Japanese Terrorist: What? I'll fight Hellstar!

The courtyard of Guiku Temple is deep and quiet, with the shadows of ancient cypress trees lying obliquely on the mottled stone slabs.

Inside the abbot's meditation room, a wisp of smoke rose from the incense burner. The old abbot sat cross-legged on a futon, pushed a cup of tea in front of Yu Gonglin, and slowly recounted the origin of the Ear-Root Perfect Penetration Dharma.

"It is said that during the Dharma assembly, the Buddha asked the great Bodhisattvas and Arhats to recount how they had initially attained enlightenment through various methods of practice and from which root they had begun."

"A total of twenty-five saints rose to report, and they described their paths of cultivation from different perspectives, namely the six sense objects, the six sense organs, the six consciousnesses, and the seven elements. The Dharma described by Guanyin Bodhisattva is the 'Chapter on Perfect Penetration of the Ear Root' which starts from the ear root."

"Manjushri Bodhisattva stated directly: The true essence of the teachings in this world lies in the purity of hearing. He pointed out that the perfect penetration of the ear is most suitable for the capacities of sentient beings in this world. Why? Because we sentient beings have the sharpest ear, and our minds are most easily swayed by sound; we rejoice when we hear pleasant music and become angry when we hear harsh words..."

Yu Gonglin held his teacup, inhaling the rising steam, and nodded slightly.

More than twenty years of cultivation have given him a deeper understanding of this than anyone else.

"The essence of the Dharma Gate of Perfect Penetration through the Ear is to turn one's hearing inward to hear one's own nature, rather than simply hearing sounds. It should be understood that when ordinary people hear sounds, their minds follow the sounds, clinging to the quality, strength, and content of the sounds, thus falling into a cycle of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. Bodhisattvas turn their hearing inward, not clinging to the appearance of sounds, but instead observing the nature of the one who can hear the sounds."

"What is self-nature? Self-nature is the origin of all things, the essence that is neither born nor dies, neither increases nor decreases, also called Buddha-nature, true suchness, or original mind."

"What is hearing nature? Hearing nature is the manifestation of self-nature in hearing. It is the awareness of our original mind through the ear. It is neither born nor dies, and it does not change with the presence or absence of sound."

"The practice of the 'Perfect Penetration Through the Ear' method is to tame one's own hearing nature, shifting from chasing after external sounds to awakening one's own true nature, ultimately reaching the perfect state of cessation of birth and death and the manifestation of tranquility..."

While the abbot of Guiku Temple appears to be explaining the Dharma of perfect understanding through hearing to Yu Gonglin, in reality, the abbot is a manifestation of Yu Gonglin's Buddhist knowledge and cultivation. This discussion is Yu Gonglin's self-examination.

Light streamed in through the window.

The morning sunlight spilled over the mountain ridge and quietly enveloped the temple.

The milky morning mist began to drift, gradually thinning, revealing the clear outlines of the cypress branches and the original bluish-gray color of the damp stone slabs. The last few wisps of mist, like thin gauze, vanished silently upon touching the bronze bells at the corner of the palace.

Amamiya Rin's heart was filled with clarity, and the road ahead had unknowingly been cleared of all gloom.

In his mind, Murata Yukichi's theory of hypnosis presented a concrete path through Buddhist knowledge.

Sound has birth and death, but the nature of hearing has no birth and death. All beings share the same origin and are without distinction. The so-called nature of hearing is the auditory essence inherent in all beings. It is the manifestation of self-nature at the auditory level. When one awakens to self-nature, the sound emitted is no longer a simple sound wave, but a manifestation of self-nature, an outflow of mind and will.

When the Dharma Gate of Perfect Penetration through the Ear is perfected, all attachments to the perceiver, the perceived, and emptiness are completely severed, and one realizes the state of the extinction of birth and death and the manifestation of Nirvana. This causes all phenomena of birth and death—sound, consciousness, and thoughts—to disappear, leaving only the unborn, undying, perfectly pure self-nature.

At that time, Amamiya Rin's voice will be like the light of self-nature, illuminating the depths of the other person's consciousness, awakening the same self-nature in the other person, and making one's own will become the will of the goal.

Amamiya Rin had realized that Murata Yukichi's hypnosis was not simply a technique; he was manifesting his inner self through sound.

Not only Murata Tomokichi, but also those demons who use sound to manifest various kinds of magic, their power is a similar manifestation.

In other words, Murata Tomokichi's claim that his hypnosis is mind control is not entirely unfounded.

That's mind control! Using your powerful mind to influence the minds of others! All techniques and solutions are superficial; otherwise, they cannot affect the soul of the target.

Having seen the path ahead clearly, Amamiya Rin re-entered the world, using the myriad aspects of life to cultivate the Dharma of perfect understanding through hearing.

For Yu Gonglin, the practice of the Ear-Root Perfect Penetration Method was also an extremely difficult process.

Although Manjushri Bodhisattva called the Perfect Penetration Method of the Ear Root the most suitable and easiest method for ordinary people to cultivate, it is by no means easy to cultivate it to perfection, and the ultimate state is Buddhahood.

Even with decades of meditation experience, Yu Gonglin has no shortage of confidence in becoming a Buddha, but he must admit that with his level of understanding and experience, he is not yet able to achieve Buddhahood.

Fortunately, he doesn't need to cultivate to the point of perfect enlightenment and transcend the ultimate realm of the world; he only needs to reach the state of self-realization... perhaps?

Amamiya Rin wasn't sure either, because he was only using the theory of the Ear Root Perfect Penetration Method to create his own hypnosis technique, and he wasn't actually practicing Buddhism. The Ear Root Perfect Penetration Method recorded in Buddhist scriptures is considered supernatural and exaggerated.

The sixth stage is when birth and death cease, and Nirvana manifests, allowing the true nature of non-birth and non-death to be fully revealed. This is the key sign of seeing one's true nature and attaining enlightenment, and realizing the Samadhi of perfect understanding through the ear.

The seventh stage is when one suddenly transcends the worldly and otherworldly realms, breaks through the duality of birth and death and Nirvana, and is no longer attached to Nirvana, nor afraid of birth and death.

The eighth stage, Ten Directions Perfect Illumination, is complete and flawless, encompassing all realms of existence in the ten directions and three times, unobstructed and accessible, with the six senses interacting and pervading the entire realm, its wisdom and light illuminating the ten directions, seeing and knowing everything.

The ninth stage brings two extraordinary benefits: first, it unites with the original wondrously enlightened mind of all Buddhas in the ten directions, sharing the same compassionate power as the Buddha Tathagata; second, it unites with all sentient beings in the six realms in the ten directions, sharing the same compassionate aspiration as all sentient beings.

The tenth stage is the attainment of ultimate Buddhahood, where one's six senses are fully developed, one possesses supernatural powers, can manifest in thirty-two different forms, expound boundless and wondrous Dharma, and liberate countless sentient beings.

The first seven stages still have significance in spiritual practice, but the last three stages... if a Buddha or Tathagata truly succeeded in their practice, the universe wouldn't be so dark.

However, Amamiya Rin can understand; when it comes to spreading the teachings, one has to exaggerate their methods a bit.

Spiritual practice knows no time; once one is immersed in it, the hustle and bustle of the world and the measure of time lose their meaning.

He walked through the city streets, sat quietly in the mountains, and mingled with the crowds.

Year after year, I don't know how much time has passed.

Ten years? Twenty years? Or even longer?

In the dream world, the passage of time is inherently ambiguous, and for Amamiya Rin, who is immersed in cultivation, it is more like a blurred background.

The turning point occurred on an ordinary evening, when the setting sun painted the streets and alleys with a golden glow.

The giant electronic signboard began to flash, scrolling through images of idol groups and mobile games. Trams rumbled along the elevated tracks, their deep rumble creating a unique evening scene with the sounds of young people laughing and the weary silence of office workers.

Amamiya Rin walked down the street with a crepe in his hand. He did nothing special, just like any other ordinary person, no different from the men, women, young and old passing by.

He took a bite, and the sweetness melted on his tongue. In that instant, on this ordinary evening, suddenly, something was different.

In that instant, the arising and ceasing of sound and the unchanging nature of hearing are simultaneously and harmoniously presented.

A sense of annihilation, encompassing all sounds yet transcending the opposition of sounds, quietly spread from the depths of his heart like the surface of water.

The glitter of the GG brand, the clatter of heels hitting the ground, the whistling of the wind rushing through the gaps between buildings... all faded into transparent shadows at this moment.

Following this indescribable feeling, Amamiya Rin opened her mouth.

Instead of eating a crepe, he simply uttered a single syllable.

"Om—"

Like the morning bell of an ancient temple piercing through the city's sounds.

The busy office workers' brows furrowed slightly. A few students who had been arguing paused, then smiled with relief. A small dog on the street stopped barking and tilted its head in confusion.

The noise hadn't stopped, but all the sharp edges had been smoothed out, and a deep tranquility, like water seeping into the sand, slowly spread.

Amamiya Rin took another bite of the crepe.

"So sweet."

As if complaining about the taste of the crepe, Amamiya Rin walked into the twilight crowd, like a drop of water returning to the river.

Unlike Amamiya Rin, the other Tomies did not choose the path he took.

"That kind of thing is too troublesome."

Tomie, who was skilled in kendo, chose a more brutal approach.

Having tried thousands of times without success in implanting suggestions into her target through language alone, Tomie Kawakami gripped her katana.

The cold sharkskin handle pressed against her warm palm, and a sense of certainty, completely different from when she held a microphone or listened to her heartbeat, spread from her fingertips.

"Voice, breathing, aura... Didn't that person say that there's more than that? We can also enhance the suggestive effect through other factors, such as body language."

She muttered to herself, her beautiful face showing no sign of defeat, but rather a sharp, aggressive edge.

The path that Amamiya Rin chose was indeed ingenious and profound, but it was not suitable for her.

The penetration of sound, the resonance of emotions, the profound realization... all of that requires a very long period of reflection and very delicate observation.

Is she a person suited to Zen meditation?

of course not!

For her, what is the difference between studying Zen and abandoning the self?

So, what other methods are there to master Murata Tomokichi's mind control-level hypnosis?

Tomie Kawakami had a different idea.

What is the essence of hypnosis?

It is influence, it is letting a thought silently take root in the consciousness of others.

Sound is one of the methods, but it is by no means the only one.

What about visuals? What about body language? What about the primal fear aroused by that momentary sense of oppression and the threat of death?

Tomie Kawakami slowly drew her katana out a few inches.

The blade reflected the light from the window, its surface gleaming with a chilling hue.

Her gaze fell upon it, as if she were examining an instrument, an instrument more direct than any string or wind instrument.

She began to recall the kendo training experience she had shared with Amamiya Rin.

Without thought or desire, mind and sword become one.

When her opponent's blade came slashing down, she saw not only the blade itself, but also the trajectory of the strike, the direction of the killing intent, and the inevitable result at the end of the trajectory—death!

So, what about the reverse?

What if this perception of the trajectory and inevitable result of a strike were projected onto the opponent in some way?

It's not a real slash, but rather letting the opponent see the trajectory of the slash and feel the result of being struck.

—Seeing is feeling.

—When you become aware of the strike, your body will react with pain.

That's her voice, her hint.

The words are the arc of light drawn by the katana, the tone is the swordsman's refined aura and killing intent, the resonance is the reflection of the blade in the opponent's eyes, and the result is the low hum of the blade.

Tomie conducted new observations.

However, this observation was different from that of Amamiya Rin.

She observes people's micro-expressions when they are injured, and the hunched posture of their bodies when attacked. She even goes to medical school to observe surgery and watch the unconscious tremors of the human body when the blade cuts through the skin and separates the fascia.

It involves not only observation, but also practice.

She used bamboo knives, wooden knives, unsharpened real knives, and real knives to strike or slash various parts of the experimental subject's body with the same and different force and angles.

"When struck by a bamboo knife, it is a dull pain, accompanied by a large area of ​​shock and a burning sensation from subcutaneous bruising."

"The wooden knife is even worse; the pain is sharper, and there is a deep fear of the risk of bone fracture."

"An unsharpened real knife, first the pressure, then the excruciating pain of flesh being crushed by heavy metal."

"A sharp, real knife; the cold touch precedes everything, followed by intense pain."

……

She meticulously documented each combination of weapon, striking method, and affected part of the body, along with its specific pain description, physiological response data, and the core type of fear it triggered.

In addition to the slashing motions, there were also sounds.

She uses her profound vocal control to simulate various vocal tones that can enhance the imagery of slashing attacks.

Through repeated experiments, Tomie began to consciously integrate her breathing, aura, and the katana in her hand.

When she held the knife, her breathing was long and deep, resonating with her eyes, heartbeat, the rhythm of the blade, and the sound of the knife.

The oppressive aura gradually changes, becoming more than just a powerful aura exerting pressure on the target; it becomes directional, aggressive, and even has a strong presence.

The opponent's gaze was firmly drawn to the blade, not only by its cold glint, but also by the seemingly alive intent emanating from it.

Seeing a knife is like seeing the impending strike, causing a slight phantom pain.

After countless permutations and combinations, failures and adjustments, and data accumulation, the decisive moment is about to arrive.

The swordsman Tomie captured another Tomie who had nothing to do and forced her to become his experimental subject.

Tomie was naturally unwilling, but what could she do? She was no match for the swordsman Tomie, so she couldn't resist.

The blade sliced ​​through the air, producing a strange ringing sound. It wasn't any sound she deliberately imitated, but rather the perfect resonance of her breath, intention, muscle movement, blade vibration, and air friction at that moment.

It was clear and melodious, like a chime, yet it carried a resolute lingering resonance, as if severing everything.

The moment the sword rang out.

Tomie, who was the target, was neither hit by the bamboo sword or the wooden sword, nor touched by the real sword.

But she was struck as if by lightning, her whole body trembled violently, and a phantom pain, as if she had been cleaved by a red-hot blade, suddenly erupted from the top of her head to her brow!

She could even feel a soft "crack" from her skull, her vision went black, she staggered backward, and instinctively raised her hand to touch her unharmed forehead, but touched nothing, yet the pain felt all too real.

Tomie slowly sheathed her sword, the soft sound of the tsuba closing as the blade met the scabbard seemed to mark the end of this invisible strike.

Her unique hypnotic technique, the "Mind Slash," is complete.