Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

Soon, the school bell rang—

It was relatively easy; the teacher's explanations weren't difficult to understand, or rather, they were quite easy to comprehend. The Yue people attributed this to the improvement in their physical fitness.

What surprised him was that during his homeroom teacher's class, the gentle female teacher explained his situation to everyone, roughly saying that he had just been discharged from the hospital and that everyone should get along well with him. After hearing this, everyone understood a little more, and their gazes towards Yue Ren became less sharp, which was unexpected for him.

After the class ended, the beautiful homeroom teacher called him to her office again for an unexpected yet reasonable reason.

"Clubs?"

"That's right. Club recruitment was originally scheduled for the end of the first month of school, but I didn't expect that something like this would happen to you, Kawasaki-kun, so you missed the deadline..."

With her gentle voice, bright smile, and responsible attitude, it's hard not to like her.

"So now you want me to join a club?"

"That's right, Kawasaki-kun, do you have feelings for someone? I saw in the information that you were the ace of the kendo club in junior high..."

Seeing that Yue Ren understood her meaning, the beautiful teacher smiled and handed him a brochure introducing various clubs.

"But you don't necessarily have to choose the kendo club. You can take a look and try to give me a definite answer in the next few days..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yue Ren, who was flipping through the booklet, put it down.

"No need, teacher, I've made up my mind. I want to join the archery club."

"Huh?...Can I ask why?"

The people of Yue are straightforward.

"I'm interested in this now."

Seeing the boy's serious expression, the beautiful teacher felt helpless.

"Okay, here... this is the application form. Just fill it out and give it to me."

After receiving the form from the teacher, Yue Ren politely declined and left.

After he left, the homeroom teacher sighed softly.

"What a pity, I thought he would continue..."

Actually, the head of the kendo club had approached her a month ago, hoping she could help persuade him, but the matter was temporarily put on hold due to the sudden car accident.

Now that the student has made their choice, she can't interfere. After all, joining a club is voluntary; no one dictates which club you have to join. As the homeroom teacher, she naturally respects her student's choice, though she can't help feeling a little regretful...

However, Yue Ren, on his way back to the classroom, did not feel the same way at all.

Now, thanks to his grandfather's training and practical experience, his swordsmanship is so advanced that, to put it bluntly, he should be able to take on the entire kendo club of this school in one-on-one.

It's worth noting that the old man in the story was a swordsmanship master of the same caliber as Miyamoto Musashi, only their pursuits differed: one pursued "emptiness," while the other pursued "cause and effect."

Musashi's "emptiness" allows her to cut through spacetime rifts and travel through time, which is absurd. Muramasa is even more absurd, as his sword can cut through "karma," something invisible and intangible.

Even if he had only scratched the surface, it was not something these high school kids could pull off.

So there's no point in going there anymore. Compared to those superficial things, he cares more about his current situation. The reason he chose the archery club is simply because he thought about his current "deficiencies".

Yes, he is currently lacking one thing in his attacks: "ranged attack methods".

This was something he suddenly thought of after seeing the introduction to the archery club. Since he couldn't do wall-running at the moment, learning some ranged attack techniques should help him avoid being "kited" by the enemy.

That's the real reason he's so serious.

At the same time, he wanted to test whether he could acquire some skills that would be recognized by the system through learning.

Based on the fact that training can increase experience and that "reading" ability, it seems feasible as long as certain conditions are met.

Japanese clubs really do teach, so even if this archery club is terrible, it should at least have some basic archery knowledge. Yue Ren wanted to see how he would change after learning all this.

Besides, this school is considered one of the best high schools in the Tokyo area, so it's unlikely that they'd produce a subpar archery club.

With this in mind, he handed the application form to his homeroom teacher after the first class in the afternoon and was then promised to be taken to the archery club after school.

After all, that was the start time of the club activities mentioned earlier.

So, after school—

Due to the special nature of the event, the archery club's location was not in the club building, but in an open-air dojo next to the stadium.

Following behind the beautiful female teacher who greeted him and attracted a lot of attention, Kawasaki Etsuto was looking around and observing his surroundings.

However, there's not much to see. Apart from the cherry blossom trees and the spacious playground, the only things worth glancing at are the young girls in sportswear coming and going.

The location wasn't hard to find. After passing the cherry blossom trees and turning a corner, Yue Ren could clearly see his destination. Why? Because there was a huge sign hanging above the building that read "Kaisei High Private Academy Archery Club".

After knocking, someone responded quickly. After the teacher spoke with the person inside, Yue Ren was led in with a wave and a smile from the teacher.

The dojo was spacious, and the floor was so clean it reflected light; it must have been cleaned recently.

Yue Ren was following a senior in his second year of high school, whose name, as mentioned earlier, was Qingyou Jinghe, and who seemed to be one of the main players in the archery club.

The two arrived at the wooden shoe cabinet, and Yue Ren naturally understood what it meant. After taking off his slippers, he stepped directly onto the wooden board with his white socks.

This is also one of the customs in Japan; in certain special indoor spaces, people do not wear shoes.

This custom has a long history because the area is rainy all year round, and traditional Japanese houses mostly have tatami floors. Walking directly on them can easily get them dirty and damaged. Taking off your shoes can keep the room clean and protect the floor.

Of course, another reason is to show respect for others and not to make the host's room dirty.

Following behind the seniors, we turned a corner and found two rows of students kneeling on the floor in an open area, dressed in matching hakama uniforms. They looked quite imposing.

"The event hasn't started yet. There will be a short speech by the club president later. After that, I'll take you to see the president, Kawasaki-kun."

"OK."

Following his senior's instructions, Yue Ren found a seat at the back.

Ahead, several boys and girls formed their own "circles," occasionally whispering and laughing.

"Hey, Senko-chan, do you know who that is? He's kind of handsome. Newcomers at this time of year?"

"Really? Hmm... I've never seen you before. Did you suddenly transfer from another club?"

"He seems a bit unapproachable, a cool and aloof young man?"

"Isn't this exactly the kind Reiko likes? How about we get her contact information?"

"No, and why should I help her? A cool, handsome guy with archery skills is a perfect match. You go and get it for me."

"Hmph, I won't give it to you then."

"You dare...!"

"..."

Yue Ren looked up at them and figured they must be upperclassmen or something.

Like his enhanced hearing, his heightened observation skills allowed him to notice some subtle differences. However, he didn't understand why they thought he was handsome, when his charm and appearance were just average.

Indeed, Yue Ren's appearance had not changed, but what he did not know was that his temperament helped to conceal this fact.

After experiencing accidents, insights, training, and battles, his willpower brought him outward confidence, and the subtle changes in his body movements, honed through training, made him unconsciously exude a "presence" far exceeding that of those around him.

Just like the same person, walking by with hunched shoulders and a slouching posture gives a completely different impression than walking by with chest out and back straight in a proper march.

He exudes a powerful aura that shouldn't exist at his age, something that has a fatal attraction for any woman of the opposite sex of the same age.

He glanced at the time discreetly.

——15:48

If I remember correctly, the club activity started at 4 o'clock sharp.

Seeing that the girls were whispering among themselves again, and even seemed to be taking action.

Yue Ren got up and walked towards the bathroom not far away.

He had considered being more straightforward, but in Japan's student society, publicly rejecting someone of the opposite sex would only cause more trouble. Several different rumors might circulate the next day, and if he added their contact information, he would have to worry about them calling back.

So the Yue people chose a shameful but effective method—escape.

They were unaware that the Yue people had overheard their entire conversation, and they thought it was just bad luck, which was better for everyone.

Well, if it weren't for this messed-up world, he wouldn't really mind. To be honest, he'd never experienced a situation where the opposite sex took the initiative, and the other person seemed to be quite attractive.

After all, they are all princes and princesses from their own families. Even if they are not naturally beautiful, money can make them more beautiful.

Early detection and early correction are privileges only the wealthy can enjoy.

He washed his face at the bathroom counter and waited until it was almost time before leaving. Sure enough, he arrived just in time, and there were a few more people around.

"Everyone, please be quiet."

When the time came, a tall man walked to the front of the crowd with a smile on his face.

Yue Ren guessed that this was the club president, and it seemed that everyone knew him. The students who had been discussing this just moments before all quieted down.

"Actually, it's nothing much, just introducing a new member to everyone, Kawasaki Koshito."

Everyone followed the direction the boy was pointing and saw the Yue people sitting at the very back.

He bowed slightly in acknowledgment.

"Kawasaki-kun just joined a club for special reasons, so let's welcome him."

The crowd applauded, not enthusiastically, but everyone did it.

"So, on this occasion, as the captain of the archery club, I would like to reiterate that archery is not just about shooting arrows, but also about life. As the mind and skill gradually become one, one's inner self also improves, and life slowly becomes richer and more profound..."

"..."

"Finally, I hope you can persevere, then you will all eventually achieve your desired goals and gain things you never had before."

"Archery is life itself."

"Alright, everyone, please begin your training."

The entire speech lasted for about half an hour, and Yue Ren could vaguely hear complaints such as "I have to give this speech every time a new person joins."

However, they only complained slightly; they listened very attentively. Yue Ren guessed that these people had been screened, and those who remained were people who could truly calm down, so the number was not large.

After listening attentively, he felt it was quite interesting and gave him some understanding of archery, so it wasn't a waste of time.

The crowd dispersed.

Yue Ren arrived at the president's office under the guidance of the senior who had been leading him.

School clubs vary in size. Large clubs like the archery club not only have dedicated facilities, but even the club president has a dedicated office.

That's understandable. After all, these kinds of clubs are meant to bring honor to the school. Every year, they select members to participate in professional competitions, so as the person in charge, they naturally have a lot of power.

"Kawasaki-kun, welcome back to the archery club. Here, take these."

With a smile, Hayakawa Keijin handed some prepared items to the Yue people.

"Thank you, Minister."

He took the items handed to him by the minister: a set of clothes, the color and style of which were the same as the hakama worn by the members outside, and a booklet.

Yue Ren quickly flipped through it and found that in addition to the basic rules of the archery department, there were also two short articles: "The Method of Archery" and "The Meaning of Archery" from the Book of Rites.

"For the rest of today, let Jinghe show you around. I also hope that you can study the contents after you get back, as it should be helpful for your training."

"OK."

Yue Ren's earnest expression greatly impressed the senior, who couldn't help but pat him on the shoulder with a smile.

"Good spirit, looking forward to your performance."

The entire dojo was very large, about half the size of a football field, with two sections of text written in Chinese characters mounted on either side.

"The essence of archery lies not in shooting the bow, but in shooting the bone." — Excerpt from "The Art of Archery"

"The archer, in advancing and retreating in a roundabout way, must always hit the mark of propriety. — The Book of Rites: The Meaning of Archery"

In the center hangs four large regular script characters: "Shoot with utmost accuracy."

The platform where everyone just sat down is directly in front of the shooting range.

The entire shooting range was covered with green grass, and at the other end there was a sloping hill wall with several round tricolor targets hanging above it.

The distance from here to the shooting position at the dojo is about thirty meters.

The dojo has eight shooting positions, meaning eight people can shoot arrows together.

Several longbows, arrows, stone protrusions, tablets, and Taoist artifacts are neatly arranged on the wall. A shrine is placed in the upper position, and green plants are placed on both sides for decoration.

The strict and traditional layout surrounding this temple alone made the Yue people feel the meaning of "rules".

Led by his senior, Yue Ren also watched a "general" who had achieved a sixth dan in archery practice.

It has to be said that there's something special about it, which makes the Yue people feel that they made the right choice.