A person in Japan, a sword that soars to immortality.

"Wow, this is even bigger than the day Lord Aoki came."

Taiyi and Shihe arrived at the testing ground, only to find a group of burly men covered in tattoos filling the fairly spacious courtyard to the brim.

Some were picking their teeth, some were showing off their knives, some were squatting on the ground tilting their heads and looking around, and some were grinning maliciously with their arms crossed.

When Taiichi appeared, all eyes, including those of the Yamada family, immediately focused on him.

"Junior Brother Taiyi, don't let this scene scare you so much your legs are shaking."

Shihe stopped and leaned against the wall beside her, rubbing her chin with one hand and winking at Taiyi.

"Just a sprinkle of water."

"Sprinkle what?"

With a raised eyebrow, while Shihe was still in a daze, Taiyi had already walked over.

Meanwhile, the Yamada family members, who had rushed from the dojo upon hearing the news, stood together not far away, observing the situation on the ground.

"Are these Yakuza tired of living? How dare they cause trouble here so brazenly? Let me chop them down!"

Dianzuo, who was originally a hoodlum, was about to draw his sword when he saw the other party's arrogant manner.

"Stop!" Shi Yuan grabbed his hand, pulling the knife only halfway out, then turned his head and said, "This isn't some desolate wilderness, this is Edo!"

“Shi Yuan is right, Dian Zuo, you were too impulsive.” Wei Shan, supporting his sword, looked at Tai Yi with his only remaining eye and continued:

“In Edo, especially in front of so many people, we samurai must never rashly draw our swords against civilians, otherwise we may inadvertently cause a civil unrest.”

Upon hearing Wei Shan's words, the other Yamada samurai's expressions began to turn ugly.

Years of poor harvests, coupled with the shogunate's tax policies, led to increasing resentment among the people of Sakura Province towards the samurai class.

The people were especially hostile towards the samurai of Edo.

Everyone believed that the hardship of life was due to Tokugawa Ienari's incompetence and extravagance, and that the samurai of Edo were his henchmen who exploited the people.

"Senior Brother Taiyi!"

"Zoche, you!" Genji looked at Zoche, then suddenly walked from behind them toward Taiichi, a smile on his face but his mouth full of gritted teeth.

“Senior Brother Taiyi, these people are clearly here to cause trouble. You can simply refuse this commission.”

Zoche approached Taiichi, first glancing at the Yakuza opposite him, then looking at him with a worried expression.

Before Taiyi could make a move, the Yakuza from the Red Scorpion family, who had overheard the conversation, seized the opportunity to start jeering.

"What? The Imperial Sword Testing Clan can't even appraise an ordinary sword? In the future, I think we should go to other families for appraisals."

"It seems that what they advertised all day was false. All the Yamada clan does is kill people and sell medicine. As for testing their swords, I think it's just so-so, fooling those who don't know any better."

"Exactly, exactly. Should we just call it quits? It's a complete waste of time to deal with this kind of fraudulent family."

Tatata!

The sound of hurried footsteps rang out, and a blade gleaming coldly was suddenly placed at the neck of the leading Yakuza.

"If you dare insult the Yamada family again, I will..."

"What are you going to do to us? Kill me? Come on, do it! What, you're too scared? I'll help you!"

After Shu Jian held a knife to their necks, the Red Scorpion family's executives did not retreat but instead took a step forward.

But at the moment when blood should have been drawn, Shu Jian frowned, his jaw muscles twitching, and sheathed the knife.

"What's going on? Brother Shujian is actually scared?"

Seeing this, Dianzu asked in disbelief.

“It’s not fear, but rather the realization that he is a man who absolutely adheres to the samurai spirit and samurai rules.” Wei Shan’s expression was equally unpleasant, simply because the Yamada family being insulted was tantamount to him being insulted as well.

Even so, he could only suppress his anger, just like Shuxian, and could not easily kill anyone.

“Without the Wu family’s order, even if Shuxian is incredibly strong, he is no different from us and cannot draw his sword.” Wei Shan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and continued:

"To the shogunate, we are just ronin, tools of the samurai. Although we are called the royal executioners, our actual status is not much higher than that of commoners."

“We even risk being abandoned if we cause trouble for the general.”

"After all, if a tool stops working properly, you can replace it with a new one."

Upon hearing this, the other samurai of the Yamada family frowned, but despite their anger, they were equally helpless.

Although the Yamada Asaemon clan was wealthy, with an annual income of 3 koku, more than that of ordinary daimyo, this did not elevate their status.

When Zoccher was little, she was often pelted with stones by other children, who mocked her as a shallow-minded and ruthless daughter.

Even so, as the father of the Lord, Kichiji could not do anything to the children and their parents.

But what if we replaced them with children from the grand mansions bestowed by the shogun, living in the Ue-yashiki district surrounding Edo Castle?

Which commoner child would dare treat her like that? The nobles would beat the perpetrator to a pulp.

"Excuse me, are you still planning to test the knife?"

The previous friction did not cause Taiyi to have any emotional fluctuations; on the contrary, his tone remained unusually calm.

"Hey, give it a try, why not? This is the one."

As soon as the Red Scorpion family's leader reached out, his underlings immediately placed a knife in his hand, then pushed it forward, signaling Taiichi to take it.

Stopping Sakichi from grabbing his hand, and walking past the serious-looking Shugen, Taichi walked over at a steady pace and firmly took the sword in his hand.

He then drew the knife, and as he examined the blade, his expression darkened. He looked at the Red Scorpion family's officers, frowned, and said:

"This knife..."

"Hehe, what's wrong? This knife seems pretty normal, doesn't it? Go ahead and try it!"

The cadre said with a strange laugh.

Before arriving, the iron puppet had given the leader his instructions and stuffed the tampered knife into his arms.

This knife looks normal, but it will break in two on the spot with the slightest impact!

At that time, he can not only demand compensation from the Yamada family, but also ruin Taichi's reputation.

They even threatened the Yamada family on the spot, saying that if they didn't give them a satisfactory explanation, they would spread the news throughout Edo.

As for any explanation... Taiichi could do the best thing by committing seppuku on the spot to atone for his sins.

“This knife…” Taiyi seemed to have figured something out, then his brows relaxed and the corners of his mouth slowly turned up:

"Killing you is enough!!!"

"Taiyi, no!!!" Shuxian seemed to sense something, his expression immediately changed drastically, and he wanted to step forward to stop him, but his outstretched hand stopped halfway. Finally, he turned his head, stared fiercely at Taiyi, and clenched his fist, saying:

"Are you out of your mind?! Are you trying to push the Yamada family into the abyss?!"

The Red Scorpion family's cadre still wore the mocking expression from before, but a line of blood was gradually appearing on his neck.

"The abyss? No, this is the beginning of the path to glory."