dmims Page 49
Page 49
At the same time, he didn't stop talking, continuing to chatter on and on:
"Demons cannot be injured, so even if an attack severs an arm or rips out a heart, you won't think of dodging! You don't get tired, so your attacks are completely inaccurate! Because you have countless chances! As long as you don't get your head cut off, you won't die, so all your moves are about trading your life for injury!"
"He had the Blood Demon Art's blessing, but instead of integrating it into his martial arts, he poured all his martial arts skills into the Blood Demon Art!"
"What have you been training for all these past few centuries?! Your skills haven't improved at all. Have you been wasting your life like a dog?!"
Hearing Xia Yan's resounding words, Akaza was shaken to his core. His pupils, which bore the mark of Lower Moon Three, dilated instantly, and he lost all sense of proportion in his attacks.
Chapter 90 Eat My Dog-Headed Dragon Flash
Under the dual blows of Xia Yan's mind and body, Akaza was thrown into chaos, and her defense, which had been barely holding on, began to falter.
Xia Yan naturally wouldn't let such an opportunity pass by. He took a step forward and cut into Akaza's center line, gripping the sword hilt with both hands, like a lion baring its fangs.
"Your right hand is weak!"
He slashed upwards and severed the right arm.
"My backhand technique is poor!"
He chopped down and severed the left arm.
"Loose footsteps!"
He swept his legs across the ground and severed them.
"Responsive!"
He turned around and used the force of the rotation to slash open his chest.
With each word Xia Yan spoke, a sharp slash followed, quickly dismantling Akaza's defenses and leaving only his wide-open neck.
"Not a single movement is decent. You dare to talk to me about the highest realm? Keep dreaming!"
The sword flashed down instantly, leaving a dazzling trail of light in the air, giving no one a chance to react.
An overly rapid strike can create the illusion that the speed is actually quite slow.
It's like an electric fan that's clearly spinning rapidly, but when viewed by the human eye, it creates the illusion of slowly reversing.
This strange illusion will give the target a feeling of being cut in space and time, making it impossible for them to accurately judge Xia Yan's attack. By the time they realize what is happening, they have already been hit.
"Storm Breathing - First Form - Divine Speed"
This is the only one of Xia Yanlan's nine sword forms that was not created from the secrets of the Flying Sword Style and the Mysterious Wind Style.
Its principle is derived from the unparalleled explosive speed of "Thunder Breathing - First Form - Thunder Flash".
Just like when lightning strikes down from the sky, even though it's so fast that the human eye can't catch it, it still leaves a lightning trail in the sky like a tree branch.
Thunder Flash is a technique belonging to the Iaijutsu type.
The principle of Iaijutsu is to draw the sword from its sheath as quickly as possible and deliver a fatal blow before the enemy can react.
It is essentially a sneak attack.
When a sword is sheathed, the opponent subconsciously relaxes their vigilance, thus slowing their reaction speed and making it easier to deliver a fatal blow.
However, no matter how fast it is, it still divides the Iaijutsu into two steps: drawing the sword and slashing. Therefore, in terms of speed, it is actually not as fast as a normal slash.
In order to maximize the explosive power of this move, Xia Yan simply abandoned the iaido form and combined all the explosive techniques of Thunderclap Flash to create a straightforward slash that far surpasses Thunderclap Flash in speed.
Its name is——
—"Storm Breathing, First Form: Godspeed"
Akaza's pupils instantly shrank to the size of pinholes, and every hair on his body stood on end.
He had intended to regenerate his arm to block the attack, but he found that the slash was completely inconsistent with its apparent speed. Before he could even raise his hand, it was already close to his neck.
puff-
"Ahhhh-"
Feeling that his neck had been cut in half, Akaza let out a frantic scream.
If I die here, wouldn't that prove that everything the other party said was true?
Was all my efforts over the past few centuries completely wasted?!
No! Only those who survive are the strong!
Thinking of this, a madness flashed in Akaza's eyes. He used all his strength to clamp the blade of Xia Yan's sword with his neck, while the muscles in his neck tensed and bulged, and the veins stretched out to wrap around the blade. He used all his strength to slow down the speed of Xia Yan's sword swing.
puff--
Akaza's arms regenerated instantly.
However, he ignored the blade that was about to behead him and instead used all his strength to stab Xia Yan in the chest!
The moment you sever my head, my fist will pierce your chest! With a human body so weak, even a piercing of the chest will kill you!
Come on, Xia Yan! Make your choice!
Sheathe your sword, or die with me!
Xia Yan naturally wouldn't choose to perish together with Akaza. Although Akaza would be resurrected after death, he didn't intend to casually reveal this matter.
A trump card is something that is only revealed when absolutely necessary to use it.
The mere Lower Moon Three is not enough to make him reveal the secret of his immortality!
Thinking of this, he instantly reversed the force of his swing, using the back of the blade as the cutting edge to cut through all obstacles, pulling the Nichirin Blade back and severing Akaza's arm once again.
Akaza, however, relentlessly charged forward.
"What a joke! You're lying! You're lying!"
"Ghosts will always be stronger than humans!"
"You can't cut off my head! I can feel that your strength has diminished since the beginning! Even if it's only a little, but! But! You're exhausted, aren't you!!!"
"Narugami Natsuhiko!"
"Tell me right now, you want to become a ghost!"
"You are a one-in-a-million powerhouse! Once you become a demon, you will have a lifespan of 100, 200, or even 300 years! You will have endless time to hone your skills, and you will become even stronger, stronger than me, stronger than Kokushibo! You will be stronger than everyone and every demon except for Lord Muzan!"
"Otherwise, just die!!!"
The moment he spoke, Akaza used both hands and feet to unleash eight attacks simultaneously.
Attacks from eight different directions converged at one point, striking Xia Yan's chest. Even with Byakugan's observation of the world, it was almost impossible to discern the order of these attacks.
Compared to the relentless, machine-gun-like attacks of the Chaotic Style, this move is more like a shotgun firing all its bullets!
Destruction Kill: Demon Core Eightfold Core!
This is a powerful, eight-hit combo attack launched from all directions towards the same spot. There is no way to dodge it; the only option is to defend against it head-on!
"Heh, you're joking!" Xia Yan said with a slight upturn of his lips, "Putting aside the fact that I'm stronger than you to begin with, I just can't accept the fact that I can never surpass Muzan!"
Faced with the oncoming attack, Xia Yan calmly held the sword with both hands, pointing the tip downwards, and assumed a strange starting stance.
The next second, the sword in his hand moved!
Tang bamboo, kasaya slash, reverse kasaya, left pheasant, right pheasant, left cut upward, right cut upward, against the wind, sudden stab.
The foundation of all swordsmanship, the nine most basic movements of Kendo, are integrated into one move in this instant.
"Storm Breathing - Fourth Form - Nine-Headed Dragon Flash!"
Chapter Ninety-One: Fighting with Sword and Heart, Soldiers Appear in a Flash
“Puwa——”
A mouthful of blood suddenly spurted from Akaza's mouth.
A huge, terrifying hole appeared in his neck; the missing flesh had almost hollowed out his neck, leaving only a few bits of flesh stuck together.
Aside from his haori being slightly disheveled by the shockwave from the collision, Xia Yan appeared perfectly normal.
The difference between the two is obvious.
Undoubtedly, the eight-hit combo attack launched from all directions towards the same spot was defeated by a sword strike launched simultaneously from nine directions.
Unfortunately, all the slashes were used to cancel out his attacks, leaving only the final thrust to finish him off.
However, Akaza, despite being the loser, had a smile on his face.
It wasn't a smile of relief at surviving a disaster, but rather an exaggerated laugh like that of a victor celebrating his triumph.
“Hehehe…hahahahaha…”
"You were one step behind, Narukami Natsuhiko! If your final attack had been a slash, I would be dead by now!"
"No! I should say, if you were still at your peak, even a stab would be enough to completely tear my neck apart!"
"The reason you lost is because you're just a human being!!"
"Spell activation!"
The flesh on his neck regenerated rapidly, and Akaza once again assumed a horse stance, raising his hands to gather strength.
The blood energy surged and spread again, spreading out from the feet of Yiwozu to form a twelve-pointed snowflake pattern. Each snowflake branch had a number, numbered from 1 to 2.
Unlike the previous decorative patterns, this time the snowflakes seemed to be brewing something.
It carried a sense of lurking murderous intent.
"Farewell, Xia Yan. You are the strongest enemy I have encountered in hundreds of years! I will remember you forever!"
Despite being mortal enemies, Akaza's face now showed obvious regret and pity.
"Destruction Kill·Final Style·Green Silver Chaotic Afterglow!"
Countless dazzling lights, like fireworks, appeared on the snowflake-shaped array beneath his feet, as if they were about to burst forth at any moment.
It was as if the fuse of a bomb had been lit to the last bit; the terrifying pressure made even Tamayo, who was just watching from the sidelines, feel breathless.
Although she couldn't tell the exact situation of the battle, based on the conversations between the two during their fight, Xia Yan's condition didn't seem as perfect as it appeared.
Can Xia Yan really survive this move that sounds incredibly dangerous just from its name?!