Snow filled the sky, dressing the tree branches and ground in silver-white attire, as if the entire firmament had become a world of snowy spirits.
The gathering of martial heroes and masters atop Mount Emei’s Golden Summit had begun with patient waiting, hearts brimming with expectation, eager to witness a legendary duel. But as time stretched on, well past the appointed hour, without a sign of either combatant, anxiety began to creep in.
“What’s going on? Where is Munenori Yagyu? Where is Jiang Fei? Why hasn’t either of them shown up?”
“Exactly! Even if one of them got cold feet, at least the other should be here. Could it be both of them are too scared to come? That’s just ridiculous!”
“Some ‘contemporary sword master of the island nation’ or ‘foremost swordsman’! And that ‘once-in-a-century sword prodigy,’ the ‘young Sword Saint’—they can’t even keep time! Utterly unworthy of such grand titles, in my opinion!”
“Are we all being made fools of? Are Jiang Fei and Munenori Yagyu even coming tonight? Was it all a joke, making us trek up this mountain in the dead of night to stand here in the freezing wind?”
Having arrived early and strained their eyes for the main event to no avail, the crowd grew restless and began to clamor.
Finally, those martial heroes present whose skills were not top-tier but still considerable made a new discovery. Especially when the imposing, fiercely imposing aura of the Lion King arriving at the opposing peak caused a stir, it confirmed that there were indeed people on that other mountain.
Moreover, those on the opposing peak were undoubtedly true masters.
Of course, they had to be. Ordinary people wouldn’t have the ability to get up there.
Thus, those who caught wind of this hurriedly left the Golden Summit, dashing toward the opposite peak, terrified of missing the duel by even a moment.
The other martial artists, catching on after a brief pause, quickly understood. Their martial prowess might not be exceptional, but their intelligence was decent. Seeing so many immediately rush off toward the other mountain, they could guess the duel’s location had changed—from the Golden Summit to some unnamed peak.
“Quick, quick, quick!”
Chaos ensued as numerous martial heroes charged down from the Golden Summit toward the small, undeveloped peak. Though not top masters and mostly average in skill, these martial artists were still far superior to ordinary people. The rugged mountain path posed some difficulty but was not insurmountable.
However, when this eager crowd reached the foot of the peak and looked up at the nearly vertical cliff face, they were dumbstruck, mouths agape.
“This… damn it! How are we supposed to get up there for the duel?”
“Right! If it were summer and the cliff was covered in weeds, maybe. But now in deep winter, the rock face is all ice, slippery with no handholds. How can we possibly climb it?”
The sheer cliff barred the vast majority. After all, not everyone knew Wudang’s Cloud Ladder technique. A small minority, confident in their superior lightness skills, pondered briefly before impulsively deciding to give it a try.
“Step aside! Let me through!” someone bellowed. Starting a running leap from about ten meters away, they stomped the ground and launched upward.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The momentum was indeed impressive, worthy of one confident in their lightness skill. In the blink of an eye, they soared several meters high, seemingly about to reach the summit. The onlookers below gasped in admiration, calling out “Master!” with envy and awe.
But the next instant…
Thud!
The climber, their lightness skill ultimately insufficient, exhausted their momentum mid-air. Trying to find a grip, they failed and plummeted down.
“Damn! That hurts!” The fallen man’s face turned beet red, a mix of humiliation and pain.
With this precedent, most martial heroes quelled their eager attempts. With so many peers watching, failing to climb and falling flat on one’s backside would be a monumental loss of face, making it hard to show oneself in the martial world again.
Of course, the allure of witnessing the peak duel between Jiang Fei and Munenori Yagyu was too great for martial artists to resist entirely. So, at the foot of the actual dueling peak, countless martial artists surrounded it, with occasional ‘masters’ stepping forth to attempt the ascent.
Most ultimately returned in defeat, unable to scale it. But a very few managed to charge upward and behold the true scene of the duel atop the summit…
“I will not hold back because of the Lion King’s words. I will go all out against you. Whether you live or die will be up to fate,” Munenori Yagyu said calmly, extending his right hand, his left hand resting behind his back.
Since they had already crossed swords a month ago and agreed to this duel today, both must go all out.
This was respect for one’s opponent.
To spare the other’s life out of obligation would be an insult.
Jiang Fei also extended his right hand, empty of any sword, and said, “I know. I don’t expect you to hold back.”
“Good!”
Munenori Yagyu uttered just one word.
As the sound of “good” left his lips, a gale-force wind seemed to roar out of nowhere, like an angry dragon. The gently falling snow was thrown into chaos, swirling wildly from above the two men out in all directions, even the accumulated snow at their feet stirred up.
Not far from where they stood was a dried tree branch, previously laden with snow, now almost completely swept clean by the fierce wind.
At that moment, two snowflakes, unlike the others, shot through the air like daggers, accurately striking two branches of moderate thickness.
Slice!
Though dried, the branches, which had withstood the snow’s weight, were cleanly severed by two mere snowflakes.
Caught by the wind, the two falling branches were blown toward Jiang Fei and Munenori Yagyu.
Swish!
Each man caught a branch. Though they held no other weapons, the onlookers distinctly heard two resonant, lingering sword hums vibrate through the air, like sound waves slicing the very snowflakes in half.
In the blink of an eye, though neither man seemed to have moved from their spot, their figures blurred and reappeared mere inches apart.
Munenori Yagyu struck—a clean, flawless, purely distilled sword move.
Jiang Fei’s eyes narrowed intently. He did not attack first.
Munenori Yagyu’s sword draw was blisteringly fast. Having reached the realm where “no sword surpasses having a sword,” his technique was refined to its essence. Combined with his mastery of Iaido (the quick-draw art), how terrifying was that initial draw?
It was essentially flawless. Even Jiang Fei, who had elevated his Solitary Nine Swords to the second level, had to admit this opening Iaido draw was unbreakable.
During their exchange in Jincheng a month ago, Munenori Yagyu had only used a finger as a sword, its power limited. Now, with a wooden branch as a true weapon, his lethality soared exponentially.
Fortunately, Jiang Fei had now reached the second level of the Solitary Nine Swords, greatly enhancing his swordsmanship and overall power. Otherwise, this single strike might have ended the duel right then.
Munenori Yagyu’s strike seemed to cleave heaven and earth itself. The branch in his hand felt not like wood, but a mythical blade capable of splitting mountains and severing rivers—the very air appeared torn asunder!
To Jiang Fei, what came was not a mere sword, but the entire cosmos. Just witnessing it felt like his soul was being extinguished by its edge.
This was the true Art of Iaido! This was the genuine power of Munenori Yagyu, the foremost swordsman of the island nation, its contemporary sword master.
A single strike from a wooden branch, yet so terrifying!
Not only Jiang Fei, who faced the technique head-on, but even the distant onlookers—top-tier experts like Little Drunkard, Bai Kedi, and Master Qingxu—felt their hearts tremble, an absurd sense of fear welling up within them.
“Munenori Yagyu is truly going all out, holding nothing back from the very first move!” someone exclaimed in shock.
This was absolute power suppression. Even though their own martial prowess was considerable, they stood little chance against a fully unleashed Munenori Yagyu.
Of those present, aside from the Lion King, who could confidently withstand such a strike unscathed?
All eyes watched Munenori Yagyu’s strike with awe mixed with fear, then turned to Jiang Fei with pity. Perhaps this much-anticipated duel would be decided by a single stroke.
Yet, to have forced Munenori Yagyu to go all out, unleashing the true essence of Iaido with a ‘wooden sword’—for an ordinary person, defeat under such circumstances would be an honor.
The Lion King frowned deeply, fists clenched tight, his tiger-like eyes wide as he watched the strike.
He desperately wanted to intervene, to block this blow for Jiang Fei, fearing the young man might fall here and now.
His desire to save Jiang Fei stemmed not only from the Seven Killers token Jiang Fei possessed, or his ability to create the “Sorrow-Free Breeze” poison, but also from a genuine belief that Jiang Fei was a rare talent he did not wish to see cut short.
Yet, recalling Jiang Fei’s earlier resolve, he felt, for some reason, a sliver of hope.
