The moment Obanai Iguro made his move, his entire arm suddenly twisted.
The Serpent Breathing he practiced allowed him to twist the trajectory of his attacks, making them unpredictable like a ghost.
Even without using his sword, he could do the same!
His arm almost left an afterimage as it struck directly toward Xia Feng's shoulder.
Xia Feng chuckled.
"You're way too slow."
Under Iguro's astonished gaze, Xia Feng simply shifted his body slightly and dodged the attack!
What shocked Iguro the most was where Xia Feng moved.
He moved exactly toward the direction of Iguro's original attack!
Iguro's face filled with disbelief.
Normally, when someone faced his attack, they instinctively dodged the opposite direction.
For example—
If you punched toward someone's left side, they would instinctively tilt their head to the right.
Then, if your arm suddenly bent and redirected toward the right, the opponent would be hit no matter how fast their reaction was.
But Xia Feng?
When Iguro attacked the left side—
Xia Feng also leaned left!
Which meant when Iguro changed direction toward the right…
There was nothing there anymore.
Even if Iguro had prepared additional flexibility to change direction again mid-attack, it no longer mattered.
He widened his eyes.
"You… saw through my attack path?"
Xia Feng shrugged without answering.
One could only say Iguro was unlucky.
He happened to run into an ability that perfectly countered him.
The moment Iguro attacked, Xia Feng's Spider-Sense had already predicted how the strike would unfold.
If Iguro wanted to win, there was only one way—
Overwhelm Xia Feng with pure speed.
Unfortunately…
That was extremely difficult.
After failing the first attack, Iguro realized there was no point holding back anymore.
Without hesitation, he drew his Nichirin Blade.
His sword was curved like a snake.
Compared to a blade, it looked more like a flexible sword.
A low-budget version of the Golden Snake Sword.
Seeing it, Xia Feng suddenly asked:
"Do you know the Golden Snake Sword Technique?"
Iguro blinked.
"…What is that?"
He had never even heard of it.
Xia Feng gave an awkward laugh and waved his hand.
"Never mind. Just something random I said."
Iguro didn't pursue the topic.
He raised his sword.
"Be careful!"
Under Xia Feng's gaze, he thrust forward!
The curved Nichirin blade flashed brightly and instantly split into five attack trajectories!
This move actually looked very similar to Flower Breathing – Equinoctial Vermilion Eye.
No wonder both were derived from Water Breathing.
Facing Iguro's strike, Xia Feng normally could have stepped back to dodge.
But right now, he had already bragged.
Moving his feet would ruin the cool pose.
So he simply activated Bullet Time.
Under Bullet Time, Iguro's sword suddenly looked slow and crude.
Combined with Spider-Sense prediction, Xia Feng only needed to shift slightly a few times to avoid every single strike.
Now Iguro was genuinely panicking.
Xia Feng was this strong?
Was this really the strength of someone who fought Upper Rank One head-on?
Cold sweat began forming on his forehead.
He was a Hashira, known for speed and explosive power.
Yet against an unarmed Xia Feng, he couldn't even touch his sleeve.
Iguro gritted his teeth and widened his eyes.
Using Breathing Techniques in this situation felt embarrassing.
But he had no choice.
He took a deep breath.
Then—
His figure suddenly vanished.
In the next instant, he appeared behind Xia Feng.
A transparent serpent-shaped sword aura formed, opening its jaws toward Xia Feng's neck.
Serpent Breathing – Second Form: Venomous Fangs of the Narrow Head!
This move exploded with extreme speed.
Even Gyomei Himejima would not have been able to dodge it the first time he saw it!
In Iguro's mind, the words appeared—
"I win."
But then his expression changed.
His body, frozen in shock, passed straight through Xia Feng's body!
As if Xia Feng didn't exist at all.
In midair, Iguro twisted around in confusion, trying to understand what had happened.
The moment he turned back—
He saw Xia Feng's smiling face.
"Three moves are done."
"My turn."
Xia Feng lifted his knee and kicked Iguro square in the face.
At the same time—
He activated Instant Strength Enhancement.
Iguro felt like a giant hammer had smashed into his face.
With terrifying force, he flew away like a rag doll.
Whoosh!
He shot across the courtyard, leaving an afterimage, and slammed into the rock formation.
BOOM!
His body bounced off the rock and collapsed onto the ground.
Even a Hashira's body couldn't fully absorb that level of impact.
The world spun around him.
He couldn't even stand.
The loud noise immediately drew the attention of the other Hashira on the opposite side of the courtyard.
They rushed over in surprise and saw Iguro lying on the ground.
"What happened?!"
Giyu Tomioka asked in shock.
He thought a demon attack had occurred.
The others also became alert and looked around.
Only Shinobu Kocho, seeing Xia Feng's cheerful expression, roughly guessed what had happened.
Iguro endured the pain and slowly stood up.
"…It's nothing. I just asked the Special Advisor for some guidance."
Even now, his vision was spinning.
How strong was that kick?!
Even if someone maintained full breathing from birth, it shouldn't be that powerful!
If that kick had landed on his neck instead of his face—
He would have died instantly.
Thinking about it made him shiver.
He glanced at Xia Feng with lingering fear.
"Thank you for the lesson."
"I lost. If you need anything in the future, just send a message through a crow."
"But I won't give up."
"Next time… at the very least, I'll make you move your feet!"
After saying that, he didn't stay another second.
He turned and leaped away immediately.
Hearing his words, the other Hashira were stunned.
From what Iguro said…
He couldn't even make Xia Feng move his feet before losing.
They all knew Iguro's strength.
In terms of speed and explosive power, he ranked near the top among the Hashira.
And yet—
Xia Feng had reached that level?
At that moment, Xia Feng himself was even more surprised than them.
Because he heard the system notification.
[You have gained Obanai Iguro's FEAR.]
[Reward: Silver Card Draw ×1]
The message nearly made Xia Feng freeze.
Wait… you can gain rewards from fear too?!
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.
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