If we only consider attributes, there's no doubt that Konochi Kurusu surpasses Fang Li in every aspect. Including Fang Li's currently only usable attribute, AGI (Agility), it's likely that Konochi Kurusu would win even in this attribute.
However, after the augmentation from the Slaughterer skill, Fang Li is no longer inferior to Konochi Kurusu in terms of speed.
Therefore, as soon as they encountered each other, both the dagger and the Katana made their moves simultaneously, slashing through the air with astonishing speed, and attacking each other.
Immediately, they collided against each other.
"Clang!"
A crisp collision sound rang out in the train compartment. Sparkling flames burst forth at the point of impact.
In this situation, Konochi Kurusu gained the advantage.
With his authentic Samurai skills and significantly higher STR than Fang Li, he effortlessly flicked away Fang Li's dagger.
Suddenly, Fang Li felt a tremendous force reverberate through his hand from the clash of the Katana, causing his palm to go numb, and he instinctively took a step back.
Konochi Kurusu seized this split-second opening.
"Hah!" Konochi Kurusu let out a cold shout as he took a step forward and tightened his body before he swung his Katana towards the retreating Fang Li.
It was an extremely standard overhead slash. And its power should not be underestimated. The powerful force caused a strong gust of wind to swirl around the blade, producing a sharp whistling sound.
Once it hit, Fang Li would undoubtedly receive a gruesome wound, starting from his shoulder and extending diagonally down to the other side, like a menacing gash.
Just as he said before, Konochi Kurusu would not show any mercy this time.
Even if Fang Li raised his hand to block this attack again, Konochi Kurusu would not hesitate to sever that arm without the slightest hesitation.
Understanding this point and feeling the approaching oppressive sword wind, Fang Li's expression remained calm. He swiftly tiptoed and moved his body sideways with the utmost speed.
"Chi!" The sharp gust of wind brushed against Fang Li's body, and the whistling sound continued to echo in his ears, allowing him to skillfully dodge the powerful slash.
At that moment, Fang Li's Mystic Eyes were not fixed on Konochi Kurusu but rather, they were focused on the sharp Katana.
On the delicate blade, Death Lines resembling cracks coiled around it.
That was the 'Death' of this weapon.
"Right here!" Fang Li tightened his grip on the dagger and ruthlessly slashed at the Death Line on the blade of the Katana that was swinging down.
As long as the Death Line on the blade was severed, the weapon would truly meet its demise and would be directly cut off by Fang Li's dagger.
Unfortunately, compared to the human body, hitting a weapon in extremely fast motion is not only challenging but because the weapon is smaller in size compared to the human body and possesses fewer Death Lines, killing it with certainty proves to be difficult.
The evidence was that Konochi Kurusu, with just a reflexive upward motion, caused the Death Line on his Katana to deviate from Fang Li's target.
"Ding!" In that instant, the dagger heavily stabbed the Katana's blade, which had shifted away from the Death Line, producing a pleasing sound like that of a bell.
"As expected, it's not that easy, huh?" Although Fang Li had anticipated this situation, he couldn't help but be amazed.
"What's wrong? Is that all you've got?" Konochi Kurusu didn't understand why Fang Li chose to attack his weapon instead of him, but it didn't stop him from continuing the fight.
Therefore, Konochi Kurusu raised his Katana without hesitation and swiftly swung his arm.
In an instant, the sharp Katana transformed into a whirlwind of continuous slashes, leaving a trail of afterimages in the air as it viciously struck toward Fang Li's entire body.
At this moment, Konochi Kurusu pushed his Swordsmanship to the limit, allowing his Katana to carve out exquisite trajectories in the air— sometimes straight, sometimes curved. His attacks were like a fierce storm as they enveloped Fang Li from all directions.
Facing such exquisite Swordsmanship and Sword Technique, Fang Li had no means of defending himself. He could only rely on his Mystic Eyes to capture the Death Lines on the Katana, barely discerning the trajectory of each slash and raising his dagger to block it.
"Clang!"
The clash between the blades resounded as sparking showers of sparks began to pour out of the collision point. Once again, Fang Li's hand went numb from the tremendous force, and he was forced to retreat.
"Clang Clang Clang Clang!"
Unrelenting, Konochi Kurusu continued his berserk slashes from all sides, forcing Fang Li to block each one, creating countless collision sounds that reverberated in the air.
In this situation, Fang Li, who already had weaker STR than an average person, was naturally overwhelmed by Konochi Kurusu's slashes. His wrist grew weaker, and his figure kept retreating.
However, Fang Li's expression remained calm throughout the fight. Even though his arm was starting to ache from the impact, and his Mystic Eyes, which captured the fast-moving Katana's Death Lines, were growing sore, he showed no signs of wavering.
"Tsk…" Konochi Kurusu couldn't help but make a frustrated or disgusted click of his tongue. He hadn't expected that all of his attacks would be blocked by Fang Li.
A Wanderer with no foundation in martial arts had managed to see through the strikes of a highly skilled Samurai and had blocked all of them one by one.
"It seems that his eyes are not only strange but also possess remarkable visual acuity."
That's what Konochi Kurusu thought and his idea was almost half correct.
Fang Li was able to see through Konochi Kurusu's superb Swordsmanship and block his attacks because of his Mystic Eyes' ability to capture Death Lines.
However, Fang Li's Mystic Eyes didn't capture the tangible weapon but rather the intangible Death Lines.
Although Fang Li couldn't hit the Death Lines due to the Katana's fast movements, he had no problem seeing them clearly.
As long as he could see the Death Lines, Fang Li would know where Konochi Kurusu's slashes were coming from.
With the help of his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception to capture the Death Lines, Fang Li managed to block Konochi Kurusu's attacks.
But…
"It seems that this is all you can do!"
Konochi Kurusu tightened his grip on the sword, channeling all the force in his body. He swung his Katana with the heaviest blow he had unleashed so far toward Fang Li.
Fang Li's ice-blue Mystic Eyes successfully captured this strike.
However, from the roaring gust of wind, Fang Li understood that he couldn't block this attack.
"Clang!"
As if confirming Fang Li's thoughts, the heavily powerful strike landed on Fang Li's dagger. In a collision of steel against steel, Fang Li's dagger was heavily knocked away.
"He got me!"
Konochi Kurusu's eyes narrowed. With a stride forward, his robe once again sliced through the air, carrying a strong gust of wind as it slashed toward Fang Li's body.
Fang Li raised his head abruptly, and his Mystic Eyes radiated a dazzling light.