Yamagata City, Mount Tobiuo.

 As the selected hotel this time, Tobiuo Village was already filled with guests during the summer holiday.

 What surprised the locals was the sheer amount of tourists this year that way surpassed the previous years. This kept those from Tobiuo Village busy and they could not help but frown at that.

 Of course, the owner of Tobiuo Village knew that it was because of the sword saint named Hiroshi Takeda staying in Mount Tobiuo. Although Hiroshi Takeda’s sudden return was unexpected and there had been no prior notice, he had to empty all the rooms in Tobiuo Village to entertain those who were going to attend the succession event.

 Naturally, this made other tourists complain, but there was nothing else they could do.

 The top of Mount Tobiuo was surrounded by lush trees and was a picture of constant springtime. There was a small courtyard at the top of the mountain, which was Hiroshi Takeda’s residence.

 At the moment, Hiroshi Takeda was entertaining his guests at his residence.

 Hiroshi Takeda, who was over 70 years old, had a rough and weather-beaten face with a forehead full of wrinkles. The greying hair atop his head was simply let loose with no sign of being taken care of. At a glance, this man had the somewhat of a vigilante hero’s aura.

 He sat in the main seat while entertaining his many guests. These guests consisted of Onmyojis and the heads of major Kendo households in Japan.

 Aside from those, there were two Great Onmyojis. One was Sei Shigeru, and the other was the deputy leader of the Deity Rising Palace. Both of them had been invited there.

 The Shigeru family had always maintained a neutral position and was friendly with many families. Therefore, it was no surprise that Sei Shigeru had shown up for the succession event after Hiroshi Takeda’s recent return. As for the deputy leader of the Deity Rising Palace, he had come here to congratulate Hiroshi Takeda on behalf of the Deity Rising Palace.

 The expression of those in the hall itself was an interesting sight as the succession event was coming to an end. Some of the families’ younger disciples who had been eliminated had to force a smile with disappointment in their eyes, while some of the others were genuinely smiling with joy.

 Sitting on the main seat, Hiroshi Takeda could see everyone at a glance.

 He smiled and said slowly, “Everyone, I have something to ask.”

 As soon as Hiroshi Takeda spoke, the voices of all the people in the hall stopped before many of them started echoing his words.

 “What is it, Master Sword Saint? The Shiraishi family is willing to provide our help however we can.”

 “The Higuchi family is willing to go through hell and high water for you!”

 “The Kazu family is also willing to work for you, Master sword saint.”

 The echoing voices made Hiroshi Takeda smile. The Sugawara family, the Saito family, the Ito family and others had also agreed to help.

 Such fawning and sucking up only to be expected. To be able to help the Sword Saint Takeda meant that the Sword Saint would owe their family a favor.

 In their view, as long as it was not to start a war, they were willing to do almost anything. All of them had previously hoped that Sword Saint Takeda would ask them for their help one day. However, Hiroshi Takeda had been so devoted to Kendo and Kendo only that he could not be bothered about worldly affairs.

 Hence, it was hard to get into contact with Sword Saint Takeda, let alone help him.

 Those who were not qualified enough would not even get to see him. Yet now, due to the succession event, Sword Saint Takeda would entertain his guests from time to time, which made many people very excited as they could finally see the sword saint in person.

 Hiroshi Takeda said with a smile, “It’s not a big deal. As you all know, I traveled overseas to sharpen my sword style. However, someone here caught my attention, which is why I came back in advance.”

 The deputy leader of Deity Rising Palace could not help but think of something upon hearing that. He looked at Hiroshi Takeda with a meaningful gaze.

 The others kept their silence and listened attentively.

 Hiroshi Takeda continued with a hoarse voice, “He is known as Kimura Kazuki. I heard that he has reached the state of sword saint at a young age.”

 A great uproar was caused as soon as his words left his mouth.

 The deputy leader lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze empty like a pool of stagnant water as he sneered internally. The Fukuda Shrine had just presented a powerful Enchanted Talisman to the Deity Rising Palace called the Lightning Attracting Talisman and they had felt a thrilling and formidable power from this Enchanted Talisman at the time. In addition, there had been a strong sword power as sharp as an edge from the talisman, which caused those with lower capabilities flinch in fear.

 The leader of Deity Rising Palace had been present at that time. After sensing the power within the Enchanted Talisman, he had immediately asserted that the creator of the talisman must have been a sword saint.

 Subsequently, the leader gave an order to study the Lightning Attracting Talisman and asked those in the palace to not spread the news. The person from the Fukuda Shrine also said that the person who handed over the talisman to them was a young man. Moreover, he had actually witnessed the young man named Kimura Kazuki draw the Enchanted Talisman himself.

 He thought the news would have been kept secret so it was unexpected that Hiroshi Takeda had found out.

 The deputy leader sighed. It seemed that the Deity Rising Palace had been relaxed for way too long and it was now full of loopholes.

 The leader of the Sugawara family’s expression changed as he asked in a low voice, “I know who Kimura Kazuki is… He’s a sword saint?”

 The leader of the Sugawara family could not believe that. The others who also knew Kimura Kazuki were also shocked.

 Of course, most people had not heard of Kimura Kazuki’s name.

 It did not take long before someone exclaimed, “Kimura Kazuki, is that the person who won the championship in the Jade Dragon Flag Competition?”

 The Jade Dragon Flag Competition? What competition is that? A lot of people were confused, but some of them came to a sudden realization.

 Not long later, they all knew what the Jade Dragon Flag Competition was after a quick search on the Internet…

 A competition for competitive Kendo for high school students? He’s a high school student? A sword saint?

 Those present were dumbfounded since it was difficult for them to link a high school student with a sword saint.

 This was also the reason why the leader of the Deity Rising Palace had ordered secrecy of the news. A young sword saint was worth them reaching out to have a good relationship with him! Therefore, they would have never let the news spread, that would have allowed the other shrines to take the lead.

 “I know Kimura-kun too. May I know why Sword Saint Takeda is looking for him?” Sei Shigeru who had been quiet had a hunch and thus, he asked with a kind smile on his face.

 Everyone managed to hide their emotions after their shock was over. After listening to Sei Shigeru’s words, they all looked at each other with confusion and they were all curious to know the answer.

 Hiroshi Takeda raised his glass and finished it up. After placing the glass down, he narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly, “As you all know, when I was younger, my family was destroyed and I escaped by chance. At the time, I was practicing the Merciless Nature Stroke inherited from my family to develop swordsmanship by abandoning my emotions. In my opinion, the Merciless Nature Stroke is just a superficial sword technique and was better kept under the table. Therefore, I created the Almighty Nature Stroke. I comprehended everything in the world including the flowing of water, the collapsing of mountains, earthquakes, avalanches, and other natural wonders. I have traveled around the world for 20 years. However, I realized that the world is too small, the so-called everything of the world is still too limited. So, I abandoned the Almighty Nature Stroke when I was 64 years old.”

 Many people were shocked to hear that.

 They had always thought that Sword Saint Takeda was still using the Almighty Nature Stroke. None of them would have expected that he abandoned that at the age of 64.

 Sword Saint Takeda is 75 years old. So, the Almighty Nature Stroke has been abandoned for 11 years?

 Noticing that everyone was shocked and speechless, Hiroshi Takeda said slowly, “What I am practicing at the moment is the Emotional Nature Stroke.”