Japan, Hokkaido.
A light drizzle was falling from the gloomy sky. At this moment, in a prison in a small town in the northeast of the island, a man slowly walked out of the darkness. As the prison guards congratulated him, the prison's iron bars were opened, and he was escorted out of the prison.
The moment he walked out of the prison, the man hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he still walked out.
No one came to greet him, and no one came to congratulate him. Only the cold raindrops fell on his body.
'I'm out of prison?'
He could not help but look at his empty right arm and laugh at himself.
He slowly raised his head to look at the sky. The fine raindrops fell on his face, and he could not help but close his eyes.
At this moment, his memory returned to ten years ago.
…
His name was Northstar One Blade, and he was a direct descendant of the Japanese ancient sword school, the "One-sword-style".
He had been extremely talented in swordsmanship since he was young, and it could be said that no one in the kendo dojo opened by his father could compare to him. Even his fellow disciples in the kendo dojo felt inferior in front of his talent in swordsmanship.
It could be said that they were not on the same level at all.
Back then, there were many sword schools in Japan, but most of them were modern swordsmanship, and they did not have much lethality in actual combat. Many of these swordsmanship were just for show, and they were just flashy moves to earn attention.
However, there was no lack of truly powerful ancient sword schools, such as the Shinto Style, the Niten Style, the Shadow Style, the Iyashiki Style, and so on.
The successors of the orthodox ancient sword techniques were basically disdainful of the modern "flamboyant" sword techniques. However, they had contacts with other ancient sword techniques of the same level. Every year, they would hold two sword techniques exchanges and competitions.
These competitions were divided into junior and adult years.
Northstar One Blade was extremely talented back then, and when he first stepped into the junior division competition, he defeated all his peers, and even those who were older than him. He crushed all of them and won the junior division championship.
This extremely outstanding talent made his father, Northstar Hideo, extremely proud. He felt that Northstar One Blade had the ability to revitalize the "One-sword-style" and carry forward the ancestral swordsmanship.
At that time, Northstar One Blade also felt the same way. He felt that he had the ability to win first place in the junior division, which meant that he would also have the ability to win first place in the adult division in the future, and push the One-sword-style to the top of the ancient sword school, becoming the pinnacle that all sword practitioners looked up to.
Unbeknownst to Northstar One Blade, however, was that it was precisely his excellence that put pressure on his father, Northstar Hideo.
This pressure didn't come from Northstar Blade, but from the outside world.
The Ancient Swordsmanship Competition was held twice a year, and Northstar One Blade easily took first place in the junior division. However, there was never any suspense about the last place in the official division, and that was his father, Northstar Hideo.
At first, Beichen Hideo felt proud of Northstar One Blade. He felt that Northstar One Blade could reach heights that he had never reached before.
But gradually, the noises from the outside world increased.
At that time, Northstar Xiufu gradually felt the pressure. This was because his peers would always compare him to his son, Northstar One Blade. He had even overheard people talking about him.
If Northstar One-Blade had been born in another sect, that would have been perfect. Being born in the Northstar Clan was a waste of talent.
For a successor of traditional swordsmanship like him, this kind of humiliation was unbearable.
After that, he would often recall the words of his peers, and he felt more and more that he was a coward, a weakling.
This thought lingered in Northstar Hideo's mind, and he couldn't get rid of it. It was as if it had become a demon in his heart, tormenting him.
It was at that moment that Northstar One Blade made a choice. He decided to practice the ancient swordsmanship technique passed down by his ancestors, One-Blade School, Taiyuan.
Back then, the ancient swordsmanship sects had explicitly forbidden the practice of the Sword Will Form Sword Technique. In fact, it wasn't forbidden, but rather feared.
This was because this swordsmanship was too damaging to the body. They didn't know how their ancestors had created this swordsmanship, or how they could withstand the injuries and disabilities that came with practicing it.
However, they definitely didn't have the ability to practice it. This was a lesson that countless people had taught them with blood.
The swordsmen who practiced the Sword Will Form Sword Technique were basically physically disabled, and some even had mental problems. In short, without exception, none of them had a good ending.
After many attempts by their predecessors, the descendants of the ancient swordsmanship sects no longer dared to touch the Ancient Sword Will Form Sword Technique. They sealed it away and only chose to practice the simplest sword techniques and sword techniques. These most basic things were passed down as a tradition.
Northstar Hideo was naturally aware of all this, but he had already made up his mind. He wanted to prove himself, and he wanted his son to see that his father wasn't a coward or a failure, and that he could become the true number one.
Northstar Hideo naturally didn't know what his father had done. All he could sense was that his father had suddenly become more cheerful. He was no longer as gloomy and sullen as he had been in the past. This was a good thing for Northstar Hideo.
However, the bad news came quickly. One day, when Northstar Hideo returned from school, he saw a house full of blood the moment he entered the door.
Northstar Hideo's head was ringing, and he rushed into the house.
Then, he saw his mother holding his father, who was covered in blood, in a daze. Her face was filled with despair. Then, as Northstar Hideo looked on in disbelief, she grabbed Northstar Hideo's beloved sword, Heartless Pill, and slashed it across her neck.
Northstar Hideo was only 14 years old at the time. When he saw this scene, he knelt on the ground, looking helpless and desperate. He hoped that everything before his eyes was a dream.
He didn't even know what had happened. His family had been eating peacefully in the morning, so how did things turn out like this when he came back at night?
Northstar Hideo's heart was in a mess. He suddenly remembered something his father had said that morning.
"Today, I'm going to compete with Ika again. This time, I'll definitely beat him!"
Northstar Hideo had said, "Good luck!" and gone to school. However, he remembered his father's words clearly.
This made Northstar Hideo subconsciously think that his opponent, Ika Tezuka, had killed his father during the competition.
And because of his father's death, his mother, who loved his father dearly, couldn't bear the pain of parting and chose to follow him.
Although it wasn't common for people to die from accidental injuries during a competition in the ancient swordsmanship circle, it did happen occasionally.
This was because ancient swordsmanship was a real swordsmanship, not a fancy move.
Therefore, there was an unwritten rule in the ancient swordsmanship circle. It was also what his father often told Northstar Hideo. If an accidental injury occurred during a competition, the opponent wouldn't be held responsible, and the family wouldn't be allowed to claim compensation. Otherwise, it would be seen as a permanent withdrawal from the ancient swordsmanship circle, and it would also be a disgrace to the ancestors.
Since one had joined the circle, he naturally had to abide by the rules. This rule didn't protect anyone, but the fundamental reason for the existence of ancient swordsmanship. It was swordsmanship that involved actual combat. If this rule disappeared, ancient swordsmanship would be no different from modern swordsmanship. It would just be a series of moves.
Therefore, this rule had always been imprinted in the heart of every ancient swordsmanship practitioner. This naturally included Northstar Hideo, who had learned swordsmanship from his father since he was a child.
Therefore, Northstar Hideo obeyed his father's teachings. He didn't choose to call the police. Instead, he cried bitterly as he buried his father and mother's bodies in his courtyard. Then, he took his father's "heartless pill" and went to find Ika Tezuka for revenge.
Although Northstar Hideo's father had trained his willpower since he was a child, he was only 14 years old when he faced his father's death and his mother's suicide in front of him. The coldness and despair he felt were deep in his bones.
However, he still mustered his courage because his father had said that he was the successor of Northstar Ittō-ryū. He had to face everything with courage.
Although he knew that he might not be Ika Tezuka's opponent, he wanted to take revenge. Then, he would use swordsmanship to fight fair and square to avenge his father!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
