"What's with those looks?" Reisen Riou said, handing his referee spot to a Yashiro Commission swordmaster and turning to rib Raiden Ei and Raiden Makoto.
"You're so Versailles," Ei said. "Didn't you call this behavior Versailles yourself?"
"Calling everyone 'terrifying' while dropping swordmasters with one arrow, huh?" Makoto added.
Reisen's eyes turned to bean-sized dots, muttering, "Not like that."
Soon, the 64 winners emerged.
Among them was a LV5 swordsman.
"Who's that guy?" Ei and Makoto were curious about the fighter who brute-forced into the top 64 with raw vitality.
"Let me check," Reisen said, pulling up the database.
"Hm."
"What's up?"
"It's Banjiao Yanya," Reisen said, slapping his thigh.
"Your little sister? She's under 35, alright," Ei said casually.
"She's cross-dressing and wearing makeup, even hiding her Vision. No wonder I didn't recognize her," Reisen griped. "If I hadn't noticed her registration's from Banjiao Island—where no such person exists—she might've fooled me."
"She's here to bully people," Banjiao Anko said, appearing behind them.
"When'd you get here?" Reisen asked.
Anko sighed faintly. "Been here a while. You guys were too distracted to notice."
Banjiao Yanya
Vitality: LV54 (67.2/100)
Ideology: Skylight
Race: Humanoid Elemental Creation
Element: Geo
Vision: Geo (Inazuma)
Constellation: Mountain-Moving Seat
Weapon: Catalyst
Theory: Banjiao Spell Compendium LV7, Geo Element Theory LV7, Fist Theory LV7, Sword Theory LV6…
Practice: Spellcraft LV6, Curse Arts LV6, Barrier Arts LV6, Geo Manipulation LV6, Fist Arts LV6, Swordsmanship LV5…
Abilities: Whip Mountain, Command StoneLV7, Mountain-Moving StrengthLV7, Bedrock BodyLV6, Geo CreationLV5…
Evaluation: Terrifyingly strong for her age — by Wisdom of Ten Thousand Minds
Her panel outshone Kombumaru's.
"She's not swinging a sword—she's reasoning people into submission," Reisen said, sharing the panel. Anko couldn't help but scoff.
"Born with monstrous strength, most swordmasters can't match her. Now that the tournament's this far, how do we get her out?" Reisen said, rubbing his temples.
"No need to panic. Let her play—she technically qualifies," Makoto said, watching the arena.
"Fine," Reisen and Anko relented. Narukami's lord had spoken.
Banjiao Yanya met the Shogunate Tournament's standards. Reisen just didn't want ordinary fighters' efforts wasted.
In the 64-to-32 round, Yanya's stacked panel eliminated another—a hot favorite with LV7 swordsmanship and a Sword Heart.
"What a sin," Reisen groaned, facepalming.
"That's the tengu kid, right? Not bad—almost at Martial Heart," Ei said, eyeing Kombumaru on the arena.
"He took my Bow Heart hit. Got injured but shook my lock with raw will. Martial Heart's not surprising," Reisen said.
That arrow should've just pushed Kombumaru back, but the kid forced through the domain, getting hurt.
Weird, though—didn't he refine the Longevity Thunder Elixir Reisen gave him? How'd he get injured?
Reisen dropped his facepalm, watching the arena. One fighter, a seasoned samurai with a Yashiro Commission crest, wielded tricky, experienced swordplay—likely an Endgame Unit ninja.
The other was Kombumaru.
Compared to the older samurai, Kombumaru lagged. The veteran, nearing the tournament's age cap, had years more training.
At barely mid-teens, Kombumaru's experience paled, especially against an Endgame Unit elite forged in brutal battles.
Reisen sighed. "Too bad Banjiao Nisei's on a mission. He'd steal the show."
Nisei, now a swordmaster with a Sword Heart and LV60+ vitality, would've been a top contender. At 31, he was still under the age limit.
Talent-wise, Nisei matched Kombumaru, but lacked his luck. He squandered prime years gambling, and early bad training set him back. He had to rebuild his foundation.
Joining the Rock-Shadow-Thunderlight Brigade kept him busy with missions, leaving little time for practice. A swordmaster for a decade, he was stuck at LV8 swordsmanship—talent mattered less at that stage.
His Sword Heart: One Mind was less than a seventh complete.
Reisen figured Nisei wouldn't reach LV8 in his lifetime.
For human Archons, growth stopped naturally after 35, followed by a 15-year peak. Past 50, even with good care, the body declined.
Skills might improve, but physical growth stalled, and vitality dropped. The mind, tied to the body, decayed too, halting Heartforce growth.
From the mid-teens, humans hit a rapid growth phase. By 30, growth slowed. After 35, the peak phase focused on skill and Heartforce.
Post-peak, human Archons just counted their days.
This wasn't absolute—many factors played in. Reisen's conclusion came from recent data.