"Alright, I agree. If you lose, you can have your sword. If I lose, I'll become a member of the Conqueror Pirates!" Ryūta Ryōma said, glancing at the sword at Tenki's waist. For a swordsman, a sword is life, so having a sword as a bargaining chip makes things much fairer.
“Since that’s the case, then it’s a deal. If you’re willing to bet, you have to accept the consequences. But Ryoma, you have a good eye. Although my sword isn’t a Supreme Grade Sword, it’s a true divine weapon, and its value is even greater than that of a Grade Sword!” Tenki smiled and touched the Tensou Cloud Sword. If he were to really exchange the Tensou Cloud Sword for Ryoma, it wouldn’t be worth it. However, Tenki had 100% confidence in himself. Getting his sword wouldn’t be that easy.
"Let's get this straight, we can only compete with swordsmanship, not your weird abilities, otherwise the bet is void!" Seeing Tian Qi's confidence, Ryūta Ryōma immediately added that if he were to use those strange abilities again, he would surrender immediately.
“Of course, this is a swordsmanship competition, so of course we’ll be competing with swordsmanship!” Tianqi nodded. He hadn’t planned to use any other abilities; his swordsmanship was enough to defeat Ryūta Ryōma.
"Hehe, I'll go first then. Come on if you want to win!" Ryoma Nagata leaped onto the stage, his eyes fixed on Tian Qi.
Seeing this, Mihawk immediately went up, but Tianqi went up to the stage first and stood opposite Ryūta Ryōma. As they watched Tianqi go up, Shanks and Mihawk clenched their fists and stared intently at the two on the stage. After watching such a boring battle for so long, they could finally see a real duel between masters.
"Who is this guy? Doesn't he know that his opponent is Ryoma Nagata? That's a great swordsman!"
"I bet he's a swordsman who wants to become famous quickly. He dares to challenge Ryūta Ryōma. I bet he can't even withstand one move!"
The crowd was buzzing with discussion, not optimistic about Tian Qi at all. This was understandable, as few people knew what Tian Qi looked like, and these newly rising stars naturally didn't recognize him. Those who did know Tian Qi remained silent, watching the duel between the two quietly.
Ryūta Ryōma paid no attention to the discussions around him. At this moment, he looked at his opponents with a solemn expression. He had promoted these people to the level of beginner great swordsmen, but he believed that Tianqi would definitely not stand still. According to his guess, his chance of winning was only 20%, but that 20% chance was enough.
He drew his great sword, gripped the hilt tightly with both hands, and slowly closed his eyes, trying to become one with the weapon in his hands. There was no need for further probing; he was going to go all out from the start. His powerful sword intent was directly condensed into the blade, and he unleashed the full power of a great swordsman right from the beginning.
"New Yin Style: One-Slash Flash!" Ryūta Ryōma transformed into a streak of black light and instantly appeared in front of Tenki, delivering a direct slash.
"This is Ryūta Ryōma's Shinkage-ryū swordsmanship. I didn't expect him to use a killing move right away. This swordsman who wants to become famous is doomed!" Seeing such powerful swordsmanship, the spectators exclaimed in surprise. They all thought that Tianqi was finished.
Tianqi looked at Ryūta Ryōma, who had already arrived in front of him, with a satisfied smile. With such strength, he was worth recruiting. However, this was not enough to deal with him. Tianqi twitched his index and middle fingers slightly.
"Sword Qi!" Instantly, countless sword energies emerged and swirled around Tian Qi. Ryūta Ryōma's sword stopped an arm's length away from Tian Qi, unable to advance any further.
"What! This is..." Seeing that he could not take another step forward, Ryoma Nagata's eyes widened. He suddenly realized something and had an incredulous expression.
"What's this?"
"An invisible wall blocked Ryoma Nagata's path. Is this also swordsmanship?"
Tianqi's move left these new sword masters completely baffled, leaving them utterly confused. Meanwhile, some veteran sword masters stood up, not wanting to miss a single detail.
"Sword energy materialized? Has the captain broken through to that level?" Shanks, watching Tianqi's attack, could no longer remain calm and exclaimed in surprise.
"As expected of the captain, he blocked the attack just by standing there. That's amazing!" Jesus and the others had no idea what this meant; they simply thought the captain was very powerful.
"Using Qi to control the sword, that's the Gale Swordsman..." Mihawk, who understood, also widened his eyes. He thought that he had already defeated Tianqi and Longma by breaking through from intermediate swordsman to intermediate great swordsman, but he never expected that the one who made the biggest breakthrough was Tianqi, who had already broken through to the highest realm.
"Sword rise!" Tian Qi slightly raised two fingers, and the Heavenly Cloud Sword flew up from his waist. Then, Tian Qi slashed forward with his two fingers.
"Sword Qi Soars!" With a horizontal slash, the Heavenly Cloud Sword unleashed a terrifying sword aura that sent Ryūta Ryōma flying back dozens of steps.
After regaining his footing, feeling the tremor from the Yama sword in his hand, Ryūta Ryōma looked at Tenki in disbelief and said, "Controlling the sword with qi, you have already broken through to the Gale Sword Master level?"
The Gale Sword Master is the highest level of swordsmanship, a legendary level. The highest level on the high seas is currently the peak of the Great Sword Master. As for the Gale Sword Master, no one can reach it; everyone has only heard of it. However, today, Tian Qi has directly demonstrated this highest level.
"I told you long ago I wouldn't stand still!" With that, Tianqi gripped the hilt of his sword with one hand, looking at Ryūta Ryōma with a smile. He was determined to recruit this formidable swordsman.
"Hehe, I didn't expect you to have broken through to this highest level. It seems I'm destined to be your crew member. But I'd also like to see the strength of the Swift Wind Swordsman!" Ryūta Ryōma shook his head helplessly. The spirit of Bushido would never allow him to admit defeat.
Ryoma Nagata immediately unleashed his full sword intent, the terrifying power causing the stone slabs of the arena beneath his feet to crack continuously, his sword intent pushed to its limit.
"New Yin Style Sword Dance!" Ryoma Nagata flashed close and unleashed a barrage of sword strikes.
"Phantom Sword Dance!" Tian Qi also flashed forward and began a close-quarters sword exchange.
"Clang! Clang! Clang..."
In an instant, swords flashed and shadows danced on the arena. Tian Qi and Long Ma's figures became increasingly blurred, and their strikes grew faster and faster, leaving sword marks on the ground. The spectators stared wide-eyed as they could no longer make out the two of them clearly.
"Wow, this is amazing! Who is this young man? How can he be so strong?"
"Hmph! Even he doesn't know that you've been wasting your time on the high seas. He is the captain of the Conqueror Pirates, the one who defeated Sengoku, Garp, and a host of other top sea warriors!"
"It was him!"
Finally, someone stepped forward and revealed Tian Qi's identity. Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief that such a formidable figure would come to participate in the sword competition. At the same time, they felt ashamed of their previous underestimation of him, realizing that they were the clowns all along.
"Hehe, it's over. Ryūta Ryōma, you can't possibly be my match. I'll take you as my crew member!" Tianqi chuckled, and the Tianzongyun Sword in his hand immediately released its sword intent and sword energy.
"Limitless Sword Path - Rising Dragon Slash!" Sword energy and sword intent condensed into a white dragon, and Tian Qi stood in the dragon's head. With a fierce charge, the white dragon attacked Ryūta Ryōma with terrifying power.
"Bang!" The white dragon, carrying its power, directly knocked Ryoma Nagata off the stage, creating a crater outside the stage, delivering a heavy blow.
"Such domineering power! A mere casual strike possesses such terrifying strength. Is this the Wind Swordsman?"
Seeing Ryūta Ryōma knocked out of the ring, Shanks and Mihawk were also surprised. They originally thought that in terms of swordsmanship alone, they should be no worse than Tianqi, but now the gap between them was like heaven and earth, and they could not see how much distance was between them.
With Tianqi's current swordsmanship power, even grass and trees can be used as swords. The reason he still uses the Heavenly Cloud Sword is entirely to give Ryūta Ryōma enough respect. He also restrains his swordsmanship power again and again. Otherwise, this Rising Dragon Slash could have killed Ryūta Ryōma. When you reach the level of a great swordsman, the difference in strength between each small stage is like heaven and earth, let alone the difference of a whole realm.
"Cough cough cough... I... I lost. From now on, I'm a member of your Conqueror Pirates crew. Do as you please!" Ryūta Ryōma coughed, gave a helpless bitter smile, adjusted his mindset, and struggled to his feet. Winning is winning, losing is losing. Losing to a swift swordsman is not shameful.
"Hmm!" Tianqi nodded in satisfaction as he looked at Ryūta Ryōma. To be honest, he had high hopes for Ryūta Ryōma. Not only was he very talented and strong, but most importantly, he had an exceptionally good mentality. He could always maintain a calm attitude towards winning and losing, which was one of the things Tianqi liked the most. Failure is not terrible; what is terrible is not having the courage to try again.
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