Nine Sets of Poses

PS: The following chapters are transitional and might be a bit boring, but they are indispensable!

PS+1: I just discovered something tragic. It seems the first chapter was censored, so now it jumps straight from the prologue to the second chapter...

PS2: Thanks to 'Shan Su', 'Cong Ci Yi Lai Ni', and 'Mo Mo Mo' for the tips. Thank you for your support!

PS3: By the way, is the protagonist's name really that awkward? I'll open a poll in the book review section later to decide whether to change it. If we do, Xiao Jiao will take advantage of the low word count to edit it chapter by chapter.

PS4: Finally, please vote for the book!

"Yina--"

Just as Bai Ina was desperately training his physique, three figures were hiding in the forest nearby. The one speaking was Loxi, who wore a worried expression.

"Hiss, this is the first time I've seen the teacher look so strict. It's truly terrifying!" Zongcilang clicked his tongue, secretly feeling fortunate that the teacher hadn't shown this side when he used to slack off during training.

Hijikata Yoshitoyo curled his lip upon hearing this: "You have the nerve to say that? You slack off the moment training starts. I should tell the teacher to be stricter with you."

"But you can't beat me," Zongcilang replied with a cheeky expression.

Poor Hijikata was shut down after just one sentence, his face darkening instantly: "You jerk, if you keep slacking off like this, your talent for kendo will be wasted sooner or later!"

"But you still can't beat me!"

"..."

Hijikata Yoshitoyo decisively stopped talking, otherwise, his heart might have exploded from anger at this sharp-tongued bastard...

At this moment, Loxi suddenly turned and walked toward the dojo.

"What? You're not going to keep watching? Aren't you worried about your little friend?"

Seeing this, Zongcilang asked with a mocking expression.

Loxi didn't care about his tone at all; instead, he said with firm conviction: "I can't help Yina here. Although I'm worried, I believe that no matter what Yina encounters, he will tenaciously overcome it. So, I just need to do my part—prepare a hearty lunch so that the exhausted Yina can have a good meal." Having said that, Loxi turned and left.

"Tch!"

Zongcilang curled his lip, turned around, and took a deep look at Bai Ina, who was training desperately in the dense forest. He scratched his head with a bitter expression: "Geez, I guess I'll go train for once in a long while..."

Saying this, he also turned and walked toward the dojo.

Hijikata Yoshitoyo, who was standing in place, watched Zongcilang's back and shook his head: "It seems you have a competitive spirit too!" As he spoke, he suddenly smiled. A smile appeared on his usually cold face, and that innocent grin was so bright under the sunlight.

The matter that had been weighing on his heart was resolved with the arrival of Bai Ina, which made Hijikata Yoshitoyo feel incredibly relieved. He stood there pondering for a moment before walking toward the dojo as well.

Since his bad friend had the intention to train, he was willing to accompany him...

"That's enough!"

Kubo Yamato's voice reached Bai Ina's ears, causing his body, which had already reached its limit, to go limp and collapse onto the ground.

"Huff, huff, huff, huff--"

Rapid, ragged breathing like a broken bellows kept coming from Bai Ina's mouth.

"Stand up--"

Just then, Kubo Yamato stepped forward, grabbed Bai Ina by the collar, and hauled him up.

Bai Ina was startled and looked at Kubo Yamato, confused.

"You must never rest like this after intense exercise!" Kubo Yamato said coldly. He scanned Bai Ina from head to toe and continued: "From the first time I saw you, I noticed your body was already overdrawn. Long-term overtraining has caused countless hidden injuries in your body. If this continues, in a few years, you could die suddenly from heart failure."

"What!"

Bai Ina was shocked and asked subconsciously: "But why haven't I felt anything?"

"You feel it..." Kubo Yamato sneered: "By the time you feel it, you'll be near death."

Bai Ina's face turned ugly, but he wasn't overly panicked. Since the teacher had brought it up, there must be a way to solve it.

"You're right. What I'm going to teach you next is the conditioning method for after training. Every branch of kendo has methods for conditioning the body, and the Navy has many such methods as well."

Kubo Yamato stepped back a few paces, a sense of pride appearing on his face: "But the conditioning method of my school is definitely stronger than the Navy's. Now, watch my movements and follow along."

"Yes, Teacher!"

Bai Ina nodded heavily. He didn't doubt his teacher's words at all. Although they hadn't known each other long, Bai Ina knew that Kubo Yamato was not the type to make empty claims.

Next, Kubo Yamato began to teach Bai Ina the so-called conditioning method. It consisted of nine sets of distinct postures, each containing five movements. Kubo Yamato broke down every movement and demonstrated them for Bai Ina bit by bit.

This set of movements was difficult. Even with Bai Ina's astonishing comprehension and memory, it took him nearly an hour to memorize them, and under Kubo Yamato's guidance, he performed them from start to finish.

However, Bai Ina didn't feel the slightest change in his body.

"Do you feel like nothing has changed?" Seeing the confusion on Bai Ina's face, Kubo Yamato smiled gently.

Bai Ina nodded: "Yes, Teacher. Aside from feeling a bit awkward, I don't feel anything else."

"That's to be expected, because what you just did were merely the movements. If the conditioning method of my school were that simple, it wouldn't be worth mentioning," Kubo Yamato smiled.

Merely the movements?

Bai Ina looked at Kubo Yamato with confusion.

Kubo Yamato didn't keep him in suspense and began to explain the true mystery behind these nine sets of postures to Bai Ina.

It turned out that within this entire set of postures, every movement possessed a corresponding method of muscle mobilization; in other words, these nine sets comprising forty-five movements each had their own specific way of engaging the muscles.

Only when paired with these muscle-mobilization techniques could these nine sets of postures be considered true conditioning methods.

"Well, have you memorized them all?"

Bai Ina recalled everything once more, and after confirming that he had committed the muscle-trembling method corresponding to each movement to memory, he nodded and said, "I have, Teacher!"

"Your memory and comprehension are truly formidable. Come, give it a try!"

Kubo Yamato said this with an impassive expression, though he muttered inwardly: This kid is a monster in the truest sense; to think he could memorize and understand everything so quickly...

Upon hearing this, Bai Ina verified the movements in his mind one last time, and after confirming there were no errors, he performed the first movement of the first posture. However, his expression changed drastically the very next moment.

Because the movement, which had previously only felt somewhat awkward, became incredibly difficult once paired with the muscle-trembling technique. Performing just that single movement left Bai Ina drenched in sweat, as if he had exhausted every ounce of his strength, yet it felt different—he could clearly sense that he still had residual power.

And yet, no matter what, he could not perform the second movement.

Did I do it wrong?

This was the only thought in Bai Ina's mind. Thinking of this, he hurriedly withdrew from the posture and looked toward Kubo Yamato, asking, "Teacher, I think I remembered the muscle-trembling method incorrectly; just the first movement alone felt extremely difficult."

"You didn't do it wrong!" Kubo Yamato shook his head with a smile and said softly, "You should know that even I can only perform up to the fifth set of postures."

"Ah?"

Bai Ina was startled. Although he had just experienced the difficulty of these postures firsthand, he never imagined that his own teacher could only perform five sets.

"From now on, you must perform these postures after every training session. Even if you can only manage a single movement, it will be enough to heal the hidden injuries within your body and strengthen your physique."

"Yes, Teacher!"

Not even Bai Ina could have anticipated just how massive a role this set of movements would play in his future kendo career, and it was at this very moment that Bai Ina's path as a male swordsman officially began.