The man asked no further questions. After all, he had already decided to turn Su Mu away, so there was little point in asking more.
He led Su Mu straight to an open area in the dojo, where stone locks, swords, and other weapons lay scattered about.
"Anyone who comes to our dojo must pass a test before they can study here."
Walking ahead, the man pointed at a stone lock on the ground and continued, "If you can lift that hundred-jin stone lock with one hand, you pass. Remember, you have to raise it overhead with one hand, not just lift it off the ground."
With that, the man turned to look at Su Mu, waiting for him to realize it was impossible and leave. After all, an ordinary adult man could only raise around thirty jin with one hand.
A hundred jin was more than three times what an ordinary adult could manage. Even for a seasoned warrior like him, raising a hundred jin with one hand was extremely difficult.
This was effectively a roundabout rejection.
Su Mu also looked at the stone lock on the ground. Raising a hundred jin with one hand was virtually impossible for an ordinary person. The man was deliberately making things difficult for him.
He was not surprised. It was perfectly normal to be wary of a stranger who had arrived late at night.
But while raising a hundred jin with one hand was virtually impossible for an ordinary person, it was very easy for a demon.
So Su Mu said nothing and simply stepped forward.
Watching Su Mu approach, the man shook his head. He figured Su Mu was still unwilling to give up and wanted to try.
But raising a hundred jin with one hand was hardly easy. Once he failed, he would have the sense to leave.
Su Mu stopped in front of the stone lock, reached out, and slowly raised it.
For an ordinary person, lifting a hundred-jin stone lock with one hand was almost impossible. Even a warrior who had trained for years would probably go red in the face from the effort.
But Su Mu, who had already become a demon, did not find it particularly heavy. In fact, it felt quite easy. Still, to avoid seeming too different from an ordinary person, he pretended to struggle.
The man had already been about to head back, certain that Su Mu could not do it. But when he saw Su Mu actually raise the hundred-jin stone lock with one hand, he froze.
"Well? Does that count?"
Holding the hundred-jin stone lock high above his head with one hand, Su Mu looked at the man and asked.
"Have you... trained before?"
It took the man a while to recover before he asked. An ordinary person could not accomplish this without special training.
"I'm just stronger than most."
Su Mu shook his head, then slowly lowered the stone lock.
Still somewhat doubtful, the man examined the stone lock all over. After confirming that it really did weigh a hundred jin, he turned back to look at Su Mu.
Su Mu did not have a particularly burly build, so it was hard to believe he had raised a hundred-jin stone lock with one hand just like that. Yet now that he had done it, the man found himself in an awkward position.
After all, he had never intended to let Su Mu join the Hiko Dojo. His background was unknown, and he had come in the dead of night. Who knew what motives he might have?
That was why the man had deliberately set him a difficult task. He had expected Su Mu to fail the test and give up, never imagining that he would actually pass. Now he did not quite know what to do. After all, he had just said that accomplishing it would count as passing.
"Did I pass the test?"
Su Mu raised his head and looked at the man.
The man was at a loss for words. In the end, he could only nod. "Come back tomorrow, and you can begin studying at the Hiko Dojo. But bring your tuition fee with you."
Only true dojo disciples could study for free, and the dojo even gave them some money each month. Others who came to learn swordsmanship did not enjoy those benefits.
"Would nighttime work? I have too much to take care of during the day and can't get away."
Su Mu asked, then added, "I'll bring the money tomorrow night as well."
"At night?"
The man looked up at Su Mu in utter bewilderment. In all this time, this was the first time he had met someone so strange.
"There aren't many people available to teach swordsmanship at night."
The man shook his head. Only he and a few of his fellow students taught at the Hiko Dojo. As for their master, they only saw him once in a long while. But both he and his fellow students used the nights to rest.
"I can pay extra."
As though sensing the man's difficulty, Su Mu spoke up at just the right moment.
"That works."
Upon hearing that Su Mu was willing to pay extra, the man immediately agreed. A dojo as large as the Hiko Dojo cost a great deal to maintain each year, and a substantial portion of its income came from the tuition paid by those who came to study.
"Then can I start learning now?"
Su Mu could not help asking. He was very curious about this so-called Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu.
The man hesitated, but after a moment's thought, he nodded. "All right. Tonight, I'll teach you some basics of swordsmanship."
With that, the man led Su Mu inside.
"You can call me Arakawa Akihiro. Before I begin teaching you, let me tell you a little about our Hiko Dojo. At the very heart of our dojo is Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. It is a sword-drawing art so fast that people cannot see the strike. Its focus is speed, ferocity, and precision. Once unleashed, it pushes your speed to its absolute limit, ensuring that the strike lands and leaving the enemy unable to block or dodge."
"To learn Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, the most important thing is to improve the speed of your sword, the speed of your movements, and the speed at which you predict your opponent's actions. Only by taking all three to their limits can we kill an enemy in an instant with the smallest possible movement..."
Listening to Arakawa Akihiro explain Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, Su Mu could not help thinking of how members of the Demon Slayer Corps could reach the Transparent World once their breathing styles attained a certain level.
Even among the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, who could contend with the Twelve Kizuki, only a few could reach the Transparent World.
The so-called Transparent World was a world of perception that could only be unlocked upon reaching the highest realm of a breathing style. Within it, everything in one's sight seemed to slow down. One could see through an opponent's body, observing their bones, muscles, and even the direction of their blood flow, allowing one to judge their movements and weaknesses.
In that state, one's ability to anticipate movements and speed in dodging would improve dramatically, making it possible to quickly identify an enemy's weakness and deliver a fatal blow.
Clearly,
the Transparent World attained by taking the Demon Slayer Corps' breathing styles to a certain level shared many similarities with Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu.
One could even say that, at an exceptionally advanced level, Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu was no weaker than the Transparent World achieved through breathing styles.