Chapter 559: 559

Chapter 559 Suzaku Dojo

It only took Zhang Heng five days to get the Menju certificate from Koyama Myoshin-Ryū . The speed of Zhang Heng’s progress made Akane speechless . Judging by his skills, there was no reason for her not to give him the certificate . So from today onward, Zhang Heng could tell anyone that he was a disciple of Koyama Myoshin-Ryū .

He was in a good mood . And it happened that Gabriel had a gathering with a merchant group today . In other words, Zhang Heng was free for the whole day . Recently, neither the Choshu Domain samurai nor Shinsengumi made any moves, making it difficult for Zhang Heng to figure out what they were up to .

Although the dojo was still not improving, Akane, as the host, was very satisfied with her current life . However, for Zhang Heng, the current situation was different from what he expected . It was not a big deal for him . Since there was no one here to cause trouble, he could take the initiative to make some .

Recently, Zhang Heng had been inquiring about the whereabouts of the famous katana . At the same time, he also learned about Kyoto’s big and small dojos from Akane Koyama, herself a Kyoto native . Finally, he set his sights on a dojo called Suzakukan .

It was a dojo that had only opened its doors in recent years, but it had grown a lot . Sugawara Saemon traveled to different dojos when he was young to learn all of their signature moves . In the end, he came up with Shigen Shinkai–Ryu and defeated a couple of well-known samurai at that time . Rumor had it that he even fought against Serizawa Kamo, the former director of Shinsengumi . No one knew how the fight ended, but the ability to survive the battle when going against the violent Serizawa Kamo was proof that Sugawara Saemon was indeed powerful .

After Serizawa was defeated by Kondo Isami, Hijikata Toshizo, and others, Sugawara Saemon established his Suzakukan in Kyoto, and a lot of people were interested in joining his dojo . Seemingly, he was doing quite well at the moment .

Zhang Heng knocked on the door .

“Koyama Myoshin-Ryū? Is this sect still in Kyoto?”

The disciple in charge of the reception at Suzakukan had his head held up high . Zhang Heng could hear a touch of disdain from his tone, but his attitude was not without reason . When Sugawara Saemon came to Kyoto looking to challenge masters to boost his fame, it was the happiest time of his life . However, after he built up some fame and opened the dojo, others would come and challenge him, themselves wanting to be famous .

It was okay if someone skillful came to challenge the great Sugawara Saemon . However, many random sects from all over the country came to challenge him . Sugawara Saemon did something similar at the beginning as well . When he fought someone, his opponent would make-up stories to change how the battle went, regardless if he won or lost . And Sugawara Saemon could do nothing about it .

During the early days, he fought against Serizawa Kamo . At that time, Serizawa Kamo wanted to look for a sparring partner, and he was selected . However, someone changed the story to Serizawa Kamo fought Sugarawa Saemon but failed miserably . Therefore, when the Suzaku Dojo disciples saw Zhang Heng, he felt like he was here to pull the same stunt until Zhang Heng explained his intention .

“I heard that the owner of this dojo has a famous sword made by Miike Tenta Mitsuyo . I wish to have a look at it . ”

The disciple in charge of the reception immediately was angered by what he heard . “How dare you?!” Miike Tenta Mits was a well-known blacksmith in Japan . He was active at the end of the Heian period, Miike District at Chikugo province . All the weapons that he crafted were priceless . His most famous work was completed during the Ashikaga Shogunate period . It was known as Tenka-Goken .

Zhang Heng came to the Suzaku Dojo because of the rumors that Sugawara Saemon owned a weapon crafted by Miike Tenta Mitsuyo . But what he said had obviously angered the people in Suzaku Dojo .

The samurai’s most trusted companion was the katana, and it was just as important as their life . Although most of the samurais failed to achieve where they lived and died with their katana, they would never lend their katana to an outsider .

Zhang Heng’s request was very rude to them . He was about to do something even harsher later on . If the katana that Sugawara Saemon own was Ötenta-Mitsuyo or a katana that was as good as Otenta-Mitsuyo, Zhang Heng would never return it after he borrowed it .

“Let me test your Koyama Myoshin-Ryū!” Immediately, a disciple jumped at Zhang Heng . Zhang Heng nodded as if he did not see the hostile gazes around him . He then grabbed the wooden katana handed over to him by others and said calmly, “Please enlighten me . ”

Due to Zhang Heng’s previous disrespectful act, the person charged Zhang Heng without paying him any respect . Zhang Heng took his time and made the stance that he learned from Koyama Myoshin-Ryū . The wooden katana tip was slightly raised, and the defensive stance was leaned slightly to the left . Zhang Heng stood there and let his opponent attack first .

On the other hand, his opponent had no intention to hold back his strength . He was readied to unleash his might on Zhang Heng . A few seconds later, everyone around them heard a “pop” sound . Zhang Heng had managed to block his attack with his wooden katana .

Zhang Heng’s opponent was dissatisfied and shouted, “Again!”

After that, he lifted the katana and strike at Zhang Heng again . This time he was aiming at Zhang Heng’s right shoulder . However, the result was the same . Zhang Heng managed to block the attack once again . The opponent was having a hard time that he could not beat Zhang Heng . He kept making some strange war cry and swinging the wooden katana in his hand . However, no matter which direction he slashed, Zhang Heng could always block his attack . He could not even touch the corners of Zhang Heng’s clothes . On the other hand, Zhang Heng was standing, without even making a single move . All this while, he was watching his opponent jumping up and down, burning in a flame of anger .

Initially, Zhang Heng did not pay much attention to Koyama Myoshin-Ryū . To his surprise, it worked unexpectedly well in the battle . Before he learned Koyama Myoshin-Ryū, Zhang Heng had always relied on his speed and strength to bully his opponent . He had to admit that Koyama Myoshin-Ryū had made the battle more relaxing . No matter where the opponent came from, he could always put up his wooden katana to block the attack with the fastest speed .

The saber skills that leaned from the pirates were crude and simple . They did not pay too much attention to the details . However, Japanese swordsmanship had been passed down for hundreds of years . Naturally, they had their fair share of advantage .

For Zhang Heng, this quest was not only a journey to own a powerful katana but also a great opportunity for him to hone his sword skills further . Although he had countless opportunities to defeat his opponent, he chose not to do so . Instead, he made use of his opponent to learn more about Shigen Shinkai–Ryu .

Before he could do that, someone stopped the competition .

“Surrender now! You will not be able to defeat him . ”

Zhang Heng’s opponent, a young man with a thin line of mustache, was angered, but he dared not to say no to the man . He stopped what he was doing and obediently retreated to the side .

It was a middle-aged man who spoke, but the man was not Sugawara Saemon (Zhang Heng asked about Sugawara Saemon’s appearance when he came) . “I’m the captain of Suzaku Dojo, Shimizu Isshin . Do enlighten me . ”

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