Chapter 224: Expert Iaido

Translator: Larbre Studio  Editor: Larbre Studio

Li Xianyu had seen many sharp mouthed women, who could speak vitriolic words and hurl insults at the top of their voices, but they were no better than the ones from this Japanese lass.

She could always find out her opponent’s vital points precisely, and then make a precise insult, just like she could accurately analyze the weakness of the enemy. She was a person that could rival San Wu.

At the same time when he beckoned San Wu to come over, Eric and the thin monk began to fight. The thin monk stood still as he concentrated his qi in his solar plexus. His dark skin appeared golden light, shining in the sun, like the reincarnation of Buddha.

It was the Buddha’s Secret: Indestructible Body of King Kong. It was a skill that had been mastered to perfection. It didn’t lose to those blood descendants who were naturally good at defense. It was equivalent to one more ability.

The expert of this skill in Baoze was the senior employee, Wang Lao Er. Wang Lao Er was famous for his toughness. How abnormal was this guy’s skill? There were few senior employees who could break his defense.

With the development of qi training, there had been many top elites. It was because of the existence of these elites, the mediocre demon descendants had the hope of dominating the world as well.

In ancient times, the strong and weak in the demon descendants’ community were differentiated by their abilities. Some people were born strong, while some were born weak. This was in line with the laws of nature. A newborn elephant could easily step on a mouse.

However, after the emergence of qi training, this nature was gradually broken. Those who were not good at fighting and were born with weak abilities also had the hope of dominating the world.

The world knew that the cultivation of Buddha Head was world-leading, on the level of Gokudo Path. However, it was estimated that few people knew what the power of Buddha Head was. Furthermore, who could remember the power of Demonic Priest Wang Chen?

Indestructible Body of King Kong’s weakness was innate passivity, speed, fear of gas, and so on. However, all these weaknesses were ignored by Eric, who chose to collide head-on with the thin monk.

Crack!

His feet created a shallow pit on the hard ground paved with marble. Eric seemed to be a super sports car at high speed. In a flash, Eric had travelled a distance of more than ten meters. The wind from his body lifted the monk’s robe.

The thin monk gave a soft warcry, concentrated on the strength of his whole body, and gritted his teeth hard. He was ready to resist this move.

Eric punched the thin monk’s belly, and a stone-like collision sound echoed out.

The thin monk was hit by the fist and flew out. He crashed into the wall and scared the two competitors on the other side of the wall.

Victory in seconds! The audience exhaled deeply.

The skinny monk was not weak. Indestructible Body of King Kong was not Eric’s match. It was not surprising that he was defeated, but no one expected that he was defeated in seconds.

Li Xianyu retracted his neck. “Fuck, this guy is that ferocious?”

Li Xianyu suspected that he could not avoid the collision. Although he would not end up as miserable as the thin monk, he was just more able to withstand that beating.

Somewhere in the audience, a young man with two knives on his back squinted. He was with a Japanese team. “Eric is still so good. His close combat skills have gotten stronger than the year before.”

The middle-aged man beside him commented. “His ferocity will become his biggest shackle. Don’t worry, Miyamoto-san. In a few years, you will surpass Eric.”

“Eric and I have fought several times. He has lost his combat value. My purpose of coming to China this time is to find more powerful opponents. Jie Se and Dan Chenzi can barely be my opponents. Unfortunately, neither of my two most valued opponents has come. It is said that Li Peiyun, who is a rising star in China’s demon descendants’ community, has inherited the real skills of the Demonic Priest. Tri-Elements Sword is also known as ‘Santo-ryu’ by our people, which is an invincible skill in the world. I want to compete with him. Let’s see if my niten-ryu or his santo-ryu is stronger.”

The Demonic Priest was very popular in Japan. He was the top master of the Gokudo Path. He was also a pro Japanese who helped the Imperial Army in that year, so he was very popular within Japan’s demon descendant community.

“Do you know that he almost killed the whole Taoist section? He was a soldier of our Imperial Army in World War II.”

“If Priest Wang Chen had stepped into the Gokudo Path earlier, our war history in China would be rewritten in World War II.”

“He’s the top expert in China in the last 500 years. He’s a warrior of Japan.”

Many years after the end of World War II, the history of the Demonic Priest was picked out, and his story began to spread, so he became one of the most popular characters in the last 200 years of the history of Japan’s demon descendant community.

The reason for this was similar to one of the absurd rumors many years ago: “Hitler was helped by Chinese couples when he was in a bad mood and wanted to share the world with China.” This rumour had one trait: it was refreshing to see.

One would think that the top master who once dominated an era was a fighter of the Japanese army when he was young. This felt even better than sex.

Li Peiyun was the Demonic Priest’s descendant. He loved the Japanese as well. He was also the leader of the unorthodox cult in the Chinese demon descendant community. The Japanese people were extremely elated. After Li Peiyun became famous, he quickly gained popularity in Japan.

The second opponent Miyamoto Hideki wanted to challenge was Baoze’s boss. The expert had been living in seclusion in recent years. He was the one that all ambitious young people wanted to challenge.

“Two years ago, he was already halfway into the Gokudo Path. I don’t know if he has stepped out of the Gokudo Path now,” said Miyamoto Hideki.

Being halfway into the Gokudo Path was not really an intimidating thing. Experts like them who stood at the top had powers that exceeded S-level strength. They could fight for several rounds against those people. Although semi-Gokudo Path represented half the progression into the Gokudo Path, it is different from being in the Gokudo Path. There was no comparison.

“It’s not so easy. Even if he is known as the most terrifying talent in the demon descendants’ community, he can’t reach the summit in just two years. There are little people in the Gokudo Path presently. However, there are many semi-Gokudo Path experts now. Many people’s skill levels stopped there,” said the middle-aged man.

Miyamoto Hideki nodded. “Unfortunately, I won’t be able to see him, or I will know. In this generation of young people in China, there are no more than five who can be my rivals. It’s a great country, yet it’s disappointing.”

Although there were many masters in China, Miyamoto Hideki had proclaimed himself to be ranked amongst the top in his age bracket.

This meant that this generation of Japanese young experts was no worse than that of China, with a population of more than one billion. In recent years, Japan’s demon descendants’ community had been constantly talking about its own decline. In Miyamoto Hideki’s view, those guys were stupid fools.

China had a population of more than one billion, while Japan had only about 100 million. However, the top experts of the younger generation were no less than China. The two women of the Aoki family and the Sakurai family could barely match up to him, but there were two more like him. On the other hand, in China, there were about ten young experts at this level who were famous.

The difference was no more than two times, and the population gap was more than ten times. In terms of the proportion of elites, Japan had won and would not accept any refutation.

The words rolled and two names pop up: Miyamoto Hideki vs Shentu Junyan.

…

“Let me introduce her to you. Her name is San Wu. She is one of the ten gods of Baoze. She is one of the top 30 masters in the demon descendants’ list,” Li Xianyu put his arm around San Wu’s shoulders and cuddled her intimately.

Now that everyone was familiar with each other, San Wu was willing to allow him to take advantage of her.

“I know that. Our family has collected their data,” Sakurai Yukinako said. “San Wu, the former A-level killer of the Ancient Gods Clan. Her skill level belongs to the middle and lower reaches of the S-tier, and she is ranked third last within the ten gods of Baoze. However, her power is a rare SS-level power: precision striking. This ability directly makes her a top S-level expert, and assassination is the right way to utilise her skills.”

“Your Sakurai family knows Baoze very well.” Li Xianyu embraced the fragrant shoulder of San Wu, and said in his heart, San Wu exposed your shortcomings. Rebuke her, and exert your passive power: Moving mocking machine.

“It’s all public information,” Sakurai Yukinako said. “On the level of close combat, I should be equal to her, but melee is not the right way of fighting for me.”

San Wu was staring at her. Sakurai asked, “What’s the matter?”

San Wu replied, “I have seen you before.”

Sakurai Yukinako denied. “You must have remembered incorrectly, I have not met you before.”

San Wu said, “No, I must have seen you, but I can’t remember.”

Sakurai Yukinako felt a chill. “Is it? Think about it carefully then.”

She stopped talking and bent her head to nibble at the watermelon. Her expression was incredibly steady, but she was a little flustered inside. They had indeed met before. Back then, she broke Shen Meng’s arm with one shot, causing Li Xianyu to fall off the stairs. After she became complacent, she revealed her true face. However, as a ninja, she did wear her mask properly.

How could a woman with such a cold expression have such a strong intuition?

…

Oh no, should I run? If I am recognized, I will be violated a hundred times by the heir of the Li family, and have my dismembered head shown to the public. Li Xianyu didn’t know what Sakurai Yukinako was thinking. He chewed on the watermelon, and his attention fell to the field again, because Shentu Junyan, a member of the gang of seven, stepped onto the stage.

The gang of seven better have superficial relations. If not, he had to guard against those guys secretly. These brothers from different families may have friendship, but the friendship might not have been strong. After all, there were too many conflicts of interests given their statuses.

……

“Shentu, Shentu, I love you…”

“Shentu is always the most handsome…”

Shentu Junyan made a grand entrance into the stage. Cheers for him echoed out in all directions. He was dressed in a clean and tidy martial suit, tall and handsome. In the bright sunshine, his whole body seemed to radiate brilliance.

This guy was not here to compete. He was here for a concert.

Miyamoto Hideki slowly stepped on the stage, wearing a kind of retro wide-legged pants and a robe. Instead of walking on clogs, he was wearing a pair of thick soled army boots. Compared with Shentu Junyan, Miyamoto Hideki’s features were mediocre. His body was well-built, and his suntan was like a villager from the countryside… No, it was like a fisherman fishing by the sea.

“Bamboo knife?” Shentu Junyan’s eyes fell on the Japanese warrior’s right hand. He had two swords on his back and a bamboo knife in his hand.

“Miyamoto Hideki!” Miyamoto Hideki bowed slightly, and even politely saluted.

Shentu Junyan was stunned.

“Shentu Junyan.”

He frowned. “Pulling out your knife and doing your best is the greatest respect for your opponent.”

He saw that the Japanese warrior wanted to fight with him using a wooden knife, and he was very unhappy. The public was in full view of his identity. He was forced to suppress his anger. In normal times, he would have already scolded: Stupid idiot, go to hell.

He would then wallop him hard.

Miyamoto Hideki said straightforwardly, “There will be blood when I use the sword. No one can block my sword. I started to use a bamboo knife to challenge opponents long ago. You are not worthy of my sword.”

Shentu Junyan was angry. “Do you think you are Dugu Qiubai?”

Li Xianyu thought of the book that he read when he was young: “Chrysanthemum and knives”. It said that the Japanese were very contradictory people. They were both modest and arrogant, self abased and conceited. Miyamoto Hideki was the perfect example.

“Defeat Shentu with a bamboo knife? This Japanese guy is really boastful.”

“Miyamoto Hideki is very powerful. I have a friend who is studying in Japan. Miyamoto Hideki seems to be an outstanding youth in the Japanese demon descendants’ community.”

“As if Shentu is weak. Can this Japanese guy be compared with him?”

“Kill him, Shentu oppa, come on.”

“Come on!”

Listening to the excited audience shouting, Miyamoto Hideki asked, “Are you famous? So many girls are cheering for you. Oh, are you the son of the Shentu family?”

Shentu Junyan smiled confidently. “Can you use your sword now?”

Miyamoto Hideki shook his head. “I will only use one stroke. If you can block it, I will use my sword.”

Audience, Shentu family camp.

Shentu Changgong squinted. “Miyamoto Hideki?”

The middle-aged man beside said, “Father, he’s a famous wandering swordsman amongst the younger generation in Japan. His teacher is from one of the three big sects in Japan, Hokushin Itto-Ryu. He was expelled from the school for learning swordsmanship secretly. By chance, he became one of the disciples of Niten Ittro-Ryu. He was very active in the demon descendants’ community of Japan in the past few years, and there was almost no record of his moves in recent years. His Iaido swordsmanship is very powerful. It prides itself on defeating the enemy with one stroke. It’s very explosive, but the later strokes are weak.”

“Is that all?” Shentu Changgong replied.

“The time is too short to find out any more,” said the middle-aged man.

“Well, that’s enough. With Junyan’s strength, we should be able to fight.”

“It doesn’t matter whether he wins or loses. It’s mainly about experience. Miyamoto Hideki is young and vigorous, and I don’t think his swordsmanship is that good yet.”

The bald-headed referee looked at the wristwatch and said, “On your marks, get set, go!”

Shentu Junyan took a step forward. An incredible scene happened. His real body was still there, and another Shentu Junyan appeared on the scene. The second Shentu Junyan took another step, and the third one appeared. When he stepped out of the seventh step, he stepped in front of Miyamoto Hideki. At this time, there were already seven Shentu Junyans in the challenge arena.

Screams and cheers came from the audience, and the women were excited. Every time they see the power of Shentu family, there was a kind of shocking visual impact.

The seventh Shentu Junyan had a long knife in his hand and slashed downwards without any hesitation. Miyamoto Hideki’s hand holding the bamboo knife moved. He resisted it, and jumped back to avoid the blade of the sword.

The bamboo sword in his hand clearly had no scabbard, but he always held it on the side of his body like a normal sword. It seemed that the bamboo knife in his hand was really a knife. People who knew their stuff would say that it was the first stroke in Iaido swordsmanship.

Iaido was also known as “when taking out the knife, kill or be killed.” When the sword in the warrior’s hand came out of its sheath, he either killed the enemy or himself. It was just one move.

“Shentu family’s power?” This was the first time that Li Xianyu saw the power of the Shentu family. “Isn’t this separation? Seven clones. I don’t know why, but it reminds me of a very famous nursery rhyme.”

“It’s a higher level ability than separation. Ordinary separation is just a cover up, but the Shentu family’s separation is different. The real body can be hidden in any one of them, so each separation is the real body,” Thunderbolt Battle Lady said. “One day when you meet the Shentu family, you must remember something. When seven swords are dashing towards you, you can’t think that six are fake and one is real. You must understand that all seven swords are real. This is because the real body can switch freely among all the clones. The sword you can’t avoid will be the real one. Miyamoto Hideki sensed it, so he held back, because he knew that what he could block would not be the real body, and if he didn’t block it, it would become the real body. So, he chose to stay away.”

The long legged beauty took the opportunity to snatch back the melon seeds and took half of Yukinako’s watermelon. “The Shentu family are bandits. There is a very interesting legend in their family. If you don’t know the truth, you should listen to the story. During the Opium War in the later part of the Qing Dynasty, the Shentu family joined the peace coalition and resisted the eight countries’ coalition forces. They used only 50 people in their family and turned into thousands of soldiers, scaring off the French army.”

“False,” Great-Grandma suddenly said. “I have never heard of the Shentu family, nor seen this kind of power.” Great-Grandma had lived in that period. No one had more right to express their thoughts about that period of time.

Thunderbolt Battle Lady remarked, “So it was fake, just like how Han Gaozu slayed the white snake. It was a lie, haha.”

A historical lie had been exposed as well.

In the arena, after a brief chase, seven Shentu Junyans surrounded Miyamoto Hideki, each holding a sword in his hand. Miyamoto Hideki was trapped in the middle. There was no way to retreat. He looked like a desperate trapped animal and closed his eyes.

From the beginning to the end, the boastful Japanese swordsman did not execute a single stroke.

“He gave up?”

“What? He’s so boastful. He turned out to be a weakling.”

“He didn’t even execute a single stroke. My mighty Shentu is too powerful.”

The audience was enthusiastic as the battle was easier and smoother than they expected.

The seven swords fell.

At this time, a pure and extreme air of a sword rushed out. There was nothing more amazing in the world. It looked like time was being cut off.

The six illusions were broken and Shentu Junyan’s body was frozen in place. The sword was still in his hand, and his throat pressed against a bamboo knife.

“I said, only one stroke,” Miyamoto Hideki said lightly.

Shentu Junyan’s face was grim.

“How did you do it?” murmured Shentu Junyan.

“The more powerful people are, the purer they are, and the more powerful people are, the simpler they are. Your fancy powers are meaningless. This is not what I said but what you Chinese said.”

“You’re weaker than I thought,” quipped Miyamoto Hideki. He felt that it was not enough, as he slapped the bamboo sword on Shentu’s face and whacked him to the ground. “The loser is not qualified to stand.”

With a bamboo knife in his hand, Miyamoto Hideki stared down at the audience. “China’s young experts are weaker than I had imagined.”

There was silence.