This mysterious “Skynet” assassin organization, whose ultimate goal even Jiang Fei still didn’t fully understand, was something he really wasn’t at ease leaving to Ye Yuanyuan to handle.
After all, this organization’s power was just too formidable. Jiang Fei knew this clearly from his interactions with them over this long period. Even within China, where policies completely differ from foreign countries and where assassin organizations are at their weakest, they still possessed unbelievable influence.
Jiang Fei, confident in his own skills, wasn’t afraid at all, but Ye Yuanyuan was a different story.
Wasn’t Ye Yuanyuan’s own grandfather, old master Ye Zhennan, nearly brought down by this organization?
However, now that this organization was being handed over to the Seven Kills Group, and moreover, personally overseen by its founder, the Lion King, whose aura was overwhelmingly mighty and domineering, not at all inferior to Yagyu Munenori, Jiang Fei felt relieved.
The Lion King’s strength was unfathomable. Even Yagyu Munenori at his absolute peak might not be able to defeat him. Even Yagyu’s ultimate move, the Sword Dao Dragon, couldn’t be said to be something the Lion King absolutely couldn’t withstand.
At this level of expert, since Yagyu Munenori possessed his own killing move, wouldn’t the Lion King have one too?
Without some truly formidable foundation, the Lion King couldn’t have led the Seven Kills Group to its current status as China’s number one mysterious organization, nor would so many international organizations tremble in fear at the name ‘Seven Kills Group’, with none daring to openly challenge its authority to this day!
Even Jiang Fei believed that he could probably defeat the Lion King now, but he wouldn’t bet on it!
This powerful expert’s imposing aura was truly daunting.
So, when the Lion King domineeringly stated that anyone from Skynet causing trouble in China was seeking death, Jiang Fei didn’t think he was just boasting.
Jiang Fei handed the two Seven Kills assassins, who were the leaders responsible, over to the Lion King. Then, within a few minutes, someone else arrived. The newcomers were the same ordinary Seven Kills Group members Jiang Fei had seen before, who had delivered the Seven Kills Token to him.
For this battle on the Golden Summit of Mount Emei between Jiang Fei and Yagyu Munenori, countless martial artists from all over had gathered. It was a significant event, so not only had the Lion King, the founder, come, but many ordinary members were also hidden in the shadows, ready to prevent any untoward incidents.
Similarly, the Seven Kills Group represents China’s official organization, and Japan also has its official representative organization, which was also hidden in the shadows that night. For instance, the ones who had just taken away the severely injured Yagyu Munenori, whom Jiang Fei had spared, were from Japan’s official organization.
After explaining a few things, Jiang Fei and Ye Yuanyuan took their leave again shortly after.
Next, without encountering any surprises, Jiang Fei and Ye Yuanyuan checked into a hotel at the foot of Mount Emei, which Ye Yuanyuan had booked long ago.
Mount Emei was still quite a distance from Jincheng. Their agreed battle time was midnight, and now that the fight was over, it was past 2 AM. There was naturally no need for them to rush back to Jincheng that night.
That night.
On the mountain top, snow was falling heavily, and the air was frigid. However, at the foot of the mountain, the temperature was much milder. Back in his room, Jiang Fei had just showered and came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. He casually tended to his wounds, preparing to get some rest and recover his energy.
But before he could even lie down, Jiang Fei suddenly froze, a look of shock on his face.
“Someone else is coming? And an expert at that!” Jiang Fei’s brow furrowed instantly, his gaze turning sharp, and irritation welling up inside him.
The battle with Yagyu Munenori tonight had been exhausting enough, followed by the Skynet assassination attempt. Now, even at the hotel, he couldn’t get any peace. Was there no end to this?
Just as Jiang Fei was about to smash through the window, too lazy to even put on clothes, and go deal with the clueless bastard causing him trouble, he suddenly paused again.
“No… this aura… feels familiar? And although this aura is powerful, it carries no killing intent or hostility. If I hadn’t sensed this aura, I couldn’t have deduced it using the ‘Art of Qimen Dunjia’ and the ‘Chart of Heavenly Secrets’. Could it be… this guy is an acquaintance?” Jiang Fei’s furrowed brow relaxed, a strange expression crossing his face. The aura was definitely familiar, someone he’d met, but he couldn’t quite place who.
Regardless, Jiang Fei’s hotel room was only on the third floor. With his current Qinggong, like the Yun Ti Zong (Cloud Staircase Technique), he could easily jump from the ground to a third-floor window, let alone jump down from it.
Opening the window, a figure gracefully leaped out, touching down lightly like a swallow skimming water, nimbly borrowing force mid-air a few times before landing steadily over a hundred meters away from the hotel. He then quickly gave chase in the direction from which he’d sensed the aura fading.
It wasn’t quite late night anymore, closer to early morning. Although the hotel wasn’t in a remote, desolate wilderness, the surrounding area was still empty, not a soul in sight.
“Truly a powerful expert!” After chasing for several miles, Jiang Fei, clad only in a white bathrobe and barefoot, grew increasingly astonished. Even though his deductions and intuition clearly told him this pursuit posed no danger or trouble, his mood turned solemn.
This expert was one that shocked him.
Perhaps, this expert might even be more formidable than Yagyu Munenori!
Initially, Jiang Fei hadn’t been going all out in the chase. But after a while, he noticed the guy wasn’t slow; he’d have difficulty catching up without going all out. So, he fully activated his skills, pushing his Qinggong and internal energy to their limits, darting forward like a lightning bolt.
But then, as his speed increased, the person ahead also accelerated at an incredible pace, maintaining the same distance, preventing Jiang Fei from getting any closer.
Remember, Jiang Fei’s internal energy from the Northern Dark Divine Art had now reached nearly fourteen years!
With fourteen years of profound internal energy, coupled with his Agility attribute of 6 and his exceptional Qinggong, Jiang Fei believed no one in the world could match him. Even experts like Yagyu Munenori would be far behind.
Yet, this mysterious figure, whom he was chasing in the dead of night, risking exposure to the chilling wind, was his equal in Qinggong!
No, Jiang Fei couldn’t be sure if this guy was going all out now, so he couldn’t be certain if his Qinggong was even superior!
An expert with Qinggong of this caliber would undoubtedly have a high combat power index!
Having run an unknown distance, it seemed they were about to run from the hotel back to the foot of Mount Emei. Jiang Fei couldn’t take it anymore. He suddenly stopped, shouting towards the front, “Hey! How long are you going to keep running? You lured me out here, don’t tell me you’re just bored and want a race? If you don’t stop now and speak your mind, don’t blame me for not playing along anymore. I’m going back to my warm bed!”
Jiang Fei was genuinely annoyed now.
Freezing cold, he’d dashed out of his cozy, air-conditioned hotel room in just a bathrobe. If it weren’t for the fact that this guy bore him no ill will and he sensed no danger, Jiang Fei felt he might have already resorted to profanity.
Sure enough, his shout had an effect. As soon as Jiang Fei stopped, the other person also stopped.
Although visibility was poor at night, perception wasn’t hindered by darkness. Jiang Fei could still clearly sense it.
And then——
Jiang Fei immediately cursed, his expression tense, face changing dramatically as he bellowed in alarm, like facing a great enemy: “Damn it!”
Ahead, in the originally silent, dark, empty space, it was as if a tornado had sprung up. A howling gale roared past, whipping up countless leaves and weeds, swirling and roaring into a massive torrent, following behind a wooden sword, hurtling towards Jiang Fei with unparalleled momentum!
This attack wasn’t like the Sword Dao Domain’s ten-thousand-sword dragon Yagyu Munenori had used last. Its visual impact was far less grand and dazzling.
This leaf-formed tornado, with a wooden sword embedded in it, seemed much less powerful, eerie but not magnificent. Yet, Jiang Fei’s reaction was one of extreme caution, a deep-seated terror even flashing in his eyes!
Yes.
Jiang Fei, the freakishly talented young Sword God who had just defeated Japan’s foremost swordsman and contemporary sword master, felt terror facing a seemingly harmless, ordinary wooden sword!
This kind of terror was rarely seen in Jiang Fei before.
Could a single wooden sword truly be more formidable than Yagyu Munenori’s Sword Dao Dragon, formed from thousands of snowflake-like swords?
In reality, yes.
The whistling wooden sword closed in rapidly, its reflection forming in Jiang Fei’s pupils. His expression was graver and more focused than ever before. Both hands moved, unleashing the ultimate principle of the “No Sword, Victory Over Sword” realm at the peak of the third level of the Nine Swords. Simultaneously, his decade-plus internal energy from the Northern Dark Divine Art surged powerfully within him.
“Break for me!” Jiang Fei roared. Instantly, countless invisible sword auras materialized around him, like divine weapons circling and hovering.
Sword Dao Domain!
Within this space was Jiang Fei’s world of the sword, where he could control everything. Anyone trying to intrude into his domain would suffer a heavy blow.
Boom!
With a fierce swing of his arm, Jiang Fei directed countless sword auras to attack the wooden sword that came sweeping in like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.
His expression was grim. This flying wooden sword evoked a genuine sense of powerlessness within him.
The Nine Swords was a miraculous sword art capable of defeating all techniques under heaven. Yet, facing this uniquely shaped wooden sword, he felt he couldn’t see through it!
This wooden sword thrust forward with no variation, seeming full of openings. Any beginner practicing swordsmanship would know how to parry it.
But upon closer inspection, you’d realize this assumption was completely wrong.
This sword stroke actually had no openings.
Because it simply and crudely locked onto its target, then overwhelmed it with incomparable, irresistible destructive force.
As the saying goes, overwhelming power trumps skill.
If Jiang Fei’s swordsmanship saw through the true meaning of the sword, reaching its most fundamental essence, using no-form to defeat all forms and surpassing all sword techniques under heaven,
Then this wooden sword embodied the world’s ultimate, supremely firm, and overwhelmingly powerful sword technique!
If one had to find a comparable figure, it would be the Great Hero Yang Guo.
Yang Guo was also ‘guided’ by Dugu Qiubai. Initially, he diligently trained with a heavy sword, mastering a Black Iron Heavy Sword until few in the martial world could match him. Later, after parting with Xiaolongnü, he trained alone by the East China Sea, abandoning the heavy sword and starting to practice with a wooden sword.
Although he trained with a wooden sword, he still cultivated it as if it were a heavy sword. The force from each stroke he made could withstand the wildest waves, a testament to its power.
Yang Guo followed the most ferocious path. Though using a wooden sword, he treated it like a heavy sword, relying on his domineering, peerless, and profound internal strength. When his Yang energy reached its absolute peak, he also attained the realm of the wooden sword!
It could be said that Yang Guo’s wooden sword realm was a completely different concept from the wooden sword of the Nine Swords or Zhang Sanfeng’s Taiji Sword’s principle of no-form defeating all forms.
Yang Guo purely used force to attain the Dao, reaching the realm where a wooden sword surpasses a heavy sword, and even creating techniques like the Melancholic Palms.
Now, the wooden sword strike before Jiang Fei seemed to him comparable to Yang Guo’s wooden sword, its mere sword wind capable of stopping wild waves!
“Boom!”
The wooden sword finally breached Jiang Fei’s Sword Dao Domain, colliding with his myriad sword auras.
Time seemed to freeze, the scene suspended. The wooden sword appeared stuck, like in a swamp, unable to advance.
Unfortunately, this lasted barely a second. The wooden sword broke free, plunging deeper, thrusting towards Jiang Fei like a spear piercing a balloon.
Pfft…
This force was truly immense, not sharp, pure overwhelming power.
Jiang Fei’s body flew back like a kite with a broken string, stopping only after dozens of meters.
His face flushed red, nearly spitting out a mouthful of blood. He glared angrily into the darkness ahead and roared, “Old man! Are you trying to kill your own disciple? Damn it!”
Hearing Jiang Fei’s furious roar, a hearty laugh rang out. A Taoist priest in a Daoist robe emerged from the darkness, smiling as he said, “No Sword, Victory Over Sword. Not bad, not bad…”
