Chapter 134: One person operating six flying swords? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

After seeing Gongshu Master off to the gate, he planned to part ways with the group. Although the Gong Zao Si is dangerous, that's no reason for him to abandon his duty.

Su Shang was about to say a few more words of advice when Xue Yi raised a hand to cut him off: 'Everyone has their duties; let's go.'

Outside the gate of the Gong Zao Si is the ferry landing; after successfully completing the escort, Xue Yi again expressed her thanks to everyone: 'Thank you for your protection along the way. This good deed, I will report to the Ten Kings; if there is an opportunity, I will surely repay it.'

After Xue Yi left, Su Shang also intended to return to the Dan Ding Si to rejoin his unit, and he asked about the two men's whereabouts.

Luo Cha, a mere merchant, naturally followed Su Shang, while Dan Heng, considering the current position of the star, decided to continue on the road together as well.

——

Elsewhere, not long ago, the Star Raft Sea.

Yan Qing was following Ren's trail; the records about him, the clues, end here.

He found two Cloud Cavalry soldiers to ask about the situation; mentioning Ren, both soldiers grimaced: 'That Ren, after breaking out of the Hidden Prison's seal, vanished like vapor. Perhaps he is no longer in the Immortal Vessel now?'

"Or perhaps Ren never intended to escape." Yan Qing lowered his gaze slightly and voiced this bolder speculation.

"Alas, Luo Fu has attracted some calamitous star; monsters and demons are all causing chaos."

Seeing the two's troubled expressions, Yan Qing straightened his body with full confidence: 'I have come to exterminate demons for the general.'

"You?" The leading Cloud Cavalry trooper gave him another up-and-down look, his eyebrow twitching slightly: 'I haven't received any orders from General Jingyuan.'

"Uh... this is a secret operation."

"Would you like to assign a few more people to assist the Guard Commander?" The Cloud Cavalry's tone seemed rather dismissive of this young lord before him, deliberately emphasizing the words 'assign more'.

"I appreciate the captain's goodwill. Secrecy means the fewer who know, the better." Yan Qing let out a quiet snort without showing it.

Attack on Titan——

Survey Corps office.

"……Yan Qing is being looked down upon." Captain Levi snorted, "As for swordsmanship alone, nobody in the Cloud Cavalry Army can look down on Yan Qing, right?"

Those capable of serving as the general's guard surely know Yan Qing's abilities among the Cloud Cavalry soldiers." Erwin's voice was low, "But investigating is different from fighting; criminals won't willingly step out to duel you. Yan Qing's swordsmanship is decent, but he may lack experience in investigation."

Capturing a dangerous criminal like Ren, the most reasonable choice is to form a search-and-capture team whose members can compensate for each other's weaknesses. Yan Qing going alone clearly wants to prove something to the general… heh, the mindset of a youth, that's understandable too.

"From your tone… Erwin, are you hoping Yan Qing comes up empty-handed?" Levi narrowed his eyes.

"……As for the content on the light screen, I might not be as interested as you imagine; right now the Corps has too much going on."

Erwin withdrew his gaze from the light screen, wearily rubbing his temples: 'Above, they are secretly conducting research on immortality, which has caused the Corps many troubles. Compared to what's about to happen on the screen, I care more about the Titans outside the wall and subduing Wall Maria.'

"Any new orders from above?"

"Well, the latest mission is to procure the spinal cords of an additional twelve Pure Titans."

"Tch… these madmen." Levi muttered under his breath, "Do they even know what they're researching?"

All research on immortality is secret; the Corps lacks authority to inquire, but rumors have leaked that there are two possible directions, involving religion and research.

"Religion?" Levi frowned, "Is it the Wall Cult? Are those people also getting involved?"

"No, it's said that someone proposed imitating the ancestors of the Immortal Vessel, seeking the blessing of the Abundance Star God beyond the sky for immortality. But considering the limited resources inside the wall, they cannot build a planet-sized spacecraft, so the plan is currently stalled, seeking a shift toward a new direction."

"???"

Levi showed a confused expression.

"As for the second kind… you don't need me to say it; you can guess."

By now, it's rare that Erwin's tone remains calm: 'I have a premonition they're touching some taboo… but concrete intel is too scarce; I know nothing either, so I can only do my best to protect Eren, keeping those nobles from reaching out to him.'

——

"Hmph, adding personnel… who do they look down on?" After a quiet snort in his heart, Yan Qing went to the Star Raft Sea to begin independent investigation.

But after searching half a day he found no more valuable clues, so he headed to the dock to first investigate the Star Raft he had hijacked.

Along the way, Yan Qing saw corpses of Demonic Yin littering the ground, piled up almost blocking the path. Yet upon close inspection of their wounds, they were clearly not the work of the Cloud Cavalry Army.

Whoever could have this level of strength, Yan Qing only thought of Ren; seeing the traces left by the prey, he relaxed a bit.

Following the traces upward, Yan Qing found a crowd of Demonic Yin surrounding a white-haired woman.

"How are there still trapped civilians? The Cloud Cavalry here is useless." Yan Qing, anxious, shot forward; instantly six flying swords shot out from behind him: 'Hey, big sis, don't panic—I'll get you out right away!'

Baki World——

"Oh? Flying swords? I didn't know swords could be used like this." Miyamoto Musashi, intrigued, examined the six treasure swords hovering beside Yan Qing.

Centuries ago, he created the Two Heavens One Style, pioneering the dual-wielding sword technique of one long and one short blade; among his contemporaries it caused quite a stir. In his view, two swords are already the limit of the human body, but how could six flying swords be wielded?

"Miyamoto Musashi, take a close look at the hilts of those flying swords." Guo Haihuang beside him suddenly spoke up to remind him.

Following Haihuang's indicated direction, Miyamoto Musashi then noticed that the sword hilts seemed to conceal some mechanism he couldn't understand; it is precisely through this that the boy can smoothly manipulate the flying swords.

Those six flying swords seemed like six utterly different peerless swordsmen, their techniques varied yet complementary, wielded with ease; in just a moment they slew three Demonic Yin on the spot.

Beside him, Lie Haiwang trembled all over from shock, his lips quivering for a long time, yet he couldn't utter a word.

"Are these six swords all controlled by Yan Qing alone?" Huashan Xun, though unable to grasp the specific sword techniques, as a fighting expert could read the killing intent contained in the blades.

That killing intent clearly comes from a single person.

"……Impossible." Lie Haiwang wiped sweat from his forehead, his eyes wide: 'To simultaneously control six flying swords to slay enemies in a split second of divided attention, while using six utterly different sword techniques… how could that be? At this age?'

Only after seeing Yan Qing's flying swords returned to their scabbards did Miyamoto Musashi reluctantly shift his gaze from the light screen.

Magnificent, magnificent.

Adopting a more reverent posture, Musashi Miyamoto lightly clapped.