Chapter 579: Ascending the Steps (Three-in-One)

The 26th year of Jiajing, May 15th.

Surrounded by mountains, the outline of Kamakura City faintly appeared in the sunlight.

Two hundred years had passed since the end of the Kamakura Shogunate era, and this city had long lost its qualification as the political center of Japan, but it still retained many functions that could still be called a "center" today.

For example, swordsmanship.

For example, religion.

Passing through the seven narrow passages known as the "Kamakura Seven Mouths" that ran through the surrounding mountains, walking onto the Wakamiya Oji that ran north-south through the city, and reaching the middle section, one could see a passage with cherry blossoms blooming on both sides, gradually rising from the ground.

Crossing this passage called "Dankazura," one would reach the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, which stood tall in the center of Kamakura City.

For the local daimyo, this was a symbol of the legitimacy of inheriting the Kamakura Shogunate's power. And for almost all samurai and swordsmen in Japan, this was a "holy land."

On the streets that looked withered and dilapidated due to the passage of time, samurai and swordsmen with swords at their waists came and went, and when passing the passage, they would involuntarily glance at the Hachimangu Shrine... and hope that one day they could set foot there.

Of course, for the vast majority of people, this was an extravagant hope that might not be achieved in a lifetime. Swordsmen who came here because of admiration and recklessness would, nine times out of ten, leave here in despair in their old age... or die on that passage where cherry blossoms bloomed.

Today was no exception.

"Have you heard? Lord Uda is going to 'ascend the steps' today!"

"A swordsman of that realm... also has to rely on 'ascending the steps' to enter the Hachimangu Shrine?"

"He cultivates breathing methods rather than visualization methods, and he cultivates Original Intent Sword Art rather than Venerated God Sword Art. If he wants to enter the Hachimangu Shrine, this is the only way... and he is already old."

"It's starting! It's starting!"

The whispering gradually merged into one, and with the appearance of a certain figure, it gradually gathered in the same direction, suppressing other noises.

"Lord Uda!"

"Lord Uda is here!"

Swordsmen and samurai crowded together, blocking the street, but they all spontaneously made space in the center of the street, forming a narrow path that extended all the way to the passage leading to the Hachimangu Shrine.

Once the path was spontaneously formed, the scene became quiet. Countless eyes were fixed on the end of the street, on a gray-haired figure walking slowly toward them.

That was an old man with white hair and beard.

His face had drooped due to old age, and there were two pitch-black bags under his eyes, but his back was straight, contrary to his age. The arms protruding from under his haori were like green bamboo, gaunt and clearly defined.

He looked straight ahead and walked slowly.

"Hiss—Lord Uda's state today..."

In the crowd, two swordsmen whispered.

"Very strong."

"Indeed, although Lord Uda's swordsmanship was superb before, there was a bit of decadence... but now, looking at his eyes, I feel a bit cold."

"Could it be that we will really see him ascend the Hachimangu Shrine today?"

The two were overheard by someone next to them, who let out a cold snort.

"How is that possible!"

"It's been two hundred years; when have you ever seen a swordsman who practices Original Intent Sword Art succeed in 'ascending the steps'?"

"Except for the Kurama style back then..."

The speaker suddenly cut off his words.

He had said something he shouldn't have.

"Kurama style," this swordsmanship school that had spread throughout Japan hundreds of years ago, was a taboo here.

If heard by a priest or swordsman of the Hachimangu Shrine, it might lead to death.

He looked around, and after confirming that his words had not been heard, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned his attention back to the old man walking toward them.

"Lord Uda."

The old man had reached the center of the crowd, in front of him, and he hurriedly pressed the hilt of his sword and bowed slightly to the old man.

The rest of the swordsmen and samurai were the same.

Most of them did not know the old man, nor did they have any friendship, and they might even be secretly slandering the old man's choice as stupid... but all the swordsmen and samurai gathered in Kamakura would bow to those who chose to "ascend the steps."

Especially those swordsmen who practiced Original Intent Sword Art had solemn faces, revealing a faint sadness of "the rabbit dies and the fox grieves."

After a while, the old man reached the end of the passage.

He stopped.

Taking one more step forward would be the rising passage. The cherry blossoms on both sides were not in season, and only a few residual cherry blossoms were scattered under his feet.

One more step forward, and it would be "ascending the steps."

Death without life.

The old man raised his head, squinted at the Hachimangu Shrine standing at the end of the passage, drew his katana, held the scabbard in his left hand, and took a deep breath.

Then, he took a step forward.

His straw sandals landed, stepping on the residual cherry blossoms.

Then he walked forward step by step.

The swordsmen and samurai who followed breathed a sigh of relief and stepped onto the passage—only the first swordsman to walk onto the passage was considered "ascending the steps," and those who followed were just spectators and would not be in danger.

The crowd kept a distance of about one zhang from the old man and surged onto the passage.

The old man walked forward step by step.

After walking for several zhang like this, he stopped.

Leaning against a cherry tree by the road ahead was a person wearing a conical hat, revealing a blue-black hard chin, with a dog-tail grass in his mouth, seemingly dozing off.

The old man stared at the person.

Seemingly sensing the old man's gaze, the person suddenly shook, then took out his hands from his arms, stretched a long stretch, and revealed a middle-aged wanderer's appearance.

"Ha—bad luck."

He tilted his head and looked at the old man.

"No one has 'ascended the steps' for several years; why did it have to be my turn to be on duty... hey, old man."

He grabbed a long katana from behind the tree, shouldered it, rested his hands on the scabbard, walked swaying into the middle of the road, tilted his head, and smiled.

"Can you just go die on your own and not waste my nap time?"

The crowd behind was in an uproar.

The two swordsmen who had spoken at the beginning looked at each other; they hadn't been at the Hachimangu Shrine for long, and the swordsmen of the Hachimangu Shrine didn't go out much, so they didn't recognize the person.

The swordsman who had interrupted at the beginning said in a low voice.

"Don't you even recognize him?"

"【Sword Saint】 Keita Asai!"

The two then gasped in unison.

"Hiss—it's him!"

"【Scarlet Crow】 Keita Asai!"

The interrupting swordsman nodded solemnly.

"It's him, no mistake... and this is only the first swordsman!"

"Even in his prime, Lord Uda's strength was roughly similar to his... this is dangerous."

He showed a look of unbearable pity.

"Lord Uda is going to lose."

Before the voice fell, a cold snort suddenly came from the side.

"Bullshit!"

"Him? Just a show-off!"

The interrupting swordsman was stunned, then angry, and turned to look at the speaker.

The speaker was also an old man, roughly the same age as the old man who was ascending the steps, with white hair and beard, sunken cheeks, drooping lips, and a tall figure; just looking at his appearance, one could tell he was a strong-willed person.

As a swordsman, he could tell that this old man was a very strong swordsman, and the coldness emanating from him could not be faked; he was definitely stronger than himself. But he was unwilling to lose his momentum for no reason, so he argued with his neck stiff.

"What did I say wrong!"

"Judging from past events, the strength of the two is indeed similar, and what's more, Lord Uda has been wasted in Kamakura for these years, and he is already old, so he must be weaker. I am just stating the facts!"

"If you think I'm wrong, why don't you tell me your reasons!"

The old man snorted coldly, but he didn't open his mouth at all, just reached for the hilt of his sword, scaring the interrupting swordsman into stepping back and preparing to draw his sword to fight.

Before he could draw his sword, suddenly, a hand reached out from behind the old man, pressed his shoulder, and stopped his action of drawing the sword.

At the same time, a crisp, pleasant female voice with a smile said.

"Don't do stupid things."

"If you startle the snake and ruin today's arrangements, Lord Li might just crush your head in a fit of anger—you wouldn't want to die so absurdly, right?"

Another male voice followed from behind.

"Leader Ji, are you saying that about me?"

"I'm not a devil."

The hand pressing on the old man's shoulder patted him.

"Don't you think so?"

The interrupting swordsman looked at the old man blankly, watching his face turn from red to black, first angry and then cold, but finally forcibly returning to calm.

"Hmph!"

The old man let go of the hilt.

The interrupting swordsman breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the two people who had just spoken behind the old man.

Looking at this, he was stunned.

Standing on the left seemed to be a woman, wearing priestess attire, but it didn't look like the form of the Hachimangu Shrine's priestess, and the style was more ancient and luxurious. Her face was covered with a light veil, and as it rose with the wind, it revealed a snow-white, slender neck—just looking at her posture and demeanor, one could tell that this was a beautiful woman.

Standing on the right, who had just stopped the old man, could not be seen clearly. Because this person wore a black robe that covered his whole body, one could only tell that his figure was extremely tall and robust, and he carried a peculiar nobility in his every move.

The reason he was stunned was not because of the old man and the black-robed man, but because of the woman... she was wearing priestess attire, he didn't know how long she had been standing by his side, and the outstanding figure of the black-robed man, which should have been extremely conspicuous, but he hadn't noticed it at all!

"Could it be because of nervousness?"

He thought so.

Looking around, he didn't see anyone else looking this way, and even the two swordsmen who had spoken to him just now turned their heads and chatted enthusiastically, as if they had really forgotten about this side!

He was confused, but heard a commotion in front of the crowd.

"It's starting!"

"Quiet, it's starting."

He couldn't care about the strangeness of the old man and the two people, and hurriedly turned his gaze back to the front.

The old man named Uda didn't answer at all, just stood quietly in place, one hand on the scabbard and one hand on the katana, without the slightest wavering.

The middle-aged swordsman named 【Scarlet Crow】, Keita Asai, saw that the old man didn't answer, and let out a long sigh.

"Sigh, troublesome."

"A fool who likes to seek death... well, after killing you, I don't have to guard this passage today, so it can be considered a rest!"

*Swish! *

He reached out and grasped the scabbard, swung it horizontally, throwing the long scabbard out, while the katana remained on his shoulder. Then he slowly bent down, touched the ground with his left hand, and stared fixedly at the old man.

"Three moves."

"I'll kill you within three moves."

The old man had no reaction.

This instead made Keita Asai even more annoyed.

Anger steamed, and he closed his mouth instead, his body pressing lower and lower, almost sticking to the ground, but his momentum rose step by step as his figure pressed lower.

The next instant—*swish! *

He rushed forward close to the ground, his figure so fast that it almost left a blur, and when he rushed in front of the old man, the katana suddenly leaped up, slashing three times in an instant!

Cold light rose, shrouding the old man from left and right.

The interrupting swordsman exclaimed. ===== CHAPTER 580 =====