Female Swordsman Training Dojo

On the shore of Osaka Bay, Harunobu was fast asleep, looking quite dangerous—if one ignored the blanket covering him.

Chapter 463

Ribbons, and wisps of mist floating faintly.

With the passage between the underworld and the mortal realm opened, Izanami could do more and consumed less energy. The priestess, on the other hand, relied on her recently completed Shikai and the results of her research on Zanpakuto, which made Izanami very jealous.

However, thinking back to what had happened before, Izanami felt no jealousy at all. After all, no matter how many or how valuable the gifts were, a shrine maiden was still an outsider. She was even worse off than Shiranui Ran; that big fox, aside from not having even reached first base yet, was practically Harunobu's woman.

"Hehehe~"

A smug, maniacal laugh suddenly rang out, causing the priestess to raise a ribbon and lash at the black mist beside her, not even bothering to say another word to this idiot.

Izanami dispersed the black mist to avoid the incoming ribbons, her face once again conjuring up a mocking expression: "Tsk tsk, it's not like you at all to be so concerned about someone else's husband, Asuka. How could our noble flower of the mountain act like a jealous woman..."

Hold back, don't take action.

The shrine maiden warned herself to avoid putting Harunobu in a difficult position later. However, faced with Izanami's increasingly mocking expression and tone, she couldn't help but retort coldly, "Is there a problem with me caring about my chief priest? But a noragami like you probably wouldn't understand this kind of relationship."

Izanami's face stiffened, but she quickly retorted, "Hehe, I haven't been a Grand Master; I can't compare to Lady Asuka's benevolence, I don't even know how many I've had."

Click.

The priestess crushed another teacup. Izanami's words were truly vicious. Those close to Harunobu knew that he possessed an extremely strong possessive streak towards his women; if Izanami's words were to take Harunobu's words to heart, their relationship would likely be stuck there.

Under the murderous gaze of the priestess, Izanami prepared to press her advantage and give her "good friend" a good thrashing.

Izanami had long been annoyed by Harunobu's previous attitude of treating Harunobu as one of her people. She was only doing this because she still needed her; otherwise, Izanami would have already asked, "Does Harunobu know how close he is to you?"

That's sure to produce some truly fascinating expressions...

While Izanami was excited, she suddenly looked at Harunobu. Her attention had been focused on Harunobu, so she noticed that something was wrong with him immediately.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

The shrine maiden, who was lying on top of Harunobu, naturally noticed that something was wrong with him, and because of the close contact, she discovered the problem even more clearly. Now, faced with Izanami's counter-accusation, she angrily pulled back some of the ribbons, releasing the black mist overflowing from Harunobu's body: "Shouldn't I be the one saying that? Izanami, you slut, what did you do to Harunobu?!"

Black mist emanated from Harunobu's body, quickly forming a dense cloud of black fog. No further testing was needed; this was clearly the corrupting power of Izanami!

"Impossible! I reclaimed all the power when I dispelled the possession, how could he still have it—" Izanami suddenly stopped exclaiming, her expression shifting between light and dark, looking more like the one who had collapsed from exhaustion.

"It seems you're confident now." The priestess raised her ribbon, avoiding the increasing black mist. She wasn't so much worried about her many skillful hands being corrupted, but rather about the negative effects of keeping it bottled up on Harunobu.

Izanami became serious: "The source of the underworld, besides me, is the only one that can generate this kind of pure, filthy power; but the source of the underworld cannot be connected with Harunobu. Even when it possesses me, it first transmits power through me, the whole time... no, not the whole time."

After Izanami finished speaking, her body, formed from black mist, suddenly dissipated, and even the black mist vanished without a trace. This sight infuriated the priestess. She could guess what Izanami was doing—most likely returning to the underworld to check on her origins—but her silence was infuriating!

Just as the priestess was considering whether to force her way into the underworld to check on the situation, Harunobu suddenly opened his eyes.

Are you alright? Is anything bothering you?

The shrine maiden's ribbons glowed with magical light, seemingly ready to heal Harunobu to the point of exhaustion if he asked. Harunobu was touched, but since he was fine, he shook his head: "I'm alright, or rather, I'm feeling much better—we'll talk about the specifics when Iori comes back."

Little Yi?

The shrine maiden popped a question mark into her head, completely unable to connect this adorable name with the woman Izanami. But the next second, the black mist swept in again, condensing into a voluptuous body that landed in Harunobu's arms.

"Harunobu~"

"Qingxin, what exactly happened?"

The priestess cast a spell first, interrupting Izanami's sickeningly sweet voice. Harunobu hugged Izanami a little tighter to calm her down, and then began to talk about serious matters: "Although I don't know much, I have established a certain connection with the source of the underworld. The corrupting power just now was the feedback from the source of the underworld."

"Hehehe, as expected of my husband~"

"Don't interrupt." The shrine maiden flung out two ribbons, which Izanami could dodge, but she wasn't going to do so now. Sure enough, Harunobu stepped in and blocked the ribbons for her, making her smile smugly. But then Harunobu pinched her cheek: "Be good, don't cause trouble."

"Yes~"

The priestess couldn't hold back any longer: "You're over a thousand years old, aren't you ashamed of this?!"

Izanami chuckled: "It's none of your business if my husband wants to watch!"

Harunobu never dreamed he would experience such a chaotic situation between the shrine maiden and Izanami. However, he had no interest in such things and quickly interrupted, "Alright, let's get down to business."

The priestess, seeing Harunobu holding Izanami protectively in her arms, felt a surge of anger and could only change the subject: "Isn't the source of the underworld supposed to be devoid of self-awareness? How could it actively form a connection with you?"

To discuss the so-called origin of the Yellow Springs, we must first mention the Yellow Springs themselves. In layman's terms, it is a "blessed land," or a naturally existing great barrier. In short, it is another world that is different from the present world but connected to it—in Japan, it is generally called the Hidden World.

The origin is the core of this world, like a protective barrier. Although the Yellow Springs origin, like the Yellow Springs themselves, is a special category within blessed lands, it has not yet reached the point of developing self-awareness.

In fact, there has never been such a precedent. Moreover, as the core essence, it only establishes a connection with its controller; in the case of Yomi, that would be Izanami. This control is absolute; even if Izanami herself wanted to directly transfer her power to Harunobu, she would need to make close contact through possession techniques—ultimately, she herself still serves as the relay point.

Therefore, it is truly unbelievable that Qingxin said he had established a connection with the source of the underworld.

“But that’s just how it is.” Qingxin shrugged helplessly. “Xiao Yi went back to check on things just now, and we even bumped into each other.”

"Hehe~" Izanami took the opportunity to nuzzle Harunobu's chest, giving the priestess a smug smile. "Speaking of which, I was the first one to control the source of the underworld, so I'm called the Mother of the Underworld; so the second one, Harunobu, should be called the... Child of the Underworld, right?"

The shrine maiden suppressed her urge to retort, pretending not to see Izanami's irritating expression: "Alright, but what does this have to do with your condition? Establishing a connection with the hidden source shouldn't affect your body, right?"

"Well, half of it is my own fault." Harunobu patted Izanami's sliding hand. "When I was knocked into the ground by the Heavenly King of Growth, I was too anxious and drew more power from the source of the underworld than my body could handle."

Chapter 464

They created that second form.

The priestess cleared up some of her doubts, but she wasn't completely relieved: "Then it should only be a physical problem. You looked visibly mentally exhausted before."

"Well..." Harunobu hadn't expected the shrine maiden to be so observant. After a slight hesitation, he explained, "When I established a connection with the source of the underworld, I also received a lot of information, including a lot of swordsmanship and combat experience, which had a certain impact on me. The advantage was that it helped me create a wind katana that truly belonged to me, but the disadvantage was that my brain was a bit overloaded, and later I had to force myself to fight against the King of Growth and use the secret techniques I had just developed."

Although Harunobu tried to downplay it, the shrine maiden immediately grasped the key point. Receiving a massive amount of information when establishing contact with the source of the underworld… that was the underworld, the only “hell” in Japan that had been devouring souls for millennia. The amount of information stored in its source was enough to drive even gods mad. How did Harunobu manage to survive?

Furthermore, how much experience and skill would be needed to allow a samurai of Taira no Harunobu's caliber to advance further on top of the profound swordsmanship of Kazeshin Retsuha? Surely there aren't any samurai in the underworld with swordsmanship even more exquisite than Harunobu's?

That's impossible. Judging solely by swordsmanship, Harunobu, capable of stirring up a storm with just his swordsmanship, is the first person the shrine maiden has ever seen. Even the first samurai in history couldn't do that. Because this is simply not the path of a traditional samurai! Traditional samurai pursue the sublimation of their minds, using this to intervene in reality!

Although Harunobu never said it, he never deliberately concealed it either. He was clearly pursuing the ultimate technique to obtain great power in a realistic way—and he did indeed succeed.

"Are you really alright? No, now that your condition has stabilized, let me give you a check-up." The shrine maiden's thousands of skillful hands began to move, reaching towards Harunobu.

"I should be fine. Although it was a bit uncomfortable at first, it's not a big deal after I got used to it." Qingxin didn't refuse. He was telling the truth. After all, apart from the first wave where he was a little overwhelmed, the rest of the time it felt pretty much the same as every time he drew a sword technique.

If his body hadn't been completely drained and corroded by excessive amounts of filthy power, nothing would have happened. Of course, without the mental shock, even with his weakened body, Harunobu could have held on for quite a while.

It can only be said that the two just happened to collide.

The shrine maiden finished her examination and found nothing wrong, but she was actually a little worried, as if she had vaguely forgotten something. In the end, all she could do was say, "Come back to me after you return to Tokyo."

"Oh? You finally couldn't hold on any longer? Then hurry back... Speaking of which, that doll you were in charge of, is it still not resolved?"

Upon hearing that the priestess was leaving, Izanami immediately jumped out, taunting the priestess like a female demon.

However, the shrine maiden had just groped Harunobu for quite some time, and in front of Izanami, so she wasn't angry at the moment. Instead, she gave him a pitiful look: "Heh."

With that laugh, ten thousand skillful hands vanished into the sky. Izanami, who had just been fuming, instantly changed her expression and threw herself into Harunobu's arms: "Hehe~"

Qingxin pressed down on the long-absent, lustful woman's large breasts: "Can't you think of something else—mmm."

Soon, the thick black fog swallowed them up in a passionate embrace.

……

At this moment, in Osaka.

Hirako was performing an unnecessary blood shock, with a mechanical doll neatly cut in two at her feet. Blood flowed from the mechanical pipes, as if praising the lightning-like strike.

That's right, Hirayukiko defeated the mechanical doll with a single blow. It was really not difficult at all; compared to the strength of the Growth King, these mechanical dolls were only the strength of ordinary elite-level yokai, and not even that cunning.

"Wind Blade... This doesn't feel right. What kind of move is it then?"

Hirako turned her head slightly and looked behind her. The almost solid Suzumura was tilting its head back and drinking the fine wine from the gourd, exuding an arrogant and unrestrained aura.

Looking at her own thoughts, Hirako felt somewhat dazed. Her exceptional talent allowed her to learn most of the basic techniques of the Eight Leaves One Sword Style while witnessing Harunobu's combat—which is why she so easily defeated the youth version of the Human God—but when it came to the ultimate techniques, she unusually found herself unable to grasp them.

This made her a little unhappy. After all, it was once again Shihan facing a powerful enemy alone. She wasn't even as capable as Yakumo Kurenai or Shiranui Ran in providing magical assistance to Shihan. She wanted to become stronger, preferably stronger than Harunobu, so that Harunobu wouldn't have to face danger anymore... or at least, wouldn't be alone anymore.

Yukiko quickly suppressed her melancholy thoughts and reported to Harunobu via telepathy. Then, she looked at the hostages approaching her and asked, "What's wrong?"

Her cold tone and indifferent expression made the hostages exchange bewildered glances. Finally, a few who looked like merchants mustered their courage and spoke up, "We would like to ask for your name, sir, so that we can thank you later."

This is from the bottom of my heart, after all, the youth version of the current god is truly inhuman; in order to control these hostages, it killed many of those who tried to resist and escape, not to mention the batch used to make an example of them when we first met.

“I am the instructor of Aozorakan. I have come here to exorcise the monster on the orders of our instructor, Taira Harunobu,” Taira Yukiko said skillfully. “If you want to thank someone, thank our instructor, Taira Harunobu. Well then, I have to go somewhere else. Excuse me.”

Hirako took a slightly heavier breath and hurried toward Minamoto Yukisakura amidst the thunder.

After her lightning-fast figure disappeared, a voice suddenly rang out from the crowd, who had been startled by the thunder: "I remember now! She's that one! The one who closed the Tenran Examination! Inamitsu Gozen of the Aozorakan!!"

"So it's Inamitsu Gozen! She's as dashing and powerful as her name suggests!"

A chorus of discussions and praises arose. Whether before or after, at least at this moment, these people were genuinely praising and admiring Hirako.

Amidst the cacophony of voices, Susanoo, standing behind Hirako, suddenly curled the corners of his lips and took another sip of sake.

Hirayukiko showed no reaction, focused solely on speeding towards Minamoto Yukisakura's location. It seemed she was the only one who hadn't yet resolved her objective; Shiranui Ran, who was also not within the Womb Realm Mandala, had received a completed answer from Yakumo Kurenai.

She should be alright, right?

The author says:

Author's Note: Drafts -4, no drafts left. Anyway, this chapter explains the previous outburst of power. Because of my limited writing skills, I couldn't smoothly insert the battle sequences without interrupting the flow of the story, and I'm truly sorry. As for tomorrow's update, I can only say I'll do my best… I really wanted to split this chapter into two, sob sob.

Chapter 435: The Celestial Being Who Changed Heaven and Earth

Yuan Xueying was not in any danger.

She was on the shopping street she had visited with Harunobu before, gazing at the nine-meter-tall, youthful version of the living god… or rather, it seemed like she was gazing at it. But if you looked closely, you would find that she seemed completely unfocused, giving off a lazy, vacant feeling.

In fact, that seems to be the case. After all, Hirayukiko and the others have already dealt with each other's opponents, while Minamoto Yukisakura hasn't even officially started fighting yet. Although only a minute has passed since the first mechanical doll entered the battle, it's still very strange.

These robotic puppets were deliberately released by the Tongxin Society. Besides buying time for their escape, they also served the crucial task of harassing Ping Qingxin. Once any one of them entered combat mode...

Chapter 465

The remaining puppets will prioritize attacking the hostages, creating sacrifices to annoy Hiraharu.

But this one stayed still for a full minute.

The reason, in essence, is that its "intelligent program" determined that the threat posed by the enemy in front of it had reached a point where it would die if it were distracted. Considering the primary objective of stalling for time, it chose to confront Yuan Xueying.

As the culmination of Tongxin Society's technological advancements in recent years, these youthful versions of modern gods do possess some intelligence, having been nurtured with a considerable amount of souls.

But none of that mattered to Yuan Xueying. She was currently immersed in her memories, which was also a summary of her trip to Osaka; although she had done almost nothing, she had observed a lot precisely because of this.

Her powerful talent of being one with nature allowed her to flip through the traces that Ping Qingxin had left in this world as if turning the pages of a book; the rough, thunderous breathing; the gentle, watery breathing; the wild, unrestrained yet ever-changing gale—the world before him was like a blank sheet of paper to be smeared on at will—although if it were him, he would probably prefer a girl with big breasts, a small waist, and a perky butt.

Yuan Xueying's lips curled slightly. This instantaneous change in aura did not escape the mechanical puppet's detection. It swiftly switched from a standing to a charging stance, rushing in front of Yuan Xueying and swinging its heavy iron fist. At the same time, dozens of muskets hidden within its body sprang out, unleashing a barrage of bullets upon Yuan Xueying.

Precise, sudden, and deadly!

That's the charm of machinery.

The hostages who were secretly watching this area couldn't help but gasp, and some even cried out in fear—but soon, the sounds of wind and thunder swallowed up the noisy atmosphere of the crowd.

Even more sudden than the mechanical doll's attack, Yuan Xueying's cherry blossom blizzard appeared beneath the doll's iron fist, along with countless cherry blossoms drifting in the wind. The dazzling, completely out-of-season pink snow stole everyone's attention. When they came to their senses, they only saw the giant steel doll slump to its knees, swallowed up by the pink cherry blossoms.

"It's still missing something... Harunobu could probably do it even more easily."

Yuan Xueying murmured, a slight smile appearing on her face: "But, all in all, it's a pretty good start."

Although she was imitating the path left by Qingxin, Yuan Xueying couldn't help but jump for joy after successfully changing the world for the first time. She childishly stomped her feet on the ground, barely suppressing the urge to jump, and at the same time decided on the path ahead.

"Once this is over, let's go find Taira no Harunobu and become his apprentice!"

Not far away, Arthur Artoria Pendragon calmly watched this side, and then, amidst the puzzled gazes of her knights, walked towards Minamoto Yuki Sakura.

The moment she spotted King Arthur, Yuan Xueying went on high alert, coldly looking at him: "Red Dragon Queen, what do you want?"

When not fighting, King Arthur remained polite and civilized. Faced with Minamoto Yuki's hostility, she stopped and calmly asked, "Where is Hiraharu Shin? I have something to discuss with him."

"..."

Yuan Xueying sized up the Red Dragon Queen, her keen senses allowing her to lower her guard slightly: "Qingxin isn't here. If you want to find him, please come back another time."

Minamoto Yukisakura was unaware that Harunobu had fully recovered, and of course, she couldn't allow the Red Dragon Queen to approach him. Even though they had cooperated before, Minamoto Yukisakura hadn't forgotten that she had just fought Harunobu fiercely, and it seemed she hadn't been at a disadvantage.

"Really? Then he's still on that bay... So he was the one who caused the commotion earlier, and he's injured?"

Just because Yuan Xueying didn't say anything doesn't mean the Red Dragon Queen couldn't guess. The battle between the Heavenly King of Growth and Qingxin was so obvious that anyone with sufficient strength could have noticed it with a little attention.