The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

At this point, all the forces that could be relied upon and utilized in the city had been dragged into the conflict, leaving Su Qi in a state of powerlessness and helplessness in the face of battle.

……

Since we cannot win and cannot reach a settlement, let's first make a strategic retreat and fight again later.

In the fifth playthrough, Su Qi changed his strategy, using Liu Li's safety as leverage to persuade Chang Gu Ba Lun to agree to move with him. Afterwards, the three of them notified all the disciples before dawn to close the dojo, pack their belongings, and enter the mountains through a small path outside the city, escaping as quickly as possible without stopping.

But that night, Soichiro somehow caught up with them, and the relocation plan failed.

……

In the sixth playthrough, Su Qi carefully investigated and discovered that the reason why Soichiro was able to catch up in the previous playthrough was likely because of the sword of Nagako Hachirin, Shigure.

According to him, Soichiro's "Harusame" and his "Shigure" were both gifts from their master, and were demon swords forged from two teeth from the same dragon. Therefore, they were much sharper and tougher than ordinary samurai swords, and after cutting someone, dew would seep out from the blade to wash away the bloodstains. Perhaps this is why they had the ability to sense each other.

"But sensing should be mutual. Why can he sense you, but you can't sense him?"

Chang Gu Bayun was also puzzled by this, but Su Qi guessed that it was likely caused by the change in the Shikon Jewel.

Afterwards, although reluctant, Chang Gu Balun followed Su Qi's advice, tied the knife to a wild deer in the mountains, and continued on his way.

However, although this delayed things, Soichiro still came to their door the next afternoon, and the second transfer failed.

Although he failed, Su Qi managed to extract the truth from the other party through skillful verbal exchanges.

He did catch up by relying on the mutual resonance between the knives, but after the knives failed, what he relied on was... his unwillingness to be defeated, his obsession with finding and surpassing the Eight Wheels of the Ancient Sword, and his pursuit of the ultimate swordsmanship.

What the heck? Is there such a mysterious operation?

Su Qi expressed some incomprehension, but considering that this was a world of metaphysics, and that the Shikon Jewel could even travel through time and space, sending Kagome from 500 years in the future to the Warring States period, he gave up thinking about the scientific rationale behind this phenomenon.

……

"So now we can neither fight, nor make peace, nor escape; the situation... has reached a dead end..."

In the pure white space, Su Qi lay sprawled on the ground, gazing at the sky. For the first time since his transmigration, he was lost and directionless, unable to think of anything.

Chapter 45 I Hypnotize Myself

"No...it's not a dead end yet...it's too early to give up."

His mind raced, all the information he knew flashing through his mind like a screen. After a moment of thought, his eyes lit up and he thought of a way to break the deadlock—reckless!

Unlike the last time he dealt with bandits and the Red Demon, this time his opponent is far superior in every way. He can no longer rely on clever tricks or external forces to defeat him. Therefore, the key to breaking the deadlock lies within himself.

Compared to Soichiro, his key advantage in breaking the deadlock is undoubtedly—he has a cheat code!

Indeed, in terms of combat, Su Qi's various qualities were completely suppressed, but he had unlimited life and unlimited potential, and he did not believe that his mind was inferior to his opponent's. Therefore, theoretically speaking, as long as he could continue to grow in battle with his opponent and find his opponent's weaknesses, victory was only a matter of time.

However, this means that most of the ways to break the deadlock rely on the ability to rewind, which is just a low-skilled trial and error process involving constant deaths. Actually, he doesn't particularly like this strategy, but the enemy is too strong and there are too many restrictions, so this is the only method he can use at the moment.

But before that, there is one more problem that must be solved, and that is... Soichiro's dream bubble.

If he cannot resist the illusionary bubble, then Su Qi will die with a single blow from its hand. In this way, even if he dies countless times, deaths without growth are meaningless and will not bring him any closer to the goal of victory.

Su Qi had already tried this in previous playthroughs, but for some reason, his own dream bubble would collapse at the slightest touch in front of the other party's dream bubble. The most urgent task was to solve this problem.

……

Seventh playthrough, in the wild.

On the morning of the second day of their escape, after their sparring match,

"You really are a monster!" Chang Gu Ba Lun exclaimed in amazement, looking at Su Qi as if he were an alien. "I just gave you the scroll yesterday, and you spent almost the entire day traveling without having time to study, yet you've managed to use the Dream Bubble Technique to this extent today."

Should I tell you I've been practicing in that pure white space for a long time? Of course not, so I can only reluctantly pretend to be cool...

Thinking to himself, Su Qi smiled and waved his hand in a show of feigned modesty, "Don't say that. Do you know how hard I've worked? I practiced for a whole hour this morning."

"Pah, you're getting a good deal and still acting innocent." Chang Gu Balun glanced at the person's ugly face with disdain and said irritably, "Don't be too happy yet. Right now, your dream bubble is just a facade."

"Oh, how so?"

Su Qi's eyes lit up, and he quickly pressed for an answer. After all, the reason he had deliberately created this situation was so that he could ask this question in a reasonable way.

"It's the same old problem... intent, intent. Your sword has no heart, and without a heart, where does intent come from? If the sword intent is not firm or sharp, how can a dreamlike illusion have any power?"

"Then how should we solve this?"

"Well, that depends on..."

"Stop saying you have to figure it out on your own!" He interrupted the other person, and said with a serious face, "Master Changgu, for the sake of my loyalty and dedication in following you on your escape, how about you show me the way?"

"Uh, I made an exception and passed on the Dream Illusion to you, what more do you want?"

"As my teacher, would you mind saying a few more words?"

"Hmm, say a few more words..." Chang Gu Balun looked distressed, racking his brains for a while before finally saying, "Actually, the sword's heart is the heart's heart. And if you want the sword, which is originally an inanimate object, to sense your heart, to be stained with your colors, and to fight for your will, you must have an extremely strong will."

"For a slightly more skilled swordsman, the sword heart is not actually a difficult problem. Because swordsmanship is a skill that divides life and death on the battlefield. In order to survive, to overpower the opponent, and to overcome death, the swordsman's will must burn and sublimate between life and death, forming an extremely strong intention. However, perhaps because you have not experienced enough battles, I cannot feel that sharpness that has been tempered by life and death in you."

Of course, because I'm not going to die...

As Su Qi listened, he vaguely understood the problem.

"By the way, try to think about it, is there anything you absolutely want to achieve?"

"Something you absolutely want to achieve?" He thought about it seriously, then hesitated and said, "It seems... there isn't one."

Indeed, no.

After asking himself honestly, Su Qi suddenly realized that he didn't actually have anything he really wanted to achieve, which meant... he was a complete slacker.

Before his transmigration, needless to say, this guy cultivated both water and air, only wanting to live a peaceful life—a true hero among lazy bums and doves. Now, after transmigrating, he wants two things: to go home and to change the fate of Liuli and her father. However… it hasn't reached the point where he absolutely has to accomplish either.

For example, he might commit suicide if he can't go home, or be buried with Liuli and her father if he can't change their fate. His resolve certainly hasn't reached that level.

Therefore, Su Qi is essentially a rather indifferent person. It is quite difficult to truly get into his heart. Although Liu Li managed to do so, she has only just crossed the threshold of becoming friends. She is still far from being a life-and-death friend, let alone a lover.

And it is precisely because of this that he finds it difficult to fully commit to a person or a thing, which creates an obstacle to his progress, which is like a fleeting dream.

"Then I really can't do anything about it." Chang Gu Balun shook his head, indicating that he had no other options.

"It's okay, I've got a clue. Let me try to figure it out myself..."

After Su Qi finished speaking, he fell into deep thought.

……

After being killed once again, Su Qi returned to the pure white space.

"Given my personality, it's almost impossible for me to suddenly unleash intense emotions or develop a strong obsession with someone or something, so I have to find another way and use other methods."

He sat cross-legged on the ground, adjusted his mind and body, and began to experiment with the method he had come up with earlier—self-hypnosis.

"I want to win...I want to win...I want to win...I want to win...I want to win...I want to win...I want to win..."

Drawing on some psychological knowledge and visualization techniques from his previous life, Su Qi formed hand seals, chanted hypnotic incantations, and his spiritual energy fluctuated as he gradually entered a meditative state.

After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes filled with burning fighting spirit. He then leaped up and swiftly walked to the bottom of the black stone to sit down.

Su Qi's demeanor has changed drastically. He walks with a powerful stride, chest out and back straight, exuding arrogance and sharpness. If he were to stand next to Su Qi before, even if they looked exactly alike, no one would probably think they were the same person.

"Hmph, the plot hasn't even officially started yet, how could I possibly get stuck here?" He pressed the save button without hesitation, his face full of determination and fighting spirit. "If once isn't enough, I'll try ten times; if ten times isn't enough, I'll try a hundred times; if a hundred times isn't enough, I'll try a thousand times! How long can a mere Soichiro hold out? Before me, there is no invincible opponent!"

Chapter Forty-Six: Impotent Rage, Mental Breakdown

Eighth cycle, early morning, in front of the dojo gate.

This time, Su Qi neither fled nor took advantage of the situation. Instead, after sending Liuli away alone and informing all the disciples present to avoid the area that day, he stood alone in front of Zong Yilang.

This time, he's going to solo!

"Souichiro, this ends here!"

In front of the dojo was a smooth and clean stone path. Su Qi stood proudly, holding a long sword, looking at Souichirou, who was dressed in a flowery shirt and walking towards him as if on a spring outing. His face was as cold as ice.

"Who are you? You exude killing intent and fighting spirit. Do you want to duel me?"

Stopping a good ten feet away, the latter, with a long sword at his waist, stood lazily, still sporting that same smiling face, appearing gentle, sunny, and harmless. Coupled with his extremely handsome face, if he were to travel five hundred years into the future and become a heartthrob, he would probably be incredibly popular.

However, Su Qi, who had reincarnated for the eighth time, naturally knew what a cruel, bloodthirsty, and life-disregarding beast was hiding beneath this beautiful exterior.

"You're looking for Changgu Hachirin, right? He's waiting for you in the dojo behind me."

"Oh, that's something that makes me ecstatic." Soichiro licked his lips, excitement and madness quickly appearing in his eyes.

"But if you want to see him, you'll have to step over my dead body first!"

"No problem, are you ready?" He smiled brightly and spoke politely, but his eyes were sharp as knives, already eager to tear Su Qi to pieces.

"Let's settle this with one sword strike! I will use my strongest secret sword technique, and I hope you will too, otherwise don't blame fate if you die."

As Su Qi spoke, he drew his sword, focused his mind, and contracted his spiritual energy, instantly activating the Dream Illusion technique, entrusting his sword intent to the blade.

"Dreamlike Bubble? It looks pretty powerful. I'll look forward to it then."

Soichiro also casually drew his long sword from his waist, then took a step forward and, in the blink of an eye, without warning, darted to Su Qi in an instant.

clang!!

Two dazzling, star-like arcs of light lit up almost simultaneously, colliding with a deafening roar. The violent fluctuations of spiritual energy exploded at the point of impact, dissipating outwards.

boom!!

As if a thunderbolt had exploded in his mind, Su Qi's consciousness trembled, and he seemed to see the whole world freeze in that instant.

A grain of sand on the stone slab beneath his feet, the reflection in the blade opposite him, an eyelash on Soichiro's eyelid, a startled bird soaring low in the sky behind him... All things in heaven and earth are frozen in this moment, appearing in the solidified space-time with exquisite detail, as beautiful as a painting.

But gradually, as the spiritual power gathered on his sword dissipated, his consciousness became increasingly loose amidst constant tremors. The solidified world was like a shattered amber artifact, with spatial cracks appearing, growing, and spreading from Su Qi as the center, eventually intersecting each other. The "outer layer" peeled off, revealing a bloody scene behind it.

boom!!

Finally, countless cracks intertwined to form fissures, and countless fissures shattered like crystal. Amidst the continuous, ear-piercing sounds of collapse, the entire world exploded and was swallowed up by mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

……

In the pure white space, Su Qi sat on the edge of the black stone base, covered his face and sighed softly, "A miscalculation. I didn't expect that I would still have chuunibyou traits after being hypnotized. Fortunately, the condition is not serious and has not affected the plan."

Recalling the previous battle, he frowned slightly. "In the end, we still failed, but we lasted longer than before. So, should we continue in this direction?"

After careful consideration, Su Qi decided to continue down the path of self-hypnosis, considering that there was no other way for the time being, to see if he could reach the end.

What followed was even more extreme self-hypnosis and continuous battles.