Future Pet Shop

"The Great Wall Will Never Fall, The Yellow River’s Thousand-Mile Torrent..." The song suddenly surfaced in Shen Yibin’s mind. ’I can’t back down now.’ They had put him on the spot, and it would be unreasonable not to accept. So, Shen Yibin stood up, straightened his clothes, and said, "I’ve only scratched the surface, so I really shouldn’t be sparring with an expert like Master Liu Sheng. But since everyone has been so insistent, it would be impolite for me to refuse! Very well, I’d be honored to experience the profound techniques of Master Liu Sheng’s Yagyu Shinkage-ryu!"

"Mr. Bin, please use my sword!" Sakai Kaori scurried over to Shen Yibin’s side and presented her bamboo sword with both hands. The disciples outside the training area looked astonished. ’Since when is Miss Sakai willing to lend her precious sword to someone else?’ Mr. Liu Sheng, however, revealed a faint, gratified smile.

"Thank you, Miss Sakai. I’ll take good care of it," Shen Yibin replied gently. He slowly walked to the center of the dojo, taking his position opposite Mr. Liu Sheng.

"Mr. Bin, aren’t you going to change?" Mr. Liu Sheng asked with a frown. Shen Yibin was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, which seemed jarringly out of place in the dojo’s solemn atmosphere.

"Ah, no, it’s fine. This is what I usually wear when I practice my swordsmanship. I’m afraid I’d feel a bit restricted if I changed," Shen Yibin said. Truthfully, he really wasn’t used to this kind of Sword Way uniform.

"Very well, then!" Mr. Liu Sheng acquiesced. The two walked to the center of the floor and bowed to each other. Their bamboo swords touched lightly, and they stepped back. Neither rushed to attack, choosing instead to observe their opponent’s movements.

"Ooh! Ooh!" Hah’Er had just watched the match between Sakai Kaori and Mr. Liu Sheng, so it knew exactly what Shen Yibin was doing. It began clapping its paws to cheer him on.

"GAH!" Egg froze for a second, then mimicked Hah’Er and began clapping to cheer for Shen Yibin. The dojo’s disciples stared at each other in dismay. ’Hey, Lord Egg, you’re the god of our Honjin Raccoon Shrine! How can you be cheering for an outsider?’

Shen Yibin was momentarily distracted by Hah’Er’s cries, and Mr. Liu Sheng instantly seized the opening. He raised his bamboo sword high and brought it down toward Shen Yibin’s head, shouting the name of the technique, "Tang Bamboo!"

The move was clean and sharp, far more formidable than anything Sakai Kaori had demonstrated. However, it was still within the scope of his daily training. Shen Yibin instinctively swung his bamboo sword upward from below. Copying Mr. Liu Sheng and Sakai Kaori, he also shouted out a move name, "Cutting Apples!" He couldn’t help but choose that name; when he’d been practicing his Lifting Sword technique, he happened to have a surplus of apples, so the name came out instinctively.

CLACK! The two bamboo swords met. Just as Shen Yibin was about to counterattack, he saw Mr. Liu Sheng stumble and nearly lose his footing. Sakai Kaori and the other disciples who understood Chinese looked at one another, utterly dumbfounded by the name of the technique.

"Bridge Beans Bag!" Mr. Liu Sheng quickly raised his hand, halting the match. He carefully replayed the motion of Shen Yibin’s technique in his mind. ’Was that like White Crane Spreads Wings from Tai Chi Sword? Or maybe a bit like Phoenix Spreading Wings from Wudang Sword? Three Talents Sword, Eight Trigrams Sword, Seven-Star Sword, and other Chinese Swordsmanship Styles all had similar moves, but upon closer reflection, it wasn’t any of them.’

This left Mr. Liu Sheng, who was quite knowledgeable about Chinese Swordsmanship Styles, completely bewildered. "Mr. Bin, forgive my ignorance, but I was unable to identify the school your swordsmanship belongs to. Would you mind telling me? Also, why did you just shout ’Cutting Apples’?"

"Er, well, I noticed you all shout out move names during your matches, so I was just following your example!" ’As for the name of the school... what should I call it? Xiaoliu Swordsmanship? Or Immortal Ape Swordsmanship?’ Seeing Mr. Liu Sheng’s solemn expression, Shen Yibin couldn’t help but crack a joke. "As for the name of this swordsmanship style, it’s called Fruit Swordsmanship!" ’I mean, it makes sense, right? What else would you call a style I practice with fruit every day?’

"Nani? Fruit Swordsmanship?" Mr. Liu Sheng was truly at a loss for words. "So that technique you just used was called ’Cutting Apples’?" he asked. Internally, he was roaring, ’How can you make a joke out of something as serious as the Sword Way?! Fruit Swordsmanship? Does that sound like the name of a proper school of swordsmanship? Do you think this is some kind of mobile game?!’

"Well then, let’s continue!" Mr. Liu Sheng was getting angry now. He decided to unleash his true strength and teach Shen Yibin a lesson. He immediately launched a furious assault. "Kasaya Slash! Left Cut Up! Left Slash! Right Slash...!" With each thunderous shout, Mr. Liu Sheng’s techniques rained down on Shen Yibin like a storm.

"Splitting Oranges! Piercing Pear! Cutting Bananas! Chop Durian...!" Shen Yibin refused to be outdone. He mimicked Mr. Liu Sheng, bellowing out the names of his techniques. Not only did he successfully block all of Mr. Liu Sheng’s attacks, but he even managed to land a few counterattacks, especially the ’Piercing Pear,’ which caught Mr. Liu Sheng completely by surprise.

"Ooh! Ooh!" Seeing Shen Yibin gain the upper hand, Hah’Er, Egg, and Maphario began to jump around in excitement. In contrast, Sakai Kaori and the other disciples were desperately covering their mouths, trying not to laugh out loud. They had practiced the Sword Way for so long, yet they had never heard such hilarious names for techniques. It was almost impossible to contain their laughter.

"To think that Mr. Bin can fight Teacher Liu Sheng to a standstill... he’s incredible!" Sakai Kaori couldn’t help but cry out in amazement. Mr. Liu Sheng was a Swordsmanship Master renowned throughout Japan, yet Shen Yibin was just a young man in his twenties. What’s more, during all the months at the shop, she had never seen him practice swordsmanship. ’How is he this good?’ Sakai Kaori was lost in thought.

Mr. Liu Sheng, standing in the center of the dojo, now felt he was in an impossible situation. Given his status in the Japanese Sword Way community, losing to a young man would be a massive blow to his reputation. If word of this got out, his old friends would never let him hear the end of it.

’For the honor of Yagyu Shinkage-ryu, I can’t hold back any longer!’ Mr. Liu Sheng had only meant to have a friendly spar with Shen Yibin, but this "Fruit Swordsmanship" had forced him to use the ultimate technique of the Yagyu School.

’Miss Sakai, please don’t blame me if Mr. Bin gets hurt in a moment!’ Mr. Liu Sheng shot an apologetic glance toward Sakai Kaori, then rapidly retreated several steps. He settled into a strange stance, preparing to unleash the secret technique he had perfected over many years.

’Alas, I’ll probably never get to taste that incredible wine again,’ Mr. Liu Sheng lamented internally. With a powerful push from his back foot, he lunged toward Shen Yibin.

"Ah, it’s Teacher Liu Sheng’s ultimate technique, Celestial Net!" the disciples on the sidelines cried out in alarm. Celestial Net was Mr. Liu Sheng’s most prized and deadliest move; no opponent had ever stood against it and won.

"Mr. Bin, watch out!" Sakai Kaori couldn’t stop herself from crying out.