A New Scene?

"Save your clever tongue..."

Her face flushed red, then pale. Minamoto no Raikou seemed to grow embarrassed and angry. She directly drew one of the twin blades at her waist, its blood-red edge seeming to have been steeped in fresh blood as it reflected a cold gleam.

"No matter what, you were the one who provoked me first!"

"But from my perspective, that's exactly what happened too... And words aside, don't start swinging weapons. Why are you drawing a sword?" Gu Mo twitched at the corner of his mouth again. What even was this? From his perspective, she had been the one to mock and disparage him for no reason in the first place. Wasn't this just an endless loop?

Well, it seemed there actually was a way to solve it. As long as he remembered to watch his words in the future and didn't petty-mindedly retaliate even when he had the chance... Wait, no. If he did that, wouldn't he just be taking abuse for nothing?

After seriously considering it, he decided it was better to preserve this fated time loop. Otherwise, it might create some troublesome paradox. Whether he feared trouble or not, he had no desire to go looking for it... Yes, that was it!

"Enough nonsense. Let's train! Your heart isn't on the path of the warrior at all. Even if you have achieved remarkable results in the way of Onmyoji Magic, this sort of practice alone is nowhere near enough to make you a qualified martial artist!"

The treasured sword in her hand suddenly rose, its sharp blood-colored tip pointed directly at him. Minamoto no Raikou said coldly, "In that case, use your body to remember it properly! Nothing is more effective than pain at helping you grow faster."

"..."

"..."

Wasn't that phrasing a little too easy to misunderstand?

And she made it sound so righteous—"nothing is more effective than pain." Why did it feel like she was just angrily looking for an excuse to beat him up?

"Then please instruct me."

Gu Mo fell silent for a moment, but eventually sighed and nodded. He gripped the hilt of his wooden sword with both hands and focused completely, trying to recall the forms he had practiced before while preparing himself for the coming storm.

He still treasured opportunities like this. Although Minamoto no Raikou always seemed to harbor some sort of retaliatory mindset toward him and spared no effort in putting him down, she was never the slightest bit careless when it came to teaching him martial arts.

Seeing his decisive choice, a flicker of appreciation passed through Minamoto no Raikou's eyes. But she immediately snorted and wiped the smile from her face, her curvaceous body suddenly leaning forward! At the same time, the blood-red blade in her hand tore through the air with a low howl, drawing a brilliant crimson arc like lightning!

At first glance, it looked just like a waterfall of blood spraying through the air!

"Hey! Wait! At least change swords!"

At that moment, Gu Mo hurriedly retreated several steps and called for a halt. His eyebrows twitched as he stared at the treasured blade in Minamoto no Raikou's hand. Though it was only one of her twin swords, and only one blade had been drawn—

The weapon in her hand was not Doji-giri, the spirit sword said to slay demons, but it was not much inferior. Its former name was Kumo-giri, originally Hizamaru, also a legendary spirit sword. It was one of the two famous blades wielded by Tada Mitsunaka of the Minamoto Clan, guardian of the realm.

He just did not know why it had now been reforged into a pair of swords.

If this were a real fight, Gu Mo would already be at an enormous disadvantage in terms of weapons alone. He looked at the practice wooden sword in his own hand, then at the treasured blade in hers, his expression clearly carrying a trace of suspicion.

Minamoto no Raikou, who had just been about to charge, nearly stumbled. She gripped the hilt in exasperation and glared furiously at him. "It's only practice. Does it matter what weapon I use? If we're being honest, I could knock you flat with my bare hands!"

"Ahem. Since it's practice, let's use wooden swords at the beginning... Besides, that thing puts way too much psychological pressure on me. Isn't that an advantage too?"

Gu Mo shook his head rapidly. Of course he knew it did not matter what Minamoto no Raikou used. It was like a high-level player crushing a newbie regardless of whether they wore equipment. But that was one thing in theory; in reality, he had to consider the psychological pressure too.

Big sister, can we take this step by step? You're bringing out real blades for the very first training session. I don't even dare imagine what you'll pull out later!

"What a troublesome man! Look at that demon! You're far worse than her!"

Minamoto no Raikou took a deep breath, sheathed her sword, then fetched a wooden practice sword from the weapon rack nearby.

"Yes, yes, but I'm not a demon. What can I do? Try to understand..." Gu Mo nodded like a pecking chicken. Although the Idiot System was quite helpful, he was still ultimately only human at present. At most, he had better stamina and was healthier than ordinary people.

Comparing himself to Hidechiyo now, was he overestimating himself or underestimating Axiu?

Minamoto no Raikou gritted her teeth, feeling deeply frustrated. Why did this man not care at all? Normally, when a grown man was told he was inferior to a woman, he would not be able to accept it. Then, regardless of whether he could do it or not, he would insist he could and desperately try to prove himself.

Why was this person completely immune to that? Provocation was utterly ineffective...

She raised her wooden sword and pointed it directly at his nose, asking through clenched teeth, "Fine! Any more problems now?!"

"No. Let's begin—" Gu Mo shook his head, but before his words had even fallen—

A fierce aura seemed to lock onto him instantly. The wooden sword became a straight line, crossing the mere dozen or so paces between them in an instant. The shrill sound of wind seemed delayed as it followed afterward, only then roaring out—the sound of the atmosphere being torn apart!

Minamoto no Raikou seemed to have been waiting for that "begin," eager to give him an unforgettable experience!

At the edge of the courtyard, Abe no Seimei, who sat quietly on the steps beneath the corridor eaves, sighed.

After so many years, she was still this petty.

But Raiko knew her limits and understood the importance of restraint, so there was no need to worry too much about an accident.

Nearly an hour later.

The evening sky was so beautiful...

Lying on his back on the ground, breathing lightly, Gu Mo looked at the blazing red sunset in the sky above the dojo courtyard. For no particular reason, that thought flashed through his mind.

"How is it? Can you still stand?"

The valiant female warrior walked to his side and examined him. She noticed that his breathing had already evened out again. He was only panting lightly now, rather than gasping for breath as he had before... His physical condition was not on the level of hers or those monstrous martial artists who were practically demons, but it was not bad.

—His strength was not exceptional, but it was sufficient. At least his wrists were strong enough to wield a sword, unlike those weaklings who had no idea how heavy a weapon was. In a real fight, their arms would already go limp after only a few swings...

—But his stamina was better. Both his endurance and recovery were far beyond those of ordinary people. Otherwise, he could not have endured this half-hour of high-intensity special training.

That was her evaluation, but compared to the figure in her memories, this level was still far from enough. Of course, Minamoto no Raikou did not think that was a problem. When she had reached the peak of her life, she had also been in the prime of youth, full of vigor and ambition.

Thus, she had no doubt that within another decade or so, the man before her and that demon would certainly grow strong enough... She herself had managed it. They were even more naturally gifted, so surely they would not need to wait until some distant age before finally coming into their own.

"No problem..."

Gu Mo sat up from the ground and said through gritted teeth. His whole body hurt, especially his arms, thighs, and calves. Yet upon careful inspection, there was not even the slightest bruise on those areas. He did not know what kind of subtle technique she had used. The wooden sword had definitely hurt when it struck him.

At the beginning, he had been hit the most.

Even if his stance was merely incorrect, or there was a slight problem with how he held the sword, that unpredictable wooden blade would immediately strike him from some unbelievable angle.

While bringing pain, it would often correct his mistake exactly, allowing him to truly remember what that stance and movement should be like. As time passed, his movements became increasingly standardized, as if every motion had been measured against a ruler.

By the end, he had barely been hit at all... Just as Minamoto no Raikou had said, physical pain was often remembered most deeply.

"You've only truly entered the gate now. You've genuinely combined the experience from the past half month of practice, which is not bad."

Watching Gu Mo carefully inspect his body, Minamoto no Raikou snorted. After giving him a rare, icy compliment, she instantly switched back to contemptuous mode. "Stop looking. There won't be any problem with my technique. Of course, if you're worried, it's not impossible to apply some medicine..."

"I think that's very necessary... Master Raiko, I'll leave that to you." Sitting on the ground, Gu Mo immediately raised his head and looked at her with a solemn expression, nodding seriously in agreement.

It was only proper. Besides, in a world this fantastical, medicine commonly used and approved by a legendary figure like her—even if it was the sort of common "wound medicine" found everywhere in martial arts novels—would probably have attributes and quality. There was no reason not to take advantage of it!

"..."

"..."

"...Wait here! I'll go prepare the medicine for you right now. I'll make a few extra doses while I'm at it. You'll need them later!"

Minamoto no Raikou took another deep breath, turned, and left.

Watching her departing figure, Gu Mo chuckled a few times before getting to his feet. His thighs were sore as well.

He had indeed benefited greatly from this sparring session, and Minamoto no Raikou truly was an excellent instructor, though her attitude was somewhat harsh... In actual training, however, she did not have that retaliatory mindset. She was genuinely teaching him seriously. The wooden sword merely served the same purpose as a teacher's ruler.

And judging by how practiced and experienced she was, this was probably the training method she had always used.

But that was normal. Martial artists in this era faced excessively high occupational risks. Rather than die miserably and unwillingly on the battlefield, true warriors would surely prefer to suffer more during regular training. Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in war. Pain on the training grounds was always better than a fatal injury in a life-or-death fight.

That was the principle Minamoto no Raikou wanted to teach him, so she probably could not stand the "delicacy" he had displayed these past few days.

After reviewing himself, Gu Mo let out a soft breath. Honestly, he was not truly delicate. Their concepts and accustomed lifestyles simply differed. This valiant female warrior believed the world was like this, so she insisted on teaching him what she considered the most suitable way to survive.

But Gu Mo came from a later era. He had grown up in a peaceful country, in peaceful times, and was only a passerby in this Dungeon World. He did not need to face such a world forever. Under such circumstances, expecting him to naturally change his outlook on life and accept a new way of living...

That was clearly unrealistic as well.

Deep in thought, he dragged his somewhat heavy and exhausted body to the pond in the courtyard. As usual, he washed his hands, then opened his Status Panel.

Under the skills page, the list of skills marked as currently being learned had indeed changed. A new entry had appeared at the bottom.

—"Kendo Stance, Proficiency: 34/100."

It was precisely the foundational kendo training he had practiced during this period. It was not simply the game-like division of high, middle, and low stances, but encompassed all sorts of kamae. The basic concept was to adjust one's body into a posture that allowed immediate effective movements and responses.

It had not even appeared before, yet it had suddenly shown up now, with its proficiency already one-third full. That was quite good progress.

Gu Mo thought about it carefully, then dismissed his joy. This was probably only at the level of Martial Arts Novice, and he had already spent half a month practicing with Minamoto no Raikou every day.

It was only through today's practical training and pain that he had truly entered the gate. Strictly speaking, this could not be considered fast at all. It was even absurdly slow... He had studied for half a month before an option for system-recognized proficiency unlocking finally appeared. It would be embarrassing to tell anyone about that speed.

But at least the proficiency unlocking option had appeared now, meaning that all he needed to do next was practice repeatedly and grind proficiency.

The hardest part was entering the gate. But once one truly understood it, had a deep and proper understanding of it, and gained the system's recognition, all that remained was to spend time repeating the process... Yes, this really was a grinding system. Every aspect of it seemed determined to work him to death!

Worried about his future, Gu Mo cast another slightly melancholy glance at the progress bar above.

After his earlier Onmyoji Magic training, the proficiency of his Fire Bullet Talisman had also accumulated to over ninety. He was expected to master it tomorrow. At that point, he would truly learn a mage-style offensive skill and be able to fire from afar.

The only thing he needed to note was that Abe no Seimei had said he had not yet mastered special powers such as spiritual energy. He could not directly cast Onmyoji Magic and could only follow the item-based route—expending stamina and mental energy beforehand to draw talismans and carry them on his person.

Like the Fire Summoning Talisman and Purification Binding Talisman, it was currently more akin to an item-crafting skill for him.

"Brother Gu Mo, Brother Gu Mo..."

A familiar loud shout came from outside the dojo, interrupting Gu Mo's thoughts.

He closed the Status Panel, which only he could see, nodded to Abe no Seimei, and walked out.

Just then, Tokichiro came running over in a panic and nearly crashed headfirst into him. Gu Mo barely managed to catch him in time. Having never seen Monkey so flustered, Gu Mo's expression became slightly grave as he asked in a low voice, "Don't panic. What happened?"

Had the troublesome commoners in the city started causing trouble?

Because of the immersive management during this period, that was the first thing that came to mind. After all, city-building simulations had often left him with painful memories of being a commoner-management simulator.

"It's, it's this... Lord Dosan... Lord Dosan..."

Monkey was so out of breath that his words came in fragments.

Gu Mo's expression changed slightly, and his heart skipped a beat. Had that old man finally come after all, intending to settle accounts with him for abducting his precious daughter? No, he had to call Axiu over quickly.

"Something happened at Lord Dosan's residence! The soldiers in the mountains all ran down, saying demons and ghosts have appeared in the mountain!" Tokichiro finally caught his breath and managed to finish the sentence in one go.

"..."

"..."

"Oh, I understand." Gu Mo nodded, looking utterly calm.

"B-Brother Gu Mo?" Tokichiro opened his mouth. This reaction was a little strange. Why did the other man seem completely unconcerned? This had happened right in Sagiyama Castle. Strictly speaking, they could be implicated by association!

"It's nothing. Let me think..." Gu Mo waved a hand and began considering it seriously.

Something had already happened in Viper's Divine Realm? He had no recollection of this, nor did he have any foreknowledge advantage from the plot, so it seemed somewhat wrong.

Could it have been a malicious scheme by that old man from the start? Or had the large number of spirit stones stored inside caused some problem, attracting unknown demons and ghosts? Whatever the case, he really needed to do something. He had to go take a look.

So this was the next new scene? It was actually Viper's Divine Realm. He had thought this new scene would not trigger until at least next year, and that he would miss it because he had to leave the Dungeon World and take a look outside. He could not stay cooped up in this world year after year.