Chapter 102: The Challenge Starts Again
The Quiet Room.
Hokusinn Kichyō sat cross-legged in the tea room, lit some incense, and calmed her mind and spirit.
As a daughter of a warrior family, Sword had learned since a young age. She had once imagined herself becoming a great swordsman, but the path was too difficult, and she had long given up on those fantasies. However, as time passed, she suddenly realized that maybe she had the potential to make some progress after all.
After countless battles and fights, she gained a deeper understanding of Hokusinn Itto-ryu swordsmanship.
It felt as if she was just a short distance away from reaching the breakthrough point, with only a small gap left, almost within her grasp.
It was a pity that if she could continue to rewind and persist in fierce battles, regardless of life and death, she might truly be able to reach the path beyond swordsmanship…
"My heart is in turmoil."
She opened her eyes.
Although she had escaped the nightmare of that period of time, she couldn't help but long for the days when she incessantly fought, seeking opportunities for growth.
Perhaps deep down, she too had a hidden affinity for swords, honed by the touch of bloodshed. Once unleashed, she didn't want to sheathe sword and let it gather dust again.
Hokusinn Kichyō was just about to regain her composure when suddenly, a rumbling sound echoed in her ears. It was as if someone had struck a vessel next to a Buddha shrine, starting with a small, crisp sound that gradually transformed into the booming roar of a large bell.
The deafening sound made her momentarily dizzy, causing her consciousness to blur for an instant.
In the next moment, she found herself in a completely unfamiliar world.
As she was feeling dazed, a hand suddenly landed on her chest, followed by a gentle squeeze.
"Yikes!" She quickly swatted away the hand, protecting her chest, and became enraged, feeling both embarrassed and furious. "Hey, you wanderer, stop right there, look…"
She swung her blade uncontrollably, striking with all her might, bringing down the Nine-Syllable Blade upon her opponent's head.
Ding! The swords clashed, creating a metallic clash.
Feeling the familiar sensation, Hokusinn Kichyō stopped and looked intently. To her surprise, the figure beneath her own blade was someone she knew well.
"Yagyū…Simozi?"
"How could it be you?" Yagyū Simozi expressed her dissatisfaction as well.
Today, after finishing her practice, Saki Jingūji continued with her classes. In the afternoon, she accompanied Saki to a nearby shrine. As she stayed within the shrine, she felt energized and decided to meditate in front of the main shrine, determined to challenge RashoMon once again.
Upon entering this time, the scenery underwent a slight change. On the other side, there appeared a quaint shrine, where a mirror was placed. However, it was unclear which deity the shrine was dedicated to.
She touched the mirror and suddenly, a figure appeared in the reflection. By chance, she happened to touch the other person's chest and even gave it a little squeeze, as if comparing sizes and textures. But then, unexpectedly, she was struck by a powerful blow.
The two girls were separated by quite a distance in the real world, and they were both quite puzzled about each other.
Yagyū Simozi was unhappy, but she patiently explained to Hokusinn Kichyō about the origin of this place.
"No wonder you are so young, yet seem to have wielded a sword as if you have taken lives before. Without going through countless battles, it is difficult to understand the true meaning of a sword."
"If we were to talk about murderous intent, I think you are the one who possesses it. It's as if you have truly killed someone before."
"What do you think?"
"Hmph!"
They both had a few small secrets from each other, but it didn't really matter.
"That is RashoMon," said Hokusinn Kichyō. She could see the distant, imposing gate, but couldn't help but feel puzzled. "But it is quite remarkable that both of them can imagine the same things."
"I find it strange too, but since we're here, this place offers trials that won't harm our bodies. I really don't have a reason to refuse," said Yagyū Simozi. She didn't care about its origin, only that it could make her stronger at a faster pace.
"I also want to try and take on the challenge!" exclaimed Hokusinn Kichyō eagerly.
"Up to you, but well…" Yagyū Simozi said with a malicious smile, "Without any puppets to help, you won't last very long."
She had already pulled out the sword from the puppet's body. The silent iron puppet stood beside her, holding a heavy sword, completely motionless and lifeless.
Hokusinn Kichyō, who had just arrived, didn't understand anything at all. She watched as Yagyū Simozi walked towards RashoMon to take on the challenge.
She looked around and approached the vicinity of Saizō.
The old man, holding a worn-out sword, was wearing a black cloak. He remained silent at first and only spoke after Yagyū Simozi left.
"This is not a memory that belongs to you…"
"Is this a memory?" Hokusinn Kichyō wondered, filled with curiosity. "Did a place like this really exist in the past?"
Saizō calmly said, "You may enter RashoMon, but… even if you challenge RashoMon, I cannot offer you anything."
"But can Yagyū?"
"Because you are someone from outside, it means you cannot gain advancement from me. My sword skills and techniques are beyond your grasp," Saizō said calmly.
"Oh…" Hokusinn Kichyō felt a little sad.
"But you also have your own trial grounds," Saizō pointed towards the shrine. "Go over there and take a look, it seems there is something approaching."
"Thank you!" Hokusinn Kichyō bowed politely.
At this moment, the door of the shrine was already closed, and a force kept her outside, preventing her from entering. Through the broken doors and windows, she could catch a glimpse of a half-mirror inside the shrine.
Then, the white mist that lingered around the shrine suddenly dispersed, revealing a clear path leading to another direction.
And from beneath her feet, it felt as if she had stepped into a completely different area.
Behind her, there stood RashoMon, a burning fortress with crumbling walls.
Facing ahead, there was a different color scheme and a different style of architecture.
Two places were abruptly connected, just like two photos that were awkwardly merged together after being edited.
Hokusinn Kichyō didn't think much about it and stepped across the boundary.
After stepping through the white mist, she found herself in a remarkably primitive landscape.
This was a place with shallow water flowing through the marshy land. She walked wearing wooden shoes, which made it a bit difficult. The muddy ground beneath the water was soft, and the water reached up to her ankles.
In every direction, there were tall and steep cliffs covered with thick trees. There were only a few caves, but they were too high to reach. It almost felt like being trapped in a completely closed box.
She walked forward and suddenly heard a loud and sharp screech.
A white figure quickly flew out from the cave, crashing onto the ground, splashing water and mud into the air.
That was a white monkey, standing about 1.5 meters tall, which is considered quite strong. It stood upright and unbelievably, it was holding a long spear.
The white monkey grabbed the long spear and without hesitation, it rushed towards her, aiming to stab her. Its eyes turned bright red, showing its fierce and aggressive nature like a wild animal.
Dang! Hokusinn Kichyō raised her spear, splashing water as it kicked up, wetting the white monkey's fur. Then, she took a step forward and swung her blade, cutting deep into its skin and bones. In an instant, she ended the white monkey's life.
It fell into the water, its blood spreading out. Suddenly, with a loud bang, it turned into a cloud of smoke and disappeared.
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
Another cry was heard, and this time a white monkey jumped out of the cave. It had changed its weapon and now wielded a pair of swords.
…so, was I meant to face trials here, defeating these creatures again and again?
…even though it was a real battle, wasn't it a bit too much like a child's play?
Hokusinn Kichyō was not arrogant, but rather, these opponents were just too weak.
She quickly dealt with the second monkey, and continued to fight wave after wave of monsters, until she reached the ninth wave.
There were a total of ten monkeys, seven were fighting up close, while three were hiding on the mountainside and throwing stones. But it wasn't too hard to avoid them. After she defeated all the white monkeys on the ground, the monkeys on the mountainside vanished in a puff of smoke.
"The tenth wave," she said, "What kind of monkeys are coming next? A legion of apes? Or maybe a white-backed gorilla?"
She was starting to feel tired and bored.
But in the next moment, a loud roar almost deafened her ears. She covered her ears and then saw a gigantic white figure emerging from the reflection on the water's surface.
Without thinking about being clean or not, she immediately jumped forward.
In the midst of a mighty earthquake, the water in the pond splashed up to a height of ten meters. After a full ten seconds, Hokusinn Kichyō finally stood up from the water.
About twenty meters away, there stood a towering white giant ape, standing at least five meters tall. It pounded its chest with both hands, each arm thicker than Hokusinn Kichyō's waist by twice. Even more astonishingly, it carried a sword that was over four meters long on its back. Its fur was vibrant and commanding, as if enveloped in a fierce aura of violence.
Hokusinn was startled.
She kept apologizing in her heart for underestimating the challenge, but was this level of difficulty a bit too much? Just as she had learned basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, she was now being asked to calculate advanced mathematics using the Taylor series?
But she wondered why the white giant ape hesitated and didn't launch an attack.
At that moment, she heard a sound. The sound was close, so close that it seemed to be right beside her, on her shoulder, behind her back.
She turned around and was frozen with horror as she saw a gigantic white snake, stretching dozens of meters long, coiled between the valleys. Its head was lowered, pressing against the surface of the water.
But it seemed to be an entity, rather an ethereal spectacle with no weight at all.
The white snake spews out a message with its mouth, saying, "This is a trial."
"Oh, child of humanity, show your bravery… and defeat this wicked white ape demon."
Hokusinn Kichyō gazed at the white ape slowly unsheathing the mountain-cutting sword, and managed to squeeze out a polite smile.
"I might not be able to escape…"
