The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 588 Smashing the Mountain
As Kurama Heihachi unleashed a series of erratic, seemingly playful, circular sword strikes, the priestess-like woman, who was standing close by, froze in place.

Her expression began to change rapidly.

Panic, anger, sorrow, fear, gratitude, and murderous intent flashed across her face like a revolving lantern, as the blade fell and rose again, trembling incessantly.

Meanwhile, Kurama Heihachi continued to cough up blood.

Although this sword move looks simple, it is a peerless technique left behind by the Master Sanfeng. Its essence is to forcibly connect with the opponent's mind by risking one's life. Even when Kurama Heihachi was in good health, it was very difficult to use, let alone when he was seriously injured.

But he was already aware of it.

The Anma School has been destroyed. He accepted Ji Tianrui's Gu technique and will die within three days. He has no motivation or hope to survive... The only thing he wants is to use his own life to take revenge cleanly.

He would die without regrets as long as he could take away the demon residing in the body in front of him!
In the middle of the passageway, within the illusion of Ji Zhao, Li Miao squinted at Ji Tianrui and raised an eyebrow as he asked.

"Master Ji has dug quite deep."

Ji Tianrui chuckled softly.

"Originally, I just wanted to collect the four original sword techniques in advance, deduce the true constant technique, and use it as a bargaining chip or bait to lure Lord Li to join forces with me to smash the Ise Grand Shrine again."

"But I never expected that Kurama Heihachi had such important information hidden in his mind. He almost missed something from seventy years ago. What a close call."

"Has Lord Li discerned anything?"

Li Miao stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then said in a low voice.

"wrong."

"Judging from the reaction of the woman in the priestess's robes, what Kurama Heihachi said was not entirely correct, and there were even some very important errors and omissions."

"Is this why you've been reluctant to take action? You want me to observe her reaction and assess whether your assumptions are flawed?"

Ji Tianrui smiled and nodded.

"That's partly true."

"I also saw these shrine maidens when Lord Li attacked Izumo Taisha. They were actually brainwashed, similar to the pupa maidens under my command. Torture was useless."

"She would only listen to these words and show the slightest reaction if she were facing a completely harmless opponent in order to confirm whether the information had been leaked. If it were you or me asking, we probably wouldn't even see that much of a reaction."

"As for the other reason... I promised Kurama Heihachi that I would give him a chance to get revenge, so I will not make a move until he dies."

Li Miao raised an eyebrow, looking amused.

"Does the leader of the cult still care about his reputation?"

Ji Tianrui shook her head.

"This is a misunderstanding of me by Lord Li. I value my promises to others and I never like to lie... I am simply giving them what they need."

"The Yang family, Lan Lechuan, Anma Heihachi, and the Ming Cult members—they are incapable of fulfilling their own desires. I am simply presenting the conditions for them to choose: to live a life of mere survival or to make a deal with me."

“I have never lied to them.”

Li Miao scoffed.

"The leader of the cult is a master at persuading people to die."

Ji Tianrui was not annoyed at all; instead, she smiled sweetly.

"I am indeed very good at judging people."

"Especially those who want to die."

Before she could finish her sentence, Ji Tianrui didn't say anything more. She simply closed her mouth and put on that playful smile that resembled a mask.

"Back to the topic."

"Xu Fu sailed east, Shintoism was established, and two martial arts masters followed one after another. These things are already clear. The lineage of the Emperor is itself the bloodline of those boys and girls brought by Xu Fu, and this can also be confirmed."

"It can be said that we have largely ascertained the events from Bodhidharma's eastward journey to the present. What we need to determine next is what happened before that."

"Xu Fu was unsure whether Kawakami was in Japan before he set sail. So, was Shintoism established before or after Kawakami came to Japan?" "If it was before, then the establishment of Shintoism was Xu Fu's own doing. If it was after, then it was Kawakami's doing."

"The old man of the river has lived for at least a thousand years, yet he has never shown any interest in power. He must not have been interested in power at all. The only explanation for all this is that it concerns a realm beyond the heavens and man."

"Considering the backgrounds of the two martial arts founders, who came from both Taoist and Buddhist families, this is almost certain."

Ji Tianrui said softly.

"Taoism, Buddhism, and Shintoism."

"I now regret that I destroyed the Ming Cult."

Li Miao scoffed.

"The Ming Cult is dead. Leader Ji, you should find another way. If you establish any sect in the future, don't forget to tell me so I can lead the Embroidered Uniform Guard to cut down mountains and destroy temples."

He held out two fingers.

"In that case, there are only two problems remaining."

"Firstly, where exactly is Kurama Heihachi's guess wrong?"

“The shrine maidens are of the Emperor’s bloodline and became shrine maidens after being brainwashed, so we should be able to learn something from the current Emperor—this question can be answered in Kyoto.”

Secondly, is Kawakami still in Japan?

“He was still alive at least two hundred years ago when Master Zhang Sanfeng crossed the sea to Japan. If he were still in Japan now, he would be at the Ise Grand Shrine, suppressing and guarding Master Zhang Sanfeng.”

"Then we'll have to confront him here in Japan. So, at least before we go to the Ise Grand Shrine, we need to achieve the six paths in one, and make up for all the flaws in our technique."

Ji Tianrui nodded with a smile.

"First go to Kyoto, then to Ise Grand Shrine."

"Deduce the techniques, master the six paths, make up for any oversights, and finally fight to the death."

"Let's do it that way."

Li Miao nodded, then asked another question.

"Does Master Ji have anything to say about Master Sanfeng?"

Ji Tianrui smiled.

"I don't know much either, and there may be omissions. Please forgive me, Lord Li."

"He's strong."

"Master Jianzhen must have said that his Xuanlan Divine Wonder is the most powerful divine wonder from ancient times to the present. As long as he wants, no opponent can break through the three feet of ground in front of him."

Li Miao raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that too absolute?"

Is there anything in the world that cannot be conquered?

Ji Tianrui smiled and shook her head.

"But that's how absolute it is."

"In fact, the clues can be seen from the Tai Chi energy of Wudang. The so-called 'using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds' is a simplified force derived by Master Zhang Sanfeng from his 'two principles'."

“As long as he activates the ‘Two Elements’, he can indeed use four ounces of force to deflect a fist weighing a thousand pounds…and the strength of Master Sanfeng himself is far more than a thousand pounds.”

"It's just a simple math problem. If Master Zhang Sanfeng's four ounces are equal to your thousand pounds, then how heavy a punch would you have to throw to break through Master Zhang Sanfeng's Tai Chi, which weighs over a thousand pounds?"

Li Miao suddenly realized and sighed.

"That would probably require smashing down a mountain."

(End of this chapter)