Both maintained their forward-thrusting sword stances, completely motionless.
From their postures and aura alone, one could tell Saku and Ei’s martial arts were cut from the same cloth.
This was hardly surprising, as Raiden Saku’s combat skills had been personally imparted by Raiden Ei!
Later, Raiden Saku would further refine these foundations, developing his own unique path while elevating the techniques to new heights.
They remained frozen in their intersecting sword positions, neither moving an inch.
In the next moment, something terrifying occurred!
The surrounding torii gates shattered with a series of cracking sounds, disintegrating into countless wooden fragments uniform in size like building blocks!
Just as these fragments began to fall, they further crumbled into fine sawdust, dissipating into nothingness!
Meanwhile, Raiden Ei and Raiden Saku…
Both withdrew their stances, standing back-to-back with blades held ready, silent.
Neither bore even a scratch or speck of dust upon their persons.
What had just happened?
The ultimate collision had unleashed boundless sword energy that erupted outward in an instant, creating the destructive spectacle of the torii gates disintegrating.
One might assume they had only exchanged a single strike during that fleeting clash.
But considering the vanished torii gates, it became clear the two had unleashed countless strikes in that instant—each one devastatingly sharp!
Standing back-to-back with swords at the ready, Raiden Ei tilted her head slightly and remarked calmly: “Saku, your skills have refined further.” Raiden Saku responded indifferently: “Ei, your prowess remains undiminished.” The moment these words faded, they spun around simultaneously, launching themselves at each other!
Infinite sword gleams erupted from their blades, intersecting and colliding with violent intensity!
Within this confined space, Raiden Saku and Raiden Ei became a whirlwind of combat.
Their blades met in rapid succession, clashing hundreds of times within mere seconds!
The extreme sword energy radiating from their conflict swept outward like a hurricane.
The surfaces of distant stones instantly became covered with dense networks of sword scars—and these marks continued multiplying!
Neither was employing divine power now, merely engaging in pure martial exchange at the highest level.
Raiden Ei’s blade carried majestic severity.
Though Musou Isshin was originally an unedged sword, in her hands it held peerless sharpness, its swirling sword energy capable of shattering all defenses with nearly flawless execution.
Raiden Saku’s sword energy shone with brilliant radiance.
The Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi contained divine sharpness within its gleam, his swordplay balancing hardness and softness—sometimes straightforward and righteous, other times cunning and unpredictable—his martial presence enough to make one’s scalp tingle.
Their movement and speed reached dizzying levels.
Whether advancing or evading, their forms flickered like fleeting shadows, reaching the pinnacle of velocity.
Blinking, they’d collide here; disorientedly, they’d pursue there; in an instant, they’d strike elsewhere.
Truly, this was a meeting of matched rivals, a general encountering their equal!
Their peerless martial arts created an inextricable deadlock!
Every collision and intersection between them produced intimidating shockwaves and unleashed terrifying presence.
In less than a minute, they had already exchanged over two hundred rounds.
Vast stretches of surrounding boulders had been pulverized into heaps of gravel by their sword energy.
Their martial prowess could be described as reaching the zenith, attaining the very peak of divine combat.
Yet sadly, this was the Plane of Euthymia—such an ultimate duel was destined to remain unwitnessed.
If a martial artist or warrior dedicated to the path of combat were fortunate enough to witness this battle, would they be dazzled and gain enlightenment?
No, that’s overthinking it.
Forget about whether ordinary people could even perceive the speed and frequency of their movements.
Even if they could see it clearly, approaching them would result in being shredded into countless pieces by the residual sword energy from their clash—an unfortunate casualty of collateral damage.
It can only be said that it’s fortunate this took place within the Plane of Euthymia, a realm of consciousness.
Had they fought outside, forget about the Tenshukaku—at least half of Inazuma City would have been devastated.
And this was merely them exchanging blows with pure martial skill, without invoking their Electro divine power.
Even so, this ultimate martial showdown lasted about five to six minutes, with both sides exchanging over eleven hundred moves in a back-and-forth stalemate.
At the eleven hundred and first exchange, Raiden Saku and Raiden Ei locked eyes, their gazes meeting and their hearts connecting in mutual understanding.
Continuing like this was meaningless; it was better to decide the outcome with one final move.
Siblings in perfect sync, they abruptly made their move!
Both Raiden Saku and Raiden Ei suddenly erupted with immense presence, focusing their spirit, energy, and mind entirely on the next strike!
They closed in at extreme speed, striking in an instant!
In that fleeting moment, Raiden Ei swung Musou Isshin, aiming for Raiden Saku’s left flank.
In that same instant, Raiden Saku thrust Murakumo no Tsurugi, targeting the lock of hair beside Raiden Ei’s temple!
A lightning-fast exchange!
Their figures crossed paths in a split second!
Raiden Ei’s slash released a brilliant blade of energy that soared dozens of meters into the sky, cleaving through countless rocks before vanishing into the distance, leaving only a deep, long scar on the ground.
Raiden Saku’s thrust unleashed a dazzling sword gleam, like a white ribbon of light piercing hundreds of meters in an instant, shattering massive boulders and leaving a trail of destruction as far as the eye could see.
After crossing paths, they stood back-to-back about ten meters apart, sheathing their weapons in tacit understanding before turning to face each other.
Sibling eyes met, silent and wordless.
Suddenly, Raiden Saku’s sleeve tore with a sharp rip, revealing a finger-length gap.
Opposite him, one of the two gentian flowers adorning Raiden Ei’s temple drifted down gently.
At first glance, it seemed this ultimate martial showdown had ended in another draw.
But that wasn’t actually the case—Raiden Saku had come out slightly ahead.
There was no doubt that Raiden Ei’s slash had indeed torn Raiden Saku’s sleeve.
However, Raiden Saku’s thrust, despite its devastating power, had precisely pierced between the gentian flower and Raiden Ei’s hair.
That single thrust caused one flower to fall without harming the other or even a single strand of Ei’s hair!
Such impeccable control was unimaginable.
Gazing at her sworn younger brother and sensing his martial prowess, Raiden Ei felt a swell of pride—the student had surpassed the master.
Her fighting spirit, rarely so ignited, soared: “In terms of pure martial skill, you have the slight edge.
I acknowledge that.
But what comes next is the true contest!” Raiden Ei raised her blade, and endless purple Electro energy surged from her form, shooting straight into the heavens and stirring the clouds into restless motion.
Raiden Saku’s anticipation grew as well: “Excellent.
Let us see whose Electro reigns supreme.” Raiden Saku likewise unleashed his power, and brilliant golden Electro erupted from his body, roaring upward like a gleaming sword of light that pierced the sky of the Plane of Euthymia!
From a distance, the opposing Electro divine lights stood in rivalry, forming two brilliant pillars of lightning—one golden and one purple!
Within the Plane of Euthymia, Raiden Saku and Raiden Ei began unleashing their Electro divine power.
Outside the Plane of Euthymia, the celestial phenomena began to change under the influence of their divine energy.
The sky above Inazuma City had already been shrouded in dark clouds, blotting out the sunlight due to the Shogun’s power.
When Raiden Saku and Raiden Ei activated their divine power within the Plane of Euthymia, the gloomy clouds intensified with even more violent flashes of lightning and thunder!
The continuously rumbling and flashing thunderstorm threw the entire Inazuma City into panic.
People looked up anxiously, fearing that Shogun-sama was unleashing her wrath.
Kujou Takayuki, barred outside Tenshukaku, eagerly raised his head to observe once more.
He noticed that lightning filled the cloud layers everywhere, yet these lightning strikes appeared somewhat different.
Taking his position as the center line, purple lightning flashed within the dark clouds on the left side of the sky, while golden lightning flickered in the clouds on the right.
The two types of lightning were clearly demarcated!
For a time, the entire Inazuma City was enveloped in purple and golden Electro light, with the roar of thunder filling people’s ears.
When had the citizens ever witnessed such a phenomenon?
Fear gripped their hearts as they hurriedly took shelter in their homes or under roadside eaves, terrified of being caught in the divine wrath.
Seeing this strange celestial phenomenon, Kujou Takayuki immediately guessed what was happening.
“This…
they’ve started fighting!” The old man hastily began praying toward the direction of Tenshukaku: “May Shogun-sama achieve certain victory!
May Shogun-sama achieve certain victory!”