Using the ultimate reward to directly upgrade a martial art skill actually gave Jiang Fei two options.
Among all the martial arts skills Jiang Fei currently possessed, two were worth upgrading immediately. Both could guarantee a significant boost in power right after the upgrade.
These two were, naturally, the nearly invincible internal energy skill—Northern Profound Divine Art, which even the Nine Yang Divine Skill might not be able to match—and his primary swordsmanship, Dugu Nine Swords.
If he directly upgraded the Northern Profound Divine Art to the second level, Jiang Fei would instantly gain over ten years of profound internal energy!
Over ten years of internal energy—that was no small matter. The boost to his combat power from such internal strength went without saying; it was clearly significant. If Jiang Fei raised his internal skill to the second level of the Northern Profound Divine Art, he was fully confident he could suppress an old master like Yagyū Munenori!
After all, his internal skill was something that only existed in fiction—it couldn’t be compared to ordinary inner energy. No matter how deep Yagyū Munenori’s internal strength was or how long he had trained, he absolutely couldn’t match Jiang Fei, who had already mastered the first level of the Northern Profound Divine Art.
Jiang Fei speculated that if his internal energy reached the second level of the Northern Profound Divine Art, even without any swordsmanship or other martial techniques, he could roam the martial world freely, relying solely on his internal power.
As for Dugu Nine Swords, raising it another level would bring it directly to perfection—the third and final level!
At the second level of Dugu Nine Swords, Jiang Fei had already reached the wooden sword realm. Any grass or twig could serve as a sword, allowing him to wield a light wooden blade with the effect of a heavy black iron sword.
With the third and perfected level of Dugu Nine Swords, Jiang Fei was one hundred percent certain that his swordsmanship would leap forward dramatically. He would reach the stage where “no sword” surpassed “a sword”!
He even felt that even if his internal energy was still insufficient, with the perfected Dugu Nine Swords, he could form energy swords and manipulate objects in his surroundings—no worse than what Yagyū Munenori was currently doing.
Regarding which martial art to upgrade, before the battle Jiang Fei had leaned toward the Northern Profound Divine Art if he absolutely had to use the reward.
The reason was simple. In Jiang Fei’s view, the Northern Profound Divine Art was much harder to level up. It didn’t require experience points or skill points—it required time.
As for Dugu Nine Swords, even if raising it to the third level demanded 1,200 skill points—equivalent to 12,000 experience points—it was still doable within a few months at most.
Comparatively, upgrading the Northern Profound Divine Art was the better value.
But given the current life-or-death crisis, Jiang Fei was cornered, almost at the mercy of Yagyū Munenori. He couldn’t afford to think too much about value or advantage.
Right now, his only concern was obtaining greater power—enough to defeat Yagyū Munenori!
“Ding! Player lacks sufficient skill points to upgrade Dugu Nine Swords. However, the player still has one reward that can directly upgrade any martial art skill. Would you like to use it?”
As Jiang Fei called up the interface in his mind, the familiar system notification tone sounded.
Without hesitation, Jiang Fei confirmed yes.
“Ding! Congratulations, player. By consuming the reward, Dugu Nine Swords has been upgraded to the third level—the state of complete mastery!”
The instant the system voice faded, Jiang Fei’s body trembled. In a flash, vast amounts of abstruse, obscure knowledge poured into his mind, as if enlightenment itself had been poured directly into his consciousness.
Though his head throbbed slightly, his spirit soared. It felt like he had taken a stimulant. Excitement and surprise shone in his eyes.
“It’s just as I thought!”
Jiang Fei marveled inwardly.
This time, he no longer fled in desperation. Instead, his feet slid across the ground, and he turned abruptly, facing the enormous white snowflake sword dragon head-on. He stood his ground, allowing the overwhelming, all-destroying force to bear down on him.
Most importantly—facing Yagyū Munenori like this, Jiang Fei closed his eyes again!
Yes, Jiang Fei once again shut his eyes, just as he had done earlier when facing Yagyū Munenori’s ultimate split-body slash. Right before the killing blow landed, he closed his eyes, seized the final moment to deliver a fatal counterstrike, and thoroughly dismantled Yagyū Munenori’s technique.
But this time, the situation was completely different!
When that savage, howling blizzard dragon charged toward Jiang Fei, despite his earlier extraordinary performance—which had exceeded everyone’s expectations and included one instance of closing his eyes—this time, no one held any hope for him.
Not a single person. Not even Pure Void, who knew Jiang Fei was the successor of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, not even the Lion King, founder of the Seven Kills Group. None of them believed Jiang Fei had any chance of winning or surprising them again.
This time, they all felt Jiang Fei was truly… finished.
Against such a devastating snowstorm strike, if Jiang Fei had continued dodging, constantly shifting, while using his bizarre and lethal flying dagger techniques, he might have clung to a thread of hope.
But by turning around and facing the attack head-on, he was essentially walking right into death’s embrace.
Every spectator widened their eyes, regret heavy in their hearts. A once-in-a-century sword prodigy of the Chinese martial world, the young Sword God of his generation, was about to fall here.
Even Christina, who hated Jiang Fei to the bone and wanted nothing more than to finish him off herself, felt a faint, melancholic ache in her heart.
Jiang Fei’s performance tonight had conquered every one of them. He earned their respect. He was an extraordinary genius, a formidable master worthy of admiration!
Even if the outcome couldn’t be changed, it wasn’t because Jiang Fei lacked skill. It was simply because Yagyū Munenori—Japan’s premier swordsman—was just that formidable.
The dragon of countless snowflake swords roared forward like an ancient beast. Yagyū Munenori did not disappoint Jiang Fei’s expectations. He stayed true to his word—facing Jiang Fei with full strength, no mercy, killing him without hesitation if he could.
Bang!
Like an unstoppable flood, the attack struck Jiang Fei’s body without deviation. The next moment’s result was predictable to everyone. Even if Jiang Fei tried to resist, he would surely be slashed to ribbons by the countless blades, dying as if by a thousand cuts.
But then, in the next instant, everyone’s eyes bulged. They nearly gasped their jaws off in shock.
That overwhelming, majestic snowflake dragon surged toward Jiang Fei—and then, as if meeting a searing flame, simply… went out.
Yes. Completely extinguished.
Every trace of sword energy, the instant it reached Jiang Fei, dissolved entirely. The countless snowflakes became nothing but real snow, swirling around the two men. Then, Jiang Fei and Yagyū Munenori flickered and blurred.
When the world returned to stillness, the scene froze.
The wooden sword in Jiang Fei’s hand was quietly embedded in Yagyū Munenori’s chest.
“That… was just way too cool. Such a show-off.”
Someone let out that exclamation.
