a moment.

Then, the two of them moved at the same time.

The moment Kusakabe's figure vanished from his spot, a shockwave erupted from the ground, whipping up pebbles and fallen leaves that scattered in the air. He was so fast that he left only a blurry afterimage in the air, his beige trench coat fluttering in the wind like a flag being blown by the wind.

A flash of light.

The heatwave did not subside.

He didn't even dodge.

He simply raised his right arm, and the bone blade at his elbow popped out in a flash, precisely blocking the trajectory of the slash.

"clang!"

The sound of metal clashing against bone echoed through the woods, sparks flying. A faint white mark appeared on the bone blade, and a small scratch was left on the underside of the blade, gleaming faintly in the sunlight.

Their eyes met in mid-air.

A flicker of surprise crossed Kusakabe's eyes. He hadn't expected Ten'en to react so quickly, so fast that he could parry before Kusakabe's blade had even fully descended. It wasn't a contest of speed, but rather a matter of anticipation. Ten'en had anticipated the angle, force, and trajectory of his strike, positioning his bone blade in advance, waiting for Kusakabe's blade to collide with it.

"Good prediction." Kusakabe's lips curved slightly, his smile carrying a hint of 'interesting'.

Tianyan remained silent.

He suddenly exerted force with his right arm, deflecting Kusakabe's sword. At the same time, he took a step forward, and the bone blade of his left elbow slashed upwards, heading straight for Kusakabe's ribs.

The sound of the bone blade slicing through the air was sharp and piercing. The blade gleamed coldly in the sunlight, like a venomous snake emerging from the darkness, baring its fangs to strike its target.

The lower part of the sun did not retreat.

He shifted his body slightly to the side, like a leaf swaying in the wind, deftly avoiding the trajectory of the bone blade. The blade grazed the hem of his clothes, the edge less than three centimeters from his skin. The chilling aura pierced through the fabric, making his hair stand on end.

But he didn't even blink.

His body twisted in mid-air, and the knife slashed down from another angle. This strike was faster, more powerful, and more cunning than the previous one. The blade sliced ​​through the air with a sharp whistling sound, like someone whistling in the woods.

Tianyan's pupils contracted slightly.