The massive Lotus Bodhisattva relentlessly brought down its ice mountain-like hand blades.
The exhaled cold mist ruthlessly froze everything, even the air seemed to condense, forming sharp ice shards that rained down like bullets.
Two figures, one blue and one red, moved like agile dragons, precisely dodging every attack as they sought an opening to strike.
"Separation Breathing, Fifth Form: Wind-Lightning Separation Blast!"
"Wind Release: Great Sickle Weasel Technique!"
Plasma light blades, swirling wildly, instantly cleared away a section of mist and ice shards, followed by a giant wind blade that sliced through and shattered an uplifted ice sculpture hand.
This created an opening for Yoriichi Type One to directly confront Doma.
*Bang!*
Another gunshot rang out, striking Doma in the neck, creating two indentations that quickly healed.
Even with bullets made from Scarlet Ore Iron, conventional firearms found it difficult to kill higher-ranked Demons.
In the original timeline, Shinazugawa Genya's use of a firearm could only temporarily restrain the clones of Upper Rank Four, but when facing Kokushibo, he had to rely on his Demon Eater ability, combining the power of Hantengu's flesh and blood, which he had previously devoured, with his firearm to temporarily restrain Kokushibo while the Wind, Stone, and Mist Hashira attacked him.
Qingshui's plain firearm, and the muzzle designed into Yoriichi Type One's left hand, could similarly only be used as a feint against Doma, setting up for the true killing blow.
Just like now.
"Separation Breathing, First Form: Ion Cut."
Like a blue sun rising, Qingshui's figure appeared above the Lotus Bodhisattva's head at some unknown moment, striking at Doma's head from behind.
The Nichirin Blade struggled to cut a third of the way into Doma's neck. The moment it hit bone, Doma used a golden iron fan to bat at the blade, adding resistance to Qingshui's swing, and with his left hand, fanned out countless ice crystal petals, shooting them towards Qingshui's body.
As if he had foreknowledge, Qingshui pushed off with his feet, shattering the ice surface, pulling back his blade, and performing a spinning slash in front of him to shatter all the ice crystal petals. Then, with a graceful backflip, he dodged the incoming ice pillars. With Chakra adhering to his feet, he made several large leaps across the Lotus Bodhisattva, landing beside Yoriichi Type One.
Although he missed his chance and couldn't kill Doma in this hard-won opportunity, Qingshui had a hint of joy on his face.
In that very moment, it was as if a window had been broken through, and the entire world in his vision seemed to change.
Everything, from the minutest details of the Lotus Bodhisattva's every movement to the condensation of a single ice crystal, was presented to him in his mind with absolute precision, like a 3D model.
This was exactly like the divine sense described in those immortal hero novels.
A single glance provided a 360-degree, panoramic view.
The Transparent World, under the pressure of Upper Rank Two, had finally activated.
Even if, because of this, Qingshui suffered a not-insignificant injury.
Sensing the ice cuts on his body and the frozen surface tissues, Qingshui closed his eyes, precisely controlling his and Yoriichi Type One's movements, dodging every attack.
He was adapting to the changes brought by the Transparent World.
"Hmm?"
Doma waved his fan, creating a sky full of frozen clouds, feeling that something was off.
The enemy seemed to have changed somehow, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what had changed.
This feeling of not being seen by the eyes, yet seemingly being seen through completely…
Doma's rainbow-colored pupils flickered slightly.
He felt this same sensation every time he stood before Kokushibo!
"This blade is too dull. I need to switch it out, otherwise, it'll get stuck halfway through again, just like last time."
Qingshui sensed every detail of the Nichirin Blade in his hand, making his judgment.
This Nichirin Blade had killed over thirty Demons, including a Lower Rank Three. Besides that, it had been used many times in his training battles with Uzui Tengen and other Hashira.
The fact that it had lasted this long already proved the high quality of this weapon forged by Haganezuka Kozo.
However, now, although it appeared relatively intact on the surface despite many nicks on its edge, through the Transparent World, Qingshui could detect tiny cracks deep inside the blade.
No one knew if the next swing would cause this blade to break.
This Nichirin Blade had reached its limit.
But thankfully, there was more than one Nichirin Blade here.
The one in Yoriichi Type One's hand was the Kageuchi of the Nichirin Blade Qingshui was currently using, also forged by Haganezuka Kozo.
Some swordsmiths, when forging weapons, don't just craft one, but several simultaneously using the same steps, and then select the best one for use.
That one is called the Shinuchi, and the rest are called Kageuchi.
This meant that the forging process, materials, and so on, for this blade were almost identical to the one in Qingshui's hand. The feel when using it was also not much different, requiring no adaptation whatsoever; it could be perfectly used right away.
Amidst the endless ice pillars and the Lotus Bodhisattva's hand blade attacks, Qingshui easily exchanged Nichirin Blades with Yoriichi Type One.
"It's time to end this fight."
Qingshui slightly turned his body, gripping the Nichirin Blade tightly.
The Transparent World, combined with the Mind Illumination Technique, allowed Qingshui to stably control most of the muscle exertion in his hand within his arm's tolerance.
Veins bulged, and tiny blue electrical arcs flickered on Qingshui's right hand.
A certain Nature Transformation of Lightning Release could use lightning to simulate bioelectricity, stimulating the body, activating cells, and enhancing speed and explosive power. Both Lightning Release Chakra Mode and Chidori, without exception, utilized this technique; the only difference was the intensity of the activation.
Qingshui could do this now too, and with sufficient Chakra control and the Transparent World ability, the activation level would definitely be high.
"Whoosh!"
Qingshui vanished from Doma's sight in the blink of an eye.
The next moment, a blue bolt of lightning sliced through the ice lotus beneath Lotus Bodhisattva, cutting through the lower half of Lotus Bodhisattva's body diagonally, as effortlessly as a hot knife through butter.
Then came the second cut, the third...
Moments later, the massive ice sculpture of the Bodhisattva shattered into countless fragments, accompanied by rising plumes of steam.
Doma did a backflip, landing on the ground, gripping his twin golden fans, and looked forward.
Qingshui approached him, holding a crimson longsword in one hand, its movement seemingly both fast and slow.
With most of the muscles in his arm activated and stimulated by Lightning Release Chakra, Qingshui's strength was now enough to forcibly activate the Red Blade using only his grip.
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// beta.randomtranslator.com/
Read 1111+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский at: https:// beta.randomtranslator.com/
Join our Discord: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------