I will eventually become a divine being through accumulating constantly

"Where did this lunatic come from."

Otogirusu observed the nude man slowly approaching him with a cold gaze, frowning, sensing something amiss.

Without any hostility... What does this man want?

Based on his extremely sharp, almost supernatural, Instinctive Intuition, Otogirusu could feel the man's strength and danger.

That kind of danger was different from normal powerhouses; it was like a child unknowingly holding a bomb that could explode at any time. Although the man bore no hostility towards his surroundings, he could cause immense damage at any moment.

Therefore, even though he sensed no hostility, Otogirusu's vigilance was heightened to the extreme.

However, what he was more concerned about at the moment was not the man's danger, but another aspect.

"He looks a bit like Xue Jun..."

Otogirusu's brow furrowed deeply.

He vaguely felt a certain quality from this man that was similar to Xue Jing.

Otogirusu wasn't sure what it was, but just the point of 'resembling Xue Jing' made him feel the urge to turn around and flee.

He was one of the very few in the world who could comprehend how powerful Xue Jing was, and more importantly, he understood this not through direct observation but through his intuition.

In some ways, this gave him a deeper understanding than seeing with his own eyes would have.

That 'inhuman sensation' which transcended humanity could not simply be summarized by the words 'powerful.'

The nude lunatic before him elicited the same otherworldly feeling from Otogirusu—as if he was a higher species that transcended humans on a fundamental level of life.

"Interesting."

A fighting spirit shone in Otogirusu's eyes.

Being an exceptional martial fanatic, a normal person would have fled immediately feeling the kind of danger he felt now, but it intrigued him instead.

"Perfect, consider it a rehearsal before my second battle with Xue Jun..."

Otogirusu looked around and strolled into a nearby weapon shop, selecting a long sword from those scattered all over the floor.

By the time he left the shop, he looked up to see the naked man still approaching him step by step.

Otogirusu drew the long sword from his hand, discarded the scabbard, weighed it in his hand, and nodded in approval.

Although he was used to wielding divine weapons like The Blade That Never Dulls and was not completely satisfied with the long sword, it was still usable.

It seemed that upon seeing Otogirusu arm himself, 'Xu Mude' tilted his head and then, like committing suicide, plunged his right hand into his own stomach.

Strangely, even though the entire palm was submerged, it was as if it had sunk into a lump of putty, showing no signs of injury.

Afterward, he slowly withdrew his right hand, pulling a meter-long white, rigid salted fish from his stomach.
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Otogirusu paused momentarily, recognizing what he held in his hand.

[GOD-1468·Salted Fish Sword].

Before he could react, 'Xu Mude', who had previously been sluggishly advancing, suddenly stomped heavily, smashing a three-meter radius section of the floor into a hole, piercing through to the floor below, and darted toward Otogirusu at an incredible speed.

In less than half a second, he had covered a distance of nearly a hundred meters, arriving before Otogirusu, the fins of the Salted Fish Sword gleaming with a sharp edge, carrying a strong fishy odor, slicing towards Otogirusu.

...

Two minutes later.

"Clang—"

The long sword in Otogirusu's hand couldn't withstand the collision and broke apart.

The Salted Fish Sword struck his torso and abdomen, riding the momentum.

"My Style·Undying Smoke—"

Otogirusu seemed like a wisp of intangible, insubstantial smoke, mysteriously slipping free from the slash and quickly retreating into a weapon shop wrecked into pieces beside him, casually picking up another long sword from the ground.

This was the fourth sword he had picked up.

'Xu Mude's' hand-held Salted Fish Sword might look funny, but it was exceptionally formidable. Just two minutes into the battle, three of Otogirusu's weapons had already broken.

He glanced at his torso where his clothing had been sliced open, revealing a glimpse of his finely chiseled abs.

"This is troublesome..."

Otogirusu frowned.

The disadvantage in weaponry almost left him incapable of counterattacking, and the man was excessively strong.

Just pure strength and speed, devoid of any technique, already kept him struggling to keep up.

Moreover... during their fight, this man seemed to be quickly learning everything about him.

The last strike had been much faster than initially, even vaguely bearing some resemblance to the Suzaku Style.

If this dragged on, the longer the fight went, the more remote his chances of winning would become; he needed to resolve this quickly.

This was his expertise; Suzaku Style was fundamentally Iaido, which epitomized quick combat, 'Deity Slaying Strike' was decisive.

However, the Ultimate Skill 'Instantaneous Thousand Cuts' required extremely durable blades since ordinary ones simply couldn't withstand it and would break mid-strike, thereby creating a huge vulnerability by interrupting the move prematurely.

Although he could also use his palm as a hand blade, the lethality would dramatically decrease, and considering this man's physical robustness, it would be hard to even inflict significant injury.