Chapter 283: Lili Zi And Benevolent King Hachishaku’s “sparring”! Heavy Blood Phase Complete, Twenty-three Acupoints Opened!
Okabe Motonobu’s gaze lingered on the expressionless woman’s shoulders for a couple of seconds.
This insignia, she had seen it before.
To be precise, she had seen it in a past life.
Five hundred years ago, during the Sengoku period, she had hosted the then-undisputed Sword Saint, Kamiizumi Ise-no-Kami Nobutsuna.
At that time, the two servants by his side had the exact same insignia embroidered on their shoulders!
Okabe Motonobu frowned beneath her sunglasses.
Why would someone from the current Sword Saint’s retinue come to a place like this…
Although Okabe Motonobu’s gaze only lingered for a moment, the Little Monk beside her, who was eating cotton candy, keenly caught it.
He followed the direction Okabe Motonobu had been looking, and after a knowing “Oh,” he turned back and said directly,
“This is someone sent by that Sword Saint to observe and judge my potential at all times, to decide if I can be a candidate for the next Sword Saint.
Elder Sister, you don’t need to worry too much.”
The Little Monk spread his hands helplessly: “Since Master and everyone else agreed, I can’t do anything about it. If she wants to watch, let her watch. She won’t figure anything out anyway.”
“However… if that Sword Saint wants to decide if I can be the next candidate, that means he wants to take me as a disciple, right?”
Hozoin Inrai suddenly chuckled lightly, his gaze drifting: “I’d like to know if this generation’s Sword Saint has the qualifications and the ability to say such a thing…”
The cascade of explosive information left Okabe Motonobu stunned.
Wait, can you just say something like that out loud?
She looked at the Little Monk, then at the still expressionless woman, speechless for a moment.
But Okabe Motonobu maintained an appearance of not quite understanding and nodded thoughtfully: “I see. I understand now.”
“Yes! As long as Elder Sister is okay, that’s fine.” The Little Monk, adhering to the principle of not wasting anything, put the last bit of cotton candy into his mouth with his finger.
“Next, Elder Sister, would you do me the honor of having a meal with me?”
The handsome Little Monk smiled and invited her, causing Ensho Monk, who had been watching Okabe Motonobu warily from the side, to immediately shake his head.
Ensho Monk reasoned: “No, this person’s origins are unknown, and you said she’s strong…”
“Oh, it’s okay, Brother Ensho, I can feel that Elder Sister is not a bad person.”
The Little Monk smiled and turned to gaze at Ensho Monk, making the latter’s temples sweat in the hot weather within seconds.
Ensho Monk fell silent.
He silently watched the Little Monk turn back and extend another clean hand to Okabe Motonobu: “My Dharma name is Inrai. What is your name, Elder Sister?”
“Ogasawara Nobumoto.”
Okabe Motonobu, without hesitation, gave a pseudonym she had long prepared.
“Ogasawara… Nobumoto. I’ve remembered it.”
Hozoin Inrai nodded his chin and then made to walk towards the nearby restaurant.
He completely disregarded Okabe Motonobu’s personal wishes.
Okabe Motonobu thought for a moment, then used her newly acquired knowledge to say: “Now, when you eat at restaurants, you have to scan a QR code with your phone to pay, right? I lost my phone, so I can’t…”
Anyone normal could see through such an extremely clumsy lie, as such preposterous logic simply didn’t hold water.
Unfortunately, the Little Monk Hozoin Inrai had just experienced the inconvenience of not being able to pay with his phone, so he nodded emphatically in agreement.
Hozoin Inrai looked at Ensho Monk: “Brother Ensho, could you buy two phones for me and Sister Ogasawara?”
“Please.”
The still-hesitant latter could only comply and strode towards the nearest mobile phone store.
—The phone issue was resolved so easily?
Okabe Motonobu was stunned for a moment, feeling the success came too suddenly.
After witnessing Old Man Ogasawara’s phone, she had wanted one of her own to gather information more efficiently, securely, and conveniently.
But before, she had heard that “big data” and “intelligent search” in this era were very powerful, and if someone committed a crime, they could be found out immediately.
So Okabe Motonobu dared not snatch a phone from someone else, nor did she think it was too risky to steal one with her physical body.
This matter had seen no progress.
She hadn’t expected it to be resolved by a Hozoin Little Monk she met on the road.
Okabe Motonobu followed Hozoin Inrai behind, somewhat bewildered.
However, it should be considered a good thing, right?
After all, she could go to Sky Castle to watch the Seed Battle up close, she got the phone she’d been longing for, and she could even mooch lunch.
…
Time flowed, and it was soon the last day before the opening of the Seed Battle Elimination Round.
June 28, 2024.
For several days, Shangshan Che, aside from being beaten by Shuten Doji at Karuta twice daily, had been continuously opening acupoints.
After a little over a hundred hours, Shangshan Che’s movements became faster and faster, and the efficiency of opening acupoints also rapidly increased.
Currently, he had opened twenty-three acupoints.
Even though the difficulty of opening acupoints now was significantly higher than when he first opened the Sunday and Moonlight acupoints, Shangshan Che’s speed not only didn’t slow down but actually accelerated.
With the dual assistance of Tokugawa Yugoro’s memories and Soul Incense Ash, it was naturally expected for Shangshan Che to become more proficient after familiarizing himself with the process.
The opening of the first twenty-eight, and even seventy-two acupoints, posed no difficulty for Shangshan Che, as he only needed to copy them.
The only difference was that the copying needed to be done more meticulously.
As for Lili Zi, she had opened sixteen acupoints.
She also started slow and then sped up, and her speed was greatly increasing!
Shangshan Che estimated that in about another month, Lili Zi’s progress in terms of acupoints would not be much different from his own.
Her talent in Breathing Techniques was also astonishing…
Under the scorching sun, Shangshan Che, with his ears and eyes clear, slowly exhaled.
【 Because you opened the Twilight Acupoint, your progress in the Human Divine Treasury has increased! 】
【 Current Progress: 23/108】
He glanced again at the small effect of “Twilight,” which enhanced night vision, and smiled wryly.
Most acupoints had trivial effects that were almost useless… of course, that was before they formed a Divine Treasury.
Compared to the small effects of the acupoints, what Shangshan Che paid more attention to was the changes in the second stage, Palace of Flesh, and the total amount of Qi Barrier.
Now, not only was the Blood Strengthening stage already completed—
【 Your Corona Breathing Technique – Muscle Refining Stage – Blood Strengthening is complete! 】
【 Because you completed the Blood Strengthening stage, your Physique +2! 】
【 Because you completed the Blood Strengthening stage, your Body Strength has moderately increased! 】
Even the “Qi Flesh” part, the final segment of the Muscle Refining major stage, was nearing completion.
Qi Flesh, as the name suggests, is the combination of Qi Barrier and flesh, interwoven into an inseparable net.
Compared to “Profound Flesh,” Qi Flesh represented a closer connection between Qi and flesh.
“If I complete two more acupoints, Muscle Refining will be almost done,” Shangshan Che thought to himself. “I wonder if I can make it by tomorrow.”
Then he felt the total amount of Qi Barrier within him again, his eyes lighting up slightly with joy.
Because of the accumulation of twenty-three acupoints, the Qi Barrier reserve in his body had increased by about a quarter.
This was even taking into account the Void Qi Sea, which had been expanding for a long time!
For an ordinary person—like Lili Zi, her total Qi Barrier might have already more than doubled!
And they had only opened about one-fifth of the acupoints.
Shangshan Che dared not imagine how many times the Qi Barrier would multiply if the full one hundred and eight major acupoints defined the Star River Qi Sea.
This showed the gap between practitioners of the Four Extremes Breathing Technique and ordinary Breathing Technique practitioners.
The sheer amount of Qi Barrier, the pure numerical aspect, was several times greater, let alone the difference in Techniques, Secret Techniques, and Talent.
After a moment of reflection, Shangshan Che, without looking up, felt a wet, cool towel placed on the back of his neck, slowly wiping away all the sweat.
The gentle voice of Two-Foot Adult then came: “Che Adult, don’t move, I’ll wipe your sweat.”
This scene had happened many times in the past few days.
At first, Shangshan Che had sternly refused, fearing that Two-Foot would do something mischievous.
But after a few times, finding that Two-Foot Adult seemed to genuinely just be wiping sweat and had no ulterior motives, Shangshan Che let her have her way.
Once the cool sensation spread across his upper body, Shangshan Che heard Two-Foot Adult behind him say, “Here, take the towel, Miss Lili Zi.”
The wet towel flew over and was caught by Lili Zi, who had opened her eyes slightly.
Compared to Shangshan Che, this was an obvious, undeniable preferential treatment.
Lili Zi was also used to it and didn’t say much.
—After all, it was her Shikigami, not hers. Getting an extra towel for her was already a display of generosity.
But to have Shikigami with shared consciousness… she wondered what that felt like.
Lili Zi was a little curious.
On normal days, when it didn’t involve Shangshan Che, Two-Foot Adult and Lili Zi got along quite harmoniously.
They would greet each other, say thank you, and not forget each other when doing things.
Barely, they could be called friends.
“Che Adult, do you have any plans for later?”
Two-Foot Adult, transforming into a girl five feet tall, said softly, “If there’s nothing you need me for, I’ll go clean up.”
The current Two-Foot could change her size as needed, and she did so more smoothly than before, with more reasonable body proportions.
Of course, unreasonable was also possible… as long as Two-Foot Adult herself wanted to.
He asked: “Two-Foot, you mentioned before that you inexplicably knew how to use the weapons you transformed into, right?”
These weapons included at least the Plain Spear, Cross Spear, Iron Pestle, and Naginata—four types.
From Shangshan Che’s careful observation, they were all around the level of beginner Mastery—enough to use, but clearly just enough.
If she wanted to crush opponents in terms of skill, that was obviously wishful thinking.
“Mm,” the girl Two-Foot nodded.
Shangshan Che pinched the bridge of his nose, pondered for a moment, and took out his phone to check the time.
A little past ten…
There were a little over twenty-six hours until the start of tomorrow’s Elimination Round.
Time was ample, enough for Two-Foot’s “Benevolent King” state to cool down.
So Shangshan Che said, “How about you transform into your Benevolent King state later and try it out? I want to see the specific effects and what happens.”
“Okay…” Two-Foot licked her lips. “As long as Che Adult wants it.”
Shangshan Che saw her hesitation at a glance: “Do you have any concerns?”
“I can’t hide anything from Che Adult.”
Two-Foot stuck out her tongue. “I feel like I’ll be very terrifying after transforming into ‘Benevolent King,’ so if I do it inside, I might damage Che Adult’s house.”
“That’s fine, we can go to the courtyard.”
This house built by the Special Affairs Office had basic soundproofing and a barrier to block views.
And if someone were to peek from the outside… Shangshan Che’s Eye of Interpretation and Lili Zi’s Sword Domain were not to be trifled with.
“Alright, I’ll listen to Che Adult!”
Two-Foot clenched her small fists, took a deep breath, transformed into her Hachishaku state, and leaped from the rooftop to the ground.
“Benevolent King state?”
Lili Zi walked to Shangshan Che’s side with great interest, looking at Two-Foot Adult below who was punching and kicking with “Haa! Haa!” sounds: “What does it mean?”
Shangshan Che explained simply: “Two-Foot Adult gained a new ability after her promotion. When she uses it, she’ll probably become very strong.”
“How strong?”
Shangshan Che subconsciously opened his mouth to reply, but clearly felt the surrounding aura had changed.
He turned his head and found Lili Zi gazing at him, suggesting,
“Why don’t I try and test her limits?”
“—Anyway, didn’t you, Shangshan Jun, want to see the specific effects?”
This is bad.
Shangshan Che thought it was not good and was about to say something to stop what was about to happen when Two-Foot Adult downstairs, with her keen hearing, looked up and said,
“I think Miss Lili Zi is right.”
Two-Foot Adult cupped her hands, and a Great Spear, at least five to six meters long, fell into her grasp, its translucent tip aimed at Lili Zi’s face.
“However, don’t just talk, act.”
Her smile was warm, but her eyes were cold.
Lili Zi nodded happily, nudged Shangshan Che with her elbow in Two-Foot’s line of sight,
“See? Your Shikigami also says so.”
With that, she leaped from the rooftop empty-handed and stood opposite Two-Foot Adult.
Two gazes, as substantial as reality, collided in the void, crackling and popping.
Shangshan Che quickly landed between them.
He looked left and right, finding that the two, having found perfectly valid reasons, had completely disregarded him.
Shangshan Che’s mouth twitched slightly. After a moment of hesitation, he coughed twice and said, “In that case, Two-Foot and Lili Zi, you two should spar.”
“—But the premise is,”
He sobered his expression and said sternly: “Stop at the first sign of injury, no bleeding.”
Lili Zi raised her eyes: “Don’t worry, Shangshan Jun, I have that much control and capacity.”
Two-Foot Adult let out a cold laugh, then patted her chest and said gently to Shangshan Che,
“Che Adult, I will try my best not to injure Miss Lili Zi.”
After these two sentences, Shangshan Che felt the atmosphere in the courtyard instantly become tense and explosive.
He suppressed Kaga Kiyomitsu at his waist, which was restless and wanted to add fuel to the fire, and after tapping its hilt firmly, he said to Two-Foot Adult,
“Then Two-Foot, transform into your Benevolent King state and try it out first.”
“I respectfully obey, Che Adult’s command.”
Hachishaku Bodhisattva slowly pulled the corners of her lips apart, propped the translucent Great Spear to the side, put her hands together in prayer, and her voice became majestic and deep,
“Vajra… Benevolent King…”
