The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

“Alright, since that’s the case, I’ll tell you the answer…” He finished speaking, frowned, as if he had been thinking for a while, and finally clapped his hands, suddenly realizing, “I finally remembered, I… actually have no idea how to get Tessaiga to acknowledge you.”

Before he could finish speaking, a shockwave exploded in front of him, and a huge crimson ghost claw slashed out fiercely.

……

A moment later, in the pure white space, Su Qi got up from the floor.

"The practical test is over." He recalled his previous battle with Sesshomaru and made a self-assessment. "Without the help of the Shikon Jewel, my basic speed and strength are two levels lower than Sesshomaru's, but my swordsmanship has raised my practical combat level, giving me the ability to fight him to a draw. Although it was just me who died and him who was injured, in the early part of the story, I should be considered to be at the top level."

That's right. The reason why Su Qi acted so recklessly just now was actually intentional, with three purposes. First, he wanted to test his strength; second, he wanted to return to the Pure White Space for training; and third... he just couldn't stand Sesshomaru's way of doing things, so he wanted to fight him.

He wasn't a saint, and he didn't feel sad for the dead people he didn't know. Moreover, once you step onto the battlefield, you should be prepared to die. But they were, after all, human beings, and to be killed by a monster for something as trivial as "blocking the way" naturally made him, as a fellow human being, feel a little annoyed.

However, the law of the jungle prevails in this era, and being blocked is barely a valid reason. Sesshomaru isn't the kind of demon who would actively kill and eat people, so it's still within Su Qi's tolerance. Otherwise, as long as he could be gang-raped to death, even if he was a popular supporting character, Su Qi would kill him without hesitation.

"My swordsmanship and spiritual power have just broken through, and there is still room for improvement."

With Uncle B in his heart, Su Qi wasted no time and began cultivating again in this space independent of the timeline.

……

He honed all his skills to the point where there was no further room for improvement, and finally reloaded his save file, appearing in an abandoned village house.

This is one of his temporary lodgings. The timeframe is the morning he encountered Sesshomaru. He had fought a battle with a spirit cricket hiding on the roof the night before, so the save point was set here.

Knowing the location of his destination, Su Qi didn't delay. After breakfast, he packed his bags and quickly set off. Around late afternoon, he finally arrived at the outskirts of a village with a sizable population that appeared peaceful and tranquil.

"Hello." He approached a villager at random, and asked with a kind smile, "Excuse me, does Grandma Feng live here? I have something I'd like to ask her."

"You're looking for Granny Kaede? What a coincidence! I heard that a demon stole Kikyo's spirit bone yesterday, and Granny Kaede and Kagome just chased after it together."

Great, I just happened to catch the scene where Kikyo is resurrected, saving me from wasting time...

Su Qi was overjoyed, but showed no sign of it on his face. After finding out the direction they had left, he immediately left the village to chase after them.

Chapter 52 I am a Partner of Justice

Kikyo is the second female lead in the original work and the previous life of the female lead Kagome. She was a priestess who was responsible for guarding the Shikon Jewel fifty years ago.

She once loved Inuyasha, but was framed by another half-demon named Naraku. Both believed the other had betrayed them, turning against each other. Ultimately, Kikyo died in resentment, while Inuyasha was sealed away by her own hands for fifty years. He was only freed fifty years later by Kagome Higurashi, a high school girl who had traveled from modern Japan.

But death was not the end of her fate. Now, coveting the shrine maiden's great power, a demon named Oni-jo Ritsu has stolen her remains, mixed them with grave soil, and burned them, causing her to be reborn as a doll.

However, a small problem arose. Because Kikyo's soul had been reincarnated as Kagome, the scalded dolls were merely physical, lacking soul and will. Fortunately, at that moment, in order to retrieve Kikyo's remains, her sister, Granny Kaede, happened to arrive with Inuyasha and Kagome, delivering the goods right to their doorstep.

After a fierce battle and a series of unfortunate mishaps, Kikyo finally revived and immediately turned on Uta, injuring Inuyasha. Just as Inuyasha was about to be taken down, Kagome, who should have lost consciousness, suddenly exerted her power, extracting her own soul from Kikyo's body and taking it all back.

Having lost most of her soul, Kikyo was unable to move her body and stumbled away with her remaining resentment, but accidentally fell off a cliff and was barely caught by Inuyasha who caught up with her... When Su Qi arrived at the scene, he happened to see this scene somewhere at the bottom of the cliff.

"Kikyo, I can't let you leave like this and return to Kagome's body."

"Wouldn't that just be sending me to my death?"

"!?"

"If I return to that woman's body, I will no longer be myself... Inuyasha, is that what you want? But I will not die like this. I said... my death will be your death!"

With that, he unleashed his remaining spiritual power in his palm, fiercely scorching Inuyasha's arm.

"Stop it!!"

Suddenly attacked, he could no longer hold on. His tightly clenched hands gradually weakened and finally loosened, and Kikyo fell off the cliff with him.

Damn it... I haven't been able to get my revenge yet! I haven't been able to kill Inuyasha yet! How can I die like this!?

As she fell, she stared intently at Inuyasha on the edge of the cliff, watching his figure disappear rapidly into the distance. She felt no fear of death, only resentment and bitterness.

But at that moment, she suddenly felt a tightness around her waist as someone wrapped their arms around her.

who!?

Kikyo was startled and wanted to check the identity of the person, but she was already too weak and in a bad position, so she could only let the other person lead her back and forth between the steep rock walls until she fell to the bottom of the cliff.

As soon as she landed, she pushed Su Qi away, stood up unsteadily, and looked around.

At the bottom of the cliff was a rocky beach, with streams and rocks everywhere, overgrown with weeds. Occasionally, one could see the bones of people or animals stuck in the cracks between the rocks. It was far from beautiful, but she felt a sense of beauty and joy from the bottom of her heart.

"I'm still alive... Inuyasha... I'm still alive!"

Kikyo's eyes were lifeless, and a smile that seemed to be both sad and happy appeared on her face. Her heart was filled with relief, relieved that she could continue to seek revenge against Inuyasha.

But then, a spoilsport voice rang out from behind, "Sigh, I finally managed to save you, only to be pushed away and fed a mouthful of expired dog food. I'm a little heartbroken."

Kikyo immediately snapped out of her daze, turned to look at Su Qi, and asked warily, "Who are you?"

As he spoke, he sized him up. The man before him was tall and slender with a clear face. He had a long sword at his waist, wore a bamboo hat, and had his medium-length black hair tied back with a straw rope. He was dressed as a young ronin in blue clothes and black hakama. He looked rather ordinary and did not have the imposing aura of a powerful martial artist.

However, both the superb agility that had just brought him down from the cliff and the pure and restrained powerful spiritual energy within him proved that he was no ordinary person.

While Kikyo was sizing up Su Qi, he was also sizing her up.

Without a doubt, Kikyo is a beauty, just as described in the original work.

Her skin was as white as porcelain, her hair as black as satin, her delicate and ethereal face as flawless as a white lotus, her graceful and slender figure like a willow swaying in the breeze, and her red and crimson kimono outfit added to her ethereal and otherworldly aura. She gave the impression of a pure white porcelain placed on an altar, exquisite, fragile, holy, and sorrowful, to be admired from afar but not to be touched.

As one of the most memorable classical beauties in the world of anime, even though Kikyo is full of resentment and inevitably carries a bit of fierceness, she is still stunningly beautiful and ethereal, truly deserving of being many people's childhood goddess.

However, Su Qi is indifferent by nature and doesn't easily develop feelings for anything. Although he might follow the trend of calling anime girls his "waifu," his feelings only go as far as a superficial liking. So... although he once liked the character Kikyo, he was able to maintain a normal attitude and wouldn't fawn over her like some fanatical otaku fans when they meet her in person.

So, despite Kikyo's wary questioning, this guy continued to do as he pleased, suddenly bursting into a hearty laugh, pointing a finger and showing his teeth, and said: "The ally of justice, Kenshin Shishio, reporting for duty!"

"A...partner of justice?" Kikyo frowned slightly, her face darkening. "Are you trying to fool me?"

"Of course not, Miss Kikyo."

"You know my name?" Her eyes grew more wary. "It seems that your saving me wasn't just a coincidence."

“That’s right.” Su Qi said without any attempt to hide it, “The reason I’m here is entirely for you.”

"For me? What exactly is your purpose?"

His expression turned serious, and he said in a solemn tone, "I want to form a golden partnership with you."

Kikyo remained silent for a moment, then turned and left.

"Wait, wait, wait! I'm serious, Kikyo, won't you reconsider?"

Ignore it and keep moving forward.

"Hey, don't ignore me. I just saved you, don't you think it's incredibly rude to your savior?"

Ignoring them, they continued forward.

Helpless, Su Qi had no choice but to catch up and block her way.

"Get out of the way." Kikyo said expressionlessly, her face cold.

"No."

"Get out of the way."

"We just won't allow it."

She was silent for a moment, then finally said, "Tell me, what exactly do you want?"

Su Qi smiled. "Seriously, how about becoming my partner? You can fight from a distance, and I'll attack from close range. The two of us can work together perfectly to take down Naraku. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"I don't want to hear any more of this meaningless nonsense."

"I thought you would ask who Naraku is."

"I don't trust you, that's all." Kikyo's eyes were dark, and her face was indifferent. "I don't have the strength to listen to your nonsense anymore. Either get out of my way, or kill me, it's up to you."

Having said that, he continued walking forward, staggering, as if Su Qi, who was blocking his way, didn't exist.

Su Qi chose to step aside, watching Kikyo walk past him, dragging her thin body, barefoot, struggling to walk on the rocky beach full of pebbles, her brows slightly furrowed.

"Miss Kikyo, do you need any help?"

He caught up with them in a few strides and sincerely extended an invitation.

Kikyo walked straight past him as if she hadn't seen him at all, without even glancing at him.

Chapter 53 The most important thing in life is to be happy.

Ignored...

Su Qi sighed softly, "Sigh, aloof women..."

After saying that, he turned around and chased after her again, saying to himself, "Your body is clearly having problems now. I think you shouldn't push yourself and should accept my help."

I was ignored again.

"There are so many rocks here, it must hurt a lot for you to walk barefoot, right? How about I carry you?"

They were still ignored.

"The most important thing in life is to be happy. Getting stuck on trivial matters will only hurt you, so why bother?"

They were still ignored.

"Look how comfortable and tempting my strong and broad shoulders and back are. Don't you want to lie down and rest for a while? It's a bit of a stretch."

It was still ignored.

"Tsk, you really have no taste. In that case, do as you please."

Seeing that Kikyo had no intention of accepting help, Su Qi shook his head, too lazy to persuade her any further. He rummaged through his bundle and pulled out a pair of extra new straw sandals, casually tossing them in front of her. He said casually, "I haven't even worn these shoes yet, but I'm giving them to you. It's up to you whether you want them or not. They're a bit big, but at least they're better than going barefoot."

After saying that, he left and disappeared into the nearby woods.

Kikyo stopped, looked at the new straw sandals at her feet, remained silent for a moment, and finally bent down to pick them up. Then she walked to the water's edge, sat on a rock, and began to wash her feet.

"As expected, it's not that easy to get Kikyo on board."

In the woods not far away, Su Qi silently watched her, already prepared for a long battle.

Nearly two months have passed since he transmigrated, and he has given much thought to the system's requirements for clearing the game. However, regardless of the circumstances, killing Naraku and purifying the Shikon Jewel are the most important and certain requirements that will be included in the final outcome. Leaving aside killing Naraku, simply collecting and purifying the Shikon Jewel is no easy task, so he needs companions.

Only two people are capable of sensing and purifying the Shikon Jewel: Kikyo and Kagome.

Comparing the two, Kikyo, being more mature, is undoubtedly superior in terms of combat strength and style of action. Moreover, Kagome already has Inuyasha's son, so she definitely won't go with him. As for joining Inuyasha's team... not only would their styles clash, but she would also immediately be exposed to Naraku, which would be detrimental to his plans. Therefore, Kikyo becomes the best choice.

During the rest of the journey, apart from a pair of straw sandals, Kikyo still did not accept any help from Su Qi.