"I'm in the Dragon Clan, what the heck is the Naruto Counterattack System?"

Clang! Clang clang!

One cut after another, one cut after another.

Within Yuan Yixin's seemingly barren and withered body, the blood surged like magma, heavy and crimson yet incredibly hot, with an indescribable weight that seemed to melt everything in front of it.

His sword stance shifted from defense to a full-blown offensive. If the previous exchanges were merely a contest of swordsmanship with Qi Xiuyuan, then this moment marked a complete escalation into a brutal fight.

The knife became a blur as it was swung rapidly. In the blink of an eye, the two weapons collided several times, and bursts of sparks exploded in the flash of the blades.

"That's it!"

Finally, as those unrestrained and arrogant words echoed, Qi Xiuyuan abandoned the sword techniques in his mind and instinctively gripped the knife in a reverse grip...

puff! !

As the two passed each other with their backs to one another, blood splattered, two streaks of crimson blood splashing onto the floor.

"..."

Qi Xiuyuan, who was half-squatting on the ground, slowly lowered his head and saw the torn clothes on his side and the blood flowing down from the wound.

"Grandpa," he straightened up, turned to look at the old man, and said with a smile and a touch of admiration, "that move was so naive!"

Snap... Snap...

A drop of blood slid down the blade of the horizontal sword and fell to the ground.

Yuan Yixin, who was standing still, raised his hand and touched the deep, bone-revealing wound on his chest, his clothes soaked in blood.

So close, so very close.

With that thought in mind, he turned around and assumed the sword stance once again.

Completely disregarding his own injuries.

"What a stubborn old man who refuses to grow old."

Qi Xiuyuan wore a genuine smile on his face and responded by drawing his sword.

He sheathed the sword with his right hand, gripped the hilt with his left hand in reverse, and lowered his body slightly.

"The Xin-You Sword Technique." He put away his smile and said softly, "Please instruct me."

The chilling intent in those dark eyes masked the only trace of youthful innocence on that face.

This was the first time he had adopted a sword stance, which meant he had acknowledged Minamoto Isshin.

The Xinyou Knife Technique, also known as the Qi Family Knife Technique, is a method of learning from the barbarians to subdue them, specifically designed to counter the knife techniques of the Japanese.

Ruthless, vicious, brutal, and capable of killing with a single blow.

Looking at Qi Xiuyuan's stance, which was similar to but completely different from the sword-drawing technique, a trace of daze flashed across Yuan Yixin's eyes, and the move in which his teacher was defeated decades ago reappeared in his mind's eye.

"So, it's called the 'Xin-You Knife Technique'?"

Yuan Yixin murmured hoarsely, finally revealing a relieved smile, and also bent down to put his sword at his waist.

The two stared at each other, their eyes unblinking.

Bang!Bang!

Under Chu Zihang's watchful gaze, the two suddenly vanished.

All he could hear was a terrifying howl in the wind, and he imagined that everything in its path would be torn apart.

In a split second, Qi Xiuyuan and Yuan Yixin passed each other, back to back. The beginning and the end were both extremely abrupt, from extreme movement to extreme stillness, with no transition in between.

"Wow, that was fast," Yuan Yixin sighed.

He glanced down at the knife across his neck, the ten-handed broken sword he had been gripping tightly fell to the ground, and even the cuffs at his wrists slowly began to crack.

Qi Xiuyuan showed mercy with that strike; he didn't kill him, but only severed his tendons.

The Qi Family Saber's sword-drawing technique is specifically designed to counter the sword-drawing techniques of Japanese Kendo. It involves gathering the sword's momentum at the feet, gripping the hilt with a reverse grip, and then flicking the sword upwards in a motion similar to Japanese sword-drawing techniques.

In that brief instant, Qi Xiuyuan's blade flashed out with a "whoosh," like a wall being pushed in front of him. The killing intent was so intense it was suffocating. The entire movement was swift and fluid, the arc of the blade as light as thin paper and as smooth as flowing water.

In other words, Qi Xiuyuan won...

Just as Chu Zihang, who was standing outside the arena, thought the outcome was clear and was about to get up, he discovered that Yuan Yixin was swinging his bare fist at Qi Xiuyuan's face.

But Qi Xiuyuan laughed and leaned back to avoid it. His right fist came again, but he still dodged it. Then he slapped the old man on the head with his backhand.

thump!

Yuan Yixin lay on the ground, a bitter smile on his face, and said, "I lost."

We've completely lost.

Just like his teacher back then, he also fell victim to this move.

"Old man, you're so old, don't try to cheat me."

Qi Xiuyuan shook his head helplessly, grabbed his arm, and pulled him up.

But when he grasped that arm, his movements paused involuntarily.

The arm was much thinner and drier than he had imagined; it was an arm that had survived for forty years solely by wielding a sword.

Forty years of dedicated study of swordsmanship, forty years of journey, and today it has come to an end.

Buzz! Buzz!

Blue and red light shone into the venue from outside the window.

The ambulance that Chu Zihang had called in advance had arrived.

But just as Qi Xiuyuan was about to help him downstairs, the old man suddenly spoke in a calm tone.

"Actually, I never thought I would win."

Upon hearing this, Qi Xiuyuan was taken aback, only to hear the old man continue calmly, "He truly doesn't even have the slightest thought of winning."

"Because I also have a student in Japan, whom my family calls 'Emperor,' named Genjiro. He made me realize that what the teacher said was right: the gap between geniuses and ordinary people is dozens of times larger than I imagined."

"From that moment on, I decided to find another person born to be the Grim Reaper who would bring down the curtain on my life. So I kept thinking about how to lose in a cool way and make my exit more dignified."

"Until you appeared before me and mastered the swordsmanship that took me a year to learn in a single day, I knew I had found you."

At this point, the old man raised his head, looked at Qi Xiuyuan, and smiled slightly, "Seeing you bathed in the sunlight outside the window, I didn't feel the slightest bit of jealousy. I was just thinking..."

"What a young and handsome Grim Reaper! As the one who draws the curtain, there is no one more suitable than you. Therefore, I will teach you everything I know. I want to fight you fair and square and then face defeat and death with equanimity."

"But, but..."

He lowered his head and raised one hand to cover his face, but tears still slid down his cheeks.

Forty years of swordsmanship experience made it impossible for him to give up easily.

The grotesque struggle was all for three words.

I don't want to lose, I'm not willing to accept defeat.

Forty years pass in the blink of an eye, like a fleeting moment; a person who has accomplished nothing seems to turn white-haired overnight.

After the sword was taken away, what could sustain him to continue?

If those expectations, which are like a curse, really leave, what will be left?

"..."

Looking at the old man with his head down, Qi Xiuyuan shook his head and sighed inwardly.

The old man in front of me is like a locust tree. He may not be conspicuous, and he may grow slowly, but time never flows in vain. Every moment is etched on the annual rings of the trunk, and the solid foundation enables him to grow into a towering tree, resilient and profound.

Forget it.

Cutting down an old tree with your own hands, ending an old man's decades of dedication and passion, is a cruel thing, even for someone like him.

"You said you once taught an 'emperor,' who was also born that way, right?"

Yuan Yixin subconsciously looked up, only to see Qi Xiuyuan smiling slightly: "Didn't you want to see which is stronger, Chinese ancient swordsmanship or Japanese ancient swordsmanship? You don't actually think you can represent Japanese ancient swordsmanship, do you?"

"So, continue living your vile and ugly life. Go back and teach that so-called 'Emperor.' I'll go find him too, and then I'll show you which one is stronger."

"..."

Yuan Yixin remained silent, staring into the boy's eyes, trying to discern any base hypocrisy within them. But all he saw was pure innocence; those eyes, like open windows, consistently revealed his true emotions.

Finally, a glimmer of light appeared in his cloudy eyes.

"That brat." He lowered his head, rubbed his forehead, and said with a wry smile, "He's really cunning."