Demon Capital Slayer

Chapter 46 Mirror Mind and Wise Wisdom
The outside world is in turmoil.

The one who stirred up the waves was actually in a dream.

"As expected, it didn't appear in the bamboo forest." Yu Jian muttered to himself as he looked around.

After leaving the mortal world, he fell asleep and entered the Asura Dream as usual.

When he woke up—well, that sounds a bit strange—in short, when Mikasa opened his eyes in the dream, he found himself sitting next to a shrine.

The sun still hangs on the horizon, shining obliquely on the distant ruins of the city. The shrines with Tang Dynasty architectural features stand quietly in place, and the vibrant colors of the murals made from jade insect elytra remain unchanged.

Yu Jian had previously researched the local language and found that the pronunciation of the word "jade" was very similar to that of "soul". The color of the jade insect's elytra is structural color and will not fade over time.

Therefore, the locals believe they are the embodiment of immortal souls.

As for the wooden structure above that resembles an architectural model, according to the classification in the artisan's book, it is called a replica Buddhist temple. It is a small-scale replica of a temple placed on a Sumeru pedestal (a platform for placing Buddha and Bodhisattva statues). Regardless of the architecture, sculpture, painting and other arts and crafts, they are reproduced in proportion, so they appear exceptionally exquisite.

The murals around the room depict mythological stories, but they are now temporarily obscured by dust and stains, making it difficult to see the details.

Yu Jian raised his hand and gently touched the shrine, wanting to brush away the dust.

Before he could make a move, the shrine began to tremble slightly.

call--

The wrought iron lanterns hanging from the four corners of the roof lit up with candlelight, as if the people living in the ancient building had suddenly woken up and lit lamps.

Dust and stains fell away, and the entire shrine was instantly transformed.

The content of the murals has also become clear. It seems to be the beginning of a mythological story. The protagonist is born as the son of a noble family and spends a carefree and happy youth. However, due to the wars and calamities that fill the world, he comes to understand the suffering of birth, old age, sickness and death that people face in his various encounters, and finally gives rise to a great vow to save the world.

At the end of the mural was a line of text, which Yu Jian read aloud unconsciously.

"The world is filled with sorrow and bloodshed, all for the sake of saving the common people."

Before he could finish speaking, an unexpected event occurred.

squeak-

The two embossed panels on the front, each the size of a cabinet door, open slowly to the sides without any wind, revealing small, strangely shaped deities inside.

Yu Jian carefully examined the statues of deities enshrined there.

At first glance, it looks like an ordinary Buddha statue. The statue of the three-headed, six-armed Vidyaraja sits cross-legged on a lotus pedestal, with a circle of undulating patterns symbolizing flames on its sides. The three faces are facing left, center, and right respectively, and the hair on its head is as red as blood.

What's rather strange is that the image of the Wisdom King should be holding a sword in his right hand and a rope in his left, with the former symbolizing the cutting off of afflictions and demons, and the latter representing freedom, convenience, and the binding of all internal and external demons.

However, the Buddha statue's hands were empty, without any ritual implements.

Furthermore, local deities' statues typically depict ugly and distorted faces to represent their majesty and ferocity, but the three faces of this particular deity statue are all sculpted to be quite handsome.

The face on the left looks tired with downcast eyes, while the one on the right has its eyes closed and a sorrowful expression. Only the one in the middle is expressionless.

But anyone who looks into his eyes can feel his immense anger.

A thunderclap in the silence—it is a grief greater than the death of the heart, giving rise to an extreme rage that utterly destroys the entire corrupt world.

In short, it's gone viral worldwide.

In addition, these three faces look subtly familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on where I've seen them before, which feels very contradictory.

Yu Jian made up his mind that he would go to his father's study to look through the documents. If the Mingwang statue with such a distinctive appearance really existed in history, he would surely be able to find relevant records.

For now, let's just say hello, since it's free anyway.

He clasped his hands together in a gesture of respect. Although Yu Jian did not believe in Buddhism, like many people in the Celestial Empire, he would gladly pay homage to any deity he encountered on the road. He didn't ask for anything from them, just for peace of mind.

For these kinds of people, worshipping gods is the same as worshipping themselves.

Whoosh——

The sound of flames burning filled the air. When Yujian opened his eyes again, he saw a small clay figure with its hands clasped together in front of the shrine.

The clay figurine was rather rough in appearance, suggesting that the maker's technique was mediocre. However, Yujian vaguely noticed that the face looked very familiar.

Thinking about it carefully, isn't this just me? It's just that the sculpting is a bit ugly.

What is this?
Yu Jian cautiously looked around but found nothing unusual, then a strange thought popped into his mind.

Could this be a save file?
Without disturbing the suddenly appearing clay figurine, Yu Jian thoughtfully left the shrine and strode towards the ruined capital.

For some reason, after fighting the black dragon, he felt as if his body had become lighter and more agile, able to leap from tree trunks to branches with a simple jump. His strength had also increased, allowing him to easily slice through rocks with his rusty, broken knife.

Oh, the latter could also be due to his increasingly proficient skill in cutting iron.

Miken's understanding of cutting iron is that the entire process requires using the sword as a medium and interfering with the object of his own will. As long as he firmly believes that nothing can be cut by the sword he wields, even a wooden sword can cut through steel. Miken doesn't know what other swordsmen think, but for him, it's not about trusting the sword itself, but about trusting the sword wielded by 'himself'. It sounds a bit convoluted, but that's the gist of it.

After the battle with the Black Dragon, Yujian realized this even more clearly.

Therefore, the Iron-Cutting Mode, which originally required focused attention to maintain, has now become a passive skill instead of an active one. It does not require special attention, but it will continuously consume mental energy once activated.

But confidence doesn't always bring good things.

As Yu Jian walked along, he casually swung his sword, and surprisingly, he rediscovered some of the simple joy he felt as a child when he would carry the best tree branch from the neighborhood and fight his way along the green belt.

Haha, back then I could mistake the dog Wangcai that the old man on the first floor kept for Cerberus, the three-headed dog of hell. Well, it's more likely that I didn't even know what Cerberus was called back then.

Childhood memories flooded my mind, and various building ruins gradually appeared along the road ahead, along with the short, ugly, and crazy vagrants of the city.

To the current Yujian, these guys were nothing more than annoying, boring insects, easily reduced to ashes with a single sword strike.

The enhancement they gained was barely noticeable, but the sword technique memories they acquired in their minds were somewhat valuable.

After some time, Yujian couldn't help but marvel at how well-known Ruin City was, as a super-city formed by the fusion of Edo and Kyoto, even the swordsmanship of its ronin was more diverse than that of other places. Although most of the sword techniques were fragmented and lacked a coherent system, at least there were some new things to see.

Double Slash with Reverse and Forward Robes!
With two consecutive sword strikes, Yujian confirmed one thing: he could cut through iron with the back of his sword, even with the back of his blade, and split the Mad Ronin into four pieces, comparable to the legendary Tang Dynasty Overlord Spear, which could kill even without a spearhead.

However, the consumption will also increase accordingly. Perhaps subconsciously, one feels that doing this is too much, so a stronger will is needed to make an impact.

Similarly, targets made of different materials will have different energy consumption. After all, people naturally assume that steel is stronger than wood. Perhaps it's because the former has a higher density? Is it due to physics or psychology? Further research is certainly needed.

The memories, along with the mist generated by the burning wreckage, were absorbed. Combined with the previously acquired swordsmanship, a new sword technique was finally put together, which was named Mirror Heart Akechi Style.

After finding a safe place and briefly looking around, Yujian's expression became very strange.

This is a sword technique that is difficult to describe. It emphasizes 'position' and strives to make the form and posture of the sword fully reveal beauty and elegance. It is said that the founder himself was a handsome man.

No, buddy, what use would I have for this kind of swordsmanship?

A sword is a weapon, and swordsmanship is the art of killing.

Although this quote comes from a comic, there's some truth to it. What's the point of beautiful swordsmanship besides looking good?

Why not dance?

After carefully reviewing the relevant memories, Yujian realized that he might have made a misjudgment.

Battle reports may exaggerate, but the front lines cannot lie. Any fancy stuff may be superficial, but real-world cases are the most authentic and truthful, because they must be built with countless lives lost.

Putting aside other things, Okada Izo, the strongest executioner of the late Edo period known as the Man-Slayer, was known for his swordsmanship, including the Kyoshin-meike-ryu style.

In addition, the Momoi Dojo, the birthplace of this school, was later listed as one of the three major dojos in the late Edo period. It was as famous as the training hall of the Shinto Munen-ryu school and the Genbu-kan of the Hokushin Itto-ryu school, and was respectively known as "Chiba of Technique", "Saito of Power", and "Momoi of Position".

Is there something wrong with my understanding? After all, it is just a reproduction based on someone else's memory, which will inevitably be affected by the person's first impression. Perhaps by extracting more memories and comparing them, a more objective judgment can be made.

Yu Jian calmed his mind and once again appreciated the sword technique.

When he got a little serious, his innate talent for swordsmanship naturally came into play, and he immediately tasted a different kind of meaning.

Aesthetics are merely a byproduct; the key to this swordsmanship lies in 'positioning' and 'movement,' with the core being the ability to anticipate the enemy's actions.

The Mirror Mind Style is a style that uses one's own mind as a mirror to reflect the opponent's every move, and then responds calmly and wisely.

The most skilled swordsmen of the Kagami-no-Michi-ryu school can even kill their enemies by having them run into their own blades without ever striking them.

This can be seen from many details. For example, after the upper stance slash, this style will follow up with a small upward flick of the sword tip. It may seem inconspicuous or even meaningless, but if you grasp the distance between yourself and the enemy and make a prediction of the enemy's next move, you can achieve this.

An opponent who appears to dodge an attack will, when he launches a counterattack, impale himself on the slightly raised tip of his sword.

Therefore, having the capacity to showcase 'beauty' may also be part of swordsmanship.

The essence of this school of thought, "Clear Mirror Still Water," is simply a state of mind. Through adjusting one's breathing and practicing daily for many years, it enables one to remain calm at all times, deal with various emergencies with composure, and complete thinking and judgment as quickly as possible.

"The sword of a scholar," Yu Jian sighed.

Putting everything else aside, the techniques regarding 'pre-reading' are quite valuable.

Just then, the muddy road beneath their feet began to turn into a stone-paved road, indicating that the sword had already passed through the outskirts of the ruined capital.

I was just thinking about whether to put my energy into learning a new style. Although I learn swordsmanship very quickly, getting started is one thing, but mastering it completely is another matter entirely.

As I pondered, I heard heavy footsteps ahead.

Afterwards, Yu Jian saw a group of tall, monstrous demons emerge from around the corner, and he couldn't help but feel an urge to curse.

A whole squad of demons equipped with chainmail!

(End of this chapter)