nashuaworldcup Chapter 435 Hello, Brother...
Chapter 435 Hello, Brother...
This isn't a question of whether we can win or not, but whether we'll give others something to talk about! Why go through all that trouble if we can save our energy? Besides, the Great Xia doesn't even want this demonic sword.
Even the terrifying Eita the Demon couldn't withstand a group beating back then, and ultimately died under the rusty swords of the people!
But the Japanese don't think so! If Hirumaru really falls into the hands of the Great Xia forces, who knows if the Japanese forces, having nothing better to do, will cause you trouble.
It's better to provoke a gentleman than a petty person. Clearly, Japan is that petty person. It's not worth it for a broken knife!
Anyway, the Fish-Dragon Society also wants to destroy Hirumaru, so we have the same goal. The Fish-Dragon Society's relationship with the Great Xia is not bad, so why not give them some face?
"So, Brother Li, that's why you adjusted the strength of the Mudman?" Zhang Chulan understood why Li Muyang was collecting data; he was afraid the Mudman was too strong and the three of them, including Ishikawa Ken, wouldn't be able to defeat it.
That's really well thought out!
“Not only that, I’ll be a little stronger.” Li Muyang said meaningfully, “Ishikawa Shin wants his son to take a step further with the help of Hirumaru’s power, so naturally we can’t make them too weak. A little stronger will put pressure on them.”
"How can you grow without going through trials and tribulations? Hehehe~"
Zhang Chulan's lips twitched, selectively ignoring what Li Muyang had just said. Well, he didn't hear anything!
Li Muyang smiled silently. Ishikawa Shin was very confident in his son, but the problem was that Ishikawa Ken was not the strongest among the younger generation of the Fish Dragon Society.
The truly strongest one is Ringo, the adopted daughter.
However, due to her appearance and personality, Ringo looks like a man no matter how you look at her. Even so, it cannot change the fact that she is a woman. And it is impossible for a young woman to not be tempted by the handsome Ken Ishikawa every day.
Even her fiancée, Aiko Yanagawa, knew that Ringo had feelings for her fiancé, Kenichi Ishikawa.
She couldn't say she had no opinion, but she didn't want this to affect the relationship between the three of them. It just goes to show how savvy the entertainment industry is. Besides, strictly speaking, she was the third party, while Ringo and Ken Ishikawa were childhood sweethearts.
Kenichi Ishikawa was also aware of Ringo's feelings and didn't want to ruin the relationship between the three of them because of this, so he usually pretended not to know.
In addition, due to Ringo's appearance and background, she kept her love for Ishikawa Ken hidden. When sparring with Ishikawa Ken, she would intentionally or unintentionally hold back, which made most people unaware of Ringo's true strength.
neither knows.
Perhaps only those like Li Muyang and Zhang Xuanlin, who are capable of more subtle observations, could clearly understand Ringo's true strength level, which is at least a level higher than Ishikawa Ken's.
Ishikawa Shin's adopted daughter may be the real lucky star of the Fish and Dragon Society.
Of course, these are all family matters and have nothing to do with Li Muyang. As a grown man, he wouldn't gossip about them or spread the word easily. He just wanted to take this opportunity to let Ringo, this real gem, show her talent.
After resting for a while, the three of them decided who to spar with. The "strongest" Ishikawa Kenshi unsurprisingly chose Shiro Yushou, who had the strongest overall strength, followed by Yanagawa Aiko and Fuu Rin'er, while the "weaker" Ringo sparred with Erii, whose swordsmanship was not very good.
Well, I know that Erii's swordsmanship isn't very good, so I'll have Ringo do it, since it's less difficult.
Li Muyang and the others smiled without saying a word.
The first match was between Ishikawa Ken, who was full of confidence yet approaching the game with seriousness, and Bai Yuxiu.
Ishikawa Ken, who is usually quite straightforward and never hesitates to praise anything he finds beautiful, actually kept his flirtatious thoughts to himself this time. Li Muyang, who was staring at him intently, was no joke! If Li Muyang was prone to jealousy, his words could easily lead to misunderstandings.
Therefore, aside from sparring and basic etiquette, Ishikawa Kenji unusually did not make any unnecessary movements, which made Ishikawa Shin hardly believe that this was his own son.
Because Bai Yuxiu's temperament and appearance, as well as the expressions in her every smile and gesture when she takes action, are particularly ethereal and have an extraordinary attraction. She is more like an immortal than the simple and unadorned Li Muyang, or more accurately, a fairy.
Little did he know, Ishikawa Ken was also under immense pressure! Before choosing Bai Yuxiu, he knew she was very strong, but he thought she was at most at the level of the Ten Elders. He never expected her to be so powerful that she made him despair.
The sword techniques used in the sparring were mostly easily countered, and the remaining ones were meaningless and did not need to be countered. The originally agreed-upon sparring had turned into a one-sided teaching session by Bai Yuxiu.
However, Ken Ishikawa's attitude is indeed commendable. After realizing the huge gap between the two, he simply became a student and honestly and earnestly learned swordsmanship.
Having a renowned teacher but not studying diligently is arrogance! It shows a lack of self-awareness!
In this respect, Ken Ishikawa was still self-aware.
After the sparring session ended, Ishikawa Ken addressed Bai Yuxiu as "San C" and his attitude became exceptionally respectful.
However, it was learned from Bai Yu's sleeve that she had learned her swordsmanship from Li Muyang and Feng Ling'er.
Well, if we really have to evaluate swordsmanship, Feng Ling'er is actually stronger than Bai Yuxiu, because Feng Ling'er's foundation is in lightness skills and swordsmanship, while Bai Yuxiu relies on internal energy and techniques.
Her swordsmanship also served the purpose of internal energy, but Bai Yuxiu, knowing from her mother's past experience, understood that even the most powerful internal energy could become ineffective. If it were countered or malfunctioned, she couldn't be completely defenseless. Therefore, she also put considerable effort into her swordsmanship.
Upon learning that Feng Ling'er's swordsmanship was stronger than Bai Yuxiu's, Ishikawa Ken felt a pang of regret, both for his disappointment at not being able to spar with a powerful swordsman and for his worry about Yanagawa Aiko.
However, Yanagawa Aiko, this seemingly elegant and beautiful young lady, is not just a pretty face. She is at least qualified to be the woman behind Ishikawa Ken. Even if her swordsmanship is not as good as Ishikawa Ken's, it is not far behind.
At first, Feng Ling'er wanted to hold back, not using too much of her original spiritual power and only using a one-handed sword. However, she didn't expect Liu Chuan Aiko to come at her so aggressively, forcing Feng Ling'er to use her two-handed sword... Of course, she still didn't use too much of her original spiritual power, otherwise this sparring would have been meaningless. No matter how exquisite Liu Chuan Aiko's swordsmanship was, she couldn't possibly withstand Feng Ling'er's true energy.
If you want to move a thousand pounds with four ounces of force, you first need to have four ounces of force capable of moving that thousand pounds.
When Feng Ling'er switched to her familiar two-handed swords, the Mother and Daughter Swords, Yanagawa Aiko had little ability to resist, and was immediately put on the defensive. However, Yanagawa Aiko was already quite satisfied, after all, Feng Ling'er's strength was undeniable, and she had even deliberately gone easy on her at the beginning. Hmm... being looked down upon, how infuriating!
As for Feng Ling'er, she didn't completely crush her opponent. After proving her true level, she started teaching, pointing out Liu Chuan Aiko's shortcomings. She said there was no need to deliberately imitate others, just be yourself, and it was fine. She also commented on Liu Chuan Aiko's strengths.
In reality, the true talents of Ken Ishikawa, Aiko Yanagawa, and Ringo Utada are not much different. The difference lies in whether each of them knows what they truly want. Once this is awakened, their swordsmanship will be formed, and their path ahead will naturally be smooth.
Sword heart is something that can only be understood by oneself; the best understanding comes from one's own efforts. Helping others will only make things worse.
After offering a few words of advice, Feng Ling'er didn't waste any more time. If Yanagawa Aiko didn't change her habits, she would never be able to surpass Ishikawa Ken in her entire life. Without the will to surpass, how could she possibly surpass him? She wouldn't even dare to think about it, and there was no possibility of it in her entire life.
In the third match, Utada Ringo faced off against Erii.
Everyone thought that Li Muyang and the others' assessment that Erii's swordsmanship was poor was very accurate, until they saw it with their own eyes and fell silent.
Erii's swordsmanship level is indeed not high, but her basic skills are surprisingly solid! The simplest and most basic, yet also the most difficult, point is to keep the blade aligned with the direction of the swing. This is what constitutes a slash, and it can cut through things that are normally impossible to cut. Otherwise, it's just like using a sword as a blunt weapon to smash things.
Erii's swordsmanship was not considered superb by the standards of a master, but her fundamentals were exceptionally solid. For Ishikawa Ken and the other two, their fundamentals were probably only at this level, and the rest was just advanced techniques.
...Comparing yourself to others will only make you miserable!
Of course, what's also worth criticizing is Erii's swordsmanship movements and postures. They seem more like performance swordsmanship than more lethal swordsmanship. They look a bit flashy, but in fact, they are full of flaws. However, Erii's own strength is high, so even though Ringo's swordsmanship is more exquisite, she can't gain any advantage.
Unlike the previous two groups, as the fight progressed, Ringo couldn't stand it any longer and started to get serious! To the astonishment of the Fish Dragon Society members, Ringo displayed a swordsmanship level that surpassed even Ishikawa Ken's!
Ken Ishikawa, who frequently sparred with Ringo, was utterly astonished! Good heavens! How much of a sparring match have you been holding back with me?! How come I never noticed before?! Brother, you're so charming! You've got me hooked!
All I can say is... there's something amiss with this young master! Well, it seems Ishikawa Ken prioritizes inner beauty over outer beauty! Ringo's exquisite swordsmanship is precisely what captivated him!
This forced Erii, who was already exhausted from dealing with the situation, to use even more of her mental energy to cope with it!
In addition, Erii is also rapidly absorbing swordsmanship techniques from Ringo. Her strong mental strength gives her a unique advantage in learning. She was too lazy to learn before because she felt it was unnecessary, but now that she has the opportunity to improve, and considering that Li Muyang, Bai Yuxiu and Feng Ling'er are all proficient in swordsmanship, Erii is also keen to expand her skill set.
Yes, we can't fall behind!
Observing the sparring between the previous two groups also made Erii a little tempted! She used to learn kendo as a young lady's etiquette, and what she learned was all just for show. Now, she is genuinely interested!