allendalepharm Chapter 22 Swords and Knives
Chapter 22 Swords and Knives
The man was a short warrior.
Judging by appearance, he's probably around 1.6 meters tall.
He was wearing a kimono, with a red haori on top and white hakama on the bottom.
He had a samurai sword at his waist.
He had long, reddish-brown hair tied in a ponytail, and a huge cross-shaped scar on his cute, girlish face.
Xu Yuan recognized him without him needing to introduce himself.
Kenshin Himura, the protagonist of the classic Japanese manga "Rurouni Kenshin".
Shin Kamiya was already brimming with excitement.
"Kenshin! Kenshin! It's Kenshin!!!"
Ignoring his scream, [Dai Zong] appeared out of thin air in Xu Yuan's hand, and he slowly drew the sword.
Kenshin on the other side was slightly taken aback.
He had no idea how the sword appeared.
Is this some kind of magic trick?
Speaking of which—
"What a fine sword," he couldn't help but exclaim.
A straight, bluish-gray sword.
It seemed to carry an air of awe-inspiring arrogance.
This was the first time Kenshin had ever felt such a vivid and lively quality emanating from an inanimate object.
This struck him as amazing.
"Thank you, its name is Daizong," Xu Yuan said.
"Mount Tai?" Kenshin pondered the name repeatedly, then asked, "Excuse me, what does it mean? It doesn't seem to be Japanese."
"It's Chinese, it's the name of a mountain in China," Xu Yuan said. "My surname is Xu, my given name is Yuan, and I'm a Chinese."
Kenshin suddenly realized: "So that's how it is. You're Chinese, no wonder you use a sword."
Swords are rarely used in Japan anymore.
As for China, he didn't know.
The Japanese often don't distinguish between swords and knives, but that doesn't mean they don't understand them.
This is especially true for samurai.
They knew very well what a knife was and what a sword was.
Moreover, the distinction is consistent with that of the Chinese – a single-edged knife versus a double-edged sword.
After all, their culture originated from China.
They believed that knives were ominous and tools of killing, while swords were sacred and embodied beliefs.
They use knives, but they admire swords.
Thus, knife skills and the way of the knife gradually came to be called sword skills and the way of the sword.
After all, who doesn't like to embellish their image?
Of course, there is another very important reason – in Japanese, the word "kendo" sounds better and is easier to pronounce.
A pleasant-sounding and easy-to-pronounce name is more likely to spread.
Whether it is passed down or spreads.
Xu Yuan turned his gaze to the woman beside Kenshin: "Kamiya Kaoru, is that you? Excuse me, could you move aside?"
Kaoru Kamiya was furious: "Hey! What's wrong with you! We don't even know you, and you want to fight Kenshin! A brat like you deserves to be taught a lesson!"
As she spoke, she gripped the wooden knife in her hand and strode menacingly toward Xu Yuan.
Kenshin stopped her, looking at Xu Yuan: "We have no grudge against each other, why must we draw our swords against each other?"
"Since I've met you, it's only natural that I should have a friendly competition."
What is the biggest difference between a sword and a knife?
The only difference is that a sword is double-edged and has a narrow and thin blade, while a knife is single-edged, with a wider blade and a thicker back.
Therefore, swords are suitable for thrusting, while knives are suitable for slashing.
But this does not mean that swords can only be used to stab, and knives can only be used to chop.
In fact, both swords and knives involve actions such as chopping, slashing, stabbing, and thrusting.
Swordsmanship and knife skills share similarities and commonalities.
Just like Sanda and boxing, these sports have many things in common, but they have different focuses.
Kenshin Himura is just an ordinary person.
But his swordsmanship and knife skills far surpassed mine.
By sparring with him, Xu Yuan felt that he could definitely learn something.
Upon hearing Xu Yuan's words, Jian Xin couldn't help but shake his head and say, "A sword is a weapon of death, and swordsmanship is the art of killing. What's there to spar about?"
Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "I'll count to three."
"one."
"two."
"three."
As soon as he finished speaking, he stomped on the ground and transformed into a blur, rushing straight towards the sword's heart.
"Be careful!"
Kenshin abruptly shoved Kaoru Kamiya away from him.
Originally, he didn't really care.
That sword is very powerful; it's a rare and excellent sword.
It could even be said that he had never seen such a wondrous, otherworldly sword.
But Xu Yuan...
He looks like he's only a teenager.
Moreover, there was no murderous intent in his eyes.
There was no smell of blood on him.
Having experienced countless battles, Kenshin can recognize his own kind at a glance.
Or rather, the smell of blood.
In his eyes, the boy in front of him was just a rebellious and competitive child.
Not to mention, his posture was full of flaws.
A true master, even if he just stands there casually, will leave no opening for attack.
Age, eyes, temperament, posture...
All of this unequivocally reveals that he has not experienced much combat and is still very inexperienced.
But as soon as he made a move, Kenshin realized he was wrong.
Being young doesn't mean being weak!
At this moment, he felt a sense of pressure from his master, Hiko Seijuro!
The difference is that the master's footwork contains techniques, but the boy in front of me is pure speed!
Is this really a human?!
Or is it that everyone in this world is this strong?
A glint of cold light flashed!
As if teleported, he appeared in front of Kenshin in the blink of an eye.
Kenshin has extensive combat experience, and even when caught off guard, he is still able to react.
He turned his head and narrowly avoided the stab.
The longsword almost grazed past him!
A sharp gust of wind rippled across the sword.
The wind whipped his long hair wildly, and several gashes instantly appeared on his face, spurting blood out!
"Kenshin!!!"
Kaoru Kamiya, who had been pushed away, turned around and instinctively gasped in surprise.
But Kenshin remained unmoved.
He didn't even blink.
Instead of retreating, he advanced, lowered his body, and leaned forward. At the same time, his right hand, which was on the hilt of the knife, suddenly drew the knife!
Clang—!
A flash of light appeared!
Flying Sword Style: Twin Dragon Flash!
fast!
It was faster than Xu Yuan had expected!
At that moment, he thrust out his sword, but he couldn't stop in time, and the two were too close to dodge.
A pure white energy, as faint as mist, covered the palm.
Xu Yuan extended his left hand and struck out with a palm!
boom--!
The palm of flesh clashed with the reverse-blade sword!
Xu Yuan felt a slight pain in his palm, and the reverse-blade sword was almost knocked away by the enormous force.
His palm strike disrupted Kenshin's rhythm.
Kenshin did not force out the second strike of the Twin Dragon Flash. Instead, he stepped back, frowning as he created some distance between himself and Xu Yuan.
Xu Yuan didn't chase after him, but gently moved his left hand.
Lately, besides practicing swordsmanship, he has been studying the energy within his body.
Because it has been a short time, there have been no significant results yet.
It can only quickly mobilize them to cover the body and strengthen it.
It's a very rudimentary application.
However, although it was rudimentary, the effect was quite good.
On the other side, after one exchange, Kenshin's eyes had become completely serious.
What kind of monster is this?
He actually caught his own sword-drawing slash with his bare hands, and he didn't seem to be hurt at all.
Kaoru Kamiya was equally shocked.
You caught it?!
He caught Kenshin's Twin Dragon Flash with his bare hands?!
Although Kenshin uses a reverse-blade sword, where the side that strikes is the back of the blade, it's still not something you can simply catch with your bare hands!
What exactly was that white mist covering his palm just now?
Who exactly is this young man?
"What was that just now?" Kenshin asked.
"Energy," Xu Yuan said.
"Energy?" Kenshin frowned.
Specifically?
Unfortunately, Xu Yuan couldn't explain it either.
"I won't use this trick again."
If Kenshin had used a normal katana, the two might have been able to exchange blows more effectively.
Because Xu Yuan had just entered the extraordinary realm.
The three main attributes have only been enhanced to 120/700.
Physical strength is limited, as is energy strength.
The amount of energy is also limited.
There is no insurmountable gap between him and ordinary people; there is no situation where ordinary people cannot break through his defenses.
This is also why he doesn't want to confront the police.
A concentrated barrage of fire from heavy weapons could really take him down.
In short, he is much stronger than Kenshin in terms of strength and speed, but not to the point of being despairing.
He can be seen as a humanoid ferocious beast.
Humans, wielding swords and knives, can defeat ferocious beasts that far surpass them in strength and speed.
This is precisely the significance of weapons and techniques.
Kenshin's skills and combat experience far surpass those of Xu Yuan.
This largely made up for his shortcomings.
But that's not enough.
He also needs to carry a sharp weapon.
That way, he can be considered a sufficient threat.
A reverse-blade knife won't work.
No matter how much you talk about beliefs, it's all just empty talk.
A knife is a knife, and a sword is a sword.
It doesn't have many fancy features; it's just a weapon.
Under the same conditions, the damage caused by the back of a blade is less than the damage caused by the blade.
This is an objective fact.
Xu Yuan thought when he watched the anime that if Kenshin had used a normal sword, Shishio would have been killed by him long ago.
However, it uses a reverse-blade knife, which can only cause blunt force trauma.
The damage is very low.
Just like before, once Xu Yuan mobilized his energy, he couldn't even break through his defenses.
"Are you letting me have my way?" Kenshin asked.
Xu Yuan calmly said, "You used a reverse-blade sword, this is a return gift in return."
This is not only a mission, but also a chance to exchange ideas.
What's the point of such a boring sparring match?
Kenshin didn't say anything more.
The person in front of me is very young.
The person in front of me is very young.
The person in front of me has little combat experience.
But none of this diminishes his power.
Xu Yuan is stronger than him; among all the people he has met so far, he is probably second only to his master.
It would be very impolite to refuse the goodwill of the strong.
He took a deep breath, gripped the reverse-blade sword, Shinpu, and said in a deep voice, "Please instruct me."
"Please advise me," Xu Yuan said.
With that, he pushed off with his feet, suddenly exerted his strength, and once again took the initiative to attack Jianxin.
Flaw, flaw, flaw.
In Kenshin's eyes, Xu Yuan was full of flaws!
But his speed of action and reaction is just too fast!
It was so fast that he couldn't catch any of the openings!
Moreover, his intuition is exceptionally sharp.
They were practically like wild beasts.
No, it's even more exaggerated than a wild beast.
Kenshin had never met anyone with such keen intuition.
Facing Xu Yuan, he suddenly understood a principle—a flaw that the opponent cannot exploit is not a flaw.
His moves are similar.
Like a beginner.
They might even be beginners who figure it out on their own.
Each move is very simple.
It's about chopping, hacking, stabbing, and thrusting.
It is very simple and unadorned, and cannot be described as exquisite.
Anyone who has achieved some success in swordsmanship would shake their head upon seeing his sword techniques.
But if those people were to actually face Xu Yuan, they probably wouldn't last a single move against him.
Because his power was simply too great!
He's incredibly fast!
His intuition is incredibly sharp!
This gave even the simplest moves terrifying power in his hands.
And those exquisite sword moves, when faced with him, would be countered and broken by him.
That's...very unreasonable!
……
Flying Sword Style: Ultimate Technique - Nine-Headed Dragon Flash!
In an instant, the nine slashes were launched almost simultaneously!
This is the ultimate move of the Flying Sword Style.
Achieving a unified offense and defense through rapid, continuous slashes covering nine basic sword techniques.
It combines the characteristics of combos and dashes.
Theoretically, it is impossible to defend against or avoid!
However, Kenshin watched as Xu Yuan took a deep breath and thrust his longsword repeatedly, forcefully blocking the Nine-Headed Dragon Flash attack in a direct counterattack.
Sure enough, that's very unreasonable!
Kenshin tapped his feet repeatedly to create distance.
He gripped the knife with both hands, panting heavily.
Every attack, every defense, every dodge must be done with full force.
Add to that the intense sense of oppression and crisis.
The two had only been fighting for a few minutes when he had already exhausted a lot of his energy.
On the other hand, his opponent was clearly in better physical condition, recovering after only a few breaths.
Indeed, strong physical fitness is inevitably accompanied by formidable stamina.
Kenshin's gaze shifted slightly, landing on his own sword.
It was already badly injured.
If it weren't for the fact that the reverse-blade sword uses the back of the blade as its edge, and that the back of the blade is thicker, making it more durable than ordinary swords, it would probably have broken long ago if it weren't for the fact that it was a fine sword forged by Arai Akakura.
That sword named Daizong was indeed extraordinary.
Not far away, Kaoru Kamiya was already stunned.
Her swordsmanship is quite good.
At such a young age, he was able to support the "Kamiya Kashin-ryu" school founded by his father and even hold his own against other dojo masters in town, so his swordsmanship was beyond doubt.
She appears weak only because Kenshin, who is by her side, is too strong.
In her opinion, Kenshin was far superior to his opponent in terms of skill and experience, but even so, he was still suppressed.
He was overwhelmed by the boy's unreasonable physical strength.
The human body can actually reach that level?!
This is absolutely unbelievable!
Also, that boy seems to be...getting stronger?
His moves started to look more professional.
"That's terrifying," Kenshin suddenly spoke, staring at Xu Yuan, and asked, "Are you studying?"
"That's right, I learned by observing others," Xu Yuan said frankly.
Entering the realm of the extraordinary soul endowed him with sharper observation and perception, as well as a more powerful understanding.
During the battle just now, he had been observing Kenshin's posture, movement details, points of force application, and methods of exertion, absorbing and adapting them for his own use.
"It can't be considered stealing skills," Kenshin shook his head and said, "Being able to comprehend things in battle is your own skill."
"Do you need to rest?" Xu Yuan asked.
Kenshin let out a soft breath: "No need, thank you."
As a samurai, he also had his own pride; with a stomp of his foot, he charged forward.
Flying Sword Style: Dragon's Nest Flash!
The battle resumed.
Flying Sword Style: Earth Dragon Flash!
Flying Sword Style: Tornado Flash!
Flying Sword Style - Ultimate Technique: Heavenly Soaring Dragon Flash!
The two exchanged blows, their swords flashing.
Kenshin Himura truly lives up to his name.
Xu Yuan never expected that an ordinary person could fight him for so long.
Moreover, Kenshin seems to grow stronger when facing stronger opponents.
Despite the fact that he is now extremely exhausted, his strength is actually much greater than at the beginning.
Is this what a combat-themed protagonist is like?
A sweeping kick barely grazed Kenshin's nose.
Xu Yuan spun around, stomped heavily on the ground, lowered his center of gravity, and leaned his entire body forward.
[Dai Zong] It is unknown when it was sheathed.
Hold the sword in your left hand and gently place your right hand on the hilt.