If the Miyamoto family’s Niten Ichi-ryu and the Daito Gasshi-ryu that Liu Yunduo had just challenged and defeated could already be considered quite famous sword schools in Japan’s kendo world—barely qualifying as first-rate—
Then the Hokushin Itto-ryu could be considered one of the most elite schools, equivalent to Shaolin or Wudang in the Chinese martial arts world!
Hokushin Itto-ryu was the most prominent sword school during the Tokugawa shogunate era, also known as the Edo period, and has been passed down for hundreds of years. It has not only deeply influenced the sword arts of certain regions—even now, the kendo of the entire country of Japan bears traces of Hokushin Itto-ryu’s influence to varying degrees.
Although back in the Edo period, Hokushin Itto-ryu established the Genbukan dojo, which alongside the Yanagi family’s Iaijutsu Shigakukan and the Shinto Munen-ryu’s Renpeikan were known as the “Three Great Dojos of Edo”—
In terms of dojos and sword training halls, the influence of Hokushin Itto-ryu could truly be called the number one school in Japan’s kendo world, with no equal! The Yanagi family and Shinto Munen-ryu simply could not compete with Hokushin Itto-ryu back then.
Throughout its hundreds of years of history, Hokushin Itto-ryu has produced not just one or two sword masters, but well over a dozen. In this accumulation, Hokushin Itto-ryu far surpassed the Yanagi family and Shinto Munen-ryu.
Of course, this current generation of Hokushin Itto-ryu was slightly lacking—so far they hadn’t produced any master at the Danjin level, meaning someone qualified to be titled a “Kengou”—a super expert swordsman. So they had been somewhat suppressed by the Yanagi family’s Iaijutsu, which was at the height of its power.
But it was only a slight difference. In terms of strength and foundation, Hokushin Itto-ryu wasn’t necessarily inferior to Iaijutsu.
And right now, the strongest expert of Hokushin Itto-ryu was Chiba Jujiro!
The Chiba family held an absolutely dominant position in the history of Hokushin Itto-ryu. Not only because the original founder of the school was Chiba Shusaku Narimasa, but also because among the sword masters Hokushin Itto-ryu had produced over the years, the Chiba family accounted for half of them.
Because of this, even if Hokushin Itto-ryu—due to its large number of disciples—occasionally produced sword masters outside the Chiba family, it couldn’t shake the Chiba family’s position.
Chiba Jujiro was also a swordsman of exceptional talent. Not yet forty years old, he was the most likely candidate to break through to the Danjin level, comprehend the essence of swordsmanship, and receive the title of “Kengou.”
When it was heard that Liu Yunduo’s next challenge had suddenly shifted to Chiba Jujiro—one of the most dominant and influential figures currently in Japan’s kendo world—it not only stirred up a storm in the Japanese kendo community, but Su Mengnan was also greatly shocked by the news.
In his view, the current head of Hokushin Itto-ryu had been on the verge of being titled “Kengou” for many years, incredibly close to that level, and no one knew if he had already taken that final step. Such a final boss—shouldn’t he be saved for last?
Why was his queen, the alliance leader, being so irrational, choosing to challenge him as only her second opponent?
If she succeeded against him, how many more would be left worth challenging?
Wouldn’t it be better to find a few slightly weaker experts to practice swordsmanship and see if she could make a breakthrough?
“She’s so… so willful!” Inside the Mercedes, Su Mengnan grumbled indignantly.
Jiang Fei smiled, not particularly surprised by this news.
“It’s unexpected, but it makes sense. Liu Yunduo was never the type to drag her feet or play tricks. She’s always straightforward and doesn’t like beating around the bush. Like when she first found out who I was—she came straight to my door and demanded a fight, threatening to pester me endlessly if I refused. There aren’t many people as direct as her.
Now that she’s defeated Ueizumi Ise, it shows that in Japan’s kendo world, there are very few who can still face her—Chiba Jujiro being one of them! Others aren’t worth her time to challenge anymore. One challenger per level is enough for her. She won’t spend lots of time slowly grinding experience—she’ll only keep challenging higher levels until she completely clears the game. Once she’s cleared it, then she’ll slowly clean up the small fries.
If my guess is right, if she manages to beat Chiba Jujiro this time, her next target would probably be Yanagi Munenori! And if she beats him too, then she’ll wait to see if any legendary masters who’ve long disappeared will come looking for her. If they do, she’ll keep challenging. If no stronger experts appear, then she’ll turn back and start clearing out the small fries…”
Hearing Jiang Fei’s analysis, Su Mengnan was taken aback. After thinking it over carefully, he realized Jiang Fei was absolutely right.
Their Kendo Alliance leader really was that kind of person—direct and straightforward, not understanding tact or subtlety. Once she set her mind on something, her determination was astonishingly strong, but her methods were always honorable and upright, never underhanded or vicious.
Even though she carried a deep hatred in her heart and had made revenge her lifelong goal, there wasn’t the slightest bit of darkness in her heart. Her revenge had to be achieved through legitimate means.
Such a woman truly seemed out of place in this polluted, shadow-filled society.
And perhaps it was precisely because of Liu Yunduo’s character that he—one of the Four Young Masters of the capital, an arrogant playboy who only ever bullied others—would willingly submit to such a woman and serve under her.
Otherwise, would he, Su Mengnan, just bow his head and follow orders from any woman who came along, just because she was skilled in martial arts or beautiful?
In this day and age, martial arts skill doesn’t put food on the table. He, Young Master Su, certainly didn’t lack money or women, so why would he be so willingly devoted?
The most important thing was that Liu Yunduo’s character and personal qualities had truly won him over.
“Yanagi Munenori—you’ll handle him, Jiang Daxia. But what about this Hokushin Itto-ryu expert Chiba Jujiro? Do we let the alliance leader fight him herself? Can she… win this time?” Su Mengnan asked weakly.
Jiang Fei rolled his eyes at him. “I haven’t even seen Liu Yunduo’s true current strength, and I’ve never even laid eyes on this Chiba Jujiro. How would I know the outcome?”
This rich young master—he wasn’t just treating him like a hero, but like an all-powerful Sun Wukong.
But regarding this fight, he couldn’t say who would win or lose. However, compared to Yanagi Munenori, Liu Yunduo would certainly be far behind. So Jiang Fei would handle Yanagi Munenori himself and wouldn’t let Liu Yunduo challenge him.
After Liu Yunduo defeated Ueizumi Ise, it was practically impossible for her to keep a low profile or hide her whereabouts.
No matter where she went, there would always be eyes from the kendo world watching her, tracking her every move. This attention wouldn’t diminish until she suffered a defeat.
So Su Mengnan and Jiang Fei quickly found where Liu Yunduo was staying.
“You two… really came.”
Outside a hotel built in traditional Japanese architectural style, located in a scenic suburban area somewhat resembling a ryokan, Liu Yunduo looked at Jiang Fei and Su Mengnan. There wasn’t much surprise in her expression—just resignation.
“Alliance leader, even if you wanted to cross the sea to Japan, to bring glory to our country and sweep through those little devils, we wouldn’t say anything. But you can’t just leave without a word and act alone like this. You’re the leader of our Kendo Alliance—where does that leave the rest of us?” Su Mengnan looked at Liu Yunduo with a hurt expression.
Liu Yunduo glared at him. “You have the nerve to say that! You’re the one who tracked down my whereabouts in Japan, aren’t you? And not only did you come, but you dragged Jiang Fei along too—what for?”
Su Mengnan instinctively shrank his neck. “Jiang Daxia… he’s our friend. He cares about you too, alliance leader, so when he heard about it, he volunteered to come with me. And Jiang Daxia didn’t come to Japan just for you—he has his own business to take care of… right, Jiang Daxia?”
Su Mengnan quickly shot Jiang Fei urgent looks, signaling for him to play along. Otherwise, if Liu Yunduo didn’t appreciate it, she’d give him trouble instead. For all his status as Young Master Su, he really would chicken out.
Jiang Fei gave an affirming grunt and said, “I did come to Japan with some personal matters to resolve.”
“You want to fight Yanagi Munenori again before I get the chance?” Although Liu Yunduo was straightforward and didn’t beat around the bush, she wasn’t stupid. She immediately guessed what Jiang Fei meant.
Actually, Liu Yunduo knew very well why Jiang Fei and Su Mengnan had come to Japan—it was nothing more than fear that she couldn’t win every challenge and worry that she might encounter misfortune along the way. And with Jiang Fei being so powerful, he could eliminate many of the strongest opponents for her.
Like Japan’s current living sword saint, Yanagi Munenori.
Jiang Fei had already defeated him before, but this contemporary kengou of the Iaijutsu school was still the number one expert in Japan. If she challenged him, it would likely end badly for her.
As Liu Yunduo’s clear, bright eyes stared at him, Jiang Fei had intended to express his thoughts more tactfully, but her sudden directness caught him off guard, and the prepared speech he and Su Mengnan had rehearsed became useless.
“Yes and no.”
Jiang Fei said, “I did come to challenge Yanagi Munenori. But it’s not about getting ahead of you—it was already scheduled before you. As you know, last year Yanagi Munenori and I fought once at the peak of Mount Emei. At that time, we agreed that after training for a while, we’d fight again. So this match was set long ago, and doesn’t have much to do with your coming to Japan to issue challenges. Besides, our arranged match doesn’t conflict with your trip here at all.”
“If you directly remove Japan’s current number one expert, kengou Yanagi Munenori, from the picture so I can’t face him, then what’s the point of my trip to Japan?” Liu Yunduo stared at Jiang Fei.
Su Mengnan, seeing the situation turning bad, grew anxious.
He quickly stepped forward and said, “How is it pointless? Japan may be a tiny strip of land, but their kendo culture is flourishing, with a huge number of practitioners and countless experts. Alliance leader, if you want to defeat all of Japan’s kendo world, missing one person hardly matters!”
“Shut up!” Liu Yunduo turned her head and glared at Su Mengnan.
Her delicate, refined face was very serious as she looked at Jiang Fei with great solemnity. “Jiang Fei, I hope you won’t interfere in this matter, and won’t fight Yanagi Munenori before I do. Never mind what my strength is or whether I can beat him. Even if I’m weaker than him and can’t win, if I lose, I’ll lose without regret. That just means my skills aren’t good enough, and I should go back and train more—I can always come back another time. But if you forcibly stop this, if you don’t even give me the chance to face Yanagi Munenori, then even if I defeat everyone else, it would be meaningless!”
Jiang Fei frowned.
“Please, I’m begging you to agree.” There was a hint of pleading in Liu Yunduo’s earnest eyes.
After a long pause, Jiang Fei finally nodded. “Alright. I promise you.”
Seeing her expression, if she couldn’t have her match with Yanagi Munenori, she truly wouldn’t be satisfied. Even if she won against everyone else, the knot in her heart and her obsession would remain unresolved.
After all, her father had died here. If she couldn’t personally take revenge and personally sweep everything away, how could she ever be at peace?
Why not let her try it herself? Like she said, even if she lost, she’d accept it—she could always come back another time. At least that way, she wouldn’t feel too devastated, because there would still be another chance.
And wasn’t the purpose of his trip here to ensure she didn’t meet with any accidents, to make sure she didn’t lose her life in Japan?
Now that he was here anyway, he’d watch over her upcoming battles from the sidelines. As long as he could ensure her safety, that was enough. If she encountered a narrow-minded expert like Miyamoto Kazuma whom she couldn’t beat, then he’d step in and help.
“Thank you.” A brilliant, happy smile bloomed on Liu Yunduo’s face.
She was genuinely happy.
——–
At a relatively small port in Japan—not a hub for ships or passenger ferries, just a place where fishermen docked after returning from their fishing trips.
Of course, modern fishermen were nothing like those of ancient times. Their fishing boats certainly weren’t little wooden vessels anymore—they’d long since grown to considerable size.
Late at night.
A bright moon hung in the sky, and the sea stretched endlessly, with no visible end. The dock, busy all day, had grown much quieter at this hour. Few people remained—only the occasional bark of a dog echoed through the silent night.
At that moment, a fishing boat that had been out at sea for many days slowly pulled in to shore amid flickering lights.
The first ones to disembark weren’t hardworking fishermen returning home. The fishermen were all cowering fearfully in the cabin. Two strangely dressed men, when the boat was still seven or eight meters from shore, leapt into the air, hurriedly flew to the dock, and quickly vanished into the night.
