Liu Yunduo’s speed wasn’t astonishingly fast—at least, in the eyes of most of the masters watching, she wasn’t even as quick as they were.
In fact, if you judged purely by speed, she seemed to be moving even a little slower than she had during her battle with Miyamoto Ichishin back then.
But what truly shocked everyone present was how light and ethereal she appeared!
Like a willow catkin, drifting like an immortal, Liu Yunduo with her waist-length hair flowing behind her looked like a celestial maiden stepped right out of a painting. She moved with an otherworldly grace, carrying a woman’s nimbleness to its absolute peak, giving off an almost surreal vibe.
This ethereal quality was entirely different from raw speed, making her figure incredibly hard to track. Even Jiang Fei, who had mastered Wudang’s Tiyun Zong technique and was superior to Liu Yunduo in both leaping height and sprint speed, fell far short of her when it came to elusive, unpredictable movement.
In combat, employing such footwork was practically impossible to defend against. Even if Liu Yunduo never struck back and only dodged, there would be very few who could actually land a blow on her.
Indeed, this set of footwork was another extraordinary skill she had learned from the Wild Grass Taoist, in addition to the Left-Handed Sword Technique. It was also one of her trump cards for this journey across the ocean to challenge the entire sword path of Japan.
So the moment Liu Yunduo made her move, many onlookers widened their eyes, their attitudes shifting as they finally began to take this woman from China who had come to challenge the island nation seriously.
A figure this uncanny was proof enough that she was a true master.
“Hm?” Kamiizumi Ise was no amateur either; his eyes narrowed sharply as he watched Liu Yunduo glide toward him.
As the top master of the Dai-Tō-ryū style, though in recent years his reputation had only been tied with Miyamoto Ichishin’s as the number one exponent of the Two-Sword Style, his actual skill might not have matched that status.
Still, he was by no means weak.
Years ago, when Miyamoto Ichishin had just emerged and set out to challenge dojos across all the islands, he had defeated Kamiizumi Ise. That loss had been a thorn in his side ever since, a source of deep shame. He had been bottling up the desire to one day reclaim his honor and strike down Miyamoto Ichishin with his own blade.
Unfortunately, he knew all too well how formidable Miyamoto Ichishin was, how gifted in the way of the sword. Even though he had pushed himself to the absolute limit and reached an incredibly high level, he’d never felt confident that he could actually defeat Miyamoto.
Then, last year, he’d heard that Miyamoto Ichishin had gone to China to sharpen his sword—but his arrogance had burned too brightly, drawing the ire of Chinese masters who had cut him down.
The news filled Kamiizumi Ise with regret. In his view, Miyamoto Ichishin’s life should have ended by his hand, not someone else’s.
Yet, beneath that regret, an undeniable sense of elation rose within him.
With Miyamoto dead, the top position of the Two-Sword Style was now his by default. No one could compete with him anymore. The only blemish was that the title hadn’t been rightfully earned—it hadn’t come through his own skill and proven merit.
But he never expected his luck to be so good—as if the universe were answering his wishes.
A female Chinese master whom Miyamoto Ichishin himself had once personally challenged was now following the same path, coming to Japan to issue challenges—and her very first opponent was none other than him, Kamiizumi Ise!
Far from upset, Kamiizumi Ise was absolutely thrilled.
If he could kill Liu Yunduo, his claim as the foremost Two-Sword master would become much more legitimate.
Why? Because he would have slain an opponent that Miyamoto Ichishin had once challenged—an opponent Miyamoto himself had failed to finish off!
Granted, only Kamiizumi Ise knew, through his own intelligence, that this woman had actually been defeated by Miyamoto Ichishin back then, and even had her martial arts skills crippled.
But nobody else knew that. All they knew was that Miyamoto hadn’t managed to kill Liu Yunduo—and that Kamiizumi Ise ultimately did.
The moment he first heard Liu Yunduo was coming to challenge him, Kamiizumi Ise had already sentenced her to death in his heart, determined to take her life.
And it never crossed his mind that he might fail.
Today, though, her ethereal footwork did catch him off guard.
“The footwork is tricky enough, but…”
Kamiizumi Ise twirled the two long blades in his hands—held in reverse grip—then flipped them to a standard hold. With a sudden lunge forward, his twin swords arced through the air like twin crescent moons, occupying a vast swath of space and pushing his attack range to its maximum, all but sealing off every corner ahead.
Only after he moved did his cold, rasping voice follow: “No matter how tricky your movements, against my Dai-Tō-ryū, they are utterly useless!”
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Faced with such an unrelenting, brute-force assault, Liu Yunduo’s footwork advantage was instantly minimized. Even as she darted and weaved continuously, avoiding Kamiizumi Ise’s twin blades, she found it nearly impossible to launch any counterattack threatening enough to trouble him.
Finally, Liu Yunduo stopped evading and began to attack.
Her choice of offense surprised many.
Since Liu Yunduo held a long sword in each hand, the onlookers had assumed she followed a non-orthodox sword style—perhaps borrowing from Japan’s Two-Sword tradition—and thus wielded dual blades.
But during her assault, from start to finish, Liu Yunduo used only the long sword in her right hand!
Her left hand, gripping its own blade, remained idle the entire time, never coming into play.
“What’s going on? Is this Chinese woman trying to take on Kamiizumi Ise with just one hand? Is she looking down on him, thinking she doesn’t need to go all out—that one hand is enough to win?”
“This woman is way too arrogant! Even more arrogant than a man! Kamiizumi Ise is the top master of Dai-Tō-ryū, the current number one of the Two-Sword Style alongside Miyamoto Ichishin—and she thinks one hand can beat him? She’s dreaming!”
“I heard this woman lost to Miyamoto Ichishin before, so she’ll definitely suffer a crushing defeat against Kamiizumi Ise this time, too.”
As soon as they saw Liu Yunduo’s attack pattern, quite a few in the crowd sneered and mocked her.
But Kamiizumi Ise, now locked in actual combat with her, grew increasingly solemn. Though Liu Yunduo only attacked with her right hand while keeping her left free—whether for form, showmanship, or some other reason—he could tell that the swordplay her right hand was executing was genuinely formidable!
His Dai-Tō-ryū Two-Sword Technique was a mature, highly refined style, extremely practical in real combat and among the most ruthlessly effective sword schools in Japan.
Yet here he was, wielding both blades and unleashing every dirty, vicious trick he’d honed over the years—and this young Chinese woman, with nothing more than a three-foot green steel sword, was parrying all of it!
In the blink of an eye, over a dozen exchanges had passed, yet Kamiizumi Ise hadn’t so much as grazed her. Even though he held the upper hand and kept her on the defensive, such a result rendered his dominance meaningless.
“This woman’s swordsmanship is peculiar. Not a single move looks flashy or tricky, yet every one is supremely practical—a completely different direction from my Dai-Tō-ryū techniques. But she blocks every single one of my strikes. Has her sword mastery reached such a level that she’s starting to return to simplicity?”
“No wonder Miyamoto Ichishin went to challenge her. This woman really does have considerable skill.” Kamiizumi Ise’s attacks remained fierce, but in his mind, he was constantly searching for openings.
Liu Yunduo, now in a passive defensive posture, showed no change in expression. Her left-hand sword remained untouched, with no sign she intended to use it.
Her right hand had only recently recovered, and her right-handed swordplay had evolved slightly from before. The reason she wasn’t using her left-hand technique was that she wanted to test the current caliber of her right hand—how much it had improved since recovery.
“As I thought, the deeper my understanding of the sword, the greater the power of my right-handed style. This Kamiizumi Ise is a bit weaker than Miyamoto Ichishin, but not by much—and yet I can hold him off with ease. In the past, I could never have been this relaxed,” Liu Yunduo assessed silently.
“Still, this probably isn’t his strongest attack. Dai-Tō-ryū is said to possess a fearsome ultimate technique. When it comes, I’ll see if my right-handed swordplay alone can withstand it.”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The screeching clash of blade on blade cut through the air, with sparks occasionally flying. In the center of the courtyard, the two figures interwove, separated, leaped up and down—the sword energy so fierce it sent cherry blossom petals swirling upward around them.
In a flash, thirty exchanges had passed.
The spectators, who had initially dismissed Liu Yunduo, now wore grave expressions.
Surviving thirty moves against Kamiizumi Ise already qualified her as a top-tier master, worthy of a place in Japan’s sword world. Most of those watching, if they stepped onto that field themselves, couldn’t have achieved even that much.
And though Kamiizumi Ise still held the advantage, Liu Yunduo’s defense remained watertight—he’d made zero progress. His best result so far was merely slicing off a single lock of her hair, never even touching her skin.
Yet despite this, no one present worried about Kamiizumi Ise’s victory, nor feared he might lose.
Because they all knew Dai-Tō-ryū well. And they all knew where its true power lay.
“This Chinese woman—Liu Yunduo, I think?—she’s young, yet already reached this level. Impressive indeed. At her age, finding a peer among Japan’s younger generation who can match her would be tough. At most, maybe three.”
“So what if she’s impressive? Since she chose to provoke Dai-Tō-ryū, her fate was sealed from the start.”
“Exactly. Sealed. She may not look like she’s losing now, seemingly holding her own and capable of defending herself. But that’s only because Kamiizumi Ise hasn’t pulled out his real ace yet…”
“Once Dai-Tō-ryū unleashes its final killing move, this Liu Yunduo will be defeated—or even dead.”
The masters on the sidelines murmured among themselves.
Before their words had even faded, the situation in the arena suddenly shifted—as if answering their predictions. Kamiizumi Ise, who had been pressing Liu Yunduo all along, abruptly changed his technique!
The shift was jarring—and brutally aggressive!
First, Kamiizumi Ise slashed his right-hand blade toward Liu Yunduo’s left side—the side where her idle sword hung—forcing her to twist her right-hand sword back in a parry. His left-hand longsword followed like a shadow, aiming straight for her most vulnerable points with the same ruthless precision.
Based on his earlier pattern, Liu Yunduo’s best move now would have been to quickly activate her uncanny footwork and evade.
Otherwise, caught between two blades, she’d be overwhelmed—or even wounded.
But this time was different.
The moment Liu Yunduo stepped back, Kamiizumi Ise changed tactics again. Instead of attacking her two vital points from opposite directions with his twin swords—
He merged them.
His legs bent slightly, and then he launched himself high into the air like a hawk diving toward Liu Yunduo as she retreated. His two blades came together, almost fusing into one thick, swift weapon.
This merging wasn’t just physical—it was a confluence of internal energy, and even the wind and air currents around them seemed to consolidate into that single strike.
For an instant, space itself appeared to freeze—like a surging river suddenly halting in its tracks.
Then Kamiizumi Ise let out a roar: “Slash!”
The calm air erupted into violent fury, like a powder keg igniting—a thunderous, earth-shaking wave of overwhelming momentum crashing toward the retreating Liu Yunduo!
Dai-Tō-ryū’s ultimate killing move:
The airflow itself becomes part of the union, forging the strongest single blow to cleave through the enemy.
Such a strike was terrifying indeed—far more ferocious than simply stacking two blades together.
Witnessing this technique, everyone outside the arena widened their eyes in shock and excitement, as if they could already see the next instant—Liu Yunduo split in two by Kamiizumi Ise’s sword.
But no one noticed that, even under this devastating assault, Liu Yunduo’s expression hadn’t changed in the slightest.
She simply—silently—raised her left hand, the one she’d kept idle all this time.
She, too, was merging twin swords!
