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“Lady Sakiko.” Lily trembled when she saw Sakiko again and she felt a little moved.

Lady Sakiko had been aiding her in the open as well as in the dark. It was her plans that allowed her escape from the clutches of the Hojo family.

After not seeing each other for many days, gratitude and longing filled Lily’s heart. This beautiful woman had a mole beside her mouth. Although her chest was flat, her waist and lower body were quite charming.

“Miss Kagami… I haven’t seen you for many days. Not only are you safe and sound, you now look even more beautiful and feminine.” Sakiko said with a smile.
“Well, it’s all… thanks to Lady Sakiko’s help that Lily was able to escape from the dangers unscathed. Lily is here to thank you!” Lily knelt down in front of Sakiko.
“No need to do so. Everyone is from the Genji family. Miss Kagami, I came looking for you this time because I have something to ask you about.”
“Please ask away Lady Sakiko.”

“The news that Uesugi Rei bested and forced the three high-tier Sword Saint like Hojo Dijon, Taira Hachiro, and Yagyuu Munesaki to retreat in the battle of Suruga town has been widely spread in the East Nation. Uesugi Rei is naturally well-known. However, Miss Kagami’s story of attacking Hojo Dijon, robbing him of Tamahagane, forging an excellent sword, and then killing six Sword Masters of the Hojo family on top of that is much too astonishing. Your strength and talent have gained the attention of the upper echelons of the Eastern Nation’s Genji clan.”

After hearing this evaluation, Lily was also noncommittal. “Lady Sakiko, most of them were rightfully brave samurai. If they were not ordered by Hojo Dijon to kill me, I would not have killed them. Lily neither likes to kill, nor does she feel proud of it.”

“I naturally understand that Miss Kagami is a kind-hearted person. But in this dark and turbulent world where monsters run rampant, people are willing to respect the strong. Although we, the Eastern Nation’s samurai, fight each other for territory and treasures, only the real strong ones who have experienced killing and fighting can lead the world to a peaceful and prosperous time. Therefore, killing and fighting are inevitable. Those who can understand this will stand mighty, the overlord’s heart is the heart of the world! Therefore, Miss Kagami doesn’t have to blame herself for killing anyone. The way of the samurai is the way of slaughter yet it is also the way of life.” Sakiko said these words calmly and profoundly.

Lily knew a thing or two about this. Sometimes, for the sake of the righteousness of the world, merciless and bloody slaughter was inevitable.

Therefore, Lily could hardly understand why the samurai of the Eastern Nation fought each other to no end when the monsters and demons were threatening the survival of human beings everywhere? Although there was no lack of people like Hojo Dijon who would kill only to feed their own selfish desires and satiate their cruel nature, there should be some truly great samurai with a big heart. If human beings wanted to fight against monsters effectively, they must band together and this could never be achieved by only talking. If the so-called alliance was put together halfheartedly, they would be unable to cooperate. That was equivalent to courting a disaster. These turbulent times needed strong iron-blooded figures who could use martial prowess to unite the samurai of the Heian Empire in order to form a truly united force!

However, Lily had no such ambitions. She only wanted to wake up senior sister at all costs.
Yet, Sakiko’s words did make Lily better understand the samurai and their code of chivalry in this Heian world.

“I understand Lady Sakiko. I won’t kill unreasonably but I will no longer blame myself for the inevitable killing. Born in this Heian world, every samurai dances with the sword, step by step treading on a tough path like walking on thin ice. One may face the test of life and death during anytime. I will not hesitate anymore. I… I have no reason to be weak!” Lily said firmly.

Sakiko nodded in satisfaction: “Yes, this is like the samurai of Genji Dojo. No matter if it is me or Genji Dojo’s upper echelons, we quite appreciate the recent achievements of Miss Kagami. We have high hopes for you. In our opinion, your strength and potential have already reached the qualification for training in the Genji Dojo’s core layer, the Eastern Nation’s Genji Dojo!”

“The Eastern Nation’s Genji Dojo?” In the past, Lily had only heard about it. But for someone like her who was eager to become stronger and uncover more secrets of the Heian Empire, this was undoubtedly great news.

“That’s right. Master Sasaki has approved our application and formally agreed to let you join the Eastern Nation’s Genji Dojo. You can enjoy Genji’s best samurai education and training conditions which are on par as enjoyed by the children of all major families. The conditions provided are also excellent.”

Sakiko continued: “If you agree, then after going through some record procedures, you will attain the same social status as the samurai of our Genji clan and will obtain the aristocratic qualification. You will also have the qualification to receive or purchase a fiefdom. Of course, it is another thing to want to obtain the fiefdom. Only the aristocrat has this qualification. But for you, perhaps the most important thing is that once you enter into the Eastern Nation’s Genji Dojo, you can get the guidance of the highest level tutors in the Kanto region. You will have the opportunity to get the profound secret techniques, sword techniques, and other rare training conditions that are absolutely unavailable to the outside world. How about it, Miss Kagami?”

In fact, before Sakiko finished speaking, Lily had already made a decision: “Lady Sakiko, Lily is grateful for being given such an opportunity.”
Sakiko’s eyes also revealed a pleasant color, “So, Miss Kagami, do you agree?”
“Yes, of course, Lily is willing.” Lily was sincerely grateful.

Once upon a time, she was still a woman who could only fiddle with a wooden sword with a few village children and was ridiculed for it. But in the blink of an eye, she was now qualified to join the Eastern Nation’s Genji Dojo. She could study and train in Genji’s main dojo to whom ordinary samurai could only look up to!

How could Lily not be willing?

Although she had made rapid progress in these times, she was still far behind in comparison to the Eastern Nation’s Six Swords. Moreover, her rapid progress was also caused by the physical fitness of senior sister’s body and some special opportunities. The rate of improvement in strength would gradually slow down in the future. Lucky opportunities and encounters were not an everyday occurrence. Although she was physically fit, she was afraid that the early rapid progress brought by the Phantom Blade couldn’t continue to rapidly improve her strength. It may not be long before she encountered a bottleneck. Only in the strongest Genji Dojo of the Heian Empire, the Eastern Nation’s Genji Dojo, could she study steadily, lay a solid foundation for the training, broaden her horizons and receive the guidance of real great teachers to advance to the next tier. One day, she could even reach the strength of being able to compete with the Six Swords of the Eastern Nation. If not, the threat of Hojo Dijon would be a big problem, even now Lily was not the opponent of Dijon at all!

Lily suddenly remembered the Night Parade of the Hundred Demons that she encountered when she first entered the world of Heian. Recalling all those monsters she encountered that night still caused her to shudder now, such as the Demon King Michizane or that Hashihime¹, these monsters with real names in the Heian Empire. She was afraid that their strength was beyond imagination.

Lily’s path was still a long one. From the perspective of the whole Heian Empire, she was still very weak and unimportant. She could not be conceited just because she had made a small achievement. There would always be somebody else better and stronger out there. She needed to be obedient. Entering the main dojo for studying was the correct path.

1. Silva: Finally looked up the term for 祐姬, which was translated as “saintess (tentative)” in Chapter 1.

   Looking at Baidu, it leads me to believe this is a yokai called Hashihime:
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ushi_no_toki_mairi