The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

Chapter Seventeen: Continuing to Embarrass Themselves

Changgu Dojo is located in a secluded spot near the lake in the central area of ​​Guicheng. The venue covers a considerable area and has a tranquil setting. It is surrounded by a low white wall, and inside the wall, pine and camphor trees are planted to block out noise. Stepping inside feels like being isolated from the world.

According to Ishii, the dojo master, Chōko Hachirin, also served as the castle lord's swordsmanship instructor. This dojo was a gift from the castle lord; otherwise, the land price would probably not have been cheap.

As the two entered the gate, the first thing they saw was a small open space, with the main venue located behind it.

Muto Ishii skillfully led Su Qi across the open space, up to the entrance, and into the preparation room to change into white clothes and socks before officially entering the kendo practice area inside the venue.

The room was brightly lit and spacious, with a floor so shiny it reflected the light. Wooden sword dolls and other items were placed on both sides, while a scroll hung in the center between the beds. The two characters "Mountainless" on the white paper were upright, stable, and as firm as Mount Tai.

When the two entered, there was a fight taking place in the arena. The others, all dressed in dark blue kendo uniforms, knelt on either side, their backs straight, watching intently as the two fought fiercely in the center.

boom! !

Suddenly, one of them was knocked away and crashed right into Su Qi.

"careful!"

Fortunately, Ishii pulled him away in time, and the man crashed heavily in front of the two of them with a thud.

Su Qi looked down and saw that the person lying on the floor was burly and had a rugged face. Even though he had fallen heavily, there was no change in his expression, as if he had not been hurt at all.

"Sigh, another loss, the thirty-ninth defeat."

He gave a wry smile, dusted off his clothes, stood up, glanced at Ishii, then looked at Su Qi and smiled, "Ishii, is this young man the one you're introducing to Shishio Kenshin?"

“Yes, Senior Taihiro.” Ishii nodded respectfully and then introduced Su Qi, “This is Senior Yamada Taihiro. He has been studying swordsmanship at the dojo for ten years and is undoubtedly the number one swordsman among all the disciples.”

Su Qi followed local customs, bowed, and said, "Please guide me in the future."

Yamada Yasuhiro nodded, then said to Ishii, "Ishii, there's no need to mention being the best swordsman anymore. If we're talking about it, the real strongest among my disciples isn't me."

At this moment, the crowd behind dispersed, and the other person who had just fought against Yamaguni Yasuhiro walked over with a wooden sword in hand.

Su Qi turned his head and saw that the person was actually a spirited young woman.

She was tall and slender, with a graceful figure, delicate features, and a beautiful face. Her long, black hair was tied back in a high ponytail with a white ribbon. Her face was unadorned and expressionless, with a thin layer of sweat glistening in the sunlight. She resembled a volcano covered in snow, appearing calm and reserved at first glance, yet full of vitality.

She must be the dojo master's daughter, the acting instructor named Nagako Ruri...

Su Qi immediately took it personally, and as it turned out, that was indeed the case.

As soon as the girl arrived, she greeted Ishii first, then looked at Taihong and said calmly, "Taihong, you lost."

"Yes, I lost again." The latter looked at the girl with a complicated expression.

"As agreed, don't bother me again for the next two weeks."

"Understood... It's almost time, I'll go and guide their practice first."

He sighed and immediately made an excuse to leave first.

"You are Kenshin Shishio?"

The girl turned her head, her clear, bright eyes looking at Su Qi.

"Uh, that's me."

"Come with me."

The three of them arrived at a corner of the venue, and she casually took a wooden knife from the shelf and tossed it to Su Qi.

The latter caught it and asked with some confusion, "What's this?"

"It's simple, let's have a match first."

As the girl spoke, she created some distance, turned to face Su Qi, and raised the wooden sword in her hand.

"Right now? To be honest, I had absolutely no kendo background before I came here."

The girl frowned slightly. "Didn't you want to join a dojo to learn swordsmanship?"

"Yes."

"Then stop talking nonsense and attack directly."

Su Qi paused slightly and looked at Shi Jing, who was standing by watching. The latter nodded.

"OK then."

He took a light breath, mimicking the kendo stance he had seen in anime, comics, and games (ACG), standing with his feet one in front of the other, gripping the hilt with both hands, and slowly raising the wooden sword, the tip of the blade positioned at the center line, aimed at the girl opposite him.

I hope you don't send me flying with that sword too...

Standing opposite the girl, Su Qi felt a little uneasy as he recalled the scene that had just unfolded.

"Let's attack."

Upon receiving the instruction, he narrowed his eyes, suppressed his nervousness, adjusted his posture and breathing rhythm, and charged forward, calculating the distance before raising his knife and slashing down.

However, the wooden sword that had just been raised had not yet fallen when the figure in front of him suddenly lowered, and a tremendous force exploded in his chest and abdomen...

boom! !

Su Qi's feet left the ground, and he flew backward, tracing a parabola more than four meters long in mid-air before crashing heavily onto the floor with a thud.

Ouch!!

The double blow to his buttocks and chest made him gasp. He sat up, pulled up his clothes, and saw a clear mark on his stomach.

I've been hit! What happened?

Su Qi painfully recalled the events of just now, but found nothing. He only knew that before he could react, he had been cleaved away by a sword. He found it hard to imagine how, although the other person was indeed taller and stronger than the average girl, she was still significantly less muscular than him. How could she have cleaved him, a man weighing over a hundred pounds, three or four meters away with a single sword strike?

From Ishii's perspective, it was clear that the moment Su Qi attacked, the girl instantly took a step forward, slashed horizontally, and her wooden sword struck Su Qi's abdomen, sending him flying.

"You really haven't learned anything, except for some things that seem to be basic common sense about swordsmanship."

The girl walked up to Su Qi and extended her left hand.

Didn't I say that before?

He grasped that hand and felt its soft, delicate touch, but not as smooth as a typical woman's. He could also clearly feel the calluses from holding the sword too much.

"I don't trust you yet, and it's in battle that you can see a person's true nature more clearly."

The girl easily pulled Su Qi up from the floor, then let go, a strange glint in her eyes. "Your hands are so delicate. Are you a princess who's been pampered in a castle for years?"

"No, I am a prince."

"Alright, I understand your basic situation now." She ignored Su Qi's nonsense and looked him over as she said, "From now on, you'll start learning from the basics. I hope you can at least keep it up for half a month."

Upon hearing this, Su Qi felt a sense of foreboding.

……

"No, please let me go, I'm practically a cripple now..."

An hour later, in a corner of the training ground, someone lay on the ground, looking up at the sky with empty and desperate eyes, feeling as if his body had been hollowed out.

Chapter Eighteen: Su Qi, the Genius Swordsman

Learning swordsmanship is certainly not an easy task. Su Qi had prepared himself before coming to the dojo, but as it turned out, his mental preparation was far from sufficient.

why?

Because he referenced modern kendo practice, he overlooked the fact that training methods naturally differ across eras.

In peaceful modern times, there is little fighting, let alone drawing swords against each other. Therefore, modern Kendo has long since moved away from actual combat and has become more about competition and performance. However, we are now in a chaotic Warring States period with war raging everywhere. Those who learn swordsmanship do not do so to participate in competitions, but to kill for self-defense. Therefore, the requirements for disciples in the dojo are naturally much stricter than in the future.

He suspected that among the many strict teacher training colleges, the girl named Liuli was the most demanding.

As a beginner, at the beginning of his studies, Su Qi not only needed to understand some basic theories of swordsmanship and the essentials of sword handling, but also to master knowledge based on swordsmanship forms, such as knife techniques, body movements, footwork, and breathing techniques.

During the teaching process, Liuli explained and pointed out the standard posture to him. If he was even slightly off, she would hit him hard with a wooden sword, claiming that she was "letting his body help him remember".

To be honest, Su Qi did learn very quickly under this teaching method. However, as a price, after practicing for only about an hour, he was already sore all over and his limbs were trembling. Without gritting his teeth and persevering, he could not even stand up.

“You’ve rested enough…” The girl who had been wielding her sword beside him suddenly stopped, looked down at Su Qi expressionlessly, and said indifferently, “Get up.”

"Are you a demon? I've only been lying down for less than five minutes."

“That’s enough.” The girl remained unmoved, simply saying, “I don’t have time to waste. So are you going to get up right now? Or do you want me to just leave you here and lie here all day?”

"I bet if this were five hundred years from now, no one would dare to come here with your teaching methods."

Su Qi sighed helplessly, and finally stood up with difficulty, still complaining.

After spending more than an hour together, he had discovered that although the kendo girl beside him seemed a bit aloof, she was surprisingly easy to talk to, so he spoke much more casually.

"I don't think you can know what will happen five hundred years from now."

"You might not believe it, but I'm actually a time traveler from 500 years in the future."

"Shut up." Liuli naturally didn't believe her and said coldly, "Focus your attention on swordsmanship and don't waste your talent."

"Talent?" Su Qi's eyes lit up. "Miss Liuli, could I be a sword genius?"

The latter glanced at him and said calmly, "He has excellent comprehension and can quickly learn and apply the knowledge he has heard. Although it is only the beginning and we cannot make a complete judgment yet, even if he is not a genius, he is definitely an outstanding talent."

"I see."

Su Qi was overjoyed, and inexplicably felt a surge of power welling up from the depths of his heart, even the soreness in his body seemed to have lessened considerably.

This is the difference between having and not having subjective initiative. Although he knew he needed power before he realized he had talent, it was just a rational calculation, and there are other ways to acquire power besides kendo; but now, it is the emotional investment and positive feedback that has made him actively interested in kendo.

To give an example, it's like thinking, "Anyone who can see my genius and good looks has good taste, and anyone who falls for me is definitely not a bad person."

"Don't be too happy yet." Liuli poured cold water on him, saying in her usual indifferent tone, "Do you know how many geniuses and outstanding talents have died on the battlefield throughout history?"

"Uh, you don't know, do you?"

“Nobody knows,” she said coldly. “If you can’t turn your talent into strength, nobody will know your name.”

"Understood, thank you for the reminder, Miss Liuli."

"Continue...the previous stance."

Su Qi raised his sword as ordered, and then...

"Relax your shoulders slightly, and shift your right hand holding the knife three millimeters to the left."

With a snap, someone gasped.