[Challenge Begins!]
After the system prompt, the invisible barrier between the two finally disappeared.
Playing it safe, Bai Luo activated Shadow Stride first, vanishing from sight.
"Hmm?"
Mikoshi Michihiro, gripping Hakuen Michimitsu Amenoma, initially thought this was some ninja-like stealth technique.
But when he tried to detect Bai Luo's presence using his own methods, he found nothing.
It was as if Bai Luo had truly disappeared—no footsteps, no breathing, not even a heartbeat or scent, things that couldn't be easily erased.
"Impressive."
During his training in the mountains, Michihiro had encountered similar phenomena, but those were just minor tricks used by small youkai to conceal their presence.
This man's stealth surpassed even some youkai's sorcery.
But... he had a way to deal with it.
Resting Hakuen Michimitsu Amenoma at his side, Michihiro assumed an iaido stance.
After gathering power, he unleashed a circular slash, its arc covering the entire courtyard.
Even the wooden fence was cleanly severed by the blade's light.
Admittedly, Michihiro's move was effective against many stealth techniques—but Bai Luo's Shadow Stride was different.
As long as Bai Luo didn't attack, even if struck, he wouldn't be revealed.
"Hmm?"
Seeing the courtyard still empty, Michihiro frowned slightly.
Another man might have started cursing by now.
But Michihiro didn't.
A life-or-death battle was about laying all cards on the table.
No matter how underhanded the method, victory justified the means.
If anything, he admired Bai Luo's technique.
But... they were ultimately men of different eras. Even if fate had brought them together here, it was only a fleeting encounter.
Dwelling on it would only leave regrets—one reason he hadn't bothered speaking to Bai Luo.
After the slash, Michihiro stood with his blade, in no rush to press the attack.
Apart from the severed fence, there was still no trace of Bai Luo.
Yet he knew Bai Luo would strike eventually—after all, there was a time limit.
Just as he predicted, after gauging Michihiro's patterns, Bai Luo tightened his grip on his dagger.
Hiss—
The sound of wire sliding reached Michihiro's ears, and he turned sharply, deflecting a thrown dagger with his sword.
But Bai Luo's figure materialized right in front of him—where Michihiro had originally been facing.
Ambushes, no matter who executed them, always favored the back.
Bai Luo was no exception—he loved kidney stabs.
But against certain opponents, Bai Luo knew one thing:
Don't follow the usual script.
Because these types always focused on guarding their backs, ruining his kidney-stabbing success rate.
No opportunity? Create one.
Thus, Bai Luo feinted east to strike west—using wires to fake an attack from behind while sneaking in for the real stab when his opponent turned.
This trick had never failed him. Countless kidneys had fallen to it.
But today, he might have met his match.
Though his dagger thrust out, it didn't meet flesh.
Michihiro, after deflecting the decoy dagger, sensed the trap and seamlessly redirected his blade behind him—just in time to block Bai Luo's strike.
Having finally lured Bai Luo out, Michihiro wasn't about to let him escape.
Before Bai Luo could vanish again, Michihiro whirled around, Hakuen Michimitsu Amenoma flashing in a relentless barrage.
Diagonal slash, upward flick, downward chop, horizontal sweep—
Michihiro's swordsmanship mirrored his personality: direct, straightforward, honorable.
Every time he raised his blade, Bai Luo could predict where the next strike would land.
But knowing and dodging were two different things.
Clang—!
"Hei" was an assassination specialist—the weakest of Bai Luo's forms in direct combat.
Against Michihiro's aggressive style, Bai Luo was at a disadvantage.
When dagger met tachi, the impact nearly wrenched the weapon from his grip.
Only by hooking his specially grooved dagger onto Michihiro's blade did Bai Luo avoid being disarmed outright.
Otherwise, Michihiro's combo would have ended him right there.
With his right dagger locked against the tachi, Bai Luo drew a second dagger with his left and hurled it—wires trailing—at point-blank range.
"Hah!"
Michihiro's muscles bulged as he forced Bai Luo down with sheer strength.
The thrown dagger, deflected by the lowered tachi, barely grazed Michihiro's waistband before embedding itself in the ground behind him.
Ignoring the torn fabric, Michihiro pressed harder, his blade inching toward Bai Luo's shoulder—as if aiming to cleave him in half.
Unfazed, Bai Luo flicked a hidden mechanism with his left hand.
Hiss—
The wires snapped taut, yanking the buried dagger free—and straight into Michihiro's back.
Zap—!
The random strike triggered a critical hit. Electricity coursed through Michihiro, sapping his strength.
The paralysis lasted only 0.5 seconds—but for Bai Luo, that was enough.
With Michihiro weakened, Bai Luo easily deflected Hakuen Michimitsu Amenoma and rolled clear.
Yet the moment he stood, he felt Michihiro's focus lock onto him again.
"Damn—!"
Seeing Michihiro slowly raise his tachi, Bai Luo knew—this was the ultimate move.
"Secret Sword: Tengu Sweeper!"
In an instant, countless slashes erupted, their trajectories crisscrossing toward Bai Luo.
Tengu Sweeper—also called Tengu Victory.
It was the pinnacle Michihiro had forged after dueling a tengu girl for thirteen years.
That day, on the cusp of becoming a swordmaster, he had finally caught the elusive tengu.
With this technique, he had severed her black wings.
Tengu were masters of speed—yet that strike had surpassed even theirs.
In her words, it was "a marvel that could outmatch a tengu."
No dodging this.
Watching the slashes, Bai Luo knew.
This move bordered on divine-speed iaido—if the system recognized it as a skill, it'd rival something like Nine-Headed Dragon Flash.
Who'd have thought... this straightforward swordsman hid such an ultimate technique?
But his opponent was Bai Luo—a man who embodied glitches.