I searched for corpses in the Wuding River to extract entries

Chapter 556: Respect and Rejection

Time has entered the spring of the new year, and in this season everything revives and is full of vitality.

At this moment, outside the Aoki Shrine, in the spacious martial arts square,
Hideki Furukawa is concentrating on demonstrating a set of basic boxing techniques to the new disciples who have joined the martial arts club.

His movements were steady and powerful, and every punch seemed so smooth and natural.

However, at this quiet moment, a figure suddenly passed across the sky.

Faced with this sudden situation, Hideki Furukawa did not seem panicked, as if he was already accustomed to such interruptions.

He calmly stopped his boxing demonstration and secretly sent a message to his master to inform him of the sudden situation.

"This is already the third time this month..."

He whispered to himself, with a hint of helplessness in his tone.

Despite this, he quickly took his disciples to one side and went forward alone.

When the figure landed steadily on the ground, Furukawa Hideki immediately stepped forward.
He bowed respectfully and said, "Master Kinoshita."

The middle-aged man called Mr. Kinoshita was dressed in luxurious clothes. His eyes swept over the martial arts disciples around him and then fixed on Furukawa Hideki.

He asked directly: "What has your master considered?"

Furukawa Hideki immediately responded:

"Master feels that he still has a lot of room for improvement in his martial arts. He hopes to go further in the way of the samurai before serving the noble Amaterasu."

The Amaterasu here is the name of the Nichiren god who is widely praised by the people. She is revered as the god who controls light and the sun, and is also the savior god of Yingzhou.

Kinoshita just shook his head slightly and said slowly:

"There is nothing to consider. I firmly believe that your teacher's ability is not inferior to that of the sword master."

"After he completes the worship ceremony, he will soon be able to recover to his previous great strength, and may even reach a higher level."

He went on to say, "The reason why your teacher is reluctant to agree is probably mainly because of the matter with the Spirit Hunting Division. He was deprived of all his Yin-Yang skills, which inevitably made him feel a little resentful."

Kinoshita seemed to understand Takeshi Kurokawa's feelings and his tone was full of sympathy.

Then he looked at Furukawa Hideki and said seriously: "Go and call your teacher. I want to have a good talk with him in person. Maybe I can help him resolve his problem."

As he was speaking, Xie Que also walked out of the shrine slowly. He looked at Kinoshita and said, "Master Kinoshita, I'm here."

Seeing Xie Que, Kinoshita's face immediately lit up with a wide smile.
As he walked towards Takeshi Kurokawa, he said enthusiastically:

"Master Kurokawa, this is already the third time we've met. It feels so intimate."

Xie Que also smiled faintly and responded:

"Mr. Kinoshita, as the imperial seal of the Jingshenfu, you are of an extremely noble status, and I feel extremely honored to have met you many times."

Kinoshita laughed and said, "If you really think so, then I'm relieved."

Then he changed the subject, looked at Xie Que and said:
"I heard that Master Kurokawa bravely killed a beautiful snake that could speak and cast spells in the mountains of Nagano a few days ago. The snake had actually lived for three thousand years. I wonder if I will be lucky enough to see the true appearance of the beautiful snake?"

When Xie Que heard what Mu Xia said, he smiled and waved his hand gently, saying modestly: "Master Mu Xia, you are really a joker. How can I have such an amazing ability?"

"The so-called beauty snake is actually just a little demon that can learn to speak like a woman to lure passers-by. It has not yet been able to transform into a human form, let alone anything else."

Xie Que tried to downplay the topic.

However, he knew that what Kinoshita said was true, and the snake demon had indeed entered the ranks of the five realms of great demons.

But Xie Que knew very well that once he acknowledged his own strength, it would mean that as a "warrior", he already possessed power comparable to Shao Yun's Onmyoji.

Such things were not good for him, so he chose to remain silent.

Seeing Xie Que's denial, Kinoshita showed no displeasure on his face. He said softly:

"The Master Seal Holder has made it clear that if Master Heichuan is willing to join our God Worship House, we will generously give Master Heichuan an additional God Worship quota."

At this point, he couldn't help but stretch out his right hand with five fingers spread out to emphasize the following words:

"As long as Master Kurokawa agrees, we can immediately provide you with five more places to worship the gods."

As soon as these words were spoken, several disciples on the field held their breath, their expressions solemn.

They knew that although their teacher "Kurokawa Takeshi" was not very interested in worshipping gods due to his great strength,
But such an opportunity still made them feel excited. After all, they all knew how precious the opportunity to worship the gods was.

And in their eyes, worshipping God seems to be a shortcut to success.
It seems that as long as one can worship God devoutly, one can be reborn overnight and become a great figure who is superior to the Onmyoji.

This tempting prospect is undoubtedly extremely attractive to young people who are inexperienced in the world and eager to stand out.

How could they not be moved and yearn for it?
Even the usually calm and composed Furukawa Hideki, the eldest disciple of Aoki Martial Arts Society, could not help but feel overwhelmed at this moment.

However, the strict concept of hierarchy in the Yingzhou world has long been rooted in everyone's hearts. Therefore, before Xie Que spoke, these disciples would never dare to rashly put forward their suggestions.

Kinoshita looked around and keenly caught the desire in his disciples' eyes.

He saw several teenagers swallowing secretly, as if they were trying to calm their inner excitement and nervousness.

This scene made Kinoshita even more convinced that there was great potential in this matter.

You, Takeshi Kurokawa, may not be moved by worshipping gods, but that doesn’t mean the people around you will be the same!
Kinoshita knew very well that as long as he could skillfully use the influence and encouragement of the people around him and hint at them day after day, he might be able to gradually change Takeshi Kurokawa's mind.

After all, people are all made of flesh and blood. Who can resist the earnest expectations and constant persuasion of the public?
Moreover, worshiping the gods... represents the dignity of His Majesty Nichiren, and also represents the glory that surpasses Onmyoji. No one can refuse it, let alone these small warriors?

What Kinoshita didn't expect was that Kurokawa Takeshi would easily shake his head and say, "No need, Master Kinoshita."

"My disciples and I admire and respect Her Majesty Amaterasu, but we also know that the qualification to worship God should belong to the Onmyojis. If they can worship God, it will be more helpful to our Dongshan Dao!"

Xie Que said this beautifully, but it did not sound right to Kinoshita.

He immediately understood that the other party was afraid that after he worshipped the gods, he would squeeze out the places of other Onmyojis and was afraid of retaliation.

Kinoshita's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said with a smile: "Master Kurokawa, there is no need to worry about the feelings of those Yin Yang masters. Although there are not many places for worshipping the gods, after entering my worship house, those Yin Yang masters outside will never dare to have any opinions."

"If they have any objections, even though my Dongshan Daoling Hunting Division will no longer hunt them down, it does not mean that they will completely..."

Xie Que still interrupted the other party by shaking his head: "No, Master Kinoshita, that's not what I meant, I just think..."

"Now is not the time to worship God. I feel I can still make progress..."

As he spoke, Xie Que threw a punch into the air, and a series of explosions occurred.

Under the wind of the fist, even the many disciples dozens of meters away could not help but retreat. The force of the fist finally broke a small tree directly at a distance of a hundred meters. The power was almost comparable to the Yin-Yang magic released by a fourth-level Yin-Yang master.

Looking at this power, Kinoshita was even more excited. This top warrior who was only stronger than the sword master would probably become a "high priest" comparable to Shao Yun's Onmyoji immediately after worshipping the gods.

If I could bring it into the Temple of Worship, my contribution would be huge!
But then, no matter how much Kinoshita tried to persuade him, Xie Que only showed his desire for martial arts and his admiration for Her Majesty Amaterasu, and had no intention of joining the Jingshenfu at all.

Kinoshita had no choice but to leave again.

After all, worshipping God cannot be forced, and those who are not sincere will not achieve much after worshipping God.

In addition, the method of worshipping gods has only been spread for three to five years, so it is difficult to find a good person to worship gods.

As soon as Kinoshita left, several disciples came out.

Xie Que also knew what they wanted to ask, including his most trusted disciple Furukawa Hideki.

There was longing in their eyes, which was a natural thought that came from the young man's admiration for the strong, and he could not stop it.

Xie Que couldn't help but sigh inwardly. After all, it was not easy for him to explain to them the consequences of worshiping gods.

The best thing to do now is to say nothing and let them continue to practice martial arts.

One day, they will discover that the so-called Spirit Guards and Spirit Kings will also be trampled under their feet.

However, Xie Que also knew that some things still needed to be explained in order to inspire the fighting spirit of his disciples.

So at this time, he did not keep silent about the matter of worshipping God, but just said lightly:

"When I first started practicing martial arts, I said that the way of the warrior is to worship oneself, not external things. Even gods are not worthy of our envy."

"There is an old saying that goes, 'As Heaven moves forward, a gentleman should constantly strive to improve himself.'"

"After you worship the gods, you become their slaves, and you will always be slaves in the future."

"No matter how powerful you are, you can't escape the fact that you are just a slave."

“But if we rely on ourselves alone, we can be equal to God, or even… surpass God!”

The "God" in Xie's gap does not have a clear reference.

After all, in this world and this era, the personal cult of Nichiren Shinto is simply too shocking.

Even if these young men were his disciples, Xie Que couldn't say it out loud.

However, the Yingzhou world is said to have eight million gods, and Amaterasu is the ruler of all gods.

Even the bear demon that Hideki Furukawa killed, some villagers wanted to worship it as a god more than ten years ago.

So, isn't it okay to refer to the "God" here vaguely? If you make it too clear, it will cause trouble to yourself.

After all, there are indeed many Onmyojis whose powers are greater than those of gods.

As soon as these words were spoken, several young men felt their blood boiling and they couldn't wait to practice a few sets of boxing techniques right on the spot.

Seeing this, Xie Que knew that the ambitions of these young people had been temporarily suppressed.

But this was only for a short time. After a long time, these young people realized how fast their strength improved after worshipping the gods.
Even though being a warrior requires a lot of sweat, tears, and time, people still choose to worship God.

Xie Que did not find this strange, but felt it was human nature.

After the other disciples left, Xie Que called Furukawa Hideki into the shrine alone.

After the incident of worshipping the gods, the Spirit Hunting Department no longer paid much attention to the external Onmyoji.
Some places have even begun to support those with extraordinary talents to resume their practice.

Therefore, Ichiro Kurokawa has been away for a long time and plans to study Yin-Yang magic again.

Now, the only ones left in the shrine are Xie Que and a few core disciples.

Xie Que brought Guchuan Hideki to the side hall and sat on a chair. Seeing this, Guchuan Hideki, who was standing beside him, immediately poured tea for the teacher:

"Teacher, please have tea."

Xie Que nodded, dipped his lips in the tea, and said with a smile: "Why? Want to worship the gods?"

He didn't care much about other disciples.

But this Hideki Furukawa is indeed very talented.

Xie Que was sure that this disciple might be his greatest help in seizing the Heavenly Heart Seal in the future.

So he still cares a lot about Hideki Furukawa.

Hideki was a little hesitant, but he asked another question: "Teacher, if we practice the way of the samurai... do we really have a chance to surpass the gods..."

Facing this question, Xie Que just chuckled: "What do you think?"

At this time, Hideki said bluntly: "Teacher, what we are practicing now...I'm afraid it's not the way of the samurai..."

"I also saw those warriors when I went to Dongshan Castle. No matter how strong they seemed... they were not as strong as Junior Brother Koizumi who had only been training for a year."

"Moreover, he seems to be a master warrior who has been immersed in swordsmanship for decades."

Xie Que chuckled: "Then what do you think we are practicing if it's not the way of the warrior?"

After thinking for a while, Hideki continued, "I think what the teacher taught us should be some kind of Yin-Yang technique based on the physical body."

"Because after my practice, I also felt the need to balance the yin and yang inside and outside my body, which is very similar to some things I have seen in books before."

"And compared to the way of the samurai, it is so much more advanced."

As he spoke, Hideki stretched out a hand and looked at his fist: "I feel... even if it is Mr. Kinoshita who came today, I can beat him to death."

At this time, after practicing "The End of Heaven and Earth, the End of Immortals", Hideki's cultivation level is already infinitely close to that of a human immortal.

The god worshippers transformed from these half-baked Onmyojis are naturally not as powerful as him.

Hearing this, Xie Que smiled and said no more: "Since you know everything, then go to sleep."

Hideki said "hmm" and his heart suddenly felt relaxed. He walked out of the side hall and returned to his room.

Xie Que walked out of the shrine directly, looked at the starry sky outside, and said softly:

"Come out, you have been hiding here for so long, I guess you don't need me to invite you."

(End of this chapter)