Swordsmanship Grandmaster?

"Recently, the sword dojo has been closed to the public. Do not approach without permission!"

"Who are you? Do you have an invitation?"

As Kyle approached the grand gates of the swordsmanship dojo, his black combat suit stood out conspicuously. The two young men guarding the entrance, dressed in white kimonos and carrying wooden swords, both stepped forward and raised their hands to stop him, speaking warily.

"Tell your dojo master." Kyle smiled faintly and continued up the steps without slowing. Calmly, he said, "Tell him Kyle from America has come to challenge him."

Kyle from America?

The two young men sucked in cold breaths and exchanged looks, their faces filled with shock.

After all, this was the man who, in a single night, had shaken all of Tokyo as though a magnitude-ten earthquake had struck, throwing the entire nation into panic as if facing a great enemy—the man rumored to be a "demon."

Japan’s Emperor had publicly condemned his crimes from the imperial residence. Countless armed soldiers were searching all of Tokyo, yet this uninvited guest had come to their swordsmanship dojo?

Kyle kept walking at an unhurried pace. For every step he took forward, the two gatekeepers retreated several steps. By the time he reached the main entrance, they had already fled into the dojo in a panic, shouting as they ran.

"It’s Kyle from America! He’s here!"

"The demon who destroyed the air force base and threatened the Emperor last night has come here!"

"Someone, hurry!!"

Before long, dozens of young men dressed as swordsmanship disciples rushed out from within the dojo, gripping genuine, sharp swords and clattering forward in wooden sandals.

Yet as soon as they came within three meters of Kyle, they all stopped. Their faces were grave and wary as they dared not come any closer, keeping their swords raised while maintaining a safe distance.

Kyle did not even glance at them. Cold and composed, he continued inward on his own, moving through the encirclement of sword-wielding men and soon stepping into the main hall of the dojo.

More and more swordsmanship disciples gathered around him, their numbers growing from dozens to over a hundred. They surrounded Kyle both inside and out, yet none of them attacked as they moved with him.

Fortunately, the dojo hall was spacious enough to accommodate several hundred people practicing swordsmanship at once. The wooden floor was polished like new, racks for practice swords lined the inner walls, and a huge plaque written in ink hung at the center.

‘Shinto Muso-ryu School’

As one of the foundations of Bushido in modern times, the Shinto Muso-ryu School possessed advanced swordsmanship standards. Among Japan’s inherited swordsmanship schools, it ranked among the top ten. Though it was not the strongest in the field, it was the most authoritative school with the largest number of disciples.

Now, in wartime, there were already more than a hundred inner disciples within the dojo alone!

"Step aside. Let the guest who has come to challenge us enter."

Surrounded and followed by the crowd, Kyle entered the inner hall of the dojo. Before he could carefully inspect the place, an aged yet vigorous voice rang out from within.

The hundred-plus swordsmanship disciples in identical white kimonos respectfully and silently dispersed, opening up a broad space.

Only then did Kyle finally see the scene within clearly. An elderly man in a kendo uniform sat upright in the middle of the main hall’s floor, while a beautiful woman in a kimono knelt beside him.

"So you are the current master of the Shinto Muso-ryu School dojo?" Kyle looked down at him, his face plainly showing disappointment. This immediately brought anger to the faces of the hundred-plus swordsmanship disciples around them.

This invader was truly far too arrogant! Who in Tokyo, Japan, had not heard of the Sword Elder? Though old, he had not declined. He was a swordsmanship grandmaster; even ten grown men rushing him together could be easily knocked down by his wooden sword.

"Has our guest truly come from afar merely to challenge us?" Sword Elder showed no anger whatsoever. He carried himself like a grandmaster who had cultivated himself to great heights as he asked softly.

"It’s simple. Today, I intend to erase the name of your Shinto Muso-ryu School. Of course, you are only the first. There are more than forty other swordsmanship schools in Tokyo that represent Bushido, and I will eliminate them as well." Kyle shrugged, as if he were talking about something trivial.

"Our guest carries a heavy killing aura, and your words are no less grand." Sword Elder waved a hand. Understanding his meaning, the woman beside him rose gracefully, went to the rack beneath the plaque, took down a sheathed katana, and brought it to his side.

Kyle did not stop him. He wanted to see just what level of swordsmanship Japan had inherited and revered.

Sword Elder rose unhurriedly. His sharp katana slid from its sheath, gleaming coldly as he pointed it at Kyle. "As a foreigner who invaded our country and a challenger to this dojo, you first threatened His Majesty the Emperor, and now you wish to destroy a swordsmanship school passed down for centuries. Since you have come, do not think of leaving!"

As if he had not heard the threat, Kyle swept his gaze over the hundred-plus swordsmanship disciples around him and suggested, "Why not all of you come at once?"

Sword Elder froze. Both hands tightened around the katana’s hilt, and a cold glint appeared in his narrow, deep-set eyes. "You look down on me?!"

Kyle shook his head and explained, "I do not merely look down on you. I look down on everyone here."

The moment those words were spoken, the hundred-plus swordsmanship disciples in the hall were so enraged that they nearly rushed forward with swords in hand. The only reason they did not was because Sword Elder could no longer restrain himself and attacked first!

Sword Elder charged forward with clattering steps, faster than any healthy young man. When he closed to within three meters of Kyle, he pushed off the ground and leaped into the air.

While airborne, he drew both arms back to gather strength, then fiercely swung the katana downward. The sharp blade traced a semicircular arc, intending to cleave Kyle in half from head to toe!

Sword Elder was too fast, and his sword swing was even more clean and fluid. All the disciples in the hall cried out in excitement, while the kimono-clad woman smiled faintly.

And indeed, Kyle did not move at all. It was as though Sword Elder’s explosive sword attack had frightened him stiff, leaving him with no intention of dodging the descending katana.

Watching on, the swordsmanship disciples could practically picture it in their minds: Kyle’s body split symmetrically into two halves, blood and organs spilling across the floor.

Under everyone’s expectant gazes, Sword Elder’s katana slashed down with a cold afterimage. At the instant before it struck, Kyle’s right hand shot up like lightning, his thumb and forefinger pinching the sword tip…

The katana landed against Kyle’s right palm, protected by a Vibranium Bracer and Venom leather suit, without making the slightest sound. The slash that had been so fierce a moment ago stopped inexplicably, utterly motionless.

Catching a blade barehanded? No, this was a scene of monstrous strength that surpassed countless techniques.

The swordsmanship disciples stared dumbfoundedly. The dojo hall was so silent that a pin drop could be heard.

Even more shocked was Sword Elder himself. He stared in disbelief at the right hand that had caught his katana. Ashamed, furious, and afraid, he clenched the hilt and exerted all his strength, yet he still could not pull the katana free from Kyle’s grasp by even the slightest fraction.

"You… how did you do that?" Sword Elder let go of the katana in horror. His high-speed slashes, honed through decades of training, could easily cut through a tree as thick as a wrist!

"A frog at the bottom of a well." Kyle spoke indifferently in Japanese. At this distance, he had already figured it out: Sword Elder only possessed one rare Green Ability Card—True Shinto Muso-ryu Sword Mastery.

"My turn." Kyle murmured as he threw out his left fist. A fierce gust of wind surged from its tip as it crashed swiftly into Sword Elder’s somewhat thin body.

The punch of twelve humans!

Bang!

As though struck by a speeding car, Sword Elder "flew" away like a kite with its string cut. His body rolled through the hall in a parabola before crashing heavily into the school plaque ten meters away.