Chapter 4: Divine Power

Minamoto Kiyomoto nodded, accepting this kind of relationship.

He had always believed that one didn’t need too many friends. Too many would hinder the excavation of one’s own potential and also waste time, preventing one from concentrating on tasks.

What’s more, Kamibayashi Miko was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen; there could be no friendship between them.

They could have passion, hatred, love, but never friendship.

Besides, there were too many things he needed to do.

Graduate from the medical school, smoothly enter a hospital, and at a not-too-old age, open a large hospital that could be passed down to his descendants.

When his mother in the Shikoku countryside no longer wanted to run her inn, he would bring her to Tokyo to enjoy her life.

He already had no time. He wanted to wait until he had achieved success and fame, then directly marry a young girl whose mother was currently a middle school student. How could he possibly pursue a girl his own age who clearly didn’t want to be in a relationship?

Also, the “battles” were very dangerous.

To willfully join, hiding it from the mother who had single-handedly raised him, was already unfilial. How could he easily lose his life?
While juggling his studies, he must cultivate diligently.

“Your decision?” Kamibayashi Miko put down her teacup.

“I want to try,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said. “To see what I can forge myself into.”

Kamibayashi Miko nodded calmly.

“If I die,” he added, “and my body is fortunate enough to be preserved, please take my ashes back to Shikoku and give them to my mother.”

“What if there’s no body left, and you’re eaten by a yokai?” the military uniform girl named Shirako kindly reminded him.

“That’s a consequence to consider. It’s impossible for everything to go as one wishes,” Minamoto Kiyomoto laughed.

He pondered for a moment, and could only think of one solution: “I’ll just have to stay alive then.”

“Hmph, as if you can live just because you want to,” Shirako tilted her small face up, as if balancing a cup of water on her forehead.

“That was too arrogant. People are always destroyed by arrogance. I’ll change,” Minamoto Kiyomoto agreed quite readily.

Compared to arrogance, humility and caution made it easier to survive.

Shirako just clicked her tongue at his attitude.

Minamoto Kiyomoto paid her no mind and turned to Kamibayashi Miko, “Miss Kamibayashi, I’ll be in your care.”

“Divine power is converted from the breath of the gods. You already understand the relationship between them,” Miss Kamibayashi’s lips looked soft and tender.

“The sun and electricity,” Minamoto Kiyomoto nodded.

“We’ll talk about the rest after you’ve cultivated. First, I’ll—” she stopped and looked at Minamoto Kiyomoto. “Are you going to stay over there?”

“I feel very at ease here,” Minamoto Kiyomoto left the pillar and sat down in front of Kamibayashi Miko, a distance of two meters between them.

Kamibayashi Miko raised her right hand, extending her fair, slender fingers, and pointed towards the space between Minamoto Kiyomoto’s eyebrows.

A single arm couldn’t possibly be two meters long. She couldn’t reach.

Having already spoken her five sentences, she just held her hand there, her gaze calmly fixed on Minamoto Kiyomoto.

“Pardon me,” Minamoto Kiyomoto moved forward again, until her fingertip could touch the space between his eyebrows.

Their skin touched, and they looked at each other face to face.

That face was as white and serene as porcelain, like a jade tree in the wilderness shrouded in mist.

Kamibayashi Miko slightly lowered her eyelids, avoiding Minamoto Kiyomoto’s gaze.

Minamoto Kiyomoto decided not to hold a grudge about being kicked into the pond yesterday.

Shirako didn’t issue a warning, her golden eyes monitoring him without blinking.

“Let’s begin,” Kamibayashi Miko’s voice was faint and distant, as if coming from within a fog.

Minamoto Kiyomoto sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, his face serene and handsome, recalling the key points recorded in the book.

“The breath of the gods is omnipresent. Guided by a person with divine power, anyone can sense and absorb it.”

“The amount sensed and absorbed depends on each person’s capacity.”

“Capacity: The manifestation of one’s own origin. Belief, perseverance, talent, luck… a person’s entirety.”

“To have a belief greater than anyone else’s, but lack talent, one’s capacity will surely be narrow.”

“To have talent, but an unsteady will and a pitifully small belief, one’s capacity will likewise not be great.”

At the space between his eyebrows, the cool and comfortable touch of Kamibayashi Miko’s finger disappeared, replaced by a warm and sacred aura.

This aura was very gentle, flowing slowly from Kamibayashi Miko’s fingertip into Minamoto Kiyomoto’s body.

Minamoto Kiyomoto clearly had his eyes closed, yet he saw a curling golden mist.

‘Is this Kamibayashi Miko’s divine power?’ he thought.

According to the cultivation notes, different people had different capacities, and the color their spiritual power manifested was also different.

Kamibayashi Miko’s spiritual energy was golden, giving a feeling of warmth and sanctity. Was this her capacity? Was this who Kamibayashi Miko was as a person?
And what kind of person was he?
Minamoto Kiyomoto reined in his thoughts and proceeded to the next step—using Kamibayashi Miko’s spiritual energy to sense the omnipresent breath of the gods in the world and convert it into his own divine power.

In Kamibayashi Miko’s notes, only three lines were written about this step.

“Random thoughts do not arise, wicked delusions do not invade.”

“Know the gods, see the gods, command the gods.”

“A clear heart, a calm heart, a focused heart, a bright heart, a righteous heart, a pure heart, a heart of utmost sincerity.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t know what to do, but since the cultivation notes didn’t specify, perhaps all he needed to do was calm his heart and leave the rest to her.

He let himself enter the state he usually did when studying seriously, free from distractions—this kind of thing was simple for him.

The next moment, he entered a mysterious world.

The feeling was incredibly strange, impossible to record with suitable words. If one had to express it in writing, it could only be described with a metaphor:
He was trapped in an iron cage. The key to open the cage was not far away, but no matter how hard he stretched his arm, trying every possible method, he couldn’t reach it.

Just then, he discovered something next to the cage.

Although he didn’t know what it was, a thought immediately popped into his mind: as long as he got “it,” he could hook the key and get out of the cage.

And then, he was out of the cage.

“Ah!” the butterfly sprites exclaimed.

They grabbed onto the tea tray, hugged the waists of other butterflies, and clung tightly to Kamibayashi Miko’s miko outfit, their bodies blown up like flags.

The military uniform girl, Shirako, also pressed down firmly on her military cap, as if walking against a strong wind.

In the Japanese-style room, a multicolored wave of energy suddenly appeared, surrounding Minamoto Kiyomoto like a sea of light, stirring up gusts of wind not of this world.

“This guy!” Shirako’s schoolgirl-like face showed undisguised dislike, the strong wind making it impossible for her to speak.

Kamibayashi Miko’s right index finger was still pointed at the space between Minamoto Kiyomoto’s eyebrows. A dazzling golden light swelled from her body, forming a barrier. The wind around the little butterfly miko and the military uniform girl disappeared.

“Ah, my hair is a mess,” the little butterfly miko cried out, hurriedly tidying their skirts and hair.

“No respect for seniority, hmph,” the military uniform girl Shirako complained, glaring imperiously at Minamoto Kiyomoto.

Ignoring them, Kamibayashi Miko stared at Minamoto Kiyomoto, who was enveloped in the sea of light. Her usually serene eyes were now blazing.

The main reason she chose Minamoto Kiyomoto was that his physical appearance was excellent, his grades were number one in the country, yet he had never had a girlfriend.

As for his capacity, as the nation’s number one, his capacity might not be low. She had considered this possibility, but she hadn’t expected it to be this great.

Academic performance, whether a person was smart or not, had no direct relationship with the size of their capacity.

Capacity looked at a person’s entirety, not just one aspect.

The Minamoto Kiyomoto before her, making the breath of the gods manifest and stirring up a gale, was a qualification that only a very few people could possess after undergoing special means.

Kamibayashi Miko fell into a reverie.

Minamoto Kiyomoto was completely unaware that he had stirred up a gale, been disliked by the shikigami, and sent Kamibayashi Miko into deep thought.

Unmoving and patient like the great earth, his deep contemplation was as profound as a hidden treasure.

He was already immersed in a state of emptiness, not even feeling that he had entered it.

With a deafening “boom” in the unseen world, a hole opened in the heavens and earth, and endless breath of the gods poured into Minamoto Kiyomoto’s body.

The momentum was torrential, like a river flowing backward, a waterfall cascading for a thousand miles.

In the multicolored breath of the gods, a small bit of black mist-like divine power was slowly born.

That black was not like the black of a crow, which felt ominous; it was not a superficial pigment black; nor was it simple darkness. There was no evil, no badness in the divine power.

If one had to say, only the black of the night sky came close to that feeling.

But without perceiving a deeper color, that is, what kind of person Minamoto Kiyomoto was, a thoughtful look appeared between Kamibayashi Miko’s brows.

To perceive to this extent was only possible at a moment like this. Just as Minamoto Kiyomoto had perceived the color of her divine power, she should have been able to perceive his as well.

Just then, the black light of the divine power suddenly flicked her finger away.

That bit of power was insignificant to her, but in that instant, she saw clearly the essence within the black light.

All things in the world were within it. As scorching and eternal as the sun, yet in the vast, dark universe, it was merely the light of a firefly.

An unruffled composure that said, no matter who you are, you are beneath me; a confidence that no matter what you do, you cannot surpass me.

To put it bluntly, it was arrogance.

She had long known that Minamoto Kiyomoto was a wild and untamable person.

But divine power was different from simple personality; it was a person’s entirety.

For his divine power to have such overwhelming confidence proved that his beliefs, experiences, and abilities could truly overwhelm everything.

After flicking Kamibayashi Miko away, the black divine light, like a flood breaking through a dike, spread wantonly, beginning to absorb the multicolored breath of the gods to strengthen itself.

The corner of Minamoto Kiyomoto’s clothes was blown up, his hair floated, and the tea tray and cups on the tatami mat shook.

The conversion of the breath of the gods into divine power began to interfere with reality.

At this moment, a golden ripple emanated from Kamibayashi Miko’s body. Like a wave washing over a beach, all the chaos was swept away, and the wind ceased.

An hour later, the sky-filling sea of light disappeared, and the black divine power, like a beast returning to its lair, retracted its edge.

No one would ever again, unless Minamoto Kiyomoto was willing, be able to perceive his personality from his divine power.

Minamoto Kiyomoto slowly opened his eyes. His originally slightly brownish pupils had turned completely black, like inlaid black gems.

Kamibayashi Miko, on the opposite side, seemed to have been sitting there without moving.

The sliding door of the Japanese-style room was open. The ten o’clock sun cast the shadow of the green plum tree on the corridor.

His mind was clear, and the whole world had become fresh, clean, vivid, and interesting.

“So this is divine power!” he said, his tone as calm as possible, yet still unable to hide his excitement.

A black light burst forth from his body.

With a slight twitch of his ear, the flapping of the butterfly sprites’ wings, the wind blowing through the green plum tree, the sound of breathing, heartbeats, and even the subtle rustle of Kamibayashi Miko’s hair, all entered his ears without exception.

Not only did he hear them, but they were clear, distinct, and orderly.

He could even tell from the sounds that the wind was blowing from the south, the position of the wind chime on the corridor, and the posture, movements, and even expressions of each butterfly sprite at this moment.

He focused all his attention on Kamibayashi Miko and instantly saw a humanoid golden mist.

His bit of divine power compared to hers was like the difference between the school’s Sanshiro Pond and Tokyo Bay.

Shirako had a small ball of golden divine power on her, and the butterfly sprites had even smaller ones. They should all be Kamibayashi Miko’s divine power.

“The method for cultivating divine power is recorded in the notes I gave you. As for curses, I will teach you directly. You will come to my place every Saturday and Sunday, and practice on your own at other times.”

“I haven’t heard Miss Kamibayashi’s voice for a while, and it sounds even more pleasant,” Minamoto Kiyomoto was in a good mood.

“Staying at my place for an hour costs ten thousand yen.”

“You charge money?!”

“You can come if you want. I won’t force you,” Kamibayashi Miko’s tone was indifferent.

All cultivators had to participate in the “battles.” He had to come whether he wanted to or not, unless he planned to go and die.

“Even if your voice is nice, I won’t like you anymore,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said honestly.

Kamibayashi Miko was noncommittal. “And then there’s the weapon. For personal reasons, I have put you on a path where you must subjugate yokai. I’ll give you a 90% discount, one million yen.”

“…I’ll go kill two evil capitalists.”

“Later, I will take you to the Onmyo Bureau to register. Guess what else the Onmyo Bureau kills besides yokai?”

“Have all the capitalists been killed already? Did I get into the business too late?”

“Shirako,” Kamibayashi Miko turned to the military uniform girl, “take him to get the clothes-drying pole.”

“Yes,” the military uniform girl responded, then turned her small face to Minamoto Kiyomoto and barked, “Follow me!”

“Wait, a clothes-drying pole?”

Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at Kamibayashi Miko. Kamibayashi Miko picked up her teacup.

“Come on, hurry up!” Shirako walked onto the corridor of the courtyard and urged impatiently.

Minamoto Kiyomoto could only stand up, come to the corridor, change his shoes following Shirako, and arrive in the courtyard.

The area of the courtyard near the wall was overgrown with all kinds of weeds.

Among the weeds were various flowers: purple irises, pink alstroemeria, the white petals of cymbidium, and so on.

A patch next to the corridor had been cleared out to be used as a place for drying clothes.

The clothesline was tied according to Kamibayashi Miko’s height, so the user of the clothes-drying pole was the 1.3-meter-tall Shirako.

Kamibayashi Miko’s clothes from yesterday were not on the clothesline.

“This is the weapon my master is giving you,” Shirako said to Minamoto Kiyomoto, her small hands behind her back, her small chest puffed out, looking at the pole leaning against the clothesline.

“It’s really a clothes-drying pole?” Minamoto Kiyomoto picked up the pole, feeling incredulous.

“Idiot! Infuse your divine power into it. If your capacity is sufficient, it will return to its original form.”

One didn’t need to learn how to mobilize divine power. It was like using strength; once you had it, you knew how to use it.

The clothes-drying pole gradually glowed with black light, its shape changing, turning into a straight sword, not a Japanese tachi.

“Not bad, not bad,” Minamoto Kiyomoto breathed a sigh of relief.

Although a clothes-drying pole wasn’t bad, if possible, a weapon should be a bit cooler.

“Does this sword have a name?” he asked Shirako.

“Its previous name died with its last owner. Give it a new name yourself,” Shirako said perfunctorily, her eyes sizing up the clothesline that was taller than her, probably considering finding a new clothes-drying pole.

Minamoto Kiyomoto held the sword at an angle. Black light pulsed, the body of the sword hummed, and a star chart of the Big Dipper was engraved on the blade.

“Let’s call it Polaris.”

Actually, Polaris is not part of the Big Dipper.

After familiarizing himself with the weapon for a while, on the way back to the Japanese-style room, besides being happy, Minamoto Kiyomoto was also having a headache about where to raise this one million yen.

He was born into an ordinary family in Shikoku. His spending couldn’t be extravagant, but he wasn’t too frugal either. After two years, his savings were only two hundred thousand yen.

Fortunately, Kamibayashi Miko allowed him to pay in installments, twenty thousand yen per week.

“Next, we’ll learn curses,” she said. “Everyone’s divine power is different, and their energy is limited. Try to learn curses that are suitable for you.”

“How do I know if it’s suitable or not?” Minamoto Kiyomoto placed the sword beside him and ate the snacks brought by the butterfly sprites.

“You are suited for some powerful curses and a wide, sweeping style of swordsmanship.”

“Mm!” It wasn’t agreement, but a gesture for her to wait.

Minamoto Kiyomoto took a sip of tea, swallowed the snack, and said, “I think I’m suited for everything.”

“I almost forgot,” Kamibayashi Miko remembered the color of his divine power. This was an arrogant person.

“Forgot what?”

“Nothing. I’ll teach you the thunder curse first. According to the Kojiki, when Izanami-no-Mikoto wanted to return from the land of Yomi to the world of the living with Izanagi-no-Mikoto, she used eight types of thunder to wrap around her corpse to dispel the divine power of Yomi.”

“This is a legend, but the eight types of thunder do exist. They are thunder curses created by ancient cultivators to fight against the Yomi Demon Dragon.”

“Great Thunder, Fire Thunder, Earth Thunder, Young Thunder, Black Thunder, Hidden Thunder, Rumbling Thunder, and Rending Thunder. Which one do you want to learn?”

“I’ll learn them all. Let’s start with Rending Thunder.”

“I only know Great Thunder and Young Thunder.”

“…Then why did you ask me?”

The young woman had already spoken her five sentences, so she picked up a snack and began to eat it slowly.

(End of Chapter)