At his right wrist, raven feathers converged into a sharp point. A cold light rippled through the black feathers as he stepped forward, utilizing the speed enhanced by “Eagle.” He thrust his arm straight toward Hifumi’s chest.
Hifumi’s Three-Body Slash had just been broken, and her main body had not yet fully recovered its stance.
Her blade had been deflected by Yuan Qing’s right hand, her left hand was captured, and her third blade was entangled by raven feathers. In this instant, her defense was wide open.
“Crane” had already arrived.
However, Hifumi did not block or dodge. Instead, she released the cold blade in her right hand.
The blade fell from her grip, but the moment it did, her left hand — the one Yuan Qing was holding — suddenly flipped. Her five fingers slid out of his grip like a snake, and she simultaneously latched onto Yuan Qing’s wrist.
White Snake shot out from her arm, coiling around Yuan Qing’s forearm, and then Hifumi leaned her entire body backward.
It was Relaxation! Her body bent almost into a right angle, the back of her head nearly touching the ground. “Crane” swept past her face, missing entirely.
At the same time, the cold blade she had released flipped once in the air and was caught by the top of her foot.
With a flick of her foot, the blade flew up again, landing back into her now-empty right hand.
The entire process took less than one second. Yuan Qing’s eyes followed her movements, but his body could not react in time.
Hifumi’s leaning body snapped back up, and her blade slashed upward. This strike traced a line from Yuan Qing’s chest all the way to his shoulder. Fortunately, Yuan Qing reacted at the final moment and took a step back.
*Clang — *
Yuan Qing was knocked back a considerable distance. He looked down and saw that his hardened raven feathers were mostly shattered.
A massive roar erupted from the audience.
“Miss Kazama counterattacked!” The host stood up slightly from his chair in excitement. “At the very moment Miss Raven’s ‘Crane’ was about to hit, Miss Kazama used an almost impossible movement to complete a counter-kill!”
“It’s Relaxation — a high-purity Relaxation! Not only did she dodge it, but she also completed a counter-strike!” The guest speaker tried his best to suppress his excitement.
Yuan Qing touched his chest. A shallow white mark had been pressed into it, and it stung slightly.
Hifumi stood opposite him, perfectly composed.
“Your ‘Crane’ is faster than last time,” she said.
“But it still missed,” Yuan Qing replied.
Hifumi did not deny it. She simply raised her blade again. “The next strike won’t just be a superficial wound. I’m going to subdue you completely.”
Yuan Qing reset his stance, and Hifumi stepped forward.
This time, her swordsmanship changed. It was no longer sharp slashes or tricky lunges; instead, it was a continuous, relentless suppression.
Blade after blade, each one faster than the last. Every strike cut precisely toward Yuan Qing’s vital points. Yuan Qing dodged, blocked, and retreated within the flash of blades.
With the perception of “Eagle” fully active, he could predict the trajectory of every strike, but his body could only barely keep up.
“Crane.”
Again!
The first thrust deflected her blade.
The second thrust forced her back half a step.
The third thrust allowed him to step forward.
The host shouted, “Miss Raven is still fighting back!”
“She’s using offense as defense!” the guest added, unable to contain himself.
The moment Yuan Qing unleashed a fourth thrust, Hifumi’s blade suddenly changed direction. It shifted from a frontal slash to a lateral swipe, the angle so tricky it seemed to emerge from a blind spot.
Yuan Qing’s reaction was quick.
He turned sideways, retracted his wings, and used the hardened raven feathers to protect his ribs.
But Hifumi’s blade was faster.
The edge sliced through the feathers and his black robe. Yuan Qing retreated two steps to stabilize himself.
Hifumi withdrew her blade and looked at him.
“Your stamina is dropping,” Hifumi said. “Your reactions are slowing down, too.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you still want to fight?”
“Yes,” Yuan Qing said.
Hifumi nodded. “Good.”
She charged forward once more.
This time, Yuan Qing saw her movements clearly.
Every moment, every detail, every muscle contraction, and every inch of the blade’s trajectory — the perception enhancement of “Eagle” reached its limit at this moment.
He saw the pattern in Hifumi’s swordsmanship.
Each strike was part of a combo, each one paving the way for the next. As long as he broke this rhythm, he could find an opportunity to counterattack.
He was waiting.
Hifumi’s blade grew faster, and Yuan Qing’s dodges became more extreme, each one succeeding by only a hair’s breadth.
The 12,000 spectators were as silent as if the arena were empty.
Mizuho stood in the corner, her fingernails digging into her palms.
He had promised to win.
In the center of the field, Yuan Qing finally found that moment.
A half-second gap appeared in Hifumi’s continuous slashes. Half a second was enough.
There was no time to condense Crane. Yuan Qing’s instincts made him throw a punch. This fist pierced through the light of Hifumi’s blade and struck her shoulder. But at the same time, Hifumi’s blade arrived.
At the exact moment Yuan Qing’s fist was about to hit her shoulder, her cold blade also pierced into Yuan Qing’s ribs. However, the tip of the blade stopped the moment it touched his skin, leaving only a shallow indentation.
White Snake was coiled around Hifumi’s wrist, pulling the blade back with all its might.
Hifumi’s eyes locked onto Yuan Qing’s, and Yuan Qing stared back at her.
The crowd gasped.
Both the fist and the blade tip had stopped simultaneously on their opponent’s body.
If White Snake hadn’t pulled back, that blade would have pierced through Yuan Qing’s ribs. If Yuan Qing’s fist had been one fraction faster, that punch would have shattered Hifumi’s shoulder bone.
The winner had been decided.
The referee raised his hand. “First round, Kazama Hifumi, winner.”
A massive uproar broke out in the arena.
“She won! Miss Kazama won the first round!”
“But didn’t that punch almost land just now?”
“Why was Miss Kazama declared the winner?”
The guest explained, “Because the level of damage is different. Miss Raven’s fist hit Miss Kazama’s shoulder, but it didn’t cause decisive damage. On the other hand, if Miss Kazama hadn’t held her blade back, Miss Raven wouldn’t be able to stand up right now. Although both landed hits, Miss Kazama’s attack was much closer to a fatal wound.”
“So, it was a narrow victory?” The host looked at the guest.
“A narrow victory,” the guest said. “Extremely narrow.”
Hifumi sheathed her blade, and White Snake let go of her wrist, slithering back up her arm.
Raven landed on Yuan Qing’s shoulder again. ‘That half-second gap just now was a flaw Hifumi exposed on purpose. But she didn’t expect your punch to rival her in speed.’
“I know.”
‘You knew and you still went for the trade!’ Raven sounded a bit frantic. ‘If that blade hadn’t been held back, you’d be crippled right now, you know?’
“But it was held back, wasn’t it?”
‘That was White Snake pulling her! She didn’t hold it back herself!’
Yuan Qing looked at Hifumi, who was letting White Snake check her over.
“She knew she couldn’t stop it,” Yuan Qing said. “So she had White Snake pull it.”
‘…If it’s Hifumi, that is indeed an impossible possibility,’ Raven muttered.
Yuan Qing turned his head and looked toward the spectator stands.
He met the gazes of 12,000 people.
He saw Sundae, who was staying with her friends. She held a cheering sign in each of her two hands, and Inu-oh was barking at her feet.
He saw Mizuho standing in the corner, her trench coat collar turned up. Her expression was hidden behind her sunglasses, but the knuckles of her fingers gripping the edge of her coat were white.
He also saw Sachiko. As a coach, the cigarette in her hand had gone out at some point. She was looking in his direction, a faint, lingering smile on her lips.
It was time for a break.—
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