Female Swordsman Training Dojo

The sky draped the dimly lit shrine in a silvery hue. The priests had all gone home to rest, except for the shrine's chief priest, who only exchanged a brief glance with Harunobu from afar before turning away to attend to his duties.

It seems the shrine maiden's injuries are more serious than we thought.

Harunobu pondered for a moment, then pushed open the door of the shrine maiden's hut and sat cross-legged at the low table in the center of the hut.

"Wait a mininute……"

The shrine maiden spoke without looking up, her ten fingers moving back and forth across the ashy sword as if playing a zither, yet without making a sound, leaving Harunobu utterly bewildered.

However, Harunobu had no interest in discussing things he didn't understand. He simply accepted the pastries and tea offered by the paper figures and began feeding Yakumo Kurenai.

After some time, the shrine maiden put Asauchi aside, and the word "annoyed" appeared above her head, which surprised Harunobu—he thought the shrine maiden must have already figured out Asauchi's secret.

But it doesn't matter anymore.

Harunobu picked up the teapot and filled the empty teacup in front of the shrine maiden with hot tea, then began to talk about serious matters.

After some time again.

The shrine maiden, holding a teacup, exhaled a puff of white breath, her expression indifferent: "How come you always run into so many strange things, and you even dared to mate with that thing Izanami? Aren't you afraid that she'll suck your soul to the underworld?"

Harunobu watched as the images of [embarrassment and annoyance] and [surprise] flashed back and forth above the shrine maiden's head, completely baffled as to what she was thinking. Fortunately, the shrine maiden didn't seem to expect any answer from Harunobu; she was just talking to herself. Soon, she reached out her hand to Harunobu again: "Let me see if you still have any corrupting power. The Mother of the Underworld isn't someone you can just touch."

Harunobu obediently placed his right hand into the shrine maiden's outstretched palm. The smooth, tender touch stirred his heart, and his dragon immediately raised its head to press against Yakumo Kurenai's little bottom in his arms.

Uh……

I was a bit excited because I went into a lot of detail earlier. With a determined mind, Qingxin quickly brought the raging second son under control and calmed him down.

Only then did Harunobu have the mind to look at the shrine maiden, and found that she seemed unaware; the word "thinking" was still above her head, and her eyes were fixed on Harunobu's wrist, completely calm.

"Hmm... there's nothing left, but you've been a bit too indulgent. Don't do it for the next few days." The shrine maiden released Harunobu's hand and subtly placed her right hand under the low table—keeping it clenched into a fist.

"So, about Hong..."

"There's no way around it. Yokai are inherently linked to Izanami, especially since she's a yokai born from Izanami's essence. Unless she's killed, or Izanami herself gives up, she'll never be able to escape Izanami's influence."

Yakumo Kurenai's initially expectant expression instantly turned into utter disappointment. No one likes having their body controlled by someone else, especially a proud and confident genius like Yakumo Kurenai. It's not like the Tachibana family of three, who are originally one entity with three sides and can share sensations.

That wretched Izanami! She only lets you look, but never lets you have any pleasure!

Yakumo Kurenai gritted her teeth.

At this moment, Harunobu spoke up: "But surely the great priestess has a way to prevent this, right?"

After all, they're supposed to be watching the show.

The shrine maiden pursed her lips. She had originally wanted to tease the fox who had caused her so much trouble a little longer, but since Harunobu had already said so…

A group of paper figures carried out a fox-shaped jade pendant and presented it to Harunobu. The shrine maiden explained, "This is something I got from Tamamo-no-Mae before. It has a similar power to the Sessho-seki. Wearing it will weaken your various abilities as a fox demon, but it will also provide you with a very strong layer of protection."

Yakumo Kurenai's eyes lit up: "Does that mean I won't have my body stolen by Izanami?"

The priestess blinked and said with a slight smile, "That way, when Izanami takes over your body, she won't be able to completely block out your senses."

Yakumo Akane's face fell, revealing a foxy expression.

Harunobu chuckled and pinched her cheek: "Silly girl, can't you tell the priestess is joking with you?"

Yakumo Kurenai's face flushed bright red as she argued defiantly, "I...of course I know! I was just playing along, yes!"

"I think someone isn't trying to play along with my act; they just want a certain playboy to pay more attention to her and comfort her," the priestess said with a smile, then added, "Besides, while this pendant won't prevent Izanami from taking over your body, it will at least make it require more than twice the effort for her to do so; given her current sealed state, she shouldn't waste her power so often on something like this... Hmm, probably not?"

The shrine maiden was so insecure just from hearing Harunobu's brief description. Harunobu and Yakumo Kurenai, who had personally experienced it, were naturally even more insecure—even though it was indeed very enjoyable.

"Alright, have you all resolved your issues? Then don't bother me here anymore, I still need to continue my research!" The shrine maiden began to shoo them away rather rudely, and Harunobu obediently got up with Yakumo Kurenai in his arms.

Then he took out the [Box Weapon - Swift] that he had drawn before from the system and put it on the table: "I came in a hurry and didn't bring much money. Do you think this can be used to pay off my debt?"

Although it's unclear when it started, the shrine maiden often gave Harunobu credit or even free services, which Harunobu readily accepted. But today was different; after all, Harunobu hadn't forgotten what the older sister, Yakumo Kurenai, had mentioned about "offering money" during their previous battle. The meaning of this term was so obvious, there was no ambiguity, and it also explained why the shrine maiden was so "greedy."

Therefore, Harunobu felt that he could no longer take advantage of others so brazenly.

Upon seeing Harunobu's actions, the shrine maiden was visibly taken aback. Then, she reached out her left hand and poked at the small box in front of her, only to be surprised to see that the box shook but did not open.

Qingxin explained, "I obtained this by chance. It is said that it can only be opened with a special flame. After opening, it can transform into a special weapon or even a living creature depending on the flame. However, I don't know how to control fire, and ordinary magical flames have no effect, so there's no use for me keeping it."

The shrine maiden's heart stirred slightly, and then she picked up the [Box Weapon - Swift]: "This isn't enough to pay off the debt, Harunobu."

"I'll finish it as soon as possible." Harunobu nodded and took a step back. "Goodnight, priestess."

Goodnight, Qingxin.

Watching Harunobu push open the door and leave, and seeing through the gaze of the divine messenger that Harunobu and the others had completely left the shrine, the shrine maiden took out her right hand, which had been hidden under the table, and slowly spread it out on the table.

A foul, black mist rose from her hand, its dim yellow light shining through the darkness, accompanied by a triumphant laugh: "You're still the same as before, Asuka."

"You've changed quite a bit." The priestess coldly looked at the dark mist in her hand, which had a dim yellow hue, and uttered a clearly malicious word, "Bitch."

Izanami wasn't angry at all; instead, she laughed even louder: "Yes, we have to thank Taira no Harunobu for this; oh my, I never thought mating could be so comfortable—especially considering that it was stolen from someone else, tsk tsk tsk."

Ame-no-Mikoto's eyes twitched slightly, and a beam of white light burst from her left hand, about to extinguish the black mist of Izanami. However, the words spoken by the Mother of the Underworld made her stop.

"You deliberately kept me here without letting Harunobu know, is it because you want to cooperate with me?" Izanami's confident tone displeased Amaterasu no Mikoto, but she couldn't refute it.

Izanami continued, "Well, the only things around here that would leave you helpless are this box on the table and the sword next to you... The box was just given to you by Harunobu, so that must be the sword?"

"what do you want to do?"

"This knife needs..."

Chapter 388

True power requires intense spiritual strength and desire—that is, strong will.

“And you’re unwilling to kill people to collect souls, and you don’t have that many suitable subjects.” Izanami clicked her tongue, making one almost imagine her shaking her head as she spoke.

Before Amaterasu could lose her temper, she readily agreed: "Alright, we can cooperate. I will provide you with an absolutely clean, qualified soul and even other support, but..."

"I can't give you the knife," Tian Dian Nu Ming said coldly, "not even the box."

"Hey, I'm just a mother who wants a little gift from my son. You don't have to be so unreasonable, do you?"

"No, it just won't work."

After a brief standoff, Izanami reluctantly gave in first: "Fine, I can do without these two originals, but you must give me a copy of the results of your research."

Tenden no Mikoto's eyes flickered for a moment before she slowly nodded: "Yes, but only for those successful ones for which you have provided assistance."

“…I take back what I said before, you’ve changed too.” Izanami sighed, seemingly helpless. “Deal.”

The pitch-black mist suddenly expanded, then suddenly contracted. In the blink of an eye, dozens of points of light appeared in front of Amaterasu no Mikoto, and she collected them into a transparent glass bottle.

"This should be enough for now. If you need more next time, you know how to contact me—alright, I should go find my dear son and have some fun now~"

The black mist vanished in a flash.

The priestess stared at her white palms for a long time, then her rosy, thin lips parted sharply and forcefully, uttering a single word: "Bitch!"

Hahaha—faint laughter rang out again, then vanished completely before the priestess could unleash her fury.

The author says:

Author's Note: 2k9, or maybe 3k ( ) The black monkey defeated the centipede demon. The third stage of the "Pinch Mom" ​​skill is truly shameless. I can only go get the magic weapon.

Chapter 360: Preparing to Depart

May arrived amidst the terrifying life of being exploited by Izanami for entire days every few days. All the things that Shiranui Ran and Harunobu had mentioned earlier had come to fruition. The name "Tongxin Hui" (Union Society) quickly became the talk of the town—a topic of conversation across all social classes.

After all, nearly 60,000 people were actually killed in the bombing of Tokyo this time, and they were all high-ranking people or even "Celestial Dragons". Some people were angry, some were afraid; some were sad, some were secretly happy; what remained unchanged was the recognition of the extent of the Tongxin Society's madness.

Even those who think the superior beings and the celestial beings died well and wonderfully can't help but worry that one day they too will be blown to heaven in one breath.

As a result, Taira no Harunobu and Aozorakan once again topped the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's trending searches. Countless media reporters attempted to interview Harunobu, ultimately forcing him to close his doors to visitors and only publish one more interview in his old friend, the magazine "Seokyuu." However, there wasn't much to say; it was all high-sounding writing, with some added personal touches that suited Seokyuu's tastes—for example, the reason Harunobu was able to kill his enemy with his body ravaged by the explosion was because he thought of his disciple (female) and his wife (female).

Believe it or not, quite a few people actually believed it. And these weren't just ordinary people who didn't know anything about it, but rather the remaining samurai in Tokyo—ordinary swordsmen and samurai who hadn't yet truly mastered the power of mind and therefore had exaggerated its influence to an unrealistic degree.

But all of this was useless, since Harunobu didn't accept men. Even if someone tried to emulate the ancient scholar Cheng Men Li Xue, as long as Inamitsu Gozen went out for a stroll, those guys would be so frightened by his cold and thunderous aura that they wouldn't dare to utter a single word.

Even so, the outer sect is now incredibly popular. Besides the dozen or so ninjas from Shiranui, there are over fifty more ordinary disciples. This is only because Harunobu later limited enrollment; otherwise, the number would probably be several times higher.

But that would go against Qingxin's own wishes. While he did want to revitalize Qingkongguan and strengthen the Tianran Qingxinliu school, the premise was that he wouldn't exhaust himself or his wife to death. Moreover, while his harem was fine, if ordinary disciples used the name of Qingkongguan to swindle and commit evil deeds, the problem would become very troublesome.

Even though there are now Shiranui ninjas and cat-like creatures trained by them, patrolling everywhere and ensuring that all those who commit crimes can be dealt with, there's a big difference between fixing things after they happen and never having any problems in the first place.

In fact, Qingxin has spent almost all the free time she has had in the past month or so on working on this matter.

Fortunately, the result was good. After kicking out those guys who had decent talent but poor character, Aozorakan's reputation rose significantly again.

In addition, after so long, another main quest has been completed, which is the [Main Quest: Fully Armed] which requires equipping the disciples.

Now, in addition to Hirayukiko, Hosho Amu, and Koneko, the Tachibana family of three; Hanazawa Nana and Saten Yoko; Tsuchimikado Haru and Fujiwara Kaguya, the seven have also been equipped with suitable demon swords without the influence of remnant souls, greatly increasing their strength.

In addition, all the study points he had accumulated during this period, including those he obtained from the previous Qingxin mission, were invested in the dojo facilities.

The [Barrier] has now been upgraded to the maximum level of five. In addition to [Vigilance] and [Blockage], it now also has three other effects: [Rejuvenation], [Calm Mind], and [Hidden World], which provide sustained healing, mental tranquility, protection from prying eyes, and limited invisibility, respectively. And all of them are at level three.

According to Yakumo Kurenai, "Did you bury Izanami underground as a talisman for such an outrageous barrier?"

While this is a huge exaggeration, if Izanami were truly used as a protective charm, its effects would be far more than just this. However, it does demonstrate the strength of the Aozorakan Great Barrier. Harunobu doesn't need to worry about anything even if he leaves; although, in the first place, there was no need to worry, since the Womb Realm Mandala remains effective even across the entirety of Japan.

Of course, even though all her study points were used up, Qingxin still managed to draw a card once, as a reward from the [Main Quest: Transcendence] challenge, which guaranteed an SSR-level sword technique!

Qingxin had bathed and burned incense, then hugged the kitten and absorbed good luck for several hours. He then bathed and burned incense again before going to draw.

The sword technique I drew is called: Eight Leaves One Blade Style - Second Form - Gale - Ultimate!

Yes, it's the legendary "Eight Leaves One Blade, Cursing Wives and Daughters" style. But Qingxin isn't worried about that. After all, you can see from the life trajectory of the original protagonist, known as the Imperial Peach Blossom Sword, that as long as he has a harem, he can avoid cursing his wife to death. His unfortunate senior brothers and master only had one wife, which is why they met such tragic ends.

Although it seems like this might have a side effect—that I might suffer a tragic fate—it doesn't matter. I'll just beat up anyone who dares to cause trouble.

As for the benefits of the Eight Leaves One Sword Style, the most obvious one is that Harunobu's control over the Wind-Controlling Sword Technique has become increasingly proficient. After all, the Eight Leaves One Sword Style is a classic "all-purpose sword technique" in Japanese games, which directly includes mature energy manipulation skills—after all, two of the seven forms of the Eight Leaves One Sword Style are specifically for manipulating energy, although Gale is not one of them, it still involves some aspects of it.

So now he can truly call himself the Sword Saint of Wind, the Happy Wind Man.

Death is like the wind, but it always lags behind me.

Another aspect is the study of swordsmanship and sword principles.

In the original work, the Eight Leaves One Blade Style is said to have seven forms, each capable of enabling the swordsman to reach the "realm of reason" and become a sword saint. And what level is a sword saint in the original work?... They can slice through tanks with a basic attack, dismantle Gundams with their bare hands; even a powerful machine capable of leveling a fortress with a single blow wouldn't dare to challenge them.

Chapter 389

It is said that he can easily crush a sword saint.

This is what our Japanese RPGs look like. (JPG)

Unfortunately, the reason why the Eight Leaves One Blade Style sword saint is so powerful is due to another fundamental setting in the original work: "orientation power," combined with the superhuman physical attributes honed through long-term training. While Harunobu's physical attributes are barely acceptable, he lacks orientation power, which is why his current strength doesn't quite reach the level of superhuman abilities described in the original work.

If we go all out, we can barely crush half a street, right?

Without actually trying it, Harunobu can't say for sure.

In short, Harunobu was becoming increasingly confident about the job in Osaka.

And it seems the time is almost up.

Harunobu turned to look at the entrance of the main dojo. Shiranui Ran happened to be entering and was slightly startled by Harunobu's perfectly timed turn and his calm and detached demeanor. She then said naturally, "The team roster has already been uploaded and can't be changed."

"Yes, yes; so when do we depart?"

"This is your decision, Section Chief."

"This is what Ms. Ran Shiranui, the special advisor of the Anti-Magic Department, said with a sigh."

Volume Four

Chapter 361: Target! Osaka!

On the last day of May, the train traveling along the Tokaido Main Line finally arrived in Osaka. Accompanied by the train whistle and the loud announcements from the "attendants" dressed in blue, large-collared suits, passengers, whether crammed into the cramped, dark freight cars or the passenger cars with just a few extra seats, all poured out of the train with a sigh of relief.

Amidst this sardine-like rush, something unusual stood out. It was the distinguished guests strolling out of spacious, comfortable VIP carriages, furnished with luxurious furniture—almost like hotel rooms. Their slow pace was particularly striking compared to the hurried pace of the others.

However, these people were not satisfied with the journey. After all, although the VIP carriages were indeed well-decorated and comfortable, comparable to luxury hotels, the bumpy and noisy trains of this era were still an unsolvable problem. For these big shots accustomed to a life of luxury, such expensive tickets, which ordinary people could only dream of, were still somewhat uncomfortable.

This was also the case for Qingxin; it was his first time riding a train. Before boarding, he thought it would at least be comparable to the old-fashioned green trains, if not the high-speed trains of his past life.

The result was that, apart from having more private space and tastier train bento boxes, it couldn't compare in any way. And these were things that Qingxin had only gotten by spending a lot of money. If he had been willing to spend that much money in his previous life, he could have enjoyed even better service.

“It’s really disappointing.”

Harunobu shook his head, attracting many glances, some approving and some dissatisfied. However, upon seeing the sword at his waist, they all obediently looked away, and even the others behind him avoided him with awe.

"I think you're not disappointed in anything else, but rather disappointed that the train's soundproofing is so poor that it doesn't allow you to indulge in your wild side," said Miss Shiranui Ran, who also served as a special advisor for the Anti-Magic Class. She had seen Harunobu and his wives flirting quite a bit along the way, which was really bothering the fox.