While I was chanting a curse, the system said I was Xiao Yan?

Tianyan looked down at the bone armor on his chest, and reached out to touch the deep scratch. The scratch was deep, but the bone armor did not shatter. The automatic counterattack of Falling Flowers' Sentiment did indeed play a role the moment the attack was triggered, negating most of the power. So that's how it is. Is this what it feels like to hit the target?

What if there were no feelings of longing for fallen flowers?

Tianyan frowned slightly. If it weren't for the falling flowers, this strike should have already broken through his bone armor. Whether it could break through the layer of cursed energy veil beneath the bone armor and injure his flesh was uncertain, but it was enough to make him wary.

The simplified realm of Shinkage-ryu truly lives up to its reputation.

He raised his hand and put a Qi-restoring pill into his mouth. The moment the pill entered his mouth, a warm power surged out from his dantian, the spell energy vortex began to rotate faster, and the liquid spell energy lake slowly rose.

He stretched his neck, his joints making a crisp cracking sound, then looked up at the sun setting, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Mr. Kusakabe, I'm alright."

His voice was calm, without any hint of bravado; it was simply a straightforward, objective statement: "Please continue."

Kusakabe looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and then sighed.

The sigh carried a sense of helplessness, as if to say, "Why are you so stubborn, child?"

"Alright."

He shook his head, gripped his sword tightly again, and assumed the starting stance for Iaijutsu.

"Since you insist on this..."

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled.

When he opened his eyes again, his gaze had changed. It was no longer lazy or helpless, but a sharp, focused light, as if he were staring at his prey.

"From now on, I won't hold back."

He swung his knife a second time as soon as he finished speaking.

This strike was faster, heavier, and more ruthless than the first one.

The blade sliced ​​through the air, leaving a pale blue trail of light. The trail extended from the tip of the blade at the foot of the sun, like a straightened line, pointing precisely at Tianyan.

Tianyan's body reacted in that instant.

The sentiment of fallen petals, activated!

The cursed power surged wildly within his body, vibrating at a specific frequency to form an invisible defensive net. The moment the Hikari sword came into contact with this defensive net, most of it was neutralized by the automatically activated cursed power rebound attack. The remaining part landed on the bone armor, leaving only a shallow white mark.

Tianyan looked down at the bone armor on his chest. The white mark was very faint, so faint that it was almost negligible.

He looked up at Kusakabe, a slight smile curving his lips.

Kusakabe's lips twitched.

He cursed inwardly.

This cut was more than twice as hard as the last, yet it only left a white mark on the bone armor? Are you kidding me? How come it turned into scraping when it came to Zen Temple Tianyan?

Kusakabe gritted his teeth and swung his sword a third time.

The fourth cut. The fifth cut. The sixth cut.

One strike after another, each faster and heavier than the last. The blade flashed through the woods, emitting a sharp shriek, and pale blue streaks of light intertwined in the air, forming a dense net that surged toward Tianyan from all directions.

Tianyan stood still, motionless.

He simply maintained his stance of falling petals, letting the sure-hit blades fall on him.

Each blade of energy, upon contact with him, would be largely neutralized by the automatic counterattack of Falling Flowers' Emotion. The remaining portion would land on the bone armor, leaving a mark of varying depth, and these marks would continue to self-repair.

One. Two. Five. Ten.

The scratches on the bone armor became more numerous and denser, like a scratched silver plate, shimmering with mottled light in the sunlight.

But the bone armor did not break.

Tianyan stood amidst the dense barrage of sword light, like a reef repeatedly battered by waves, completely still.

Higashikabe's breathing began to quicken.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, trickling down his cheeks and dripping onto the ground. His arms began to ache, his hands and feet went numb, and maintaining the simple domain became increasingly difficult. The invisible circle began to tremble slightly, as if it might collapse at any moment.

But Tianyan was still standing there.

The scratches on the bone armor are becoming fewer and fewer, and those that remain are also...

Kusakabe was internally ranting and raving.

Hey, are all the young people these days so powerful with spells? I don't have much spell power left!

Tianyan stood amidst the flashing blades, his breathing steady and his expression calm. His magical power surged wildly within his body, maintaining the operation of the Falling Flower Emotion, while the medicinal power of the Qi-restoring pill was slowly released, replenishing the constantly depleted magical power.

After half an hour.

The woods no longer resemble woods.

Within a radius of forty or fifty meters, all the trees suffered an undeserved calamity. The trees still stood there, but their trunks bore smooth cuts that stretched from the crown to the roots, splitting the entire tree in two. The wind blew, and the split crowns creaked and groaned before slowly tilting to either side, crashing to the ground with a dull thud and kicking up a cloud of dust.

The ground was covered with knife marks, crisscrossing like a canvas repeatedly torn apart by the claws of a giant beast. Stone slabs shattered, soil churned, and gravel and fallen leaves mingled together, blown dozens of meters away by the impact.

Kusakabe knelt on one knee, panting heavily.

His trench coat was covered in dust and fallen leaves, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his hair was soaked with sweat, sticking to his forehead in strands.

He still held the knife in his hand, but the blade was full of nicks and chips, like an old knife that had been used repeatedly for decades.

The Simple Realm has collapsed.

The circle that had lasted for half an hour finally gave way after he unleashed his final strike, shattering like a broken mirror and scattering into countless tiny specks of light that dissipated into the air.

Kusakabe, leaning on his sword, knelt on one knee, panting heavily.

His face was pale, his lips were blue, veins bulged on his forehead, and his fingers gripping the katana were trembling slightly.

He looked at Tianyan, the corners of his mouth curving slightly, a smile carrying an indescribable bitterness.

"Zen Temple Heavenly Flame," he said, his voice hoarse.

Tianyan looked at him without saying a word.

"You're cheating..."

Kusakabe's tone was tinged with helplessness: "It's been half an hour, and you still haven't used up all your magical power."

Tianyan's lips curved slightly.

"Mr. Kusakabe is very strong," he said sincerely. "I had to use some...other methods."

Kusakabe looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and then smiled. The smile carried a sense of helplessness, as well as a sense of 'you've won't change anything'.

"Other methods..."

He shook his head, then sighed. The sigh carried an indescribable weariness, a sense of defeat, a feeling of relief, and a sense of relief that it was finally over.

"Methods are also a form of strength. If you win, you win. The foundation of the three great families is truly terrifying."

He paused, raised his head, looked at Tianyan with a serious gaze: "Although I don't have much strength left, I will still stop you before I completely lose the ability to resist."

Tianyan looked at him, remained silent for a second, and then nodded.

"it is good."

His figure vanished from his spot and reappeared in front of Kusakabe the next second.

Kusakabe didn't even see how he moved; he only felt a blur before his eyes, and then a black iron fist rapidly enlarged in his pupils.

The moment the fist slammed into his temple, his consciousness blurred for a split second, as if someone had poured a bottle of glue into his brain, making all his thoughts sticky, slow, and difficult to flow.

His body went limp, like a puppet whose support had been removed, and he fell silently to the ground.

The knife slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a crisp clinking sound.