Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 662 - 636: The Highest Realm

Chapter 662: Chapter 636: The Highest Realm

Gao Yi has been practicing martial arts since childhood, but he has never dueled with anyone until now.

Sparring is just sparring, determining skill level without the consideration of life and death.

Now, this duel determines both skill and life or death, and the most crucial part is the ritual book.

A lifetime of training in martial arts, today it all seems worth it.

A man wearing a kimono entered, he had wooden clogs on his feet, a wide-sleeved robe, with a katana and a wakizashi inserted diagonally at his waist, his expression solemn and severe.

For some reason, just looking at this man, Gao Yi didn’t find him annoying.

Being a fellow martial artist, Gao Yi would definitely give the greatest respect to an adversary in a fair duel.

There were many shattered glass pieces in the hall, and a few dead bodies as well, but the area near the main door was relatively clean. That martial artist from Japan entered the hall, took off his wooden clogs, bent down to align them neatly, and placed them aside.

The Japanese man bowed and said a few words in a language that sounded like gibberish.

Not understanding what was said, but the fact that he came alone showed he had class, presenting himself with dignity.

Someone outside spoke loudly in English: "Heavenly Star One-wielded Sword, Fujiwara Kaname has arrived."

There was no other way, although he looked down on the Japanese, now that things had come to this, Gao Yi could only obediently step forward a few paces.

Gao Yi also bent down to bow, then clasped his fists in front of him and proclaimed loudly: "Hsing Yi, the third punch never misses."

Nicknames are precisely for use at times like this.

This damned sense of ceremony, how many secrets must be revealed now.

But there was no avoiding it, even if Gao Yi were to die, even if he were to immediately die here, he had to follow the protocol to complete the procedure.

The Japanese man wasn’t young, he looked around sixty years old, with short hair, graying beard, wearing a black kimono and white socks. He turned slightly, placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword, and muttered to himself again.

"Please draw your sword," he said.

Gao Yi knew about the Japanese arts of One-wielded Sword and Flowing Sword, but he was largely unfamiliar with their martial arts schools. He had no idea what the One-wielded Sword style was about.

He only knew that the Japanese style emphasized speed against speed; if you’re fast, I’m faster, and cutting down the opponent before being cut down was the common trait of almost all their styles.

If the opponent intended to draw his sword, Gao Yi naturally wouldn’t stand empty-handed. When the opponent placed his hand on the sword’s hilt, Gao Yi directly grasped the hammer handle and drew it out.

Fujiwara Kaname took a few small steps forward, holding the sword hilt but not drawing the sword. With Gao Yi’s limited knowledge, this seemed to be more in the Flowing Sword style, not the One-wielded Sword style.

No matter if it was the Flowing Sword or One-wielded Sword, Gao Yi didn’t care.

If the opponent refused to strike first, then he would take the initiative.

The worry was that as soon as Gao Yi made a move, he might not witness the Japanese martial arts master’s techniques, because if he struck first, the opponent would basically have no chance to defend.

The two were separated by two meters, which was a very suitable distance for Japanese swordsmanship’s attacking range, but for Gao Yi, who wielded a short weapon, it was an awkward distance.

Gao Yi moved straight forward. He didn’t swing the hammer because he used it as a defensive tool, not an attacking weapon. To him, no matter what weapon his opponent used, as long as he got close, the opponent was already dead.

Then a flash of dazzling blade light swept over.

Fujiwara Kaname drew his sword, one hand steadying the scabbard, the other drawing the blade out, the blade speed extremely fast, slicing diagonally from bottom to top.

Fast, incredibly fast, with an angle both odd and intricate, a tactic the Japanese commonly used.

Gao Yi truly had never seen such a fast blade, and from his position and stance, it was impossible to dodge it.

Unable to dodge, he blocked. Gao Yi’s hammer head thrust downward, and with the sword meeting the hammer, a slight ringing sound was produced.

Fujiwara Kaname pulled back the sword, slashing down diagonally again. He let out a great roar, grasping the hilt with both hands, his force more intense and his speed faster. After the first strike was blocked, he smoothly followed with a second move.

Anyone able to unleash two techniques in front of Gao Yi was a master.

For someone else, this single slash would have been fatal. The Japanese weren’t mere sacks of wine and rice; their techniques had developed to the extreme with their intricate paths, indeed showing some mastery.

But taking a path so complicated became overly elaborate; an extreme deviation is just a grand mistake.

Without leaving the opponent room to maneuver, nor leaving oneself space to retreat. Against ordinary people, this quick and cunning slash was really effective, but facing Gao Yi, the more skewed, the quicker to die.

Gao Yi loved it when opponents used broad and open techniques.

Before Fujiwara Kaname’s sword could hit his body, Gao Yi had already stuck close to him. Even if Fujiwara Kaname’s sword came down, it could only hit Gao Yi’s back.

A gentle shake of the left shoulder, Fujiwara Kaname didn’t fly away; instead, the sword he held with both hands flew out, spinning less than a circle in the air, the hilt crashing to the ground first, producing a dull thud, followed by a bounce and landing with a crisp clang.

Before the sword hit the ground, Fujiwara Kaname was already dead.

A mist of blood slowly descended on the shiny blade, covering it with tiny beads of blood.

Fujiwara Kaname did not fly away, but his body emitted the sound of fracturing bones. At the moment of impact from Gao Yi, the ribs on one side of his chest completely shattered, his heart was crushed, and his lungs exploded, allowing him to spray a spectacular blood mist across the sky.

With the Iron Mountain Lean, Gao Yi turned his feet, circling around Fujiwara Kaname’s body to the back, and took two steps forward.

This way, he wouldn’t be sprayed all over with the enemy’s blood.

Fujiwara Kaname fell forward to the ground.

Using the Iron Mountain Lean to knock someone back is normal, but using the extremely fierce Iron Mountain Lean to make someone fall forward is the highest level.

Sadly, no one understands the inner meaning of Gao Yi’s move.

Experts remain lonely, not only because there is no opponent, but because there are no confidants, no one truly understands the subtleties of this attack.

Silence inside and out.

Gao Yi was actually on guard against the Japanese who claimed to want a fair fight but actually planned to attack en masse. However, this first opponent was truly respectable. At least he genuinely came alone for the final showdown, without any deceitful schemes.

No chance to gracefully sheathe a sword; even swinging a hammer couldn’t possibly be associated with the term graceful.

He swung the hammer in his hand twice, sheathed it at his waist, and shouted loudly: "Next one, or come at me together!"

At this point, someone outside spoke again.

"I’ll do it!"

Another person walked in wearing a kimono.

These people had a sense of ceremony that was indeed sufficient, which matched the habits of the Japanese, whether they worked or not. First, make sure the setup was correct, maximized the ceremonial feeling, at least looked like it should.

But thankfully, this person wasn’t wearing wooden clogs, instead wearing a pair of split-toe kendo shoes, which were long cloth boots with an opening for the big toe.

His footsteps made no sound, he crossed his arms arrogantly as he walked in.

Glancing at Fujiwara Kaname’s corpse and the blood droplets scattered across the ground, the newcomer gave Gao Yi a sidelong glance and said haughtily: "Come..."

Gao Yi erupted, not swinging his hammer but dashing forward directly.

When that new opponent hastily spread his arms and just placed his hand on the sword’s hilt, he had already been flung out.

Gao Yi was indignant, shouting loudly out the door: "Send someone with some class!"