“He’s finally revealed his true power! Just see why he’s called the best talent of Genji!” Minamoto no Yoshitada’s gaze turned solemn as he sprung up from his seat.
The legacy of Genji Swordstyle had nine books in total that described its nine stages. Of the nine books, only the direct Genji descendants had access to the sixth to ninth book. There was an unsurpassable gap between the 6th and 7th stage, so those who attained the 6th stage were considered elites! As for the 7th stage, only a genius could attain it!
Although Yoshitada was strong, he had only attained the Genji Swordstyle’s 7th stage. However, he was still known as a genius in the past.
“The 8th stage! Well done, Tsukawa!” Minamoto no Hirohikari slapped his thighs in praise, “You really attained this level! The Genji Swordstyle’s 8th stage! Ever since the creation of this swordstyle, no one else has attained the 8th stage until now other than you, Tsukawa, except for Yoshitsune who was at the 9th stage. You’re the true genius of Genji!”
“Heavens! He’s attained the 8th stage. I’m already 25 now and have just attained the 5th stage,” A youth from the Genji samurai exclaimed in admiration.
“It’s no wonder that Tsukawa is called the second coming of Yoshitsune. Although he has a brash personality, he does have the talent to make up for it! There’s a crazy reason for his craziness! We must accept this!”
The Genji samurai exclaimed in astonishment one after the other.
“Hahahahaha! Do you know what attaining the 8th stage means, Kagami Lily? It means I’m four times stronger, four bloody times! My strength has increased by 30%! It makes you shudder in fear, doesn’t it now? Hahahahahaha!” Tsukawa’s pompousness rocketed after seeing the shocked and envious expressions of the spectators.
Lily, however, just stared at him indifferently, “Genji Swordstyle? It just happens that I can also use it. Let’s exchange a few moves for everyone to evaluate in this Yoshitsune Memorial Tournament then!”
Lily’s eyes flashed as a crimson aura shrouded her!
Bzzt! A mystic fluctuation that was familiar to everyone from the Genji traversed across the arena!
“What?! This fluctuation is…”
“It’s the Genji Swordstyle’s fluctuation?”
“It’s said that Kagami Lily is skilled in the Genji Swordstyle. Looks like the rumors were true!”
“Hah! She’s just an outsider. I doubt she’s attained a prominent level!”
“Hahahahahaha! I never imagined you’d show off the Genji Swordstyle in front of me! It seems like you really can’t see who’s better here! Just look at me! No matter whether it’s in terms of height, figure, or battle strength, I’m the one who’s closest to Yoshitsune, which makes me the best candidate for training the Genji Swordstyle! You’re too conceited if you believe you can compete with me on the Genji Swordstyle. Let me send you to the underworld since you wish to die so much!”
Tsukawa shot towards Lily with rapid momentum, still shrouded in the golden aura, his scythe leaving golden afterimages behind as it spun in his hand. The afterimages overlapped mystically, and a powerful, quaking force shot towards Lily as Tsukawa launched his scythe towards her!
“Have a taste of the Genji Swordstyle’s 8th stage! Die!”
The blade in Lily’s hand released a bright crimson glow that carried a profound, mystic power within it as she struck it at Tsukawa swiftly.
This exchange was the first confrontation of high-level Genji Swordstyle experts since the beginning of its history as Yoshitsune had never met an opponent who had mastered the Genji Swordstyle back in his era.
Clang! A soul-quaking shockwave occurred the moment their blades clashed.
“What?!” A surge of powerful energy flooded Tsukawa’s body and blasted him away again!
Pfft! Tsukawa threw up blood from his mouth and even lost his grip on his scythe because of the shockwave as he crashed into the roof of the Genji faction’s seats on the viewing platform.
The iron chain coiled around Tsukawa’s waist as he shot even backward and crashed into the arena’s pillar.
“What?! T-This is impossible!” Yoshitada lost his cool and rushed to the platform’s edge, gripping onto the railing tightly, “T-This fluctuation… Its power scale has a high-level flow, depth, and intricacy to it! T-This is the Genji Swordstyle’s 9th stage! A stage that no one else other than Yoshitsune has achieved!”
Yoshitada couldn’t suppress his excitement. Although the strength Lily exhibited was weaker than him right now, the Genji Swordstyle was a sublime sword art that everyone from the Genji pursued! There was only one man who had overshadowed Yoshitada’s feats from his early age at the same age as him, and that was none other than Yoshitsune, a genius who stood at the apex of the Heian Empire for the most.
“Kagami Lily has attained the Genji Swordstyle’s 9th stage? Is she really Yoshitsune’s inheritor?”
“Did she obtain Yoshitsune’s inheritance with her strength, and not via seduction or theft?!”
Even Minamoto no Juzaburo was left dumbstruck, “What? This woman…”
He recalled how he had once challenged her to a duel in Fuyutsuki and saw how he was seated on the viewing platform without a single wound while the wounded Tsukawa was inside the rubble. He rejoiced at the fact that his father hadn’t allowed him to participate in the tournament, “Heh… I suppose I’m still far from matching the old man’s wit.”
“I won’t call her a b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲ anymore. She’s no ordinary woman. A faerie, that’s what she is, a faerie…” Juzaburo mumbled while shaking his head.
“Keogh! You f̲u̲c̲k̲i̲n̲g b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲!” Tsukawa crawled out from the rubble and pulled back his scythe feebly using its iron chain, “Why is it that you have attained the 9th stage when you’re nothing more than a s̲l̲u̲t̲t̲y b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲! Why did the Heavens endow me with the talent then? No! I’m the reincarnation of Yoshitsune! There’s no way my talent is lower than that of a b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲ like you!”
“There’s no point fussing over it. Your brain isn’t equipped for something like that,” Lily stated coolly, “A genius like you won’t concede so fast, right? Come now. Let me teach you a lesson for the condescension and disrespect you’ve shown towards Lord Yoshitsune.”
“Shut up, you arrogant b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲!” Tsukawa howled hysterically, “I-I’m a genius! The world’s best genius! It’s impossible for plebeians like you to defeat me in your whole lives!”
He glared at the white-dressed Ayaka in the center of the viewing platform, “Fujiwara no Ayaka! Watch closely now! I’ll prove that I’m the best genius of the Empire! A man who’ll stand above you in the future!”
Tsukawa then followed up with an unexpected action. He gave Ayaka the middle finger right in front of everyone.
The spectators were dumbfounded by this. No matter how much of a genius he was, it wouldn’t be that surprising if Ayaka were to kill him right now for his rude actions towards the Chief Advisor of the Empire.
However, that would also offend the Genji in whole and ruin the Yoshitsune Memorial Tournament as well. Although Ayaka suffered such humiliation, all she could do was return an icy gaze and hold back from making a move.
Lily also didn’t get angry for Ayaka when she saw Tsukawa act so infuriatingly and just smirked at him in disdain, “You’re just a shameless, lunatic scum. A dancing clown, that’s what you are.”
“Hahahahahaha! So what if you’ve attained the Genji Swordstyle’s 9th stage? The outcome of a duel doesn’t depend on just power! It factors in speed and skills as well! You aren’t my match with regards to these two factors! Die now!” Tsukawa’s aura soared up as he shot towards Lily with a psychotic howl.
The scythe in his hand drew out a crazy arc as it shuttled towards the flank of Lily’s neck.
Clang! Lily’s blade blipped as she parried the scythe’s heavy strike calmly.
Lily had long mastered the Genji Swordstyle’s 9th stage to perfection and trained in the art that led to its creation—Tsukuyomi Swordstyle!
“Die!” Tsukawa launched another scythe attack from the opposite side in a crazy fit.
Clang! However, Lily parried the attack with ease once again and simply stood there with elegance, not even moving a single step!
“Die! Die! Die!”
Clang! Clang! Clang! Lily parried each and single one of Tsukawa’s attacks with her blade.
“No! This is impossible! Just impossible!” Tsukawa’s eyes flashed sinisterly as he prepared to execute his finisher and shot the weighted bronze end towards Lily!
Lily swung her blade to parry it as usual but the cracked gem on it shone out with a dazzling light when it approached her.
Boom! The gem produced an explosion of light that carried the might of an early-stage Throne!
The massive explosion engulfed Lily as well as half the arena immediately.
“Lily!” Makoto cried out in alarm.
When the light scattered, all that remained in the arena was a huge crater. There was no sign of Lily!
The explosion’s effects had even reached the viewing platform’s backend, injuring several Genji samurai.
“That madman… He even put us in danger…” Most of the spectators retreated in fear one after the other.
“This is a violation of rules!” Taira no Mori stood up, “The gem’s explosion isn’t a result of his power. It’s a hidden weapon! Tsukawa has violated the rules!”
“Lord Taira no Mori. Can you please elaborate which rule we’ve violated if you want us to take responsibility?!” Minamoto no Hirohikari retorted.
Tsukawa looked at the empty site of the explosion, “Hahahahahaha! This is what you get for standing against me! You deserve it, Kagami Lily! I only planned to knock you out, but who would have imagined that your defensive skills were so weak that you vanished without a trace! Hahahahaha!”
“Like I said before. A dancing clown, that’s what you are.”
“Hah?!”
The red-dressed Lily had arrived behind Tsukawa before he had even realized it, and in a completely woundless state too, “Were you trying to prove you were faster than me using that attack? Thanks for reminding me in advance. Let me show you how fast I am then.”
Lily stated from behind Tsukawa.
“What?!” Tsukawa was stupefied, “T-This is impossible!”
Lily was so fast that he couldn’t even catch a glimpse of her!
“This is impossible!” Tsukawa shot his scythe towards Lily, but it was too late as she was already too close to him. He had completely lost his mind now.
Lily blasted Tsukawa away with a kick, making him slide a dozen meters across the rubble on the arena.
“I could’ve killed you with a single strike just now, Tsukawa. The reason I let you live is because the Genji helped me nurture when I was still weak! Heed my words and concede the match!”
Lily turned her back to him and walked to the edge of the arena after saying her piece. She had no intention of seeing the face of scum like him as he conceded.
“You want a genius like me… to concede?” Tsukawa stood up while shuddering and lowered the chain of his scythe before holding its blade’s hilt with both hands and sauntered towards Lily with shaky footsteps.
“You have no chances of winning, Tsukawa. Is there a need to put up such pointless resistance?” Lily didn’t even give him a glance.
“I have no chances of winning, huh? Hahahahahaha! How is that possible? I’m the Genji’s best talent! The reincarnation of Yoshitsune! I will win! F̲u̲c̲k̲ you! I’m going to cleave your haughty waist apart with my scythe’s blade!” Tsukawa summoned a primordial charm in his hand and hurled it towards Lily’s back!
“Minamoto no Tsukawa!” Judge Sasaki thundered, “How could you use a charm at a defenseless opponent’s back! This is a violation of the rules! You are disqualified, Minamoto no Tsukawa!”
“I don’t give a bloody damn about that! I’m going to kill you no matter what, Kagami Lily!”
The charm gave rise to countless eldritch clouds and terrifying primordial demon familiars revealed their massive figures from within it, each carrying a fearsome and sharp nether weapon in their hand. The demons leaped towards Lily like a pack of hungry wolves along with Tsukawa.
“Stop him!” The Left and Right Imperial Guards’ Commander ordered at the same time, prompting the Genji and Taira samurai to descend the platform and stop Tsukawa.
“Hold it!” Lily’s hair danced in the wind like flickering dark flames as her eyes filled with scarlet killing intent, her back still facing the demons, “The match hasn’t ended yet!”
Lily raised the blade in her hand ceremonially, causing it to resonate with an enigmatic crimson glow. The glow portrayed aspects of splendor and mysticism, yet it also contained a hint of poignance in it.
Lily’s silent lips opened gracefully, “Genji Swordstyle—10th stage.”
