The Use of "Qi"!

After the final slash fell, Mihawk was sent flying backward. Upon landing, he slid several meters across the ground before barely coming to a stop. His long blade had already pierced the earth, and he supported himself with it, his face faintly flushed. Li could see that his hands were trembling. Even Mihawk could not fully adapt to continuously blocking such high-intensity slashes. No—being able to withstand those attacks at all had already exceeded Li's expectations. After all, this was the strongest of the three supreme techniques Li currently possessed. Yet even that could not defeat Mihawk. As expected of Hawk Eyes.

"That was indeed a powerful strike. I never expected you to be so proficient at wielding both the Vertical and Horizontal paths at once. If I did not possess Hawk Eyes, I would have been defeated just now!" Mihawk took a deep breath, a trace of shock flashing through his eyes. But he quickly steadied himself and returned to his usual placid demeanor. "However, swordsmanship of this level is still not enough to defeat me completely. Now, it is my turn to attack!"

Hearing this, Li narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of solemnity appearing on his face. Even Phantom Sword Dance had failed to defeat Mihawk in one stroke. To be honest, this was beyond Li's expectations. He had not used Phantom Sword Dance when fighting Asama Ryoma precisely because he had intended to save it for Mihawk. He had not expected such an outcome. It seemed that becoming a world-class swordsman in the original story had not been a matter of chance. Mihawk's strength truly surpassed that of ordinary peak swordsmen. With Hawk Eyes, he possessed extraordinary vision that no other swordsman had, allowing him to easily see through the weaknesses in an opponent's sword techniques