"Urgh!"
Amamiya Rin's body stiffened abruptly. All movement stagnated as a heavy sensation radiated from his throat, accompanied by an intense feeling of suffocation and the phantom pain of death.
His brain reeled in a dizzy spell. When Amamiya Rin regained clarity, Yagyu Munenori had already returned to his starting position.
"Again. Use your body to memorize my sword."
Seeing that Amamiya Rin's gaze was clear, Yagyu Munenori raised his wooden sword once more. Enduring the agonizing pain, Amamiya Rin assumed the same stance.
Two figures crossed paths incessantly, the sound of clashing wooden swords echoing through the mountain valley.
The sun gradually rose and then fell toward the west. Amamiya Rin was completely immersed in this efficient honing process. Every failure, every correction, carved the techniques of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu deeper into his instinct.
That's right! Failure! Failure! It was all failure!
He couldn't win at all!
The Yagyu Munenori before him was a manifestation of Amamiya Rin's impression of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu. Techniques that Amamiya Rin knew of but had not mastered, this Yagyu Munenori had already thoroughly comprehended.
Moreover, he would not make mistakes, nor would he reveal any openings. Every move and every form was perfect.
This Yagyu Munenori's configuration was the true Type-Moon version, capable of leaving the historical Yagyu Munenori dozens of streets behind.
One day, two days, five days, ten days, twenty days, a month... Accepting high-intensity training, Amamiya Rin took only a little over a month to master the 'Sangaku' (Three Studies), 'Hassei' (Eight Stances), 'Enpi' (Swallow Flight), and 'Kyuka' (Nine Items).
However, these four sets of techniques were merely the foundation of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu, and also the techniques Amamiya Rin had truly learned in the real world.
The higher-level 'Thunder Blade,' 'Small Turn,' 'Secret Sword,' and 'Mutodori' (No-Sword Grasp)—he had only ever seen the secret manuals for these. He could only develop them himself under Yagyu Munenori's pressure.
There were no days or months in the dream, only ceaseless cultivation.
One year passed.
Three years passed.
Five years passed.
Ten years passed.
Fifteen years passed.
The span of this dream was five years longer than the last!
However, this long cultivation lasting fifteen years also gave Amamiya Rin enough time to develop the secrets of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu. Furthermore, by fusing the swordsmanship of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu with the modern Kendo he had mastered, he created a Shinkage-ryu that belonged to him.
New Shadow Style · Simple Domain: Transforms a hundred stances into a single stance. Responding to ten thousand changes with unchangeability, it forms a defensive and offensive pre-judgment circle within a radius of two meters, capable of adapting to any attack.
New Shadow Style · Suigetsu (Moon in the Water): Drawing the blade, attacking, sheathing, and following up form a closed loop. It is the realm of stillness controlling speed—fast but not impetuous.
New Shadow Style · Shinmyoken (Divine Mystery Sword): Uses feints to entangle the enemy and real strikes to break defenses, shattering the stiffness of dense attacks. It realizes a three-layer progression of striking, changing, and pressuring, avoiding the consumption of brute force.
New Shadow Style · Evil-Slaying Thrust: Targets the enemy's gaps, using stillness to control motion for a guaranteed one-hit strike. It balances the finesse of ancient swordsmanship with the precision of modern Kendo.
Peerless Swordsmanship · Sword-Zen Unity: A secret technique that can only be used after entering deep Dhyana. At the instant the blade is drawn, it actively stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, prompting the adrenal glands to secrete massive amounts of adrenaline, and pushes the breathing technique to its limit to enhance physical constitution. One slash, certain kill.
However, the side effects are also significant. Neurotransmitter secretion disorder, heart palpitations, chest tightness, retrosternal stabbing pain, and respiratory alkalosis are all aftereffects.
Red Lotus Breathing: A new style of breathing technique that combines and improves upon Yagyu Shinkage-ryu, Six Wondrous Gates, the Valsalva maneuver, rapid gas exchange, and ballistic stretching.
In its base state, it can increase oxygen supply efficiency by 30%, movement precision by 50%, and swinging speed by 10%, while lowering physical stamina consumption by 20%.
In its limit state, within thirty seconds, it can increase explosive power by 15%. However, if the duration exceeds one minute, it will lead to bodily function disorders.
A total of six sets of techniques—these were Amamiya Rin's great achievements over fifteen years.
After a long fifteen years, Amamiya Rin woke from the dream.
Opening his eyes, his gaze gradually focused, reflecting the familiar white ceiling.
The smell of disinfectant drilled into his nasal cavity, reminding him of where he was. The state of observation dissected his body and mind, clarifying his own existence.
"Huu... Suu... Huu... Suu..."
His body felt as heavy as if it were filled with lead; the sense of disconnection between flesh and consciousness was exceptionally distinct.
Amamiya Rin slowly adjusted his breathing. The rhythm of the Red Lotus Breathing had already been carved into his instincts. After a few cycles, powerful strength surged toward his limbs like a thawing stream carrying warmth, washing away that heavy sense of stagnation.
"Very good. Although I'm not yet sure if the data for the limit state matches the dream world, at least the deviation in basic efficiency is no greater than one percent."
Amamiya Rin was very satisfied with the gains obtained from the Dream World.
At the same time, the thirty-two Kawakami Tomies also used Amamiya Rin's Dhyana state to distinguish the boundary between reality and dreams. The [Tomie Network] became lively once again.
Amamiya Rin also joined the conversation at just the right moment.
(Have you all decided? Who is going to move into the haunted house?)
(We've discussed it. A detached house can usually accommodate four people. Me, No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 will move in. How about that?)
The moment Amamiya Rin's thought arose, he received an immediate response.
No. 1, the first to be transformed into a Kawakami Tomie, triumphantly expressed their willingness.
Amamiya Rin could sense their thoughts.
A batch of four people would take turns living in the haunted house while simultaneously finding other counterfeits to pull into the [Tomie Network], further reducing the probability of themselves being selected.
(No problem. Do it today. You guys choose a time and move into that haunted house.)
Amamiya Rin naturally wouldn't haggle with them over these details; he only needed someone to stall Kayako's killing rhythm.
As for pulling more Kawakami Tomies into the [Tomie Network], that could be considered a benefit to humanity.
Half an hour later, when the Nurse pushed the medication cart into the Hospital Ward, Amamiya Rin was standing in the open space beside his bed performing suburi. His hands gripped that true red oak wooden sword, his movements slow yet steady. Every swing and chop was incomparably fluid.
Seeing this scene, the Nurse couldn't help but speak up to remind him, "Mr. Amamiya, you still have injuries on your body. Please do not engage in overly strenuous exercise to avoid splitting the wounds."
Amamiya Rin slowly withdrew his stance and leaned the wooden sword gently against the wall.
"Just stretching my muscles and bones a bit; it won't pull on the wounds. Besides, I feel like the injury on my shoulder has already healed a lot."
He returned to the bedside and sat down.
"You can't rely on your subjective feelings for this kind of thing."
As the Nurse spoke, she skillfully unraveled the old bandages.
The wound was exposed to the air. Three deep red scratch marks had already scabbed over, the edges slightly red.
The Nurse couldn't help but let out a surprised "Eh?"
"It really did recover quickly. The wound has basically healed!"
"I told you, didn't I? The injury is pretty much better."
Amamiya Rin glanced at the wound on his shoulder, a trace of confusion flashing through his eyes.
He had noticed it over the past two days—his self-healing ability was somewhat abnormal. The speed at which his wounds recovered was too fast.
Was it because of the Vampire?
After being scratched by a Vampire, did he also acquire a Vampire's constitution?
Or was it because of Tomie?
Because of the neural connection with the [Tomie Network], was his body being eroded by Tomie cells?
Amamiya Rin wasn't sure.
If it were the former, no Blood-bubble Bushes had grown on his shoulder.
If it were the latter, he didn't recall any precedent for a male Tomie.
____
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