Taixuan Style and Beichen Ichi-ryu

9:45 AM, December 16, 2013.

Changkong City, Dojo.

"I knew Su Qing'an was casual about opening his shop, but closing it just to have a spar… that's a bit much, don't you think?"

The girl resting her chin on her hand muttered to herself. Kiana, the sole spectator, sat on a small stool watching the two figures who were facing off.

Why was she witnessing this scene? The reason was that when the shop opened this morning, Raiden Mei, who was visiting the cafe for the first time, had been asked by Su Qing'an to spar under the name of Taixuan Style.

"I am Su Qing'an, a student of Taixuan Style. You must be Raiden Mei, the current successor of Beichen Ichi-ryu. My teacher asked me to spar with you before he returned to Japan. Are you interested?" Less than a minute after they met, the young man asked so directly.

Chen Junxuan's name was already well-known in Japanese martial arts circles. Even though Beichen Ichi-ryu had little interaction with the martial arts community since Raiden Ryoma's generation, Raiden Mei had heard a little about Chen Junxuan, a 68-year-old man who had defeated many dojos and schools. For this reason, she agreed.

Sparring with someone her own age was actually a rare occurrence for her.

"Do I need to wear protective gear?" Raiden Mei asked the young man in front of her.

"No need. Neither Beichen Ichi-ryu nor the Taixuan Style I learned are techniques for competition; they are ancient killing arts. If we were to fight seriously, this gear would be meaningless. Let's just say whoever's sword leaves their hand first wins," Su Qing'an said.

These were just excuses. With his ability to control his strength, he was confident he wouldn't hurt Raiden Mei in the slightest.

But what Su Qing'an wanted to witness was the Beichen Ichi-ryu of the woman named Raiden Mei, fighting with all her heart and without any encumbrances.

In Kendo, footwork speed determines how dangerous and agile the opponent's sword is.

And what he wanted was a Raiden Mei who could go all out.

Hearing Su Qing'an's words, Raiden Mei frowned unhappily. The other party undoubtedly understood what Beichen Ichi-ryu emphasized. Otherwise, the pretense of coming to spar would be an insult.

Knocking the sword away? Don't be ridiculous. Half of Beichen Ichi-ryu teaches how to disarm opponents, and it was once even called a despicable sword style.

For true ancient killing arts, combat determines both victory and death. There is no such thing as despicable. Only the survivor has the right to talk about dignity and honor.

No matter how despicable the martial art that defeats you is, it happens in a fair duel. For a warrior, losing to such a method means accepting fate if you die, and if you survive, you can only say you were outmatched.

Despicable? That's just the loser's word.

That's why, even though Beichen Ichi-ryu was called a despicable sword style, it remained famous throughout the country, even subtly vying to be the strongest Kendo in the nation.

Su Qing'an clearly knew this. Even his so-called Taixuan Style wasn't purely a sword art. Yet, this young man, not much older than her, was going to use his weakness against her strength.

Such arrogant and boastful words were spoken by Su Qing'an casually, but Raiden Mei's displeasure vanished in the next instant.

It was replaced by solemnity.

As the young man slowly drew his wooden sword, Raiden Mei could no longer call him arrogant.

Warriors could understand. Or rather, the sharp-witted Kiana could also feel it; from the moment Su Qing'an began drawing his sword, the atmosphere of the entire dojo was dominated by him.

Mind Lake calm. The young man's eyes stared directly at Raiden Mei. This was a technique from Taixuan Style called [Momentum], which, as the name suggests, was the use of presence.

In Taixuan Style, created by Chen Junxuan, even the most basic presence was utilized to its extreme. Under the old man's gaze, those with weak wills couldn't even draw their swords and would only abruptly awaken at the moment their lives were in danger.

In a duel between warriors, if you hesitate for even a moment when drawing your sword, it's too late to react even if you can control your body afterward. All you'll see is the blade slicing across your neck before your life is extinguished.

In Su Qing'an's understanding, this was essentially a crude application of Soul Essence. And with his unique talent in this area, he was already more terrifying than Chen Junxuan in this move.

Faced with his [Momentum], ordinary people wouldn't be able to move their hands on the sword hilt even to save their lives.

It was like facing a mythical dragon, whose dragon's might emanating from its roar could only be withstood for a moment by a normal person, which would be considered rare bravery.

In essence, Su Qing'an, in the eyes of Raiden Mei and Kiana, was like a mythical dragon at this moment. And only a hero, also possessing a resolute will like those in legends, could draw a sword against a dragon.

Raiden Mei, if you can't even draw your sword, then there's no point in learning Beichen Ichi-ryu from you.

Never in her life had Raiden Mei imagined that she would be in such a predicament while sparring with someone her own age.

The feeling he gave her was like facing a higher form of life. Just by drawing his sword, just by looking at her, she was already on the verge of defeat.

It was a heavier pressure than when she sparred with her master.

However, Raiden Mei froze all her emotions with a breath. The muscles in her body tensed and then relaxed instantly. Her body, which had been intimidated by the [Momentum], quickly returned to its optimal state.

She drew her sword.

This was a state of mind akin to a calm Mind Lake. Ancient swordsmen called this the Mind's Eye, which was essentially the ultimate focus. In such a state, Raiden Mei could smoothly draw her sword.

What completely freed her from the influence of the [Momentum] was the breathing technique inherited from Beichen Ichi-ryu. It wasn't anything mystical; it was simply a method to bring the swordsman's physique to its best state.

Raiden Mei was undoubtedly a genius.

A realm that normal humans might only reach by thirty after years of arduous training, she achieved in half the time.

She felt her condition was better than ever. Her body was incredibly light, and the world before her seemed to slow down. Her eyesight, the precision of her sword, and her abilities were on a completely different level than before.

On the surface, Raiden Mei was a young lady who lived a life of ease and was much happier than ordinary people. However, her life had not been smooth sailing; it had been quite bumpy.

In 1999, her mother passed away from cancer.

In 2004, Mei was kidnapped by a terrorist group. After being rescued, she recuperated for three years at ME Corp's private institution due to psychological trauma.

Her status as a young lady of ME Corp had brought her many hardships.

The reason Raiden Mei was able to surpass her previous limits here was precisely because of the hardships she had endured. The emotional ups and downs she had experienced during this period had truly tempered her state of mind, turning it into fuel for her progress. Thus, she was able to enter the state of Mind's Eye under Su Qing'an's deliberate pressure.

The girl began to feel fortunate that she hadn't refused Su Qing'an's challenge. Without such pressure, it was unknown how long it would take even a genius like her to enter the Mind's Eye.

This gain alone made the trip worthwhile.

For this reason, as a form of repayment, Raiden Mei resolved to give her all.