The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

Liuli was shocked, not only by Ishii's death, but also because she knew very well how strong Su Qi was now—she herself was no match for him. And for Su Qi to be injured and rely on Ishii's sacrifice to escape, then how powerful must the enemy be?

"This isn't over yet. That man said he'll storm the dojo first thing tomorrow morning and kill us all."

"How could this be?!" she exclaimed in surprise and doubt. "Does that person have a grudge against our dojo? But I don't remember having any such enemy."

“That’s right, he said his name is… Soichiro.”

Upon hearing this name, Liuli finally couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

……

A moment later, in Liuli's bedroom, the girl bandaged Su Qi's wounds while learning what had happened from him.

In short, Yamada Yasuhiro suddenly turns evil and conspires with a demon to kill Su Qi and Ishii. They have no choice but to fight him, but their large-scale battle attracts the attention of Soichiro, who happens to be passing by.

The battle-crazed Soichiro joined the fight without a word. First, Yamada Yasuhiro was killed with a single blow, and then Ishii sacrificed himself to cover Su Qi's retreat. Only Ishii was left to escape and fled back overnight.

Without a doubt, these were all lies fabricated by Su Qi. The lie wasn't particularly sophisticated; a careful investigation would expose it. However, his purpose wasn't to weave a flawless lie, but rather to eliminate Soichiro and overcome tomorrow's difficulties.

As for what to do next, we'll deal with that later. Anyway, he'll have saved Liuli and Changgubalun's lives, so these kinds of details can be easily overlooked, and they won't investigate further.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that martial artists with powerful spiritual energy like Liuli and Changgu Balun had such keen senses, it would have been difficult for Ishii to hide it from Su Qi, given his cultivation level. Su Qi wouldn't have needed to go through the trouble of making him appear as a dead man. But there are no "ifs" in reality. He couldn't even guarantee that he could hide it from Su Qi himself, so of course he wouldn't bring back an Ishii who couldn't lie.

Fortunately, Su Qi's worries did not come to pass. Liu Li did not seem to realize that he was lying; she was just worried about the current situation.

"By the way, when I was fighting that person, something strange suddenly happened... Do you know what it was?"

After the wound was bandaged, Su Qi had a sudden thought. He slightly modified the scene before his last death and described it to Liuli, seeking answers.

"You really are lucky to have escaped." After hearing this, the latter looked at him in surprise and said with a serious expression, "If I am not mistaken, you should have been hit by our Immovable Mind School's strongest secret sword - Dream Bubble."

Chapter 41 Secret Sword: Dreamlike Bubble

"The strongest secret sword? A dreamlike illusion?"

Upon hearing this, Su Qi felt a bit immature and wanted to complain, but he held back.

"Illusory dream, bubble, shadow, and dew are both the secret sword and the true essence of the Immovable Mind School..." Liuli sat up straight and said with utmost seriousness, "Its originates from the words of the Buddha in the Diamond Sutra: 'All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows, dew, and lightning; thus should they be viewed.'"

"Everything in the world is in a state of dynamic change, as empty and fleeting as a dream, illusion, bubble, or shadow, which will burst in the blink of an eye; only what is neither born nor dies, neither moves nor changes, is the true reality, the true suchness, and the Buddha's fruit... The patriarch of the Immovable Mind School realized this point, which is why he created the sword technique of Dream, Illusion, Bubble, and Shadow."

"If ordinary swordsmanship kills the enemy's physical body, then Dreamy Illusion kills the enemy's mind. Its sword principle is to fuse one's own will and spiritual power into one, imprint it on the sword, and then transform it into a sharp sword intent to break through the enemy's mental defenses, distort their six senses, and destroy their mind... ultimately achieving the goal of taking a life without bloodshed."

While pondering, Su Qi said, "It sounds a bit like an illusion."

"The basic principles are similar, but the methods used are different. To put it metaphorically, ordinary illusions erode the target's mental armor layer by layer, eventually penetrating inside and distorting their thoughts; while illusions pierce through all the armor with a single sword strike, directly penetrating inside and disrupting or obliterating the target's mind. The latter is simpler and more ruthless than the former, but its drawback is that, apart from its powerful destructive force, it is difficult to perform other complex operations."

"Then how can we defend against the illusion of illusion?"

“There are roughly four methods.” Liuli thought for a moment and continued, “The first is to have a will as solid as a mountain and as firm as diamond, which cannot be shaken; the second is to have a powerful soul, with spiritual power or demonic power far exceeding that of the opponent; the third is to also learn the Illusionary Illusion technique and use sword intent to counter sword intent; the fourth is to learn other spells specifically designed to deal with illusions, or to possess treasures that can protect the mind in order to defend against or neutralize the attack of the Illusionary Illusion.”

Su Qi thought for a moment, realizing he had nothing, so he could only tentatively ask, "Um, Miss Liuli, is it too late for me to learn the Illusionary Bubble Shadow technique now?"

“Impossible.” Liuli shook her head slightly. “Even you could never learn the Dream Illusion in a day, let alone now that there isn’t even half a day left. In addition, to learn the secret sword technique of the Immovable Mind School, you need your father’s permission as the master of the school.”

Su Qi looked into her eyes and said earnestly, "No matter what, I still want to learn."

He now knows that without learning the Illusionary Bubble Technique, he cannot defeat Souichirou, who possesses it. Therefore, he is determined to obtain the training method for the Illusionary Bubble Technique. Moreover, once he knows the training method, he can use the Pure White Space to greatly shorten the training time, so time will not be a problem for him.

When Su Qi asked her question, Liu Li did not answer immediately. Instead, she gave him a deep look before standing up and saying, "Let's go then. Let's bring that guy back. There's no time for him to indulge in debauchery now."

……

A dozen minutes later, Su Qi and Liu Li broke into the brothel in the dead of night and pulled Chang Gu Balun off the woman's bed.

Taking this opportunity, Su Qi discovered that Chang Gubalun had a strange quirk: although he liked to stay in brothels and enjoy being served by women, drinking and having fun, he never made love with those prostitutes. Even in bed, he would just hold them in his arms like pillows and sleep until dawn.

So it's true that old feelings are hard to forget...

As a result, the image of Changgu Bayun improved slightly in his mind.

Afterwards, the two skillfully dragged the drunkard back to the dojo, and it took a lot of effort to wake him up.

……

"Impossible!" After listening to Su Qi's account, Chang Gu Bayin, who had just woken up, suppressed the discomfort of being drunk and said with a stern face, "I killed and buried Zong Yilang with my own hands! I am certain that he is dead, that I cut off his head and killed him, how could he be outside the city?"

“It’s the Shikon Jewel,” Su Qi explained. “It was the Shikon Jewel that revived him.”

"I don't know what the Shikon Jewel is, but how can the dead be brought back to life?"

“That’s the truth. Think about it carefully. Although you’ve mentioned Soichiro, you’ve never described his appearance to me. If he hadn’t been brought back from the dead, how could I possibly know so much?”

Chang Gu Bayun fell silent, circulating his spiritual power to gradually calm his dazed mind. He frowned and said, "Zong Yilang really showed up, and even said he'd be coming tomorrow?"

Su Qi said unhurriedly, "What benefit would I get from lying to you? Besides, we'll find out the truth soon enough, won't we?"

“I believe him,” Ruri chimed in, speaking earnestly. “Kenshin didn’t know about the existence of ‘Illusory Dream’. If he hadn’t experienced it firsthand, he couldn’t have described it so accurately.”

“By the way, speaking of this…” Su Qi bowed down before Chang Gu Bayin and said sincerely, “Master Chang Gu, in order to defeat Soichiro and avenge Ishii, please allow me to learn the Dream Illusion technique. I beg you.”

"Impossible!" The latter refused decisively, his face stern. "The Illusory Bubble is the supreme secret sword of the Immovable Mind School. Every one of its learners is an outstanding disciple who has undergone numerous tests and been selected over a long period of time. How could it be passed on to someone like you who has only been a student for a little over two months?"

"With a formidable enemy approaching, can't the Normal School make an exception?"

"I said no, and that's final." He shook his head, his face full of impatience. "Besides, if it were really as you say, where would I find the time to teach you swordsmanship?"

"How about Miss Ruri does it for me?"

"No! Liuli doesn't have time either!"

"why?"

"Because she's leaving soon." Chang Gu Balun looked at Liuli, his face showing a rare fatherly stern expression, and said in a deep voice, "Liuli, pack your things and leave immediately."

"I'm not leaving." The latter refused without hesitation, her eyes filled with determination and stubbornness: "You want me to run away and stay behind to show off, right?"

“I’m not trying to be brave…” Chang Gu Balun sighed helplessly. “That guy is after me. If I don’t stay, he will definitely not let it go. And the only one who can stand up to him is me.”

No, you'll just get utterly crushed by him...

Su Qi inwardly scoffed, while Liu Li looked up at her father defiantly, her voice firm and fearless as she declared, "Then let's die together! I will never again leave my family and abandon my home!"

For a moment, the conversation reached a stalemate.

"Kid, come with me for a second."

After a moment of silence, Chang Gu Balun suddenly stood up and pulled Su Qi outside for a private talk.

"Is there a problem?"

“You…” He sized up Su Qi, hesitated for a long time, and finally made up his mind, gritting his teeth and saying, “Kid, take my daughter with you and run away! As long as you can persuade her to leave, I will give you ‘Dream Bubble’!”

Chapter 42 But I refuse!

Chang Gu Hachirin knew very well that he was in extremely poor condition and was no match for Soichiro. Even with the help of the others in the dojo, he had no chance of winning. So rather than die together, it would be better to let Ruri and Su Qi escape. This would not only allow the sword style to be passed down, but also provide an opportunity to avenge him in the future.

This was indeed the right choice, but it wasn't the choice Liuli wanted. Seeing that she couldn't get her daughter to back down, she tried to find an opening through Su Qi, with whom she had a good relationship.

Trying to achieve your goal indirectly through me?

Su Qi instantly understood Chang Gu Ba Lun's plan and was somewhat tempted by it.

Unfortunately, he knew very well that Liuli was a very opinionated woman. Even if she had some feelings for him (yes, as a male protagonist who wasn't oblivious to emotions, Su Qi was well aware of this), it didn't mean he could persuade her to change her mind on this issue; moreover, with him present, this wasn't the best option, so…

“Indeed, judging from the current situation, your choice is correct.” He finished speaking, then his expression suddenly turned serious. “But I refuse! Because one of the things I, Kenshin Shishio, like to do most is to say 'no' to self-righteous people!”

"Kid, what's wrong with you?!"

Chang Gu Balun couldn't help but curse loudly, but he immediately reacted, glanced in the direction of Liuli, suppressed his irritation, and said in a low voice, "Do you want Liuli to die with me?!"

Su Qi did not answer, but calmly said, "Master Changgu, have you already admitted defeat?"

"What did you say?"

"When Ruri was instructing me before, she said that if one of the two warriors is determined to lose beforehand, then there is no way he can win... You can't be unaware of such a simple principle, can you?"

Chang Gu Ba Lun was shocked and fell silent.

"In my opinion, although Souichirou is strong and ordinary dojo disciples cannot pose a threat to him, if Ruri, you, and I fight together, we might not be without a chance of victory, right?"

"Not bad..." He sighed softly, his expression complicated, "This time I was too worried and made a mistake. Thank you for reminding me."

"It's nothing, just that outsiders see things more clearly. So, in order to better deal with Souichirou, could we perhaps use the Dream Bubble..."

"No way!" At the mention of "Dream Bubble," his face immediately hardened. "Rules are rules. Who told you to refuse my conditions earlier? Now you can regret it, you brat."

"Hey, hey, hey, that's going too far! What happened to thanking me?"

"That's a different matter. Anyway, let's not talk about the Dream Bubble anymore. If there's nothing else, I'm going to prepare for the upcoming battle."

After saying that, he turned to leave.

"Wait a moment!"

"Is there anything else?"

"You left too quickly last time, and I didn't have time to ask. I'd like to know, what should I do if I get stuck in a mental block when practicing visualization?"

Afterwards, Su Qi described in detail the problems he encountered in the visualization method.

Upon hearing this, the latter replied directly, "That's normal. Why do you think bodhisattvas would vow to enter the world? There's no such thing as achieving enlightenment simply by sitting in meditation."

"Entering the world? Why must we enter the world?"

"I ask you, is the pain of being besieged by swords and fire, or the pain of seeing your loved one die before your eyes, and being powerless to stop it?"

Su Qi paused slightly, then said thoughtfully, "Although I've never been in a relationship, I suppose... it's more painful to see your loved one die in front of you."

"The body is finite, but the mind is infinite. Similarly, physical pain is finite, but mental pain is infinite; moreover, what tempers the mind is not just simple pain, but also birth, old age, sickness, death, being with those you hate, being separated from those you love, not getting what you want, the burning of the five aggregates... Compared to that, the scorching heat and the eighteen levels of hell are just small hells. The human world is the truly terrifying great hell."

“When I first entered the second level of visualization, it was after I had emerged from the shadow of my wife’s death. The reason you are unable to go further is likely because your foundation is not strong enough to withstand the second level of visualization.”

"What should we do then?"

How would I know?

"Huh? You don't know? Aren't you a teacher's college student? How could you not know?"

He stared wide-eyed at Chang Gu Ba Lun.

The two stared at each other for a while before the latter finally looked away somewhat awkwardly. "Ahem, well, it's probably because you haven't had enough life experience. Or you could read more Buddhist scriptures. Our school, after all, originated from Tangmi (Tang Dynasty Esoteric Buddhism). Although it can only be considered an incomplete method, and has been completely altered by generations of successors over the past few hundred years, we still share the same roots, so perhaps we can learn something from it."

"Alright." Su Qi sighed. "It seems that the path of improving visualization skills and increasing spiritual power is not feasible for the time being."