Seeing that the Japanese delegation had gone back to rest, Lu Xuan turned to Lu Wenzhao and said...
“I was careless before; I didn’t expect that kid to have such a powerful background. You need to arrange for someone to question him immediately. Find out everything about his family, how many core members they have, how many soldiers they have, and who their enemies are. He’s a high-ranking nobleman, so you also need to ask about the overall situation in Japan. Ask repeatedly to ensure the accuracy of the information. Whether it’s useful or not, squeeze everything out of his head, consider it payment for the food he’s been eating for so long. Remember to be discreet.”
"Understood. There are scouts in the army who specialize in this. They'll make him feel like he's in heaven, and you won't even be able to tell he's injured." Lu Wenzhao accepted the order and left.
------------
Chapter 135 The Ultimate Showdown of Strength and Skill (Please Subscribe)
Miyamoto Musashi ate very little food. Eating too much slows down one's reaction time. A master swordsman like him naturally understood this.
Lu Xuan, however, didn't care and ate and drank heartily. Then he excused himself to rest, buying time for Lu Wenzhao to follow. Actually, he didn't intend to get any special information from Tokugawa Hidetada. It's just that this guy's identity was so important. He felt he would be missing out if he didn't give him a good beating.
The Japanese officer in charge seemed to realize that Lu Xuan was stalling for time. He signaled to Miyamoto Musashi to begin the challenge immediately. Miyamoto was somewhat helpless; he actually wanted to wait a little longer. He needed to process his previous two duels and improve himself as much as possible. He had a premonition that Lu Xuan might be the strongest opponent he had ever faced.
"Are you sure? I feel like your meditation isn't over yet," Lu Xuan replied casually.
"There's no need. I can do it now."
"Alright, let's begin." Lu Xuan waved his hand. The entire hall was quickly cleared, leaving space for the two to duel.
Lu Xuan did not use the Sun and Moon Sword. He beckoned, and Ding Xiu quickly stepped forward. After hearing his request, Ding Xiu gave Lu Xuan a strange look. Then he quickly went to the backyard and retrieved Lu Xuan's sword.
Miyamoto Musashi was utterly dumbfounded when he saw Lu Xuan's sword. It was a horse-slaying sword. Or rather, a heavy battle sword with elements of a horse-slaying sword. Lu Xuan hadn't used any conventional sword design. Instead, he had specially crafted a battle weapon according to his own wishes.
The blade is about 1.2 meters long, and the handle is nearly 1 meter long. This structure is actually somewhat similar to the nagamaki (a type of tachi with a handle that is about the same length as the blade, which is not very common).
However, Lu Xuan's sword was enhanced in every way. The blade was wider and thicker, and its design resembled a Miao sword. The hilt was also made of solid, high-quality steel. This made the sword significantly heavier, weighing around fifty jin (approximately 25 kg). In fact, Lu Xuan could wield an even heavier sword. But then he realized it wasn't necessary. At this level, in this era, no armor could withstand his strikes. Any heavier sword would only be a waste of energy.
The martial arts system in this world is far more complex and sophisticated than that of the previous world. Lu Xuan is constantly absorbing these changes to refine his own martial arts. Therefore, he deliberately reduced the weight of his swordsmanship, attempting to incorporate certain variations into his techniques.
He had a feeling that perhaps this life wasn't the end of his journey through time. The next world might have an even higher level of martial arts. He was already starting to accumulate experience ahead of time.
In the previous duel, Ding Xiu used the superiority of his weapon to constantly pressure Miyamoto Musashi, ultimately forcing him to unleash his ultimate technique, Niten Ichi-ryu.
This time, Lu Xuan's weapon was even heavier than Ding Xiu's heavy Miao sword. No wonder Miyamoto Musashi looked so troubled. Japanese swordsmanship mostly emphasizes lightness and speed. Miyamoto Musashi himself followed this path. Although he was exceptionally talented and had created some techniques to counter heavy weapons, he still disliked facing such opponents. It was a huge burden on both his body and his weapon.
Lu Xuan stepped forward, carrying his battle sword in one hand. This action made Miyamoto Musashi's eyelids twitch again. His entire body tensed instantly, a state he had never experienced before.
"Ready? It's about to begin," Lu Xuan said with a light laugh. The next second, a violent tremor made everyone in the hall dizzy.
Before anyone could even react, the two had already exchanged a tentative blow. Lu Xuan also personally experienced the effect of that 'rebound' move.
It was a very peculiar feeling. It was as if his own knife had struck a high-speed rotating or vibrating machine, and then he was bounced back by that vibration. Lu Xuan vaguely understood the origin of the bounce technique. It must be said that this technique was almost the pinnacle of muscle control.
At the same time, Miyamoto Musashi also wore a solemn expression. There was no way around it; Lu Xuan's power was simply too great. Even though he used a parry to block Lu Xuan's strike, he still absorbed a tremendous force, causing both of them to take a step back.
Lu Xuan was in high spirits. This was the first time he had encountered someone who could use the pinnacle of skill to contend with the ultimate strength of his opponent.
"Again."
He swung his sword, performing a seemingly ordinary New Year's greeting sword technique. However, the whistling wind from the blade caused Miyamoto Musashi's expression to change drastically.
Another deafening roar followed. This time, only Miyamoto Musashi retreated.
'He hadn't even used his full strength yet!' This was Miyamoto's inner roar. But before he could react, Lu Xuan's next strike arrived. Leaning forward, he unleashed three consecutive strikes to the left, right, and upward with his windmill sword technique.
Miyamoto Musashi, unusually, leaped backward to dodge Lu Xuan's three strikes. He then drew his katana from his waist. It was a katana, not a wakizashi. He assumed a dual-sword stance. The katana was held horizontally in front of his chest, the tachi resting on top of it. The tips of the swords pointed at Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan didn't launch a direct attack. His previous few strikes were to test the limits of Miyamoto's parry technique. And he had already gotten the result. Miyamoto could almost block Lu Xuan's full-force strike with the parry. But he could only block it once or twice. You could tell from his reluctance to continue taking direct hits. Neither his katana nor his body could withstand that level of attack.
Even so, this was already incredibly impressive. At least, he was the most skilled martial artist Lu Xuan had ever encountered. This made Lu Xuan quite excited. It seemed there were still many things to discover in this world. Such a master could emerge from such a small island nation as Japan. Could there be even stronger martial arts traditions emerging from the millennia-long conquest of the Central Plains?
His thoughts were interrupted by Miyamoto Musashi's shout. For the first time, the dual-sword style attack was displayed before everyone. Miyamoto's left-hand katana proactively slashed at Lu Xuan's sword. Lu Xuan felt a tremor in his own blade, and simultaneously felt a distinct sense of being deflected. This was the application of parrying to an attack.
Miyamoto lunged forward, closing the distance to Lu Xuan and avoiding Lu Xuan's advantage of long sword length. His right hand thrust the katana straight at Lu Xuan's chest. Lu Xuan leaped back, using his feet to deflect the attack. However, the katana in front of his chest remained firmly in place, and continued its thrust.
Lu Xuan dodged the blade tip by sidestepping. But in an instant, the tip of the katana changed direction, from a thrust to a slash, aiming to cut across Lu Xuan's neck. A slightly muffled metallic clang rang out.
Everyone stared intently, only to see that Miyamoto's blade was stuck an inch from Lu Xuan's neck, unable to advance any further. It turned out that Lu Xuan had pulled his right-hand sword back, holding it in a reverse grip, using the hilt to block Miyamoto's blade. At the same time, the blade was held horizontally in front of his chest, deflecting the vertical slash of Miyamoto's left-hand katana.
A flicker of surprise crossed Miyamoto's face. Lu Xuan's attacks were wide-ranging and powerful from the very beginning. To counter this, he deliberately closed the distance, using quick close-range attacks to break through his opponent's heavy swings. However, he hadn't expected that his high-speed attacks would be completely blocked by his opponent, who, while seemingly risky, was actually handling the situation with ease. General Lu's adaptability in the smallest details was equally impeccable.
"Excellent swordsmanship," Lu Xuan chuckled.
Miyamoto was startled and was about to change his attack when both his katana and tachi were simultaneously repelled by a violent tremor. Even Miyamoto Musashi's body was forced back a step. A look of disbelief flashed across his face. This was...
Lu Xuan exerted force with his right hand, switching from a backhand to a forehand. The heavy battle blade, over two meters long, drew a giant arc, slashing down with ferocious force.
Miyamoto's muscles tensed instantly. He drew both swords simultaneously, crossing them to block the attack.
The violent clanging of metal caused everyone in the hall to momentarily lose their hearing and feel dizzy. They could only vaguely see two gleaming blades spinning and flying out.
------------
Chapter 136 A True Leader Should Be Like This (Please Subscribe)
Miyamoto stared, his face deathly pale, at the sword pressed against his forehead. He could almost feel the blade's chill. But before it could pierce his skin, the heavy sword stopped.
That immense power, that ultra-high-speed slash, could instantly transform from extreme motion to utter stillness. At that moment, Miyamoto felt that his defeat was not unjust. Even Lu Xuan's ability to learn his own parry within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea was no longer unacceptable.
"Okay!" Ding Xiu was the first to react. His shout immediately excited the entire hall.
Lu Xuan's final strike severed Miyamoto Musashi's twin swords, eliciting excited shouts from all the Han Chinese in the hall. Meanwhile, the Japanese delegation's expression instantly darkened. The person in charge looked utterly ashamed.
Seeing Miyamoto Musashi retreat, he didn't say a word and slapped him across the face. This caused the surrounding Han Chinese soldiers to gasp in surprise.