The Almighty Martial Arts System - Chapter 341

In the world of martial arts, only speed is truly unbeatable.

Munenori Yagyū was absolutely a master of speed. So fast it dazzled the eyes, so fast it made the heart tremble. Even Jiang Fei was somewhat caught off guard.

However, just moments ago, Munenori Yagyū had maintained his entire being like a sharp sword from start to finish, giving Jiang Fei no opening to strike, leaving him with no starting point. Jiang Fei hadn’t relaxed his guard either; he had remained vigilant the whole time. The instant Munenori Yagyū made his move, Jiang Fei reacted.

In fact, for Jiang Fei, Munenori striking first was actually a good thing.

When one’s martial prowess and insight reach their level, the advantage is no longer simply about striking first. On the contrary, neither dares to easily initiate the first blow. By not moving, you can maintain a flawless defensive posture. But once you lose patience and move first, your flaws may become exposed, and you might face danger.

Only…

Munenori Yagyū’s speed was simply too terrifying. The distance of over ten meters separating him and Jiang Fei was breached in an instant, vanishing without a trace. Although he held no sword in his hand, just as the young drunkard and Bai Kedi had said, this man had reached a realm where ‘no sword surpasses having a sword.’ A blade of grass or a twig could become a sword, and every part of his body was also a sharp sword!

Jiang Fei had originally planned to unexpectedly draw a longsword from his storage space to block the attack, thinking he could gain some advantage against a weaponless Munenori Yagyū. But he immediately realized his thinking was mistaken.

Because he didn’t even have a split second to spare.

He could draw a sword from his storage space, but he absolutely couldn’t stand stock-still in position afterward and still launch an attack at Munenori Yagyū.

If he stood still while drawing his sword, the outcome would be utterly certain.

Before Jiang Fei’s sword could pierce Munenori Yagyū, Munenori’s sword-like fingers would definitely pierce Jiang Fei’s chest first!

For Munenori Yagyū, who had reached the realm of projecting internal energy to form sword qi, his fingers could truly kill. If Jiang Fei’s chest were pierced by those fingers, his heart would likely burst in an instant, as if truly impaled by a sharp sword.

“How can his speed be so horrifying?!” Jiang Fei was shocked inwardly. Now, in his eyes, he could see the flaws in Munenori Yagyū’s lightning-fast approach; he knew where he should strike if he attacked.

But this guy’s speed was simply too great. Even if there were flaws, they vanished in a flash, giving Jiang Fei no opportunity to launch an attack. He couldn’t grasp the chance!

Thus, having flaws was essentially the same as having none.

“I hope this guy is only this fast because of his Iai quick-draw sword training, meaning his initial explosive speed remains even without a weapon. Otherwise, if his speed stays this fast all the time…” Jiang Fei thought warily to himself. The moment Munenori Yagyū launched his attack, Jiang Fei made his decision.

Wudang Ladder Cloud Soaring!

Taking a sharp breath, Jiang Fei’s body immediately shot up from the ground at incredible speed, like a cannonball soaring into the sky. He vanished from his original spot in an instant, yet his form was as graceful as a goose feather, ethereal and weightless, as if riding the wind upward—indescribably agile and elegant.

A single leap carried him several meters high, seemingly defying Newton’s second law. If many martial artists who prided themselves on superior lightness skills saw this, they’d likely be deeply discouraged, feeling utterly inferior.

Seeing this scene, Munenori Yagyū was naturally very surprised as well. Jiang Fei leaping so high was indeed somewhat excessive. Fortunately, it was him facing Jiang Fei. If it were someone with slightly inferior lightness skills competing with Jiang Fei, Jiang Fei could almost guarantee his invincibility with this one skill alone. No matter how exquisite or flawless the opponent’s techniques were, if they couldn’t be converted into effective damage, it would be useless.

But Munenori Yagyū was different.

As Jiang Fei’s body shot skyward, Munenori’s thrust missed. In the next instant, his fast-moving, blurry figure came to an immediate stop, as if he had never moved at all. Then, pushing off from the ground, he still held his fingers like a sword, thrusting upward toward the space above his head.

His target remained Jiang Fei.

It must be said that Munenori Yagyū’s internal energy was truly formidable. Even without a supreme lightness skill like Ladder Cloud Soaring, his explosive power was in no way inferior to Jiang Fei’s. The ‘longsword’ formed by his fingers rapidly closed in on the soles of Jiang Fei’s feet.

If this thrust connected, it certainly wouldn’t take Jiang Fei’s life, but one of his legs would undoubtedly be crippled; becoming disabled would be a foregone conclusion.

The distance grew shorter and shorter. Jiang Fei could almost feel a sharp, piercing force about to drill into the soles of his feet. The next moment, it would be like a real sharp sword piercing through his calf, turning it into something resembling a lamb skewer.

Because by now, both men’s momentum was nearly spent. They would soon reach the peak of their ascent and could go no higher.

Moreover, both were in the phase where the old force was exhausted and the new force hadn’t yet been generated. There was no point of leverage in mid-air; moving horizontally would be extremely difficult. The most likely outcome was Jiang Fei reaching the highest point and then falling straight down, right onto Munenori Yagyū’s sword qi.

Munenori Yagyū’s face showed no triumphant smile, only its usual calmness. Of course, his hand showed no mercy either, remaining as decisive as ever.

It was as if he was unaware that Jiang Fei was about to be severely injured by his hand.

But just then—

Just as Jiang Fei’s upward momentum seemed spent and he was about to start descending due to lack of force, for some unknown reason, his feet lightly tapped the empty air, and then…

Whoosh!

His slowing body suddenly shot upward again like a cannonball, a scene eerily reminiscent of a rocket’s second-stage ignition. Just as the first energy source was about to deplete, a second source ignited immediately, propelling him even higher!

“Hmm…” Seeing this, even Munenori Yagyū couldn’t maintain his composure.

Jiang Fei’s use of Ladder Cloud Soaring had exceeded his understanding of lightness skills. Even someone as skilled as him, having reached the realm of projecting internal energy outward, found it impossible to borrow force from thin air a second time in mid-air to ascend again.

But no matter how perplexed or unwilling Munenori Yagyū felt, reality couldn’t change. Jiang Fei continued rising, reaching heights of five meters, six, seven… all the way to eight meters before stopping. Munenori Yagyū, however, began descending after his single leap reached about five meters.

Thus, Munenori’s move still ended in failure, making no progress whatsoever.

Whoosh.

Like a rocket whose engines cut out, Munenori Yagyū’s body fell rapidly, only able to look up as the distance between him and the powerfully ascending Jiang Fei grew greater.

“Ladder Cloud Soaring truly lives up to its name. Having such a lightness skill is indeed very helpful in battle,” Jiang Fei thought to himself.

His confidence in not immediately using his ultimate reward, his belief that he could exchange blows with Munenori Yagyū without injury and certainly without being instantly defeated, largely stemmed from this Ladder Cloud Soaring!

With Ladder Cloud Soaring, his offensive power wouldn’t increase much, but his agility and survivability definitely soared.

Having consecutively dodged two of Munenori Yagyū’s near-certain-kill martial techniques, Jiang Fei didn’t grow complacent, because the fight wasn’t over. No matter how high he jumped, he would eventually have to come down; he couldn’t stay suspended in the air forever…

After borrowing force mid-air, Jiang Fei’s body finally reached its peak. Making a graceful, drifting turn in mid-air, he began to descend slowly.

This time, Jiang Fei finally drew a longsword from his storage space!

He had dodged Munenori Yagyū’s attack; now it was his turn to strike.

“Sword Master? The number one swordsmanship expert of the island nation. Let me see just how strong this realm of ‘not constrained by objects, where no sword surpasses having a sword’ really is!” Jiang Fei gripped his sword and accelerated his descent.

His longsword traced a flower-like pattern in the air as he aimed downward from his superior position, targeting the top of Munenori Yagyū’s head. This could be considered one of the not-so-weak weak points on Munenori’s body…

Whoosh!

Lonely Nine Swords — Sword-Breaking Style!

Facing Munenori Yagyū, the most applicable form among all the Lonely Nine Swords techniques was naturally the Sword-Breaking Style. Since this guy’s very body was like a sword, with every part being a blade, then I shall break your body itself!

Although Jiang Fei clearly held a longsword, under the moonlight, the blade seemed to vanish into space, its form indiscernible. Only the hilt in Jiang Fei’s hand was visible, with occasional glimpses of reflected light from the blade flickering in the air.

Like an antelope hanging its horns—leaving no trace to follow. For an ordinary opponent, facing Jiang Fei’s swordsmanship like this would make defense impossible; dropping the sword and admitting defeat would be the only option.

At this moment, however, Munenori Yagyū’s eyes lit up. He was finally stirred, his emotions engaged, as if seeing a treasure worth exploring, regarding Jiang Fei as a truly worthy opponent. This surprised him even more than witnessing Jiang Fei’s Ladder Cloud Soaring.

This was genuinely exquisite swordsmanship, completely different from his own Iai quick-draw art, different from any of the various sword schools of the island nation, and even different from all the sword techniques he had seen or heard of in China!

“No wonder he gained the title ‘Sword God’ in the Jianghu at such a young age and is so highly praised by my little niece. This swordsmanship is truly extraordinary. While it’s not ‘no sword surpassing having a sword,’ this most direct, formless, and unconstrained sword intent is in no way inferior!”

Munenori Yagyū widened his eyes, but not with fear.

Facing Jiang Fei’s Sword-Breaking Style descending from the sky, he also sensed threat. Although this attack was launched through a real longsword, it had already broken through the air. For an instant, it was as if thousands of swords were stabbing down from the heavens simultaneously, enveloping his entire body within the attack’s range—like a storm of sword rain assaulting him. Munenori’s long hair and robe were whipped about by the powerful sword wind in that moment, as if being sliced by knives.

At this moment, the disadvantage of Munenori Yagyū having no weapon in hand became fully apparent.

His internal energy was profound and unfathomable, allowing him to generate sharp sword qi through his fingers alone. Such sword qi could provide a great advantage in unarmed combat. But when facing a sword expert like Jiang Fei wielding a longsword in attack, and having created countless sword shadows with his blade, if he couldn’t clamp Jiang Fei’s sword, then no matter how powerful his sword qi was, it couldn’t withstand the onslaught.

Thump!

Munenori Yagyū’s previously ramrod-straight body suddenly toppled straight backward, giving the impression he was about to hit the ground. However, when his body formed an angle of about 170 degrees with the ground, he suddenly slid outward from the area enveloped by Jiang Fei’s sword, like a leaf lifted by the wind—ethereal, formless, dancing gracefully.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The instant after Munenori Yagyū drifted away, the spot where he had just been erupted with a grating sound. The ground was crisscrossed with sword marks left by Jiang Fei’s blade, like claws of a monster, each mark deeply etched.

In other words, Jiang Fei’s sword rain storm wasn’t illusory; every sword shadow could become a real attack.

Whoosh!

With the sword tip pressed against the ground, the blade bent, and Jiang Fei used the rebound force to almost skim along the ground. His longsword again traced floral patterns as he executed the Sword-Breaking Style, transforming into streaks of sword shadows chasing relentlessly toward Munenori Yagyū’s body.

He pursued without rest, vowing not to stop until his goal was achieved.

Their battleground was outside a park which contained many tall trees. However, as it was already winter, the treetops had few leaves left, though some remained. The late-night ground hadn’t been swept by sanitation workers yet, and quite a few leaves had blown from the park to the outside area.

As Munenori Yagyū’s body skimmed along the ground, sliding into the distance, his palms subtly and imperceptibly gathered several fallen leaves, holding them.

Finally, the rapidly moving, ‘lying’ form of Munenori Yagyū suddenly straightened upright. He took a deep breath, his body arching, his arms as if embracing a large water jar, gathering strength and energy. The instant Jiang Fei’s sword shadows arrived before him, he swung both hands out violently.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Countless withered yellow leaves, which originally possessed no杀伤力 whatsoever—fragile enough to break at a light touch, movable by ants—in that instant, transformed into the deadliest weapons in the world. They actually tore through the air with sharp, piercing sounds, all shooting toward Jiang Fei.

Plucking flowers and flying leaves to injure—it was precisely this!

Jiang Fei hastily halted his advance, not daring to move forward. His longsword drew a circular arc in a defensive posture, striving with all his might to block these withered leaves.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

It was as if steel nails were striking an iron plate. The leaves, infused with powerful internal energy, were deflected one by one by Jiang Fei’s sword, deeply embedding themselves into the ground or the nearby park wall.

Though described in detail, it happened in a flash.

The leaves and Jiang Fei’s sword were both incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, the air cleared.

Then Jiang Fei discovered that Munenori Yagyū’s sword qi had once again thrust toward him.

But the one whose expression changed drastically wasn’t Jiang Fei; it was Munenori Yagyū himself!

Whoosh!

A willow-leaf flying dagger shot through the air…