Volume 1, Chapter 135: The Sword Saint of the Island Nation.

Jiang Chen turned his head to see a man looking at him with a faint smile.

"Greetings, warrior of Great Xia. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Sword Saint of the island nation, Miyamoto Juro." The man held a long blade in his hand, yet he exuded no discernible aura.

"The Sword Saint of the island nation..." Jiang Chen fell into a reverie. When he had been on a mission in the island nation previously, just as he was about to withdraw, an old man had introduced himself in the exact same way. However, that man had been much older—at least twenty years his senior.

"Is your master An Tianyuanying?" Jiang Chen asked.

Miyamoto Juro nodded. "You are truly well-informed. To think you know my master is incredible. It is a pity he sacrificed himself in an interception mission; otherwise, I would certainly have introduced you. He would have been delighted to meet you."

Jiang Chen gave an awkward smile. "That won't be necessary. I don't think an introduction is needed."

Miyamoto Juro persisted. "How could that be? My mission is to block you and prevent you from going elsewhere, but I will only hold you for a short while. We can meet again soon, and I can take you to visit my master’s tomb."

Jiang Chen scratched his head. "I really don't need to. Your master and I have already met. In fact, it was me who sent him on his way."

"Sent... sent him on his way?" Miyamoto Juro froze for a moment before the implication dawned on him. "Do you mean that my master was killed by you while he was trying to intercept you?" he roared in fury.

His rage erupted in an instant. Miyamoto Juro drew his long blade. "My master was such a virtuous man, and you murdered him! I will kill you to avenge him!" he declared righteously.

Jiang Chen replied, "The sins your nation has committed go far beyond that. Do not assume he was a good man just because you believe him to be. In the events of those years, his hands were stained with plenty of blood."

There were some things Jiang Chen did not wish to recall, but he would never allow Miyamoto Juro to distort the truth. A beast is a beast, and a gentleman is a gentleman; he would never allow the two to be conflated.

"I will not allow you to speak of my master that way!" Miyamoto Juro’s demeanor remained calm, but Jiang Chen noticed his speed had become exceptionally fast.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Under a relentless barrage of slashes, Jiang Chen found no opportunity to counterattack. This Miyamoto Juro had achieved the Phase-less Realm through the way of the sword. He had bypassed the Diamond Realm entirely and ascended to the Phase-less Realm through his swordsmanship alone. Such cross-realm strength was the mark of a true genius, regardless of where he came from.

"Dodging?! Why are you dodging?! Do you dare to face me? Today, I will make you pay in blood..." Miyamoto Juro grew faster, his long blade razor-sharp, whipping up constant gusts of lethal wind.

"Pay in blood? Heh, people from your country are the least qualified to say that." Jiang Chen reached out to block the blade and kicked Miyamoto Juro in the chest, sending him flying out of range.

"Do you know that when your master tried to stop me back then, I had no intention of killing him? But unfortunately, he killed someone right before my eyes. You must have seen his corpse in the end. He deserved to die; he had it coming."

Jiang Chen looked at Miyamoto Juro. The man’s eyes were bloodshot, and the long blade in his hand had turned a crimson red to match.

"Relying on rage to empower yourself?"

Miyamoto Juro did not reply. He stepped forward, his body piercing toward Jiang Chen like a silver spearhead. Jiang Chen, however, used his hand as a sword and struck back.

*BOOM!*

The massive impact nearly knocked the blade from Miyamoto Juro’s hand.

"I never expected you to possess such powerful swordsmanship. Who taught you?" Miyamoto Juro wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.

Jiang Chen said, "Remember this: the title of 'Sword Saint' was passed from our land to yours. The true Sword Saint is from Great Xia; your master wouldn't have lasted two moves against him."

"Lies! That is nothing but fear-mongering," Miyamoto Juro spat back defiantly. "My master could never have lost. You must have used some despicable scheme to defeat him!"

Jiang Chen extended a hand. "It doesn't matter if you don't know how he died. Since you are his disciple, this is easy enough. I’ll just let you experience his death for yourself."

Miyamoto Juro swung his blade. "I have practiced martial arts since childhood. I reached the Phase-less Realm at seventeen and the eighth stage of the Phase-less Realm at twenty-five. Soon, I will ascend to the level of an Earthly Deity. Once I cross that threshold, I will be able to master the swordsmanship of this world. What do you have to fight me with?!"

Jiang Chen replied, "Your master was an Earthly Deity. His strength was far superior to yours, and at the time, his power was at its zenith in your nation. Your country was confident enough to send him to intercept me, but what was the result? I slew him alone. He didn't believe he could lose until the very end—just like you today. However, none of this matters. I am exceptionally experienced in seeing people off on their final journey."

Seeing that he could not let this man remain so arrogant, Miyamoto Juro unleashed his move. "Whirlwind Sword Technique!"

The blade carried a lethal edge, cracking the ground beneath them inch by inch. Jiang Chen took a light step, suppressing the fracturing earth. As the blade descended, Jiang Chen stopped dodging and threw a punch.

Sparks flew as fist met blade. Jiang Chen remained unscathed, but Miyamoto Juro’s blade shattered.

"Impossible! This is impossible! This was forged from meteorite iron; an ordinary man couldn't break it in a lifetime! Who exactly are you?" Miyamoto Juro stood in a daze, his mind reeling as he struggled to accept that his weapon—and his victory—had been shattered.

"Heh, go to hell, and I’ll tell you."

Jiang Chen gave him no time to recover. Since the island nation wanted to exhaust its resources, Jiang Chen would accept everything they sent. He would tally these "gifts" carefully when the time came for him to return the favor.

Miyamoto Juro’s arm was pierced through, and wounds of varying severity appeared all over his body. Jiang Chen pressed his hand onto the man's head.

"Goodbye."