In Inashiro District, at Tsukayama-Toda Castle.
“I never expected Inashiro District to still be so prosperous. The situation is much better than I had imagined. You’ve done well, Aoki Naomasa!”
Wu Ming sat in the center, casually praising the young samurai kneeling before him.
This was a talent he had promoted himself, who had always served as deputy to Tachibana Shigeyuki and Ooae Saki. Unexpectedly, after both were assassinated, it was Aoki who took overall command, successfully preventing Inashiro District from descending into complete chaos.
“All of this is due to the prestige of my lord!” Aoki Naomasa bowed deeply. “After Lord Tachibana was wounded, I was appointed as the temporary administrative magistrate. Once I spread the news of our clan’s great victory in capturing Hirogane Castle, Inashiro District quickly calmed down…”
“Haha! You have done well, and your contribution must be rewarded! I have brought your official appointment with me this time!”
Wu Ming laughed heartily. “Previously, you were the leader of the Ashigaru unit. Now, I am promoting you to the rank of Samurai Taisho of our clan, appointing you as the commander of Numata Castle, and granting you an income of one thousand koku!”
He continued with a tone of earnest advice, “Inashiro District is the birthplace of our clan, and we will likely wage war against Aki Province in the future. This place will become our frontline…”
“Hai! I will surely defend Numata Castle with my life, creating conditions for our clan’s campaign into Aki Province!”
Aoki Naomasa replied, his heart stirred with emotion.
After all, this was a leap from being a low-ranking samurai to entering the middle ranks, and even becoming the commander of a castle! Although his stipend was only one thousand koku, his authority was significant, and with the prospect of war, it wouldn’t be difficult to increase his stipend to ten thousand koku or more through military achievements.
“Who would have thought that the Aoki family would one day achieve such honor!”
Aoki Naomasa murmured inwardly, tears streaming down his face.
“Also… I have already passed the position of clan head to my adopted son, Yoshiyuki. From now on, you should address me as National Teacher!”
Wu Ming smiled faintly, correcting a small mistake made by Aoki Naomasa.
“Hai?!”
Aoki Naomasa looked up, his eyes wide with shock, stammering in disbelief.
…
Several days later, on a mountain in the southern part of Inashiro District.
“National Teacher-dono, based on the intelligence provided by the ninja and Aoki-kun, after investigation, we have confirmed that the enemy is hiding in that farmer’s house over there!”
Wakatsuki Kotarou, wearing a black straw raincoat, seemed to merge entirely with the forest as he spoke to Wu Ming.
“Someone has even personally witnessed the great swordsman from the Yagyū family entering it!”
As if fearing that Wu Ming might not believe him, Wakatsuki Kotarou added more evidence.
“Of course, I believe you… but…”
Wu Ming gazed into the distance, his eyes gleaming with sharpness, yet a faint smile appeared on his face. “Wakatsuki Kotarou!”
“Hai!”
“Do you think, if you were to assassinate Aoki Naomasa, could he still be alive today?”
Wu Ming slowly asked with a mocking smile on his lips.
“Impossible!” Wakatsuki Kotarou shuddered greatly. “Does that mean Aoki Naomasa is a spy? Let me go and behead him immediately!”
A supreme swordsman at the pinnacle of the third level of sword mastery, coupled with the formidable master and ninja who once wreaked havoc in Inashiro District, would have far surpassed Wakatsuki Kotarou in strength! Had they truly attempted an assassination, Aoki Naomasa would have stood no chance of survival!
“No! He is not a spy, or else I wouldn’t have appointed him as the commander of Numata Castle! It’s just that Aoki has been manipulated…”
Wu Ming sneered. “Such a shallow trap, dare they use it against me?”
The biggest flaw wasn’t even this; through his spiritual vision, he had seen many powerful auras, but he didn’t need to tell Wakatsuki Kotarou about that.
“Please wait a moment, National Teacher-dono. I will immediately return to reinforce the ninja forces and urge Commander Aoki to dispatch foot soldiers. We must completely eliminate them here!”
Wakatsuki Kotarou gritted his teeth.
“If we go back to reinforce now, it’s uncertain whether we can make it in time, and the enemy might flee directly…”
Wu Ming shook his head. “You and the ninja forces must not act! I will handle it myself!”
Since being conferred the title of National Teacher, he had not yet tested the power resulting from the combination of divine favor and spiritual techniques!
“National Teacher-dono…”
Wakatsuki Kotarou murmured, then his eyes popped wide open, and his mouth unconsciously opened, like a giant toad.
“Heaven and earth, wind and thunder, mountains and rivers, waters and marshes, by decree!”
Wu Ming’s wide sleeves fluttered as he stepped forward, suddenly grabbing with his right hand.
Boom!
With a roar like a dragon’s cry or a tiger’s growl, trees around the farmhouse were uprooted one by one. Talismans crackled and flashed, five-colored lights wildly flickered, and explosions continued. Finally, the five-colored lights in the sky condensed into a giant hand, which suddenly lifted and threw the entire hut high into the air, destroying it with irresistible force.
“Ye Bai! Come out to me!”
Wu Ming roared again, and five-colored flames gathered, forming a terrifying giant wheel of lightning that rolled thunderously forward.
Puchi! Puchi!
Under the divine thunder of the five elements’ mutual generation, even the scattered electric sparks were enough to reduce the surrounding obstacles to dust.
“This… this is just too overwhelming!”
Wakatsuki Kotarou muttered in disbelief. The scene was clearly one where the enemy had set up treacherous traps and curses around the hut, but they never expected Wu Ming to act so irrationally, with such immense power, that he uprooted the entire trap and even attacked the enemy’s main force directly!
Power! Overwhelming power!
At this moment, Wu Ming was openly displaying these two things: you set up ambushes? I will break through with brute force, stopping violence with violence. One man’s strength is enough to turn the world upside down!
“This is truly the power of gods and Buddhas…”
Wakatsuki Kotarou was like this, and the several ninja behind him were even more stunned, their eyes filled with infinite admiration: “No wonder he is the National Teacher!”
…
“The Creation of the Five Elements, the Annihilation Thunder, by Imperial Decree!”
Wu Ming struck again, a massive five-colored lightning bolt intertwining in midair, pressing down like a five-fingered mountain.
Boom!
With a thunderous sound, the ground was compressed downward by several feet, leaving it charred and blackened, with horrifyingly dead corpses appearing.
“This is impossible… How did you become so powerful?”
Just now, with a wave of Wu Ming’s hand, mountains were uprooted, and with a single palm strike, most of the enemy’s arrangements were reduced to ashes. All the minor enemies were killed, leaving only three figures barely escaping, forming into three people.
Ye Bai still had his red eyes and white hair, his body covered with green scales, staring at Wu Ming in shock.
“Oh? There’s still a deity and a swordsman left? Is this your only hope?”
The other two remaining figures were one being the great swordsman from the Yagyū family, who had previously ambushed Wu Ming on the battlefield, and the other was a woman. She wore traditional “Jūnihitoe” kimono, her face painted with white powder, like a classical lady full of grace, yet the aura surrounding her clearly marked her as something otherworldly.
Moreover, just now, it was her divine power that protected the two beside her.
“I am Kamihisago, greetings to Lord Kaito!”
The deity respectfully bowed, speaking in the language of cranes.
“Kamihisago-sama? The guardian deity of Aki Province?”
Wu Ming frowned slightly upon seeing the golden divine energy emanating from the other party.
This Kamihisago was the guardian deity of Aki Province, her status equal to that of the god of Izumo with eight thousand spears. Moreover, right now, she was clearly not a manifestation but the deity’s true self!
If a manifestation perished, the deity would only suffer injuries, but if the true self were destroyed, it would mean true death!
This guardian goddess of Aki Province had actually brought her true self out of the safety of the shrine, clearly showing her determination to eliminate Wu Ming at all costs!
“Lord Kaito, for the dream of Aki Province to take flight, please die for us!”
Kamihisago spoke in a gentle girl’s voice, yet the content was extremely dangerous and cruel.
“I have long heard of Lord Kaito’s reputation as a warrior. My name is Yagyū Jukunro, and our meeting on the battlefield last time proved your legendary prowess. I humbly request that Lord Kaito continue to grant me the honor of a duel!”
Yagyū Jukunro drew his katana, his spirit and vitality unprecedentedly focused into one, as if forming a single entity!
The great swordsman was still at the peak of level three, but if he could merge his physical energy and spiritual focus into one, forging them into unity, he would enter the realm of sages, reaching level four as a sword saint—the seed of a sword immortal!
Although Yagyū Jukunro had not yet fully entered level four, he was already showing signs of it!
“Haha… You couldn’t kill me last time, and you still won’t be able to kill me this time. Not only that, I will continue to assist your enemies until I eventually kill you!”
Ye Bai let out a hiss, as a colossal ethereal image of a soaring serpent materialized behind him.
Among those present, he was the one Wu Ming had feared the most in the past.
“Enough noise!”
Wu Ming frowned now, and with a sudden turn of his palm, dragon-like roars continued without end. Earth and stones from the ground flew up, condensing into a small mountain in midair, which then thunderously crashed down.
“Ahh!”
Ye Bai screamed, rapidly retreating while sending forth a small black gourd from his hand. In midair, it exploded, releasing a thick layer of black clouds filled with numerous illusory foot soldiers and warriors shouting in battle.
Peng!
A surge of bloodthirsty energy shot into the sky, colliding with the mountain below, merely causing the mountain to pause slightly before mercilessly pressing down.
A mountain crushing down like Mount Tai—a real Mount Tai crushing down!
Before the mountain even arrived, its massive ethereal form had already enveloped Ye Bai, and the pressure it brought forth continued to attack his mind, causing him to feel despair.
“Why is it that my painstaking efforts over five years, traveling across battlefields to specially gather a gourd full of bloodthirsty energy specifically targeting Daoist techniques, have no effect at all?”
Ye Bai’s hair was disheveled, his face twisted with rage. “Could it be that you’ve already reached level four? No… Even a Grand Master wouldn’t possess such overwhelming spiritual powers!”
“Be careful, Ye-kun!”
Kamihisago waved her hand, a layer of golden divine energy appearing, covering the three of them like armor, while several beams of light shot into the sky, resembling pillars connecting heaven and earth.
“Trying to hold on?”
Wu Ming laughed heartily, forming a magical seal with his hands. A Five Elements Mantra flew into the top of the small mountain, faintly revealing the five characters “Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth”!
The five-colored lights flashed, finally settling on a yellowish-brown hue, generating thunderous energy.
“Five Elements Earth Thunder, Summit of Mount Tai, unite!”
Boom! Boom!
Yellowish-brown divine thunder swept across, mercilessly shattering Kamihisago’s divine energy.
“Bad! Retreat!”
Kamihisago transformed into a streak of light, pulling Yagyū Jukunro and Ye Bai along with her.
“Too late! Crush them!”
Boom! The stone mountain struck down, flattening Yagyū Jukunro, who was too slow to escape, turning him into a pulp!
With a single strike, this swordsman, who was nearly at level four, couldn’t even resist and was immediately reduced to flesh and blood!
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