At the Matsuga Clan head's shout,
the spectators, who had been stunned by the Raiden Clan head's defeat, finally came back to their senses.
One after another, they turned their eyes toward the man calling himself "Yomi," curious whether he would reveal his true identity.
Reality proved even smoother than they had imagined.
"Yomi" sheathed his blade and slung it at his waist. As he turned to face the Matsuga Clan head, he raised his right hand from beneath his wide sleeve and placed it against his tengu mask.
As his fingertips lifted, the tengu mask fell away.
In that instant, many pupils in the crowd contracted. Though they had long suspected it, the confirmation still came as a considerable shock.
"Matsuga Clan head, are you satisfied now?"
He smiled gently. Beneath the mask was not the face of some vicious demon.
Rather, his features were the very opposite of that description—fair as polished jade, radiant as the bright moon. His eyes and brows carried an innate nobility and gentleness, while his dark-gold double pupils seemed to have drunk in both the compassion and arrogance of the human world, tempered by a trace of warmth.
"He truly resembles his mother." An elder of the Raiden Clan line sighed softly from the crowd. "Even his talent far surpasses hers."
"But he is, after all..." Another elder beside him spoke regretfully, yet lacked the courage to finish his sentence. "Sigh..."
In truth, many of the older swordsmen present felt guilty toward Beichen Heng.
After all, they knew they had wronged that child. Back then, they had indeed treated him as an outcast because of his identity as a "demon."
Times had changed, and they had never expected that child to attain such heights.
"I never thought it would be you." The Matsuga