48 Hours a Day

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.”