It Really Did Turn Out As You Practiced

"So it was a misunderstanding!"

The three regrouped downstairs, and Zhou Yuxuan clasped his hands in a bow toward Shirou Emiya. "Not entirely a misunderstanding. The Wa Lord was very interested in your earlier remarks about 'circuits.' I've been sent on her orders to spar with you and verify the truth."

"Oh, then what did you mean by saying bounty hunters aren't allowed in here?"

"The Wa Lord values you highly. If you wish to know, there's no harm in telling you."

Zhou Yuxuan spoke frankly, his attitude a stark contrast to the curtness he'd shown Old Tang.

"Although the Wa Lord is nominally leading this Chu Kingdom Ruins mission, the hunters are only handling preliminary exploration—they have no claim to the core benefits. Our families will take over to secure and preserve the ruins afterward."

"The actual execution team, besides my Xiangyang Zhou Family, includes joint personnel from the Wu, Wang, Jiang, Chen, Sun, Bai, and other Mixed-Blood Families in the surrounding regions. We're leveraging political and business connections to control the site under the guise of developing a cultural industry..."

"The original schedule is still far off. The Wa Lord sent me ahead to meet you early. If your so-called Western Magecraft proves genuine, my Zhou Family promises to grant you one request within our power."

"Huh? That much importance on me?" Emiya found it hard to believe.

Or were the Mixed-Blood Families planning to transition into the realm of Magi?

"That much importance... but the prerequisite is that you show your true skill!"

Zhou Yuxuan shifted his stance, and Shirou Emiya noticed for the first time a broadsword strapped to his back, nearly flush against it. It looked immensely heavy, with a rusted bronze chain connected to its ring pommel.

Old Tang saw Zhou Yuxuan whip out such an obviously lethal weapon and exclaimed, "No need, no need!"

But Shirou Emiya felt a spark of excitement.

The ring-pommel swords and blades of the Divine Land originated in the Han Dynasty and continued through the Tang. Historically, during the Three Kingdoms period, Guan Yu wielded a ring-pommel heavy blade called the "Ten Thousand Man Killer" (adapted into the Green Dragon Crescent Blade in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms). So by Emiya's judgment, this was clearly a weapon with a long legacy.

It could easily be called a Noble Phantasm!

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yuxuan didn't draw the heavy sword from its wide black scabbard. Instead, he swung the bronze chain in attack!

Clang—!

Shirou Emiya pulled two tachi of different lengths from his case, shaped like a violin box, and parried the incoming chain with a diagonal slash.

Before he could counter, his opponent stepped forward and lashed the chain again. Emiya met it with both blades, the clatter ringing out like a drumbeat.

It seemed evenly matched, but Zhou Yuxuan pressed on relentlessly, wielding the bronze chain like a fierce whip in a dense, unbroken pattern. He advanced steadily, the chain's wide attack angles forcing Emiya's tachi to guard only his immediate vicinity, pinning him in a fixed range. Sparks flickered in the air.

"Is this all you've got?"

Emiya didn't rise to the taunt. Suddenly, an abnormal flow of elements surged through his body. Bright lines like circuit boards appeared on his limbs, and his eyes gathered elemental energy.

Reinforcement Magic.

In an instant, his strength and vision skyrocketed. His enhanced dynamic sight tracked the bronze "whip's" trajectory in the blur of motion.

Crack! Emiya precisely inserted one of his blades into the gap between the chain links!

"!?"

Zhou Yuxuan's heart jolted. Emiya pulled and swung the blade, and Zhou found himself helplessly dragged forward by the immense force transmitted through the chain. Emiya's other tachi was steadily raised, as if Zhou was hurtling straight onto the blade!

Without a doubt, if that blow landed, this fight would be decided!

Realizing the danger, Zhou Yuxuan's Golden Eye blazed to life, and his Word of Power: Iron Flow domain expanded instantly.

Thud!

A dull impact rang out as Emiya's tachi struck a small metal shield hastily conjured by the Iron Flow.

Zhou Yuxuan seized the chance to retract his chain. He looked at the conspicuous crack his shield had taken and fell silent.

Emiya clearly hadn't used full force. With his Alchemical Tachi and the sudden surge of power, splitting that makeshift shield would have been no problem.

As for how Zhou Yuxuan knew it was an Alchemical Tachi? Because his Word of Power: Iron Flow, which could control metal, had no effect on Emiya's weapons.

Emiya's weapon case surely held spare blades, but Zhou couldn't influence any of them. The answer was obvious—all of Emiya's weapons were Alchemical Weapons made from Regenerated Metal!

Only by using advanced alchemy to "kill" the metal, purge impurities, and grant it new life could the resulting Regenerated Metal free the weapons from his Word of Power's grasp and grant them performance beyond normal limits!

So the Wa Lord's words that day—that Emiya's alchemy was extraordinary—were undeniably true.

Then, was that technique of Emiya's that suddenly boosted his strength a Word of Power? Or the magecraft he spoke of?

He needed to probe further.

This time, Zhou Yuxuan didn't swing the chain. Instead, he raised the heavy, door-wide ring-pommel greatsword and attacked with overwhelming force.

Boom—!

The massive weight came down, sending out shockwaves. Fierce sparks burst between their weapons, and the escalating clash made the concrete pavement groan under the strain.

But Zhou Yuxuan's mood was far from light. Though he swung that imposing door-plate greatsword and Emiya wielded delicate, sharp tachi, the situation was completely reversed—

A piercing, shrill blade-song filled the air. Emiya's twin Alchemical Tachi formed stunning silver arcs, not following the measured forms of ancient martial arts, but a pure "personal style" of fast, lethal battlefield strikes that caught his opponent off guard and left him scrambling.

"Ugh...!"

Even with this fine Alchemical greatsword, Zhou Yuxuan was forced back by the sheer force of Emiya's strikes. After a dozen exchanges, his arms were numbed by the immense power transmitted through the blade.

He gritted his teeth, his Golden Eye burning brighter. His Word of Power: Iron Flow had another use—in close combat, it could extract the metallic elements from an opponent's body.

The free metal ions in a human body were vital for sustaining life. Extracting them would render the target immobile.

Zhou Yuxuan believed this move, aside from the drawback of needing sustained contact, was virtually impossible to fail due to other factors—

Unless the enemy doesn't rely on metal elements to sustain its activity. Or if the enemy is a moving alchemical construct, making it impossible for him to interfere at all.

The profound Dragon Language echoed, yet no feedback came back.

Failed!?

The metal element content within Emiya's body was normal, yet he couldn't interfere!

Zhou Yuxuan, observing from a Word Spirit perspective, was shocked to discover that Emiya's body contained an exquisitely precise array of metal elements—an Alchemical Matrix!

These patterns spread through his limbs and torso like a nervous system, forming an internal domain that resisted external interference.

Steady, rhythmic flows of stable elements coursed along the Alchemical Matrix, concentrated in his hands and feet. So that's how he solved it—this is the Magic Circuit, the reason for Emiya's explosive surge in power! Emiya's so-called magic is activated through this!

To implant an Alchemical Array of this precision into his own body... Emiya's alchemy skill has likely reached the master level!