A foreigner's journey

There is no moon in the water, and the sunday of the third month——

Tosa Sheath Walking Mountain, Qingliangin Sword Temple.

When it comes to a holy place for swordsmen, it has to be the Sword Guard Temple. Every year, thousands of swordsmen from all over Japan come to visit this temple, or in other words, to see the symbol of this holy place——

【Sword Buddha】.

It was built by the old general who quelled the chaos of the Warring States Period and finally unified the world. It was made from a total of 100,000 swords collected throughout the country through the "Sword Hunting Order" and was cast. It can be said to be a symbol of the swordsman's soul.

The so-called Buddha that was built after the war to pray for no more war and lasting peace was originally a scam. He is hunting swordsmen to eliminate hidden dangers, but secretly his purpose is to collect the sword of Shikisaki.

The ambition of the old general was ultimately defeated by the twelve mutant knives. Even the old general who unified the world failed to obtain even one of them.

However, today, Hujian Temple ushered in an unprecedented celebration. The legendary [God] will come here in person. In order to please the God, the swordsmen holding twelve Shikisaki Kiki variant swords will use their best skills to present the most exciting swordsmanship duel to the God.

Only [Blood] and [Iron] can please the God of Destruction named Susanoo.

Compared with the majestic and solemn but slightly deserted atmosphere on weekdays, the Sword Guard Temple today is extremely lively.

Generally speaking, monk soldiers use long spears, but the sword-protecting monks in the Sword-Proofing Temple are all first-rate swordsmen.

There are a total of two hundred monks holding swords. Each of them possesses superb swordsmanship [Hujian Temple Style Sword Technique], and the blades in their hands are also sharp weapons carefully crafted by the swordsmiths of Hujian Temple. They dressed up and went out, standing upright on both sides of the road, with their left hand hanging down and their right hand holding the handle of the knife at their waist, with a solemn posture.

Precisely because they have different objects of worship, they have become more determined in their belief that they must not make the gods dissatisfied in any way.

There are five dojos in Hujian Temple, numbered one to five from east to west. Each dojo is very spacious. At this time, in addition to monks and monks, there were also a large number of 'officials' in the temple.

These people are elite people sent by the shogunate. Of course, they are not for fighting, but they are among the industry leaders in terms of 'folklore scholars', 'holding banquets and celebrations', 'heating up the atmosphere', 'flattery', and 'observation of people's emotions', etc. Talents. Thanks to these people, the Sword Guard Temple, which was originally a sacred place for swordsmen, has changed beyond recognition. It can be called a 'major transformation'.

The ancient floor tiles that have witnessed history have been lifted up and laid with new pumice stone tiles. This kind of stone that looks like a golden pattern suspended in the dark is rare and extremely expensive, but the shogunate used it without any hesitation. Extensive renovation and decoration of Hujian Temple.

Simply because folklorists and Japanese mythologists believe that Susanoo favored darker tones closer to black and dark blue, while gold was also the color favored by the gods.

Likewise, the wooden structure of the dojo was repainted in a mix of dark blue, black and gold, with the entire process overseen by shogunate experts and leaving no room for error.

In the central square, a square duel field about fifty meters long and wide was built using Jishan stone and various durable woods. This is a martial arts arena for swordsmen to fight.

There were no auditoriums around the martial arts arena because the shogunate did not want the gods to misunderstand that these mortals were qualified to sit on an equal footing with the gods to watch the competition. [To ensure the most noble status and treatment of the gods], this is the suggestion of the shogunate etiquette officer.

Therefore, a majestic sacrificial platform was built directly north of the martial arts arena. The top of the platform was decorated with a canopy of gold and silk, and precious spices were sprinkled around it. The incense burners at the four corners below the platform were lit with censers collected from all over the country. The most expensive incense comes from.

Further away, a large open space was separated by ropes, where the audience's seats were. These spectators are also necessary to please the gods and make them more happy with the exaggerated reactions and exclamations on their faces when they watch the duels.

In the fifth dojo, it has been temporarily transformed into a temporary residence for the ruler of the shogunate [Shogun Iemaki]. Although this man is old, he has never let go of his power. This time the incident of the arrival of the gods made him Saw the hope of 'immortality'. If I am rewarded by the gods, this world will be in the hands of my general Ming forever, which can be said to be "eternal"!

Sitting in the 'General's Room' separated by a gauze curtain, General Jiaming wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the woman kneeling outside the gauze curtain:

"How is it? How many people are here?"

The person sitting on her knees outside the gauze curtain was Negiji. This slim blonde beauty covered her mouth with a fan and laughed softly: "Ah, there are so many here. It's hard to tell the real ones from the fake ones."

"Tell me carefully!"

"Yes~~~~Then I'll start from the beginning."

Negative Ji responded to General Jiaming's order in a long tone, and then said:

"[Jue Dao·Yi] was left in the hand of that woman as an 'admission ticket'. This matter has been reported to you before."

"Are you talking about the virtual sword style called Rin Qihua?"

"Yes, Rong Qihua is the sword, and the woman is the wielder of the sword. The Jue Dao is just a ticket and will not participate in the battle."

"What a waste...next one."

"[Zanto: Blunt] was presented to me by that woman. It has been held by the strongest Iai-ryu master in the shogunate, 'Onishuku Fusaki', and has officially participated in the competition."

"I already know these, where are the other [knives]!?"

"[Thousand Swords·Princess] is a real thousand swords. It is currently carried by a thousand black shrine maidens led by Tsuruga Camouflage from Izumo. They have already begun to climb the mountain road. By the way, The black miko is a miko appointed by the great god Susanoo, and her status cannot be underestimated~"

"Then let the people from the Ministry of Etiquette receive them well and not tolerate any disrespect!"

"Haha~~ I have already told the etiquette department in advance, please don't worry. Next is the [Thief Sword Armor], owned by the leader of the Satsuma Armor Pirates [Scholakura Bi]. He is one of the people besides us. The sword wielder who arrived first from outside is currently resting in the first gym.

[Double Swords and Hammer], the wielder is the grandson of the leader of the Dongkong clan who lives in seclusion in Yunshan Mountain [Frozen Sky Cracking Ice], currently working as a cook in the cafeteria of Hujian Temple.

[King Sword·Saw], the owner is the current twelfth generation head of the Heart King Ishelate style [Qiguchi Shamei], who currently lives in the second gym.

In addition, about forty people came here with strange weapons, claiming that they had the Shikizaki Kiki variant sword and hoped to participate in the competition. Of course, I have eliminated them one by one and kicked all those who fished in troubled waters out of the Sword Guard Temple as much as possible. "

"Well done! But... there are only five Shikizaki Kiki variant swords participating in the competition. Will that anger the god?"

"hehe……"

Negative Ji covered her mouth with a fan and let out a happy or 'sarcastic' laugh:

"You are too impatient. I only mentioned the five knives that have been identified, and then I will talk about the knives that have not been identified but can be identified."