A skyful of sword energy, mingled with the force of wind and snow, descended upon Jiang Fei with overwhelming force.
Iaido — the art of drawing the blade and cutting down an opponent in an instant.
Fifteen years ago, when Yagyu Munenori fought Miyamoto Ichizen — who at the time had swept across every island of Japan, challenging masters of all schools without a single defeat — he did not even use this technique. Back then, he relied only on Mutō-dori — the art of disarming an opponent without a blade.
That day, Yagyu Munenori wielded no weapon, defeating Miyamoto Ichizen with nothing but his bare hands.
For years, Miyamoto could not forget that iaido draw, unable to comprehend how Yagyu had disarmed him empty-handed. He sought to understand its secret, wondering if he too could master it, and through it find a way to defeat Yagyu.
But the truth was, Miyamoto had never truly witnessed Yagyu Munenori’s real iaido. Had he seen it — like the move Yagyu performed today — he would have lost all hope then and there, and never even entertained the thought of creating his own draw technique.
Because Yagyu Munenori’s iaido was close to invincible.
In this world, few had the right to make Yagyu Munenori use his true iaido. Today, Jiang Fei had pushed Yagyu to go all out.
That withered branch shot forth like a meteor across the sky, its sword-shadow reflected in Jiang Fei’s black-and-white clear eyes. Just as the sword energy arrived but before the wooden sword itself reached him, Jiang Fei finally moved.
This time, he could not rely on lightness skills like Wudang Triple Cloud Step to evade while defending.
Yagyu had clearly prepared for Jiang Fei’s superb agility — this iaido strike pressed slightly from above. If Jiang Fei leapt upward, he would only be offering his own neck to the blade.
As for retreating sideways or backward — impossible. Yagyu had lunged forward, and this opening iaido strike was meant to maximize speed for devastating force.
Even with Jiang Fei’s agility attribute reaching 6 and his lightness skills, he could not outpace this sword.
The only way to face it was to meet it head-on.
Since Jiang Fei could not find a weakness or flaw in this move, his best option was defense.
Swish, swish, swish!
Jiang Fei’s wooden sword began to move. Every stance and every stroke seemed formless, without set pattern, as if improvised freely — belonging to no particular school, almost entirely untrained and unsystematic.
Yet each move was clean and precise, each strike sharp and ruthless. Within the range of Jiang Fei’s sword, not even a fly or mosquito could survive — all would be cut down.
If a true master observed carefully, barely tracing Jiang Fei’s sword path, they would be stunned to find his swordsmanship miraculous, unbelievable.
In terms of sophistication, it even surpassed Yagyu Munenori’s!
Only, Jiang Fei’s martial cultivation had not yet reached Yagyu’s level of mastery. After all, Yagyu had been famous for decades — the depth of his experience was intimidating.
Jiang Fei’s wooden sword moved sometimes softly, without force, sometimes heavily, as if weighing a thousand pounds and hard to lift, sometimes nimble, sometimes gentle — a perfect fusion.
Dugu Nine Swords, second layer: No-form surpasses formed techniques.
Wooden Sword realm: Sword art without obstruction — a light wooden sword in hand can unleash the power of a heavy sword.
The combination of both was displayed perfectly in this moment.
If you are flawless, then my sword art is likewise flawless!
If I cannot break your technique, you likewise cannot break mine!
Boom!
Two seemingly fragile withered branches finally collided — like two worlds crashing together, or a meteor meeting an asteroid. The surrounding air was swept clear of all snowflakes; everything nearby was obliterated by the powerful sword energy.
The point where the two branches met became the eye of the storm. The robes of Jiang Fei and Yagyu flapped violently; the muscles on their faces rippled like waves in the fierce wind.
Sss—
Yagyu’s aura began to rise steadily, growing stronger and stronger. His strike was still gathering force — that downward slash earlier was not yet its peak.
The true essence of iaido could extend the first draw to such an extent.
It felt like a long time, yet also like just a breath. Finally, the fullest energy contained in Yagyu’s wooden sword erupted — like a high-energy particle cannon firing an ion missile. Jiang Fei and his wooden sword were as if blocked at the cannon’s mouth; the moment the energy burst forth, they were blasted away.
Crack, crack, crack…
Jiang Fei kept his sword stance, but his body flew backward through the air. Upon landing, his legs plowed two deep furrows through the snow, only stabilizing at the very edge of the cliff.
Yet from start to finish, neither the withered branch in Yagyu’s hand nor the one in Jiang Fei’s suffered the slightest damage amidst the storm of attacks.
Jiang Fei stopped at the cliff’s edge without falling.
But now, his figure was fully exposed to the view of the countless martial artists below, who were craning their necks upward, wishing they could fly up.
These people had already seen images of Jiang Fei and Yagyu Munenori through various channels before coming, so they recognized him instantly.
“Jiang Fei! The genius Sword God Jiang Fei! They really are dueling up there!”
“That piercing noise just now — like the earth shaking — that was them fighting!”
“What a pity! Why choose up there? We can’t see anything at all!”
The crowd below, unable to climb the peak and almost breaking their necks from looking up, erupted in excitement, shouting incessantly as if witnessing gods descend.
As for the true experts on the mountain, their attention remained fixed on the duel itself.
“What?! Jiang Fei actually blocked Yagyu Munenori’s strongest strike unscathed!”
“He’s only at a slight disadvantage — not injured.”
“Jiang Fei’s sword realm has reached the Wooden Sword stage! He truly is a peerless genius!”
“This duel… there’s hope now!”
Those like Bai Kedi and Little Wine Ghost, who had previously doubted Jiang Fei, were utterly shocked after seeing this exchange. They never imagined Jiang Fei could accomplish this.
Only Lion King’s expression turned somewhat grim as he said, “Jiang Fei… is injured.”
Pfft—
As if confirming Lion King’s words, Jiang Fei, having barely steadied himself, suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
