You Really Mastered It

"So it was all a misunderstanding!"

The three regrouped downstairs. Zhou Yuxuan cupped his hands to Shirou Emiya. "It wasn't entirely a misunderstanding. Wa Lord was very interested in Lord Emiya's earlier remarks about 'circuits.' On Wa Lord's orders, I specifically came to spar with you and verify whether they were true."

"Oh? Then what did you mean when you said Bounty Hunters weren't allowed in here?"

"Wa Lord values you greatly. There is no harm in telling you if you want to know."

Zhou Yuxuan simply spoke frankly. His attitude was completely different from the difficult manner he had shown when dealing with Old Tang.

"Although Wa Lord is the nominal leader of this Chu Kingdom Ruins mission, the Hunters are only conducting preliminary exploration. They have no right to the core benefits. We family clans will still need to control and protect the ruins afterward."

"Besides my Xiangyang Zhou Family, the actual personnel include people jointly dispatched by several Mixed-Blood Families from the surrounding regions—the Wus, Wangs, Jiangs, Chens, Suns, Bais, and others. They will use their connections in politics and business to establish control under the banner of developing cultural industries...

"The scheduled time is still some way off. Wa Lord sent me here to meet you in advance. If this so-called Western Magecraft of yours is real, the Zhou Family promises to grant you one request within our means."

"Huh? You value me that much?" Emiya could not quite understand it.

Or were Hybrid Families planning to transition into the field of magi?

"That's how much we value you... provided, of course, that you show us what you're really capable of!"

Zhou Yuxuan's body shifted, and only then did Shirou Emiya notice the Ring-Pommel Broadsword strapped flat against his back. It looked extraordinarily heavy at a glance, with a rusted bronze chain attached to its pommel.

Seeing Zhou Yuxuan immediately bring out such a clearly heavyweight killing weapon, Old Tang hurriedly cried that there was no need for this.

But Shirou Emiya was somewhat excited.

The ring-pommel swords of the Divine Land had taken shape in the Han dynasty and continued through the Tang dynasty. Historically, Guan Yu of the Three Kingdoms era had wielded a ring-pommel heavy saber called the Ten Thousand Man Killer—though Romance of the Three Kingdoms had adapted it into the Green Dragon Crescent Blade. With Emiya's eye, it was easy to judge that this was a weapon with a long legacy.

It was enough to be called a Noble Phantasm!

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yuxuan did not draw the greatsword from its broad black scabbard. Instead, he swung the bronze chain in attack!

Clang—!

Shirou Emiya drew two tachi of differing lengths from his instrument-case-like weapon box and blocked the incoming chain with a diagonal slash.

Before he could counterattack, his opponent stepped forward and leaned in, swinging the chain again. Emiya held both blades and exchanged ringing blows with him like a game of ping-pong.

They appeared evenly matched, but Zhou Yuxuan's assault never stopped. He wielded the bronze chain like a ferocious whip, creating an airtight barrage as he steadily pressed forward. The chain could attack from an extremely wide range of angles, while Emiya's tachi could only protect the space around him, pinning him within a fixed area. Sparks flickered in the air.

"Is this all you've got?"

Emiya did not respond to such a provocation. Suddenly, an unusual flow of elements coursed through his body. Bright markings resembling circuit boards appeared over his limbs, and elemental energy gathered in his pupils.

Reinforcement Magic.

In an instant, his strength and vision soared. His enhanced dynamic vision clearly saw the patterns of the bronze "long whip" amid its rapid movements.

Crack! Emiya precisely drove the blade in one hand into a gap between the chain links!

"!?"

Zhou Yuxuan was shocked. Emiya pulled and swung his blade, and an overwhelming force transmitted through the chain dragged him over before he could resist. Meanwhile, the tachi in Emiya's other hand rose steadily. It was as though he were charging directly into its edge!

There was no doubt about it—if he took this blow solidly, the victor of this fight would be decided!

Realizing that danger was upon him, Zhou Yuxuan's Golden Eye blazed brilliantly as the domain of Word of Power: Iron Flow rapidly unfolded.

Bang!

With a muffled impact, Emiya's tachi struck a small metal round shield hastily created by Iron Flow.

Zhou Yuxuan took the chance to pull back his chain. He looked at the conspicuous crack cut into his shield and fell silent.

Emiya had clearly not used his full strength. With the Alchemical Tachi in his hand and that sudden surge of power, splitting the hastily made shield would have been no problem at all.

As for why Zhou Yuxuan knew it was an Alchemical Tachi—because even Word of Power: Iron Flow, which could control metal, could not affect Emiya's weapons.

There had to be spare swords in Emiya's weapon box, yet Zhou Yuxuan could affect none of them. The answer was obvious: every one of Emiya's weapons was an Alchemical Weapon made of Regenerated Metal!

Only through exquisite alchemy—by "killing" metal, removing its impurities, granting it new life, and forming Regenerated Metal—could weapons be made to escape the grasp of his Word of Power and possess performance that broke through conventional limits!

It seemed Wa Lord's words that day had been true. Emiya's alchemy was indeed extraordinary.

Then was Emiya's technique for suddenly increasing his strength a Word of Power, or the magecraft he spoke of?

He had to probe further.

This time, Zhou Yuxuan no longer swung the chain. Instead, he raised the heavy Ring-Pommel Greatsword, broad as a door panel, and attacked with crushing force.

Boom—!

The massive blade cleaved downward, blasting the air aside. Violent sparks burst from between their weapons, and the escalating clash made the cement road rumble under the unbearable strain.

Yet Zhou Yuxuan was far from relaxed. Clearly, he was wielding an imposing door-panel greatsword while Emiya used delicate, sharp tachi, but their actual positions were completely reversed—

Piercing, harsh blade cries rang out all around them. The twin alchemical blades Emiya swung formed astonishing silver arcs, but they were not the orderly sword forms of any ancient martial school. They were swift, lethal battlefield killing moves formed through sheer personal style, catching one off guard and leaving one scrambling desperately.

"Urgh...!"

Even with this exceptional alchemical greatsword, Zhou Yuxuan was driven back again and again by Emiya's overwhelming strength. After barely a dozen exchanges, the immense force traveling along the blade had numbed both his arms.

He gritted his teeth and held on, his Golden Eye burning even more fiercely. In truth, Word of Power: Iron Flow had another application: at close range, it could extract the metallic elements from an opponent's body.

The free metallic elements within the human body were one of the vital components sustaining life. Extract them, and the opponent would lose the ability to act.

Zhou Yuxuan felt that aside from the flaw of requiring continuous close contact, this move was practically incapable of failing for any other reason—

Unless the enemy did not rely on metallic elements to sustain activity. Or unless the enemy was a moving alchemical construct, making them entirely immune to his interference.

Mysterious Dragon Language echoed out, yet no feedback came in return.

It failed!?

The metallic elements in Emiya's body were at normal levels, yet they could not be manipulated!

Through the perspective of his Word of Power, Zhou Yuxuan made a rough observation and discovered intricate array patterns composed of metallic elements within Emiya's body—an Alchemical Matrix!

Those patterns spread through every limb and bone like a nervous system, forming their own internal domain and resisting outside interference.

Distinct yet regular streams of stable elemental energy flowed through the Alchemical Matrix and concentrated in his limbs. So this was how he did it—these were Magic Circuits, the reason Emiya's strength had skyrocketed! This was what activated Emiya's so-called magecraft!

To implant an Alchemical Array of such precision into his own body... Emiya's alchemy had probably already reached the level of a master!