Sword Saint Kamizumi Issho had wielded many swords in his life.
In his obscure youth, he used the Nameless Ancient Saber inherited from his father. It broke against a powerful foe when he was twenty-four and could not be repaired, so it was sealed away and displayed in the Dojo.
Later, after inheriting the school, he wore the famed Kansei Masamune passed down by successive heads. After making further breakthroughs, he used the Genji Divine Inscription—Higekiri and Hizukiri.
When he retired from the palace at fifty, he returned the two heavy weapons and switched to the Chidori he would later pass on to Haruka. After that, he changed his sword several more times for various reasons.
Every divine weapon had shone anew in the Sword Saint's hands, creating legend after legend.
Yet in the end, the Sword Saint, retired within the Dojo, had gone back to using an utterly ordinary longsword.
At most, its material was somewhat sturdier. It was not remarkable for its sharpness or ferocity.
Part of the reason might have been the popular talk of "returning to simplicity" and "not relying on external things," but the greater reason was... there simply was no need.
He no longer needed to clutch some peerless sword and fight others to the death. He had long since reached the pinnacle.
What he needed now was merely a "teaching rod" to instruct his disciples. If the Dojo had not advocated real-sword duels, even a bamboo sword would have done.
Now, that teaching rod was in Lin Zhongxiaowu's hand.
Neither too long nor too short, entirely ordinary.
Just right.
Yet this perfectly suitable longsword made the Tattooed Face tremble in fear.
It was not the blade's sharpness, nor was it speed or power, but what someone had once entrusted to that blade... the