Female Swordsman Training Dojo

As he swallowed, the wide-open longan came into contact with the fragrant saliva of Shiranui Blue, and an even stronger pleasure surged into Harunobu's brain, almost causing him to lose his mind.

Fortunately, he had already experienced the pleasure of soul fusion and spiritual union, which allowed him to barely maintain his composure and avoid turning into a mad beast consumed by desire.

The art of charm is terrifying.

The author says:

Author's Note: Update progress 21/30. The big fox will be devoured later; this is just a small appetizer for now. Also, the parts about Tokyo University in this chapter are just overlapping armor; there will be no map change and no hidden meanings. It's purely to show that there are no potential problems in the later plot, so please don't overinterpret it.

Chapter 493: Now that things have come to this, let's...

After tidying himself up a bit, Harunobu led Shiranui Ran, who had put her mask back on, to the Ame-no-Tama-no-Mikoto Shrine. The shrine maiden looked over with a calm expression, her gaze fixed on Shiranui Ran.

Although the mask concealed her face, the lingering blush on Shiranui Ran's cheeks remained hidden, but her soft, watery gaze and the intensely intimate posture of her almost pressing her entire body against Harunobu subtly revealed the changing nature of her relationship with him.

The shrine maiden sighed softly: "Harunobu, did you come here to show off on purpose?"

Despite saying this, the shrine maiden's gaze remained fixed on Shiranui Ran. Clearly, she assumed the person showing off was some long-lost great fox.

Although Shiranui Ran didn't know Harunobu's strategy, she was no pushover and never backed down from a challenge. She immediately hugged Harunobu even tighter.

Harunobu also tightened his embrace around Shiranui Ran's slender waist and sat down opposite the shrine maiden. Izanami, pouting, floated out of the air, transforming into a tiny doll and landing in Harunobu's arms. Minamoto Yuki, who arrived a step later, could only occupy Harunobu's left hand and picked up the teapot to pour him water.

Amidst the gentle lapping of water, Harunobu spoke up: "No, it was Ran who brought us important intelligence, from Princess Mitsuki."

The witch's expression hardened, and she finally shifted her gaze from Shiranui Ran: "What information? Amaterasu finally couldn't resist starting to suffer?"

Amaterasu's current strength is not at its peak, mainly because she lacks a physical body. And the most suitable candidate is Misuru-hime! Once Amaterasu takes over Misuru-hime's body and completes the physical transformation, her strength will experience a leap forward!

Based on the shrine maiden's experience, it could become at least a third stronger!

“Not this, but perhaps worse.” Harunobu took the teacup from Minamoto Yukisakura and took a sip, then accepted the strawberry daifuku from Shiranui Ran. “That Amaterasu guy is planning to win over the hearts and minds of the people and gain their faith by waging war!”

Harunobu swallowed the daifuku in two gulps and repeated the information brought by Shiranui Ran to the shrine maiden. Minamoto no Yukizakura and Izanami had already learned about it at the same time as Harunobu, so they just kept feeding him. Only Shiranui Ran was still relatively inexperienced and couldn't get a chance to feed him, so she could only help Harunobu fill in the gaps in his knowledge.

Soon, after the detailed intelligence was given, Harunobu had already started eating his third plate of daifuku.

The shrine maiden stroked her teacup, her delicate eyebrows furrowing: "That's just like Amaterasu's personality. She really is capable of doing something like this... Or rather, the reason she proposed that bet was to distract us."

After swallowing the last strange-looking wasabi daifuku, Harunobu patted his stomach: "Whether that guy did it or not is another matter. What we need to think about now is how to stop her, right?"

Yuan Xueying brought the tea to Qingxin's lips and suggested, "Why don't we just make it public? The public probably doesn't like war, right?"

“Then you’re wrong.” The royal ninja shook his head and explained to the somewhat naive Minamoto Yuki Sakura, “Right now, most people in this country crave war; the army craves military achievements, politicians seek political accomplishments; the emperor hopes to expand the territory, and the people thirst for plunder—our husband, a samurai who doesn’t want war, is the minority.”

The main reason was the previous resounding victory in the Korean War, coupled with the advancement of industrialization, which gave the Japanese a widespread illusion that they could definitely win the war and that victory would bring immense satisfaction. This illusion, when accumulated, led to the emergence of right-wing militaristic tendencies in Japan, making it impossible to expect public opinion to oppose the war.

Yuan Xueying wasn't stupid; she had just gotten into the "everyone around me is XX" trap after spending too much time with Qingxin and the others. After Shiranui Lan pointed it out, she immediately realized, "Indeed, even the lawyers at my law firm discuss the benefits of war."

Izanami picked up the conversation: "Besides, even if public opinion is really anti-war, it's useless. When have those people in the military ever cared about domestic public opinion or resistance?"

While ordinary Japanese citizens might not have cared much about war, the Japanese military seemed to crave conflict at every turn. With industrialization, the successful invasion of South Korea, and a deeper understanding of Western history, they increasingly sought to replicate it.

Of course, there are definitely minorities among the groups mentioned above, but they are minorities precisely because they are ineffective. A soldier may not want to fight, but what can he do if his superior orders him to? Even if he dares to resist, it would only mean another soldier being imprisoned or executed in the army.

"Furthermore," the priestess drew Harunobu and the others' attention back, "don't forget about the gods who surrendered in various places. Harunobu, didn't you say before that their surrender was too easy? Perhaps they were simply waiting for an opportunity to ambush us?"

"You mean..." Harunobu became serious, "that they've colluded with Amaterasu? But how could that be?"

Amaterasu is destined to be the only god; why would the other gods, given a choice, run off to be her dog?

The priestess calmly shook her head: "That was indeed the case before, but if Amaterasu intends to start a war, then the situation will be different."

"Japan's population limits the capacity for religion, but if Amaterasu can take over more territory and population, then even if we have to be her dog, we can continue to grow stronger."

"Furthermore, it is easier for them to do something underhanded in places far from the Japanese mainland. In other words, they have retained a certain degree of autonomy. What they have lost is just a title—it hurts, but it is not unacceptable."

"In this way, Amaterasu and those of us who have strict requirements and restrictions on the gods' manipulation of humanity have the qualifications to compete; in fact, in the eyes of some gods, they may even prefer to be a local tyrant without the name of a god, but with the 'realm of a god'."

"Tsk..." Harunobu clicked his tongue. "So now we have to be wary of those surrender factions' backstabbing and sneak attacks, and at the same time, we have to go against public opinion and popular sentiment to stop Amaterasu's war plan?"

“This is Amaterasu’s plan.” The petite Izanami sat in Harunobu’s lap and said helplessly, “Otherwise, her bloodline wouldn’t have become the ruler of mortals in the end.”

Just as the cabin fell silent, the door opened again, and Artoria walked in: "I have a suggestion regarding what we've been discussing."

"Don't be like those idiots and keep me in suspense." Harunobu squeezed Artoria's outstretched hand, completely enveloping her strong, elastic palm. "What method?"

Artoria gracefully nestled into Harunobu's arms, smiling as she flattened the petite Izanami, and cheerfully offered her suggestion: "Attack the Church of Christ."

"what?"

Harunobu stared in surprise at the Englishman with long, fiery red hair and an exotic air.

"What do you mean 'huh'? I'm not Catholic or Orthodox, so attacking them is perfectly reasonable."

Chapter 532

"Right!" Artoria said confidently, lying in Harunobu's arms.

Haruno couldn't help but pinch her proud little face: "What about the Puritan Church?"

Artoria became even more self-righteous: "I'm a Celt! Of Irish descent! Isn't it perfectly natural for me to attack the British church?"

Indeed, the British’s blatant disrespect towards the Irish gave all Irish people a moral pretext for declaring war.

"But what's the use of that?"

"You won't admit you're stupid..." Artoria raised both hands, clenching her right fist and slapping her left. "Send those surrenderers to attack the Church. If they don't do their best, they're traitors..."

Artoria's right hand was slapped away by the sudden black mist, and the petite Izanami lunged at her pretty face with bared teeth and claws.

Artoria continued calmly, "If they go all out and wipe out the Christians, not only will our territory expand, but Amaterasu, as the ruler of Japan, will also face the threat of those monotheistic fools in the West."

The Red Dragon Queen exhaled dragon breath, forcing Izanami to dodge. At the same time, she lowered her left hand, hooked it around Harunobu's neck, and pressed his head down.

"Hmm~"

"Aaaaah! You stinky lizard! Let go of my husband—" The petite Izanami pounced into Artoria's hair and started tearing at it with all her might—she was putting on a great show.

Chapter 494: Hidden Village

Artoria's suggestion enlightened Harunobu and his companions, opening a door to a new world. Indeed, if Amaterasu could use the invasion of other countries to suppress them, why couldn't they use other countries to suppress Amaterasu? Of course, even so, Harunobu had no intention of becoming a traitor—at least not for the foreigners.

Of course, it's impossible to expect Amaterasu to surrender based solely on this. After all, the West isn't completely united, and this isn't the Middle Ages anymore; the Pope's authority isn't necessarily that useful—besides, there's more than one pope now.

There's no need to go into detail about these points. In short, while this suggestion is good, it can only solve the problem of the surrender faction. Amaterasu's war plans still need to be closely monitored.

Satisfied with the plan, Harunobu left the shrine maiden's hut and returned to the Aozora Mansion. Artoria and Izanami were deciding the order of the evening's events through a duel, Ran Shiranui was tidying up her room which she hadn't used in a long time, and Yuki Sakura Minamoto went to practice her "Natural Haruno-ryu" swordsmanship; finally, the lonely Harunobu was left to wander around the dojo, eventually ending up at the Aozora Mansion's dust-making site.

The long-absent but actually hardworking construction team is diligently carrying out construction. A seemingly ordinary torii gate is 99% complete thanks to their efforts, with only a few final steps remaining.

This is a special gym facility, a reward for completing a main quest challenge.

Qingxin opened the panel and switched to the "Completed" section:

Main Quest: Expanding Territory

[Mission Description: The world's number one dojo cannot be confined to one place. It's time to let people outside of Tokyo bask in the glory of the world's number one dojo! Please establish branch dojos in at least three cities outside the city where your main dojo is located, and make them at least somewhat famous!]

[Task Rewards: 1000 Study Points, Dojo Level Up by 1]

[Challenge Reward: Achieve resounding reputation for all gyms in the local area, and receive the special gym facility blueprint 'Vanish' as ​​a reward]

[Current progress: 3/3]

This main quest was actually completed a few days ago, and even exceeded expectations. After all, the branch offices run by Yakumo Kurenai, Koneko, and Hirai Sachiko alone were already full, and the places where Hojo Amu and Sanada Maya were located were no less impressive, just not as extreme.

The reason why Qingxin pays so much attention to it is, of course, because of its effectiveness.

【Hidden Village - Special】

The torii gates that randomly appear in unusual locations may look quite ordinary, but they possess a strange attraction in the eyes of some, drawing people closer and through them without them even realizing it.

[Special Effect: Spending Study Points unlocks the entrance to Hidden Village]

[Level 3 Special Effects: The Hidden Village will be completely isolated from all connections with reality.]

When Qingxin first saw the effect, her immediate reaction was: "Holy crap, Purple Old Lady fdghjklkhfkgk—"

Ahem, in short, some electronic Viet Cong should be able to quickly understand the effects of this dojo facility. The average person can think of it as a hidden world, a demi-plane, belonging to Seishin. Furthermore, upgrading it to level three can sever the connection between anyone entering it and the real world.

That's right, it can directly remove Amaterasu's one-sided damage transfer to believers, so Harunobu can have an absolutely equal battle with her—if Amaterasu is stupid enough to walk in.

Although the torii gate looks ordinary, it looks strange standing in the Aozorakan. Even though Harunobu deliberately placed it in front of the Izanagi Shrine, it stands out even more against the backdrop of the other torii gates.

Moreover, it's not as simple as just passing through the torii gate to enter the Hidden Village; you have to spend study points to open the entrance first. Fortunately, the fee isn't expensive; 100 points will open it for an hour.

Harunobu opened the gate for an hour, and then, in the center of the torii gate, the space seemed to be sliced ​​open by some sharp blade, creating a crack. The crack slowly opened, revealing a dark and chaotic scene inside, with countless scarlet eyes turning within, all looking towards Harunobu outside the crack.

???

Harunobu stared wide-eyed, carefully examining both ends of the gap. After confirming there were no ribbons, he looked inside. Unfortunately, no seventeen-year-old blonde beauty with a parasol jumped out.

Harunobu waited for a while, but didn't sense any danger or see a train fly out, so he went inside. In an instant, a feeling of dizziness overwhelmed Harunobu's mind. Although he quickly regained his composure and overcame the vertigo, the scenery in front of him had changed from terrifying chaos and darkness to a beautiful landscape of green mountains and clear waters.

To the left of Qingxin is a clear green river that encircles a neatly arranged rice paddy. A village with only a dozen or so thatched houses is surrounded by a fence, but there is no sign of human habitation. To the right of Qingxin is a verdant mountain, with lush broad-leaved trees standing tall on it, where birds and animals roam in harmony.

"Is the system really going to send me to Gensokyo?" Harunobu stared at the shrine in the center, nestled between the village and Aoyama, unsure whether to hope or fear that Hakurei would appear on the sign.

However, he couldn't just stand there and look without moving, so Harunobu went to the shrine that was not far away. The sign on it was blank, or rather, it was waiting for Harunobu to name it and establish a connection with it.

The specific method wasn't complicated; Harunobu, who had already established contact with the core of Yomi, understood it immediately upon seeing it. Although it wasn't the Gensokyo he was looking for, it was quite nice as his own Gensokyo.

Then there's no need to worry about the name anymore.

The moment Haruka made up her mind, the words "Gensokyo" automatically appeared on the previously blank sign, and the empty, desolate, and deserted shrine suddenly came to life, as if it had transformed from a barren mountain into a bustling street.

At the same time, Qingxin also received feedback from this hidden core and understood the specific ability here - that is absolute adaptability!

Regardless of its nature, as long as Harunobu is willing to expend his power, he can create the most suitable living environment for anything that enters this place. From mountains and rivers to volcanoes and seabeds, from the ground to the sky, everything is limited only by the power Harunobu provides, or by the points he earns through diligent study. Furthermore, Harunobu can cancel all of this at any time, but the expended power can only be returned at most half, not completely.

Chapter 533

It's not worth it.

Of course, as a "village," Gensokyo has a limited capacity; at level one, it can only hold one hundred people. This number isn't even enough to accommodate everyone at the Aozorakan, so Harunobu can easily upgrade it with a wave of his hand.

[Should I pay 2000 Study Points to upgrade Hidden Village/Gensokyo?]

The mechanical voice of the system interrupted Harunobu's boastful spirit. Although Harunobu could afford it now, upgrading a gym facility from level one to level two normally only costs 500 points!

Are even the facilities at this special dojo special? ...Even the Sculptor's Idol is this special!

However, considering the special effects of Gensokyo Level 3, Harunobu reluctantly paid 2,000 points and tried to upgrade to Level 3, only to receive another notification:

[Should I pay 5000 Study Points to upgrade Hidden Village/Gensokyo?]

No, buddy?

Look, my dojo level has increased, the number of disciple slots has increased to 40, and I can earn at least 200 points every day, so the numbers are starting to inflate, right?

Qingxin looked at his remaining single-digit study points and reluctantly chose "no".

Then he reopened the quest panel and looked at the last main quest:

Main Quest: Innovation and Renewal

[Task Description: As the number one dojo in the world, we cannot be complacent with our existing swordsmanship traditions. We should always maintain a spirit of progress, constantly refining and innovating our techniques. Please upgrade the number of swordsmanship traditions within our dojo to at least 20.]

[Task Reward: 1000 Study Points]

[Challenge Rewards: Create your own sword technique and inherit it. Rewards include one chance to draw from the corresponding shop (guaranteed sword technique). For more than 10 self-created sword techniques, an additional chance to draw from the shop (guaranteed SR-level or higher item or sword technique) will be awarded.]

[Current progress: 20/20]

The task can be submitted now, but the challenge reward hasn't been claimed yet. Of the 20 sword techniques, only 4 were created by Qingxin himself. With his current swordsmanship experience and ability, creating sword techniques wouldn't be difficult, but passing the system's review wouldn't be so easy.

Well, since things have come to this, why not just take it? It's just an SR anyway.

Just as Harunobu was struggling with this, Artoria's voice suddenly came to his mind: "Harunobu! Bad news, the Archbishop of the Puritan Church is coming to Japan tomorrow."

The author says:

Author's Note: Update progress 25/30. My whole body aches, I feel nauseous, I have no appetite, and I suspect I've had another episode of diarrhea...

Chapter 495: There is only one God, but...

Harunobu returned to the Nikhun Dormitory, where Izanami was lounging lazily on the sofa. Upon seeing Harunobu enter, she immediately stretched out her arms for a hug. However, Artoria, who was standing, beat her to it, grabbing Harunobu first and dragging him to another sofa.

Seeing that the Red Dragon Queen and the Mother of the Underworld were about to stage another battle between good and evil, Qingxin quickly interjected, "Lily, what exactly are you talking about? We haven't even made a move yet, so why has the Puritan Church sent an archbishop over?"

Artoria shook her head: "I don't know the reason either. I overheard it by chance when Gawain was praying."