Carter approached the monk and put a hand up. He bowed.

The monk bowed back.

"We’d like to ask if it’s possible to seek shelter here." Carter said.

"The temple welcomes everyone, stranger. But if you have coins, I suggest staying with the town inn would give you a much more pleasant experience." The bald monk said.

"We aren’t here for pleasure. Ginro Musashi."

"Danhara Taro. May I ask are you also a follower of Buddhism?" The leaves sweeping monk said.

"No, Master. But I am familiar with your religion."

"I see. As I said, the temple welcomes you. We have guest rooms in the north of the building." Taro said.

"Thank you, Master. May I borrow a meditating room as well? I need a holy place to finish a ceremony."

"Certainly, let me help you with the arrangement as well."

The kind monk led the two of them inside. He brought the incense burner inside the meditating room and a few other objects people usually used in ritual.

He placed two round sitting cushions on the ground.

"Please stay, Master Danhara. I need a person to bear witness."

"Of course, Master Ginro." Taro nodded.

The monk lit up the incense burner. The room was filled with a gentle calming aroma.

Carter sat down on one of the cushions. "Sit, Tenmaru."

Tenmaru nodded and sat down on the other cushion. They were facing each other.

"Tenseitama Shinno Denka. Are you willing to take me as your Master?"

Taro’s eyebrows twitched a little bit. He recognized that name.

Carter didn’t worry about the monk knowing that fact. Danhara Taro would be the last person that would betray them. And Carter picked this place for a reason.

Fate had told him many things. It told him the true identity of this lonely monk. A person that would be greatly beneficial for Tenmaru in the future, if he was to become a King.

"Yes, Master." Tenmaru nodded and knelt.

"Bow three times and you shall be my student." Carter said.

Tenmaru did as he was told.

"I am now your teacher, your father, and your trainer. I am a disciple of the Heavenly Sky Sect and therefore, so are you. Shall you meet any of our brothers and sisters, you must treat them wit respect and dignity."

"Yes, Master."

"As a tradition of our sect, each disciple must receive a new title once they enter our door. That title shall be named by the Master."

"Yes, Master."

"You are now Tenseitama of the Heavenly Sky Sect. Your title shall be Sky Passage."

That concluded the ceremony of accepting Tenmaru as a student. Carter, of course, made things up as he went. He based it on a few ceremony he saw in the past.

That night, they stayed within the pagoda. The plain design and basic commodities were a little unfamiliar to Tenmaru.

He had been through hardships before but he never chose it. He wasn’t understanding why his Master would choose such a way to live.

But Tenmaru knew that Carter did it for a reason and he would know about it soon.

Tomorrow, the Chuuchi Tournament began.

Ryuja wasn’t here yet as it was only the early days of the tournament. There were at least a few hundred participants from all over the kingdom. There were also sects from other kingdoms that came here.

They were going through qualification rounds.

There were twelve arenas in total. Each fighter would be assigned an arena and fought in. Nine arenas were for Awaken and three were for Elite.

When Carter and Tenmaru arrived at the Tournament, the place had already been filled up with audience and Fighters.

"There are a lot of people." Tenmaru said.

"For most of them, this is the quickest way to fame and fortune." Carter said. "What is your arena?"

"Number nine, Master."

"I am number ten. We’re next to each other."

They went to their respective arenas, which were side by side. The Tournament hadn’t started yet and the Fighters were warming up.

There, Carter saw a familiar face. Kento the Fighter. The man that he met in the abandoned temple alongside Koji.

He was also an Elite.

Tenmaru noticed Carter’s gaze. "Do you know that man, Master?"

"No. But your Senior Aunt met him before."

Senior Aunt, that was just a way to refer to someone in the previous generation. Carter was referring to his other skins, Shrine Maiden.

Tenmaru also observed the man. Kento noticed them. He smiled and waved in a friendly way.

"He seems alright." Tenmaru said.

"Never judge people on how they act in front of you, Tenmaru." Carter dropped some wisdom like a true teacher.

"Yes, Master."

"So. Before we get onto the fights, tell me about your previous training, Tenmaru."

The young man nodded, "You know that my... family was different than others. Each of the offspring in my clan has their own instructors."

Tenmaru was referring to the royal family, obviously. He continued to talk about the main two Fighter path in Arashi, Buki and Hiken.

Buki literally meant Martial Technique. This was mostly unarmed attacks that included any part of the body.

Hiken literally meant Secret Sword. This was all the unique sword strikes that had unique effects of its own.

All Buki and Hiken came from Sacred Words. Each Sacred Words boosted a certain aspect of the Fighter and allowed them to be more dangerous in the battle.

The two most popular Sacred Words were Rin and Po, one for Unarmed Fighters and the other for Swordsmen.

Rin carried the element of Fire, this allowed the Fighter to be stronger and more savage with his attack.

Po carried the element of Metal, enhancing precision and weapon-handling, mostly used by swordsmen.

There were Fighters that used Po and there were also Swordsmen that used Rin. But they were the less effective combo and not a lot of people used it.

These Sacred Words were also the core principles to use many other related Buki and Hiken. Without Rin, a lot of Fighters wouldn’t be able to use their Buki.

Tenmaru was a Po User and he’s a swordsman. He thought that the silver-haired man was a Rin user.

’So that’s what Buki actually means!’ Carter thought silently. Luckily, he hadn’t been using it wrong so the lore was still intact.

"Shinka Tenmaru!" The announcer shouted his name.