Chapter 300: Breakthrough, Clear Sword Heart Other Shore! Shangshan Che, You’re Truly Despicable Now!
The eyes are the windows of the soul.
“Master, Master! I discovered a big secret!”
“Those two slashes earlier were only swung over after the Great Demon King glanced twice!”
“The two places where you were slashed were both seen by the Great Demon King, but this slash wasn’t a real slash!”
Kaga Kiyomitsu spoke very urgently, somewhat incoherently, and didn’t know how to organize his words to highlight the key points.
But Shangshan Che easily associated it with the aforementioned sentence, then immediately summarized in his mind.
—That is to say, Lili Zi “slashes” herself through her gaze.
Shangshan Che understood.
The two slashes just now that struck his ankle and neck from afar were slashes of the mind.
Fittingly, Lili Zi’s state of mind cultivation was unknown how much higher than his own.
He was top-tier in the unity of man and sword, but Lili Zi could even take out her sword heart and hang it in mid-air for countless people to look up at.
With such a huge gap in state of mind, it was no wonder she could effortlessly slash him while ignoring everything.
But unfortunately, even knowing the principle of the Consciousness Slash, Shangshan Che couldn’t come up with specific countermeasures or defensive measures.
Because he couldn’t do it.
The only thing he could do was get used to it.
“Fittingly, I’m quite used to being slashed.”
Shangshan Che touched his neck again, feeling the all-too-familiar sensation slowly fade away.
He’d been beheaded so many times by different people and different blades; one more time didn’t matter.
On the contrary, Lili Zi’s blade was fast and sharp, bringing less pain.
If it had been a rōnin wandering Edo Castle, Shangshan Che probably would have had to grimace.
In the corner of the arena, Two-Foot Adult, who had just taken out her cheerleader pom-poms, shrank in place, terrified by the horrific commotion just now.
Fortunately, Lili Zi had some conscience; as promised, it didn’t affect her.
Thinking of this, Two-Foot Adult, who hadn’t taken her eyes off Shangshan Che for even a second since the match began, was slightly stunned.
Was standing here watching Che Adult unfair to Lili Zi?
After all, the opponent had returned Little Jia, and now came empty-handed with nothing…
No, no!
Two-Foot Adult quickly shook her head in her mind.
—She was originally Che Adult’s shikigami, and Lili Zi had said Little Jia was Che Adult’s, so borrowing was fine!
So, standing here and helping Che Adult with her gaze was completely fine!
Yes, yes!
Two-Foot Adult convinced herself with sophistry.
Lili Zi didn’t notice the inconspicuous Two-Foot Adult in the corner.
Just a glance at the subtle interaction between Shangshan Che and Kaga Kiyomitsu told her that he already understood what her Consciousness Slash was.
Using the same move on him twice was already the maximum.
Lili Zi took a deep breath.
Thus, the sword heart hovering in mid-air seemed to be thrown into flammable kindling, suddenly bursting with brilliant light.
Then, it slowly descended toward her on the arena.
“The sword heart moved?”
Shangshan Che, who could sense it, used his peripheral vision to estimate the distance between Lili Zi and her sword heart, nodding thoughtfully.
What interrupted his thinking was the excruciating pain surging through his entire body.
—After the Three-stage Thrust, it was the Darkness Sword.
Although Shangshan Che’s own path and Lili Zi’s Darkness Sword were different, he could still sense that her technique was far ahead of his.
Even these mass-produced Darkness Swords released from the Sword Domain were the same.
“It’s just a pity—they’re too soft.”
Kaga Kiyomitsu immediately stood on end, forcibly deflecting the invisible blade that suddenly appeared in the visual blind spot from his Eye of Interpretation.
Shangshan Che reached out from the flashing lightning and thunder, grasping another invisible blade that formed out of thin air from the left.
Then, countless Darkness Swords fell all at once.
But the Darkness Swords, which should have easily ended a kendo master with each strike, could now only laboriously shatter the bright Flame Armor and shatter the Qi Circulation.
Then they landed on Shangshan Che’s body, outlining the shape of the Thunder Bone.
Flesh and blood flew, but the evil spirit’s expression remained unchanged.
Suddenly, Shangshan Che felt his hand empty, and Lili Zi’s figure disappeared as Kaga Kiyomitsu turned forward.
Only her words drifted down slowly,
“You’re getting stronger despite such heavy injuries—not bad, Shangshan Jun.”
—The effect of Pale Frenzy was indeed remarkable.
Even without using the Rin Character Technique now, Shangshan Che’s physique and willpower were higher than when he had used it before, not to mention his inhuman wound recovery speed.
Shangshan Che flexed his left hand, whose surface had already healed, standing amid the pool of blood,
“Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance—if you have any more moves…”
The qi and blood surging straight to the sky made Shangshan Che stop speaking, instead gripping Kaga Kiyomitsu tightly with both hands.
Rumble…
Qi and blood like a rainbow made the entire arena tremble slightly.
Following closely was tangible spirit, energy, and vitality descending from the sword heart and erupting from the girl’s gaze.
Lili Zi had completely unleashed the Spirit Condensing Technique.
The sword heart’s descent sped up a bit more.
Shangshan Che knew she was getting serious now.
Unlike the previous state of mere normal qi and blood burst.
This time, Lili Zi was going to put everything into one slash, like Kitamura Yūyū.
But unlike the latter, Lili Zi’s “chips” were more.
Much more!
Under this suffocating pressure of spirit, energy, and vitality, no one except the Ghost Gods was completely unaffected.
The entire venue turned into a library again, with countless gazes falling on Lili Zi, who was gripping something invisible.
All the gazes, all the attention turned into kindling thrown into the sword heart.
Crackle…
The fire burned brighter and brighter.
In the silence, Shangshan Che could see Lili Zi’s chest rise slightly.
The next instant, the invisible sword split off a path to block Shangshan Che’s Darkness Sword, then split another to shatter all obstacles along the way.
The final one thrust straight and true toward Shangshan Che’s heart!
Natural Reason School Secret Technique: Nameless Three-stage Thrust!
The zero-delay Rin Character Technique shield was torn apart, the flesh tougher than steel was pierced, and the Thunder Bone that grew unnaturally to the heart as a Heart Protection Mirror was shattered.
But until the end, Lili Zi didn’t feel the sensation of a water ball bursting at the blade’s tip.
Instead, it was like stabbing into sticky mud, dissipating the final momentum of this sword.
But he should have exhausted all his defensive means by now…
Lili Zi looked up in slight confusion, meeting that pair of eyes unable to hide their pleasantness.
“Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound, Circulate Qi and Blood.”
In the low rumble of thunder, Shangshan Che, paler than A4 paper, laughed hoarsely and placed his empty left hand on the girl’s pale shoulder,
“You taught me—forgot?”
Amid the girl’s complex gaze, the evil spirit laughed heartily and lightly,
“Lili Zi… I win.”
Having caught his breath, Shangshan Che was about to use his weakened left hand to snap the neck of his opponent Lili Zi.
But unbeknownst when, the sword heart that had been floating in the sky now quietly rested atop Lili Zi’s head.
Then, it slipped into her body like water.
At this moment, Shangshan Che realized.
The girl before him had changed in essence.
“Breakthrough in desperation, then turning defeat into victory… That’s more like it.”
Shangshan Che turned his palm into a fist, no longer aiming for a killing blow, but smashing down heavily without giving her time to fully comprehend her transformation!
Kaga Kiyomitsu’s blade fell along with its master’s fist.
“This is the Lili Zi I know!”
…
In the quiet and invisible Sword Realm.
Tokugawa Ryuji subconsciously murmured,
“Little Sister has… reached the Other Shore with her sword heart?”
“Other Shore?” Tokugawa Motoyasu, whose eyes were squinting sleepily into slits, perked up a bit. “Ryuji, care to explain to this old man?”
Hearing the elderly voice beside him, Tokugawa Ryuji realized he had accidentally voiced his thoughts.
Little Sister really…
Reaching the “Other Shore” in a battle under everyone’s gaze—she actually did it.
Truly, her future is limitless.
Tokugawa Ryuji sighed inwardly and briefly explained: “Great-Grandfather, after Clear Sword Heart, there are three chasms: ‘Know Thyself’, ‘Clarity’, and ‘Other Shore’.”
“Most people stop at the Know Thyself stage after forging their sword heart; I previously thought Little Sister was there too.”
Tokugawa Ryuji wanted to circle around a bit contextually, but gave up after thinking,
“But just now, I realized Little Sister reached the final Other Shore.”
“—In our generation, that’s a place only Sister Shinsui and I have reached.”
Tokugawa Motoyasu, who had been drowsy, immediately opened his eyes wide, straightened his back, and a glint shot from his turbid pupils.
The head of the Tokugawa family nodded approvingly,
“Good!”
In the audience seats, Hozoin Inrai muttered rapidly with his mouth agape,
“Unity of Heaven and Man? No Thoughts, No Images? She actually… opened that door?!”
“—Could falling in love really help with cultivation and getting stronger?”
By the arena, Nanjo Emi, who had come as a backup physician, bit on an unlit cigarette and fell into thought.
She had some knowledge of kendo, so she remembered it fairly clearly.
From the records, Tokugawa Ririko had been stuck at “Unity of Man and Sword” for a very long time, but broke through to Clear Sword Heart not long after getting closer to Shangshan Che.
That was when Kondo Yuya thought Ririko was a promising talent worth cultivating.
But that was only months ago?
She had actually gone from the starting point of Clear Sword Heart to the endpoint!
Every step after Clear Sword Heart was hundreds, even thousands of times harder than prior state of mind cultivation!
Nanjo Emi silently stared at the ghost despised by the world on the arena,
“Love cultivation method, huh? Interesting.”
A thousand miles away, Gen Shinsui’s gaze locked onto Lili Zi’s face.
Want to go to the scene.
Beside her, Kyuuketsuin Kin, who discovered the controller wasn’t wet, had just asked if the previous barley tea was secretly dumped by her.
And after getting an affirmative answer, refilled her cup.
Plop.
The solid sound forcibly pulled Gen Shinsui’s gaze away.
She looked at the full teacup of barley tea, then at Kyuuketsuin Kin.
But said nothing.
The latter poured himself a cup while saying,
“Sister Shinsui, I know you’ve always drunk fine tea, but this isn’t that hard to drink.”
The last few drops of barley tea were evened out, making both teacups level.
Kyuuketsuin Kin said,
“Everyone loves this.”
“Sister Shinsui, you stand too high.”
After downing the barley tea in one gulp, he looked straight at Gen Shinsui and said earnestly: “Sometimes you should lower your head and take a look.”
Gen Shinsui suddenly found it amusing: “Little Kin, are you educating me?”
“Probably.”
Kyuuketsuin Kin nodded: “I always felt annoyed talking to you, Sister Shinsui, but couldn’t pinpoint why.”
“Now I know.”
Facing the woman who could split mountains and lakes with a flick and slaughter Ghost Gods by drawing her sword, Kyuuketsuin Kin asked bluntly,
“Sister Shinsui, do you still see yourself as human?”
Under the immense pressure of her gaze, Kyuuketsuin Kin gritted his teeth and continued: “Coming back down to earth, entering the mortal world—maybe you’ll feel different, Sister Shinsui, and find new perceptions and answers.”
Gen Shinsui looked down, gazing at her reflection on the light brown liquid surface,
“Is that so?”
After a long silence, she downed it in one gulp.
“I’m off.”
“Huh? Where to?” Kyuuketsuin Kin, who hadn’t been happy for two seconds, turned to see the black dot vanishing into the sky.
“—To Tokyo, to see her.”
In the stratosphere, Gen Shinsui pursed her lips, her unchanging brows furrowing deeply.
Sure enough, it was still hard to drink.
At this moment, Gen Shinsui didn’t know that this unusually short journey for her would take the longest time in her life on the road.
Mysteriously crossing the ocean of depths to another world piled with all eras since ancient times, killing one every ten steps, leaving no trace in a thousand miles.
Flicking fingers to shatter mountains, crushing the Star River, using her sword to blast away all the rotten rules and undead ghosts she despised.
But that was another story.
…
Since Lili Zi had broken through, he no longer needed to hold back at all!
Shangshan Che first withdrew most of his defenses, letting his partially recovered body be affected by the Sword Domain’s aftermath, becoming ragged again.
Then, tidal power surged from within him!
Boom boom boom boom boom!
Fists denser than a violent rain landed on Lili Zi, who hadn’t even opened her eyes, sending her flying into the air like a cloth doll with overwhelming force!
Using technique against someone whose swordsmanship was inferior, but abandoning the sword against the breakthrough Lili Zi, purely using power to punch…
—Shangshan Che, you’re really despicable now!
—Where’s the sweet little couple? This is too brutal!
These two thoughts were what most of the audience in the venue were thinking.
Amid strict defense with the instantly activated Rin Character Technique shield, the stray sword lights sneaking through the fist winds toward Shangshan Che’s vitals were all blocked.
Boom boom boom!!!
Without giving Lili Zi even a moment to breathe, pure violence bloomed from Shangshan Che’s fists.
Countless qi bursts rippled out amid the audience’s twitching brows and eyes.
“Match over, Shangshan Che wins!”
In just a few seconds, the Ghost God Judge below swiftly intervened between them, blocking Shangshan Che’s fist with his chest, announcing his victory after drawing in a sharp breath.
“Shangshan Jun, no need to be so harsh with domestic violence!”
Nanjo Emi caught the nearly pulped Lili Zi, unleashing full healing power with a healing spell over a hundred meters in diameter, forcibly keeping her alive.
Shangshan Che won.
But the venue was silent, no cheers.
Only dumbfounded stares.
Even Two-Foot Adult in the corner almost thought Shangshan Che had gone mad, brutally pummeling the Great Demon King like that…
Shangshan Che, breathing heavily, landed on the ground.
The evil spirit didn’t look at the defeated lying on the ground in the physician’s arms, but raised his head with burning eyes, casting his gaze toward the complex-faced Kitada Kei.
