Chapter 6: Cultivation

Minamoto Kiyomoto stood outside the pavilion, looking back at the entrance to the Onmyo Bureau, where ripples of divine power shimmered.

The night wind blew, and the trees in the garden whispered in a gloomy and dark tone.

The two of them didn’t say a word, walking side by side in the darkness towards the park exit.

Once outside the park, the lights suddenly brightened, and the dark whispers of the woods gradually faded.

Standing at a traffic light, Minamoto Kiyomoto watched the vehicles coming and going amidst the neon lights and suddenly remembered something.

“People with divine power must participate in battles. Why are you going to so much trouble, even specifically seeking out an amateur like me?” he asked.

“Every generation of Divine Miko has not lived past the age of 25. They are the most important force in resisting yokai. When it came to me, the Ogosho wanted me to continue cultivating indefinitely, and not participate in battles unless all other cultivators were killed. But he can only control the official side, not the unofficial.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? If you keep cultivating, one day you’ll be strong enough to resist yokai single-handedly, and you yourself can survive.”

“In the fourteen years without a Divine Miko participating in battle, the death rate of cultivators has been very high, and ordinary people—” Kamibayashi Miko fell silent, her face slightly黯然.

“This is only a temporary sacrifice,” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at her pure and otherworldly profile. “In the long run, for you to stay alive and focus on cultivation is the best way to reduce more sacrifices.”

“Let the next generation of Divine Miko do it,” Kamibayashi Miko composed herself, her expression becoming indifferent again. “The duty of the Divine Miko is to protect. The person who accomplishes this doesn’t necessarily have to be me.”

The red light began to flash, and in a blink, the green light turned on.

The two walked onto the crosswalk, weaving through the bustling crowd like a shadow play.

“Miss Kamibayashi,” after a moment of silence, Minamoto Kiyomoto said, “you have a goal you want to achieve, and I also want to live. So let’s put our conflicts aside for now and live together, shall we?”

“Okay.”

Leaving the crosswalk, the two walked towards the station under the gazes of the people around them.

“Your vision is a bit short-sighted, but you are a great person,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said from the bottom of his heart.

“Are you going to give up on taking revenge on me? Although I don’t think you have a chance,” Kamibayashi Miko glanced at him.

“My vision is long-term, but I am a selfish and self-serving person. As long as the revenge is not taken, I will remember it for a lifetime.”

Kamibayashi Miko had already spoken her five sentences. The two of them no longer spoke and walked all the way to the station platform.

The train slid into the station with the night wind. Watching the people in the carriage get off first, and the people on the platform get on later, Minamoto Kiyomoto thought: could such a rule be applied somewhere in cultivation?

If the train didn’t follow the rule of “get off first, then get on,” those getting off wouldn’t be able to, and those wanting to get on wouldn’t be able to, reducing the efficiency of boarding and alighting, and even causing congestion at the doors, preventing them from closing.

If the doors couldn’t close, the train couldn’t depart on time, affecting the time of everyone on the train. If the stop was too long, it would also affect the normal operation of subsequent trains, and even the operational order of the entire line.

He pondered for a while, and could only associate it with: in a battle, no matter how panicked, one must not be disorderly and must always remain calm.

“Miss Kamibayashi, may I ask a question?”

“Mm.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto explained his thoughts and asked her, “Regarding this point, as a senior, what is your opinion?”

Kamibayashi Miko first glanced at him, then replied:
“Maintaining a normal heart is very important, but in battle, you must be between tension and slack, without bias, in order to respond to all changes with no change.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto thought about her words and also thought of “knowing neither the enemy nor yourself, you will win one and lose one” from “The Art of War.”

If one could achieve “knowing oneself,” could one maintain the “balance point between tension and slack” in battle?

He reported this point to Kamibayashi Miko.

“It is a method. After understanding yourself, you can consider problems from a higher perspective, but it is very difficult to completely know yourself.”

“Every little bit I can learn is something. Thank you.”

“When you go back, read the notes I gave you more. They contain all my insights on cultivation.”

The two boarded different trains.

Kamibayashi Miko returned to Hakusan Shrine, while Minamoto Kiyomoto went to Myogadani to teach high school students at the cram school.

During the self-study and Q&A time, he took out Kamibayashi Miko’s cultivation notes.

Before looking at them, he first took out a blank notebook, preparing to record all his understanding and insights on cultivation in it.

He wrote down his insights on the thunder curse, water curse, and Shinto-ryu in chronological order from today, and also recorded the recent event.

[April 3rd, watching the train get off first, then get on]

[·Insight: Maintain a normal heart, always be between tension and slack]

[·Method: Thoroughly understand oneself]

Writing up to this point, some things bubbled up in his mind again.

[·Extension: Understanding leads to domination]

[·Extension 2: Don’t limit insights to just battle. All things follow the same principle (associate with the thunder curse, water curse, and sword style, and practice these first)]

[·Extension 3: If I can gain insights from the train and “The Art of War,” then I can also from other things and books. Pay more attention in daily life and come into contact with new things]

[Summary: There is new knowledge to learn every day. Strive to defeat yesterday’s me with today’s me]

“Teacher Minamoto,” a student came over with a red book to ask a question.

“Where are you stuck?” Minamoto Kiyomoto closed his notebook.

During the break, he couldn’t practice the thunder curse and water curse, so Minamoto Kiyomoto used a ballpoint pen to practice the Shinto-ryu sword style.

“Teacher, what is this?” a student from a nearby girls’ high school asked curiously.

“I joined the school’s kendo club and have been practicing recently,” Minamoto Kiyomoto’s ballpoint pen drew a line in the air, which was precisely the “Thunder Fire Slash” from Shinto-ryu.

If he infused divine power, with this slash, the body of the delicate young girl in the pleated skirt before him would show signs of being burned and electrocuted.

“Amazing! Teacher Minamoto is not only good at studying, but also knows kendo!” A circle of girls around him let out sounds of admiration.

Even the air changed color, and their faces bloomed with a dazzling light.

Minamoto Kiyomoto possessed the magic to make girls radiant.

“Just a beginner,” he said, imagining the girls surrounding him as his enemies, and executed another “Flowing Water Slash.”

If he infused divine power and used Polaris, the heads of this circle of girls would basically all be gone.

“So cool!”

“Teacher Minamoto, do it again!”

“Wait, I’ll record it with my phone and post it on Facebook!”

“No recording.”

“Eh—, stingy!”

Minamoto Kiyomoto executed a “Rolling Log Slash.” This move emphasized being continuous, one after another, like an endless stream of logs rolling down a hillside.

In his eyes, the girl who wanted to record had already been crushed into a pancake.

“Go back, class is starting,” he put away his ballpoint pen.

“No, can’t we chat a little longer?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Teacher Minamoto, tell us your Instagram account!”

No matter how the girls with their skirts hiked up high acted coquettishly, Minamoto Kiyomoto was unmoved.

After class, he took the train back to his dorm.

The dorm provided by the school was very small.

When taking a shower, you would accidentally bump into the toilet at your feet, but other than that, everything else was pretty good.

In the southwest corner was an old, half-height refrigerator;
There was a mini-kitchen where you could make simple meals;
There was a desk, and a small single bed against the wall. At the head of the bed was a small bookshelf with professional course books and foreign language dictionaries.

Minamoto Kiyomoto turned on the desk lamp and read “Microbiology” and Kamibayashi Miko’s cultivation notes for a while.

He had to give up on the 90% of Spanish he had learned. Saving his life was the most important thing now.

He closed the notebook, used a 100-yen transparent umbrella from the convenience store to replace Polaris, and practiced Shinto-ryu.

Then he practiced the water curse in the bathroom until his divine power was exhausted.

After all the tossing and turning, his muscles burned hotly, his ligaments throbbed with pain, and he felt as if his whole body couldn’t stand up, the pain unbearable.

Forcing himself through his fatigue, he took a simple shower, climbed into bed with difficulty, pulled the blanket up to his chest, his body feeling like a pile of bones lying there.

He closed his eyes, recalled the events of the day, and finally, when he was about to empty his mind and go to sleep, he started to worry about money again.

From nine in the morning to four in the afternoon, he had spent a total of seven hours at Hakusan Shrine. Plus the installment payment for Polaris, he had spent 90,000 yen on cultivation in just one day.

His savings were only 110,000 yen left.

Just as he was about to think about how to increase his income and reduce his expenses, sleepiness washed over him.

In the end, he could only comfort his poor self with the motto of the Confucian scholar Yasui Sokken:

“I am a cuckoo in the heavens. For now, I will endure and swallow my anger. One day, my name will spread among the clouds.”

The next day, Sunday, before his eyes were even open, Minamoto Kiyomoto was already reviewing the key points of casting the thunder and water curses in his mind.

While brushing his teeth, he couldn’t help but practice the Shinto-ryu sword moves with his toothbrush.

“Thunder Fire Slash!” Just as he slashed out, Minamoto Kiyomoto let out an “ah,” and toothpaste splattered all over the mirror.

“Sorry, Brother Mirror, please bear with it for a while.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto simply didn’t wipe it for now. He would execute a move, brush his teeth for a while, think about the technique of applying force while brushing, then execute another move, and brush his teeth for a while more.

By the time he finished brushing his teeth, there was no place on the mirror to see his reflection.

Next was breakfast.

No money, but wanted to eat well, so he could only go to the school cafeteria.

There were few people on campus on a Sunday morning. He ate the 100-yen set meal that the school specially launched to encourage students to eat breakfast.

He used to be a person who ate Akamon ramen, 500 yen! His standard of living had been cut by four-fifths!

After eating, Minamoto Kiyomoto came to the edge of Sanshiro Pond.

Today, he could see the transparent carp on his own.

“Good morning,” he greeted the carp.

Regardless of the carp’s reaction, he put down Kamibayashi Miko’s notes and his own, took out Polaris, and began to practice.

“Flowing Water Slash!”

The blade swept horizontally. Even without infusing divine power, just with the sharpness of Polaris, the surrounding green leaves rustled and continuously fell into the pond.

“Rolling Log Slash!”

Polaris slashed towards the water surface, one sword after another.

Occasionally, when someone passed by, Minamoto Kiyomoto would pretend to be a member of the kendo club, practicing some forward slashes he had seen on TV—he didn’t know if that was the right name.

Halfway through, someone asked him where he bought the sword. After brushing them off, he considered where to get a free wooden sword.

At 8:30, he packed his things and took the train to Hakusan Shrine.

The train swayed. The cherry blossoms outside the window were close to full bloom, so intense they seemed to want to dye the train pink.

Minamoto Kiyomoto sat near the train door, holding his cultivation notebook, and wrote down some of his morning insights.

After he finished writing, he began to think about how to make money.

As an unofficial cultivator, participating in a “battle” also came with a reward, 500,000 yen per battle, and 5 million yen if he died.

That was for later. What should he do now?
First was to reduce expenses, starting with clothing, food, housing, and transportation.

Clothing.

No need to buy clothes, just wear old ones. Just in case, he would ask his mother to send his high school gym clothes to use as training clothes.

Food.

Cafeteria, end of story.

Housing.

The student dorm he had worked so hard to apply for was very cheap. Although it was inconvenient for cultivation, there was no better choice at the moment.

Transportation.

He would walk next time, and not take the train either. The fare was a lot of money. It wasn’t too far anyway, and the time on the road could be used to review his cultivation notes.

Besides clothing, food, housing, and transportation, there was actually one more item, which was communication fees.

But the mobile phone plan the female counter staff had helped Minamoto Kiyomoto get was already the most economical. Unless he didn’t use it, there was no room for reduction.

Next was to increase income.

The part-time job as a cram school lecturer paid 2,500 yen per hour, 6 hours a week, for a weekly income of 15,000 yen. That could only buy one and a half hours of Miss Kamibayashi’s time.

And then there was money sent from home.

The money sent was originally quite substantial, and he could even go out for meals occasionally. But he had sent the letter yesterday, and the letter happened to mention that he had started a part-time job. He was afraid it would be less next month.

Currently, these were his only two sources of income. He could also find another part-time job, but the purpose of making money was for cultivation. To waste cultivation time for money now was to put the cart before the horse.

“Sigh,” Minamoto Kiyomoto sighed.

Although he had never been wealthy, he had never worried about money like this before.

“Next stop, Hakusan Station, Hakusan Station,” Minamoto Kiyomoto closed his notebook, stood up, and got off the train.

He walked to the shrine, passed through the gnarled banyan tree, and arrived at Kamibayashi Miko’s residence.

“Miss Kamibayashi, I’ve been wanting to say this since yesterday. Your hair is very beautiful when it’s tied up, elegant and otherworldly. It’s also very beautiful when it’s down.”

“Thank you,” Kamibayashi Miko’s hair was tied up again today. She wore a miko outfit, with white magnolias embroidered on the sleeves.

“This is my cultivation notebook. Could I trouble Miss Kamibayashi to review it?” He handed his notebook to her.

She nodded lightly, her hand that took the notebook was fair and slender.

Kamibayashi Miko slowly flipped through Minamoto Kiyomoto’s notebook, while Minamoto Kiyomoto, without waiting for the butterfly shikigami to bring tea, seized the time and ran to the courtyard to cultivate.

First was divine power cultivation. Multicolored breath of the gods surrounded him, absorbed by the black light in his body.

The entire courtyard seemed to turn into a sea of light, the brilliant light covering the green of the grass and trees.

After cultivating, he faced the pond that Kamibayashi Miko had blasted out yesterday and practiced the thunder curse.

This curse, like divine power cultivation, could only be practiced here. As soon as he cast it, there would be the sound of thunder.

The noon sun passed through the window, casting its shadow on the tatami mats of the Japanese-style room.

Kamibayashi Miko finished correcting and supplementing Minamoto Kiyomoto’s notes, stood up, and came to the corridor. At this time, Minamoto Kiyomoto was practicing Shinto-ryu.

The Polaris, infused with divine power, glowed with black light, sparks crackling. With a “Thunder Fire Slash,” a white smoke rose from the pond water.

Kamibayashi Miko watched for a couple of moments and pointed out, “Don’t use the strength of wringing a rag. Imagine you’re holding a tea cloth.”

“A tea cloth? What’s that?” Minamoto Kiyomoto stopped and turned to ask.

Beside Kamibayashi Miko, the military uniform girl Shirako sat on the corridor, playing chess with the butterfly shikigami. The butterfly shikigami couldn’t agree on the next move and were arguing.

On the wooden boards of the corridor, there was also tea and snacks prepared for Minamoto Kiyomoto by the little butterfly people.

“It’s a cloth used to clean tea utensils in the tea ceremony,” Kamibayashi Miko said. “For the sake of elegance, you can’t wring it hard like a rag. You have to leave some strength. When you make a move, your body can’t use excessive force either. Once it’s excessive, the fluctuation of your movements will become larger, your intentions will be seen through by your opponent, and you won’t have any spare strength to change your move.”

“I don’t know anything about the tea ceremony. Can you use another way of saying it next time?” Minamoto Kiyomoto was very honest. He knew what he knew.

“Didn’t you write in your notes that you should pay more attention and come into contact with new things? Take this opportunity to learn about it.”

“That makes sense, but this is the same as the matter between the two of us. We’ll talk about it after I can survive!” After saying this, Minamoto Kiyomoto turned and struck the pond with a “Thunder Fire Slash.”

This time, he held back some strength, and the power was weaker, but at the same time, a thought moved in his heart, and he swung his sword again with a seven-tenths strength “Flowing Water Slash.”

The water in the pond splashed everywhere, the grass and trees became wet, and a miniature rainbow appeared in the air.

A golden wave appeared on the corridor, blocking the splashing water.

“So that’s how it is!” Minamoto Kiyomoto’s tone was full of joy and excitement, happy that he had grasped a trick.

Previously, when he looked at the moves of Shinto-ryu, each move was powerful, and he thought he had to go all out. As a result, after each move, he had to slightly regulate his breath before he could make a second move.

Now, by holding back, he could use two moves in a row. Although the power was weaker, he had one more move and could respond to more changes.

“Flowing Water Slash is not just about drawing a circle and clearing the surroundings. It can also be used for a surprise attack,” Kamibayashi Miko said again.

Minamoto Kiyomoto pondered for a moment. The Polaris in his hand suddenly burst with black light, carrying black water waves, and bit towards Kamibayashi Miko like a water dragon.

Kamibayashi Miko flicked her finger, and a golden water wave flew out, also a “Flowing Water Slash.”

Just as the black water and golden water were about to collide, Minamoto Kiyomoto twisted his body. The originally menacing black dragon dived down like flowing water, avoided the golden water, and charged towards Kamibayashi Miko again.

This change was not only Kamibayashi Miko’s guidance on the “Flowing Water Slash” just now, but also included the technique of holding back strength that she had taught at the beginning.

It was precisely because he held back that Minamoto Kiyomoto could turn the “Flowing Water Slash.”

“Piglet! You don’t want to live!” Shirako, who was playing chess, jumped up, grabbed her bell, and threw it over.

Kamibayashi Miko waved her hand, a golden light flashed, and the bell flew back.

As for Minamoto Kiyomoto… he was thrown into the pond again—if he could turn the “Flowing Water Slash,” of course the Kamibayashi Miko who taught him could too.

The previous golden water wave, along with him and his sword, rolled him up and threw him into the pond behind him.

“Can you not throw me into the pond? My clothes are wet and it’s very…”

Before Minamoto Kiyomoto could finish his sentence, Kamibayashi Miko struck again with a “Rolling Log Slash” aimed at his head.

Minamoto Kiyomoto subconsciously retaliated with a “Rolling Log Slash.”

Two waves of energy, one black and one gold, collided, canceling each other out, and exploded with a boom. Hit by the wave of energy, Minamoto Kiyomoto, who was in the water, had no leverage and sank again.

He opened his eyes. The water rippled, the sky was as blue as the sea, and the water surface was brilliant with golden light. The next wave of energy was already coming.

He swung his sword with all his might. With a muffled sound in the water, the waves of energy canceled each other out again. He was also pushed back and stood at the bottom of the three-meter-deep pond.

After his feet touched the bottom, Minamoto Kiyomoto quickly calmed down. He subconsciously wanted to seize the initiative and raised his hand to slash the third “Rolling Log Slash” towards the water surface.

Who knew that what came from the other side was not a “Rolling Log Slash,” but a “Flowing Water Slash.”

The golden wave of energy entered the water, circled around his black wave of energy like a swimming fish, and slammed into him.

Minamoto Kiyomoto saw stars and spat out a mouthful of blood. The clear pond water in front of him was dyed red.

By the time he struggled to the surface and lay on the edge of the pond, he was as weak as a drowned dog.

“I’ve learned,” he wasn’t angry, but rather convinced.

Although he had just learned to hold back and change moves, he still subconsciously thought that “Rolling Log Slash” was just one after another, clinging to the form of the move.

“Your talent is the best I’ve ever seen.”

Ten minutes later, Minamoto Kiyomoto felt that his body had almost recovered, and finally had the strength to speak: “Talent is useless. Being able to survive is what’s real.”

“Good talent can give you an extra sliver of survival rate in the first ‘battle’ the day after tomorrow.”

“…What did you say?” Minamoto Kiyomoto, who had climbed halfway out of the pool, stared blankly at Kamibayashi Miko on the corridor.

(End of Chapter)