Kibagami Zankuro—one of the Samurai Shodown world's ceiling-level powerhouses—had "ascended" in the most martial-arts-novel manner possible, departing this world with complete satisfaction.
The members of the "Amakusa Subjugation Alliance," who had witnessed that pure martial duel with their own eyes, had their worldviews reset yet again.
If Cloud's instant-kill of Amakusa and purification of Mizuki had relied on "immortal magic" beyond their comprehension—shocking, yes, but ultimately removed from their experience—
Then this time, Cloud's bare-fisted "graduation ceremony" with Zankuro using pure martial technique occurred in the domain they knew best, the one they took most pride in.
The feeling was like a group of Bronze-tier players worshipping a Challenger-tier god's mechanical skills, only to discover this god had thrown away all his legendary equipment and used nothing but a starter dagger to style on five fully-geared, max-level enemies on the other team.
This wasn't a skill issue anymore. This was a dimensional gap in understanding of the "game" itself.
And so Cloud's status "ascended" once more.
If before he had been "Alliance Leader" or "Divine Immortal."
Now, in everyone's hearts, he had become "God of Martial Arts," "Walking Scripture of Combat," "Living Legend."
The result was that Cloud's "retirement life" became extraordinarily difficult.
Every day before dawn, a huge crowd would already be kneeling outside the wooden cabin where he stayed in Divine Village.
Leading the pack, without fail, were Haohmaru and Genjuro—that dynamic duo of "Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix."
"Master! You're awake! Can you teach me today how to punch out a sun?" Haohmaru asked with an expression full of anticipation.
"Shut up! Master should teach me first how to make someone's sword break just by looking at it!" Genjuro retorted coldly.
These two argued every day over "who gets to apprentice first," their debates escalating from "civilized discussion" to "full-contact fighting," plowing up the snow-covered ground outside Divine Village until it looked like spring planting season.
Behind them, Yagyu Jubei, Tachibana Ukyo, Kafuin Gaira, and others sat in neat rows on little stools, eyes bright with expectation, waiting for "class."
The scene looked exactly like Deyunshe comedy troupe's opening day—a crowd of "steel fans" fighting for tickets at the door.
"I'm begging you, everyone!" Cloud stood in his sleepwear, yawning, looking at this group of "grind lords" outside with an expression of utter despair. "The world is at peace now. Can't you let me sleep in? Grinding is pointless. Lying flat is the true path. Don't you get it?"
"Don't get it! Please teach us, Master!" came the unified chorus, eyes blazing with fervor.
Cloud: "..."
He felt less like a savior and more like the headmaster of a "Martial Arts Speed Learning Academy"—pressure through the roof.
Eventually, under Cloud's threat of "keep this up and I'll throw you all into the waterfall to cool off," everyone finally reached an agreement: "take turns asking questions with time limits."
Thus Cloud's "laid-back fish life" was forcibly converted into "professor daily routine."
He would spend mornings sparring with Haohmaru. Without using any energy—relying only on physical ability and fighting technique—he could torment Haohmaru to within an inch of his life.
"Your power is sufficient, but your application is too crude," Cloud critiqued while effortlessly dodging Haohmaru's "Zankōsen" using Chang Koehan's "Iron Ball Rotation" body technique. "Learn from our KOF world's Uncle Ralf—concentrate all your power into a single point in your fist and release it explosively. When you can execute a slash where the sword-wind isn't scattered but forms a single line, you'll have graduated."
Haohmaru listened as if intoxicated, feeling the gates to a new world opening before him.
In the afternoons, he would sit beneath a snow pine with Ukyo, playing chess and drinking tea.
Their exchanges leaned more toward "meaning" and "Way."
"Your sword is the sword of no-thought—pursuing the ultimate in speed and precision, the one-hit kill," Cloud said, sipping the tea Nakoruru had brewed. "But your sword carries too much obsession. For the Ultimate Flower. For Odagiri Kei. This obsession is your strength, but also your shackle."
Ukyo fell silent at these words.
"Look at this snowflake." Cloud extended his hand, catching a drifting snowflake. "It falls from the sky in myriad forms, but in the end, returns to the earth and becomes nothing. This is the realm of 'nothingness.' When your sword can achieve this—when you've forgotten what's in your hand is a sword, forgotten who you're cutting, forgotten even yourself, leaving only the act of 'cutting' itself—that's when your Tsubame Gaeshi will truly be able to cut through time."
These words blended Chizuru Kagura's "realm of nothingness," Iori Yagami's "ego-only" will, and a hint of Orochi's "return to nothing" principle—a pot of "chicken soup for the soul" brewed specially for Ukyo.
After listening, Ukyo was silent for a long time. Finally, he bowed deeply to Cloud.
He felt he had touched the threshold of the door leading to the "Sword God" realm.
As for Genjuro, his "education" was rather special.
Cloud's method was to have him spar with Rimururu.
"What?! You want me to fight this little girl?" Genjuro's face showed nothing but disdain.
Five minutes later, he was being tormented to the point of breakdown by Rimururu's various inconceivable "ice pranks"—like the ground suddenly freezing to make him slip, or a giant ice chunk dropping on his head out of nowhere—leaving him completely disheveled and his mental state in shambles.
"Your killing intent is too heavy, and you leave too many openings," Cloud commented leisurely from the side, sipping tea. "True killing is silent and impossible to guard against. When you can avoid being disrupted by Rimururu's little tricks and land a single strike on the corner of her clothes, you'll have passed the basics."
Genjuro looked at the blue-haired little devil giggling while raining "hail" on his head, and for the first time felt that killing someone was actually quite difficult.
And so, under Cloud's "guidance," these top-tier fighters of the Samurai Shodown world saw their strength and realm rocket upward at breakneck speed.
Their reverence for Cloud also grew daily, reaching the point of "absolute obedience, pointing where they should strike."
Cloud too, through this process of "being a teacher," gained an entirely new understanding of the various martial arts he had learned.
Of course, what he enjoyed most was still the warm time spent with Nakoruru and Rimururu after "class" each day.
As time passed, Rimururu's attitude toward Cloud had transformed from initial "wariness" to current "worship + clinginess."
She followed Cloud around like a little tail all day long.
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