The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 582 Business
puff.

The middle-aged swordsman's head was crushed into a pile of minced meat. The immense force pressed down violently, squeezing the air between the wooden clogs and the ground, causing blood to splatter and land in front of Kurama Heihachi.

At the same time, figures emerged from the end of the passageway and stepped onto it one after another. A powerful sword intent gathered together and surged towards Kurama Heihachi like a tidal wave.

[Sword Saint]

More than ten Sword Saints.

He gripped the hilt of his sword and walked toward Kurama Heihachi.

Kurama Heihachi remained unresponsive, his gaze fixed intently on the figure at the end of the passageway, the one who had crushed the middle-aged swordsman's head.

The person was dressed in a priest's robe that was almost identical to Ji Tianrui's. A light veil covered his face, revealing only his slender, white neck, which was as long as a swan's. A crimson katana hung at his waist. He faced Kurama Heihachi and slowly tapped his fingers on the hilt of the katana.

"You're the head of the Hachiman Shrine?"

Kurama Heihachi grinned and laughed.

The man did not answer, but raised a hand towards Kurama Heihachi from a distance, palm up, as if holding him in his palm—then, the hand suddenly flipped over.

"kill!!!"

The sword saints who had surrounded Kurama Heihachi roared in unison, and more than ten cold lights flashed, slashing towards Kurama Heihachi!

The crowd behind them erupted in uproar.

"This is against the rules!"

"This is not ascending the steps!"

"Lord Uda is dead, this ascent is over, and your Hachiman Palace can no longer attack those who ascend the passageway!"

“That’s right… Even if someone else can take over the ascent, you can’t let more than ten people gang up on you!”

Those who gather here are swordsmen and samurai who are unable to ascend Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura, many of whom have been waiting for years or even decades.

"Ascending the steps" was their only hope, and having witnessed the death of Elder Yutian before their eyes, a sense of shared sorrow welled up in their hearts, and they temporarily forgot their fear, shouting out in righteous indignation.

No one cares.

Even the swordsman who had been standing nervously beside Li Miao and Ji Tianrui glanced curiously at the indignant crowd around them, and then cautiously moved closer to Li Miao's side.

What to shout?
Looking for death!
Given the current situation, why are you still thinking about "climbing the steps"?
Those were more than ten sword saints, not a dozen rabbits. Their swords were already drawn, so what the hell were they talking about rules? Rules are more important than fists!

Moreover—he glanced up discreetly, only to meet Li Miao's smiling gaze. He involuntarily shuddered, forcing a smile that was more like a grimace.

First of all, it's not Hachiman Shrine that doesn't follow the rules.

While others might not know, he had coincidentally been talking to Li Miao and his two companions all along... How could he not guess that today's ascent was essentially a declaration of war roar from one beast as it stepped into the territory of another!

You snakes, insects, rats, and ants, instead of finding someone to lick your boots, you dare to bare your teeth at another without any support... You're just waiting to die!

Thinking of this, the smile on his face became even more sincere. His eyes darted around, and he suddenly knelt down in front of Li Miao.

"Oh dear—sir, your boots."

He raised his sleeve, dipped his drinking gourd in water, pressed his face to the ground, and carefully wiped the soles of his boots.

"It's covered in dust, how can this be acceptable?"

"You fucking ash! How dare you touch Your Excellency's body! Damn ash! Damn it! I'll wipe it clean for Your Excellency right now!"

"Holy crap!"

The tone of the last word, "擦" (cā), suddenly rose.

blood.

A massive amount of blood fell from above.

The shouts of the surrounding crowd were abruptly cut off as several sword saints from Hachiman Palace silently charged over. From several meters away, they unleashed a burst of cold light at head level, causing heads to fly off, cries to be cut off, and blood to be pumped out and spray down.

"Your Mightiness!"

He suddenly let out a scream, then lay down and grabbed Li Miao's leg.

"Help!"

Li Miao didn't seem to care at all, just looking ahead and chatting with Ji Tianrui with a smile.

"Is this the person you wanted to lure here?"

Ji Tianrui nodded with a smile.

"Correct."

Is she important?

"of course."

"Do it?"

"Not yet."

Ji Tianrui smiled and shook her head.

"Lord Li, do you know what the biggest difference is between our working styles?"

Li Miao frowned slightly.

"Master Ji, you might as well speak frankly."

Ji Tianrui chuckled softly.

"It's nothing important, Lord Li, there's no need to take it so seriously. It's just some casual conversation since we have nothing else to do."

She pointed her finger at Li Miao.

"Lord Li, you always like to use speed to defeat slowness, smashing in with overwhelming force the moment the enemy has just set up their net, tearing apart everything that might be related to their plans."

"Your martial arts skills are exceptional, and you are also skilled in investigation and interrogation. Your enemies cannot hide from you or stop you, and in the end, they can only die at your hands."

Then it points back to itself.

"I, on the other hand, prefer to plan carefully before acting. Before my opponent discovers me, I spend a hundred times more time weaving a net that they absolutely cannot escape from, and then use several times the cost and lives of the enemy to get what I want."

"I will not kill those I can avoid; I will not take what is given to others. I am never greedy or aggressive, which is why I am always successful."

Li Miao tilted his head slightly.

"What exactly is Master Ji trying to say?"

Ji Tianrui chuckled softly.

"What I'm trying to say is that the fundamental difference between you and me is actually in talent and background."

"Although you were born an orphan, you are the adopted son of the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, making you practically a member of the imperial family. You possess exceptional martial prowess, a ruthless nature, and extraordinary talent—"

Li Miao scoffed.

"I wouldn't dare compare my talent with Master Ji. At your age, I hadn't even reached the Celestial Realm level."

Ji Tianrui wasn't annoyed by being interrupted; she just smiled and waved her hand.

"Does Lord Li not know how I attained my cultivation level? It was through trickery and opportunism, my foundation is unstable, and I am not fit for any great task. If I were to go to the Izumo Grand Shrine, I would probably die directly at the hands of Venerable Bodhidharma."

"Let's get back to our previous topic, Lord Li."

Ji Tianrui stood with her hands behind her back, looking ahead.

“You have the right to be arrogant, because no one has ever been able to compare with you, and you have never needed to rely on anyone, nor have you ever needed to be afraid of anyone.”

"If you want to cultivate to a realm above the Celestial level, you can be sure that you will succeed; if you want to kill someone, you can be sure that you will be able to kill them."

"It's like you want to kill me. If you really put everything aside and worked day and night to hunt me down, I should have died at your hands long ago."

“But you disdain to do that. You’re waiting for me, waiting to see what trouble I can cause you, preferably the kind that will make you risk your life—you’re never afraid to risk your life. If no one can bring you a life-or-death crisis, you’ll actually find it boring.”

"What drives you to act is always—interest."

"As for me."

Ji Tianrui chuckled and tapped her heart.

"It is fear."

“I fear the First Ancestor of Heaven and Man, so I will stop at nothing to gather all information about him, and I am willing to sacrifice the Ming Cult, my subordinates, and everything else for this.”

“I am afraid of you, so I gave you the Emperor, An Qisheng, and Yingzhou, because I don’t want to fight you head-on, which could very well lead to my death.”

“I’m afraid of everything, so I have to plan everything. That’s why you think I’m so cunning. But actually, it’s because I’m too timid that I have to work day and night to plan everything.”

Li Miao scoffed.

"Master Ji is too modest."

"You don't seem like someone who's afraid of death."

Ji Tianrui chuckled softly.

“I am not afraid of death, but I am afraid of being unfree, of being unable to control my own destiny, of being imprisoned—like Zhang Sanfeng and Bodhidharma.”

Li Miao raised an eyebrow.

"So all that talk was just to get me here... You actually wanted me to exercise some restraint, take your opponent seriously, and follow your plan, right?"

Ji Tianrui nodded with a smile.

"Lord Li recognized it."

"Our original intentions are different, and the results we pursue are also different, but the process and means can be the same."

Ji Tianrui pointed to the end of the passageway.

"That person must be captured alive."

"If we make a move now, the Kurama School will be destroyed in vain. We should also attack the Ise Grand Shrine in our current state and confront the opponent or means that has trapped Master Sanfeng for two hundred years."

"Therefore, I urge Lord Li to be patient a little longer and not to ruin the overall situation with a moment of impulsiveness."

Li Miao snorted coldly.

"You spoke so earnestly and naggingly, as if I were an unreasonable brute."

"Humph."

Ji Tianrui smiled and waved her hand.

"Just consider it giving me face."

Then extend your hand forward.

“Look, once Kurama Heihachi can get close enough to this man, then we can make our move.”

The two talked as if no one else was around, completely ignoring the fact that the swordsman from Hachiman Shrine had already stormed into the crowd and slaughtered all the swordsmen who had followed.

Li Miao and Ji Tianrui used the Blood Robe Tower's concealment technique, which, combined with their high level of spiritual cultivation, allowed them to be easily overlooked. However, with no one else standing around, they could no longer remain hidden.

Suddenly, the Hachiman Palace Sword Saint, who was finishing off the corpse on the ground, paused, feeling as if a shadow had disappeared from his vision. He turned his head and looked at Li Miao and Ji Tianrui.

"Oops!"

The swordsman who interrupted was startled and grabbed Li Miao's leg, shaking it a few times.

"Your Excellency! Your Excellency!"

"Here he comes! The Sword Saint is here!"

"No, please move if you can! I'm going to die!"

Li Miao was chatting with Ji Tianrui when he heard this. Without looking down, he clicked his tongue, grabbed Ji Tianrui by the collar, lifted him up, and pointed at him.

"You, go and kill him."

The swordsman interrupted, his eyes welling with tears.

"I?"

Li Miao patted him on the shoulder.

"just you."

He casually drew the sword from his waist and shoved it into his hand.

"You've been enhanced, go quickly."

The swordsman interrupted, tears streaming down his face. "I'm fighting the Sword Saint?"

"real or fake……"

Li Miao clicked his tongue impatiently, raised his hand and pushed the person directly in front of one of the approaching sword saints.

The swordsman who had interrupted stumbled, tripped over the corpse on the ground, and fell to the ground, where he met a pair of unseeing eyes. Startled, he jumped up with a scream.

The three sword saints from the Hachiman Palace had already closed in on him, surrounding him and sizing him up—with him drawing their attention, they once again dismissed Li Miao and Ji Tianrui from their minds.

"Boy, put down your knife."

The tall swordsman on the left spoke.

What is your connection to the Kurama school of martial arts?

The short, stout swordsman in the middle spoke.

"What methods did you use to make us ignore you?"

"The withered swordsman on the right said."

Tears streamed down his face, his trembling hands barely able to grip the hilt of his sword. The tip of the blade dared not face the three sword saints, only daring to hang down to the ground, scraping against the ground with the trembling of his arm, making a chaotic sound.

"me--"

"Put down the knife!"

The swordsman on the left let out a loud shout.

"I want to release it too..."

The swordsman who had interrupted was on the verge of tears. He really wanted to throw away the knife, but ever since Li Miao shoved it into his hand, the hilt had been stuck to his hand and he couldn't break free no matter what he did.

"If you don't let go, you'll die."

The short, stout swordsman in the middle spoke in a sinister tone. He was initially somewhat wary of the other party's ability to conceal his presence, but seeing how pathetic the interjecting swordsman was, he no longer took precautions and instead thrust the tip of his blade towards him.

"Ah! No!"

The swordsman who interrupted was extremely anxious. Seeing the sword tip coming towards him, he desperately raised his hand and shook it a few times, trying to prove to his opponent that he really couldn't let go of the sword hilt.

"you see me--"

puff.

"what!"

As soon as he raised his hand, he heard a scream from the side, followed by warm liquid being sprayed onto his face.

The short, stout swordsman, who had been grinning maliciously as he thrust his sword toward his heart, stopped and stared wide-eyed at his side.

"No... I don't think so..."

He turned his head stiffly.

Looking down his arm, he saw the katana he couldn't shake off was firmly embedded in the forehead of the withered swordsman on the right, slicing the tip of his nose in two.

Red and white liquid flowed down the blade onto his hand, wetting his sleeve.

"!!!"

With a bang, the tall swordsman and the short, stout swordsman swiftly retreated several feet, their smug smiles vanishing, replaced by solemnity and vigilance.

"Your swordsmanship is so superb, yet you resort to such a despicable tactic of feigning weakness and launching a sneak attack!"

"I'm not! I didn't!"

The swordsman who interrupted tried to let go, but he couldn't break free of the hilt at all. Instead, he swung the withered swordsman's corpse around like a dead fish hanging on a fishing rod.

"look!"

The tall swordsman's face flushed red.

"enough!"

"Even if you defeated Shichimiya-senpai, you shouldn't have insulted his corpse like that! Using your comrade's corpse to provoke the enemy, no matter how skilled your swordsmanship is, you're still a despicable person!"

The swordsman who interrupted was on the verge of tears.

"I really didn't... I don't know anything..."

He struggled a few times, dragging the knife in his hand, before finally pulling it off the corpse's head. Then he held it horizontally in his hands, raising it straight forward.

"I really can't get it off..."

"Could you come and pick it up...?"

The tall swordsman and the short, stout swordsman exchanged a glance and slowly approached him from the front, while the short, stout swordsman silently circled around to the side, gripped the hilt of his sword, his veins bulging, and gathered his strength in the scabbard.

"Okay, I'll get it."

The tall swordsman was on high alert, cautiously approaching little by little, his katana held horizontally in front of him, his hind legs raised, ready to retreat at any moment.

He couldn't possibly believe it.

The sword strike that killed the emaciated swordsman was clearly extremely slow; even an ordinary civilian could have seen it clearly, let alone the swordsman.

But as the katana was swung, the gaunt swordsman suddenly moved a step to the side, as if dodging something, and hid directly under the blade.

If it were just that, it would be fine. That weak swing wouldn't have been able to cut through the Sword Saint's flesh even if he was caught off guard, so neither he nor the short, fat Sword Saint tried to stop it... But that slash cleaved open the withered Sword Saint's head as easily as cutting tofu!

With that broken knife that's so bad it'd be hard to even kill a chicken!

"Don't move."

The tall swordsman walked up to the interrupting swordsman, raised his left hand, and slowly reached for the katana the swordsman was holding.

Seeing the towering swordsman grasp the blade, the interrupting swordsman almost burst into tears.

"Please take it, please take it, I—"

"Do it!!!"

Before he could finish speaking, the tall swordsman roared and suddenly grabbed the blade of his sword with his hand. The force was so great that the blade cut through the flesh and got stuck in his finger bones with a cracking sound.

But he didn't care. He just gripped it tightly, drew his sword with his right hand, and slashed a cold light at the interrupting swordsman!
"die!"

At the same time, the short, stout swordsman who had circled around to the rear also roared! He unleashed a burst of power, having gathered it for dozens of breaths, and slashed out with his blade, aiming straight for the back of the interrupting swordsman's neck!
They simply wouldn't believe what the interrupting swordsman said.

Only the dead are not a threat!

The two sword saints unleashed their full power, their cold light inching closer and closer to the interrupting swordsman in the air. Before he could even wonder why he could see the sword saint's moves clearly, he desperately dodged to the side.

But when it tried to struggle, it wouldn't budge.

His hand was tied to his sword, which was held by the tall swordsman; naturally, he couldn't break free with his strength.

So, in the inexplicably slow passage of time, he frantically tried to pry open the tall swordsman's fingers, and when he found he couldn't, he crouched down with one hand covering his head.

clang!
A deafening clang of metal clashing resounded overhead!

Two beams of cold light clashed, and the tall swordsman's face flushed red. He involuntarily released his grip, staggered back several steps, and a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

The short, stout swordsman was slightly weaker. He had attacked with all his might, but then suddenly withdrew his strength in the latter half of his move, which made him more seriously injured. He was almost sent flying backwards, and after landing, he rolled over and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"asshole!"

He spat out the blood clots and cursed angrily.

"Since things have come to this, there's no need for further pretense—die!"

He lunged at the interrupting swordsman who was crouching on the ground, his sword flashing as he aimed for his vitals in the back.

"no!"

Before the swordsman could react, he instinctively rolled forward to dodge, the blade in his hand spinning and pointing forward.

puff.

"Ahem!"

With a splash, a mouthful of blood fell onto his head, soaking his face and obscuring his vision.

"What?! What's going on?!"

He was terrified. Suddenly, blood blurred his vision, and he lost his mind in fear. He wiped his face wildly with his left hand and waved the knife in front of his eyes in his right hand, trying to block any possible attacks.

But then a few soft "snap, snap, snap" sounds were heard, along with a slight resistance on the blade and the sound of a wet object hitting the ground.

Suddenly, a roar from the short, stout swordsman reached my ears.

"Takaba-kun!"

"You bastard!"

"Stop desecrating Takaba-kun's corpse!"

The footsteps approached rapidly.

"Kill you!"

"do not want!"

He forced a scream from his throat, crossed his arms over his chest like a woman, and instinctively curled up into a ball.

puff.

A soft sound.

The footsteps and roars disappeared at the same time.

No more sound.

A few breaths later, the swordsman who had interrupted suddenly raised his sleeve to wipe away the blood in front of his eyes, and looked shakily to the side, his eyes widening in shock.

He had just crossed his arms over his chest, and the blade of his sword extended out from his left side.

A person was hanging on the blade.

The short, stout swordsman stared in disbelief at the blade that had pierced his heart, then suddenly grabbed the blade and, with all his might, let the blade emerge from behind and slowly crawl along the blade toward the interrupting swordsman.

"you you……"

The swordsman, pale-faced and frozen in place, watched as the short, stout swordsman, his mouth full of blood, approached him. His pale lips trembled as he murmured something.

"You, I, I didn't... Don't come any closer... It wasn't me..."

As they were talking, the short, stout swordsman finally climbed to the end of the sword, faced the interrupting swordsman, and reached out to grab his face.

"You...you...you idiot—"

I smeared blood on my fingers and touched his face.

"Egg……"

Five streaks of blood appeared on his fingers, which hung limply.

"Uh!"

The interrupting swordsman turned pale, his eyes rolled back, and he was so frightened that he lost consciousness, collapsing to the ground with the short, fat swordsman's corpse with a thud.

Ji Tianrui, who was not far away, chuckled a few times.

"hehe."

"Lord Li has only cultivated the Silent Illumination Realm for a few days, yet his skill is already comparable to that of the former emperor. I am truly envious."

Li Miao smiled and shook his head.

"I was just killing time anyway, so I'm just passing the time. I hope you won't laugh at me, Master Ji."

He gestured forward with his hand.

"It's almost over over there too."

Ji Tianrui smiled and nodded.

"Yes."

"That's about enough, it's time to get down to business."

(End of this chapter)