The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

……

Buddhist scriptures say that twenty thoughts make one instant, and twenty instants make one snap of the fingers.

Then, on the ninth playthrough, Su Qi persevered for fifteen repetitions under the illusion of Souichirou.

Ten cycles, eighteen recitations.

Eleventh playthrough, in an instant.

Fifteen cycles, nine thoughts in an instant.

Thirty-six cycles, three moments and eight thoughts.

Seventy-two cycles, four moments and nineteen thoughts.

One hundred and eight cycles, eight moments and six thoughts.

One hundred and twenty cycles, nine moments and nine thoughts.

One hundred and twenty-one cycles, nine moments and nine thoughts.

One hundred and twenty-five cycles, nine moments and nine thoughts.

……

"Damn it! What a dreamlike illusion! What a ghost sword technique! What a ghost sword heart! What a ghost sword intent! What a damn mystical world! Can't it just follow scientific principles?! Damn it all, this ghost world! Damn it all, this ghost system! I fucking want to go home!!"

In the pure white space, Su Qi, in a fit of impotent rage, kicked the black stone base hard, immediately letting out a scream and rolling around on the floor clutching his calf.

Having been killed more than 120 times in a row, and finding himself in a dead end, even he couldn't help but lose his temper.

"So, what's the next step?"

After venting his frustrations, Su Qi lay on the ground, his hand on his forehead, his empty eyes staring upwards, feeling completely drained.

He was exhausted. After repeating the same few hours hundreds of times, he had even memorized the patterns of everyone else's actions and lines. This made him feel more and more like he was struggling to survive in a monotonous game. His frustration and impatience had accumulated until they finally exploded when he got stuck on the game's progress.

"If we don't use self-hypnosis, what other methods can we use to combat illusions and illusions?"

After staring blankly for a while, Su Qi finally came to his senses and forced himself to continue thinking about how to defeat Soichiro. However, in the end, he still came up empty-handed.

"Is this the only option? Perhaps the bottleneck is only temporary, and we can break through it with a few more tries?"

A fleeting sense of hope crossed his mind, but he immediately extinguished it.

"Impossible... I know perfectly well that self-hypnosis has reached its limit. Perhaps... I should ask Chang Gu Ba Lun for his opinion..."

After much deliberation, Su Qi finally gave up on self-hypnosis this time. He walked expressionlessly to the black stone base and pressed the save/load button.

……

The 126th playthrough takes place after rushing back to the dojo overnight, in Ruri's bedroom.

"Kenshin? Kenshin? What's wrong with you?"

During the conversation, Su Qi, who had been unconsciously lost in thought, was startled awake by Liu Li. "Uh, I... where was we?"

"Speaking of Ishii's sacrifice, you immediately ran back to report the news..." The girl who was bandaging his wounds frowned, stared at his face, and asked suspiciously, "Are you hiding something from me?"

Her senses were naturally sharp, and she saw through Su Qi's mistake the moment he relaxed his guard.

"Uh, well..."

Under the clear moonlight, looking at the beautiful girl opposite him, who wore only a thin dress, had narrow shoulders, and wore long black hair, Su Qi's thoughts were in turmoil. After a moment of hesitation, he asked as if possessed, "Liuli, if one day I encounter an exceptionally powerful nemesis and am about to be killed by him; and you know this beforehand and have the ability to die and be reborn countless times on that day, would you save me?"

Chapter Forty-Seven: Burning Fury

As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it, but then he thought that he didn't need to be as reluctant as other transmigrators to mention their cheat abilities to others.

Because if he dies, the memories of those involved will be reset as time rewinds, and they won't remember anything he said in the next playthrough. So, calming down, I actually wanted to hear how Ruri would respond.

"What are you talking about?" The girl frowned slightly, somewhat confused.

“It’s just a hypothesis…” Su Qi explained carefully again, then said with an unreadable expression, “Don’t take it too seriously, I just want to hear your opinion.”

"There's no need to take it so seriously..."

The girl gazed intently into the other's eyes, lost in thought, and said earnestly, "Of course, I will save you."

"why?"

"Because we're... kind of friends, I guess. Are you satisfied with that answer?"

“But even if the two of us combine our strength, or even if everyone combines their strength, we still absolutely cannot defeat him. You will die.”

"Didn't you say you wouldn't die?"

"But the pain of death will not be lessened in the slightest."

"Do you think I'm some delicate young lady from a wealthy family?" She rolled her eyes at Su Qi and said without hesitation, "Don't forget that I'm also practicing the Immovable Contemplation Method. I can endure mere physical pain."

"And what about the endless pain and despair?"

"Why... is there endless pain and despair?" The girl frowned, a sense of foreboding rising in her heart. "Even with countless chances to try, can't we still win?"

Su Qi lowered his eyes, took a slow breath, and turned his gaze away from Liu Li's face. Through the half-open paper door, he turned to look at the courtyard and the bright moon outside, his voice filled with deep helplessness, and said softly, "I'm sorry, we... really can't win."

The girl trembled, staring in astonishment at his profile, a nameless panic slowly rising in her heart like a tide.

"Once...twice...three times...fifty times...one hundred times...no matter how many times it's repeated, no matter what method is used, all that's possible is failure and death..."

Su Qi turned his gaze back to Liu Li, his eyes flashing, and slowly said, "In that case, what would you do?"

A look of disbelief flashed in the girl's eyes. She stared at his face for a long while before taking a deep breath, lowering her head slightly, and falling silent.

For a moment, only the moonlight, as clear as water, flowed quietly in the Japanese-style room, and the sound of each other's breathing was barely audible.

Su Qi looked down at the girl, but could not see her expression due to the few strands of hair hanging down and the shadows. However... her slumped shoulders and relaxed back made it seem as if she had lost her former tenacious spirit in an instant, and her frail figure was no different from that of an ordinary girl.

"Then let's give up."

After a long while, in the veil of moonlight, the girl slowly raised her face, as beautiful as a lotus emerging from clear water. A faint smile played on her lips, but deep within her bright, moist eyes lay a hint of sorrow, a sorrow that seemed to conceal her predicament. "Since we can't win no matter what, isn't this the only thing we can do? Besides, we've only been friends for a little over two months. Kenshin, you wouldn't be so selfish as to want me to fall into the Yellow Springs with you, would you?"

Su Qi was stung by that hesitant look in his eyes, as if someone had suddenly stabbed his heart with a needle, causing a dull ache.

What is this? Romance? Pity? Don't be ridiculous! Just like she said, they've only been friends for a little over two months. Don't get carried away!

He suddenly felt a tightness in his chest, as if he were being pressed down at the bottom of the deep sea, suffocating, agitated, stifled, and restricted. No matter how much he struggled, he could not escape or avoid it.

"I……"

Su Qi's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but looking at the other person's expression, he couldn't bring himself to speak.

He found it hard to understand why he, who was usually full of witty remarks and jokes and could easily write a 500-word essay on a given topic, had suddenly fallen silent. His mind was a jumble of thoughts, and he couldn't find the words to speak for a moment.

"I... well... actually..."

He opened his mouth again and again, only to be speechless once more. Under the girl's gaze, Su Qi grew increasingly agitated. Finally, an unprecedented surge of anger exploded in his chest.

He was angry with himself.

The reason for this conversation ultimately stemmed from the fact that he had begun to consider giving up. He was tired, frustrated, stuck on a level, and unable to progress further, so he thought about abandoning Liuli. After all, she was just a friend of two months, and a character who hadn't even appeared in the original story. Even if she died, there was a high probability that it wouldn't affect his overall score. So why bother stubbornly sticking to this?

However, how is doing this any different from those trash protagonists he used to despise? Liuli's gaze "awakened" him, and he felt angry and ashamed for having such thoughts before.

At the same time, he was also angry about Soichiro's existence.

Why are all the other transmigrators unstoppable, with countless harems and living the high life, while he's constantly getting humiliated and can't even defeat a nobody who didn't even appear in the original story? If he's so awesome, why doesn't he just go to heaven and stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun?

I was killed over 120 times in total. I didn't realize it when I was focused on the game, but now that I think about it, wasn't that almost like torture? Why could I calmly send myself to be killed every time? Was I being too rational? Shouldn't I feel resentful and angry?!

I must win! I absolutely must win! No matter how many times I have to reload, I will win with my own hands and make that damn loser eat dust!!

For the first time in his life, Su Qi, who was usually calm and indifferent, experienced such intense anger, as if it were burning away all his rationality.

We will win!

After his anger level reached its peak, Su Qi swept away his previous negative state, his eyes gleaming like raging flames, and said these words to Liuli.

"Huh?" The girl was a little taken aback.

“Just wait and see…” He stood up, his hand on the hilt of his sword, gazing towards the dojo gate. Every word he uttered was like a steel nail hammering into an iron wall, sparking as he declared resolutely, “We will definitely win!! Even if we’re only friends for two months, even if I die thousands of times, I will definitely save you!”

Staring blankly at Su Qi's profile, the girl felt for the first time that a chord in her heart had been plucked.

……

At dawn, Su Qi sat cross-legged at the entrance of the Taoist temple, a sword across his lap.

On the distant horizon, a gigantic red sun slowly but irresistibly broke through the earth's surface, finally surpassing the mountain peaks, filling the universe, and bursting forth with billions of rays of light. In an instant, the long night vanished like smoke, the darkness fled like a defeated army, and boundless light illuminated billions of miles of rivers and mountains, covering all things in heaven and earth in gold, like an immortal divine kingdom.

Can't wait!

Unlike before when he simply aimed to achieve his goals, this was the first time he was eager to step onto the battlefield.

My blood is boiling! My mind is soaring!

Su Qi stared at the crossroads with burning eyes, listening to the increasingly rapid war drumbeats in his chest, and slowly placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword.

As if influenced by its master's intense fighting spirit, the spiritual power also ignited, like refined gold, constantly being purified and condensed, eventually merging into one, a completely new one!

He gripped the hilt of the knife one finger at a time, experiencing the feel of it with unprecedented care. At that moment, he felt as if he were not touching a lifeless piece of steel, but rather caressing the skin of a living creature.

As if infected by its own desires, it waited, it was excited, it was ready to respond to its own call, it couldn't wait to drink the enemy's blood and cut through all obstacles in its way.

Finally, a colorful figure appeared on the road ahead, strolling leisurely towards them.

Su Qi stood up, and with a clang, the long sword sprang out of his hand and landed in his palm. Bathed in the morning light, the blade reflected a dazzling, cold light, its sharpness seemingly capable of slicing through anything.

boom!!

The ground suddenly exploded, and he shot out like lightning, piercing through the air barrier.

He couldn't wait any longer...

Phew, finally we're getting into the main storyline...

Chapter Forty-Eight: True Sword Victory and Defeat

"Ok?"

Soichiro was strolling leisurely on the stone path with his hands tucked into his sleeves when a sudden sense of unease arose in his heart. He looked up and saw a figure rushing towards him like lightning, its fierce fighting spirit piercing his brow and raising goosebumps all over his body.

Danger! Extremely dangerous!!