“Good evening, dear students and parents!“I am Caspian Lee of the Martial Arts Association! I’m honored to begin the enrollment ceremony of the esteemed Shinto Way tonight!“The expert of the school, Tojo Nomura, will be here to show off his swordsmanship! Let’s give him a round of applause!”Only a few people clapped their hands.Harvey grinned at the sight; it was clear to him that Caspian’s ancestors weren’t good people. If that wasn’t the case, the man wouldn’t be standing on the platform.As for the Martial Arts Association, there was no need to take the organization seriously since it wasn’t an official one.Caspian felt a little embarrassed after hearing the sparse applause.“I know the outskirts have always admired martial arts!” he exclaimed proudly after letting out a cough.“You’ve all heard of the Shinto Way, the leader of the Six Schools of Martial Arts…“But you have no idea just how impressive the school’s swordsmanship is!“Before we proceed with our enrollme
“The Hong Kuen? That’s a strong martial art in the south!“No sacred martial art training ground uses that, but rumors say that there are at least ten thousand disciples who learn it!“Impressive! This should be exciting!”Someone in the crowd spoke up as if they were knowledgeable.The people who didn’t know cheered loudly, filled with exhilaration.Harvey glanced at the man on the platform, instantly speechless. ‘Can’t these people tell that he’s just for show…?’Before Harvey could say anything, the man quickly dished out a few flashy moves that were just that.The man then smiled at Tojo.“I’ll begin now, Mr. Tojo!”He took a big step toward Tojo, throwing out a punch.The punch seemed incredibly powerful, making a lot of parents and their children cheer in excitement.Bam!Before the punch made contact, Tojo swung the scabbard of his sword across the man’s face. The man’s body shivered, and he was sent tumbling down the platform while screaming in pain.After stumblin
Harvey frowned; he knew the experts of the country were all brought here by Caspian as well.Caspian’s goal was to show off just how invincible Tojo actually was.From an economic standpoint, Caspian’s tactic was quite successful.But in the people’s eyes, this was just shameless behavior. He was insulting the country’s image while raising the Island Nations to a pedestal.Calling him a traitor to the country would only scratch the tip of the iceberg.Harvey figured that his ancestors had already been doing the same since a long time ago. Maybe it had been their tradition since ancient times.“Ten! Ten well-known experts of Country H! They couldn’t even last ten moves against Mr. Tojo!” Caspian said in a confused tone.“Who knew that the martial arts of the country would be this lackluster? Everyone said the country’s filled with hidden talents! Looks like its all just a bluff, after all!“Everyone! Would any of you be happy to let your children train like this?“The expert of
The parents cheered loudly when they saw a young man stepping up against Tojo.Since they were all citizens of Country H, none of them were willing to accept that the Island Nations’ swordsmanship was better.Tojo froze before instinctively looking at Caspian.Caspian quickly came to his senses. He sized up Harvey after standing in between Harvey and Tojo.“What are you trying to do, young man?” he asked coldly.His eyes were filled with disdain as he looked down on Harvey.“I want to fight him,” Harvey said. “You want to fight?”Caspian chuckled coldly, and subconsciously raised his voice.“Are you insane? Or are you just stupid? What right do you have to challenge Mr. Tojo?“What’s going to happen if he accidentally slaps you to death? Your family will start complaining about us after you die!“Scram! Stop embarrassing yourself here already!”Caspian crossed his arms.“I hate young people who only know how to show off like you! You’re completely talentless, but you insi
‘Morals?’Harvey chuckled, enraged.‘How shameless can a person get to say something like that?’Harvey glared at Caspian, as if he was looking at an idiot.“Nobody ever asked for an application form to spar. As for your so-called Bushido Spirit, let’s not talk about if I have that or not.“You want to suppress martial artists of Country H with morals from another country? Are you stupid or what?“You’re just scared of me beating Tojo down and ruining all of your plans, right?“If that’s the case, I’ll only use an arm and a leg against him!“I’ll let him throw three attacks at me, too!“I’ll only fight back after that!“If he even touches a strand of my hair, I’ll admit defeat!“Since you’ve been praising the swordsmanship of the Island Nations, surely you wouldn’t be scared right now.”The parents nodded in unison.‘He’s right. Nobody ever asked for credentials like that just to spar!‘No matter the status of the application form, it’d be way more straightforward just to
Bam!While Caspian was acting all high and mighty, the door was suddenly kicked open.A dozen people came inside the Kendo Hall. The person at the front was in a white police uniform, and he looked panicked. It was none other than Neil himself. Yasmin, Andie, Dutch, and many others came as well.Quincy was sitting in a wheelchair with an oxygen mask on her; she looked pale, as if she was about to die at any moment.Since Caspian was in the business of teaching swordsmanship, he naturally knew who the police were. He didn’t recognize Neil, but he knew who Dutch was. He quickly approached Dutch.“What brings you here, Mr. Dutch? Did someone file a complaint about this place being too rowdy? I’m a legal citizen here. I filled out an application form a month before the event started, too! We’re not overpacked, either!”He glanced at Quincy before tapping himself on the head, as if he figured something out.“This must be the daughter of the Desert Province’s second-in-command, ri
Harvey quickly held up Neil when the latter was just about to kneel.“All parents are selfless people. I see your sincerity, Mr. Neil. I’ll save your daughter.”Harvey nodded. He had no intention of stopping Andie from kneeling and slapping herself in the face, though.After all, she needed to be taught a lesson.Neil and Andie were shivering in excitement.Harvey approached Quincy, and poked lightly at a few parts of her chest.“I suppressed the energies inside her for now, since her body had been sustaining a lot of blows. When she’s stabilized, I’ll be able to save her.”Harvey smiled at Neil. He then looked around him before finally speaking up again.“Right. Since not everyone knows who Mr. Neil is, let me introduce you. He’s the second-in-command of the Desert Province. He’s a man with immense status!”The people around gasped and screamed in shock. Some even pulled up a picture of Neil on a website to compare his identity.They were showing odd gazes when they were sur
Harvey wrote an application form for a temporary certificate in front of the crowd. The paper immediately gained effect as soon as Dutch and Neil signed it.Harvey turned around, then threw the paper in front of Caspian with a smile.“Now, I can fight the expert?”Caspian gritted his teeth.“You’re abusing your authority…”“If you really think that, you can sue us all you want. But I should tell you that the application form has legal effect as well.“I’m saying that according to your so-called rules, Sir York should be allowed to spar with the Islander. The police will acknowledge it.“This is a spar; it’s not a fight, nor is it an assault. You understand me?’Neil nodded.He was a fair and just man; he’d never do anything to abuse his power… But after figuring out everything that happened here, he knew full well which side to take.Caspian’s eyes kept twitching when he sensed the aura of the two prominent government officials.“It’s not that I’m trying to stop Harvey from