The crimson moonlight shone with a golden hue as it knocked Minamoto no Masatsu into the air with a ‘boom’!
Lily’s Tsukuyomi Swordstyle was the origin of the Genji Swordstyle, which was created when Yoshitsune encountered the ancient celestial maiden sword dance tablet in the cave and comprehended it.
In addition, Lily mastered the first segment of the Tsukuyomi Swordstyle— the human path.
It provided a tenfold increment to one’s strength, which was far beyond the highest level of the Genji Swordstyle. Although she did not deliberately practice it, she was able to demonstrate the true essence of the Genji Swordstyle in a single move!
Lily’s blow reached the highest level that the Genji Swordstyle could achieve, five times the power!
Even if Yoshitsune was reborn, it would be no better than this! In fact, Lily’s attack was so subtle that it might have inspired Yoshitsune.
Of course, this didn’t mean that Lily surpassed Yoshitsune in perception. Lily had the original Tsukuyomi Swordstyle as a foundation which was an advantage Yoshitsune did not have back then.
Minamoto no Masatsu was directly knocked away, flying upside down past the surprised spectators and landing in the center of Suzaku Avenue. He had already lost the match the moment he received the heavy and powerful blow, and his eyes rolled over…
“Lynne wins!” The judge habitually raised his flag and shouted.
However, at this time, there were many people among the spectators who recognized Minamoto no Masatsu and started to discuss.
“I say…isn’t that the Genji samurai who was on a winning streak a few days ago? He should have also won a lot of bronze plates and his ranking isn’t low…”
“Why is there such a big difference in strength? Was Lynne that strong before?”
“Alas, this is a big loss for the Genji Clan. That Minamoto no Masatsu would have had a very hopeful chance of rushing into the final round, right?”
“Not any more. Trying to steal the chicken only to end up losing the rice…1”
Hearing the whisperings of the surrounding crowd, the faces of the group of Genji samurai turned ugly.
In order to be safe, they let the twenty-seventh ranked Minamato no Masatsu go up to fight. He was the lowest ranked among them according to the Genji’s statistical information, but he was recognised as the third strongest in their group; definitely not weak!
Several Genji retainers went over and lifted up Minamoto no Masatsu. The group of Genji samurai also took a look. Although his life was not in danger, he was injured quite badly.
“Ugh! How could this happen?!”
“Send him back to the main dojo for treatment.” A very tall, handsome man with a dark face and hooked nose said.
“Lynne…this woman actually hid her claws all this time! No wonder she is so arrogant! Hmph, let me finish her off and take revenge for Brother Masatsu!” The Genji with thick eyebrows said.
“Wait!” The masculine samurai with curly hair, Minamoto no Tetsuhito, grabbed him and said, “Brother, this Lynne is far stronger than Masatsu and you may not be able to gain any advantage if you go!”
The hook-nosed samurai frowned slightly and said, “That move just now. There are many masters among our Genji seniors, but I’ve never seen someone who could perform the Genji Swordstyle to such an exquisite level even in the Genji Dojo. We shouldn’t underestimate this woman again!”
“So what? If we wimp out here, Masatsu would’ve lost for nothing! This woman has to win three games in a row before she can go down. If we send three people to fight one after another, we can win by exhausting her spiritual energy! Even if I can’t win, as long as one of us wins, we can get back everything we lost! We can even hope to win first place in the preliminary round and bring glory to my Kawachi Genji Clan!” The samurai with thick eyebrows, Minamoto no Tetsunobu, said.
Minamoto no Tetsunobu’s words were not without reason. The other Genji warriors were not willing to lose a match and run away in disgrace.
“Brother, be careful. Even if you can’t win, don’t fight recklessly and focus on fighting longer with that woman. She’s just a woman and her physical strength is definitely limited. We’ll slowly exhaust her spiritual energy and physical strength!”
“Understood! You guys watch me take revenge for Masatsu!”
The bushy-browed samurai rushed into the ring, “I’m Minamoto no Tetsunobu from Kawachi. Lynne, although we have no enmity, you injured my brother and brought shame to my Genji. How can I let you off?! Draw your sword!”
However, Lily did not draw her sword and continued to fight with the sakura parasol. Minamoto no Tetsunobu was obviously prepared. Although he attacked with his full strength and put pressure on Lily, he did not make a move to win, but instead kept fighting with her to try and exhaust her power!
Lily smiled slightly in her heart as she naturally saw through his plan. However, the number of bronze plates she had was already enough so she only regarded this as practice and continued to compete with Minamoto no Tetsunobu in spiritual energy consumption!
In this battle, Lily used the Genji Swordstyle from time to time. It was the same Genji Swordstyle, but Lily’s attacks seemed gentle yet heavier than Minamoto no Tetsunobu’s full-power strikes.
The spectating Genji below the stage looked glum. Anyone who looked at them could understand their feelings at the moment.
“This…what’s the origin of this Lynne? How can she be so proficient in the Genji Swordstyle2?” The hook-nosed samurai was the strongest among the warriors and was ranked eight, which made him the second best among the Genji in the preliminary round, only inferior to Minamoto no Hiromasa. He did not need to defeat Lily and only came to help his brothers. His vision was the most superb, but at this moment, he was also the most shocked, “If my vision is correct, this woman’s Genji Swordstyle is powerful and has achieved more than four times the power! Could it be the highest realm of the legendary Genji Swordstyle where one achieves a fivefold increase in power??!”
“No, that’s impossible! Only the founder, Lord Yoshitsune, could reach the highest level of the Genji Swordstyle. Since then, no one could touch that level, no matter how strong they were. This woman, how could she reach the highest realm of the Genji Swordstyle? And where did she learn the high-level Genji Swordstyle?”
Lily and Minamoto no Tetsunobu fought for more than an hour. In the end, Minamoto no Tetsunobu ran out of spiritual energy and collapsed to the ground with a thud, only a few steps away from Lily.
“Minamoto no Tetsunobu can no longer fight. Lynne wins!”
Several attendants helped Minamoto no Tetsunobu to get down.
At this time, Lily was also drenched in fragrant sweat and everyone could see her chest heaving up and down.
“I can’t believe that this woman’s physical strength is so good… But she should be reaching her limit, right?” The hook-nosed samurai began to worry in his heart, “I hope…so…”
“Brother! Although you are exhausted, it’s already enough to drag out the fight and consume that woman’s energy. I don’t think she can last long!” Minamoto no Tetsuhito estimated.
“Lynne! I, Kawachi’s Minamoto no Soshin, come to challenge you!”
Without waiting for Lily to catch her breath, a Genji who was neither tall nor strong, but very sturdy, rushed onto the stage, eager to start the battle. This man was not as strong as Minamoto no Tetsunobu, but had more stamina and agility which he used to drag out the fight and consume Lily’s energy.
“Hmph!” Minamoto no Tetsuhito revealed a wise smile, “Minamoto no Soshin is best at tug-of-war and battle of attrition tactics. He once exhausted a blue demon that was stronger than him to death! That woman has fought twice in a row, and even if she is very strong, she should be extremely low on spiritual energy!”
“I can’t wait to see this woman get exhausted and pinned to the ring by her hair! I want her to kneel and apologize to the two defeated Genji brothers!” Another Genji said with ragged breaths spewing from his nostrils.
“However…this tug-of-war lasted nearly three hours.
Lily was not in a hurry since she had enough plates anyway. She was glad to find someone to accompany her to practice martial arts. The fight stretched from the afternoon until nightfall.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The taiko drums sounded.
“Afternoon match time is up. Take a break and continue in the evening!” The judge announced. The winner and loser of fights between samurai were usually decided pretty quickly. It was really rare to see a fight drag on until halftime.
Minamoto no Soshin stood rigidly with no expression on his face, but the moment he stepped off the ring, his legs softened and he fell down.
“Soshin!”
The group of Genji came forward to help him.
Minamoto no Shoshin was foaming at the mouth and bleeding from the corners of his eyes, “No, I can’t do it… That, that woman’s physical strength is simply…a bottomless pit.”
After saying that, he fainted.
The group of Genji looked at Lily again. Because she was physically exhausted, she opened her clothes a little more, but at this time, no one was in the mood to appreciate it.
Judging from Minamoto no Soshin’s appearance, he was unable to fight anymore, but why did this woman still look so energetic?
In this battle, the Kawachi Genji, which was a very powerful branch of the Genji Clan, suffered heavy losses today! The three spots that were expected to enter the top sixteen were given to this woman for nothing. How could the Genji be willing?!
If they had known this earlier, they wouldn’t have challenged her or the others. It wouldn’t have been impossible for all of them to win if they had gone to challenge separate rings.
The hook-nosed samurai, Minamoto no Takuo, was also angry and remorseful in his heart. He originally thought that the continuous rounds of depleting Lily’s energy would defeat her, but she seemed to be fine. Instead, his two brothers were the ones who got exhausted and gave her an hour of rest time!
“Brother Takuo, don’t worry. That woman must have very little spiritual energy left. In tonight’s battle, I will definitely be able to beat her!” A Genji samurai with a white face and turquoise armor stepped forward and said.
“Masanari, you may be ranked nineteenth, but you are the highest ranking outside of the sixteenth place, and you’ll be able to reach the top sixteen with a few more challenges. I can’t let you take any risks!”
“But Big Brother, if we continue like this, wouldn’t the three before us have lost in vain3? The last few days of the competition are very fierce. Even if I barely manage to make it into the top sixteen, it is very likely that I will encounter challenges from those who were pushed back in the rankings, which is very dangerous. We have already lost like this so it doesn’t matter if we lose a fourth match! But if we can win against this woman, we can guarantee a position in the top three or even take first place, which will be regarded as restoring face for my Kawachi Genji Clan.” Minamoto no Masanari stared at Lily with eagle-like eyes. He was the strongest among the samurai who were sent to participate in the preliminary round by the Kawachi Genji apart from Takuo, who would be sure to make an appearance.
Minamoto no Takuo also sighed, “Things have already come to this point, so we can only continue to fight hard! Otherwise, how will we explain this to the Kawachi Genji Clan?!”
It was night and a bonfire was lit. Long strings of lanterns were hung in the four corners of the ring and there were still people from various backgrounds watching tonight’s battle.
“For the last battle of the afternoon, Minamoto no Soshin forfeits and Lynne wins. Lynne’s match against Minamoto no Masanari now begins!”
The turquoise-armored Masanari was full of physical energy and he rushed up with a burst of spiritual energy to make the first move. This caught Lily off guard!
“Lynne! As a man, this may be a bit despicable! However, you have beaten several of my brothers in a row so I can’t let you off! Even though I know that you are exhausted, I will let you taste the true power of the Kawachi Genji!
With a naginata sword in his hand, Masanari burst forth with powerful spiritual energy and slashed a golden sword light towards Lily.
Facing the flying blade, Lily’s posture shifted as she watched the blade cut past her side.
With a ‘bang’, the naginata chopped into the ground and stirred up a surging wave of air and wood fragments. But Lily raised her foot and the spiritual energy surrounding her long, jade white leg swirled and blocked the wave of air. The shockwave was dispersed and Lily’s foot stepped on the sword, accompanied by a snapping sound.
Masanari subsconsioulsy wanted to withdraw the sword, but before he could exert any force, Lily stepped on the back of the sword with one leg and leaned backwards, while the other slender leg was already lifted4.
Boom! The jade leg straightened and kicked Minamoto no Masanari in the chest!
Masanari felt as if his chest was struck by a heavy mountain and soon lost consciousness due to his chest tightening and shortness of breath. His hands that held the naginata loosened which caused it to fly outside the ring.
“…” Minamoto no Takuo’s eyes were round and his mouth was wide open as he froze in place.
