Chapter 432: Sword Saint

【Ten Thousand Phenomena】, An Qisheng's Profound View.

Now, it was Li Miao's Profound View, one of them.

Two years ago, during the Battle of the Capital, Li Miao hadn't been very proficient in using his protective True Qi to manifest forms. But after two years of pondering, now, creating a weapon to use on the fly was as easy as breathing.

It was just that his "easy as breathing" appeared "shocking" in the eyes of others.

Tsukahara Bokuden was first startled by where that sword chime came from, and then, following the sound to look at Li Miao's right hand, he felt the airflow being abruptly cut off when it passed through there, and his pupils constricted violently.

"A sword?"

Protective True Qi is ethereal and formless; even Li Miao, when he first fought An Qisheng, couldn't detect it, let alone Tsukahara Bokuden.

"Formless and qualityless; if not for the wind, I wouldn't even be able to detect the existence of this sword... Even now, I cannot distinguish the length, width, or weight of this sword..."

"Truly a good method!"

"If he is a swordsman equal to me, then this first sword can only be defended... at least to test out what style his sword is!"

Tsukahara Bokuden's blade shifted slightly, pointing to the lower left.

Yet Li Miao suddenly sneered.

"What, don't tell me you think I'm going to take advantage of you?"

He flicked his hand, and countless scale-like layers appeared on the transparent standard long sword, and the firelight in the stone room refracted, outlining the shape of the long sword.

"Come."

Before the words fell, the sound of wind arose!

Huangfu Hui's eyes blurred, and Tsukahara Bokuden was already in front of Li Miao, his Japanese sword falling straight down. Just as it reached a foot above Li Miao's head, it suddenly vanished, and when it reappeared, it was already at Li Miao's side, slashing diagonally upward!

Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū—Hyō no Tachi (Surface Sword).

It appeared to be a powerful attack, but he kept three parts of his strength in reserve, and the diagonal upward slash also blocked Li Miao's right-hand sword attack line, ready to parry at any time.

Tsukahara Bokuden's eyes were calm and waveless, locking Li Miao firmly in place.

"No movement?"

"Is it a technique like the 'Kiri-otoshi' of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū, a technique that parries and resolves only when the sword reaches the front, or—is there something tricky about that sword?"

As his thoughts raced, the blade reached within three inches of Li Miao's side.

Yet at this moment, it stopped.

Clang!

Sound waves rippled outward.

The True Qi long sword in Li Miao's hand had somehow reversed its head and tail, held in reverse, blocking the blade with the sword body.

"Mount Song Sword Technique, Swallow Returns with the Wind."

Li Miao laughed.

Before the words fell, Tsukahara Bokuden had already changed his move, his Japanese sword climbing along the sword blade. When it reached the tip, the muscles in his forearm bulged, and the Japanese sword cut horizontally, "raking" the long sword away violently.

Then the blade climbed along the sword blade, slashing toward Li Miao's fingers.

Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū—Rankyoku (Disordered Curve)!

Li Miao laughed, rolling his arm, and the long sword spun out sword flowers.

"Wudang, Taiji Sword, Brushing Dust in the Wind."

Blade and sword entangled, sparks flying.

Tsukahara Bokuden felt as if his Japanese sword were a bird caught in a storm, or a moth stuck in a spiderweb, unable to break away from the sword blade, forced to roll continuously with Li Miao's movements.

And Li Miao even had the leisure to speak.

"Speaking of which, just the day before yesterday, I fought a Japanese person. His martial arts weren't anything special, but that first blade he drew actually made me misjudge its power."

"It's just that his realm was too low and his foundation too thin, so I didn't see anything. But when you set up your stance just now, it seemed to show me something."

As he spoke, Li Miao suddenly raised his hand!

Blade and sword rose together, flipping over their heads.

"When you first set up your stance, it seemed like you wanted to do a vertical slash, right... Come, show me a slash."

"If you don't show me some real skill, I might just—kill you, okay?"

Tsukahara Bokuden's eyes remained as calm as water.

After only three exchanges, he already understood—the man in front of him was the strongest enemy he had ever encountered in his life. Central Plains martial arts were not as weak as he had previously thought; it was just that he hadn't met a true master who had reached the realm of perfection.

Facing such a strong enemy, one must never let emotions interfere with judgment.

In terms of technique alone, he was no match for Li Miao.

But if one thought Japanese swordsmen only knew how to slash horizontally and vertically, they were wrong!

Tsukahara Bokuden's face didn't change, his eyes didn't change, but in his heart, it was like being roasted by a fierce fire, burning his spirit into molten iron, flowing down his arm into the long sword.

"Good."