Chapter 559 - Suzaku Dojo (1/2)
It only took Zhang Heng five days to get the Menju certificate from Koyama Myos.h.i.+n-Ryū. The speed of Zhang Heng’s progress made Akane speechless. Judging by his skills, there was no reason for her not to give him the certificate. So from today onward, Zhang Heng could tell anyone that he was a disciple of Koyama Myos.h.i.+n-Ryū.
He was in a good mood. And it happened that Gabriel had a gathering with a merchant group today. In other words, Zhang Heng was free for the whole day. Recently, neither the Choshu Domain samurai nor s.h.i.+nsengumi made any moves, making it difficult for Zhang Heng to figure out what they were up to.
Although the dojo was still not improving, Akane, as the host, was very satisfied with her current life. However, for Zhang Heng, the current situation was different from what he expected. It was not a big deal for him. Since there was no one here to cause trouble, he could take the initiative to make some.
Recently, Zhang Heng had been inquiring about the whereabouts of the famous katana. At the same time, he also learned about Kyoto’s big and small dojos from Akane Koyama, herself a Kyoto native. Finally, he set his sights on a dojo called Suzakukan.
It was a dojo that had only opened its doors in recent years, but it had grown a lot. Sugawara Saemon traveled to different dojos when he was young to learn all of their signature moves. In the end, he came up with s.h.i.+gen s.h.i.+nkai–Ryu and defeated a couple of well-known samurai at that time. Rumor had it that he even fought against Serizawa Kamo, the former director of s.h.i.+nsengumi. No one knew how the fight ended, but the ability to survive the battle when going against the violent Serizawa Kamo was proof that Sugawara Saemon was indeed powerful.
After Serizawa was defeated by Kondo Isami, Hijikata Tos.h.i.+zo, and others, Sugawara Saemon established his Suzakukan in Kyoto, and a lot of people were interested in joining his dojo. Seemingly, he was doing quite well at the moment.
Zhang Heng knocked on the door.
“Koyama Myos.h.i.+n-Ryū? Is this sect still in Kyoto?”
The disciple in charge of the reception at Suzakukan had his head held up high. Zhang Heng could hear a touch of disdain from his tone, but his att.i.tude was not without reason. When Sugawara Saemon came to Kyoto looking to challenge masters to boost his fame, it was the happiest time of his life. However, after he built up some fame and opened the dojo, others would come and challenge him, themselves wanting to be famous.
It was okay if someone skillful came to challenge the great Sugawara Saemon. However, many random sects from all over the country came to challenge him. Sugawara Saemon did something similar at the beginning as well. When he fought someone, his opponent would make-up stories to change how the battle went, regardless if he won or lost. And Sugawara Saemon could do nothing about it.
During the early days, he fought against Serizawa Kamo. At that time, Serizawa Kamo wanted to look for a sparring partner, and he was selected. However, someone changed the story to Serizawa Kamo fought Sugarawa Saemon but failed miserably. Therefore, when the Suzaku Dojo disciples saw Zhang Heng, he felt like he was here to pull the same stunt until Zhang Heng explained his intention.
“I heard that the owner of this dojo has a famous sword made by Miike Tenta Mitsuyo. I wish to have a look at it.”
The disciple in charge of the reception immediately was angered by what he heard. “How dare you?!” Miike Tenta Mits was a well-known blacksmith in j.a.pan. He was active at the end of the Heian period, Miike District at Chikugo province. All the weapons that he crafted were priceless. His most famous work was completed during the As.h.i.+kaga Shogunate period. It was known as Tenka-Goken.
Zhang Heng came to the Suzaku Dojo because of the rumors that Sugawara Saemon owned a weapon crafted by Miike Tenta Mitsuyo. But what he said had obviously angered the people in Suzaku Dojo.