"In China, rattan canes are used by elders to punish disobedient children. They are used to spank children when they misbehave," General Tian chuckled.
But these words nearly made many of the Japanese present so angry they vomited blood!
This arrogant Chinese man! He defeated so many Japanese masters with a rattan cane before; to him, it was nothing more than toying with them! Like disciplining a disobedient child?!
The old man from the shrine understood the implication and said seriously, "You mean you will treat our duel with a truly serious attitude? Then why don't you use weapons? Is your martial arts just about bare hands and feet?"
"No, my greatest skill in life is the sword!" When General Tian mentioned the word "sword," his eyebrows twitched slightly, and a fierce and domineering aura naturally emanated from his eyes!
"Then why don't you use a sword?" The Japanese master asked somewhat reluctantly. "If you don't have a suitable weapon, I have all kinds of swords here! I can find all kinds of swords used in Chinese martial arts here! If you need a custom-made one, we can make it in a few days at most! If I could see a martial arts master like you display your most outstanding skills, I would also..."
“No need.” General Tian immediately shook his head, then smiled slightly: “It’s not that I don’t use a knife… Sometimes when I need to kill or chop someone, I’ll just pick it up and use it. But if I’m really facing a martial arts opponent and having a serious duel with them, I won’t use a knife!”
"Why...?"
“Because…” General Tian suddenly sighed softly, a faint sense of desolation in his eyes:
"Among all the martial artists in this world, there is no one left who is worthy of making me draw my sword! Not for a very, very long time."
The old man from the shrine was still somewhat unwilling, and he wanted to say something more, but Old Tian was already getting impatient.
Because the ten-year-old girl next to him tugged at his sleeve, her bright, sparkling eyes revealing a pitiful look.
"It'll be over soon, very soon." Old Tian knelt down and hugged the girl. When he stood up again, he frowned at the old man from the shrine who still wanted to argue, and said something extremely arrogant:
"Hurry up, draw your sword, I'm in a hurry!"
Chapter 137 [Please Burn It for Me]
"Draw your sword, I'm in a hurry!"
Imagine the usually lazy Old Tian, when facing a master who is regarded as a sword god in Japanese martial arts, frowning, pursing his lips, and impatiently saying such a sentence... Just imagining the amazing look on Old Tian's face at that time, Chen Xiao couldn't help but want to laugh.
That old Tian... he was actually quite good at showing off back then.
"And then?" Chen Xiao looked at the old man Takeuchi in front of him.
"And then... just as General Wada said! At first, I thought he was just being arrogant, but later I realized that every word he said was true! He displayed a strength that was even more formidable and astonishing than if he were holding a cane, even when he was empty-handed and without using one! Sometimes, I can't help but wonder... if one day this master were to pick up his most proficient weapon, the sword, just how powerful would he become?!"
Old man Takeuchi sighed, picked up the bottle, poured the last bit of wine into his mouth, and even stuck out his tongue to lick the last drop from the rim of the bottle before letting out a seemingly resigned sigh: "I originally thought I would witness a spectacular and intense duel, but alas... I was wrong! The other five sword masters present were also wrong! That duel was undoubtedly spectacular, but as for intensity... it was far from being described as intense!"
At this point, he suddenly gave a wry smile, extended his index finger, hesitated for a moment, and then lightly traced a few lines on the small table in front of him.
The hard wooden tabletop felt like soft tofu under his fingers; wherever his fingertips touched, wood chips crumbled naturally, and he effortlessly drew two numbers on the table.
Chen Xiao saw this and couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.
The strength to pierce wood with a finger is nothing to Chen Xiao, who possesses strength-based superpowers. Breaking a wooden table is nothing new; he could even smash a wall down with a single punch.
However, Chen Xiao was confident he could shatter the table with a single finger. But to do what this old man Takeuchi did—to write on the table with enough force to cut through the surface, yet without damaging or disintegrating it—that perfect application of power and masterful technique was beyond Chen Xiao's capabilities!
Chen Xiao has the strength, but his skills are far inferior!
For example, cutting a piece of paper in one stroke isn't difficult, but if there's a piece of tofu underneath the paper, and the task is to cut the paper without damaging the tofu, the difficulty is vastly different!
Old man Takeuchi wrote two numbers on the table:
Thirteen is considered an unlucky number in the West. This largely stems from the story of Judas, the thirteenth disciple of Jesus, who betrayed the country. However, it's clear that the elderly Japanese man, Takeuchi, had another reason for writing the number thirteen on his desk.
"Thirteen seconds! The entire duel lasted only thirteen seconds! My teacher, Naoyu Jingu, the god of Japanese swordsmanship, the head of the Kamishin Itto-ryu school, and the master of Imperial Swordsmanship of the Japanese Imperial Family, lost in this duel in just thirteen seconds!"
Old man Takeuchi looked wistful as he gave Chen Xiao a deep look: "He was indeed unarmed, and he used the same set of moves you used against me just now! It included footwork, fist techniques, palm techniques, hands, elbows, legs, and feet! When I was young, I thought I was witnessing a miracle!"
He coughed twice and said with a wry smile, "The moment my teacher drew his sword, we all suddenly felt a renewed sense of confidence! After all, he was my teacher! The god of Japanese swordsmanship! Chrysanthemum leaf tattoo, a famous blade drawn! His sword aura was incomparably magnificent! His ultimate move, True Nine Dragons Flash, was his ultimate weapon of invincibility! That move should have been invincible! But... right before my eyes, I watched General Tian walk unharmed through what seemed like an impenetrable net of sword aura. His movements were fast, but not so fast that no one could react. Instead, they possessed a strange skill that I couldn't comprehend at the time. It was as if he were a highly skilled tightrope walker, effortlessly navigating the seemingly dangerous sword aura step by step! My teacher's ultimate move, True Nine Dragons Flash, with its overwhelming sword aura, didn't even harm a single hair on his head! He was simply forced head-on into the sword net!"
"Then came that series of close-range strikes! It was as if that set of moves pushed a person to their absolute limit, calculating every bit of strength and every subtle detail with the utmost precision! I watched as my teacher was forced back in front of him, forced to retreat in a sorry state, but General Tian seemed to have become my teacher's shadow, no matter how hard he tried to shake him off! Then came that series of strikes... I silently counted in my mind, a total of twenty-six strikes!! Each strike landed on the side of my teacher's sword! Twenty-six strikes, like a storm! In the end, my teacher's face was deathly pale! And that General Tian seemed to only strike with his sword, not with his body! After the twenty-six strikes, our Shangchen Itto-ryu's legendary sword, the Chrysanthemum Leaf Embroidery Sword, was smashed in two by his punch on the spot!"
"When I saw the chrysanthemum-patterned sword broken in two, I immediately knew something was wrong! Before I could even react, the teacher's face had turned ashen, and he had retreated to the corner, too weak to even stand! I witnessed his expression firsthand... and before I could even cry out, he suddenly switched the broken sword to his left hand and swung it down! He severed his own right arm on the spot!"
"Ah!" Chen Xiao couldn't help but exclaim.
"The teacher said: He lost, and lost without the slightest regret, without the slightest bit of luck, losing so thoroughly. His lifelong painstaking training in swordsmanship was like that of a child, utterly powerless before his opponent. Under such a blow, he had already decided that once defeated, he would never utter the word 'swords' again. But unexpectedly, even the sect's heirloom sword was destroyed in his hands! In a fit of rage, the teacher chopped off his own right arm as punishment, and then angrily declared that he conceded defeat and would never touch a sword again!"
"General Tian watched as his teacher severed his own right arm. He wasn't too surprised, just sighed and said, 'Why bother?' He was about to leave quickly, but before he left, he said to my teacher, 'You are one of the few true martial artists I've met in Japan, and... you are indeed the best in Japan.'"
When he said the last sentence, Takeuchi's tone carried a hint of helplessness and frustration.
"Number one in Japan! Heh heh! So what if he's number one in Japan? He was still utterly defeated by General Da in just a few moves! He couldn't even keep his family's legendary sword! After that battle, my teacher's spirits declined drastically, and he stopped touching a sword altogether. He secluded himself, refusing to see guests, and even at home, he stopped teaching his disciples any swordsmanship! Our Kamishin Itto-ryu school, which was once the largest and strongest swordsmanship school in Japan, also suffered a long period of decline after that battle! It wasn't until I practiced swordsmanship for many years, and twenty years ago, that I achieved mastery of swordsmanship. After defeating several swordsmanship masters in succession, I was able to revive the reputation of Kamishin Itto-ryu and restore some of its former glory. And I, like my teacher back then, was bestowed the title of Imperial Swordsmanship Master by the Imperial Family."
Chen Xiao frowned and gave Takeuchi a deep look: "So... you should hate me, right? After all, General Tian really made things difficult for your Shangchen Itto-ryu back then, and I, like him, am Chinese, and I even learned his moves."
"Hmph... Quite the opposite! Our Kamishin Ittō-ryū owes General Tian a huge debt!"
Takeuchi's expression was somewhat complicated.
"Debt?"
Yes! In debt!
Old man Takeuchi's expression was uncertain: "Before the duel, my teacher was willing to gamble the fate of our entire Kamishin Itto-ryu school for the future of Japanese martial arts! He made a pact with General Ta that whoever won would willingly do one thing for the other—anything! If my teacher had won, General Ta would have to do anything for Kamishin Itto-ryu, whether it was committing suicide or even crippling himself. He couldn't go back on his word! If General Ta won, then everyone in Kamishin Itto-ryu, no matter what, would be at his beck and call!"
The old man's tone was helpless: "Back then, my teacher still held onto a sliver of hope. If he were to win by chance, and if he could force this top-tier master to serve him... Putting aside everything else, General Tian's extraordinary martial arts alone are enough to inspire awe! If he could impart the essence and profound mysteries of his martial arts to us, then even if no outstanding talents emerge, our Kamishin Ittō-ryū school could continue to dominate Japan for at least another fifty years!! Moreover, General Tian's unique skills are far more profound than any Chinese martial artist we've ever encountered! If we could learn more about the essence of Chinese martial arts from him, it would have a significant impact on the development of Japanese martial arts!"
"Cunning Japanese..." Chen Xiao sneered inwardly. The Japanese have always been like this; when they encounter someone strong, they'll do everything in their power to learn what they want from that person! Ancient Japan did this with the Tang Dynasty, and later, Japan did the same with the United States...
"It's a pity you lost." Chen Xiao sneered.
"...We lost!"