Morning dawned.
The attendant, who had always knocked on the door every morning to collect money, didn’t co today.
It must have been because Yi-gang and the fellow Eastern Depot guards appeared last night.
Even though this place, Beijing Restaurant, was a top-tier restaurant in Beijing, the fearsoness of the Eastern Depot guards was well-known here too.
Above all, the impact of the silver bundles casually thrown by Yi-gang must have been significant.
In fact, Jin Mu was extrely upset when he learned that there was no rule requiring daily paynt for room and board.
Crack—
As Jin Mu stretched his arms and shoulders, such a sound erged.
The random thoughts that had been overwhelming his mind began to fade as he loosened his body.
This place was the garden of Beijing Restaurant.
Even though it was early morning, it seed like a place where people might be, but aside from Yi-gang and his party, there was no one else.
The manager of the establishnt, upon being asked for temporary use, lent the garden without a word.
Crunch—
This ti, he lightly loosened his neck.
The neck and spine were essentially the center of a swordsman.
As a Supre Peak martial artist, Jin Mu had been diligently training his body every day.
The developed muscles were visible even through the clothes he wore.
“Yi-gang, it seems this is the first ti we’ve sparred.”
“That’s correct.”
Yi-gang, standing opposite, remained still instead of loosening his body.
That didn’t an he was arrogant or haughty. If there were hundreds of swordsn, then there would also be hundreds of thods to prepare.
“I will use the Red Mountain Blue Glory Sword. What about you?”
“I will use the Heaven’s Shadow Sword Technique.”
“Not using the sword of the Azure Forest?”
“I am most familiar with the sword of my clan.”
“The Heaven’s Shadow Sword Technique is indeed a formidable sword technique. But the swordsmanship of the Azure Forest is no less impressive.”
Yi-gang silently closed his mouth.
The assessnt that ‘it is no less impressive’ would be Jin Mu’s consideration. Objectively, the sword of the Azure Forest was rated higher than that of the Baek Noble Clan.
After all, the martial arts of the Azure Forest have been proven and evolved with ti since the distant ancient tis.
「Your sword is sufficiently subli. If there had been anything lacking, I would have recomnded another sword technique.」
However, the Heaven’s Shadow Sword Technique that Yi-gang had learned was not the one known to the public from the Baek Noble Clan.
It was the real Heaven’s Shadow Sword, which the Immortal Divine Sword had dismantled and refined to perfection.
Moreover, he was directly taught by the Great Ancestor of the Heaven’s Shadow Sword Technique, the Immortal Divine Sword.
“I haven’t even perfected the Heaven’s Shadow Sword yet.”
“That should be enough then.”
Jin Mu corrected his posture, seemingly having fully loosened up.
The atmosphere had changed.
Although Jin Mu had appeared sloppy since arriving in Beijing, now he was as tranquil as a solitary sword.
「Do not underestimate him, the eldest senior brother of yours possesses exceptional swordsmanship.」
Even without Zhang Sanfeng’s advice, Yi-gang did not underestimate Jin Mu.
How could one dare to underestimate the chief disciple of the Azure Forest?
Even if that were not the case, Yi-gang was a swordsman capable of gauging an opponent’s skill.
“Let’s start by sparring lightly at first.”
“I agree.”
“As a master who has reached such heights, I won’t be yielding the first move.”
Yi-gang and Jin Mu each raised their swords.
Yi-gang held the dark-colored Shooting Star Fang. The teorite sword was known to overwhelm the weapon of any opponent 100 out of 100 tis.
It seed there would be an advantage starting from the sword itself…
“Ha ha, did you think you were the only one with a treasured sword?”
Jin Mu’s sword was also exceptionally unusual.
A clear blue light flashed on the blade.
“This sword was made by mixing Snow Iron with another tal for one season. Of course, it’s not as good as your teorite sword…”
“Let’s find out.”
There was no need to say who would go first.
The distance between them closed in an instant.
The Red Mountain Blue Glory Sword and the Heaven’s Shadow Sword Technique were unleashed simultaneously.
Clang—
A burst of white and black light seed to follow the swords belatedly.
“Good.”
Clang!
Once more, a sharp tallic sound rang out, and Jin Mu’s sword rebounded backward.
In terms of sheer strength, Jin Mu had a slight advantage.
The fact that his sword rebounded first ant that the exchange of blows from the start was in vain.
As proof, Jin Mu’s sword flexibly drew a curve and struck again towards Yi-gang’s left flank.
That area was a difficult spot for a right-handed swordsman to defend. Jin Mu was curious how Yi-gang would handle it.
Yi-gang’s response was straightforward.
It wasn’t that he was blocking Jin Mu’s sword. He was targeting the hand that Jin Mu used to hold his sword.
Like a hawk swooping down on its prey, his gripping hand was infused with the Great Yin Flow’s third form, mixed with the Flying Hawk’s Deft Talon.
Jin Mu had no choice but to withdraw his hand.
Instead, he lowered his body’s center of gravity and stretched out his leg to scrape the ground.
This stance aid at the opponent’s lower body, and Yi-gang’s response was again clear-cut.
Since the target, Jin Mu’s right hand, had disappeared, he simply drove his sword straight into the ground.
If he continued with this leg technique, Jin Mu’s calf would be pierced by the blade.
“Ha ha!”
Instead of kicking at Yi-gang’s blade, Jin Mu kicked the ground.
With a thud, his body bounced up, spinning in the air.
In an instant, his blood boiled with heat.
Therefore, Jin Mu had failed to warn in advance that he would now use the ultimate move of the Red Mountain Blue Glory Sword.
Even as his body spun, Jin Mu’s sword precisely targeted Yi-gang.
The tip of the sword trembled sharply.
Yi-gang’s eyes widened.
If it wasn’t an optical illusion, Jin Mu’s sword seed to have split into hundreds of blades.
This was the ultimate move of the Red Mountain Blue Glory Sword.
It was said to shake off all the leaves of a tree in a single strike.
One-Hand Shaking the Tree.
A storm of swords assaulted all the vital points of the body.
This ultimate move was such that no one who faced it could afford to underestimate it.
Jin Ri-yeon, who was watching, let out a small sigh.
“Dangerous…!”
However, Yi-gang’s responding sword move was equally exquisite.
The technique, enriched with the mysteries of illusion and transformation, was also present in the Heaven’s Shadow Sword Technique.
Especially, the last ninth move added the essence of weight, embodying the force as if to shatter the heavens, as if filled with swords that could shatter the sky.
Perfected Sword Shattering Heaven.
Yi-gang from below, Jin Mu from above.
The deafening sound of hundreds of swords clashing resounded at once.
Qua-gwa-gwang—
It was as noisy as a series of explosives going off.
Guests still asleep would have been startled awake by the premature noise.
Jin Mu took a big step back.
Surprise and joy simultaneously appeared on his face.
“Amazing, truly amazing! Ha ha!”
The surprise ca from the fact that Yi-gang’s skills truly warranted the title of a Supre Peak master.
The joy was because his own junior brother had achieved such a feat.
“Ri-yeon!” he called out to Jin Ri-yeon, who was watching the duel, “Watch closely and learn from the swordplay. There will definitely be sothing to gain.”
Jin Ri-yeon and Yi-gang differed greatly not only in age but also in the ti they have been learning swordplay.
Being told to watch and learn from a fellow disciple’s swordplay could have been quite hurtful.
“I will do so.”
But Jin Ri-yeon was soone who could learn from anyone, and Jin Mu trusted her enough to say that.
Jin Mu then looked at Yi-gang with slightly different eyes.
“Let’s clash with our full strength this ti.”
Yi-gang’s request for a match was surely partly to seek help with his swordsmanship.
But that was not the only reason.
They both needed to properly understand each other’s capabilities.
One must understand the full capabilities to properly allocate personnel.
Knowing the abilities of the disciples, including Jin Mu, was necessary to distribute forces when facing the Seven Great Clans.
For Jin Mu, understanding Yi-gang’s skills was crucial for him to trust and follow his junior brother.
“Yes. However, I have a request beforehand.”
“A request?”
“This ti, I will use a rather extraordinary move. It might take you by surprise.”
“Ha ha, good.”
“And, even if it seems like I have been incapacitated, please do not stop your sword.”
“…”
That’s a bit risky. If Yi-gang were to be seriously injured, it would be a disaster.
Especially since there was an important operation planned for today.
“I understand.”
Nevertheless, Jin Mu decided to trust his youngest junior brother, who had grown so much.
A blue Sword Aura ford on his beloved sword, Snow Thicket.
From the mont the Sword Aura was used, there’s hardly anything in the world it could cut.
If it made contact, it would easily sever bones.
“Hoo.”
In response, a Sword Aura also ford on Yi-gang’s sword, but unlike Jin Mu’s, it was a white light mixed with a blue yokai energy, giving it a strangely dangerous appearance.
“Let’s compete with one move.”
“Yes.”
A mont of silence followed.
Jin Mu was the first to move.
This ti, he used a sword move befitting the promise of competing with a single stroke.
It was said to pierce a single red leaf—Red Leaf Piercing.
He unleashed a blue sword aura towards Yi-gang’s body.
In response, Yi-gang, almost absurdly, stepped back.
Jin Mu’s face twisted in bewildernt.
Releasing a sword strike was faster than pulling back.
In this situation, Yi-gang would have to expose his torso.
He clumsily stepped back and thrust his sword.
At that awkward sword move, Jin Mu even felt anger.
Then sothing unbelievable happened.
Yi-gang’s sword dropped from his hand.
It wasn’t thrown.
The sword, having risen from his hand, targeted Jin Mu with a fierce montum.
“Gasp!”
The essence of swordplay often focused on cutting the opponent holding the sword.
Just as Yi-gang had earlier aid for Jin Mu’s hand instead of his sword, in most cases, targeting the opponent’s body was an effective response.
Facing a sword flying solo is no easy task.
Especially if that sword was also enveloped in a Sword Aura.
However, Jin Mu was not intimidated.
Instead, his eyes sparkled fiercely with courage.
“Grunt!”
In a contest of strength against strength, Yi-gang was still lacking compared to Jin Mu.
Moreover, it seed he couldn’t properly execute his swordplay using his still unrefined Telekinetic Sword Technique.
Crash!
Jin Mu deftly deflected the strike from the Shooting Star Fang.
Yi-gang’s sword soon lost its montum and crashed into the ground. However, Jin Mu was still holding his sword.
As the swordsman had lost his weapon, the duel should rightly end with Jin Mu’s victory.
However, Jin Mu kept his promise to Yi-gang.
“Be careful—!”
It was his own sword that Jin Mu thrust towards Yi-gang, who had beco a formidable opponent.
This was likely because Yi-gang’s eyes still burned with fighting spirit.
“Yi-gaang—!” Jin Mu shouted, with a hope that he wouldn’t be pierced just like that.
Yet, he did not slow his hand.
And Yi-gang brought his hands together in a strange shape.
His hands ford a circle, seemingly without tension, as if depicting the Taiji symbol.
The sword Jin Mu thrust pierced through the round circle created by those hands.
“…”
Jin Mu felt a strange sensation.
It was a feeling that shouldn’t be felt or even be possible during an intense duel.
“…”
His eyelids were heavy, and his mouth was dry.
It was as if he had dozed off and just woken up.
“…eh.”
During that brief mont of dozing, Jin Mu’s sword had been caught between Yi-gang’s hands.
Just monts before, it had surely been a strike ant to penetrate Yi-gang’s body.
What kind of harmony was this, anyway?
Moreover, Jin Mu’s right hand, which held the sword, was throbbing and swollen.
It was a backlash of his energy from the sword handle.
“What kind… What is this…”
It’s a dramatically unrealistic situation.
Rather than the flashy Telekinetic Sword Technique, Jin Mu found this even more unbelievable.
“What kind of technique is this?”
“It’s called the ‘Non-Act Daydream.’”
Non-Act Daydream.
True to its na, Jin Mu felt as if he was experiencing a daydream in broad daylight.
Such an unreal technique must surely be…
“Is it a supre ultimate technique?”
Could it be that Yi-gang’s realm had reached the Absolute?
“That’s not it. It’s rely an imitation of the form of a supre ultimate technique.”
“Did you get it from the Wudang?”
“That’s correct.”
“Indeed… The Sword Emperor must truly have beco an immortal.”
Jin Mu’s voice was filled with profound admiration and respect.
Yi-gang did not bother to correct his misconception.
Whether it was Zhang Sanfeng’s supre ultimate technique or not, it was a technique impressive enough to move any swordsman of the Taoist sect.
After learning the Scripture of Inexhaustible Mind and Emotion, Yi-gang aid to lay the groundwork for using supre ultimate techniques during future possessions.
The practice of Non-Act Daydream was also for that reason.
He hadn’t even thought that he could imitate Zhang Sanfeng’s supre ultimate technique.
「rely followed the form… Ha ha.」
The issue was , Yi-gang, who was not even an Absolute master, began to grasp the technique of Non-Act Daydream bit by bit.
「I also can’t guess how it’s possible.」
However, he still fell far short of the state Zhang Sanfeng had demonstrated.
Yi-gang bowed to Jin Mu, performing a fist-and-palm salute.
“Thank you for the teaching.”
“No, I have learned a lot myself.”
Jin Mu returned the salute.
Through this duel, they had each felt the extent of the other’s skills.
And they were assured. They could trust each other.
“I’ll go ahead. Inspector Ye will be coming soon. Please co in with wearing the Eastern Depot guard uniform.”
“I will.”
Yi-gang ntioned a few more precautions before leaving Beijing Restaurant first.
Today at noon, a hunting contest was set to begin.
He had to imdiately enter the Forbidden City and complete the preliminary preparations.
Just as when he had left the Forbidden City, Yi-gang was accompanied by an Eastern Depot guard.
Thanks to this, he could enter without any further checks.
The mont he passed through the red walls—
Kreung—
Squeeeek—
A beast’s roar echoed.
Who would have thought such a sound could be heard within the Forbidden City?
These animals would soon be bleeding and dying throughout the palace.
Undoubtedly, people would too.
Just then, a palace maid cleaning near the gate murmured quietly, “It won’t be easy to clean up the blood.”
Yi-gang agreed with her statent.
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