Yagyu Munenori had already closed his eyes, quietly waiting for death. But Jiang Fei, who had come to his side and condensed a sword from snowflakes, remained motionless for a long time, forcing him to open his eyes and see what was happening.
What he saw was Jiang Fei standing beside him, sword in hand, but his gaze wasn’t on him at all. His expression shifted – first a frown, then surprise, then happiness – as if he were putting on a performance of facial changes right there, having completely forgotten he was supposed to be killing someone.
Yagyu Munenori didn’t know Jiang Fei’s purpose, but since he knew death was certain, there was no point in waiting any longer. So he reminded Jiang Fei: “Go… cough! Get on with it.”
His injuries were too severe; speaking aggravated them, causing him to spit out another mouthful of blood.
Jiang Fei, happily waiting, glanced down at him and said, “A dying man like you, why so much talking? Wait!”
Hearing this, Yagyu Munenori couldn’t help but look up at the sky and smile bitterly. He sighed and said, “I find myself understanding you less and less. No, the truth is, I never understood you from the start. Perhaps only an anomaly like you – whose thoughts are impossible to fathom, so utterly different from ordinary people – could reach the supreme realm of ‘the sword’s absence’ at such a young age, and comprehend a sword style as unpredictable as your personality.”
“Are you trying to flatter me?” Jiang Fei sneered.
This guy really loved to be pretentious. He was about to die, yet here he was, jabbering on. What did my ability to comprehend the realm of ‘the sword’s absence’ have to do with my personality? Listening to you randomly speculate like this, as if it actually made sense…
What’s that saying again? This is precisely what they call ‘talking nonsense with a serious face’!
However, while Jiang Fei was unimpressed internally, the crowd that had been watching the entire fight actually found some truth in Yagyu Munenori’s words.
Not only had Jiang Fei’s strength astonished them all, but his personality was also completely unpredictable. This guy’s behavior simply didn’t follow any logical pattern!
Take right now, for example. He walks over, sword in hand, and just stands there staring quietly at Yagyu Munenori. He doesn’t say he’ll let him go, but he doesn’t make a move either. Isn’t that just tormenting the man before his death?
Was his heart really this cruel?
With no time to ponder what everyone else was thinking, about half a minute later, the system notification rang out again in Jiang Fei’s mind.
“Ding! The system has finished drawing the reward for the player. Congratulations to the player for completing the ‘Defeat Japanese Swordsaint Yagyu Munenori’ quest and receiving the reward of directly increasing the martial arts skill ‘Northern Dark Divine Art’ by ten years!”
Then, a helpful note below explained that this quest reward was specifically given to him because he had just used the Northern Dark Divine Art but failed. Since this reward was currently the most useful for Jiang Fei, that’s why he received it.
“The system can be this considerate?” Jiang Fei was stunned by this sudden, unexpected joy.
That’s right. For him right now, the most useful reward was indeed upgrading the Northern Dark Divine Art. He didn’t really care much for other things like experience points, money, or ordinary martial arts skills. Even if he got them, they wouldn’t be of much use.
Money and experience points would become easy to obtain once his Jiang Family Medical Clinic gradually expanded. As for ordinary martial arts skills, unless they were top-tier ones like the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’, ‘The Longevity诀’, or ‘The Chart of War God’, he wouldn’t be interested.
Ordinary martial arts skills were useless to him now. Even if he got them, he’d never have a chance to use them.
And the Internal Energy of the Northern Dark Divine Art was his biggest current weakness.
“Ding! The reward has been issued. Please check it, player.”
After the system’s final voice sounded, there was nothing more. Overjoyed, Jiang Fei quickly pulled up his character attribute interface in his mind, his gaze sweeping directly to the martial arts skills section.
Martial Arts Skills: Lightness Skill ‘Three Fold Cloud’, Level 1 (0/100); Incomplete Version ‘Tai Chi Fist’, Level 1 (0/200); Art of Qi Men Dun Jia, Level 2 (0/450); Dugu Nine Swords (Max Level, Great Perfection); Northern Dark Divine Art (13.8/15) ; Lightness Skill ‘Ti Yun Zong’, Level 1 (0/460). Available Skill Points: 85
Indeed, Jiang Fei’s Northern Dark Divine Art had directly gained ten years of experience, jumping from 3.8 years to 13.8 years. This meant Jiang Fei was now equivalent to a martial arts expert who had trained arduously for nearly fourteen years!
And even if Jiang Fei never absorbed anyone else’s Internal Energy from now on, relying solely on his own cultivation, he would still break through the first layer of the Northern Dark Divine Art and enter the second layer in just a little over a year!
Looking at his martial arts skill column, if there weren’t so many people around, Jiang Fei would have loved to shout with joy to express his feelings.
It was just like wanting a pillow when feeling sleepy, or wanting your wife’s brother when thinking of your wife’s family – could he really be this lucky?
“What’s wrong with him? Has he gone crazy? Why is he just standing there motionless, not striking, just grinning foolishly?”
“Could it be that he used some forbidden technique earlier, sacrificing his intelligence in exchange for immense power, and now he’s become an idiot?”
“Nonsense! There’s no such forbidden technique! But… maybe he’s just having a brief mental lapse.”
Jiang Fei remained motionless for a long time, not acting and not explaining why. Yagyu Munenori simply closed his eyes again, adopting an attitude of ‘kill me if you want, or don’t, I don’t care’. But the onlookers couldn’t help but start discussing among themselves.
These murmuring voices quickly snapped Jiang Fei back to reality. He restrained his excited expression.
So… it was time to kill someone?
But looking at Yagyu Munenori, lying there with his eyes closed, showing no fear at all, Jiang Fei felt that simply killing this big boss who had generously given him experience points would be a terrible waste.
He had already defeated this Japanese swordsaint, thoroughly humiliated him, salvaged his own pride, mostly vented his anger, and even completed the quest.
So… maybe he should spare his life for now?
He could just arrange another fight with this guy in a little over a year, and then openly absorb his Internal Energy!
After all, in a year, his Northern Dark Divine Art would definitely reach the second level, allowing him to absorb the Internal Energy of Dan Energy level experts. Yagyu Munenori wouldn’t be able to escape.
If he killed him now, finding another boss like this to absorb energy from in the future wouldn’t be easy.
After pondering for a while, Jiang Fei decided this plan was feasible. The snow sword in his hand dissolved, and the killing intent that had been locked onto Yagyu Munenori disappeared.
“Hmm?” Sensing the change, Yagyu Munenori opened his eyes again and frowned at Jiang Fei.
Jiang Fei looked expressionlessly at this ‘experience pack’ and said, “This time, I’ve decided to spare your life.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re still a pretty good opponent. I want to fight you again in a year and a half. If you agree, I’ll let you go. If you don’t, then die today.” Jiang Fei lied through his teeth.
Yagyu Munenori was stunned.
No one in their right mind would believe such a ridiculous, nonsensical request from Jiang Fei.
Soon, Yagyu Munenori burst into loud laughter and honestly replied, “No need. I’m no match for you now, and I certainly won’t be your match in a year and a half either.”
“So you’re saying you want to die right now?”
“…” Yagyu Munenori was silent for a long moment, then sighed and said, “A year and a half from now, I’ll fight with you again.”
He said he would fight with Jiang Fei, not that he would defeat Jiang Fei in a year and a half to reclaim his honor today.
Whatever Jiang Fei’s motives, being able to live an extra year and a half was naturally the best outcome for Yagyu Munenori. Before coming here, he had never imagined he might die, so he hadn’t made any preparations. There were still many things left undone, and his insights into the way of the sword hadn’t been passed down.
Having an extra year to live would allow him to arrange everything properly. When death finally came, he would be much more at peace.
“Good! I’ll find you in a year and a half.”
Jiang Fei nodded in satisfaction, turned, and in a flash appeared beside Ye Yuanyuan. He first politely greeted and exchanged a few pleasantries with the Lion King, Pure Void Taoist, and the others, then smiled at Ye Yuanyuan. “Let’s go.”
Although Ye Yuanyuan’s expression remained as cold and proud as ever, her sparkling, limpid eyes hid an indescribable joy and delight. As Jiang Fei wrapped his arm around her waist, they drifted down from the mountaintop together, quickly disappearing into the raging snow and wind.
