"Huh? Xiaolin?" Yuan Yi raised his eyebrows, "Why did you come out?"
"Well, I don't feel so dizzy today, so I plan to go out for a walk, get some air, and bask in the sun. I've been staying in the room all this time and it's so boring that I almost can't stand it anymore."
Sitting next to Yuan Yi carelessly, Lin continued.
"I thought you guys were gathering together, and you must be chatting about something. I didn't expect you to be talking about something as serious as the 'Yaksha Realm' in Shiranui."
"Up until just now, we were actually chatting about a lot of things." Yuan Yi said in a half-joking tone, "It's just that when you came over, we just happened to talk about serious things."
"We talked about Brother Ogata's battle in Nijo Castle in Kyoto." Makimura continued, "While we were chatting, we talked about the 'Yaksha Realm' in Shiranui."
"That's it..." Lin murmured softly, "...I really want to see with my own eyes this 'Yaksha Realm' that can compete with the 'Non-Self Realm'..."
"There is a big difference between the 'Yaksha Realm' and the 'Non-Self Realm'." Ogata added on the side, "The 'Yaksha Realm' seems to simply greatly improve a person's strength, speed and other abilities."
After listening to Ogata's addition, Lin fell silent.
After being silent for a while, Lin suddenly asked Ogata abruptly:
"...Ogata Ittosai. You were in Nijo Castle in Kyoto at that time. How did you enter the 'no-self realm'?"
"Huh?" Because Lin's question was quite sudden, Ogata was stunned for a while after hearing Lin's question.
After seeing Lin cast a serious look at him and realizing that Lin was asking him this question in a very serious manner, Ogata thought for a while, organized his words, and said seriously:
"The reason why I was able to enter the 'no-self realm' at that time... I think it can only be regarded as pure luck."
"Using the Breath of Source, the enemy's arrogant attitude made me angry. I only thought about winning... and then I entered the 'no-self state'."
Ogata explained to Lin exactly how he entered the "state of no-self" at that time.
After listening carefully to Ogata's narration, Lin only nodded gently with an expressionless face: "That's it..."
Although Lin had covered it up well, there was still a hint of disappointment flashing in her eyes.
"...Xiao Lin." Yuan Yi suddenly interrupted, "You don't need to be anxious."
"You are still talented in the cultivation of Source Breath."
"As long as you continue to practice hard, you will one day be able to enter the 'selfless state'."
"With your talent, it should be no problem to reach the second realm of Source Breath."
"The second realm?" Doubt appeared on Ogata's face.
"Oh, that's right. I don't think I've ever told you about this, Ogata-kun. Although it's not that important."
Yuan Yi sat up slightly straighter.
"I divided the states I entered into three realms during the process of cultivating the Breath of Source to its peak."
"When I was 24 years old, I created the Breathing of the Source and the Two Sword Styles of Anself."
"At this stage, after using the breath of the source, can I enter the 'realm of no self'... To put it simply, I can only follow the fate and cannot control it by my own will."
"I named the breath of origin in this period the first realm."
"I practiced like this for three years. When I was 27 years old, I finally succeeded in practicing the Breath of Source to a new level."
"At this stage, I can automatically enter the 'selfless state' after maintaining the breathing state of the source for less than a quarter of an hour."
"I named the breath of origin in this period the second realm."
"Then I will continue to practice."
"I have been... practicing for 27 years. It was not until 10 years ago, when I was 54 years old, that I finally practiced the breathing of the source to the third realm, which is the highest realm - I can freely enter the 'no-self'
realm'."
"If you want to reach the highest state where you can freely enter the 'realm of no self', then you must walk the same path I have walked."
"This is a very difficult road."
Speaking of this, Yuan Yi chuckled a few times.
"It took me three years to go from the first realm to the second realm."
"And it took me a full 27 years to get from the second realm to the highest realm."
Ogata has been listening to Genichi's story quietly.
After Genichi finished speaking, Ogata thought to himself:
——The three realms Mr. Yuanyi mentioned correspond to junior to advanced, master level, and grand master level respectively...
The three realms of Source's Breath that Yuan Yi just described are completely consistent with the levels defined by the system.
The first realm, which cannot be controlled by one's own will, corresponds to the primary to advanced levels of source breathing.
It takes about 10 minutes to enter the second realm of "selfless realm", which corresponds to the master level of the Breath of Source.
The third realm that can freely enter the "selfless realm" corresponds to the master level of the breath of the source.
"Xiao Lin, Ogata-kun! You two, please work hard!"
"Whether you can reach the highest realm of Source Breathing depends on chance, but with your talents, reaching the second realm should be no problem!"
Hearing Yuan Yi's encouragement, Lin's face showed a hint of excitement. She nodded vigorously and said loudly: "I will definitely do it!"
As for Ogata...
When he heard Yuan Yi's words encouraging him to reach the second level, his expression became strange.
Ogata raised the wine glass in time, took a sip of wine, and used the wine glass and his hands to cover his weird face.
"Actually, it's already amazing that my lord and brother Ogata can learn the breathing of the source."
Makimura suddenly interrupted at this time.
"We are the kind of people who can't learn the breathing of the source no matter how hard we try."
"Huh? Have you also learned the breathing of the source?" Ogata asked.
Lin on the side nodded.
"They are my subordinates, and I hope that my subordinates will become stronger and stronger."
"So after Jiuro and the others joined my Calabash House, I personally taught them the Breath of the Source."
"It's a pity that no one except Kuro has learned the breathing of the source."
"This source of breathing is so difficult!" Makimura said angrily, "Fighting people while maintaining that weird breathing rhythm? This is really too difficult!"
"So learning this breathing technique also depends on talent." Yuan Yi continued.
"Does Mamiya know how to breathe?" Ogata raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Lin nodded gently:
"He can. It's just that he doesn't use it often."
"Lord, I'm sorry for disturbing your conversation."
At this moment, Mamiya's voice suddenly interrupted.
Everyone turned their heads and looked at Mamiya, who was playing with the sail. Mamiya continued in a calm tone:
"Can I trouble you to wake up Asai and the others? Edo is very close. We are almost about to disembark."
…
…
Ogata and the others did not choose to dock in the harbor of Edo.
If it chooses to dock at the port of Edo, if it is caught by Edo officials, the Edo officials will definitely investigate this strange ship of unknown origin.
In order to avoid trouble, Ogata and the others chose to land on an uninhabited shoal quite close to Edo.
After Ogata carried Amachi off the boat, Amachi let out a sigh of relief:
"Standing on land is the most comfortable..."
"Lord." Makimura, who was responsible for carrying Lin on his back, turned his head and asked Lin behind him, "What should I do with this ship?"
"We don't have time to slowly dispose of this ship." Lin, who like Atachi was still unable to walk properly, lay on Makimura's back and said without thinking, "Just leave this ship here."
After saying that, Lin turned her head and looked at the other people beside her.
"No one missed anything, right?"
Ogata and others shook their heads.
Everyone is now fully dressed, and everyone has a hat on their head that can effectively block the blazing sun.
It's obviously already October, but the weather is still so hot that one wonders whether it's still hot summer.
In order to avoid heatstroke, Ogata and the others each received a hat to escape the heat before setting off.
The edge of their bamboo hats is very wide, and they can cover their faces with the bamboo hats just by lowering their heads. Therefore, in addition to protecting themselves from the heat, their bamboo hats also have the ability to conceal their faces.
The place where Ogata and the others landed was an uninhabited shoal close to Edo. To enter Edo Castle, they had to walk some distance.
Before setting off, Ogata turned his head and looked at his face through the sea water.
Under the bamboo hat on his head is an ordinary face that passersby will never remember after seeing it.
At this time, Ogata had already put on the human skin mask.
From the outside, he was just an ordinary-looking ronin at this time, not the notorious "human-killing power" now.
"When you enter Edo Castle later, don't call me by the wrong name."
Ogata said to Amachi behind him in a half-joking tone.
"The person I am now is not the 'Executioner Ittosai', the successor of the Sakakibara One-Sword Style and the Mugo Two-Sword Style, but the successor of the Komaki One-Sword Style - Majima Goro."
…
…
When getting off the boat, Ogata took a special look at the position of the sun.
According to Ogata's estimation - when they disembarked and landed, it would be around 15:00 in the afternoon.
When we entered Edo Castle, it was already dusk when the sun was setting in the west, and the increasingly faint sunlight dyed the sky dim yellow.
After entering the city, the sky was completely dark.
Although the sky was dark, the twilight did not make this largest city in Japan lose its vitality.
"Okay, that's awesome!" Atachi, who was lying on Ogata's back, looked around with shocked eyes.
Ogata and others are currently walking on an unknown road in Edo.
Even though it is night now, there are not a lot of pedestrians on the street at all.
Looking up, there are pedestrians and lights used for lighting everywhere.
The bright lights of the starry sky, the rows of shops and houses, the endless flow of people, the various accents echoing in the ears... everything in front of them and in their ears proudly announced to Ogata and others the prosperity of this first city in Japan.
A-machi, who came to Edo for the first time, is now like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden.
The same people who looked like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden were Makimura and Asai.
Although Makimura was born in Kyoto, one of the three largest cities in Japan, the prosperity of Kyoto and the prosperity of Edo cannot be compared at all.
Even Kyoto, which had not been devastated by the Tenmei Fire, was far less prosperous than Edo.
The only people who reacted relatively mildly were Lin, Genichi, Mamiya, Shimada, who was born in Edo, and Ogata.
Although Ogata is also visiting Edo for the first time, he is also a traveler from the modern earth.
No matter how prosperous Edo is, it can't compare to the real "cities that never sleep" in the modern earth.
However - although the prosperity of Edo did not surprise Ogata too much, Ogata still looked around with curious eyes.
At this moment, Ogata suddenly thought - it is now October of the second year of Kansei (1790).
It was around this time last year that he left the Hirose Domain and became a ronin.
During this full year of wandering, Ogata has been to many places. From Izumo Hirose Domain in western Japan, he wandered all the way to Kyoto in Kansai, and then from Kyoto in Kansai to Kanto.
of Edo.
I have been to so many places, but no place is more prosperous than Edo.
In terms of prosperity alone, Edo is worthy of being the center of Japan in this era.
Lin, Genichi, Mamiya, and Shimada seemed accustomed to this prosperous scene, and just walked forward silently with the flow of people.
At this moment - Yuan Yi, who was walking at the end, suddenly focused his eyes and his pupils shrank slightly.
After staring at the crowd in front of him for a while, Yuan Yi silently raised his hand to lower the hat on his head slightly and buried his head, using the thick edge of the hat to cover his face.
While lowering the hat on his head, Genichi used a subtle movement to pull down the haori draped around his body, using the haori to cover the sword inserted in his left waist. At the same time, he quietly walked to Makimura's side and hid.
On the side of Makimura's body that was much taller than him.
What came towards Ogata and the others was a group of majestic samurai.
The leader of this group of majestic samurai is quite old, he looks to be about 50 years old, and he has a neatly shaved Tsukiyo head.
Although he is old, this old warrior still looks energetic and does not look like an old man in his 50s at all.
Meeting samurai on the streets of Edo was a common occurrence. Ogata and others only regarded this group of people as ordinary passers-by and paid no attention to this group of samurai.
In contrast, this group of samurai would not care about Ogata and others who just passed by them.
After passing by this group of warriors, Yuan Yi raised the bamboo hat that he had just lowered, then turned his head and looked back, looking at the group of warriors who had just passed by them.
To be more precise, he looked at the old warrior who was the leader of the group of warriors.
After giving the old samurai a meaningful look, Genichi slowly withdrew his gaze and continued to follow Ogata and others, following the flow of people towards the front of the street.
When Yuan Yi just looked away——
Old Samurai: "?!!"
The old warrior's expression suddenly changed, he quickly stopped his feet, then suddenly turned his head and looked behind him.
His eyes swept around, seeming to be looking for something.
The other warriors following this old warrior stopped one after another, and then cast doubtful eyes on this old warrior.
"Nagano-sama, what's wrong?" A young samurai who was closest to the old samurai and followed closely beside him asked.
"...It seemed like someone was watching us just now." The old samurai, who was called Nagano, said in a deep voice.
"Looking at us? This... Mr. Nagano, there are so many people here. Some passers-by see us as a crowd or see the beautiful knives on our waists, so they turn back to look at us. Isn't this normal?
"
Nagano ignored his subordinate's words.
He only moved his eyes and carefully scanned the scene in front of him again.
I found that when I looked up I could only see ordinary faces or the backs of heads, so I said to myself:
"...It's an illusion..."
After saying that, Nagano subconsciously raised the saber at his waist, and then continued to lead the subordinates behind him forward.