Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Victory
Chop, hack, shave, slash, push, pull, crack, tease, poke, smear...
The perfectly executed swordsmanship was freely unleashed amidst the splashing of swords. Clearly, it was just an ordinary bamboo sword, but in the hands of Hirakawa Taisho, it was like an invincible magic weapon that cut through the air with a buzzing sound.
The battle between the two was dazzling and heart-stopping, with each narrowly avoiding dangerous strikes as if dancing on a wire, making the onlookers break out in a cold sweat and shiver with fear.
Chi!
Chi!
Two light sounds were heard, and both men's clothes were cut open.
Under the masterful swordsmanship of the two, the edgeless bamboo sword could easily slice through flesh and take a life, just like a sharp iron sword.
By this point in the fight, both Zhou Ming and Hirakawa Taisho had already sustained several wounds. Fortunately, they were both exceptionally skilled, able to dodge fatal strikes at the last moment and exchange light wounds for heavier ones. So even though their clothes were gradually soaked in blood, they continued to fight on with reckless abandon.
Watching from the sidelines, Oda Hirakura and Matsui Kyoshin were already sweating profusely. They had initially been optimistic that no one would be killed in this bout, given that Zhou Ming was using a bamboo sword. However, given the intensity of the fight, a bamboo sword could still be deadly!
Just then, in another fierce exchange, both men sustained yet another wound.
Zhou Ming remained still as a statue, seemingly unbothered by the minor injury, while Hirakawa Taisho swayed slightly and showed a hint of fatigue in his eyes.
Zhou Ming immediately sensed the change and did not hesitate to strike, moving even faster to force Hirakawa Taisho to accelerate as well.
The speed at which they were fighting gradually surpassed their limits, and their control became less precise, causing their chances of sustaining injuries to skyrocket.
"He's forcing me to trade wounds for wounds!" Hirakawa Taisho suddenly realized Zhou Ming's intent, with a bitter smile on his face.
"How did he find out so quickly? He's a formidable opponent!"
With such high-intensity fighting and constant blood loss, even if Hirakawa Taisho had great stamina, he was inevitably becoming tired, his speed decreasing, his reflexes slowing down, and his strength was diminishing.
Zhou Ming had noticed this and forced Hirakawa Taisho to exchange wounds for wounds, making him tire out faster and unable to hold on for much longer.
From start to finish, he sustained fewer wounds than me, and he controls the details so perfectly. He's better than me in terms of stamina, and he still hasn't shown any signs of exhaustion. Impressive, Zhou Kun, I concede defeat.
This thought flashed through Hirakawa Taisho's mind, and his fighting spirit immediately decreased. With a sweeping motion of his sword, he took three steps back and put some distance between himself and Zhou Ming.
"I lost," he said calmly, tossing his bamboo sword to the ground.
In the distance, Oda Hirakura saw that the battle had finally ended, and the suspended heart finally fell down. Excitedly shouting, he scared Matsui Kyoshin, who had not yet recovered, into almost jumping up.
"You fool, what are you still looking at here for!"
Oda Hirakura kicked Matsui Kyoshin and scolded him.
"Hurry up and go get a doctor!"
"Yes, yes, I'll go right away." Although Matsui Kyoshin really wanted to do nothing and recall the exciting battle he had just experienced, he still obediently followed Oda Hirakura's order.
Matsui Kyoshin left, and Oda Hirakura greeted the other two and said, "You both worked hard. This battle must have been very rewarding, right?"
"How about this? Let's let the doctor take a look first, then soak in the hot spring. I'll treat you to a few drinks. How does that sound?"
"Don't talk nonsense; hurry up and prepare. This battle consumed a lot of energy." Zhou Ming tore off a piece of his tattered clothes and wiped the blood and sweat off his face.
This battle was truly the most difficult one he had experienced since entering this world.
Purely using swordsmanship to compete, this time he even gave up the Adamantine alloy sword and fought a difficult but satisfying battle.
"I..." Hirakawa Taisho hesitated for a moment, glanced at Zhou Ming, and then nodded in agreement.
After this battle, his impression of Zhou Ming changed quite a bit.
"Maybe I can really have a drink and chat with him," Hirakawa Taisho thought.
"Hey, hahaha, the physician is here!"
Matsui Kyoshin came in from outside with a basin of hot water, followed by several maids holding hot water, towels, and other items.
At the end, there were two physicians carrying a small medicine box. When they saw the two "bloody men" in rags in the courtyard, the two physicians remained calm, clearly experienced.
"Both of you, sit here and let us check your wounds."
The physicians immediately got to work, and Zhou Ming and Hirakawa Taisho cooperated by sitting on a stone bench and allowing the physicians to examine them.
Hirakawa Taisho's wounds were relatively normal: cleaned, treated with medicine, and bandaged. Although he had multiple wounds, they were not too serious, and the physicians handled them easily.
On Zhou Ming's side, the physician was shocked and kept checking the scars on his body.
"This, this, this..."
The physician wiped the blood from Zhou Ming's arm with a wet towel, revealing a shallow scar where there had originally been a finger-length long wound.
Not only this wound, but also the other wounds on Zhou Ming's body. The physician checked them once, and by the second time they had already stopped bleeding. By the third time, they had already healed halfway, and by the fourth time, the wounds were almost gone...
Zhou Ming couldn't help but smile inwardly at the physician's shocked expression.
His shoes had already been torn apart during the intense fight, and he had kicked them to the side, standing on the ground with his bare feet.
No one could see the roots that extended from the soles of his feet and penetrated the soil to continue to nourish and heal Zhou Ming's wounds.
Rank 2 Vine Root gu!
The Rank 2 healing gu had a very good effect, especially when used in conjunction with Zhou Ming's wood path gu. Healing these skin and flesh injuries was too simple.
"Okay, you may leave now." Zhou Ming patted the physician's shoulder and stood up.
"I'll go wash off the blood on my body. It's sticky."
Zhou Ming said, waving to everyone and walking towards his room.
"I wonder how widely the physician will spread news of my abnormality. Hehe, let it spread, the more widely the better," Zhou Ming thought.
"I hope it can spread to everyone's ears, so they can feel the full threat and all want to eliminate me before the conference begins."
"Come on, come on. It's too boring to wait for the conference to start peacefully. Hurry up and make a move so I have a reason to kill you all!"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone