If Su Chen's block was even slightly off, he would be instantly and severely wounded by Shinazugawa's sword technique.
At this, everyone watching felt their hearts clench.
Below the stage, at the three youngsters' location:
"Damn it! That Scarface is pretty strong! C'mon, Master, go!" Inosuke yelled.
"What? You're not even his student yet!" Zenitsu shrieked. "And right now, the Wind Pillar is clearly pushing Mr. Su Chen back! What are you getting so worked up about?"
"Mr. Su Chen, you can do it!" Tanjiro encouraged. "If all else fails, use your headbutt! Mr. Shinazugawa isn't very wary of headbutts!"
"Tanjirou, you're going too far!" Zenitsu cried. "Stop bringing up your head all the time! Not everyone can fight with their head!"
From inside the wooden box, Nezuko muffled, "Mmm ~ Mmm ~!"
On the other side, at the Hashira's gathering point:
Sound Pillar: "How will Su Chen block such a flamboyant strike? I'm truly looking forward to it!" Mist Pillar: "How strange. Why isn't Su Chen raising his Nichirin Sword? Has he given up?" Love Pillar: "Ahhh! Su Chen-sama, be careful! Hurry and move!" Serpent Pillar: "Heh. Go, Shinazugawa. Hurry up and kill Su Chen." Stone Pillar: "Namu Amida Butsu." Water Pillar: "I'm hungry. I want to go home and eat salmon daikon..."
Up in the mansion's attic, at the Master's residence:
"Kagaya, do you think Su Chen will block this attack?" Amane Ubuyashiki asked softly. "He will," Kagaya replied. "Why?" Kagaya smiled slightly, then gently tapped his wife's chest. "A hunch."
In the center of the battlefield!
Just when everyone below thought Su Chen could only raise his sword and try to block, something unexpected happened.
Su Chen's Nichirin Sword danced gracefully in his hand. His footwork was swift and fluid. With a simple sidestep, accompanied by a light, airy sword strike, Shinazugawa's first wave of sword qi was easily dodged by Su Chen.
A flicker of surprise crossed Shinazugawa's eyes. He hadn't expected that even after using his sword qi, this kid could still exchange blows with him.
"Gale, Sudden Gusts" was Shinazugawa's best wide-area attack. If this couldn't take down Su Chen, then Shinazugawa would have to switch tactics.
According to his observation, Su Chen was always using the least amount of strength to dodge his sword techniques. This had two advantages. One was having extra energy to observe the trajectory of the wind slashes, allowing him to dodge later attacks. The second was conserving strength, to prevent himself from being severely wounded by a sudden attack from Shinazugawa.
These two objectives sounded simple, but they shouldn't be achievable by a normal human. The first point required the combatant to have a high degree of mental concentration and reaction speed. Even a slight delay would lead to being torn to shreds by his wind. The second point was even more unbelievable.
You're fighting me, the Wind Pillar? And you're trying to conserve strength? What the hell do you take me for?!
The next moment, Shinazugawa once again unleashed his Seventh Form. "Wind Breathing, Seventh Form: Gale, Sudden Gusts!"
As the sword technique landed, the double attack overlapped, and the number of wind blades in the arena instantly surged. Shinazugawa stared intently, studying Su Chen's every move. As soon as Su Chen revealed an opening, he could use his First Form to quickly close the distance and deliver a fatal blow.
But Su Chen still didn't show any openings.
Shinazugawa was puzzled. In his opinion, Su Chen seemed to have a strange movement technique. No matter how he attacked, his opponent could always flexibly twist away. He just couldn't hit him. One wave of the Seventh Form was like this. Two waves stacked together, and it was still the same!
"Good, good, good," Shinazugawa growled. "I'll try another move!" "Wind Breathing, Seventh Form: Gale, Sudden Gusts!"
The next moment, Shinazugawa once again swung his Nichirin Sword. Although doing this would consume his stamina faster than Su Chen's, who was Shinazugawa? The strongest Wind Pillar in history. Would he lack this bit of stamina? So Shinazugawa added an extra layer of sword qi to this attack, increasing its range. This way, his slashes could attack Su Chen from all angles, with no blind spots.
Logically, Su Chen could only block. And once Su Chen blocked, Sanemi could seize the opportunity to cut him down.
But Su Chen didn't choose to block. His body twisted in an extremely bizarre posture, combined with a few light, airy sword forms, and he instantly dodged it again.
Shinazugawa was shocked. After so many years of fighting, this was the first time he had ever seen a situation like this. How could he dodge so well? What kind of movement technique was this? Why had he never seen it before? Shinazugawa frowned deeply. His mind raced, quickly thinking of a countermeasure.
If long-range attacks didn't work, then he would use close combat! "Wind Breathing: First Form - Dust Whirlwind Cutter!"
Shinazugawa's body transformed into a whirlwind, using the displacement of his First Form to quickly close the distance between him and Su Chen.
A single slash! Su Chen twisted away. His eyes narrowed slightly. He suddenly tightened his grip on his Nichirin Sword.
Shinazugawa wanted to get close, and Su Chen desired it, too. If he kept letting Shinazugawa attack with wide-area moves from afar, then he really would only be able to passively defend. Now that the Wind Pillar had actively closed the distance, Su Chen was confident that if his next attack wounded Shinazugawa, he could win this match.
Indeed, from the very beginning, Su Chen had been laying the foundation for his victory.
The moment Shinazugawa charged in, Su Chen clenched his fist, and his aura instantly surged. "Flame Breathing: Ninth Form, Ultimate Art!"
Boom!
Before the technique fully formed, a powerful wave of heat erupted from Su Chen. Shinazugawa's eyebrow twitched. He immediately saw through Su Chen's intention. This kid! He was actually going all-in at this opportunity? But that was fine. He liked this kind of head-to-head fighting style. Since Su Chen was going to use his own ultimate sword technique, Shinazugawa would honor his resolve.
Shinazugawa gave a twisted smile and immediately switched his own technique. His form instantly changed. "Wind Breathing: Ninth Form - Idaten Typhoon!"
This move was a technique where he leaped high and unleashed a fierce wind from the sky. Although its attack range wasn't as wide as "Gale, Sudden Gusts," it sacrificed range to increase the precision and intensity of the attack.
At this moment, Su Chen's technique also finished charging. His strength gathered in his hands. Steaming heat rose from behind him, just like the Flame Pillar, Kyojuro, before him. However, the auras of the two could not be compared. The Flame Pillar had refined his for many years, his aura coming from his fighting spirit. Su Chen, on the other hand, was using a clever method, using the sudden increase in temperature to forcibly emit steam.
Su Chen's voice followed closely: "Ninth Form: Three Thousand Blazing Hells!"
Whoosh!
At this moment, Su Chen's hand seemed to be wielding a blade from hell, attached to waves upon waves of flames, roaring as they came. Both unleashed their Ninth Forms. They collided, rubbed, and reacted. Wild winds and hot waves merged. The real duel between Su Chen and the Wind Pillar had officially begun.