The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

"Take it! Take everything! Take myself too! As long as you can kill him, I'll give you anything! Kill him!!"

Amidst a frenzied and venomous roar, Yamada Yasuhiro's remaining right half of his face was quickly stained black, his eyes turning into beastly pupils, glowing with an eerie blood-red light.

At this moment, the greedy and incompetent man named Yamada Yasuhiro was finally completely devoured by the demon, leaving not even a trace of his soul. And with this help, the demonic power fluctuations on Yamada Yasuhiro's body... no, it should be said that the being called the Gap Demon increased once again.

But just then, Su Qi's voice rang out nearby, "Chatting on the battlefield, do you think I don't exist?"

The next moment, a flash of light appeared, and the demon's right hand was severed at the shoulder, spraying blood as it flew away.

escape!!

Having barely dodged the attack at the cost of one hand, the Gap Demon was filled with fear. Even though it had completely devoured Yamada Taihiro and its demonic power had increased slightly, it dared not linger any longer. It immediately crashed through the side wall and rushed out of the house.

Su Qi followed closely behind, leaping into pursuit.

Both were beings whose speed far surpassed that of ordinary people. In no time, they had left the village and entered the mountains one after the other.

The distance between them is widening; that guy is clearly very adapted to the mountainous terrain, so this can't go on any longer...

Watching the figure nimbly traversing the mountains and forests ahead, Su Qi frowned slightly and decided to change the way he used his spiritual power.

I've only recently started practicing using spiritual energy to enhance speed, and I'm not yet proficient, so I can't fully utilize my abilities. But right now, the important thing is to unleash a burst of power, not to conserve energy. If I don't want him to escape, I must go all out in one go and finish this quickly!

With that in mind, he temporarily let go of the details of spiritual power, directly locked onto the dark figure in front of him, gathered all his mind and spiritual power, and then... unleashed his full power!

boom!!

Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet exploded as if it had been buried with explosives. Amidst the flying mud and sand, the turbulent current behind Su Qi swirled like a cannonball, instantly piercing through layers of air and shooting towards the back of the Gap Demon.

"die!!"

With a thunderous roar, the spiritual power gathered through the secret incantation technique surged forth and condensed onto the three-foot blade.

In the next instant, he swung his sword down.

laugh! !

A flash of cold light appeared, and the entire dark forest seemed to be sliced ​​in two by the extremely sharp blade light in that instant.

The pitch-black humanoid then ran forward for another hundred meters before suddenly splitting open along its midline, with half of its body falling to either side, its steaming internal organs and intestines spilling all over the ground.

"Damn it, all that work was for nothing!"

Cursing silently to himself, the expressions on the two severed faces froze simultaneously, their eyes turning deathly gray. A shadow the size of a basketball separated from the body and quietly moved towards a nearby patch of grass.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound rang out, a cold light flashed across the night, and a long sword shot out, its blade gleaming with a faint blue light, pinning the shadow to the ground with a hiss.

"Ouch! That hurts!!"

The shadowy figure immediately let out a scream, then trembled violently, constantly changing shape, but it just couldn't escape from under the blade.

"Don't rush, stand still and let me take a good look." Su Qi walked over unhurriedly, looking at the constantly changing shadow on the ground, and said with interest, "This shadow is your true form, right? If I couldn't see the fluctuations of demonic energy, you would have been able to escape easily in this environment. By the way, what kind of demon are you?"

"Gap Demon, Gap Demon, I am a shadow demon, Gap Demon, who lives in the gaps of human hearts." The Gap Demon answered swiftly and pragmatically, then pleaded, "My lord, spare my life! Your enemy is only that overconfident fool, Yamada Yasuhiro. I never intended to be your enemy. Please, spare me this time. I am willing to become your shikigami and will be loyal to you forever."

"That's good..." Su Qi smiled slightly and gripped the hilt of his sword. "Unfortunately, I don't know how to command shikigami."

After saying that, he suddenly exerted his strength, slashing horizontally and vertically, instantly dividing the shadow under the blade into dozens of pieces.

The demon screamed in agony, then uttered a few more venomous curses before fading away and disappearing into the frosty moonlight.

A moment later, Su Qi returned to the house and immediately saw the servants with lanterns lit, surrounding Shi Jing and the owner of the house, who were waiting for him at the door.

Upon seeing him return, Ishii first breathed a sigh of relief, then glanced behind him, his expression complicated, and said, "Kenshin, Taihiro, he..."

"He's already dead."

"Really? He's already dead?" His face instantly darkened.

"I didn't kill him. He was eaten by the monster he colluded with."

"Eaten by a monster?" He was slightly taken aback, then inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, muttering to himself, "It's good this way, it's good this way..." as he drifted off into a daze, his face filled with reminiscence.

“Um, sir…” The homeowner then stepped forward, rubbing his hands together, his face full of nervousness and ingratiation, and said, “Your battle just now was truly breathtaking, but our house…”

"Wait..." Su Qi interrupted him, frowning and staring at him with an unfriendly expression. "Our senior brother was likely influenced by the monsters in your house, which is why he suddenly became possessed by a demon. And in order to help you, I not only risked my life to fight, but also let our senior brother die in the mouth of a monster. At this time, you wouldn't be so heartless as to ask us to compensate for the losses, would you?"

"Uh, but..."

"But what?!" Su Qi suddenly raised his voice, gripped the hilt of his sword, and glared at him, "Do you really have such a shameful thought?!"

The homeowner was so frightened that his fat body trembled, his face turned pale, and he stammered, "No...nothing at all...It's an honor for our family to be your battlefield."

Obviously, people who truly value money over their lives are rare, so he chickened out.

Next, everyone returned to their house and made do with the rooms that hadn't collapsed. The extra people went to stay with the villagers. It took quite a while before things quieted down again.

Ishii was still somewhat disoriented due to the sudden change in his gentle senior's demeanor. Su Qi, on the other hand, kept his promise and continued to keep watch, ultimately easily helping the homeowner resolve the issue of the ghost that had killed someone that night.

The culprit was in the warehouse—a beheading sword that had been collected by the homeowner's grandfather. Over time, it had turned into a kind of tsukumogami (a type of spirit in Chinese mythology) and started causing trouble. Su Qi chased after it, found its original form, and cut it in two with a single stroke.

The following morning, Su Qi and Ishii set off early and returned to the dojo.

"Ishii, remember to be my witness later..."

Su Qi patted Shi Jing on the shoulder and stepped through the gate together, but suddenly stopped and his expression changed slightly.

"what happened?"

"The smell of blood..." He looked up at the main body of the dojo, his expression slightly serious. "A very strong smell of blood, can't you smell it?"

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Ruthless Cross-Dressing Master

"The smell of blood?"

While Ishii was still in a daze, Su Qi took a step forward and ran to the front of the dojo in the blink of an eye.

The temple gates were wide open, and inside, all was deathly silent. An even stronger, more pungent stench of blood rushed out.

He stepped into the entrance hall and looked inside. He saw more than a dozen corpses lying silently in the empty dojo, their cuts either diagonal or vertical, all of them severed in two. Thick blood flowed from the wounds, staining the floor beneath them red. Sunlight streamed in from the side window, making the smooth floor appear as if patches of dark red moss were growing on it.

Ishii ran over and, upon seeing the scene in the dojo, his face turned deathly pale. He cried out in shock, "What...what happened?! Why is this happening?! Why is everyone dead?!"

After saying that, he rushed into the dojo, smelled the long-standing stench of blood inside, and saw the corpses of his fellow disciples all over the room. Suddenly, his stomach churned, and he couldn't help but vomit.

Su Qi's expression was also solemn. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he quickly walked to a corner of the dojo and came to a person who was clutching his abdomen and leaning against the wall.

His heart was still beating, and his spiritual energy fluctuations had not yet dissipated. He was the only one still alive in the entire dojo, but... he probably wouldn't last much longer.

Glancing at the blood-stained right hand on the other man's abdomen, Su Qi crouched down and whispered, "Shinta, are you still alive? What happened here?"

As he spoke, he channeled his spiritual power and used some mantra techniques. Although his voice was soft, it was extremely penetrating and went straight to the heart.

As he lay dying, Shinta's body trembled slightly. He raised his head, stared at Su Qi in front of him for a moment, and then weakly said, "Is it... Kenshin?"

"It's me? How are you?"

"I..." He paused for a long time before managing a weak smile. "I'm fine... I'm fine. But everyone... everyone is dead... killed by that evil spirit."

As she spoke, her voice began to tremble with emotion, almost as if she were about to cry.

“I understand.” Su Qi said seriously, “Tell me, what’s the deal with that evil spirit? I will help everyone get revenge.”

"Wearing a floral dress...like a woman...her swordsmanship is like that of a demon...everyone who rushed at her was cut down with a single stroke...I was saved by Miss Ruri...that's why I'm still alive..."

"Where is Liuli?"

"They were...taken away...and taken...to the red-light district..."

As he spoke, his voice grew softer and softer, and with the last word uttered, he slowly lowered his head and breathed his last.

Su Qi stood up and walked outside. Ishii approached, his eyes filled with grief and anger, "Kenshin, Shinta..."

"I'm leaving." Su Qi didn't stop, brushing past him with a blank expression, and said, "You stay here and clean up the dojo, I'm going to find Liuli."

"Wait, I want to come too!"

"Even Liuli is no match for you, so what can you do?"

"I'm not afraid to die!" Ishii quickly caught up, gritting his teeth as he said, "I will avenge everyone!"

"But I'm afraid you'll be a burden to me."

Su Qi's words struck him like a thunderbolt, leaving him frozen in place.

"With an unwavering mind, you wield the ever-changing sword... Ishii, your training is far from sufficient."

Leaving behind his last words, Su Qi left the dojo, his figure disappearing from Shi Jing's sight.

……

When Su Qi arrived at the red-light district, a place teeming with brothels and taverns, he saw many people fleeing in panic.

"What's wrong with you all? Why are you all running out in such a panic?"

"The brothel inside has been sacked! So many people are dead! Run!!"

Listening to the discussions of passersby, he quickened his pace again, rushed against the flow of people into the red-light district, and soon arrived at the brothel that Chang Gu Ba Lun frequented.

Here, one can already hear the rapid clanging of swords, voices, the crashing of tables and chairs, and other sounds of battle emanating from within. And of course, the stench of blood permeates the air.

Su Qi stepped through the gate without hesitation, but as soon as he entered, a figure rushed towards him.

His eyes flickered slightly, and in a flash he recognized the person. He immediately reached out and caught her, taking two steps back to dissipate the force. He smiled at the girl in his arms, "Miss Liuli, isn't it a bit too enthusiastic of you to throw yourself into my arms as soon as we meet?"

The girl in his arms was Liuli. However, at this moment, her clothes were disheveled, her hair was messy, and her face was covered with sweat and dust, making her look somewhat disheveled.

"Kenshin!?" Upon seeing Su Qi, the girl's eyes lit up, a hint of surprise flashing across her face, but it quickly turned into panic. She immediately got up from his arms, pushing him away while anxiously saying, "Run! Don't come back for the next few days!!"

"What's wrong?" Su Qi didn't want to leave, so he didn't move an inch. He just glanced at the corpses that had been cut in half all over the brothel, and then looked up at the two people fighting fiercely inside.

"Idiot!!" Unable to be pushed, the girl's pretty face flushed red, and she angrily shouted, "I told you to run away! Didn't you hear me? If you dawdle any longer, you'll be killed!!"

But at that moment, the two who were locked in a fierce battle exchanged blows and finally separated.

Su Qi's gaze swept across the crowd and he saw that one of them was Chang Gu Ba Lun. However, at this moment, he was disheveled, had a cold expression, and was covered with more than a dozen wounds, his clothes stained with blood. He looked even more disheveled than Liu Li.

Opposite him stood a beautiful woman dressed as a woman.

He was thin and small, wearing a slightly oversized women's patterned garment. His long hair was tied up with a straw rope. He had fair skin and a beautiful face. At first glance, he looked like a petite and beautiful woman, but he had an Adam's apple and a cold and stern temperament. Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that he was actually a man.

"What a disappointment, Hachirin." The woman lightly gripped her long sword, her posture relaxed, looking at the ancient Hachirin opposite her, her beautiful face full of resentment. "I just crawled out of my grave and rushed here to find you without stopping for a moment, but you've become so weak. Do you need a little stimulation like last time?"

After saying that, she turned to look at Liuli. When she saw Su Qi on the way, her eyes lit up and she revealed a bright smile. "Oh, there's a guy who looks pretty strong. Want to fight him?"

"Soichiro, why are you still alive?" Staring intently at the man opposite him, Chōko Hachirō's face was cold, and he felt a faint pain in his severed left arm.