Everyone was silenced by Ashikaga Makoto’s words, but Minamoto no Tsukawa simply disdained, “My dear Genji brothers, don’t let this woman fool you. It’s very much possible that she picked up this tattered book from somewhere and is just claiming that it’s Yoshitsune’s legacy. Are you going to believe such rubbish? Even if it’s true, she must’ve seduced her way into obtaining it! I’ve heard a lot about how much of a b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲ she is!”
“Minamoto no Tsukawa!” Ashikaga Makoto thundered, “You’re blaspheming Lord Yoshitsune’s spirit by saying that he passed the inheritance to Lily because he gave in to his lust. Do you realize where you are standing right now? It’s above the Yoshitsune Memorial. How could you show such disrespect to your ancestor?!”
“Enough of the b̲u̲l̲l̲s̲h̲i̲t̲, you old hag! Did I ever say that Kagami Lily seduced Yoshitsune? I meant that she must’ve seduced the guardian of the legacy! Can you guarantee that she hasn’t done anything like that, huh?” Tsukawa quibbled back.
“Tsukawa! Mind your language when talking to Madam Ashikaga!” Yoshitada chided him.
“Heh! She’s just an outsider who married into a branch clan, that’s all! Enough of this charade now! So what if I am rude to her? I’m the best talent of the Genji! I’ll act however I want!” Tsukawa bellowed.
“Everyone,” Lily stated, “There’s no need to mind this feral dog’s barks. If he doesn’t even show respect to Lord Yoshitsune, he’s no better than a rabid dog! It’s impossible to reason things out with him. I’ve had enough of the nonsense as well. Feel free to make your move, Minamoto no Tsukawa.”
Minamoto no Tsukawa pointed his finger at Lily in seething anger, “Who are you calling a rabid dog, b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲?! From what I see, you’re nothing more than the Chief Advisor’s carpet-munching b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲!”
The spectators sighed.
Tsukawa was too bold in his words. It wasn’t much of an issue if he used profanities at Lily, but the fact that he had involved the Chief Advisor into it as well made everyone turn silent from fear.
Lily’s hair fluttered in the wind as she urged the judge, “Sir Sasaki! Why haven’t you begun the match yet?!”
“B-Begin the match!” Sasaki was also shocked by Tsukawa’s insane ramblings. This young man’s talent has made him lose his mind!
However, it wasn’t proper for Ayaka to act right now as that would be equivalent to interfering with Lily’s match. There was also the fact that he hadn’t cursed Ayaka directly and just cursed Lily.
Although Lily felt furious after the profanities she received, she hadn’t lost her cool. Her furious expression carried a sense of calmness as she unleashed her domain—Sakura Blizzard—immediately.
A stream of sakura petals fluttered across the arena as if they were representing Lily’s rage.
“A domain? Hah! The domains you women like to play with are useless against me!” Tsukawa looked at Ayaka for an instant, revealing a lecherous and provocative gaze as his eyes spun back. Although he had hurled profanities at Lily, he had no intention of killing her.
He knew Lily possessed a decent amount of strength and had already prepared a good strategy. Although Tsukawa was crazy, he wasn’t a fool. His sense for battle was top-notch.
He planned to defeat Lily and force her to concede as it was common sense that most women of the Heian Empire were weaker than men. Even a woman like Shizuru had conceded in the end. Tsukawa expected to gain a lot of benefits from making Lily concede to him. He wouldn’t just obtain her; he would also get her treasures and could also use her as a hostage to threaten Ayaka!
A golden aura emanated from Tsukawa’s body as he charged towards Lily by breaking through her domain’s suppression with ease and hacked at her with the scythe swinging in his hand!
Lily’s domain had a suppressive effect on Tsukawa, but its effects were limited.
“Have a taste of my big buddy, Kagami Lily!” Tsukawa howled.
Lily remained incredibly calm and unsheathed Yasutsuna to confront Tsukawa’s terrifying scythe, striking out at it without the slightest hesitation.
Clang! A flux of crimson and golden energies scattered around the duo!
Lily’s body sunk down visibly as the floor made of grade 3 rocks cracked and caved in beneath her! As for Tsukawa, he got blown away by the terrifying power contained within the crimson energy.
“What?!” Tsukawa felt his arms numb up from the terrible counterforce as he got blown back. He leaned his body to adjust his posture mid-air, but the sakura blades sliced at him before he even landed on the floor.
Spurt! Spurt! Spurt! Although these blades failed to break through Tsukawa’s armor, they still left several bloodied wounds on his limbs and face.
“How dare you!” Tsukawa brandished his scythe in a violent fit and smashed the blades, turning them back into petals. However, Lily had long arrived beside him and executed an upper slash to his waist as he fell down the sky!
“How come she’s so quick?!” Tsukawa turned anxious. He had completely fallen into Lily’s pace right now as her style was completely unlike anyone he had faced until now. Her strength had also exceeded his predictions and she was ruthlessly fast to boot. He knew it’d be the end for him if he allowed her to close in!
Tsukawa crouched mid-air and shot the weighted bronze end of his scythe towards Lily’s Yasutsuna.
However, Lily simply struck the weighted bronze end without even dodging the attack.
Crack! A crack appeared on the gem embedded at the scythe’s bronze end as it bounced back towards Tsukawa and struck him on his back.
“Argh!” The stabbing pain from Tsukawa’s back made him scream and if it weren’t for his youthful and resilient body, it was quite likely that the strike would’ve broken his backbone!
Tsukawa spun in the sky in pain, but Lily continued attacking by leaping up and arriving beside him.
“What?!” All Tsukawa could do was raise his scythe to resist Lily’s blade. However, her blade was just a fake as her original intent lied in executing a kick with her pretty legs!
Bam! Tsukawa crashed into the arena’s floor the next moment.
Boom! As the dust scattered, a crater could be seen on the arena where Tsukawa had fallen.
“…”
The series of attacks had shown the clear difference in strength between Lily and Tsukawa, leaving all the spectators dumbfounded.
None of them imagined that the battle between the genius who they envied and feared, Tsukawa, and Lily, would turn out like this. Lily’s current strength was equivalent to the late-stage Throned General level in her best condition.
Although Tsukawa possessed peak-stage Permanence level strength as well as extraordinary talent and advanced battle sense that set him apart from the masses, his strength barely reached the level of an early-stage Throne.
There was a huge gap between Tsukawa and Lily in terms of strength. However, even though it seemed as if she had gone all out, she hadn’t done that.
“T-Tsukawa is known for his cruelty and strength. Could it be possible that she’s much stronger than him?” The spectating Genji samurai also found it hard to believe this.
“No wonder she managed to block my palm. This child possesses astounding strength!” Taira no Mori remarked internally.
“Lily…” Ashikaga couldn’t even follow Lily’s movements at her level of strength nor could she gauge her current level. However, she had heard enough rumors about Tsukawa’s strength on the other hand.
“I never thought she’d mature so fast and become strong enough to suppress one of the Heian Empire’s true experts in just the few months that I haven’t seen her.” Although she wasn’t her birth daughter, Ashikaga Makoto felt gratified about it.
Ayaka also nodded, “Lily’s advancement is indeed quick.”
As for the heirs of the Genji, all of them chuckled unworriedly.
Minamoto no Juzaburo revealed an ecstatic expression, “That’s what you get for stealing my show, Tsukawa! I never imagined that this stacked woman’s strength was so ferocious! Hahaha! You deserve this thrashing, Tsukawa! You acted so arrogantly but look how you’re getting beat up like a dog now!”
He seemed to have forgotten that he had once challenged Lily to a duel as well.
“Argh!” Tsukawa got up from the rubble in rage and howled furiously.
His body was covered in wounds and his armor was also damaged, putting him in a pathetic state. Tsukawa glared at Lily, “T-This is impossible! I’m a genius at the peak-stage Permanence level! How could you have greater strength than me?! Y-You’re at the Throne level! You’ve cheated!”
The spectators were all shocked by Tsukawa’s impression of Lily’s level.
“She’s a Throne?”
“Lily’s at the Throne level?!”
“Judge! Thrones aren’t allowed to participate in the tournament! Cancel her qualifications for cheating right now!” Tsukawa howled.
The judge replied calmly, “Tsukawa. Although I’m unable to gauge your levels, the identity plate you both hold contains a special magic which has long gauged your levels. At the very least, both of you were well in line with the requirements when you signed up for the tournament. Even if someone manages to break through to the next level after signing up, the rules state that they are still qualified to continue participating.”
“What?!” Tsukawa received a massive shock after hearing this and cursed his luck, “F̲u̲c̲k̲! Just what kind of luck does this woman possess?! Did she really break through to the next level in just a month? Are the Heavens playing me?”
“I’m at the Throne level, you say? Stop kidding now. I’m just at the peak-stage Spirit Jade level now,” Lily chuckled faintly.
“What?!” The spectators were dumbfounded once again.
“She possesses Throne level strength at the peak of Spirit Jade level?!”
“She’s still at the Spirit Jade level?”
“And she’s even managed to force Tsukawa—who’s known for withstanding Throne level attacks—into such a pathetic state?!”
The spectators were utterly stupefied.
“Doesn’t this mean she’s more talented than Yoshitsune?!”
“No… that’s impossible!”
“It’s just impossible for a Spirit Jade ascender to exhibit Throne level strength!”
Tsukawa had almost fallen to his knees.
He howled with laughter, “Hahahahahaha! I admit that you’re strong, Kagami Lily. However, there’s a limit to how much you can boast! It would’ve been too much already if you had bragged that you were at the peak-stage Permanence level, but you say that you’re at the peak-stage Spirit Jade level? Do you take us Genji samurai as fools? I’ve never seen a woman as shameless as you!”
The spectators cooled down after hearing this and exchanged comments. Although they praised her strength, they also reproached her for trying to make fools out of them with her claim.
Ashikaga Makoto was baffled on the other end as attaining the peak-stage Spirit Jade level was already an unrealistic speed of ascension if she were to consider Lily’s level in the past, let alone exhibiting strength at the Throne level. She couldn’t help but turn to Ayaka for a comment.
Ayaka, however, just carried a gentle gaze in her eyes and returned her questioning sight with a chuckle.
“All right! You got me, Kagami Lily!” Tsukawa wiped the blood off his lips, “You’ve forced me to use my whole strength! Hahaha! You’re the first one who’s achieved this among our generation, so you should feel honored that a lowly plebeian like you gets to die under my blade! Hahahahahaha!”
The veins on Tsukawa’s forehead popped out and his eyes turned bloodshot as his body’s muscles twitched.
The whole battle arena trembled with excitement as the spectators exclaimed in admiration and reverence, “As expected of the Genji’s best talent! He was hiding his true strength all along!”
Boom! A volatile aura emanated from Tsukawa.
When the wind scattered, the spectators saw the confidently smirking Tsukawa standing in the arena with a faint, intermittently glowing crimson light shrouding his body.
“Genji Swordstyle—8th1 Stage!”
