The events that followed were peaceful. Jun took it upon himself to properly manage the city that lay beneath his mansion.

This town, once very dangerous, was now flourishing. The faces of its inhabitants had improved, and everyone worked happily, free from harm.

Jun's private army had completed its training after an entire year of learning war techniques and strategies that Jun had devised thanks to his vast knowledge.

As they were only taught swordsmanship, they were deployed to fifteen different villages, all of which were constantly improving.

One village, in particular, was responsible for arrows of all kinds for the archer division Jun was creating, while another village specialized in building catapults.

Jun wanted this weaponry to be produced in a way that long-range attacks could be carried out consistently.

His ingenious inventions were kept secret; no one was to know what he was doing there.

...

In a green field, Jun held a long, reddish sword in his right hand while he looked at Kyou Kai, who stood calmly in the distance.

"Here I come!"

Jun took a stance and merely smiled as he observed Kyou Kai's posture. She held her wooden sword above her hip. This was a practice battle, but for someone like Kyou Kai, it was much more than a mere practice. She wanted to measure her current abilities against Jun's.

"Alright, let's begin!"

"Ta..." Kyou Kai exhaled softly through her mouth and then moved. As she advanced at great speed with her sword aimed at Jun's chest, who showed many openings to be attacked, his expression changed in an instant.

Clang!

The first impact caused both swords to collide with force, almost making Kyou Kai lose her grip on her sword. She showed a serious expression while using her left fist to strike Jun at close range.

"You're very predictable..." Jun showed no mercy and, in two quick movements, struck Kyou Kai's body, causing her to fall backward without the sword in her hand.

"Kyou Kai, try again!" Jun swung his sword and looked at his opponent as if he expected much more from her.

"As I thought, you're very strong, but this will help me understand my strength better." Kyou Kai walked towards her sword and picked it up with an intense expression on her face.

When she took the initiative again, she attacked once more, but this time her strength and speed increased momentarily, forcing Jun to take a defensive stance. This time, his gaze saw the flaws of the young girl in front of him, along with all her qualities that made her a girl with great potential to grow.

Her fighting style was interesting; there was no doubt she would become an incredible swordswoman when she grew up. But now she had many limitations due to her small body. Kyou Kai's arrogance and lack of interest in evaluating an enemy far stronger than herself worked against her.

Under normal circumstances, Jun would have struck her until she was unconscious. However, knowing there was no reason to do so, he was a bit gentler, and his blows only hit areas where she would receive the least damage.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Though the fight lasted much longer, it ended with the same result as before, and this time, it took Kyou Kai much longer to recover.

"You are very strong, but if you feel pain in your body, you should know those are your weak points. In these coming months, we will gain mutual experience. Only in combat will you perfectly understand what it is to be in an unexpected situation." Jun pulled out a drink from a gourd and handed it to Kyou Kai for her to drink.

As he looked at the tears in Kyou Kai's eyes, Jun's expression remained calm. Certainly, he had been a bit harsher in telling Kyou Kai not to use her dance, but this would improve qualities she had yet to consider.

Jun had improved his Black Moon Dance, learning more qualities of the sword beyond it, so he advised Kyou Kai to only use her sword style when fighting enemies who didn't know how she fought.

If she wanted revenge, she needed to learn new attacks to surprise the woman she wanted to kill.

"So, Miss Kyou Kai, what are you going to do?" The calmness on Jun's face had disappeared; he didn't want Kyou Kai to be consumed by that feeling of vengeance.

Kyou Kai looked at the sword in her hand and said, "It makes sense that she wouldn't fight fairly. I think I can still improve."

Kyou Kai's emotionless attitude was not faked; she was showing how she felt now, and it reminded Jun of how he felt after leaving Asura Village.

"I was told my sword was one that only sought to kill... Do you know about my village's training? They lock us in a dark room for a year, expecting us to survive."

Kyou Kai's gaze turned towards Jun, who was looking at his hands.

"I ended up in the most brutal section, with hardly any food, surviving on poisoned scorpions, moss, and the little food that reached me." Jun had lost his taste for food, and only after several years had he gradually regained it, but it was still weak.

"Didn't you think of committing suicide?"

Jun smiled slightly and said, "The reason I survived is because, in some way, I hate the idea of someone wanting to kill me. That idea is extremely repellent to me."

"I didn't plan to live after taking my revenge, but you've shown me I could live without having a purpose."

"Of course, life will shape our path and show us what we should do," Jun said, understanding very well how Kyou Kai felt.

She understood too, and perhaps for that reason she wanted them to be friends.

They both needed something like this.