Plucking petals and leaves, one could injure others.
This was a technique far beyond the understanding of ordinary people. Achieving it was incredibly difficult; it required internal energy to be cultivated to its absolute peak, refined to perfection, reaching the point where inner force could be projected outward, a level beyond any further advancement.
However, there were still a few who had reached this realm. For example, the founder of the Seven Kills Group, the Lion King, had long since stepped into this realm of projecting internal force outward. Although his training path was not as continuous and unending as Yagyū Munenori’s, and was instead wilder and more domineering, he could still kill a person with a leaf or a piece of paper.
Even masters of the caliber of Little Drunkard or Bai Kedi were only a hair’s breadth away from being able to harm others with petals and leaves.
Perhaps one day, if they suddenly had an epiphany and their skill advanced to the next level, they too could break through that barrier and achieve the ability to injure with flying flowers and leaves.
But none of them could do it, nor had they even considered using their internal energy to manipulate external objects and then incorporate those objects into their swordsmanship!
Watching this lifelike entity formed by countless snowflake swords, like a giant white dragon weaving between heaven and earth, it wasn’t just Jiang Fei, being pursued through the air, who felt the terror. Even all the onlookers couldn’t help but feel fear rise in their hearts!
This was undoubtedly the highest realm of harming others with petals and leaves, even surpassing the ordinary understanding of that concept. The Lion King, who earlier had dismissed Yagyū Munenori with utter disdain and hadn’t taken him seriously, now raised an eyebrow. For the first time, his expression showed not only arrogance and dominance but also shock.
This Yagyū Munenori could no longer be treated so casually.
Both the iaijutsu draw and the split-body slash earlier had been overwhelmingly powerful. But to someone of the Lion King’s level, they didn’t pose a true threat to his life. He was confident he could withstand them.
Yet, faced with this move—one that clearly shifted the tone and surpassed the boundaries of ordinary martial arts—the Lion King’s confidence in being able to handle it had diminished significantly…
This kind of ultimate technique was absolutely capable of threatening his very foundation.
The snowflake sword dragon could ride the wind and soar. It allowed Yagyū Munenori to borrow force mid-air to climb, forcing Jiang Fei to stop immediately, afraid to leap any higher, and instead dive sharply forward to evade.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Jiang Fei moved so fast that to anyone weaker, he seemed to teleport. One moment he was in the sky, the next—in the blink of an eye—before anyone could even track his movement, he had already landed on the ground.
And in another blink, he had vanished again, reappearing ten meters away. He was as elusive and uncanny as a ghost.
After all, among Jiang Fei’s four basic attributes, agility was his highest, already at 6 points—six times that of an ordinary person. Add the bonuses from his inner energy and his own lightness skill, and his speed naturally reached a level unimaginable to normal humans.
It was precisely because of Jiang Fei’s extreme speed and agility that he could keep evading. If anyone else, even a master like Bai Kedi, Little Drunkard, or Pure Void, were facing Yagyū Munenori’s terrifying technique, they likely wouldn’t even have a chance to struggle. They’d be obliterated in one strike, without a trace.
Boom!
Crack!
Every time Jiang Fei dodged and repositioned, the spot he had just left was immediately struck by the dragon formed from white snowflake sword shadows. All the branches, stones, and wild grass there were sliced to shreds. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call the attack power apocalyptic.
Jiang Fei’s situation grew more desperate and dangerous. He himself couldn’t guarantee he could dodge Yagyū Munenori’s pursuit the next time. This sword dragon made of countless snowflakes, like a real resurrected dragon, had already transcended the scope of ordinary martial arts. Its lethality was immense, and its coverage area was terrifying. Even Jiang Fei’s Dugu Nine Swords, despite reaching the second level, were helpless against this kind of super killer move and couldn’t help much.
When you really think about it, this technique of Yagyū Munenori’s no longer resembled a conventional martial arts move. It was more like a mystical skill displayed after shattering the void.
This sword technique was no longer a single sword move—it was a massive sword formation!
With his Dugu Nine Swords, Jiang Fei could detect Yagyū Munenori’s weaknesses and openings. But what use was that?
Yagyū Munenori had wrapped himself within countless sword shadows, hidden inside the snowflake dragon. Even if Jiang Fei spotted his weakness, what could he do?
His wooden sword was only so long. The sharp sword wind it produced couldn’t threaten Yagyū Munenori. And if he tried to meet the dragon head-on, leaping into the snowflake dragon itself, it would be like dancing on the edge of a blade—one wrong move and he’d be chopped to pieces by the countless sword shadows within, turned into mincemeat!
So, at this moment, Jiang Fei was out of his league.
As for other methods…
First, Beisu Qingfeng was unlikely to be effective in a duel of this caliber.
Beisu Qingfeng worked best when the enemy was unaware and could be caught off guard. It was colorless and odorless, so victims didn’t even realize they had been affected.
But in a full-on decisive battle, using Beisu Qingfeng effectively was difficult. If it could work flawlessly in any situation, defeating any master, then in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, the Western Xia’s Yipin Tang would have wiped out all the Central Plains martial artists long ago.
Right now, Beisu Qingfeng was useless against Yagyū Munenori.
Never mind that he had been cautious from the start, holding his breath to avoid poisonous gas or smoke. Even if he hadn’t, his internal energy was flowing outward, forming a powerful air current around him. And now, hidden within the snowflake dragon, even if Jiang Fei released massive amounts of Beisu Qingfeng into the air, at most he’d knock out a few spectators—Yagyū Munenori wouldn’t be affected.
What about the weakened version of the Little Flying Dagger?
Jiang Fei could only treat it as better than nothing, using it almost out of desperation.
In the midst of his evasive maneuvers, Jiang Fei retrieved three Little Flying Daggers from his storage, which he had exchanged earlier as backups. After another dodge, he spun around sharply and launched the simple, unadorned willow-leaf-shaped dagger with lightning speed.
But even as he threw it, he didn’t hold out much hope.
If he had mastered the full, authentic Little Flying Dagger technique, perhaps facing such a large-scale, high-damage move, he could counter it effectively—maybe even break this attack altogether.
But his version of Little Flying Dagger was far from Li Xunhuan’s. Its power was diminished by an unknown degree. Last time in Jincheng, Yagyū Munenori had caught Jiang Fei’s dagger with his bare hands and only suffered a minor injury.
And now he was hidden inside the snowflake dragon?
Whoosh!
The Little Flying Dagger gave off a faint, cold gleam in the darkness. Silent and swift to the extreme, it shot toward the snowflake dragon controlled by Yagyū Munenori.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Even in its weakened state, the Little Flying Dagger was still formidable and lethal to some degree. This dagger—imbued with who knows what fraction of Li Xunhuan’s skill—plunged into the dragon. It wasn’t immediately blocked by the snowflake swords. Instead, it pressed deep inside, locking onto Yagyū Munenori, determined to cut him down.
But the snowflake sword dragon was no mere showpiece. Each sword shadow possessed terrifying killing power. Once inside, the dagger was relentlessly battered by countless sword shadows, ground down by their assault. In the end, before it could touch Yagyū Munenori’s body, it was deflected and embedded itself into the ground.
Then Yagyū Munenori pressed forward again, resuming his assault on Jiang Fei, who could only flee in desperation.
“It really is useless,” Jiang Fei thought to himself, his expression grim. Relying solely on the Little Flying Dagger, he couldn’t kill Yagyū Munenori in this state. At best, it could momentarily hinder his movements.
If he had an endless supply of Little Flying Daggers, he could hold out for a while longer. But each dagger cost a significant number of gold coins. Even if he was willing to spend, he couldn’t stockpile many. Once they ran out, he would be defeated for sure.
No…
More accurately, he would be killed for sure.
“This can’t go on! I have to change this situation!” Jiang Fei made a quick decision.
Earlier, he had clung to wishful thinking, hoping to defeat Yagyū Munenori without using the ultimate reward—saving it for later to maximize its benefit.
If Yagyū Munenori hadn’t pulled out that final ultimate technique, Jiang Fei truly had a good chance of winning without using it. But now, seeing this devastating move, Jiang Fei knew that wishful thinking was no longer possible.
The ultimate reward had to be used.
If he wanted to survive, he had to use it!
Whoosh!
Ding, ding, ding…
Feeling the snowflake dragon behind him closing in with overwhelming, crushing force, almost about to engulf him, Jiang Fei didn’t hesitate. He hurled another Little Flying Dagger from his hand.
At the same time, he called up the system interface in his mind, ready to use the ultimate reward.
Before coming here, Jiang Fei had already considered that he might be pushed to this point. After all, it was always better to plan for more possibilities.
And he had already decided how to use the ultimate reward.
There were two ultimate rewards. One was to directly increase his “game character’s” level by one.
But this reward wasn’t very helpful to Jiang Fei right now. Raising the character level by one meant adding one basic attribute point and unlocking a gift pack to learn a martial arts manual—utterly insufficient in this critical moment. Even if he used it, he definitely wouldn’t be able to defeat Yagyū Munenori. Not unless he drew a manual like “Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms” and learned it instantly!
As for the experience points gained from leveling up, which increased skill points, Jiang Fei couldn’t use that immediately either.
His current character needed 7,000 experience points to level up, which would grant 700 skill points. But the third level of Dugu Nine Swords required 1,200 skill points!
Even after leveling up, the accumulated skill points still wouldn’t be enough to raise Dugu Nine Swords to the third level.
So he had to use the other ultimate reward—directly upgrade a martial art skill.
