"Hao, how long have you been at the Kurosawa Sword Dojo?"
In a dilapidated and deserted Sword Dao in the Land of Iron, the dojo master Kurosawa Shichirō, knelt on the training ground, looking at the tall young man named Hao who was also kneeling in front of him.
One year and one month!
Hao replied calmly.
That's right, this tall young man named Hao is Wang Hao.
He really had no way to deal with the Chakra Body Refinement for the time being, so he could only abolish it and then came to the Land of Iron.
The Land of Iron is the last holy land for samurai in this world. There are no ninjas in the country; the entire nation is composed of samurai, and even the highest-ranking Admiral is the strongest samurai.
The samurai tradition has a long history in this world, much older than the Chakra System, and is the earliest Body Refinement to appear in this world.
However, with the emergence of the Chakra ninja system, it had an unimaginable impact on the samurai system. The ninjas had gained too much of an advantage, and the samurai's living space was constantly squeezed, until only the Land of Iron remained.
Since he couldn't deal with the foreign system of Chakra for the time being, he had no choice but to turn to the indigenous Body Refinement of samurai.
Of course, he did try cultivation methods from the Smiling Proud Wanderer World and even the Primordial World during this period, but the results were less than satisfactory.
Therefore, he plans to try to combine the local Body Refinement to create a new Body Refinement.
"I have witnessed your talent and hard work during this time. Now, I will ask you one last question: do you still wish to inherit the Ancient Sword Dao of my Kurosawa lineage and compete with the New Sword Dao tradition?"
Kurosawa Shichirō Jushiro asked solemnly, his expression incredibly serious, clearly taking the matter very seriously.
He was extremely satisfied with Wang Hao, his disciple. Wang Hao's talent in Sword Dao was monstrous, and what was even more terrifying was that he was also very hardworking. He had cultivated to the peak of high-level Swordsman with only the most basic swordsmanship, and was only a little short of becoming Swordmaster.
And all of this was accomplished in just one year.
However, he really didn't want such a genius to inherit the Ancient Sword Dao of his Kurosawa lineage.
Although it's hard to admit, the New Sword Dao lineage that cultivates Chakra is indeed easier to learn than their Ancient Sword Dao, and that's precisely why the Ancient Sword Dao has gradually declined.
Especially after the ninjas established a stronger ninja village system, facing external pressure, these older generation samurai who practiced the Ancient Sword Dao faced the embarrassing situation of having no successors, and gradually they were unable to protect the Land of Iron, the last holy land of samurai.
This has led to the rise of New Sword Dao that cultivates Chakra, which now occupies most of the territory of the Land of Iron. If this trend continues, it is believed that their Ancient Sword Dao will be extinct before long.
Given the circumstances, no matter how unwilling they were, they could only accept their fate.
Under these circumstances, he naturally did not want such a prodigy disciple to be dragged down by the Ancient Sword Dao.
Noticing the strange expression on the cheap apprentice's face, Wang Hao didn't answer the question, but instead asked one in return.
"Teacher, I have some doubts."
"Speak!"
" The New Sword Dao was born alongside the Chakra System, but how many Swordmaster, Great Swordmaster, and even legendary Sword Saint have been born from New Sword Dao over thousands of years?"
Wang Hao asked solemnly.
The Kurosawa Sword Dojo has a long history and preserves many ancient books. Wang Hao has read through all of them in the past year, and even borrowed many ancient books from other inheritors of the Ancient Sword Dao of the Land of Iron through his connection with Kurosawa Jūichirō.
Therefore, he has an extremely deep understanding of samurai history, whether it is the samurai of the Ancient Sword Dao or the samurai of the New Sword Dao, he knows them very well.
"Ha! You're giving them too much credit. Forget the legendary Sword Saint and Great Swordmaster, there haven't been many Swordmaster at all!"
Speaking of this, Kurosawa Shichirō became unusually proud.
Although the New Sword Dao system is powerful, it is only easier to learn, resulting in a large number of novice samurai.
However, their achievements in the middle and upper ranks are far inferior to those of the warriors of their Ancient Sword Dao. Just in terms of Swordmaster who are comparable to Kage Level ninjas, there are thirteen of them in their Ancient Sword Dao, which is why they have protected the entire Land of Iron.
Otherwise, the Land of Iron would have been conquered by ninjas long ago, and there wouldn't be the samurai holy land we have today.
In contrast, while the New Sword Dao also has Swordmaster rank, there are only three of them, and they are all low-rank Swordmaster. There are no mid-rank or high-rank Swordmaster, and none of them have appeared in the thousands of years of history.
"You brat, you're lecturing me now!"
Kurosawa Shichirō suddenly realized what was happening and pointed at Wang Hao opposite him with amusement. How could he not see that this kid was trying to provoke him and help him regain his confidence!
"This disciple dares not!"
Wang Hao smiled shyly and gave him an innocent look.
"Alas! My Ancient Sword Dao did indeed have its glorious past, but I must admit that the difficulty of cultivating the Ancient Sword Dao is getting higher and higher. Now even getting started is difficult. If this continues, it will inevitably be wiped out into history. This is the inevitable trend!"
With a sigh, Kurosawa Shichirō was incredibly saddened at that moment.
As one of the few remaining inheritors of the ancient Ancient Sword Dao, he naturally did not want Ancient Sword Dao to disappear like this.
However, the world has changed too much. With the emergence of ninjas, the living space of the samurai has been constantly squeezed, and most importantly, the difficulty of training has become increasingly higher.
In ancient times, among their warriors, there were not only Swordmaster, but also many Great Swordmaster, and even Sword Saint was comparable to a god.
But ever since the emergence of ninjas, not only have the highest level of samurai, the Great Swordmaster Sword Saint, gradually disappeared, but even the great Swordmaster are now rapidly decreasing in number.
Especially with the establishment of ninja villages, the number of ninjas has increased, which in turn has made the training of samurai even more difficult. Now, even getting started is extremely difficult.
So much so that his sons and grandsons switched to the New Sword Dao system, which was an unimaginable blow to him.
This is the inevitable trend, and there is no going back!
Wang Hao saw the pain and dejection of the cheap teacher, and he knew exactly where the problem lay.
As the number of ninjas training Chakra increases, the consumption of natural energy will increase rapidly, and the samurai Body Refinement also has a considerable demand for natural energy.
Before Kaguya Ōtsutsuki descended upon this world, natural energy was abundant, making it easier for samurai to train.
However, with the appearance of the God Tree, it devoured a large amount of the world's origin and natural energy. Then, the cunning Sage of Six Paths spread his Chakra and continued to devour natural energy.
As natural energy becomes increasingly scarce, the difficulty of training for warriors, who rely on natural energy, will naturally continue to rise.
With the establishment of ninja villages, the number of ninjas suddenly increased tenfold, and their absorption of natural energy rapidly increased. This, in turn, made it even more unfriendly to the training of samurai, to the point that even entering the basics is now difficult.
In this way, the Ancient Sword Dao will naturally decline, and it may even disappear into the annals of history before long.
However, Wang Hao wouldn't just stand by and watch the natural energy be completely devoured by Chakra.
"If this is the prevailing trend, then this disciple is willing to go against the tide and revive the glory of the Ancient Sword Dao!"
Standing up, Wang Hao spoke with boundless confidence, displaying unparalleled charisma.
After realizing the limits of this world, he understood that the Naruto World was just a beginner's village, and the Sage of Six Paths was just a boss in that village. He wouldn't take him seriously.
"Well said!"
Kurosawa Shichirō was also infected by Wang Hao's momentum, and his gloomy spirit was restored to its former high spirits.
"Hao, in the name of the seventeenth sword master of the Kurosawa Sword Dao, I bestow the Kurosawa Sword upon you. From this day forward, you shall be the eighteenth sword master of the Kurosawa Sword Dao!"
As he spoke, Kurosawa Shichirō solemnly handed the longsword that was placed on the coffee table in front of him to Wang Hao.
"I, Hao, will defend the glory of the Kurosawa Sword Dao Path to the death and restore Ancient Sword Dao splendor!"
Wang Hao solemnly accepted the Kurosawa Sword and stated his vows and goals.
Kurosawa Shichirō smiled with relief, extremely satisfied with Wang Hao's response.
If anyone else said this, they certainly wouldn't believe it, but this disciple is different. His talent is simply too extraordinary, even comparable to the legendary young Great Swordmaster.
Most importantly, the other party was not only exceptionally talented, but also incredibly hardworking. The extent of their hard work was so impressive that it made his heart tremble – they were practically training like crazy!
Have you ever seen someone who can stand upright like a horse and continuously swing a sword while sleeping at night?
This isn't cultivation anymore; it's a real life-or-death struggle!
Such a monstrous talent, so relentlessly pursuing his goals, cannot have his brilliance overshadowed even in this era of declining samurai.
He firmly believed that the other party would be able to forge a completely new path for their Ancient Sword Dao!
"Clang!"
"What a fine sword!"
Kurosawa Sword was drawn from its sheath, even Wang Hao, with his discerning eye, couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "What a fine sword!"
This is indeed a fine sword, even comparable to the Kusanagi Sword he obtained from Orochimaru.
According to the weapon classification of the Jiuli Tribe, this longsword can be classified as at least an Eighth Tier divine weapon of the Mortal Realm, which is two levels higher than the Sixth Tier Metal Essence weapons he forged in the Primordial World.
This shows that this world must have been of a high level in the past, otherwise it would have been difficult to forge such divine weapons.
This Kurosawa Sword is not a common double-edged sword, but a single-edged sword similar to a Tang sword. The blade is 1.5 meters long, and with the hilt, it is 1.8 meters long.
The entire blade was as black as a deep pool, its sharpness concealed, and there was even a trace of spirituality within it, making it a truly divine sword.
"Of course it's a fine sword. Kurosawa was born in ancient times. Legend has it that it was the sword of a Great Swordmaster, and was later obtained by our ancestor in a ruin. Our Kurosawa Sword Dao is derived from the insights our ancestor gained from the Kurosawa Sword."
When talking about the history of the Kurosawa Sword, Kurosawa Shichirō is incredibly proud.
Keep in mind that this was the sword of Great Swordmaster from ancient times. In the face of such a being, the current Kage Level ninjas are nothing but ants, easily killed.
This Kurosawa Sword has remained undamaged for thousands of years, and even contains unimaginable Kamui. The Kurosawa Sword Dao is derived from that Kamui.
It's a pity that only the first ancestors were qualified to comprehend that Kamui power; they, the descendants, were not, which is truly a disgrace to their ancestors!
Even now, his descendants have abandoned the Kurosawa Sword Dao and turned to cultivate that New Sword Dao, which means that their Kurosawa lineage has been cut off. Passing it on to the disciple in front of him is a helpless act.
"Teacher, the Battle of Swords is about to begin, isn't it?"
Sheathing his longsword, Wang Hao stood up, looked at the rising sun outside the window, and asked a seemingly random question.
"There are still six months left!"
Kurosawa Shichirō replied, but immediately realized what he had said and stared at his disciple in shock, exclaiming, "Are you crazy!"