The once-legendary sword saint Tsukahara Bokuden looked utterly bedraggled, his body covered in wounds, his clothes torn to shreds. Qinglong held a spear against his throat, ready to end his life at any moment.
Qinglong’s eyes burned with fury and killing intent. He desperately wanted to run this old beast through with his spear. Thinking of everything Tsukahara Bokuden had done, he was nearly going mad with rage.
And Tsukahara Bokuden, whose life could end at any moment beneath Qinglong’s spear, felt little of the fear he should have had. His old eyes glared at Qinglong with equal fury, wishing he could kill him too.
Truth be told, in the hearts of both Qinglong and Yagyū Munenori, their love for Aoki Yuxue ran deep—deep enough to give their lives for her. After all these years, they still couldn’t forget her. And was Tsukahara Bokuden any different?
If his love for Aoki Yuxue hadn’t reached its absolute extreme, he wouldn’t have been so desperate to possess her. For her sake, he’d thrown away the title of Sword Saint. He’d abandoned the swordsmanship school he’d worked so hard to establish. All he wanted was to take Aoki Yuxue and retreat into the mountains, to live out their days in shameless bliss somewhere no one could disturb them.
Wasn’t that love at its most extreme?
Even if you called him a pervert, twisted in the head, a shameless beast—it was still, in its own way, love.
It was just that the age gap between them was too vast, and their relationship was one that society’s conventions could never accept. His love had no way to express itself openly—it could only be hidden.
Today, with the Lion King, Olivia, Brahma, and Yagyū Munenori—all these outsiders—interrupting, Tsukahara Bokuden had been suppressing his anger the entire time, seething inside. From the moment he’d seen them, he’d already decided in his heart to kill every last one of them here. Not a single one would leave.
But he hadn’t expected Brahma to have already crossed into the innate level, and that his strength wasn’t much lower than his own. He could barely kill one of them alone, let alone fight four at once.
So he’d had to change his plan. With a little manipulation, he’d first let Brahma kill Yagyū Munenori, the Lion King, and the other two—then he’d kill Brahma last.
You can imagine just how much he valued Aoki Yuxue. Now Qinglong and Aoki Yuxue were embracing intimately, planning to fly away together and abandon him—a lonely old man. How could he possibly endure that?
Of course he couldn’t!
He absolutely would not allow anyone to take Aoki Yuxue from him. That would make his life worse than death.
“Die!”
Qinglong let out a low roar, hatred churning in his heart. Finally, he could hold back no longer. With a slight flick of his arm, the wooden staff-spear in his hand was about to thrust forward.
“Qinglong, don’t!” Aoki Yuxue cried out urgently.
Hearing the woman’s voice, Qinglong’s movements indeed halted. He slowly turned his head, wanting to ask Aoki Yuxue why she wouldn’t let him kill this old beast who had imprisoned her for years.
But when he turned, he found that Aoki Yuxue—for some reason—was already streaming with tears. The look in her eyes was incredibly complex, her face full of sorrow, and she was just gazing at Qinglong, shaking her head over and over.
Seeing Aoki Yuxue so heartbroken, Qinglong felt a pang in his own heart. The killing intent that had been so firm and unshakable was now wavering, weakened by the sight of this beauty’s tear-streaked face.
He simply couldn’t bear to see Aoki Yuxue unhappy in any way. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have obeyed her instructions all these years—not to come seeking revenge against Tsukahara Bokuden.
Otherwise, with Qinglong’s strength—shortly after reaching the innate gangqi level—he’d already been fully capable of coming to Japan to take revenge on Tsukahara Bokuden.
Jiang Fei, standing nearby, also let out a breath of relief, casting a grateful glance at Aoki Yuxue. This woman really was understanding—once again, she’d happened to step in right before him, stopping the enraged Qinglong. Otherwise, he would have had to act himself.
“But… this woman doesn’t seem quite normal either. That old bastard Tsukahara Bokuden nearly killed her back then. Not only did he destroy her cultivation, but all these years he’s essentially kept her imprisoned on Mount Fuji, cut off from the world for over twenty years. Now that she has the chance to kill Tsukahara Bokuden, why is she refusing?”
Jiang Fei’s brow furrowed with curiosity as he watched the three of them, thinking to himself: “Could it be that Aoki Yuxue actually has feelings for her master Tsukahara Bokuden? Imprisoned for twenty years, not driven mad by torment, and she’s developed feelings instead? That’s…”
Jiang Fei looked at Qinglong with some sympathy. A bit tragic, really.
This was even more tragic than Yang Guo. Sure, Yang Guo lost an arm and waited sixteen years for his auntie, and Xiaolongnü had her virginity taken by that beast Yin Zhiping…
But at least his auntie’s heart belonged entirely to her Guo’er. Her love for Yang Guo was unwavering from beginning to end. To earn such devotion from a beauty—no amount of suffering would be too much.
But this Aoki Yuxue…
A woman too beautiful attracts all sorts of admirers, draws the pursuit of many men—that’s not her fault. But if she doesn’t know how to reject men properly, and has unclear, ambiguous feelings for too many men at once—that’s not so good.
“Yuxue, why? Why won’t you let me kill him! All the suffering we’ve endured—it’s all because of this bastard!” Qinglong gazed at the tearful Aoki Yuxue, asking unwillingly.
“He… is still my master, after all.” Aoki Yuxue’s inner conflict and pain were written all over that face with the potential to overthrow cities and nations. Yet what she said was an utterly unconvincing reason.
Just because Tsukahara Bokuden was her master, she could forgive everything he’d done all these years—and his twisted psychology?
That was obviously too far-fetched.
“It was this old beast who betrayed us first—so no one can blame us for being ruthless! If we don’t kill him, how will we avenge you and vent your anger?” Qinglong said furiously.
Aoki Yuxue shook her head in pain, speaking through her sobs: “Even if he was the one who betrayed us first, even if he made us suffer so much all these years—didn’t we survive it all? Aren’t we together now? This time I can finally leave with you. We’ll be together for the rest of our lives. The past doesn’t matter anymore, does it? If you don’t kill him today, my relationship with him will still be completely severed. We’ll never see each other again. Why must you kill him?”
“But…” Qinglong’s anger was hard to pacify. He clearly wasn’t so easily persuaded.
Yuxue walked to Qinglong’s side and reached out a delicate hand to cover his mouth, not letting him speak. She gazed at him through her tear stains and said: “Qinglong, just grant me this one request, alright? From now on, I’ll listen to you in everything. We’ll be together and never separated again. I’ll accompany you to the ends of the earth. Alright?”
Qinglong’s face was full of struggle, his eyes filled with unwillingness.
He truly wanted to cut Tsukahara Bokuden into a thousand pieces to vent the rage in his heart!
But looking at Aoki Yuxue’s expression, Qinglong stared quietly at her for half a minute before finally letting out a long sigh. He collected all his negative emotions and gently stroked Aoki Yuxue’s smooth face with his left hand, saying: “Fine. I’ll agree. Today, I’ll spare this old beast’s life.”
Swish!
Qinglong waved his right hand, and the wooden staff-spear moved away from Tsukahara Bokuden’s neck, stabbing into the ground. Then, without looking back, he took Aoki Yuxue’s arm and left.
Only then did Aoki Yuxue’s tears turn to smiles. A smile more beautiful than cherry blossoms appeared on her face as she gently leaned her head against Qinglong’s broad chest.
But just as the two had walked only a few meters away, a sudden change occurred—
Tsukahara Bokuden, who moments ago had a spear pressed against his throat, one step from death, who had only survived because Aoki Yuxue pleaded for him—his face once again twisted into a ferocious snarl. He gathered all the gangqi in his body once more, condensing it into incomparably sharp sword qi, and slashed furiously at Qinglong.
This was his perfect opportunity. Qinglong had already discarded the wooden staff-spear in front of him. He had no weapon in hand now. Even if he could still unleash that stunning spear technique, its power would be greatly diminished. Plus, he was focused on leaving with Aoki Yuxue—he probably never expected Tsukahara Bokuden to launch a sneak attack. His guard was down.
With this surprise attack, Tsukahara Bokuden might just succeed in one strike—cutting Qinglong down on the spot!
Killing intent blazing in his eyes, face contorted, Tsukahara Bokuden—who with his white hair and youthful complexion should have looked quite immortal and dignified—now resembled nothing so much as a bloodthirsty demon, utterly deranged.
“Die!” Tsukahara Bokuden roared in a low voice, a ferocious grin spreading across his face.
If he killed Qinglong, Aoki Yuxue would still be his. She would stay by his side forever.
Unfortunately, he didn’t know that Qinglong had never let his guard down from the very beginning. He’d long anticipated that this old beast wouldn’t give up so easily—that he’d certainly try another sneak attack.
The reason Qinglong had discarded the wooden staff-spear was precisely to lure Tsukahara Bokuden into attacking—to make him think Qinglong had no power to resist!
Because as long as Tsukahara Bokuden launched a sneak attack, then Qinglong could kill him—and even Aoki Yuxue wouldn’t be able to stop it. No matter how unwilling she was, it would be too late. And she couldn’t blame Qinglong for it either.
After all, it was Tsukahara Bokuden himself who’d sought his own death.
Qinglong’s innate gangqi suddenly erupted. His arm moved like a swimming dragon as he condensed a long spear-qi, preparing to turn and deliver a classic backward thrust—sending Tsukahara Bokuden straight to the afterlife.
Bzzt!
But Tsukahara Bokuden’s sword qi never reached Qinglong. Midway, it was intercepted by another sword qi!
Qinglong had been paying attention all along, so naturally he could tell what was happening.
He furrowed his brow and turned his head. A young man’s figure had cut in from the middle, forcibly intercepting between him and Tsukahara Bokuden.
This person was, of course, Jiang Fei.
“Damn, thank goodness I’ve been paying attention this whole time, watching closely. If I hadn’t intercepted this time, this ‘experience monster’ would’ve said goodbye to me for good—and there’d be nothing left for me.” Jiang Fei thought to himself.
Jiang Fei wasn’t stupid. Anyone with normal intelligence would guess that Qinglong throwing away his wooden staff-spear was just a baiting tactic—luring the enemy in.
He must have had a killing move prepared, just waiting for Tsukahara Bokuden to foolishly come forward.
Only someone like Tsukahara Bokuden—blinded by rage and jealousy, having nearly lost all reason—would still harbor wishful thinking.
“You two go. I’ll take care of this old guy. Don’t worry about the rest.” After intercepting Tsukahara Bokuden with one sword strike, Jiang Fei immediately turned his head to glance at Qinglong, speaking calmly—but his eyes secretly gave Qinglong a look.
The look meant: Don’t worry, I’ll kill him!
Qinglong nodded, giving Jiang Fei a grateful look in return.
Having Jiang Fei kill Tsukahara Bokuden was naturally the best outcome. He wouldn’t have to act himself, wouldn’t make things difficult or painful for Aoki Yuxue, and would still get his revenge.
As for Jiang Fei’s strength, Qinglong was quite confident.
From the very start of this battle, he’d come with Jiang Fei and Yagyū Chinatsu. He knew very well how formidable and strange Jiang Fei’s abilities were—more than enough to suppress Tsukahara Bokuden.
Plus, Tsukahara Bokuden was already seriously wounded by him, his strength affected. If he could still display eighty percent of his full power now, that would be impressive. Against Jiang Fei in this state, he was naturally doomed.
Aoki Yuxue had naturally heard what was happening behind her too. She quickly turned back to look, worry appearing in her eyes.
She was about to speak when Qinglong comforted her: “Don’t worry, it’s fine. You know Tsukahara Bokuden’s strength—I could kill him, but that doesn’t mean others can. Even if Jiang Fei wants to kill him, he won’t be able to. Let’s go ahead first, so he doesn’t cause any more trouble.”
“But…” Aoki Yuxue stopped walking, still wanting to say something.
Qinglong didn’t give her the chance. He took her by her soft waist, and with a leap, they rose from the ground and flew into the distance, quickly disappearing from everyone’s sight.
Tsukahara Bokuden watched this scene with bloodshot eyes, nearly going mad. He roared furiously: “Stay! Stay, I say! You’re not allowed to leave!”
When his body also leaped up to give chase, Jiang Fei slashed at him with a sword, saying with delight—like a hunter watching his prey: “You’re the one who should stay! Don’t even think about leaving!”
“Yellow-haired brat, get out of my way! Anyone who blocks me dies!” Tsukahara Bokuden went completely berserk, his attacks showing no restraint whatsoever, frantically slashing this way and that.
Seeing Tsukahara Bokuden like this, Jiang Fei wasn’t angry—he was delighted.
This was exactly what he wanted. This way, he could more smoothly absorb this guy’s inner energy!
Once this old fellow went completely mad and lost all reason, he’d stop caring about anything. Jiang Fei could easily get close to him. If he’d fought like at the beginning—using guerrilla tactics, or even just choosing to flee for his life—Jiang Fei really couldn’t guarantee he’d be able to catch him with the Beiming Divine Art and absorb his inner energy.
“Come on, come on. Come at me harder!” Jiang Fei’s eyes sparkled as he thought to himself secretly.
Sure enough, under Tsukahara Bokuden’s reckless attacks, this man who could arguably be considered flawless in swordsmanship—already at great perfection—was quickly found by Jiang Fei to have an opening. Jiang Fei then swept aside his protective gangqi with one sword, struck out with his left hand, and grabbed his wrist.
Bzzt!
The Beiming Divine Art activated…
