“I’d like to ask you, Master Jiang, to join us—the Chinese Kendo Alliance—on a journey east across the sea to Japan, to crush the wōkòu!”
Looking at Su Mengnan, who was usually so casual and carefree, now with a face full of seriousness and solemnity, Jiang Fei was taken aback. He really hadn’t expected this guy to come up with such a request.
East across the sea to Japan, crush the wōkòu—now that’s a bold slogan.
Had this kid been spending so much time with Liu Yunduo that he’d been successfully brainwashed? Wasn’t this slogan pretty much the same as Liu Yunduo’s ambition to defeat all of Japanese kendo?
But after thinking it over carefully, Jiang Fei felt it wasn’t actually all that surprising.
Back in the day, Su Mengnan and a few like-minded, wealthy friends of his had pooled their money together to establish a motley crew called the “Kendo Alliance.” Their original goal was to resist Japanese kendo, because they couldn’t stand how arrogant and domineering it had become, and they wanted to uphold China’s national prestige.
Unfortunately, this group of young, hot-headed, rich kids was seriously lacking in skill. Every time they arranged a match against Japanese kendo, they basically lost. It wasn’t until Liu Yunduo joined that they managed to barely turn the tide.
From that perspective, Su Mengnan shouting out this kind of slogan wasn’t so hard to understand.
After all, he was a rich kid with a patriotic streak.
“Are you asking me to join your Chinese Alliance on this eastward journey to Japan to crush the wōkòu? Or are you asking me to go do it myself while your alliance just tags along to reap the benefits? With your alliance’s level of skill, don’t you think it’s a bit presumptuous to talk about ‘crushing the wōkòu’? Don’t you feel like you’re being a bit too arrogant?” Jiang Fei said bluntly, not sparing Su Mengnan’s feelings at all.
Not that he really needed to, anyway.
Their so-called Kendo Alliance sounded impressive and grandiose, but in the eyes of true martial arts experts, it was a complete joke.
Forget about experts at the Transformation Jin level—even ordinary martial artists who had cultivated internal energy generally looked down on this so-called Kendo Alliance.
And as for Jiang Fei, who had reached the Dan Jin level, even the peak of Dan Jin, and could take down other Dan Jin experts? Saying that the alliance could only follow behind him to pick up the scraps was already giving them too much credit.
Getting shot down so directly without any tact, even a thick-skinned guy like Su Mengnan couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.
If it were anyone other than the man he saw as a legendary grandmaster, Jiang Fei, who dared to tear him down like that, Su Mengnan would have flipped out and thrown punches without a second thought—no matter how good of friends they were.
“I know, I know. Our alliance used to be ‘a little bit’ lacking, I admit…” Su Mengnan scratched his head, his face flushing slightly as he continued, “But things are different now!”
“How so?”
“Now we have our female alliance leader, Liu Yunduo!” Su Mengnan said proudly. “You healed her wrist, Master Jiang, and after she received guidance from that Daoist priest under Mount Lu, her skills have improved tremendously!”
“So you think the alliance’s strength has grown so much that you can break with tradition—instead of Japanese swordsmen coming to China to challenge us—and now it’s our turn to go to their turf to issue challenges and regain our pride?” Jiang Fei asked.
Su Mengnan straightened his neck, surprisingly not feeling the least bit guilty in the face of Jiang Fei’s question, and replied matter-of-factly, “Of course! That tiny island nation called us the ‘Sick Man of East Asia’ over a hundred years ago, and we let that slide. But now they actually think their kendo is something special, acting like they’re the best in the world. What they don’t realize is that their kendo is just a tiny offshoot of our Chinese martial arts. They absorbed just a fraction of our knowledge, and now they’re trying to turn things upside down. Don’t they deserve to be taught a lesson in how to behave?”
Jiang Fei was a bit surprised to hear this.
He hadn’t expected this arrogant, domineering rich kid to have such awareness and to speak with such conviction.
Besides, given Su Mengnan’s status, he wasn’t saying this with any hidden agenda or ulterior motives. It seemed to come purely from his personal beliefs.
So Jiang Fei didn’t keep tearing him down. Instead, he nodded and said, “That’s a good mindset. But don’t you think that before you do something, you should first consider where your own abilities stand? There’s a saying: ‘act according to your strength.’ If you know you’re outmatched but still charge in headfirst, that’s not acting according to your strength—that’s just smashing an egg against a rock.”
“But we have our queen, our alliance leader!” Su Mengnan protested.
“Liu Yunduo has definitely gotten a lot stronger. But do you really think she’s surpassed Japan’s number one swordsman, Munenori Yagyu?” Jiang Fei shot back.
As if anticipating Su Mengnan’s next argument, Jiang Fei continued before he could speak: “Alright, fine. Munenori Yagyu has indeed been defeated by me before, and I did tell him we’d have a rematch in about half a year. So, let’s say I handle Yagyu for you. What about the others? You’ve seen the hidden masters here in China—like that Daoist priest Wild Grass who taught Liu Yunduo the left-handed sword technique. His skills are at least on par with mine, if not higher. Can you be absolutely sure Japan doesn’t have reclusive experts just like him?”
That shut Su Mengnan up completely. He had no comeback.
Because Jiang Fei was absolutely right—no one could be certain that Japan didn’t have other hidden masters, or that the true number one wasn’t someone other than the so-called “number one swordsman” Munenori Yagyu.
Even if those hidden old monsters weren’t stronger than Yagyu, just matching him would be enough to make them formidable opponents.
Under normal circumstances, during martial arts disputes between the two countries—regular matches, friendly sparring between martial artists—these reclusive masters wouldn’t interfere or block anything.
But if one side recklessly stormed into the other’s territory, bulldozing everything in their path with the clear intention of crushing all opposition…
Then it was hard to say whether those old masters would step forward.
Watching Su Mengnan deep in thought, his expression filled with reluctance and frustration, Jiang Fei smiled and consoled him: “Honestly, it’s not a big deal. If you really want to regain your pride and uphold China’s prestige, once your skills reach a certain level, you don’t need to organize a team or come up with some official justification to go to Japan. You just go alone—one man, one sword—and charge straight in. Forget the number one swordsman, forget the hidden masters. Just crush everyone. Simple as that.”
“Don’t worry, I promise you: after some more time passes, when I’m confident enough, I’ll take you guys to Japan for a little tour. We’ll see what their martial arts world is really like and turn it upside down!”
By now, Jiang Fei’s strength was already among the top-tier of Dan Jin experts. Most Dan Jin masters couldn’t stand against him.
However, when it came to martial artists at the Xiantian Gang Jin level, he still didn’t have much confidence.
Of course, whether Japan even had any Xiantian Gang Jin experts was something Jiang Fei couldn’t say for sure. But being cautious never hurt.
Jiang Fei hadn’t lived long enough yet. He didn’t want to throw his life away on a reckless impulse—that would be too stupid.
Why not wait a bit longer? Level up his character a few more times, solidify his Northern Darkness Divine Art, and maybe even unlock a couple more heaven-defying martial arts techniques. Then, crushing Japan would be a piece of cake.
Hearing Jiang Fei’s promise, Su Mengnan didn’t cheer up.
In fact, his expression grew even more somber. After a long silence, he spoke with difficulty and bitterness: “You’re right, Master Jiang. If you want to reclaim your pride, once you’re strong enough, going alone with one sword is enough. You don’t need any fancy excuses… that’s the truth. But… our alliance leader has already gone there alone!”
Jiang Fei frowned immediately and asked, “What? You’re saying Liu Yunduo has already gone to Japan by herself?”
“Yes. She left a few days ago. I only found out yesterday,” Su Mengnan replied with a wry smile.
“She went alone, one sword in hand, intending to challenge every major school in Japan. Her reasoning was the same as yours, Master Jiang: she didn’t want to rely on any external forces. She wanted to go alone, unaffiliated with any organization, without using the alliance’s name—because she was afraid that if she failed, it would drag the alliance down with her…”
He paused again, his fists clenched, his emotions rising—he was almost slamming the table in frustration.
“But… I don’t want her to fight alone! I don’t want her to cross the ocean by herself without a single person by her side!” Su Mengnan said, his voice low and hoarse. It was clear that beneath his usually playful, carefree Beijing playboy exterior, he was now filled with self-loathing and regret for his own uselessness.
“So, I want to lead the Kendo Alliance to Japan and issue a direct challenge—instead of sending another invitation for them to come to China!”
“———”
Now Jiang Fei understood. The real reason Su Mengnan had come today to beg him to go to Japan with the alliance wasn’t just to regain pride or boost their reputation.
His true motive was simply to support Liu Yunduo.
“Why would Liu Yunduo suddenly decide to go to Japan alone? Does she really have that much confidence in her skills to fulfill her dream?” Jiang Fei asked with a frown.
He knew that with her right hand healed, Liu Yunduo’s strength would increase dramatically—possibly reaching a level comparable to Dan Jin experts. But that still wasn’t enough to go around Japan crushing everyone in her path.
Even just Munenori Yagyu alone—even with her wrist healed—she probably couldn’t beat him. And the Daoist Wild Grass certainly would have told her that.
Women could be incredibly stubborn when they set their minds to something. It was almost frightening.
They might appear soft and delicate on the outside, but once a fixation takes hold, they dig in deeper than any man. Because they don’t understand the saying, “A gentleman takes revenge after ten years.” They don’t know how to bide their time.
“I don’t know either. But she’s already done it. All I can do now is support her as much as I can,” Su Mengnan said firmly.
“And you think doing this is supporting her? Are you sure you’re not just making things harder for her? You know exactly what level your Kendo Alliance is at. Even if you take the team to Japan, how many Japanese dojos or schools do you think they can actually beat? They’d probably get beaten black and blue and sent packing the moment they land,” Jiang Fei said irritably.
His feelings for Liu Yunduo were genuine—the best they could be, really. In his heart, Su Mengnan surely saw her as more than just a respected alliance leader.
But this was a classic case of trying to help but only making things worse.
Taking the Kendo Alliance to challenge the Japanese martial arts world might attract some attention and look like support for Liu Yunduo, but it wouldn’t actually help her one bit!
It would only distract her and force her to split her focus.
“Then… then what am I supposed to do? Just sit here and do nothing?” Su Mengnan said, his face red with frustration.
Jiang Fei sighed, hanging his head in resignation and muttering softly, “You guys really know how to wear a person out…”
After a moment, he lifted his head and looked at Su Mengnan calmly. “I just checked the dates. My rematch with Munenori Yagyu is coming up soon. Since he hasn’t come looking for me again, I’ll just have to go find him myself. Get ready. Tomorrow, you and I are going to take a trip to Japan.”
Just a moment ago, Su Mengnan had been angry and defeated, not knowing what to do. But upon hearing this, he perked up immediately, his eyes wide with excitement. “Really?”
“Did you think I was joking?” Jiang Fei said with a roll of his eyes.
It was true he was planning to go to Japan. But the half-year deadline he had set with Munenori Yagyu? No, that definitely hadn’t arrived yet.
There were still two or three months to go before that deadline.
However, after his trip to Europe, he had successfully absorbed the internal energy of two Japanese assassins, which had allowed his Northern Darkness Divine Art to break through to the second level. Now, he could even absorb the energy of Dan Jin experts.
So going a little early didn’t matter.
He and Liu Yunduo had known each other for a while and had gotten along well. She was a friend.
She had gone to Japan alone, and Jiang Fei was genuinely worried. He planned to go with Su Mengnan to check things out. If he just stood by and something happened to her, he definitely wouldn’t want to see that.
“Great, that’s great…” Su Mengnan stood up excitedly, almost tripping over his words.
Jiang Fei shot him a glare. “Great, my foot! This time, it’s just you and me. Leave your ragtag Kendo Alliance behind. There’s no need to drag them all the way to Japan just to embarrass yourselves…”
