Chapter 109: Xiao Yu's Strength (Bonus Chapter)

“Your aura—why is it so much stronger than last time?”

Feeling the aura emanating from Xiao Yu, Tojo couldn’t help but speak up. Whether it was illusion or not, Tojo sensed that Xiao Yu’s current aura was far more powerful than his own. It was worth noting that during their last encounter in the blazing summer, Xiao Yu had not been this strong.

“How do you find my strength at its peak?” Xiao Yu said calmly.

Tojo, upon hearing this, suddenly realized something. He remembered Xuanyuan Huangdao mentioning that Xiao Yu had been injured during their last meeting, far from his peak condition. Tojo had been skeptical then, but now he understood—the Flame Summer King was truly formidable.

Before Tojo could respond, Xiao Yu stepped forward with his longsword in hand. As his foot touched the ground, the space around him rippled subtly. A fierce battle intent radiated continuously from Xiao Yu. The sword he gripped seemed to resonate with his fighting spirit, trembling involuntarily. A terrifying aura surged toward Tojo and his three companions.

“How dare you!”

Sensing the incoming aura, the three high priests behind Tojo shouted simultaneously and instantly positioned themselves before him. They extended both hands, releasing their own terrifying auras that completely isolated Xiao Yu’s momentum.

“Interesting. You must be the three high priests from the other shrines. Compared to Sakai Muramasa, you three are certainly much stronger, each having mastered your own domain.”

Xiao Yu was not surprised that the three had dispersed his aura. After all, they were all experts who had entered the Divine Ranking. If the three of them combined couldn’t resist even a fraction of his aura, then the martial arts of the Sakura Kingdom would indeed be pitifully weak.

Despite their combined efforts, Xiao Yu was unfazed. With a sudden shrinking step, he instantly appeared before them and slashed his sword. A terrifying sword energy surged out, rushing toward the three.

They quickly dodged and landed on the ground, while Tojo leapt onto a treetop, watching coldly.

Xiao Yu ignored Tojo and landed gracefully on the ground, facing the three high priests.

At the very moment Xiao Yu touched down, several green vines suddenly shot out from behind him. Before he could react, the vines swiftly entangled his limbs and waist.

Among the three high priests, one placed both hands before his chest, performing a strange hand sign. As his gestures shifted continuously, the vines constricting Xiao Yu tightened relentlessly, as if aiming to choke him to death.

For such a technique, hardly even qualifying as intermediate ninjutsu, being used against him, Xiao Yu felt a bit amused. His body shook, breaking the vines instantly, and he flashed forward toward the three.

Just as Xiao Yu advanced, the hand-signing priest rapidly changed his gestures and shouted, “Wood Technique: Thorned Prison!”

As his words fell, he slammed his hands onto the ground, causing it to tremble. One by one, green vines sprouted from the earth around Xiao Yu.

These slender vines intertwined and thickened, rising upward until a cage of vines formed, imprisoning Xiao Yu inside.

Trapped within the vine cage, Xiao Yu was momentarily stunned. This was the first time he had encountered such ninjutsu; it must be considered high-level.

Outside the cage, the priest controlling the wood-based ninjutsu continued changing hand signs.

Inside the cage, as the priest persisted with his technique, thick vines shot out rapidly, attacking Xiao Yu.

To Xiao Yu, such attacks were easily countered with a single sword strike. However, as more and more vines rushed toward him, he began to feel slightly overwhelmed.

Swinging his longsword incessantly, he cut down all the incoming vines. It seemed he was growing bored of this game.

From the center of the cage, Xiao Yu suddenly unleashed a powerful aura and leapt into the air, swirling his sword wildly. Countless sword shadows erupted throughout the cage.

Boom!

A fierce explosion resounded. The hand-signing priest staggered back two steps, then kneeled on one knee, his face gloomy as he stared at the cage.

From above the cage, a figure shot skyward, followed by a storm of sword shadows. Under the relentless assault of the sword rain, the vine cage shattered into pieces.

The sword shadows in the void indiscriminately struck everything below, including the three high priests.

The priests were thrown into chaos by the overwhelming sword shadows. One shouted to the others, “Regroup!”

At his call, the other two flashed their figures to his side. The priest then formed hand signs, causing the ground to tremble and small stones to lift into the air.

“Stone Shield! Absolute Defense!” the priest shouted, spreading his hands. The floating stones swiftly gathered around them, forming a massive shield that surrounded the four.

Clang, clang, clang.

The clashing of the sword rain against the stone shield rang out sharply. After a while, the sword rain’s assault finally ceased. The priest then dispelled the stone shield.

The surrounding area, once lush with giant stones and green forests, had become utterly devastated under the storm of sword shadows—nothing remained but barren land.

At that moment, Xiao Yu’s figure descended from the sky.

“Wood-based ninjutsu—quite interesting,” Xiao Yu grinned, looking at the three high priests opposite him.

Seeing Xiao Yu’s nonchalant attitude, the three priests grew serious.

“This man’s strength is too great. It seems we must unite. Kamikawa-kun, you handle the Wood Technique to interfere with his movements. Watanabe-kun, you take charge of defense. This mountainous terrain is my home turf; I will take care of the offense.”

The priest who had just used the Stone Shield spoke decisively.

The other two nodded and quickly positioned themselves on either side of Xiao Yu, forming a triangle to encircle him.

Throughout this, Tojo remained motionless, his gaze shifting occasionally between Xiao Yu and Sakai Muramasa, seemingly unwilling to intervene.