Chapter 10

A brand new day!

A brand new day - starting with playing hide-and-seek with the generals of the Shogunate.

Yingjian looked at the military officers standing in front of her, blocking her path and saying, "No entry for irrelevant people," and apologized in a very standard manner before turning around and leaving without looking back. This left the two officers somewhat puzzled, completely unaware of the significance of the girl's mere formality.

Meanwhile, Yingjian, who was considered very strange by them, stood at a corner of the wall where they couldn't see, briefly contemplating life.

She had planned to come here yesterday but was delayed for various reasons. Today, she woke up early, and when Raiden Shogun asked if she needed to go together, she felt it was unnecessary and let him continue with his own tasks.

This was the most wrong decision she made today. Yingjian sighed, covering her forehead.

Foxes were a favored race of the Anemo Archon, and she had already made a significant impression on these people as she was. But the problem was that these people didn't recognize her as a human.

Feeling a little embarrassed to just go back like this with the little puppet, Yingjian realized that there seemed to be only one way now.

"Coincidentally, I'll also see how strong the warriors of this era are."

During the Taisho period, Demon Slayers often used breathing techniques to aid their combat. The mastery of breathing techniques had an absolute impact on the strength displayed. As one of the Nine Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps, Yingjian's proficiency in breathing techniques even surpassed her swordsmanship, which was why the Shogun referred to her as the swordsman with the greatest potential.

And now, this swordsman with the greatest potential adjusted her breathing, minimizing her presence as much as possible, bypassing the gaze of many generals, and gradually advancing towards the highest point of the palace.

Yingjian was confident in her abilities, but the tight defense slowed her down. However, most of the people she encountered along the way were ordinary people without the Vision of the Gods, and even the strongest among them could be easily avoided. Just as Yingjian stood on a tree, pondering whether her defense was inadequate, she suddenly felt a chill run up her spine. Her keen senses for danger made her instinctively lean to the left, and she felt a thunderous sound pass by her face, accompanied by a streak of lightning.

Yingjian subconsciously reached for her sword, only to realize that she didn't have any weapons with her. The sound of breaking through the air sounded again, and Yingjian had no means of defense, so she had to dodge, leaping down from the tree. As soon as her feet touched the ground, a loud thud echoed as a large tree fell, immediately raising a choking cloud of dust.

"Who are you?"

But the coldness in that voice couldn't be ignored, and Yingjian quickly raised her hands.

"Or... should I put down my weapon first?" A swordsman without a sword had almost no means of resistance. Yingjian wisely showed weakness. "I'm not a bad person, but that bow in your hand looks quite intimidating..."

It wasn't until the person put down the bow and arrow in their hand that Yingjian breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the person not far away, slightly stunned.

She was an incredibly beautiful girl, beyond words. Her face was like the moon, her appearance magnificent. She wore a cherry-colored outfit that couldn't hide her radiant beauty. And on that face that could captivate thousands, the pair of horns on her head was particularly eye-catching.

"Yaksha?"

In her spare time, she had also flipped through Inazuma's history. The ghosts in this world were completely different from the ghosts in the Taisho era, just a different race. She had the impression that the bloodline of the Yakshas was becoming thinner and the number of their people was decreasing. But she never expected to encounter one here.

While observing the Yaksha girl, the person was also sizing up the Traveler. Eventually, their gaze fell on the ornament on her head, and a slight smile formed on their lips.

"Kamisato Ayaka." She put away her bow. "It was interesting that you were able to react in time and dodge my two arrows."

"You didn't actually intend to attack me, did you?"

"Hmm?"

"There was no intent to kill, just a show of force," the Traveler said. "And it seems that the bow is not your usual weapon. Even so, your aura is extremely fierce. You must be very skilled in martial arts, right?"

"Naturally." Kamisato Ayaka did not deny it. She just said to her subordinate beside her, "Go get two wooden swords."

"Huh?" Seeing the subordinate respond, the Traveler felt a bit confused.

Two wooden swords... What for? To spar? But we were just...

The Traveler felt that something was off. Looking at Kamisato Ayaka's attire, it was clear that she was a person of high status and likely had a close relationship with the Shirasagi Himegimi. In this situation, it would be best to simply confess who she really was. But before she could finish her sentence, a wooden sword flew towards her, and the Traveler instinctively caught it.

"Spar with me for a bit, and then I'll let you go," Kamisato Ayaka said. "The General still owes me a match, and maybe you can help out your mother by doing what you can. As a child, you can't refuse, right?"

With this remark from Kamisato Ayaka, the Traveler finally understood why she had this attitude.

'So she already recognized me.'

However, the guards beside them were clearly not as calm as the two of them. They had originally been patrolling as usual, but they didn't expect Lady Kamisato to suddenly make a move. They had been worried about being reprimanded by Lady Kamisato, but now they found themselves in a friendly spar.

What caught their attention in particular was Kamisato Ayaka's words, but it seemed that Kamisato Ayaka herself did not care about the ripples her words caused in the hearts of others.

"Raiden Ei." After the Traveler introduced herself, she bowed. "I am still inexperienced in martial arts. Please teach me."

The General: "!"

The Traveler appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly, she was panicking.

She wasn't worried about her swordsmanship being exposed to the little puppet; she just had to tell him. But the person in front of her... No matter how she thought about it, if the Shirasagi Himegimi and the others found out about this, she would have a hard time explaining.

As Kamisato Ayaka also bowed, the Traveler tightened her grip on the wooden sword, and her palms began to sweat slightly.

But the other party did not give her any time to think of a strategy. In the blink of an eye, the sound of the blade cutting through the air reached her ears. Faced with such a fierce blade aura, the Traveler instinctively adjusted her breathing and increased the strength in her wrist to block the attack.

Suddenly realizing that she had unconsciously exerted her strength, the Traveler was startled. When the next attack came, she released the excess strength and simply used her strength to meet the blow.

"It hurts!"

The Traveler felt a tingling sensation in her palm and her wrist hurt as if it was about to break. Fortunately, at the last moment, she endured the pain and gripped the sword. Otherwise, with the force of the opponent's attack just now, it was highly likely that the wooden sword would have been knocked away... That would have been quite embarrassing.

She wanted to hide her clumsiness, but she still had to maintain some dignity. Even though this puppet was much stronger and more resilient than humans, without the proper breathing technique, the Traveler didn't know how many blows she could withstand.

"Just do your best; after all, in the eyes of others, you're just a beginner."

But the anticipated attack did not come again. Seeing the opponent put down the sword, the Traveler was a bit bewildered.

"Why are you so nervous?" Kamisato Ayaka said. "I was just testing your talent, I didn't really want to trouble you. Otherwise, if the General finds out, he definitely won't be pleased with me."

"Then... What do you think?" the Traveler tentatively asked, "About my... um, talent?"

"If you're really a beginner, then I can confidently say that you have exceptional talent," said Ayu Chiyu, stroking her chin in contemplation. "However, if I were to rate your first move and your second move, there would be at least a seventy-point difference between them."

"Seventy points?"

"Yes, with a perfect score being one hundred."

"...Oh."

'So, was it just a bluff?' After testing the waters, Yingjian was now completely uncertain.

"The competition between warriors is about giving it your all, but what you did was only half-hearted," Ayu Chiyu laughed. "Next time we have a chance, let's fight again. Don't disappoint me then."

'She saw right through me...' Yingjian sighed.

At this point, Yingjian could only muster up the courage to say, "I feel like there's a huge gap between my martial arts skills and yours... How about you go spar with General-sama for a bit?"

"In that case, I'll have to properly talk to General-sama - like when her daughter learned to fight..."

"Let's focus on our fight!" Yingjian quickly interrupted. "You'll have to wait for me to practice first. It wouldn't be fair to bully someone who just started."

"Deal. Cheating won't work on me."

Looking at the outstretched left hand in front of her, Yingjian sighed and reached out to shake it.

"Alright, deal."

When Yingjian let go of the hand, she realized that there was something in her palm. She raised her hand to take a look and found a small waist tag.

After rubbing her head, Yingjian felt that her hair was probably a mess, but the hand that was holding hers let go.

"I have something to attend to, so go to the main hall by yourself. You're the General's daughter, remember? Don't take any detours next time."

"Okay." With something to hold over her, Yingjian obediently said, "Then, Chiyu-nee, I'll go now?"

"Why do I suddenly feel like I'm a generation below Saigami? Call me Auntie."

"Oh, Auntie Chiyu."

"Yeah, good... Huh, why do you look so unwilling?"

After Yingjian left, the military officers who were training finally confirmed her identity.

"I heard that Lord Omimyo-sama accepted an adopted daughter, so that means the one just now was...!"

"She even earned the recognition of Ayu-sama. She truly is the General's daughter! Although her martial arts are still immature..."

"Not quite."

The voice of the military officer stopped abruptly as he looked at the stunning ghost girl who interrupted him.

"'The competition between warriors requires giving it your all,' that's not what she meant," Ayu Chiyu sighed. "While I didn't use my Divine Eye, I still used fifty percent of my strength."

Ayu Chiyu completely ignored the waves her words caused in the military officer's heart, simply closing her beautiful eyes and hiding her unfinished curiosity. When she opened her eyes again, she resumed her strict demeanor as a general.

"Even if her aura is well-hidden, that's not a reason for you all to let a child easily infiltrate here."

"Therefore, everyone, double the training for this week."