Chapter 121: The Name of Sou and Ki (Patreon)

Sensing that Yang's demeanor was somehow different from before, Mai Shiranui grinned and said:

"I've never heard of this Sou and Ki Ansatsuken, but if it's serious enough to make Grandfather this focused, it definitely isn't something to underestimate! So I'm going all out and showing you every one of my ultimate techniques!"

Listening to Mai's fervent words, Yang said nothing at first. After a brief silence, he let out a long breath and said, "Let's begin..."

Since this sparring match was never going to last long, Yang had little interest in talking.

Mai caught the words and noticed how different his tone sounded from before—something felt off. But after a moment's thought, she let it go; once the fight began, every answer would reveal itself anyway.

A moment later, Yang and Mai walked to the center of the dojo and stood facing each other, several meters apart.

Sunlight cut the wooden floor of the training hall into stripes of light and shadow, stretching their silhouettes long—one tall and broad, the other slender and graceful—into a striking visual contrast.

Mai then settled into her stance, gripping her folding fan tight in one hand. Her seductive, spirited peach-blossom eyes locked onto Yang's, searching for any opening.

Tension, arrogance, impatience—even infatuation or admiration. Anything would do.

But to Mai's surprise, she found nothing at all in Yang's eyes—not even the so-called focus one might expect. He was simply looking at her, plainly.

It reminded her of something her grandfather Shiranui Hanzo had once told her—the state that those who truly stood at the pinnacle of martial arts entered before striking: "Not calm. Emptiness."

That realization put Mai slightly on edge, and she moved first.

Her folding fan snapped open with a sharp crack, releasing a whiff of sulfur, and as she flung her right hand out, blazing flames erupted across the fan's surface. An instant later it transformed into a streak of searing light, hurtling toward Yang at astonishing speed.

Along with the flying fan, her slender body kicked off the ground with her left foot, charging toward Yang, both hands raised before her chest as she wove hand seals at incredible speed.

Watching the scene unfold, Shiranui Hanzo nodded in satisfaction off to the side.

Mai's talent, while perhaps not the stuff of legend, was far beyond ordinary. Her mastery of the Secret Scroll of the Dry Flame was especially impressive—having quickly learned the art of Mind Flame, she could skillfully amplify its destructive force using hidden mechanisms, sulfur, and gunpowder.

Genryusai Maki, close in age to Mai, blinked in mild surprise upon seeing her battle stance.

As Mai's close friend, Maki had a good grasp of her strength.

In their previous sparring matches, the two had been roughly evenly matched, though in Maki's eyes, Mai still had plenty of room to refine and improve.

But now, even watching from the sidelines, Maki couldn't spot a single obvious opening.

The Kachousen was Mai's signature technique—igniting her fighting aura through the art of Mind Flame, then amplifying the flame's impact with sulfur hidden inside mechanisms within the fan itself. On impact, it delivered not just the fan's own force and the flame's burn, but the Mind Flame could also strike an opponent's meridians, hampering their movement.

Dodging the Kachousen wouldn't help much either. Though Bushinryu's training philosophy differed completely from Shiranui-ryu's—diametrically opposed, even—Maki was still familiar with Shiranui-ryu's hand-seal arts.

Through special hand seals, practitioners could forge a kind of ritual, or a small barrier of sorts, that greatly strengthened the flow and transformation of a martial artist's own qi.

Especially in a case like this—by pre-forming the seals in advance, one could unleash a variety of targeted Shiranui-ryu ultimate techniques the instant the flaming fan was knocked away, adapting to however the opponent chose to deflect it.

But even as Shiranui Hanzo and Maki marveled at how quickly Mai had grown, on the other side, Yang had already settled into his familiar square horse stance, his entire presence contracting to its absolute limit in an instant.

Before Hanzo and Maki could even turn their full attention to Yang—the next moment—

In Mai's field of vision, Yang's massive frame surged toward her like a heavy semi-truck hauling twenty-one tons of gravel, closing the distance with a thunderous roar.

The blazing fan, wrapped in heavy fighting aura and capable of shattering solid rock, looked like nothing more than a flickering candle flame before Yang. Before Mai could even register what was happening, he had already smashed it apart.

Having taken the full force of the Kachousen head-on, Yang's body didn't waver even slightly. If anything, the opposite happened—the moment he registered the impact of the Mind Flame technique, his expression shifted, and the blood-energy throughout his body condensed further, solidifying into something like an unshakable rampart.

Even so, Mai had no intention of giving up. She swiftly completed her qi transformation through her pre-formed hand seals, then, without hesitation, planted her toes against the floor as the vital energy across her body erupted all at once, transforming entirely into blazing Mind Flame that wrapped around her.

Sulfur gunpowder hidden inside the shimenawa cords and bells spread rapidly, amplifying the force of the Mind Flame. She leapt forward with tremendous depth, closing the last of the distance to launch an elbow strike at point-blank range against Yang—her Super Special Move: Ninja Bee!!

Feeling the surging Mind Flame around Mai, Yang, under ordinary circumstances, might have taken a moment to appreciate it—to feel out how flame born from transformed qi differed from ordinary fire.

But right now...

Despite having seized the advantage of the first strike, Mai felt not even a flicker of reassurance. Instead, an inexplicable pressure kept bearing down on her from Yang.

But it was too late to stop now—the arrow was already loosed.

Meeting Mai's gaze with a cold, unreadable expression, Yang felt her closing in and raised his right fist. His muscles tightened, and in the instant before impact, the punch fired from his hip like a cannon shell.

The angle was dead straight, with no flourish at all—just the simplest, most basic direct hook.

But with that single punch, in the instant Mai registered it, Yang's silhouette seemed to surge upward and outward, again and again, growing taller and broader in a continuous rush.

He became like a living mountain—even that seemingly plain, unadorned straight punch seemed, in that instant, larger than Mai's entire body.

His superior reach let his fist land after hers had started but arrive before hers could connect. Before her Super Special Move Ninja Bee could reach his body, his punch shattered the rising Mind Flame around her with ease, and the heavy fist sank deep into the softness of her stomach.

Ki-style: Zetsuga!

The plain, unadorned punch struck true, off to one side. The instant he sensed the impact, Shiranui Hanzo lurched to his feet—but Yang's fist was far faster, far stronger than he could react to. A single, direct hit! The force of the blow was so tremendous that a visible white shockwave burst out from Mai's back!

Taking the impact head-on, Mai—who had already committed to her Super Special Move Ninja Bee—froze wide-eyed as the swirling Mind Flame around her guttered out like a candle in the wind, snuffed by the force of the punch. Her body shot backward with a whoosh, slamming into the wall with a dull thud. She didn't slide down; instead, she hung there embedded in the wall like a painting, eyes glazed and unfocused.

"Mai!"

At the sight, Shiranui Hanzo let out a startled cry and rushed to her side, carefully helping Maki pull Mai down from the wall.

Then, turning his gaze on Yang as he approached, Hanzo's eyes went wide, and he demanded sharply, "This was supposed to be a sparring match—why did you hit her so hard?!"

Hearing Hanzo's question, Yang didn't bother putting on a helpless expression, nor did he try to shift the blame. He simply said, plainly:

"I carry the name of Sou and Ki. I won't let it disgrace Old Gen's reputation."

At that, Hanzo opened his mouth, but for a moment found nothing to say.

After all, it had been Hanzo himself who proposed settling whether Yang was truly Gen's successor through combat in the first place.

And just now, though the way Yang attacked was entirely different from the fighting style Hanzo remembered from Gen's younger years, as a master of his craft, Hanzo could tell from the qualities Yang displayed while channeling his qi that this was, without a doubt, Sou and Ki Ansatsuken.

The mastery over the body's countless vital points, and the gathering of qi...

Hearing Yang's words, Maki couldn't help but speak up. "Even so, that was far too heavy a hand! Mai's breathing is barely there right now!"

"No need to worry."

Yang said, "Sou and Ki Ansatsuken also has considerable expertise in healing. I'll treat her right now."

As he spoke, Yang extended both hands and began channeling the healing effect.

Hearing this, Maki glanced toward Hanzo, as if silently asking whether they should let Yang proceed.

Sensing her gaze, a flicker of hesitation crossed Hanzo's face, but he soon nodded and said, "Then please, do your best to treat her."

"Don't worry," Yang said with a nod. "I have plenty of experience with this."

Hearing Yang's assurance, Hanzo remained worried, but seeing how serious Yang looked, he felt a little more at ease.

As someone from the same era as Gen, Hanzo knew that beyond his unrivaled Ansatsuken, Gen's skill in Tang medical arts was nothing to scoff at either.

Watching Yang treat Mai, Maki felt tense at first, but once she confirmed he really was healing her—or rather, once she saw Mai's condition genuinely improving fast—she finally let out a breath of relief.

After telling Yang to treat her properly, Maki turned her gaze toward Hanzo. Sensing her look, Hanzo nodded back, and the two of them left the room without a word.

Once outside, with the door shut behind them, Maki said quietly, "Senior, what exactly is Sou and Ki Ansatsuken...?"

At Maki's question, a trace of memory surfaced in Hanzo's eyes, and he began to recount a story from the past.

"Back in that era, the fighting world of Asia was still centered in Hong Kong..."

Hanzo kept his account simple—the fuller details weren't something he could share right now. Even so, it was enough for Maki to grasp just what Sou and Ki Ansatsuken meant to the underworld, especially to old-timers like Hanzo from that bygone era.

Thinking this over, Maki seemed to realize something and said gravely, "If that's the case... does Shiranui-ryu have some kind of feud with Sou and Ki Ansatsuken?"

"...No," Hanzo shook his head.

"Then why did he hit her so hard? Was it really just to make a name for himself?" Maki asked, suspicion in her voice. "Whoever he is, he means trouble."

"...Yeah."

At that, worry spread across Hanzo's face.

"But no matter what, Bushinryu will always stand by Shiranui-ryu!"

Maki said, her expression earnest, "You can count on that, Senior!"

Hearing her words, a flicker of emotion crossed Hanzo's face, and he said:

"I can feel your sincerity, child... but this isn't something to decide rashly. If something really does happen, you're free to walk away. Regardless, as long as Shiranui-ryu exists, Bushinryu will always be its friend! And if Shiranui-ryu ever comes across a student with real talent, we'll be sure to recommend Bushinryu's teachings to them!"

As they spoke, both of them felt a weight settle over them.

Not everyone could be like Old Gen—someone who, even at the very end of his life, showed almost no decline in combat strength, and who, the closer he drew to death, understood it all the more deeply.

And in Yang, both Maki and Hanzo sensed a pressure they could hardly put into words.

The old saying goes that fists fear youth—but this fist was almost too fearsome.

Just as the two of them were mulling over how thorny the situation had become, a light cough suddenly sounded from inside the room.

On instinct, they threw the door open and rushed in, only to find Mai already sitting up, hunched over the edge of the bed, retching up mouthfuls of foam mixed with blood.

"Mai! You're awake?!"

Seeing Mai awake, Maki's face lit up with astonishment, and she hurried to the bedside, saying:

"Awake already? I figured you'd be laid up for at least a week."

Mai had no time to explain. She could only focus on her ragged breathing, feeling the warmth surging through her body as she worked to steady herself.

Beside her, seeing his granddaughter's condition genuinely improving fast, Hanzo finally let out a breath of relief—though a new doubt rose in his mind.

"What exactly are you here for?" Hanzo asked, turning to look at Yang.