"What just happened?"
Many people inside the Gorin Kendo Dojo were still in shock.
"Who won?"
No one answered.
Yet, everyone could roughly deduce the outcome of the duel from Shimizu Ichiro's perplexed demeanor.
"So, who exactly is this young man that Zhang Xiang'er invited?"
Nobody knew.
Sitting at the edge of the arena, a Japanese man in his fifties, whose bald forehead gleamed, walked over to Shimizu Ichiro and asked, "Ichiro, did you lose?"
"I lost," replied Shimizu Ichiro.
"In China, there's an old saying: 'Victory and defeat are commonplace in the military.' You've lost this time; just train harder and win back next time."
"Dad, I know..."
"For you right now, having a rival is a good thing. I've already had someone look into that young man's background. We can find him again and compete with him next year."
"Next year..." Ichiro muttered.