7. Cold Spiritual Pond
At night, in the training camp clearing, the children stood waiting for Master Junzo. They whispered among themselves, occasionally glancing at a boy standing alone with a calm temperament.
Looking at him felt like looking at a sword. His presence was sharp, and when they met his eyes, a stinging pain forced them to look away.
That boy was none other than Kanoru.
He had finally completed the task of cutting ten trees in a single day. On the twelfth day, he had managed to cut nine, but for the past week, he had struggled to bring down the tenth before sundown. Today, the twentieth day, he had succeeded, felling the final tree in the last few minutes before sunset.
"Phew! If I weren't proficient in two sword schools, I wouldn't have been able to enter the first realm of the sword path."
Without stepping into that first realm, cutting the tenth tree would have been impossible.
"What surprised me most was that the axe I was using released sword wind. This isn't just the path of the sword—it's the path of the edge."
He realized that as long as a weapon had a sharp edge, he could send out sword wind, or what could be called a wind blade. If he mastered this, his attacks could even threaten a middle-rank samurai. And if he could open the third gate while maintaining control over its energy, then with the fourth gate open, he could even kill one.
His thoughts were interrupted as Master Junzo emerged from his tent, his expression serious.
He surveyed the group and said, "Those who are fifteen years old will leave the camp in a month to participate in the war."
Whispers spread among the fifteen-year-olds, while the younger ones grew solemn, knowing their time would also come.
Master Junzo continued, "Do not worry. You will not be sent to the main battlefield immediately. Our army is still holding them back at BlackRock Village. You will be tasked with delivering supplies and transporting the wounded between BlackRock Village and Entori."
After a brief pause, he added, "Some of you may be assigned to the navy. Kanoru, come to my tent after dinner."
Kanoru sat on a wooden slab on the ground, eating his dinner alone.
Around him, the children talked about their struggles in cutting the tenth tree. A few had managed to bring down the ninth, most of them from the 15- and 14-year-old age groups. The most surprising was Takenaka, who had also succeeded in cutting the ninth tree in time.
He overheard some of them praising him and whispering about whether they should ask him for advice.
Then, someone said, "I don't know why Master Junzo told us to cut down trees. It strengthens our bodies, but that can be done through other methods."
A murmur spread as the children discussed it.
One of them turned to Kanoru and asked, "Matshuda, you managed to cut the tenth tree. Do you know why Master Junzo made us train this way?"
Kanoru replied simply, "Because it helps you advance to the first realm of the sword path."
Many of them knew nothing about the sword path. Only a few did, and among them was Takenaka.
Takenaka asked, "Are you speaking the truth?"
Kanoru nodded and continued eating.
The children who were unfamiliar with the sword path immediately started questioning those who understood it.
Finishing his meal, Kanoru placed his chopsticks on his plate and closed his eyes, refining the energy he had absorbed from the nutrient-rich food. Then, he stood up, washed his plate, and left for Master Junzo's tent.
The camp was fully illuminated by the glow of the full moon.
Inside the tent, he drank a potion made from a blood beast and learned that he would be leaving with Master Junzo for a second training site.
Afterward, he returned to his tent and slept.
At dawn, Kanoru woke to the bustling sounds of the camp. Children were already heading out with their axes to cut trees.
He ran to the breakfast area, where buns were being served. Taking five, he quickly devoured them before grabbing another five.
As he ate, Takashi walked up to him and greeted, "Good morning."
Kanoru replied, "Good morning."
Takashi then asked, "Can you give me advice on how to cut trees faster?"
"What number have you reached?" Kanoru asked.
"Six trees in a day," Takashi responded.
"Think of the axe as if it were a sword and use your whole body's strength in each strike," Kanoru advised.
Takashi then asked, "Do you know what the second training method is?"
"Master Junzo hasn't mentioned it," Kanoru replied.
With that, he finished his buns, said goodbye to Takashi, and left.
Upon reaching Master Junzo's tent, he met with him, and together, they rode out on horseback, leaving the camp behind.
A short distance from the camp, the presence of wild beasts grew more frequent. At one point, they even spotted an impure blood beast—a hound.
Blood beasts resembled ordinary animals but were significantly larger and more powerful. Impure blood beasts, however, were an in-between stage, stronger than regular beasts but weaker than true blood beasts.
After a few hours of travel, they arrived at another camp guarded by a small group of samurai. Entering on horseback, they released their horses and found that the samurai were stationed around the entrance of a cave.
Kanoru followed Master Junzo inside. After walking for a few minutes, the cave widened, revealing a large pond. A white mist rose from the water, and an intense cold spread outward.
Inside the pond, he saw countless snakes with transparent bodies.
Master Junzo spoke, "This is a natural wonder—a Cold Spiritual Pond that can heal injuries. But before you can benefit from it, you must endure the bone-freezing cold. The snakes inside are Fire Poison Snakes. Once you enter, they will start biting you. Their poison will heat your body, while the cold pond will neutralize both the heat and the poison. This process will strengthen your body. The longer you endure, the better, but the clash of cold and fire will cause unbearable pain. You will wish for death. You must withstand it.
"In this camp, you will have to hunt for your own food and sleep in the open. Now, you may enter."
Kanoru hesitated for a moment before stepping into the pond, knowing the Fire Poison Snake's venom wasn't deadly—but the pain was enough to drive one mad.
The moment he entered, a bone-freezing chill consumed him, followed by the sharp sting of snake bites. He sat down in the pond with only his head above water.
From the outside, his body was frozen; from within, it burned. The pain was unbearable—he wanted to scream, but he clenched his teeth and endured.
An hour later, he rose from the pond and stepped out.
After resting and waiting for the pain to subside, Kanoru entered the pond again, enduring for an hour and ten minutes. On his third attempt, he lasted an hour and thirty minutes.
Afterward, instead of reentering, he dried his body using his chakra, put on his clothes, and walked out of the cave. He greeted the samurai guarding the entrance and discovered that Master Junzo had already left.
Stepping out of the camp, he set off to hunt for his lunch. Spotting a small animal, he dismissed it—one wouldn't be enough to fill his stomach. As he roamed the forest in search of a suitable beast, he failed to notice a leopard, larger than normal, silently stalking him.
By the time Kanoru sensed the danger, the leopard had already leaped. He only spotted its shadow at the last moment, cast on the forest floor.
Reacting instantly, he spun around, drawing his sword from its sheath and slashing at the beast.