"You're saying General Tian is Korean?" Chen Xiao raised his eyelids to look at Tian Shengxun.
"Of course!" Tian Shengxun looked proud. If you didn't know the truth, you might really think that this guy was genuinely proud.
Chen Xiao slowly walked down the steps, his eyes still fixed on Tian Shengxun: "But, as far as I know, when General Tian was in Japan, he always identified himself as Chinese and spoke Chinese, right?"
Tian Shengxun remained defiant: "Nonsense! General Tian, such a distinguished person, is naturally a Korean! My Tian family is a renowned family in Gyeonggi Province. In the past, we were a military family appointed by His Majesty King Joseon. Our clan has a document from the King's royal family appointing him as General Tian Wu. Therefore, the surname of our clan is Tian. Our clan has its own genealogy. General Tian's name is Tian Zhenyin, and he is the twenty-seventh generation descendant of my Tian family..."
Chen Xiao found it amusing... Tian Zhenyin... These Koreans actually gave Old Tian a name, and even rearranged his ancestors. If Old Tian were here and heard these words, he wondered what he would think.
"Alright, alright..." Chen Xiao waved his hand, his eyes full of contempt, and sneered, "You Koreans are the most shameless. What's with all this research and verification? You just follow your own research, and Changbai Mountain becomes Korean, the Dragon Boat Festival becomes Korean, and you even claim that traditional Chinese medicine was invented by Koreans... Even after the Beijing Olympics, I heard that some Korean scholars came out to verify that Michael Phelps, who won eight gold medals, has Korean ancestry..."
"What do you mean by this? Are you questioning the outstanding martial artist of my Republic of Korea?" Jeon Seung-hoon didn't take the young Chinese man in front of him seriously. However, seeing him sitting casually in the inner hall of the Shangchen family, he couldn't help but secretly guess the man's identity.
He turned and pointed to the withered vine in the wooden box, shouting, "This vine is the weapon General Tian used to fight his way across Japan! It's also a treasure that my Tian family has preserved for many years! With this as proof, how could it not be real! At the bottom of this vine, there's even a mark that General Tian personally carved!"
As he spoke, he took out the rattan cane. Chen Xiao looked at it and, sure enough, a simple and elegant character "田" (field) was clearly engraved at the bottom of the cane. The character was simple and elegant, obviously carefully carved.
Chen Xiao almost laughed until his stomach hurt. Back then, Old Tian had just casually picked a vine to use, and probably threw it away afterward. These Koreans, however, were quite meticulous in their forgery, actually creating such a fake, and even going so far as to carve words on it…
Chen Xiao curled his lip: "What a joke... You think you can just grab a rattan cane as evidence?"
Ignoring Chen Xiao, Tian Shengxun looked directly at Tang Xin and said loudly, "When I came to Japan, I heard that the Uesugi family is revered in the Japanese martial arts world. I have come here today specifically to learn from the Uesugi family's swordsmanship. In the past, my master Tian's disciples sparred with Grandmaster Jingu Naoyu of the Uesugi family. Today, I am here to continue the tradition of our two families sparring with each other. I would like to ask the Uesugi family to send out a disciple for an exchange!"
This Tian Shengxun is quite clever.
His real name is indeed Jeon Seung-hoon, and his dojo is indeed a well-known kendo dojo in South Korea. In the past two years, his kendo dojo business in South Korea has grown considerably, seemingly securing the top spot in the Korean market. Now he wants to open a dojo in Japan. However, knowing that there are many different styles of kendo in Japan, he fears that as an outsider, he won't have any business, hence his desperate attempts to create some buzz.
He somehow learned of a long-standing Japanese rumor about a Chinese master named Tian who had once been invincible in Japan, wielding only a rattan cane. Tian Shengxun immediately had a plan: wouldn't it be a waste not to lend him such a prestigious title?
As for misappropriating other countries' names, this isn't the first or second time for South Koreans; they've become accustomed to doing it. Changbai Mountain has been claimed as South Korean, the Dragon Boat Festival has become South Korean, even the three northeastern provinces of China have been claimed as South Korean… Now they're adding General Tian's name to the list—the more debts they have, the less they worry about.
Besides, that happened sixty years ago. That Chinese General Tian is probably long gone, leaving not even ashes. In any case, there's no way to verify it now.
By using General Tian's name to open a dojo in Japan, it would naturally create a sensation!
Once Tian Shengxun had this idea, he made a series of arrangements and preparations. First, he forged a complete set of authentication certificates, and then he got a rattan cane and asked two experts who specialize in forging antiques to process it.
The final step is to challenge the Kamitatsu family, the number one kendo school in Japan!
However, Tian Shengxun wasn't a fool. Although he was a renowned expert in Korea, he was also aware of his own limitations. The Shangchen family was extremely famous in Japan, considered the number one swordsmanship school, with many masters within the school. Tian Shengxun wasn't entirely confident of victory, so he devised another plan.
He learned that the person who had fought General Tian in the past was Jingu Naoyu of the Kamitatsu family. Therefore, the challenge he publicly issued clearly stated that he, Tian Shengxun, was the fourth generation after General Tian. Thus, according to the basic principle that General Tian and Jingu Naoyu were of the same generation, he also had to challenge the fourth generation warrior of the Kamitatsu family.
He had already investigated the background of the Shangchen family. After Jingu Naoyuki, Takeuchi Bunzan was the second generation, and the Shangchen Eight Heroes were the third generation. He, Tian Shengxun, was not confident that he could defeat the Shangchen Eight Heroes, but the fourth generation disciples of the Shangchen family were all young people in their twenties and thirties. He figured that after years of martial arts training, defeating a few young lads would not be a problem.
Such a challenge served two purposes: firstly, it left the true masters of the Shangchen family with no reason to fight, and secondly, it ensured their own victory. It's fair for peers to fight each other...
Although it's not exactly honorable for a renowned Korean martial arts master to defeat a few young people, he doesn't need to explain the details. Just stating the vague claim that "a disciple of the Tian family defeated a disciple of the Shangchen family" is enough.
Tang Xin was well aware of his intentions. Just as she was thinking of a solution, Chen Xiao arrived.
"General Tian is my fourth-generation ancestor. I would like to request that the Shangchen family send a fourth-generation disciple to spar with me! Let's see how our respective successors far surpass each other after so many years!"
Tian Shengxun shouted loudly, but Chen Xiao cursed him in his heart for being shameless.
Tian Shengxun was still holding the fake rattan cane in his hand and shouting loudly when he suddenly saw the young Chinese man in front of him flash by, and then his hand was empty, and the rattan cane was already in Chen Xiao's hand.
Tian Shengxun was furious: "What are you doing!" and was about to step forward to grab it.
Chen Xiao casually crushed the vine with his hand. Tian Shengxun was anxious; this was the evidence he had fabricated, and it had been destroyed. How could he not be worried? He shouted, "You damned brat, how dare you destroy my Tian Clan's treasure!"
Chen Xiao dodged Tian Shengxun's furious punch, took two steps back, and laughed, "Rattan? There's plenty on this courtyard wall. If you want, just pick a few more."
He then stopped smiling and shouted, "You came here looking for a fight, didn't you? Fine! Very well! I was just about to teach you a lesson!"
He rolled up his sleeves, but Tian Shengxun shouted, "Wait a minute! Who are you? What gives you the right to fight me? Are you from the Shangchen family?" Chen Xiao lowered his sleeves and pointed to his Tang suit: "Are you blind? Can't you see what I'm wearing? Listen carefully, I'm not from the Shangchen family. I'm just a Chinese martial artist who doesn't like you and is teaching you a lesson."
Tian Shengxun's face turned ashen: "I am the Sword Master of the Tian Clan! What right do you, a mere brat, have to spar with me?"
Chen Xiao sighed, shook his head at Tian Shengxun, and laughed, "Are you really stupid or just pretending? Who said we were sparring? I just didn't like you, so I beat you up to vent my anger. Is that not allowed?"
He turned to Tang Xin and smiled, "Takeuchi Daimō family. You don't mind if I borrow your place to teach someone a lesson, do you?"
Tang Xin smiled but remained silent.
Tian Shengxun looked at Chen Xiao. He thought to himself, no matter where this kid came from, it seems he has quite a connection with the Shangchen family. Defeating this kid first is a victory in itself! Even if the Shangchen family doesn't intervene, once I leave, word will spread that I defeated a martial artist within the Quanliu Palace, and that will be a complete mess! They won't be able to explain themselves.
Thinking of this, he deliberately laughed heartily: "Fine! I'll teach you a lesson first, you arrogant brat."
He struck a pose befitting a master, took a long sword from his attendant, made a couple of feinting slashes, and shouted, "Boy, bring me your weapon!"
Chen Xiao walked to the weapon rack by the yard, deliberately picked up a gun, but broke it in half, throwing away the gun barrel, leaving only half a stick in his hand, and laughed: "A stick against a stick, just right."
Tian Shengxun's face immediately turned red, and he angrily said, "Kid! How dare you speak so rudely!"
He disregarded his status and shouted, raising his sword to strike. Chen Xiao smiled slightly, his figure flashed in place, and he took two steps to dodge the blow.
With Tian Shengxun's first strike, Chen Xiao had a clear idea of what was going on—this guy, while skilled, was far inferior to Nishihira Kojiro from yesterday. His strike was indeed ruthless, but in terms of skill, he was probably not even as good as Tang Ying, only barely reaching Takeuchi Yako's level—and perhaps even slightly lacking.
Tian Shengxun's knife was dodged, and as he was about to twist his body, Chen Xiao swung his staff backhand. He had secretly used teleportation in this strike; although it was only a few dozen centimeters, in close combat, gaining even a few dozen centimeters of advantage makes a huge difference. Tian Shengxun cried out in pain as the staff struck his back and shoulder blade hard. A cracking sound was heard. Enraged by the Korean's shamelessness, Chen Xiao had used his full strength in his attack. With that single blow, Tian Shengxun felt as if his shoulder had shattered, and his arm immediately went limp.
His arm went limp, and he stumbled to the side. Chen Xiao turned around and kicked Tian Shengxun in the buttocks. The kick sent Tian Shengxun flying, dropping his knife and screaming as he was sent flying face-first to the ground. When he looked up, his mouth and nose were full of blood, and two of his front teeth were knocked out. Chen Xiao had used his supernatural power from the very first move! Those around him were astonished by the young man's ferocity; Tian Shengxun had been defeated in a single exchange.
Even the Shangchen family members, who had witnessed Chen Xiao's abilities yesterday, were still shocked—this Chinese man probably held back yesterday!
Tian Shengxun's shoulder was broken. He fell to the ground, unable to get up. He barely managed to turn his body. He wasn't stunned; he hadn't expected this young Chinese man to be so skilled. He had also dropped his knife. As soon as he turned over, he saw Chen Xiao striding towards him, raising his leg to kick. Terrified, he quickly shouted, "Stop!!"
Chen Xiao ignored him and stomped directly on Tian Shengxun's face. He held back a little, after all, he wasn't going to kill him. But with just one stomp, Tian Shengxun's once straight nose collapsed, blood gushing from his nose, and he howled in pain.