I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 966 Copy [Eternal Talent] "Heartless Demon Child"! [4300]

(Yamata no Orochi? Otakemaru? What kind of weird name is that? Are you kidding me?)

(This is our code name, which is used to show our determination to "achieve our goal without hesitation, even at the cost of becoming a demon.")
(…Well, this matter is fine. This is a prison, how did you get in?)

(Walking in with a swagger, of course.)
(“Walked in with a swagger”? There were a lot of jailers outside.)
(What's the big deal? Can't we just kill all the jailers who block our way and walk in without hesitation?)

(...)
(Bai He, there is no need to show such an expression. Didn’t you do something similar a month ago? You killed dozens of officials by yourself.)
(…That’s because they wanted to kill my father.)
(What a pity... your desperate struggle ultimately failed. Not only did you fail to save your father, but you were also imprisoned.)
(…Shut up. You went to all that trouble to come here, are you here just to mock me?)
(“Mockery”? No, no, no, how could that be! It’s the exact opposite! Bai He, we respect you very much! I’m deeply impressed by your and your father’s courage! It’s truly amazing! If everyone could be as brave as you and your son, this world would have long since become a paradise.)
(…My father and I had hoped to use this play to arouse the fighting spirit of the elders and fellow villagers and to fight against the atrocities of the deputy official. However…let alone fighting against the deputy official, when my father was captured by the deputy official’s evil slaves, they stood far away and watched coldly…)
(Bai He, don't resent those people. Not everyone has the courage to "jump off a cliff.")
(…I wanted to hate those people, but my heart told me that I hated the wrong people. Even hating those guys who stood by and watched would not help. In the end, I was filled with anger but didn’t know where to vent it.)
(Ha ha……)
(why are you laughing?)

(Nothing, just feeling a little nostalgic... Once upon a time, I had similar thoughts. I wanted to hate someone, but I didn’t know who to hate; I wanted to kill someone, but I didn’t know who to kill.)
(Oh, it seems that you are also a person with a lot of stories.)
(My story is very long. If I have the chance in the future, I will tell you slowly. Now time is tight, please allow me to get straight to the point - Bai He, do you want to join us and become one of us?)

(“Join you”? Who are you anyway?)
(We are the righteous men of the Fazhu Party, and we use the laws of heaven and earth to punish evil, hence the name 'Fazhu'. We strive to create a brand new world, and to create this ideal world, the most urgent task is to overthrow the Edo Shogunate.)
(Overthrow... the Edo Shogunate...? Hey, are you serious?)

(Of course I am serious! In order to achieve this goal, we are now recruiting talents. And you, Bai He, you are the talent we want to recruit!)
(…This is really interesting. I am just an actor of low status. How can I be worthy of participating in the great cause of overthrowing the shogunate?)

(No, Bai He, that's wrong! You are a gifted genius! You have extraordinary talents! If I can get your help, it would be like having the strength of ten thousand people!)
(...)
(Of course, I won't force you to do anything. I won't allow anyone with weak will to be under my command. Next, I will open the prison door for you and give you a knife. If you want to be our partner, then take this knife and kill the deputy who destroyed your family. Let me see your determination. If you don't want to do that, then you can just leave. We won't stop you.)
(…I have something to say, but I don’t know whether I should say it or not.)
(Speaking.)
(When I saw my father being captured, I was terrified... Even with my sword drawn, I couldn't get rid of the fear. I was afraid of the shogunate, the governor, the prison, and death... It wasn't until I easily killed a dozen officials that I realized belatedly that these seemingly scary guys were nothing special. At the same time, I also realized that compared to the lyrics of the play, the clanging of swords was more audible to those evil people. So... open the prison door and give me the sword.)
……

……

The voices of the past gradually fade away...

Shuten-doji felt like a long time had passed...his consciousness seemed to have gone through several years along with his memories.

In essence, everything happens in the blink of an eye.

——I…abandoned everything…

——I…have finally come this far…

——How can I... quit halfway...?
Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth, supported himself with his knife, and stood up with difficulty.

The moment he stood up, he suddenly felt dizzy.

Then, he was shocked to find that the space under his feet had undergone tremendous changes!
It is no longer the castle tower of Edo Castle, but a magnificent theater!

"This is……?"

Shuten-doji looked around, with surprise evident in his eyes.

As a former Kabuki actor, he recognized it at once—this was the Shibai Shatuo! It was a theater dedicated to Kabuki performances!
There is a spacious stage under your feet.

There is a high ceiling above your head.

Next to it is a flower path for the actors to enter.

There are densely packed seats around.

The warm yellow candlelight filled the vision.

Before he could think about it, Shuten-doji further discovered that following the ground under his feet, his and Qingdeng's clothes had undergone significant changes.

He saw that he was wearing a black firefighter suit with white mountain patterns on the cuffs.

Qing Deng, who was standing opposite him, was wearing a plain white dress.

Both sets of clothes are from the play "Kanatemoto Chushingura".

In this drama, the protagonist Yuranosuke Ohoshi wears this black robe and kills the treacherous minister Takāshinao who is wearing white robe.

"Kanademoto Chushingura" and Ooshi Yuranosuke... these are his best plays and the roles he is best at.

In order to perform well in this drama, he took special pains to hone his martial arts skills.

The big star Yuranosuke played by him always receives overwhelming praise from the audience.

Suddenly, he seemed to sense something and looked around him blankly.

In the blink of an eye, the seats that were originally empty were now filled with audiences.

They cheered, screamed, and shouted, with smiles on their faces.

Beams of excited or expectant gazes came from all directions and focused on him.

His ears were filled with cheers...his eyes were filled with spectators...everything was the same as before.

Shuten-doji first blinked in confusion, then slightly curved the corners of his mouth, his eyebrows trembling slightly, revealing a complex expression that seemed neither smiling nor crying.

Kabuki... I really miss it...

If those things hadn’t happened, I would probably still be working hard to “become the best actor” and “make my family name known throughout the world”.

So... I'm back again...

I am back!

I'm back on stage!

With this thought in mind, he slowly spread his arms and took a stance.

……

……

It was difficult to tell when the two of them got up.

Qing Deng straightened his upper body silently, then straightened his back and stood at attention in one go.

My lungs are swelling... my head is dizzy... my muscles are protesting silently...

Under the dual stimulation of "fatigue" and "pain", the "strength" has long been exhausted, leaving only "perseverance" struggling to support!

Qing Deng planted his feet, assumed a mid-range stance, and prepared to start a new round of fierce fighting.

However, at this moment, an unexpected scene happened to him - Shuten-doji opposite him suddenly made a strange posture.

He was half squatting with a solemn look.

Then, he was heard chanting in a skilled voice:

"We are the judge's former servants, and we have come to help our lord to eliminate his old hatred. Our lord used this sword to kill himself. Please also use this sword to commit seppuku as a samurai!"

His eyes were empty, as if they had no focus. Although he was staring straight at Qing Deng, it seemed as if he was looking at someone else.

Qing Deng didn't like Kabuki and rarely went to Shibai Cottage to watch plays.

Even though he knew nothing about Kabuki, he immediately recognized this as a famous line from "Kanadehon Chushingura".

"Kanadehon Chushingura" - one of the three famous Kabuki masterpieces.

This work is based on the "Ako Incident", which began with the lord of Ako Domain, Asano Naganori, injuring Kira Uenosuke and ended with Oishi Kuransuke avenging his lord.

Because the Edo Shogunate issued a clear ban on the use of real people's names in literary and artistic performances, the time background of the play was changed to "Muromachi Shogunate", Oishi Kuransuke who avenged his master was changed to "Oohishi Yuranosuke", and Kira Uenosuke was changed to "Takamori Nao".

Thanks to the fame of the "Ako Incident", the play was very popular among the people. Even Qing Deng, who rarely watched Kabuki, had heard of the name of this play and knew the famous lines and scenes in it.

The scene just performed by Shuten-doji was the climax of the play.

Yuranosuke Ooshiki led a group of companions to attack Takashi Nao's mansion and forced Takashi Nao to commit suicide to avenge his master.

Gao Shizhi reached out and took the knife handed to him by Yuranosuke Ooshi, but instead of committing suicide, he swung the knife back and the two immediately started a fierce battle.

In the end, Takashi Naoki, who was inferior in skills, was killed by Yuranosuke Ooshi.

Qing Deng was greatly confused by Shuten-doji's strange behavior.

He had been through many battles, but this was the first time he encountered such a situation.

Is he baiting me into making a move?

Or... simply crazy?

Before I could think about it, Shuten-doji's voice started again:

"... Gao Shizhi, you're not going to commit suicide?"

Instantly, the atmosphere on the scene stagnated!
Shuten-doji quietly raised his gaze, his eyes filled with intense hatred.

This hatred is so strong... it's as if Qing Deng is really the "Gao Shizhi" who killed his master!
He released his undisguised murderous intent and swung the Sunroku Kengen in his hand fiercely!

Seeing this, Qing Deng no longer pondered what was going on with the other party's strange behavior - his entire mind was focused back on the battle in front of him!
In an instant, the distance between the two people who were several meters apart a second ago became zero in this second!
The sound of the blade cutting through the air once again dominated this space!
This is a battle without any aesthetic appeal.

There are no exquisite moves.

There is no exciting game.

The two exhausted men had no more strength to spare and could only resort to monotonous and boring horizontal and vertical chops, swinging their swords at each other again and again!

Drops of sweat and blood glistened in the sunlight.

Shuten-doji's eyes were like two kaleidoscopes. Every time he blinked, the scene in front of him changed rapidly.

The place under his feet was sometimes a dilapidated castle tower, and sometimes a hut filled with spectators.

Sometimes the roar of swordsmen, and sometimes loud cheers and warm applause could be heard in my ears.

Sometimes he is Shuten-doji, a member of the Law-Extermination Party, and sometimes he is Yuranosuke, a loyal minister of the Ohoshi.

Witnessed by countless audiences, he and "Gao Shizhi" fought on the stage, winning applause from the audience!
He could no longer tell what was reality and what was fantasy.

He swung the knife selflessly and "performed" selflessly!
It was a long time since he last saw the performance, and there were thunderous cheers. At this moment, he almost cried.

Yes...I'm Yunosuke Ooshi!
I must kill Gao Shizhi to avenge my master!

Under the gaze of thousands of "audiences", on the spacious "stage", he shook off his "black clothes" and rushed towards "Gao Shizhi" with his sword! The ferocious attack unfolded in front of his sword!

This divinely-assisted state changed the situation of the battle.

For a moment, Qing Deng was suppressed and could only defend himself.

However... strangely enough, as Shuten-doji's behavior became more violent, Qingden's expression became calmer.

He half-closed his eyes without any emotion, watching every expression and every movement of the other person, as if he was waiting for something.

For a moment... Although it was only a moment, a unique light did flash in Qing Deng's eyes - this was a light that was completely different from the "state of no self"!

At a moment that was nothing special, Shuten-doji raised the Sunroku Kengen in his palm, adopted the upper configuration, and prepared to chop Qingdeng's body.

At this moment, without any warning, Qing Deng's half-closed eyes suddenly opened wide!
At the same moment, his feet made a loud noise—he rushed towards the opponent as if teleporting!
The speed and timing were so precise that Shuten-doji had no way to defend himself!
Shuten-doji blinked hard, and the figure of "Gao Shizhi" filled his entire field of vision... Suddenly, the scene in front of him changed again.

A moment ago, "Gao Shizhi" was still wearing that plain white dress.

But in the next moment, Gao Shizhi's white clothes turned into a black firefighter's suit with delicate mountain patterns on the cuffs.

He was stunned for a moment, and looked down hurriedly - the "black clothes" on his body turned into "white clothes".

Qing Deng became the loyal minister "Ohoshi Yuranosuke"! And he became the treacherous minister "Takashi Nao"!
The sudden swap of identities caused his brain to temporarily shut down.

No...I am the righteous one...I am the loyal minister...!
Before he could reach out and tear off the "white plain clothes" on his body, the "Oboshi Yuranosuke" in front of him had already stabbed out the knife in his palm -

Phew!

The blade of Vairocana pierced through his chest, from the tip of the blade to the guard.

This is a blow that no medicine can cure.

This is the decisive blow!
【Ding! 】

It was the system sound... After a moment, the long-lost system sound rang in Qing Deng's mind:

[Scan to talent]

[Beep, beep, beep! Successfully copied [Eternal Talent]: Careless Ghost Child]

[Talent introduction: Enter the "selfless state" at will. ]

[Ding! "The Careless Ghost Child" and "Innate Selfless Holy Body +7" can be fused! ]

[Ding! Talent fusion begins...]

【Ding! Talent fusion successful! 】

[“The Careless Ghost Child” is promoted to “The Careless Demon Child”! ]

[Talent Introduction: Enter the "selfless state" at will, and greatly reduce the burden of the "selfless state" on the body]

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This chapter has been brewing for a long time! I have been preparing for a long time! I wrote about 6K words in this chapter, and then I deleted and revised it to shorten it to the current length.

In view of the quality of this chapter, please be sure to vote for this book! (tearful leopard head.jpg)

Leopard Leopard has been striving for excellence!

Keep working hard to "write better battles"!
It is difficult to make new breakthroughs in the specific details of the battle, so we can only work on the "artistic conception".

I have been planning the duel in this chapter for a long time.

[Combining "decisive battle" with "Kabuki", letting Shuten-doji's consciousness repeatedly transform between "virtual" and "real", and finally die on the "stage"] - For this little bit of vinegar, I made a container of dumplings.

In view of the quality of this chapter, please continue to support Leopard! (tearful leopard head.jpg)