If Christina were just an ordinary girl, even if she was a bit aloof, a bit willful, and even not very polite to Jiang Fei, he wouldn’t harbor any dislike for her or want to do anything to her. At most, he’d just not be particularly fond of her and would choose not to engage.
If she warned him not to do anything to Qiao Yiyi, he could simply laugh it off and not take it to heart.
But this woman in the black leather bodysuit was no ordinary person, not someone to be trifled with. When she seriously threatened him and possessed the capability to back it up, Jiang Fei naturally wouldn’t be courteous to someone like her.
“So, are you threatening me now?” Christina asked coldly, her face stern and voice icy.
She was truly on the verge of exploding with anger.
That this wretched man could win Qiao Yiyi’s affection, making her reject Christina without hesitation, was bad enough. Now, he was actually this formidable, turning the tables and threatening her instead. This was simply intolerable!
Yet Jiang Fei showed not a trace of fear.
“Can’t I threaten you?” Jiang Fei said with a smile. Under the moonlight, by the grassy pond, holding his long sword, he looked incredibly carefree and elegant.
“You…!” Christina was so furious she could barely contain herself, almost erupting. Luckily, Frank quickly stepped forward and held her back.
The gravity on Frank’s face was more intense than ever before, even tinged with disbelief, for he had already sensed what had happened to McAvoy.
Jiang Fei had somehow dissipated McAvoy’s cultivation just moments ago, causing McAvoy to lose a significant portion of his strength in mere minutes. While not completely crippled, his power was greatly diminished. Even after recovery, he would likely only possess seventy or eighty percent of his former strength!
Such a method was unheard of, unseen, almost demonic, something only the devil Satan might accomplish.
Originally, Jiang Fei being merely a master swordsman was already difficult enough to deal with. Without resorting to forbidden techniques that came at great personal cost, they stood no chance of defeating him. Now, with this additional ghostly, divine method that seemed tailor-made to counter them, how could they dare engage him lightly?
Holding Christina firmly back, Frank asked, “What did you do to McAvoy?”
This time, he didn’t dare underestimate Jiang Fei as before, thinking he could gain some advantage from him.
Of course, this didn’t mean Jiang Fei held no tempting benefits for him. Rather, the benefits were too great, beyond his ability to handle alone; someone more powerful would need to intervene.
“Just gave him a little punishment, that’s all. Don’t worry, he won’t die,” Jiang Fei said nonchalantly. “I don’t care where you’re from or what your true identities are. I just want to tell you: since you’ve come to China, keep a low profile. If I have to take action next time, I won’t mind crippling you for good.”
Initially, Jiang Fei had thought that if he could absorb the strange energy within these people using the North Star Divine Art, converting it into his own internal energy, then he wouldn’t mind crippling them all.
But since that energy couldn’t be absorbed, Jiang Fei couldn’t be bothered to waste the effort.
Crippling all three of them, even without killing them, would undoubtedly create an endless feud with their mysterious church, leading to perpetual trouble. That would likely be even more troublesome than being targeted by the ‘Heaven’s Net’ assassin organization.
Killing them brought no benefit, only a world of trouble—more effort than it was worth. It was better to give them a sense of mystery, let them know his prowess, maintain a healthy fear of him, and hopefully deter them from provoking him again in the future. That was the ideal outcome.
Hearing Jiang Fei’s even more threatening words, Christina nearly flew into a rage, but Frank held her back firmly, preventing an outburst.
Once McAvoy regained some strength in his weakened body and could walk, Frank shot Jiang Fei a meaningful look and said in a low voice, “Let’s go.”
Although Christina’s status was special, at a time like this, she clearly couldn’t act entirely on her own whim and disregard Frank, the Bishop’s, authority.
Before leaving, she glared fiercely at Jiang Fei and sneered, “I hope you don’t get killed by Yagyu Munenori in two weeks. I’ll be there personally to watch.”
Jiang Fei shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.
Watching the three quickly disappear into the night, Jiang Fei shook his head and turned back to the villa.
The villa was brightly lit. Qiao Yiyi sat on the sofa, anxiety in her eyes. Though she appeared to be watching TV, her gaze drifted to the door every few seconds, checking if Jiang Fei had returned.
She had great confidence in Jiang Fei, knowing he was incredibly capable and unlikely to suffer at Christina’s hands. Yet, a faint unease lingered in her heart. She always felt Christina’s identity was unusual, the kind of person not to be provoked.
She couldn’t quite articulate what this feeling was—perhaps a woman’s intuition, or maybe her own keen perception from the few days she spent with Christina in Europe.
Finally.
Bang!
The villa door opened. Qiao Yiyi quickly stood up and hurried over, asking nervously, “Jiang Fei, how did it go? What about Christina? She didn’t give you a hard time, did she?”
Of course, Jiang Fei wouldn’t tell Qiao Yiyi exactly what had happened. He smiled and said, “How could a woman like her give me a hard time? After I reasoned with her earnestly and appealed to her emotions, she took the initiative to leave. She probably won’t bother you again for a while.”
Qiao Yiyi naturally didn’t believe Jiang Fei’s version.
If Christina were so reasonable, so easily swayed by logic, she wouldn’t have followed her all the way from Europe to China.
“I’m sorry, I always end up causing trouble for you,” Qiao Yiyi said somewhat dejectedly.
“It’s fine,” Jiang Fei waved it off. Seeing her low spirits, he joked, “But honestly, I really admire you. Your charm is irresistible to men, that’s one thing. But to think even women can’t escape it! I’m curious, just how far did your relationship with Christina go for her to be so infatuated with you?”
Hearing this, Qiao Yiyi’s cheeks instantly flushed crimson. She shot Jiang Fei a coquettish, exasperated look, her mind drifting to that day when she woke up groggily and saw what Christina had been doing to her.
“I can even attract women… yet I’ve never been able to attract you…” Qiao Yiyi whispered weakly in her heart.
In the following days, with superstar Qiao Yiyi vacationing in Dao Village and plenty of time before his duel with Yagyu Munenori—during which Jiang Fei was almost certain to accumulate the full 5,000 experience points, i.e., 500 skill points—Jiang Fei felt quite relaxed, without the pre-battle tension.
So, he stopped his daily shifts at the Jiang Family Clinic and embraced a more leisurely lifestyle. Let the city buzz with activity, let countless martial artists and heroes gather; he watched unmoved, silently observing his experience points rise day by day.
Finally, with six days left before the one-month deadline for his decisive battle with Yagyu Munenori, Jiang Fei’s experience points were finally sufficient.
Character: Jiang Fei
Level: 5
Experience: 4200/7000
Physique: 4.0
Spirit: 4.1
Agility: 6.0
Strength: 4.2
Unallocated Points: 0
Martial Skills: Lightfoot Triple Cloud, Level 1 (0/100); Incomplete Tai Chi, Level 1 (0/200); Art of Mystical Devices and Escapes, Level 2 (0/450); Dugu Nine Swords, Level 1 (1/500); North Star Divine Art (3.7/15); Ladder Cloud Leap, Level 1 (0/460) Available Skill Points: 500
Secondary Professions: Weapon Forging (Level 9), Plant Cultivation (Level 9), Culinary Arts (Level 9), Horticulture (Level 9), Musical Arts (Level 9), Brewing (Level 9), Summoned Beast Taming (Level 9), Medical Arts (Level 8, 91%)…
Looking at the character status interface in his mind, though he hadn’t leveled up yet, Jiang Fei couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.
His available skill points had finally accumulated to 500 again!
Upgrading Dugu Nine Swords from the first layer to the second required exactly 500 skill points. Jiang Fei had worked hard to delay Yagyu Munenori, postponing the duel for a month, all for this very moment.
Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, Jiang Fei slowly clicked on the ‘Dugu Nine Swords’ skill under Martial Skills and hit the upgrade button.
“Ding! Player, are you sure you wish to spend 500 skill points to upgrade the martial skill ‘Dugu Nine Swords’ to Level 2?”
Confirm!
“Ding! Congratulations, player, for upgrading Dugu Nine Swords to Level 2! Remaining available martial skill points: 0.”
As the voice echoed in his mind, an immense influx of information flooded Jiang Fei’s consciousness, causing his entire body to tremble.
The sensation was profoundly mysterious and incredibly wondrous. Jiang Fei tightly closed his eyes, brows furrowed, earnestly digesting and experiencing this vast ‘sword intent.’
A full ten minutes passed before Jiang Fei’s tightly shut eyes suddenly snapped open.
Whoosh!
His eyes flashed like lightning, his gaze shooting into the distance like a sharp sword, filled with pleasant surprise. He murmured to himself, “The Wooden Sword realm, where heavy is made light. Those who reach this realm possess immense strength-control techniques. Each move can often unleash several times their own power. Even wielding a wooden sword, they can deliver force not inferior to a heavy sword, yet without the constraints of a heavy sword, their movements and techniques become more agile. Thus, the wooden sword surpasses the heavy sword.”
“So, this is the Wooden Sword realm. But I’ve never practiced with a heavy sword before?”
As the thought crossed his mind, Jiang Fei immediately executed the Wudang Ladder Cloud Leap. His body soared like a wild goose, landing with a single leap in the orchard not far from the villa.
Swipe!
He broke off a peach tree branch. Using his fingers like a blade, he swiftly carved the branch into a simple wooden sword. Gripping the hilt, he began practicing the Dugu Nine Swords techniques amidst the peach trees.
With Dugu Nine Swords, after mastering the first layer, Jiang Fei had already unlocked all its moves. One could say he had long since memorized every technique of Dugu Nine Swords.
But now, upon upgrading it to the second layer, Jiang Fei realized he had never truly understood the subtleties of Dugu Nine Swords before. Only now did he grasp its true power.
A blade of grass, a piece of wood—all could become a sword!
Wielding this peach branch no thicker than his index finger, Jiang Fei moved freely through the orchard. The wooden sword in his hand felt like a truly sharp, divine weapon. Wherever it swept, no matter how thick the tree trunk, it was effortlessly severed, while the wooden sword in his hand remained completely undamaged!
The small overcoming the large, the weak overcoming the strong, yet the wooden sword remained unscathed. As countless sharp sword winds stirred within the orchard, Jiang Fei finished executing the entire sword form.
Whoosh!
Jiang Fei threw the wooden sword like a projectile. In the blink of an eye, it reached the pond’s edge. Just as it was about to fall, Jiang Fei’s body arrived perfectly, catching the sword with one hand.
Swish, swish, swish!
As the wooden sword danced, the pond water swirled into vortices and waves. Strangely, when these waves, drawn by the sword’s energy, threatened to splash toward Jiang Fei, sharp gusts of sword wind erupted, blocking every droplet, not a single one touching him.
Making the heavy light—this was it!
A look of pure delight spread across Jiang Fei’s face. The joy in his heart made him want to roar out loud. This profound, exquisite sword intent was utterly exhilarating.
It was like a wine connoisseur tasting a peerless fine wine—enough to delight him for a long time.
Finally, after venting the pent-up energy within him, Jiang Fei released the wooden sword, hurling it forcefully toward the center of the pond, where it plunged down.
Boom!
The previously calm water surface exploded as if struck by a torpedo, sending huge sprays two or three meters high. Unfortunate fish lingering at the center were caught in the havoc.
A single thrown wooden sword could unleash such formidable power—something Jiang Fei could never have achieved before.
This wasn’t just about his swordsmanship being insufficient; his internal energy hadn’t reached this level either.
Of course, Jiang Fei’s internal energy hadn’t increased; the North Star Divine Art’s power remained the same.
The reason Jiang Fei could achieve this was that his swordsmanship had become incredibly powerful—powerful enough to channel his internal energy in a more perfect manner, unleashing even greater destructive force!
“This duel with Yagyu Munenori… I finally have some confidence now!”
Ripples spread across the pond’s surface, frightening countless fish and shrimp. Yet Jiang Fei’s eyes shone brightly, a smile on his face as he watched the soaring spray.
