The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

……

After the sword training session ended that day, Su Qi was helped back by Ishii.

"Mr. Muto, is Ms. Ruri this strict with every disciple?" he asked Ishii on the way.

“This…” The latter hesitated for a moment, somewhat embarrassed: “It seems… I’ve been a little stricter with you than with others, perhaps because I see that you are exceptionally talented and want to teach you rigorously.”

Is that really the case?

Su Qi frowned slightly. The reason was indeed barely plausible, but he didn't feel that it was true. However, given the lack of information, he had no way of guessing and could only give up.

Over the next month, Su Qi experienced firsthand what swordsmanship hell truly meant.

He clearly sensed that the young female teacher named Liuli was stricter with him than with others, and it was getting stricter and stricter. At first, he thought he had offended her somehow and was being targeted, but no matter how he tried to probe or investigate, he couldn't find any evidence that she disliked him. On the contrary, it seemed like she was a strict teacher who was wholeheartedly doing what was best for him.

When asked, the other disciples also gave the same answer: "Perhaps Miss Liuli has a special regard for you."

Helpless, Su Qi could only accept the other party's "kindness" and be trained to the point of exhaustion every day. In the end, he even developed a strong physique, evolving from a weak and timid otaku who would pant several times after climbing a few stairs into a strong...otaku whose fighting power far exceeded that of a goose.

At the same time, his swordsmanship also improved by leaps and bounds.

Firstly, as a transmigrator from the information explosion era who received higher education, his comprehension ability obviously surpasses that of most people in this era; secondly, he himself is extremely talented, with excellent comprehension and physical coordination; in addition, with someone supporting him, he is so bored every day that he can only practice swordsmanship. With his single-minded dedication and practice day and night, it is only natural that his swordsmanship has improved rapidly.

……

On this sunny day, Su Qi was arranged by Liu Li to fight against a senior student who had studied swordsmanship for three years and whose strength ranked among the top among the disciples.

Inside the dojo, Su Qi stood facing his opponent, Kentaro, while the other disciples watched from the outside.

"The gap is too big. Although Kenshin has learned well, how could he possibly be a match for Kentaro?"

"Who can argue with that? Perhaps Miss Ruri just wanted him to experience the atmosphere of a battle."

"Then you shouldn't have chosen Kentaro. Wouldn't it have been more effective to pick an opponent of similar skill level?"

"Uh, well... maybe there are other reasons..."

Unlike the previous match between Yamada Yasuhiro and Ruri, this sparring session between the students was less formal. The crowd watched and whispered their opinions. Naturally, no one favored Su Qi.

really……

Su Qi heard the noise around him, but didn't care.

Experiences change people. Having faced death several times and endured a month of rigorous kendo training, he felt that although he hadn't undergone a dramatic transformation, his temperament was much calmer and more resilient than before.

Even though Su Qi knew those voices would affect his performance and shouldn't be paid attention to, he still couldn't help but be swayed by them in the past; but now, he was not wavering at all, and only one thought echoed in his mind—to fight with all his might, victory or defeat didn't matter, it was just to verify the results of this stage.

The combat maid wielding a scythe is so cool, so I brought my three-wheeled motorcycle back today. First, I'll mourn for my lost hair.

Chapter Nineteen: Play it safe and don't be reckless.

"Let's begin."

At Liuli's command, both sides bowed and faced each other with their swords raised.

Real-life sword duels are brief, typically lasting only a few rounds, or even a life-or-death struggle. Even though Su Qi and his companion were just practicing with wooden swords, their simulated real sword fight, involving mostly probing and testing each other, only lasted two or three minutes.

As expected, Kentaro emerged victorious. However, contrary to their expectations, Kentaro's victory was not easy; rather, it was a hard-fought battle with both sides exchanging blows and remaining evenly matched. Had it not been for Su Qi's inexperience leading to a minor mistake later in the fight, the outcome might have been very different.

"He's too strong! Is Kenshin a monster? I've been studying for a year longer than him, so why do I feel like I'd lose if I went up against him now?"

"Of course I'll lose. Don't you remember how easily Kentaro defeated you during our last practice match? Since you were able to fight Kentaro to this extent, defeating you shouldn't be too difficult either."

"To have become this strong in just over a month is truly remarkable. Kenshin reminds me of someone in this respect."

"A person...you mean...Kazuhiko?"

“Yes. In fact, Kazuhiko is a notch above Kenshin because he is more pure and loves swordsmanship more than anyone else, it's a pity…”

"Yes, it's a real pity, otherwise perhaps a great swordsman would emerge from among us."

Everyone sighed in admiration, and the image of a stunningly talented and beautiful young man came to mind.

"Alright, alright, we've seen the excitement, go back and practice."

At this moment, Yamada Yasuhiro clapped his hands to disperse the crowd, then walked up to Su Qi and patted him on the shoulder with a gentle smile, "Well done, keep up the good work, I look forward to you going even further."

"Yes, please rest assured, I will definitely not slack off." After saying that, Su Qi asked curiously, "That Yamada-senpai, who is this 'Kazuhiko' that everyone was discussing earlier? Can you tell me?"

Yamada Yasuhiro's eyes flickered slightly, and he shook his head and sighed, "Kazuhiko... he was a genius like you, but unfortunately... he sacrificed himself during a demon-slaying mission. Anyway, you don't need to think about this. Just practice your swordsmanship. Once your swordsmanship reaches the level of the Eighth Master, no demons or monsters will be able to threaten you."

"What are you talking about?" Ruri, who had just finished instructing Kentaro, walked over.

"It's nothing, just encouraging Kenshin to keep working hard." Yamada Yasuhiro smiled, waved his hand, and walked out. "You guys chat, I'll go instruct the others first."

Liuli, however, was not easily fooled and directly asked Su Qi, "What did he just say?"

It seems that Ruri harbors a strong prejudice against Yamada Yasuhiro because of the marriage proposal...

Su Qi glanced at the girl and silently mourned for Yamada Yasuhiro.

A month was enough time for him to find out the basic situation of everyone in the dojo and their relationship network. Thus, he learned about the melodramatic past between Ruri and his senior brother, Yamada Taihiro.

The story goes that the dojo master, Choko Hachirin, seeing that his daughter was getting on in years and it was time to find her a husband to carry on the family line, wanted to help her find a suitable candidate who would accept marrying into the family. Later, his eldest disciple, Yamada Yasuhiro, heard about this and volunteered, successfully reaching an agreement with Choko Hachirin.

However, the person in question stubbornly opposed the arrangement and refused to comply. The two tried to reason with her and appeal to her emotions, but to no avail. Finally, unable to bear the nagging any longer, she gave them a condition.

"I will never marry a good-for-nothing who can't even beat a woman, so if you want to marry me, you'd better beat me first!"

Once the girl made this declaration, she would not back down.

Yamada Yasuhiro was helpless. From then on, he could only fight and lose repeatedly, but he kept fighting. Now, he was even disliked by Ruri, and the matter of marriage seemed to be in the distant future.

"I didn't say anything, but I heard someone mention a swordsmanship genius named 'Kazuhiko,' so I asked Senior Yamada..." Su Qi answered truthfully while gossiping in his mind.

"I see." Ruri nodded, a hint of regret on her face. "It's a real pity about Kazuhiko. Kenshin, you should take this as a warning."

"Yes, I understand."

"What did you understand?"

"Before mastering swordsmanship, one must preserve one's life in the chaotic world and not seek fame among the lords... In short, one should develop stealthily and not be reckless."

After spending more than a month together, the girl could barely understand the meaning behind Su Qi's strange words. She immediately rolled her eyes and said irritably, "Alright, stop talking nonsense. You've laid a good foundation, so you can start the next stage of your studies. Come with me..."

……

Once again, he practiced swordsmanship in the dojo until dusk.

Everyone else had already left, and as always, only Su Qi, Liu Li, and Yamada Taihiro remained in the empty dojo until the very end.

Suddenly, a errand boy burst into the dojo, stood in the entrance hall, and said breathlessly, "Miss Ruri... Lord Changgu has gotten drunk and caused a scene at our tavern again. Please... please take him home quickly."

The sound echoed in the dojo, and Liuli, who was instructing Su Qi on sword techniques, immediately signaled a pause and walked towards the entrance.

Chang Gu Ba Lun, speaking of which, I've been at the dojo for a month and I've never even met the dojo master once...

Su Qi was very interested in this elusive dojo master, and while practicing, he kept his ears perked up to eavesdrop.

Soon, Liuli found out the situation, sent the errand boy away, and then turned to face the dojo. Her gaze swept over Su Qi and Yamada Taihiro. "You should have heard it too. There are three of you here. One of you will stay and guard the dojo, and the other will come with me to help bring Father back."

“Let me go.” Yamada Yasuhiro immediately agreed, then looked at Su Qi, “Kenshin, could you please keep an eye on the dojo for now?”

Liuli said, "Kenshin will come with me, and Taihong will stay behind to guard the dojo."

Instantly, Yamada Yasuhiro's face turned extremely ugly.

"I'll go change my clothes first, and then I'll leave right away."

Ignoring the other person's feelings, Liuli quickly left the dojo and went to the backyard to change her clothes.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Su Qi only wanted to learn swordsmanship and didn't want to get involved in other people's emotional entanglements, so he said to Yamada Taihiro with an apologetic look, "I'm sorry, Yamada-senpai. Should I talk to Miss Ruri and ask her to let us switch?"

The latter forced a smile and waved his hand, "No need, Liuli's decision won't be changed. Just the two of you can go later."

After they finished speaking, a brief silence fell between them.

Soon after, Liuli returned, changed into a light blue casual outfit, a sword hanging at her waist, and left the dojo with Su Qi.

"Miss Liuli, where are we going?"

"Red Street, Brothels."

The two walked quickly down the street, and behind them, at the entrance of the dojo, Yamada Yasuhiro leaned against the door, his gaze fixed on their backs for a long time.

Chapter Twenty: The Naked Swordsman

Chang Gu Ba Lun is a powerful swordsman revered by his disciples and respected by the city lord. His swordsmanship is extremely exquisite, and he can even slay demons and ghosts.

At first, in Su Qi's imagination, he might be an immovable mountain, majestic and cold, with eyes as sharp as knives, looking at everyone as if they were corpses, a typical cold-faced swordsman image from anime and novels; however, in reality, this guy looked no different from an ordinary slovenly old man at first glance.

Su Qi and Liu Li found him in a bustling brothel. At the time, the swordsman was clearly drunk, his face as red as a monkey's bottom, and he was taking off his clothes, howling and flailing wildly on the table in the hall, his bare buttocks and two hairy legs exposed.

The proprietress called a few waiters over to try and pull him down, but he dodged left and right and fell off the table instead, causing other customers to scatter and shout, creating a chaotic scene.

"Miss Liuli, are you sure that's our dojo master?"

Su Qi, who had just arrived, stood at the door, looking at the middle-aged man on the table who was showing off his big black elephant and dancing wildly. His tone was tinged with suspicion.

"Without a doubt, don't make me repeat this shameful answer a second time."

Liuli answered with a dark face, the first time Su Qi had seen her angry expression.

He then strode forward, jumped onto the table, and exchanged more than a dozen blows with an old drunkard before finally finding an opportunity to trip him to the ground.

Amazing!

This time, Su Qi truly witnessed the old man's extraordinary qualities.

He had a deep understanding of how powerful Liuli was. Even without a knife, she could take him down in one move. Yet, he was able to fight her for so long while drunk, relying solely on instinct. This alone proved that she was by no means weak.

"Kenshin, put some clothes on this old man. I'm going to find the landlady to compensate for the damages."

After the drunkard fell to the ground, he immediately fell fast asleep. Liuli glanced at her father with the look of someone looking at trash, greeted Su Qi, and skillfully went to find the shopkeeper to pay the bill.

So that's how it is. I was wondering why she was so strong, that I wouldn't have needed her help; it turns out she used it for this… What bad luck…

Su Qi sighed, reluctantly stepped forward, found the clothes, and laboriously put them on the heavy, drunkard. Taking this opportunity, he was able to get a close look at his nominal instructor, a renowned and powerful swordsman.

His left arm was severed at the elbow, the wound clean and neat, as if it had been cut by a sword.

His skin was dark and shiny, weathered and covered with scars, and felt like cowhide to the touch, giving it a rough, tough and firm feel.

He was strong and robust, with a frame two heads taller than the average Japanese man. His muscles were tight and firm, with smooth lines and no excess. It was as if you could feel the vigorous flow of blood and energy in his body and the explosive power that was ready to be unleashed.