After listening to Kimura Takeo's account, Ye Ming and Nangong Qianyu fell silent. At the same time, they somewhat understood why Nogawa Saigong harbored such strong killing intent towards Kodaichi.
"So Kodaichi really is scum?"
As a woman, Nangong Qianyu felt the deepest empathy for Nogawa Kyoko's tragic experience.
Back then, Nogawa Kyoko had not hesitated to betray her family and choose to be with Kodaichi. Yet, in the end, she met such a desolate fate.
Anyone who heard this would feel a pang of sorrow.
"After Nogawa Kyoko left Dongdao Country back then, what exactly happened to her that caused her cultivation to be completely lost?" Compared to Nangong Qianyu's sentimentality, Ye Ming was much calmer.
"I don't know!"
Kimura Takeo shook his head with a bitter smile and sighed, "Since Nogawa Kyoko returned to the Nogawa family, she rarely appeared in public. And her life seemed to have only two things to do!"
"Two things?"
Ye Ming was taken aback.
"Yes!" Kimura Takeo said in a deep voice, "The first is... to live!"
"To live! This..."
Hearing this, Ye Ming and Nangong Qianyu exchanged glances, and their hearts suddenly jolted.
They seemed to have realized something.
"In this world, no matter what choice one makes, they must bear the consequences of that choice. Nogawa Kyoko is no exception!" Kimura Takeo sighed. "Her stubbornness back then caused the entire Nogawa family and Dongdao Country to lose face completely. Although her brother, Nogawa Ryuichi, could protect her, the cold shoulder from her clansmen and the ridicule from her countrymen became an indelible nightmare for her proud self."
"Under the torment of days and nights, Nogawa Kyoko's aging accelerated, and her bodily functions began to decline significantly. Therefore, living had become the biggest challenge for her."
At this point, Kimura Takeo's voice became extremely heavy.
After all, he and Nogawa Kyoko were from the same era. He had witnessed Nogawa Kyoko's glory and now witnessed her downfall.
The vast difference between these two paths made him feel deeply.
"Then, Lord Kimura, what is Nogawa Kyoko's current situation..." Nangong Qianyu asked in a low voice, clenching her fists.
Seeing her sorrowful expression, Ye Ming gently embraced her, offering a hint of warmth.
"Miss Qianyu, the last time Nogawa Kyoko appeared in public was five years ago when Lady Saigong became the First Elder of the Martial God Mountain." Kimura Takeo shook his head. "As for her current situation, I am not aware."
"Is that so!"
This answer deepened the sorrow in Nangong Qianyu's heart.
"You mentioned two things earlier, so what was the second one..."
Ye Ming asked.
"As for this second matter, it concerns Lady Saigong." Kimura Takeo looked out the car window and said in a deep voice, "After Nogawa Kyoko returned to the Nogawa family, her temperament changed drastically. Anyone who came into contact with her could feel an icy chill that pierced the soul."
"Even her own daughter, Lady Saigong, was no exception."
A drastic change in temperament!
Such a change, from a certain perspective, was not surprising.
"Mr. Ye! Do you know at what age Lady Saigong started practicing martial arts?"
At this moment, Kimura Takeo suddenly asked Ye Ming a question.
"What age?"
Ye Ming, thinking like an ordinary person, gave an age: "Normally, to achieve something in martial arts, the earlier the better. Starting around six or seven years old is ideal!"
However, upon hearing this answer, Kimura Takeo shook his head. "Mr. Ye, if I told you that Lady Saigong had already killed someone at the age of six or seven, would you... dare to believe it?"
"???"
Hearing this, Ye Ming felt his head buzz.
Seven years old!
Had already killed someone?
Was this a joke!
Moreover, from Kimura Takeo's tone, it was clearly not an accidental killing, but an... intentional one.
"This..."
Nangong Qianyu, standing beside him, was also so shocked that she couldn't speak.
Killing people?
This was something she had never dared to imagine before.
But now, to be told that a seven-year-old had already learned the art of killing was truly mind-boggling.
"Yes! We were also deeply shocked when we heard this news." Kimura Takeo said with a bitter smile. "However, the reason for this was the second thing Nogawa Kyoko set out to do."
The second thing?
"Could it be..."
At this moment, Ye Ming and Nangong Qianyu thought of the same thing.
"You guessed correctly. When Lady Saigong was four years old, at an age where she could only understand the meaning of spoken language, Nogawa Kyoko had already begun to train Lady Saigong as a 'killing machine'."
"And this was the second thing she set out to do."
Killing machine!
Hearing these cold words, for some reason, a sense of melancholy arose in the depths of Ye Ming and Nangong Qianyu's hearts.
"From childhood to adulthood, Lady Saigong was constantly fighting, like a wild beast, constantly killing and constantly becoming stronger. In the end, she became known as the 'Blood Asura' in people's mouths."
As Kimura Takeo spoke these words, his voice trembled.
Because he had personally witnessed, at the tender age of ten, Nogawa Saigong emerge from a pile of corpses. And within a ten-mile radius around her were scattered, incomplete bodies.
He could still clearly recall that even though his cultivation was several levels higher than Nogawa Saigong's at the time, when those blood-red eyes, that body enveloped by killing intent, and that blade covered in malevolence lunged towards him, he still felt an uncontrollable fear and dared not meet her gaze.
And Nogawa Saigong at that time was only ten years old.
Ultimately, under Nogawa Kyoko's "inhuman" training, Nogawa Saigong's growth rate defied everyone's perception.
Entered martial arts (martial apprentice) at four.
Promoted to D-class ninja cultivator at eight.
Broke through to C-class at ten.
B-class at fourteen.
A-class at eighteen.
S-class at twenty-one.
Became a god-level powerhouse at twenty-five.
Each of her realms broke the record for the youngest in Dongdao Country's history for a hundred years.
She was also the fastest ninja cultivator in the history of the Martial God Mountain to become the First Elder.
After hearing this, Ye Ming marveled, "No wonder in her worldview, there are only the strong and the weak."
After understanding the trajectory of Nogawa Saigong's growth in the first half of her life, Ye Ming finally understood her behavior.
"However, this is not the most terrifying part!"
Perhaps something suddenly came to Kimura Takeo's mind, his expression became extremely grave, and even his hands trembled uncontrollably.
"What?"
Seeing the fear in Kimura Takeo's eyes, Ye Ming was greatly surprised.
Even as an S-class ninja cultivator, Kimura Takeo's mental fortitude shouldn't be so poor.
"The most terrifying thing is that not long ago, after Lady Saigong returned from Huaguo, her personal strength achieved a qualitative breakthrough!"
"..."
Ye Ming.