Chapter 157: The Challenge

“Devil!”

Although only seeing a back figure, the word “Devil” immediately surfaced in Tsuchikawa Fujyuu’s mind.

The opponent stood with his back turned, upright and tall. More importantly, all the demons and monsters present were unconsciously dominated, just like the devil in the legends of hell.

“Are you here to challenge me?”

At this moment, the head of the Oni family finally turned around, revealing an extremely youthful face. His features were handsome, his eyes gentle yet as unfathomable as a deep pool of water.

Had they not met here, even Tsuchikawa Fujyuu would never have imagined that this handsome young man was the famous head of the Oni family in Ii Stone County, Kamiya Kounosuke!

“That’s right! I am Tsuchikawa Fujyuu, from the Mugen Ryu school of swordsmanship!”

Tsuchikawa Fujyuu replied solemnly.

“Mugen Ryu… Hmm, Hasegawa Saemon?”

Wu Ming recalled the first swordsman he had killed. From this old man, he sensed a similar sharpness of spirit.

Moreover, Hasegawa Saemon was also a true genius, ranked at level two in swordsmanship, a prodigy whose talents were rare even by current standards.

But heroes to others are enemies to me; such opposing geniuses could be cut down without hesitation, and there would be no regret even if ten of them came.

“That’s correct. Saemon was my disciple. He died honorably at your hands in a fair duel, which is a samurai’s glory!”

Tsuchikawa Fujyuu took out a white headband from his robe and tied it around his head: “However, as his teacher, I cannot allow the reputation of Mugen Ryu to be tarnished by him, so I have come to challenge you, Lord Oni!”

After finishing his words, he glanced at the surrounding samurais: “Even if I win, I will immediately commit seppuku!”

“Damn it!”

“Lord, let me kill this man!”

…

Around him, the samurais like Shouji and Ken’ichi roared in fury.

For them, the arrogance of Tsuchikawa Fujyuu was a serious blow to their pride.

These were samurais who had cultivated the path of ninja swordsmanship. At this moment, their collective roar exuded an overwhelming killing intent, making Hanabusa Shigehiro turn pale and retreat several steps, fleeing the martial arena altogether.

Faced with the imminent danger of being hacked to pieces, Tsuchikawa Fujyuu, however, met their glares without flinching.

His eyes were sharp, with a mysterious gleam, filled with the Zen-like calmness of life and death. The samurais who met his gaze felt a chill in their hearts, lowered their heads, and lost all will to fight.

Watching this scene, Matsushita Ken’ichi, who had just arrived in a hurry, clenched his fists tightly.

He knew that in the previous confrontation, the old man had still held back. Otherwise, merely with that “eye technique” could have made him hesitate momentarily, then immediately gather momentum and killing intent to unleash his full strength, which would have been enough to kill him.

Clap! Clap!

A crisp sound of clapping broke the tension. Unexpected as it was, it perfectly snapped the samurais out of their daze.

“Excellent swordsmanship! Truly excellent swordsmanship!”

Wu Ming stared at Tsuchikawa Fujyuu: “To have cultivated the ‘eye technique’ to the level of ‘Shin no Ippou,’ you indeed have the qualification to be my opponent!”

He opened his heavenly eye and saw a crimson sword qi rising from within Tsuchikawa Fujyuu, clearly indicating that he had already reached the third level of swordsmanship!

This was the realm of a sword hero, sufficient to become the master of a certain school, and would be widely respected throughout Izumo Province and even the entire country.

“Comparable to a Grand Master of martial arts; even Wu Zhi could not surpass this level…”

Such grand masters had their spirit and will refined into unity, their blood and vitality as fierce as fire, their essence and energy rising like smoke. Ordinary magical techniques or sorcery would be greatly weakened upon encountering them.

Moreover, within three steps, one could be a match for an entire country, instantly closing distances of dozens of meters, enough to make even Taoist adepts cautious.

Of course, while Taoist adepts might flee at the sight of a grand master, a true adept would merely feel some caution, not fear.

Wu Ming stepped forward and slowly drew out his Fūma Kiriwa from his waist, instantly enveloping himself in a layer of sharp energy.

As a true adept who had achieved the Yuan Shen state, he could perceive the subtlest details, both externally and internally!

These past few months, even without focusing much on martial cultivation, his high-level perspective had allowed him to surpass the internal energy stage and reach the ultimate transformation stage!

The Grand Master was at the third level of martial arts, the Master at the peak of the second level, and the ultimate transformation was the stabilized second level!

Now, even relying solely on martial arts, Wu Ming had already reached the Pure White level of energy.

Seeing this, Tsuchikawa Fujyuu’s eyes flickered with confusion.

Although the opponent’s swordsmanship was strong, he was certainly no match for himself. Had Hasegawa Saemon truly died at this man’s hands?

But recalling the rumors of Kuihara’s powerful yin-yang techniques, his eyes darkened.

“A samurai dying by the sword is honorable, but if Saemon died by yin-yang techniques, that would be a disgrace! I will never allow it!”

Tsuchikawa Fujyuu murmured to himself and drew his katana.

This sword had always hung at his waist. Although the scabbard and hilt were very old, even tattered, the blade itself was as clear and bright as flowing water, sharply contrasting with its plain exterior.

“The famous blade—Mikazuki Munechika!”

Tsuchikawa Fujyuu held the sword with both hands. His feet seemed to have taken root, connecting him to the entire earth.

“Excellent! Excellent!”

Seeing this, Wu Ming smiled: “Today is indeed very fortunate. I never expected to see the famous blade Mikazuki Munechika here. If I were to present it to the lord of the domain, I’m sure any of them would grant me a stipend of 500 koku!”

“Mikazuki Munechika is but an inanimate object. The true power of Fūma Kiriwa lies in the hands of the right person!”

Tsuchikawa Fujyuu looked at Wu Ming’s sword, seeing the wind and thunder already rippling across its surface.

Even an ordinary bamboo sword could become a terrifying divine weapon when imbued with wind and thunder. Fūma Kiriwa was naturally even more so.

“So it is indeed yin-yang techniques! Lord Kuihara is indeed a powerful yin-yang master!”

Tsuchikawa Fujyuu murmured, his killing intent suddenly increasing tenfold, his eyes emitting sharp beams of light.

“Stop showing off your ‘Shin no Ippou.’ I’ve heard that among swordsmanship, the most important aspects are ‘root and strength.’ I’ve already seen your unshakable ‘root,’ now let me see your power!”

In Wu Ming’s view, the so-called “Shin no Ippou” was merely a combination of swordsmanship with yin-yang and ninja techniques.

Although mysterious and unpredictable, effective against those with weak wills or lower-level samurais, even achieving astonishing results, against equals, especially a true adept like himself with Yuan Shen achieved, it was nothing more than displaying one’s lack of skill before a master.

In swordsmanship, “root and strength” actually referred to defense and offense, representing the ultimate in both.

Earlier, Tsuchikawa Fujyuu had remained unmoved under the scrutiny and hostility of many samurais, challenging Wu Ming, all due to the effect of “root.”

“Excuse me… Lord Kuihara!”

At this moment, the ultimate “strength” began to slowly emerge from Tsuchikawa Fujyuu.

The expressions of the samurais present immediately became more solemn, knowing that Tsuchikawa Fujyuu was now entering the ultimate realm of swordsmanship—the one-strike kill!

This was a state where one’s spirit, strength, and even potential were entirely burned away, pursuing the ultimate killing strike in a single move!

Suddenly, Wu Ming felt an immense killing intent lock onto him, relentlessly seeking an opening.

If he showed even the slightest sign of weakness now, the next move would surely be an earth-shattering slash!

Even ordinary samurais, faced with such an aura, might immediately lose their composure and become helpless prey.

Bang!

Wu Ming took a step forward, and the entire training hall seemed to experience a small earthquake.

At the same time, his eyes narrowed slightly, and several sharp white beams appeared around him. The white beams grew stronger, then turned black, carrying a hint of moisture. Within the blackness, a touch of green vitality emerged, igniting into a sea of red flames, which then transformed into threads of earthy yellow, finally giving rise to a sharp, white-gold brilliance.

These transformations occurred in an instant, exuding an unfathomable depth.

Although still the same metal-based spell, its power had increased by more than tenfold compared to the initial weak white beams?

Wu Ming was no fool. Facing a third-level sword hero, he immediately activated his magical techniques!

With the attainment of the True Adept state, his previous Five Elements techniques had already reached mastery, becoming a grand master of the art. This particular technique of the Five Elements generating each other followed the cycle of Metal generating Water, Water generating Wood, Wood generating Fire, Fire generating Earth, and finally Earth generating Metal, encompassing all Five Elements and elevating the original Metal-based spell to the level of the Five Elements’ Metal, maximizing its power.

Even more crucially, it could be completed almost instantaneously, flawless, and yet its power was astonishing.

Suddenly, a thick golden beam descended from the sky, accompanied by faint illusions of floods, tree impacts, fires, and earth burial, creating a scene so intense it was heart-stirring.

Because the Five Elements could transform instantly, it meant that even if the enemy used fire techniques to counter metal, this spell would instantly transform into a water attribute, giving the enemy a heavy disadvantage.

A minor spell had thus nearly reached the level of Dao!

“Heh!”

His planned strategy disrupted, Tsuchikawa Fujyuu had no choice but to change his move in the face of such an astonishing attack.

The killing intent he had been accumulating instantly surged like a broken dam. Mikazuki Munechika emitted a dazzling glow as it slowly slashed forward!

Pu!

This slash was incredibly swift, splitting light and shadow, yet it seemed extremely slow, allowing one to see the inch-by-inch progression of the blade as it cut into the white beams.

Hu!

A scorching and blood-laden gust of wind spread outward, forming a whirlwind that instantly shattered the white beams that had been amplified to their limit.

In the midst of the swirling white mist, Wu Ming’s figure darted out like lightning, various beneficial runes flashing across his body as the Fūma Kiriwa, imbued with thunder and lightning, slashed toward Tsuchikawa Fujyuu.

Dang!

Mikazuki Munechika seemed to possess its own life, tracing a graceful arc through the air and blocking the Fūma Kiriwa’s slash at the very last moment.

However, the immense force instantly overwhelmed Tsuchikawa Fujyuu, sending him flying backward.

The force was so great that it made his teeth ache, a metallic taste rising in his mouth. An ominous premonition of death instantly descended upon the sword hero’s heart.