“Haha! Yagyu Munenori really won! See? This is the true strength that our great island nation’s kendo world should have! How could a mere little Chinese girl casually provoke us?”
“Tsk tsk, whether it was the opening battōjutsu or the miraculous Clone Slash later, Yagyu Munenori displayed his strength to the fullest! Truly worthy of being the only sword saint of our generation, hailed as the most gifted figure in the kendo world in decades!”
“Yes! For so many years, no one more powerful than Yagyu Munenori has appeared in the island nation’s kendo world. Miyamoto Kazuma, who swept across dozens of islands sixteen years ago, was nothing more than a firefly compared to the bright moon when set against Yagyu Munenori—the gap is too great!”
“Only Tsukahara Bokuden, the founding patriarch of the Shintō school from several decades back, could compare to Yagyu Munenori, right? It’s a pity that this genius who created his own kendo school died too early from some accident—he barely had time to leave behind the glory he deserved and deeds worth remembering.”
“All hail the sword saint! Iai Battōjutsu is number one!”
The moment Liu Yunduo said the three words “I’ve lost,” confirming her defeat, the kendo hall instantly boiled over. Most of the people who had come to watch were beaming with joy, unable to resist heaping every word of praise onto Yagyu Munenori.
Of course, these people still had some self-awareness. While praising Yagyu Munenori, they didn’t dare to blatantly belittle Liu Yunduo.
It was true that Liu Yunduo had ultimately lost to Yagyu Munenori, but her strength was something everyone had seen with their own eyes. They couldn’t belittle her strength just because she lost. Don’t forget that before this, Liu Yunduo had already defeated two of the top masters standing at the peak of their island nation’s kendo world.
If they belittled her now just because she lost, wouldn’t that be equivalent to belittling Chiba Jūjirō and Uesugi Ise as well?
So all they could do now was praise Yagyu Munenori without limit—praise their island nation’s kendo world as being incredibly awesome beyond all bounds, claiming that no matter how strong a challenger came, there would always be a master who could suppress them.
As for how young Liu Yunduo currently was and how old Yagyu Munenori was—if Liu Yunduo cultivated for another ten or twenty years and came to challenge the island nation again at Yagyu Munenori’s current age, whether they would still have anyone who could hold up—they deliberately ignored that.
Of course, while most people were happy, there were also some who weren’t so happy.
For example, some kendo schools that were sworn enemies of the Iai Battōjutsu school—seeing Yagyu Munenori defeat a powerful enemy so impressively and establish his prestige, they certainly wouldn’t be too pleased. Even though Yagyu Munenori had defended the dignity of the island nation’s kendo world, they still weren’t happy.
Actually, even some of the higher-ups of the Iai Battōjutsu school didn’t have completely genuine smiles on their faces when they saw Yagyu Munenori win…
It wasn’t that they didn’t want Yagyu Munenori to win this match—they just wished even more that Yagyu Munenori could win the next one!
The next battle was actually the most important one for Yagyu Munenori.
Because this battle concerned Yagyu Munenori’s life. If Yagyu Munenori couldn’t win the next one, then winning the previous one was actually useless.
“Uncle, are you alright?” Yagyu Chinatsu was wearing a kimono, her normally naturally flowing black hair now styled into a traditional and elaborate updo.
Yagyu Munenori waved his hand, indicating he was fine.
He handed his sword to a servant nearby, his gaze distant and deep as he sighed with emotion: “The Chinese martial world truly produces generations of talent! This is only the kendo world, and already two once-in-a-century geniuses like Jiang Fei and Liu Yunduo have emerged. And the Chinese martial world has so many martial arts schools—unlike our island nation, where kendo is just a tiny branch. They also have spear techniques, blade techniques, fist techniques… I really can’t imagine, after I die, who in our Eastern island nation would dare to cross the sea eastward!”
Hearing this, the trace of happiness that had just appeared on Yagyu Chinatsu’s face immediately turned into anxiety and worry. She quickly said, “Uncle, how could you die! Now that you’ve entered the Sword Saint realm, even Jiang Fei is no match for you!”
Beside them stood a middle-aged man in the samurai uniform of the Iai Battōjutsu school, his aura very steady. He also nodded and said, “Yes, senior brother. You’ve basically entered the Xiantian realm now and can be called a Sword Saint. With just a bit more time cultivating, you’ll be able to fully form gangqi—that would already put you on par with the many illustrious predecessors and masters in kendo history. How could you not defeat that young man named Jiang Fei?”
This middle-aged man was named Yagyu Muneyoshi, Yagyu Munenori’s junior brother and currently the second strongest master of Iai Battōjutsu!
Yagyu Muneyoshi’s fame wasn’t as great as Yagyu Munenori’s—he wasn’t even as well-known as Chiba Jūjirō, Uesugi Ise, or Miyamoto Kazuma. Most of the time he cultivated silently, rarely appearing in the martial world…
But his strength was not low at all. His current strength, like Chiba Jūjirō of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū, had already crossed into the Danjin level and could be called a sword master!
Without Yagyu Munenori, he would be the number one master of the Iai school.
Hearing the words of the two, a bitter smile appeared on Yagyu Munenori’s face.
Crossing into the Xiantian Gangjin level was indeed remarkable—it had already caught up to the dozen or so most dazzling legendary kendo predecessors in the island nation’s kendo history. He had almost reached the true pinnacle of the kendo world, with no further path forward.
But there was no help for it—he was still no match!
Tsukahara Bokuden, that legendary master who had held the title of Sword Saint for over a decade, had just been killed by Jiang Fei a few days ago—let alone him…
But Yagyu Munenori hadn’t told anyone about this. It wasn’t convenient to tell, and he didn’t want to.
Tsukahara Bokuden was a figure long dead in the kendo world. No one knew he had still been alive. There was no need to stir up unnecessary trouble.
And there were still quite a few people who knew about the matter between him and Aoki Yōyuki back then—for example, his junior brother Yagyu Muneyoshi. He didn’t want anyone to bring those things up again.
“Let’s go. Go see Jiang Fei. Whether I can win or not, this duel cannot be avoided—it must be faced.” Yagyu Munenori finished with a long sigh, then strode outward.
“That old bastard Yagyu Munenori is really shameless! Bullying the young with the old isn’t enough—he even used some Clone Slash. What kind of crappy sword technique is that? Were you doing magic tricks up there? Damn!”
In a quiet spot specially arranged inside the kendo hall, where no one else could enter, Su Mengnan—this spoiled rich kid—was acting like an unreasonable market auntie, saying completely irrational things.
In short, his meaning was that Liu Yunduo’s loss was too unfair, and this duel should have continued with Liu Yunduo winning.
“Queen Boss, don’t be discouraged. Although this old guy is up in years and has cultivated for too long, he’s still barely in his prime right now—so he’s just a tiny bit powerful. We’ll go back and cultivate for a few years, ten years or so, then make a comeback. By then this old guy definitely won’t be your match—no, definitely won’t be a match for even one of your moves! By then we’ll only need one move to insta-kill him!”
Su Mengnan looked at Liu Yunduo and ‘tenderly’ comforted her.
Liu Yunduo, who had originally been feeling somewhat heavy and a tiny bit disappointed, couldn’t help but smile after hearing Su Mengnan’s words. She glared at him and said没好气地: “I don’t need you to comfort me—you just talk nonsense!”
Seeing that Liu Yunduo wasn’t too sad and had actually shown a smile, Su Mengnan immediately felt relieved. He scratched his head and, thick-skinned, chuckled: “I’m not talking nonsense—just stating facts. This old guy really did bully the young with the old, and he really has cultivated too long…”
The group chatted for a while.
After a moment, Liu Yunduo looked at Jiang Fei thoughtfully, seeming to want to say something but hesitating. She asked: “Jiang Fei, when… when will you fight Yagyu Munenori again? I mean your half-year agreement from the summit of Emei.”
Jiang Fei glanced at her and roughly guessed Liu Yunduo’s thoughts. He asked in return: “You want me not to kill Yagyu Munenori?”
Having her inner thoughts exposed, Liu Yunduo didn’t feel shy. She nodded seriously: “Yes. From what you’ve all said, Yagyu Munenori should be the strongest in the entire island nation’s kendo world right now. If he dies, and I go back to cultivate and come again later, I probably won’t find anyone left to challenge.”
Aside from Yagyu Munenori, the most famous kendo masters in the island nation’s kendo world had all already lost to Liu Yunduo’s sword. Without Yagyu Munenori, she could sweep the entire island nation’s kendo world right now—why would she need to go back and cultivate for several years?
She was going back to cultivate precisely so she could defeat Yagyu Munenori in the future!
Yagyu Munenori wasn’t her inner demon—not someone she absolutely had to defeat. He was just a person—a very important person through whom she could avenge her father.
Without Yagyu Munenori, she couldn’t truly claim to have defeated the entire island nation’s kendo world.
Because the truly strongest master in the island nation’s kendo world had been taken down by Jiang Fei first. It was like having a monster stolen from you…
Jiang Fei wore a somewhat helpless expression.
He definitely wanted to obtain Yagyu Munenori’s lifelong deep internal energy—something he greatly coveted. If he could get it, his Beiming Divine Art cultivation would surge, and he wouldn’t be far from the final third-layer great perfection.
Of course, this would still require waiting a while—until Yagyu Munenori truly and completely entered the Xiantian Gangjin level. Only then could it be put to maximum use.
That time wouldn’t be too long—half a year at most.
But for Liu Yunduo to defeat Yagyu Munenori, that wasn’t something achievable in just a few months. To beat Yagyu Munenori, she would definitely need to enter the Xiantian realm as well.
And reaching the Xiantian realm—even at the shortest, it would take several years or a decade; at the longest, it might be something one couldn’t achieve in a lifetime…
Jiang Fei had never been a particularly patient person. That time was just too long. With that time, he himself might already have achieved great perfection in the Beiming Divine Art and wouldn’t need to absorb others’ internal energy anymore.
However, it wasn’t just Liu Yunduo pleading with him now—he himself was indeed somewhat impressed by the character of Yagyu Munenori, this contemporary sword saint of the island nation.
In his view, this island nation’s sword saint was indeed a decent person.
That grudge between them at the summit of Emei could actually be considered a martial artists’ exchange and discussion of the way—friends through fighting. There wasn’t any irreconcilable hatred.
“Absorb, or not absorb? That is a question.” Jiang Fei thought to himself.
Just then, Yagyu Munenori and his group walked over from a distance. Both sides exchanged slight bows.
Liu Yunduo and Yagyu Munenori, who had just fought on the arena, had their eyes meet—but it wasn’t too awkward. Because Yagyu Munenori’s gaze quickly converged on Jiang Fei, looking at him without speaking.
“Looking for me?” Jiang Fei narrowed his eyes and asked.
Yagyu Munenori nodded and said four words: “The half-year agreement.”
“So impatient? I saw during your fight just now that your Xiantian realm isn’t too solid yet, right? Why not wait a while longer?”
Hearing Jiang Fei say this, both Yagyu Chinatsu and Yagyu Muneyoshi’s eyes lit up. They almost wished they could nod and agree on Yagyu Munenori’s behalf.
Being able to wait a while longer and cultivate a bit more—nothing could be better!
Unfortunately, Yagyu Munenori shook his head and said calmly: “It’s not too solid, but compared to half a year ago, I’ve already improved by a large margin—I’ve already taken a big advantage. I’m afraid you don’t have time. You’ll probably be returning to China after this matter is done, right? Since that’s the case, if you’re willing, I’ll accompany you in battle.”
Jiang Fei’s mouth twitched.
This island nation’s contemporary sword saint really was… really was rare in his crisp integrity and uprightness!
Even knowing it was a battle to certain death, he hadn’t thought of delaying at all. When it was time to die, he resolutely went to die!
This temper—I’m impressed!
“Actually, I’m not in that much of a hurry.” Jiang Fei said with a smile.
Seeing Yagyu Munenori’s puzzled look and then glancing at Liu Yunduo’s somewhat bright eyes, Jiang Fei paused, sighed, and said: “Let’s push our half-year agreement back a bit further!”
“Why?” Yagyu Munenori asked.
“No why. Don’t you want to delay it?” Jiang Fei said.
“…”
Yagyu Munenori didn’t answer, choosing silence.
He wasn’t afraid of death. For the sake of his promise, for the dignity of kendo in his heart, he could generously go to his death without regret.
But if he could avoid dying and continue living, he wasn’t so foolish as to actively seek death. After all, no one actively wants to die.
Being able to live was naturally better than anything!
“How long is the delay?” Yagyu Munenori merely asked.
Jiang Fei shrugged, and after gazing at the blue sky somewhat artistically and show-off-ily, he said: “No specific time. Depends on my mood—when I remember, I’ll find you.”
Hearing this, Yagyu Chinatsu and Yagyu Muneyoshi were overjoyed.
Jiang Fei’s words were basically equivalent to canceling the agreed duel with Yagyu Munenori!
Liu Yunduo also cast a grateful look toward Jiang Fei.
Yagyu Munenori, however, didn’t show much happiness. He just looked at Jiang Fei with a complex expression and nodded: “Alright…”
