He didn’t dare to be sure for a moment, hesitating without answering, but Emily Turner was getting a bit impatient—she really wanted to smack him a few times as if it were stomach medicine! She tilted her head up again and said softly, “If you’re too scared, just forget it!”

Henry Carter wasn’t swayed by this provocation, and besides, Emily Turner didn’t use it well—it was too blunt and childish. But he finally confirmed that this Emily Turner was up to no good, probably scheming something in her mind.

He felt rather confused, but it didn’t matter anyway. He hadn’t planned to try in the first place—maybe watching others fight would be interesting, but doing it himself? No thanks.

He was just about to refuse, but James Walker had already jumped out enthusiastically, shouting, “Carter, I’ll do it for you!”

“You?”

“Yes, I’ll play with her.”

Emily Turner shifted her gaze from Henry Carter to James Walker, thought for a moment, and then smiled sweetly: “Alright, Mr. Walker, you go first.”

James Walker cheered happily, “Yeah, I’ll go first, I’ll go first, hehehe!” But his laugh was rather sleazy, like an impatient john, which instantly made Emily Turner even more annoyed.

Preston Hill didn’t object either. They were just killing time anyway, and a match wouldn’t hurt anyone. It was no big deal, and he could also see if this James Walker had any potential. If he did, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to persuade him to become a regular member instead of just a nominal one. He turned and called out, “Bennett, take Walker to change into protective gear.”

Over there, William Bennett, a second-year student, didn’t say a word and dashed over to take James Walker to the locker room.

Henry Carter grabbed James Walker and tried to persuade him, “Walker, stop messing around! Didn’t you say you’d just fill out the form and sign up, then leave?”

James Walker looked at Emily Turner, who had already turned to get ready, and laughed, “Just having some fun! Don’t worry, I guarantee a win. Today, I’ll show you the heroic bearing of Lord James!” With that, he followed William Bennett, looking very eager.

Although he’d seen Preston Hill get knocked down by Emily Turner, he didn’t care at all—Preston Hill was an idiot who didn’t know how to use his own strengths. After all, this was a new school with no foundation, and the club was weak. That Emily Turner was short and small, with short arms—how could he lose to her? If he fought her, she probably couldn’t even reach him! She was light too, maybe only sixty or seventy jin; wouldn’t he just send her flying with one strike?

Even if he was just a nominal member of the kendo club, he had to let the club members witness the might of Lord James!

Before entering the boys’ locker room, James Walker glanced at Emily Turner, who was tying her headband, his eyes showing a bit of pity—hopefully he wouldn’t leave her with lifelong trauma, but whatever, no chest, no butt, not a real woman anyway!

Chapter 8: I’m Still Stronger

Soon, James Walker had changed into his uniform and protective gear, swung the bamboo sword a few times to get a feel for it, and then crouched at the starting line of the arena. On the other side, Emily Turner was already seated properly at her starting line, waiting.

Preston Hill acted as referee. Normally, official matches required three referees, but for this kind of club practice match, this would do.

Preston Hill took his position and shouted, “Bow!”

Both sides bowed to each other. Preston Hill shouted again, “Ready!”

At the command, Emily Turner gripped her sword with both hands and slowly stood up, taking a proper chūdan stance, while James Walker raised his sword high above his head, looking fierce and imposing—the height difference between him and Emily Turner was nearly thirty centimeters, like an adult facing a child, making him seem especially dominant.

Ryan Smith frowned and muttered, “That guy!”

Henry Carter turned his head slightly at the sound and asked, “What’s wrong, Mr. Smith?”

Ryan Smith seemed quite displeased. “He’s too arrogant!” He glanced at Henry Carter, saw the confusion on his face, realized he’d never practiced kendo, and explained in detail, “There are generally five basic kendo stances: jōdan, chūdan, gedan, hassō, and waki…”

Ryan Smith kept it brief, but Henry Carter was quick to understand and got it after listening for a bit.

Jōdan is good for offense, but leaves the chest and abdomen exposed, with weak defense;

Chūdan balances offense and defense, allowing for both attack and retreat. It’s the most commonly used stance, and its advantage is that the sword tip points at the opponent—so even if the opponent is extremely fast and strikes straight at your forehead at the start, it’s easy to poke them with your sword tip. The essence of kendo is to kill the enemy, not to die together with them, so in such cases, the opponent’s attack is usually ruled invalid—killing the enemy but dying yourself is meaningless; it’s not about training assassins.

Gedan points the sword tip at the ground, prioritizing defense. It’s mainly used for blocking and parrying, suitable for counterattacks or war-of-attrition openers. However, after years of kendo’s development, its follow-up moves are too monotonous and the win rate is too low, so it’s gradually been phased out.

Hassō is for group battles, requiring awareness in all directions. In modern kendo, which is one-on-one, it’s rarely used.

As for waki, it hides the blade behind the body, making it hard for the enemy to judge the attack’s direction and sword length, creating an element of surprise. But in modern kendo matches, the bamboo sword has a fixed length, so…