It was as if he hadn't seen the tragic defeat of his two companions. Holding Seimu's sword in his hand, the white doll stepped into the arena.
Relaxed and comfortable.
He drew the sword and waved it twice. He couldn't help but sigh.
Whether it was weight, length, or even ease of use, it was far inferior to Resentment.
Not good.
"Isn't this a few years old?" He turned back and asked, "Rather than calling it a weapon, it's better to call it an antique. It should be quite expensive, right? Shouldn't it be properly preserved? "
"Things like swords have no meaning once they become antiques. It's best to use them while they're still usable."
Seimu waved his hand indifferently, "As the saying goes, make the best use of everything. If tools don't break, then isn't there no meaning?"
As an experienced tool user, Huai Shi could sense the deep malice of this world.
He held the sword in his hand and swung it twice. The blade actually hummed.
He felt that it would be more convenient to wield a stick of this length. He didn't realize at all how awkward his posture was in the eyes of a professional.
Across from him, Katori Ichiro couldn't help but frown.
The name of a blade covered in dust, entrusted to the wrong person … this was probably the situation, right?
"Alright."
Huai Shi nodded. After completely familiarizing himself with this weapon, he raised his head and smiled, "Let's begin."
The attendant next to him came forward with brand-new protective gear, but Huai Shi didn't even glance at it. He waved his hand, "There's no need for those cumbersome things."
Everyone frowned at his words.
Seimu's expression stiffened for a moment.
Behind him, Arakawa revealed a mocking expression.
"Hmph, you're courting death …"
As for Kuai Shi, she stretched her neck nonchalantly and finally raised her head to look at her opponent. "Katori Ichiro, is that really your name? Forget it, it doesn't matter if it's a fake name … "
He stared at Katori Ichiro's cold face and suddenly said, "You're cheating, aren't you?
Katori Ichiro's face was expressionless. It was as if he hadn't heard him at all.
Or it was as if he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the words of a layman.
Huai Shi lowered his head and stared at the remaining bloodstains on the floor. Then, he suddenly chuckled softly.
"If he wasn't wearing armor, Akutagawa wouldn't have failed so quickly …"
He said, "Although that Sacrificial Sword was too crude and unsightly, it shouldn't have ended up in such a sorry state. Even without Qi Fusion, he wouldn't have fallen so quickly.
White Butterfly was defeated too quickly. You gave him too much pressure, causing him to misunderstand. He thought that you were unfathomable, but he didn't realize it at all. It's dark under the lamp … "
Bai Die's defeat was too fast. He didn't have time to notice it and only heard the sound of the wind.
But just now, he had seen Akutagawa's battle clearly.
Akutagawa seemed to have taken the initiative.
But in reality, this was exactly what his opponent wanted.
Ichiro Katori was deliberately waiting, waiting for his opponent to make a move, waiting for his opponent to reveal an opening. Then, with his profound attainments in martial arts, he would calmly evade his opponent's attacks and strike at his opponent's weak points. In the end, he would achieve the effect of instantly defeating his opponent with a single strike.
Once you disregarded the use of Origin Substances, this kind of pure swordsmanship duel was all about the application of mechanics and physiology.
It was true that strength, speed, reflexes, and so on were all very important. However, if there was even a single flaw, the final result could be completely different.
But the most important thing was experience!
To a highly accomplished martial artist like Ichiro Katori, everything in front of him had a set pattern to follow. This was because from ancient times until now, almost all of the variations in swordsmanship had been explored by his predecessors.
It could be said that if one were to trace back the history of any duel in any dojo, they would be able to find similar examples from the vast amount of records.
Every single technique could be found with the most optimal solution.
Just like in Go, Shogi, and Chinese chess, if one accidentally fell into a set pattern and allowed their opponent to grasp the sequence of events, they would basically be doomed.
This was what it meant to bully others with great merit.
In the instant that Akutagawa raised his Sacrificial Sword, more than a hundred thousand ways to counter it appeared in his opponent's mind. He didn't even need to think about it.
Pure muscle memory would allow him to make the most appropriate response.
For example, if Huai Shi had dared to use the Drummer and Emperor's Steps in front of Luo Xian, he would definitely have been thrashed in the end. These were things that people were already tired of playing with. It was like displaying one's slight skill in front of an expert.
In the eyes of an outsider, this duel was three against one, and it was unfair.
In reality, the opposite was true.
From the beginning, there was a great disparity between victory and defeat.
Ichiro Katori was almost standing in a position where he would definitely win.
"Of course, even without the obstruction of the armor, Akutagawa's reflexes probably wouldn't have been able to reverse the situation. But if he had chosen to defend and play conservatively from the beginning, even if he couldn't win in the end, he wouldn't have lost so quickly and tragically."
After listening to Huai Shi's words, Ichiro Katori was still expressionless, but his gaze towards Huai Shi became unhappy.
"You don't understand Kendo at all, do you?" He finally spoke, full of indifference.
"Yes, that's right."
Huai Shi nodded frankly. "I haven't learned it at all."
He didn't know anything about Xuanshi, Residual Heart, and Ji Gu.
He didn't know anything about Stance, Blade Tendon, or Footwork!
"But, I've seen a lot of martial arts competitions in manga and TV dramas —" he said in a trembling voice. "Rounding it off, it's equivalent to me knowing it!"
"…"
The corners of Ichiro Katori's eyes twitched, and he couldn't hide his anger and killing intent.
No matter who it was, it would be difficult for them to calm down when they heard the thing they had devoted their life to being belittled and looked down upon. Not only him, but the other people in the audience also booed. If it weren't for the wrong occasion, they would probably have booed.
Huai Shi, on the other hand, was still spouting nonsense, "Your swordsmanship is indeed very powerful. Your ability to see through the enemy's moves is also very strong, no, very strong … There are almost no gaps or weaknesses!
He paused for a moment and suddenly smiled. "But you didn't realize that you have a fatal flaw —"
As he spoke, Huai Shi raised his hand and pointed at his face.
"— Have you noticed that I'm taller than you?"
In an instant, the witnessing Kyodo in the audience almost collapsed. Even the audience found it difficult to restrain their anger, and they almost threw their teacups.
"Stop joking, you bastard!"
"Stop wasting time, hurry up and fight!"
"Stop talking nonsense, are you still a man?"
"Katori-san, you can do it! Kill him!"
But unlike the angry audience, Ichiro Katori froze for a moment, and then his expression turned ugly.
Because Huai Shi was right.
This was indeed … his own flaw.
Huai Shi was originally 175 cm tall. After a year of growth and development as a sublimator, his final height had stabilized at 186 cm. If he wore shoes, he could reach 188 cm.
Among the sublimators, he wasn't particularly tall, but he wasn't particularly short, either. Rather, he was in the middle range. His weight was also relatively light. At this height and weight, he was most suited to bring out the agility and explosive strength of a Yin spirit.
On the other hand, Ichiro Katori was 183 cm tall.
The difference was no more than five centimeters.
But height was only the most superficial of differences. In reality, the fatal flaw was … the length of his arms!
Huai Shi's arms were three centimeters longer than his!
An inch longer, an inch stronger!
Now, amidst the noisy scolding of the audience, Huai Shi slowly took off her suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of her shirt, revealing her forearms.
His legs parted slightly as he stood firmly on the ground. Then, he raised his hands and gripped the hilt of his sword, raising it high.
In the way of the sword, this was an undeniable top-level structure.
The Tang Bamboo Stance was ready to be unleashed!
Admittedly, the slashing motion was completely out of shape. It wasn't up to standard at all!
But no matter who it was, they couldn't deny that Huai Shi's advantage in height and arm length had been fully utilized in this strange posture.
With the advantage of height, arm span, and sword grip, his attack range was ten centimeters longer than Ichiro Katori's!
"How is it? Ichiro Katori? "
Huai Shi smiled faintly. "How does it feel to be caught in a trap of your own making?"
A contest of swordsmanship without Stigmata and Origin Substances?
Like hell!
The following duel had nothing to do with swordsmanship!
If his opponent wanted to use his rich experience to remain undefeated, then what Huai Shi needed to do was to forcefully drag his opponent out of the realm of swordsmanship and then use his rich experience to defeat him!
When Ichiro Katori had abandoned miracles in order to eliminate variables, the outcome of the duel had been dominated by the cold laws of physics.
Now that both sides' reflexes had reached the peak of their limits and were on the same level, the changes in their techniques were meaningless.
All that was left was a simple calculation problem.
Huai Shi's height was 188 centimeters, his arm span was 193 centimeters, and the sword in his hand was 75 centimeters long. His reflexes were negligible, but his maximum initial speed … …
After a series of calculations, when Ichiro Katori stepped into the ten centimeter gap between them, how would he avoid defeat?
It was like Xiao Ming sitting in front of a swimming pool, looking at the pool in front of him. One end of the pool was letting in water, while the other end was letting in water.
If you're so kind, can you help him?
"Come on, Ichiro Katori."
Huai Shi stared at his opponent and asked curiously, "Why aren't you moving?"
"It doesn't matter if you're using Katori Shinto, Yagyu Shinyin-ryu, Saber Flow, Sunset Flow, or Mudslide Flow. Bring it on!"
The current him, after discarding all irrelevant thoughts, had become a pure machine, waiting for his opponent to enter his attack range.
Victory or defeat would be decided within these ten centimeters.
Amidst the deathly silence, he smiled slightly and softly announced, "By the way, my next target … … is also your face!"
"You bastard!"
Ichiro Katori's face was ashen. He was furious. He raised the sword in his hand and took a step forward.
However, Huai Shi didn't move. His face was expressionless.
He was like a statue made of clay.
There was no reaction at all.
In fact, his eyes weren't even focused on Ichiro Katori's body. Instead, they were focused on some empty space. After discarding all distracting thoughts, all that was left was a pure reflex.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
