The Secret to Picking Up Girls

"Ha!" "Ha!" Zhang Yuze laughed heartily upon hearing Chiba Hideyoshi's words. He then picked up the tea on the table and said to Chiba Hideyoshi, "Sir, you are indeed a man of great talent. Now, I shall use tea in place of wine to wish you an early attainment of the highest realm of martial arts."

Chiba Hideyoshi's face also broke into a smile upon hearing Zhang Yuze's words, and he nodded slightly to Zhang Yuze, saying, "Thank you for your kind words."

After the two of them finished their tea, Zhang Yuze noticed a hint of sorrow on Chiba Hideyoshi's face. He looked at him with a smile and said, "I see a hint of sorrow on your face, sir. If you have something on your mind, why not share it with me?"

"Alas, perhaps this is the little time I have left, but to be able to meet a friend like you, despite our age difference, at this time, my life is without regret," Chiba Hideyoshi's face suddenly revealed a hint of melancholy.

Although Zhang Yuze didn't know why the old man was asking this, he nodded slightly and said, "As far as I know, the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu, the Kyoshin Meichi-ryu, and your Hokushin Itto-ryu should be the three major powers in Japan today."

Chiba Hideyoshi smiled wryly upon hearing this, turned around, and looked at Zhang Yuze, saying, "If you really think that way, then you are overestimating us and the Kyoshin Meichi-ryu. The Japan of today is not what you think it is."

Zhang Yuze looked at Chiba Hideyoshi with some curiosity and asked, "What do you mean by that, sir?"

Chiba Hideyoshi nodded slightly at Zhang Yuze and then said to him, "Twenty years ago, after I was defeated by Takahashi Kazutake, who is known as a god in Japan, I knew that no one in Japan could stop the rise of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu."

Zhang Yuze's heart trembled slightly when he heard the name Takahashi Kazutake. It wasn't the first time he had heard this name. To Zhang Yuze, the name Takahashi Kazutake was like thunder in his ears.

"Why is sir so afraid of the rise of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu?" Zhang Yuze took a deep breath and asked Takahashi Kazutake with some curiosity.

Chiba Hideyoshi took a deep look at Zhang Yuze and then said, "Of course, it's not because I'm jealous of his achievements, but since Takahashi Kazutake rose to prominence, the path that the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu has taken has deviated from its original course."

Zhang Yuze narrowed his eyes upon hearing this and asked Chiba Hideyoshi, "Mr. Chiba, what do you mean by 'deviated from its original course'?"

Chiba Hideyoshi took a deep breath and said to Zhang Yuze in a low voice, "Since Takahashi Kazutake defeated the masters of various schools in Japan, with his prestige in the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu, he has led the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu to deviate from the original path of martial arts and become a path of martial arts that pursues martial arts through killing. If this continues, the entire martial world of Japan will be plunged into bloodshed."

Zhang Yuze frowned deeply upon hearing this and looked at Chiba Hideyoshi, saying, "In your opinion, is this Takahashi Kazutake really that terrifying?"