Thousand Things House, Courtyard——
After finishing their discussion, Aomori and Makimura sat side by side on the verandah of the courtyard with Boss Kiryu and Mai Kinoshita, drinking and chatting.
"What a hearty competition! Hahahaha!"
Makimura boldly grabbed the bottle and drank from it.
Everyone faced the courtyard and sat on the veranda; drinking and chatting... It would be great if there was a fine snow now. If there is snow falling now, then this will be an excellent and elegant scene of "all the talented people gathered together to enjoy the snow scenery".
"I haven't exercised my muscles so vigorously for a long time! Tachibana, thank you so much for your hospitality today!"
"If so." Qingden, who was sitting next to Makimura, said quickly, "I want to thank you. I have benefited a lot from my discussion with you. Thanks to you, I can return home with a full load today."
"Hahaha, what you said is so flattering to me!"
Makimura laughed and slapped his thigh hard.
Qingdeng smiled and said nothing, making no further explanation.
He knew in his heart: his words were not flattering Makimura. He truly believed that the fierce battle just now had benefited him a lot.
Makimura is the most powerful swordsman who wields the tachi that Aoto has ever encountered.
In terms of versatility, the Odachi is undoubtedly a unique weapon.
Affected by various factors such as culture and historical inertia, the samurai of the Kamakura Shogunate Period (1192-1333) and Muromachi Shogunate Period (1336-1573) loved to show off.
In order to show one's own heroism and bravery, and then to show off the mighty weapon - the Odachi appeared on the stage of history.
With such a huge blade, no one without Kong Wu's strength would be able to control the Odachi.
This raises a question: If you have the arm strength to wield a large sword, why don't you use a spear that is more powerful and practical, both on the battlefield and in personal fights?
The conditions for use are too harsh, but its power and practicality are not comparable to those of a spear. Such an embarrassing status has made the Odachi a very unpopular weapon since its birth.
In the history of Japanese martial arts, there are only a few warriors who are proficient in Odachi.
Therefore, the wonderful sword skills that Makimura just displayed amazed and opened his eyes to Aonto.
Qingden successfully accumulated a lot of experience in fighting against Odachi swordsmen.
With these valuable combat experiences in his possession, Qingteng can guarantee that if he is allowed to fight Makimura again immediately, he will definitely win again, and he will win even more beautifully!
Of course, compared to the experience of fighting against the Odachi swordsman, there was another gain that made Qingto even more overjoyed.
Qingdeng silently called for the system in his heart.
The talent list that had not been checked for some time turned into a translucent virtual screen that only Qingdeng himself could see with Qingdeng's soft call.
[Name: Tachibana Aoden](?)
[Talents currently possessed:]
[Night Vision, Saint of Swords, God of Sleep, Gudan, Eagle Eye +1, Left-handed, Physical Fitness +1, Skillful Hands +1, Strong Tongue, Iron Waist +1, Steel Bones, Strong Muscles +1, Cat Turn +1, photographic memory, ghost's heart, milk, lead the way, see through, beautiful hair, deceiver +1, perceiver of wind, boundless eight flags, concentration, full breasts, master of the bow, bear's waist +1, Strengthen Essence +1, Golden Throat, Strengthen Stomach, Improve Eyesight, Break Through Clouds and Split Stones, Minor Master in Mathematics, Iron Lung +1, Fight Left and Right, Body of Water, Arm of Tiger +1, Technique of the Emperor, More Zi Duofu, Master of Forbearance, Yingwei, Berserker, Sharp Teeth, Minor Accomplishment in White, Minor Accomplishment in Music, Minor Accomplishment in Painting, Yuanyang, Laodang Yizhuang, Taotie, Divine Speed +4, Snake Body, Delicate body, soft body, Elephant's core +1, Optimus Prime, Drunkard, Drought Palm, Reversal Dragon]
…
Dragon of Reversal... This newly acquired talent entry is quietly lying at the end of the talent list.
It’s been a long time… Eternal talent!
Not counting Qingdeng, this is a talent that only one person in the world can possess, a unique talent, a talent that is unparalleled in the world!
The last person to obtain the gift of eternity from was Boss Kiryu.
This matter can be traced back to last spring, when he and Kinoshita Mai had a fight with Boss Kiryu due to a misunderstanding.
After the battle, he received his first everlasting talent: Muyo no Hachiman.
After more than half a year, the term "eternal talent" finally broke into his life again.
Should it be said that "birds of a feather flock together and people flock together" and "all the friends of an old man are all old men, and the friends of a great man are all great men"?
Just based on statistics... no, no professional knowledge is needed, just common sense inference, you can know how rare it is to meet "a person with eternal talent".
Qingdeng was not familiar with the world history of the 19th century, and did not know the total population of the world in the era he was currently living in.
But according to his own calculations, the total population in the world today should be more than 1 billion, if not 2 billion.
Kiryu is the only person in this world, among the billions of people, who possesses the "Mightless Hachiman".
Makimura agrees. He is the only one among more than a billion people who possesses the "Dragon of Reversal".
These two people, who are rarer than any other creature in the world, are actually close friends, and Qingden has even met them both.
Such a probability... It is slightly inappropriate to use the word "low" to describe it because it is not high enough.
Qingdeng didn't know what expression to put on when he thought that he was lucky enough to meet these two elders one after another and know them as rare as Yuanjiang Jiuzhu... Qingdeng didn't know how to express himself.
Should I sigh secretly at my good luck? Or should we sincerely lament that "fate is so wonderful"?
This kind of ultra-low-probability event, which is comparable to winning a billion-dollar lottery jackpot, can actually happen to me... and it happens continuously!
When you go home today, would you like to buy some lottery tickets on the way? Qingdeng couldn't help but think to himself.
There was a lottery in Japan during the Edo period.
The popularity of lotteries caused many samurai and common people to become distracted from their regular jobs and become obsessed with the dream of getting rich overnight. So much so that the shogunate once ordered a ban on lotteries.
In the past, Qingdeng had always believed that among all the girls he knew, Miss Zuo Nazi had the best family background.
Looking at it now, this general concept is no longer the case.
The person with the best family background...maybe it's Mai Kinoshita!
The family behind Kinoshita Mai is so mysterious.
Kiryu had only mentioned to Qingnobo in detail: Kinoshita Mai's grandmother was a businessman mainly active in Osaka and ran a business group called "Calabash House".
Because she did not want to see the world being messed up and destroyed by the lunatics of the "Fa Zhu Party", Kinoshita Mai's grandmother led the Calabash House to secretly fight against the Fa Zhu Party.
What does Huluwu do to make money? have no idea.
How many people are there in Calabash House? How much? How powerful is it? Still don't know.
Boss Kiryu has been keeping secret about various issues related to Calabash House.
As for Kinoshita Mai, she was completely ignorant and didn't know anything about it.
The people in Kinoshita Mai's family should have deliberately not let Kinoshita Mai know too much about the family's business and power.
Qingdeng didn't know the reason.
In short, the result of this approach is that Kinoshita Mai is obviously the young master of Calabash House, but her understanding of Calabash House is not much better than that of an outsider like Qingto.
——Awu, she...couldn't she really be the "top daughter of the underground world"?
Qingdeng suddenly had this thought in his mind and couldn't help but squint at the beauty in red who was sitting side by side with him.
Recalling that when he first learned about Kinoshita Mai's life experience from the mouth of Kiryu's boss, Qingto once half-jokingly thought to himself: Could Kinoshita Mai be a super socialite whose family is so powerful that her hands and eyes can reach the sky?
This is just a delusion that Qingdeng made for fun.
He himself felt that this delusion was unrealistic.
However, at this moment, Qingdeng had to wonder - could this be true...?
Qingdeng didn't know how many people, how much money, or how powerful Huluwu had, but he knew now: There were two outstanding talents with eternal talents working for Huluwu!
To be able to recruit such precious talents... From a young age to a big one, this alone is enough to understand the background of Calabash House, as well as the ability of the woman who is called the lord of Kiryu and Makimura, that is, Kinoshita Mai's grandmother.
Qingto's interest in Kinoshita Mai's grandmother and Calabash House has greatly increased.
I want to see the real picture of Calabash House with my own eyes.
I want to meet Kinoshita Mai’s grandmother in person.
Just as Qingteng's thoughts were wandering endlessly, Kinoshita Mai finally noticed Qingteng's gaze directed at her.
"Qingdeng, what's wrong? Why are you looking at me directly? Is there something strange on my face?"
Kinoshita Mai raised her hand and touched her cheek.
"Ah, nothing..."
In order to get rid of his confused expression, Qingden brought the bottle to his mouth, and then focused his attention on the virtual light screen in front of him again.
There seems to be quite a lot in common between the eternal talents.
The entry names are very impressive, and the format is "xx of xx", and they also come with dazzling special effects.
The other talent entries in the system list were all ordinary strings of words, but the entry for eternal talent was surrounded by a purple square that shimmered slightly.
The biggest similarity between them... is that their talents are quite similar to the Riddler!
Take the "Hachiman of No Confusion" as an example - when the mind and spirit are united and there is no confusion in the mind, you will be able to use a powerful attack as if Hachiman Daimyojin is possessed.
The content seems very compelling at first glance, but... what does it mean to be "unity of mind and heart, without confusion"?
In Qingdeng's impression, he entered that state of extreme concentration with no distracting thoughts in his mind, no less than 10 times.
As a result, "The Eight Banners of the Immortal" has never been successfully activated... After copying this talent for so long, Qingto has never seen what will happen if this talent is activated.
I have no idea what the system defines as "united mind and heart, no confusion".
In comparison, "Dragon of Reversal" is much easier to understand.
However, "will be able to have a vitality as tough as a dragon"... Qingdeng was a little confused about this statement.
What is "dragon-like toughness of vitality"?
Going further – what is vitality?
Will physical fitness increase instantly?
Or do you mean to become like a cockroach that won’t die no matter how hard you hit it?
If you want to understand the answer to this question... I am afraid that you can only figure out the mystery when this talent is activated.
All in all, having one more powerful talent is always a good thing.
As for when this new talent can be activated and how to activate it... we will leave it to be considered later.
"Hiccup...! Speaking of which...Tachibana, you are worthy of being Kiryu's disciple!"
Makimura's loud belch brought Qingden's consciousness back to reality.
Qingdeng closed the system interface and turned to look at Makimura.
"When you picked up Vairocana and got into the stance of Liuguang, for a moment, I had the illusion that I was fighting Kiryu in his youth."
While Makimura smiled, he turned his gaze sideways and glanced at Ayoto and Kiryu bosses.
"Vairocana still hasn't changed his past demon sword style..."
Makimura's gaze was fixed on the ancient purple-sheathed sword that Kiryu placed beside his right leg.
"Of course." Kiryu put down the wine glass and smiled slightly, "After all, I take good care of it every day."
After saying that, Kiryu stroked the sheath with his left hand, opened the sheath opening, grabbed the knife with his right hand, and pulled the knife out of the sheath inch by inch.
After the blade was completely unsheathed, he grasped the handle of the knife tightly with both hands, raised his arms, and stood up to the sky.
In an instant, a coquettish purple light filled the eyes of everyone present.
The moment Kiryu drew his sword, the glowing purple blade firmly attracted Qingden's eyes like a magnet.
The blade is nearly 75cm, much longer than the average knife. The blade is narrow and has a large arc. The cold light exudes a chilling air. Bathed in the cold winter sky, the blade's light has a somewhat cold air.
Kiryu once introduced to Qingto: The reason why the sword light emitted by Vairochana is a cool purple color is because of the use of some special materials.
At this time, Kiryu noticed Aomori's gaze.
"Tachibana-kun." Kiryu smiled, "Do you like Vairocana very much?"
Hearing Kiryu's question, Qingden was stunned for a moment, then pursed his lips and started thinking.
"...Hmm." After a moment, Qingden let out a long breath of determination, and then nodded firmly, "Yes, I like Vairochana very much... No, no, it seems a bit inappropriate to say 'like' It’s so accurate. I should say… I feel that Vairocana and I have a good understanding.”
In the social values of the Edo period, the sword, regarded as the "soul of the samurai," was more important than family and friends.
There are many warriors who would rather sell their wives and children than sell their belongings.
In front of a samurai, claiming to like the other person's sword... Although such words are not offensive, it is the same as directly saying "your wife is so beautiful, and I really want to be friends with your wife". It will make the surrounding atmosphere suddenly become more subtle...
However, after much thought, Qingdeng decided to tell the truth about his inner thoughts.
"Oh?" Kiryu raised his eyebrows and asked with interest, "Tacit understanding?"
Qingden nodded: "I can't tell you the specifics. To put it simply: the moment I held Vairochana, I had a feeling... that I and this sword were integrated into one."
Become one...yes, that's right, be one!
Although this description was a bit exaggerated, Qingdeng couldn't think of any better words to replace it.
Just now, when he caught the Vairocana thrown by Kiryu, Aomori felt a real illusion that the sword was a natural part of his body.
The length of the knife, the curvature of the knife, and the weight of the knife are all so perfect and fit so well to my body.
It's like this knife is tailor-made for you...
It's like this knife has been for your own use since it was made...
The high degree of compatibility between man and sword directly translates into considerable combat power.
Because he has a "tacit understanding" with the sword, Qingdeng feels that his wrist has become much lighter, and he can swing the sword faster and more powerfully.
With this momentum, Aomori successfully knocked away Makimura's Odachi in one go.
It can be said that Qingden was able to defeat Makimura in one fell swoop in the battle just now, and Vairocana played a big role in it.
Kiryu listened quietly to Aomori's answer.
"Is there a tacit understanding..." After murmuring, Kiryu suddenly changed the subject and asked Qingto, "Tachibana-kun, do you think that for a swordsman, it is the person who chooses the sword, or the sword who chooses the person?"
"Um?"
Qingto said "hmm", but before he could say anything, he saw the corner of Kiryu's mouth slightly curled up, asking himself a question:
"I think... both the man chooses the sword and the sword chooses the man."
"Since you feel that you and Vairocana have a tacit understanding, it means that my judgment is not wrong. You and Vairocana really get along well."
Kiryu said as he sheathed Vairocana.
"Ju-kun, if you like Vairocana very much, then work hard."
"Whenever I think you are qualified, I will pass this knife to you."
Ding——When Kiryu said the last word, Vairocana's sword blades returned to their sheaths. The clanging sound of the blade and the scabbard striking each other echoed in the ears of everyone who was stunned.
Aoto, Makimura and Kinoshita Mai, one by one, are all looking at Kiryu in shock.
"Kiryu..." Makimura was stunned, "Are you planning to pass Vairocana to Tachibana?"
"Why are you looking at me with such disbelief?"
Kiryu held his eyes on the bridge of his nose and smiled.
"I am Ju-kun's master. A master passes his mantle on to his disciples - is there any problem with this?"
"Uh... That's true... but Vairocana is not yours..."
Speaking of this, Makimura seemed to have recalled something, and closed his mouth suddenly, no longer continuing the words.
Kiryu smiled at Makimura, then turned his attention to Aoden.
"Ju-kun, if I remember correctly, I have told you before: Vairocana is a family heirloom sword of a family that commits serious crimes. For this reason, people think this sword is unlucky, so it is called Vairocana. Lu Zhena is the 'demon sword'."
Qingdeng nodded:
"Well, yes, you did."
"It's okay that I told you. Now, let me tell you a little more about this knife...and some of my own historical past."
Kiryu looked into the distance with a look of reminiscence on his face.
"I think you must have guessed it to some extent - I am a member of that family that kills a lot."
Qingdeng remained calm. Although his heart was filled with emotions of "surprise" and "really so".
Realizing that the story that Kiryu's boss was about to tell was not trivial, Aoto reflexively held his breath and leaned forward towards Kiryu.
The same goes for Kinoshita Mai. She stared at Kiryu's old face with curiosity on her face.
Again: Kinoshita Mai doesn’t know much more about Calabash House than an outsider like Qingto.
Under the expectant gazes of Aoto and Mai Kinoshita, Boss Kiryu spoke slowly in a long tone as if telling a bedtime story:
"Vairochana is a great sword that my grandfather spent countless time and effort forging regardless of cost or price."
"According to the rules set by my grandfather, Vairocana can never be passed down to outsiders. It is a family treasure and can only be passed down from generation to generation within the family. Only the person with the most outstanding swordsmanship in the family is qualified to hold this sword."
"Logically speaking, it is impossible for Vairocana to be passed on to me."
"Because when I was just a little kid, I broke away from the family due to certain connections."
"It's just that maybe this is the so-called fate tricking people. After a series of unexpected events, this knife finally fell into my hands."
"Originally, I planned to return Vairocana to the family when a new master of swords appeared in the family."
"But...after witnessing and experiencing some things, I changed my mind."
"The family lives up to its name. Everyone in the family is a top-notch swordsman who kills people."
"However, all clan members are without exception. They are all capable but lacking in character."
"Looking at the whole clan, no one has high aspirations."
"Either a coward who just wants to make a living by killing people, or a lunatic who takes pleasure in killing people."
"Leaving Vairochana to these insects will only cause the sword to be covered in dust."
"Although it was purely an accident that I got this knife, it has been a good companion that has been with me for decades."
"Regardless of emotion and reason, I don't want to see it fall into the hands of mediocre people and evil people."
"So, I made up my mind - break away from the sectarian views! Only pass on Vairocana to those who are qualified to hold it."
Before he could finish speaking, Kiryu turned his gaze away from the distance and looked straight into Qingden's eyes.
"So, Tachibana-kun, you have to work harder."
"You are hardworking and talented."
"Now you have achieved extraordinary achievements in martial arts. As a master, I am very pleased with this."
"But, this is not enough."
"You are still at the level of 'can only kill things that mortals can kill'."
"When you reach the state of being able to kill things that mortals cannot kill, I can safely pass on Vairocana to you."
Qingden blinked a few times in confusion.
"'You can kill things that mortals cannot kill'... Boss Kiryu, what do you mean by this?"
"Hmm...for example: cutting off the steel or the mainmast of a battleship."
Kiryu answered calmly.
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