In the brief silence, the attendant behind the wheelchair could not help but tremble.
He swallowed.
Killing intent.
Invisible killing intent rose from the deathly still arena. It was anger so tangible it seemed to have substance, coiling around the gaunt old man. Mere intangible will ravaged the ground until it collapsed, cracks appearing in the steel.
The Sword Saint's wrath.
"How sad," Kamiizumi sighed. "Have young people these days forgotten how to respect their elders?"
Huai Shi gave a slight shrug. "I have to say, you were the one who got personal first."
"That doesn't matter."
Kamiizumi smacked his lips, his voice hoarse. "The important thing is that I suddenly don't feel like holding back anymore."
"Likewise."
Huai Shi replied indifferently.
Though he hated to admit it, seeing his own skill compared by this old bastard to a game played by courtesans from Yoshihara had genuinely gotten under Huai Shi's skin.
But so what if it had?
The old man was the one getting worked up.
Besides, Huai Shi refused to believe this old ghost could actually beat him to death.
Moreover, he had his own way of dealing with foul-tempered senior figures who loved bullying the weak.
"Come!"
He crooked a finger provocatively and grinned. "Let this junior learn just how wide the gap is between me and Yingzhou's Sword Saint!"
"Don't worry, I'll use the flat of the blade."
Kamiizumi answered considerately. After a brief pause, he mumbled indistinctly as though speaking to himself, "Though... if you get chopped to death by the flat, then you can't blame anyone else, can you?"
Huai Shi stiffened instantly.
A bone-chilling cold seemed to spill from the old man's indistinct words, spreading until it swallowed him like a grinning nightmare.
Darkness surged forth like a spring from beneath that aged,