[Momentum] This skill might sound absurdly powerful, but techniques like this were typically specialized for fighting people. They were only tremendously effective against ordinary-minded humans. For someone with a firm will, being dazed for three seconds was already the limit. As for swordsmen who could clear their minds and reach the realm of Mind's Eye, they could not be affected for even a second.
No matter what kind of martial art it was, Chen Junxuan had created it in the beginning for the purpose of fighting people.
So, to put it bluntly, it meant that I could throw heavy punches at humans, but against Honkai, I could only bow and scrape.
Most of the Taixuan Style's techniques lost their inherent meaning when faced with the sheer size of Honkai Beasts.
In fact, this was a common flaw shared by most martial arts. Faced with Honkai, both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy used methods that combined the paths of the Previous Civilization with their own technology.
Martial arts? It could only be said to be a product of human infighting. Faced with Honkai, even if Su Qing'an learned at an astonishing speed—fast enough to master every martial art in the world within a month—the limit he could reach still could not surpass Chen Junxuan's by much.
So Raiden Mei might have been shocked by Su Qing'an's strength.
But he himself understood just how weak he really was.
Suppose Bronya was nearby, monitoring Raiden Mei. At this distance, if she wanted to kill him, it would not be particularly difficult.
But the youth did not consider any of these distractions now. His mind was completely focused. As his feet shifted lightly, the blade left its sheath completely and slashed out like a flash of lightning!
Unlike Shenzhou's swords, the terms for Japanese blades and swords referred to the same kind of weapon. Japanese blades and their sheaths had a certain curvature, and Iaido used that curvature during the draw to create an instant burst of power. Its force and speed were far greater than simply swinging a blade through the air.
What Su Qing'an was using now was precisely the Iaido that had been integrated into the Taixuan Style.
Soon, although it was only a wooden sword, Mei sensed a sharpness and danger comparable to that of a real blade.
With such force and speed, even a wooden sword could kill with a single blow if it struck a vital point.
Though this was merely an exchange of pointers, Raiden Mei felt as if she were fighting someone in a battle to the death.
In the Mind's Eye state, she could clearly see where the opponent's blade was about to land. She drew her own blade halfway, then pulled it completely free.
Striking after her opponent, Raiden Mei's blade moved faster than Su Qing'an's.
Beichen Ichi-ryu was a pure killing sword art. The Iaido it passed down was much faster, simpler, and more dangerous than the Taixuan Style's.
Compared with the Taixuan Style's complicated and disorderly techniques, Beichen Ichi-ryu, which focused solely on swordsmanship, was undoubtedly far stronger in the art of the blade.
At the same time, Su Qing'an sincerely believed that no school suited him better than the complicated and disorderly Taixuan Style.
Only a martial art as complicated as the Taixuan Style could fully bring out his sole advantage: combining and integrating other people's martial arts, then quickly summarizing combat techniques specifically suited for fighting Honkai Beasts.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The continuous collisions of wooden swords echoed through the Dojo.
Kiana stared unblinkingly at the two people crossing blades, neither holding back in the slightest.
Amid the endlessly intricate techniques revealed through their blade clashes, probing footwork, and swings, she seemed to see an unparalleled beauty.
They were clearly using only wooden swords, yet the girl felt that the next exchange might decide life and death.
Aside from the Gun Kata her father had taught her, this was the first time she had observed someone else's combat techniques so seriously.
Compared with her ability to conduct herself in society, Kiana's combat talent was undoubtedly far greater.
Yet even Kiana, who had fought Honkai Beasts for years, lacked the confidence to defeat either person present in close combat.
This was the result of the differences in what the three of them focused on in their martial arts training.
At the same time, only a tiny minority could train their martial arts to this level.
If Kiana used a gun, however, her odds of winning in a life-or-death battle would undoubtedly be much higher.
Raiden Mei's breathing had already begun to grow ragged. The time she could maintain her peak combat strength was nearing its limit.
Beichen Ichi-ryu was never suited for prolonged battles. Swinging the blade with the greatest speed and force to kill within a short time was its most stamina-efficient method.
But now, even though she swung her blade faster than her opponent, after struggling to block his first few strikes, he became increasingly at ease with every subsequent blow.
Raiden Mei understood that this was not because her strength and speed had declined in such a short time. Rather, her opponent had already adapted to her blade paths and speed.
What terrifying stamina and neural reflexes. She had heard that Chen Junxuan had never accepted a student. Now she seemed to understand why he had taken on a disciple.
The youth's swings grew faster and faster, completely reversing the offensive and defensive positions between them. Raiden Mei felt that realizing Mind's Eye before the battle and making Beichen Ichi-ryu stronger had already been astonishing enough.
But Su Qing'an's progress completely shattered her worldview. The trajectory and technique of the blade he swung at her—even the way he used his muscles to generate force—grew closer to the true Beichen Ichi-ryu with every strike.
It was incomprehensible and unbelievable. This performance was already challenging Raiden Mei's basic understanding of martial arts.
There had been no practice and no need to develop muscle memory.
Within the brief three minutes they had exchanged blows, the Beichen Ichi-ryu she had painstakingly trained in for nearly ten years had been learned more than halfway by the youth. Could someone like this really exist?
She completely understood why Chen Junxuan had taken this youth as his student. Only such learning ability could perfectly inherit and master the absurdly complicated Taixuan Style.
She did not know how long Chen Junxuan had taught Su Qing'an, but judging from this fellow's current learning speed, it probably had not been long.
Raiden Mei herself was a genius. Techniques that ordinary people needed a long time to master, she could grasp most of after seeing them a few times.
Gifted beyond compare, she had obtained Menkyo Kaiden in Beichen Ichi-ryu at a young age and developed her own understanding of Kendo.
Even her teacher had once said that their talent in Beichen Ichi-ryu was inferior to hers. Yet today, Raiden Mei had, for the first time in her life, understood the mindset and gaze with which ordinary people regarded geniuses.
It was the anger and bewilderment of feeling that years of effort had been invisibly insulted and mocked, along with an intense unwillingness to accept defeat.
But moments later, her emotions returned to calm.
Swing the blade! No matter how powerful and unreasonable the enemy was, as the inheritor of Beichen Ichi-ryu's current generation and as a swordsman, she could not allow herself to waver.
Swing the blade with all her strength. She did not need to think about anything else.
"Bang!" The sound was even more muffled than before. The wooden sword in the girl's hands broke.
Su Qing'an's final strike had severed the wooden sword. Given the level of this battle, it was only natural that the wooden sword's material had broken.
"Let's call it a draw." He put away the wooden sword in his hand and said this.
"I lost." She looked at the broken blade on the ground, then met Su Qing'an's eyes and said frankly.
Raiden Mei's feelings were complicated. This was the first time in many years that she had lost to someone her own age in Kendo. She understood that this battle had undoubtedly been her defeat. Leaving aside the opponent's terrifying learning speed, his advantage in physical ability alone had been enough to determine the outcome.
Therefore, neither her somewhat proud nature nor her identity as a swordsman would allow her to refuse to acknowledge her defeat.
A loss was a loss. There was nothing shameful about it.
But if someone was unwilling even to admit their own failure, that was the true and complete defeat.
"But it wasn't Beichen Ichi-ryu that lost. It was Raiden Mei." After saying this, the girl flicked her ponytail and walked away without looking back.
Raiden Mei's meaning was clear. She was saying that Beichen Ichi-ryu was far from limited to this level. Losing to Su Qing'an did not mean the Taixuan Style was stronger than Beichen Ichi-ryu. It only meant that her own studies were incomplete.
At the same time, this also meant one thing: Raiden Mei's will had not been crushed. Even after witnessing the terrifying extent of Su Qing'an's ability, she still believed she had a chance to win back the match later.
True martial artists and swordsmen were all people with such steadfast hearts, people who could endure setback after setback without breaking.
Raiden Mei's will had lived up to her identity as an inheritor of Beichen Ichi-ryu.
"Hey, Raiden Mei, come find Kiana when you have time. She only knows how to play games all day. As her senior, could you please help me supervise her studies? I'll pay you 4,500 yen an hour. If you're interested, you can come to my shop."
The girl's steps paused for a moment before she replied, "I'll consider it."
With that, she left the Dojo.
"...Su Qing'an! I'm so smart. Do I need someone to teach me?" Kiana instantly blew up.
"You sleep through math class all the time and are only enthusiastic during physical education. If this continues, you'll fail your exams." The youth sighed helplessly.
Su Qing'an had learned all this from Kiana's homeroom teacher, but Kiana, who knew nothing about it, shifted the blame onto Satou Yunona.
Satou Yunona, go die! (＃｀皿´)<>
"Su Qing'an, forget it. How could I let you spend money?" Kiana said righteously.
"What are you talking about, Kiana? Of course your wages will pay for your private tutor."
"???" The girl's tiny head was filled with enormous confusion.
"Kiana, your food expenses alone over the past month totaled 530,000 yen." Su Qing'an smiled, his expression refined and genial.
"??? I-I-I... I understand! I'll study hard! Isn't it enough if I pass the exams?" Kiana's killing intent toward Satou Yunona grew even deeper.
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