Chapter 169: So I’m A Genius After All? Skin Tempering Stage, On The Verge Of Completion!
Huh?
The world-famous… Great Ninja?
A gust of bleak autumn wind suddenly arose, lifting the thin hair at the temples of the slender boy.
Shiraishi stood stunned in place, recalling the definition of the word “ninja” that Shangshan Che had once explained to him.
So-called ninjas are probably beings similar to “samurai,” an absolutely unavoidable topic whenever people talk about this era.
It’s just that the former bows in the darkness, while the latter receives admiration and cheers in the light.
Although “Great Ninja” cannot be compared to “Daimyo,” it can definitely be ranked alongside famous big shots like “Great Swordsman.”
During his days at the Imagawa Residence, he had indeed figured out what Ki-Gong Technique was roughly like and made remarkably effective progress in it, becoming much stronger than his previous self.
However, Shiraishi still knew that he could barely handle even the most ignorant guy among the samurai.
No other reason—his physical qualities were still too weak.
And a Great Ninja… should be even more powerful than hundreds of him combined.
He stared at the exquisite manual placed in front of him, bound tightly and even faintly emitting an ink fragrance, unsure for a moment whether to take it.
Because of Shiraishi’s experiences since childhood, he thought more and more messily.
For example, right now, he was thinking about what if he took this manual but failed to cultivate the expected effects, leading to Shangshan Che being extremely disappointed in him.
—If he didn’t take it, he could still maintain the identity of a “house pet,” relying on the boss to be a freeloading samurai in the Imagawa Clan.
But if he took it… Shiraishi couldn’t predict how things would develop at all.
Moreover, how could he possibly become a “Great Ninja”?
That’s completely impossible, right?
Just thinking about what Shangshan Che had said to him earlier, Shiraishi almost couldn’t hold back his laughter.
—After all, he wouldn’t even dare think like that in his wildest dreams after eating his fill!
“Boss…”
For a moment, Shiraishi wanted to blurt out a refusal, saying he was content with maintaining his current life—living in a house, eating and drinking his fill, in peaceful joy.
Living peacefully and happily after eating his fill, growing up, growing old, then dying.
No need to worry about starving to death today, no need to fear waking up bound in a terrifying place someday, no need to worry about how to survive the next winter.
These brief days staying in the Imagawa Residence were the life Shiraishi had always wished for since he could remember.
As for more, he wouldn’t dare hope for it.
“Hm?”
Shangshan Che looked at Shiraishi, who kept rubbing his fingers on the small bottle of konpeito, and asked curiously with a smile: “What are you thinking about?”
Shiraishi was speechless for a moment.
He thought of the nobles who had been by Shangshan Che’s side these days—Imagawa Yoshimoto, Okabe Motonobu, Matsudaira Motoyasu, Asahina Yasutomo…
And those terrifying elders who had no choice but to bow to the boss this morning.
At this moment, two little figures that looked exactly like him seemed to pop up beside Shiraishi’s ear.
One was dressed in coarse hemp clothes, slumping with a round belly, still chewing on a polished rice rice ball.
This little figure patted his belly lazily: “Isn’t being full and satisfied enough? What more do you want?”
The other was entirely wrapped in black, revealing only a pair of indifferent eyes, looking lonely yet powerful.
He said coldly: “If you settle for the status quo, then next time something like that happens again, you’ll still be able to do nothing.”
But Shiraishi thought beyond that.
He thought more, and more realistically.
—The boss was his backer, the reason he could obtain this “samurai” identity.
—And if he didn’t do something soon, would the boss forget about him?
After all, even keeping a pet has its limits of patience.
Thus, after a moment of silence, Shiraishi responded: “Boss, as you said, ninjas aren’t supposed to be known to everyone, right?
So after this, no one will know about me either.”
He reached out hesitantly and picked up the ninja manual in front of him, giving a clever answer.
Shangshan Che, understanding the implication, couldn’t help but smile and patted the boy’s head twice: “Then that’s pretty good.”
“In any case, do your best.”
Shangshan Che said to the boy who had lifted his head and was staring blankly at him: “If you can master this entire manual, I wouldn’t mind passing on the breathing technique I’ve practiced to you.”
He said casually,
“But first, open it and take a look—though I got the illustrated version that’s easier for you to understand, this manual still has some difficulty.”
Shiraishi silently listened to his words, standing in place as he slowly turned the first page of the manual in his hand.
Then, he widened his eyes in bewilderment.
Some difficulty?
No… Shiraishi actually felt that this manual seemed…
A bit too simple.
In that instant, a large prompt popped up before Shangshan Che’s eyes.
【Current Walker of the Eternal World’s degree of influence on history: 0.5%→1%!】
Shangshan Che, who was preparing to continue skin tempering, shuddered, suppressed his leaking emotions, and immediately glanced at Shiraishi with his peripheral vision.
—Shiraishi had only turned the first page of this normal manual that could only be cultivated to one-and-a-half star, and his historical influence had risen to 1%!?
Shangshan Che’s state of mind fluctuated unusually.
—Shiraishi’s talent in the “illustrated version + ninja” path was truly very high!
Just then, Shiraishi’s voice, tinged with doubt and smugness, came,
“Boss, is this manual really that difficult?”
Shangshan Che calmly said indifferently: “It’s just an introductory text for the ninja path. Even if you can fully understand and master it in one night, don’t get arrogant.”
He warned Shiraishi, whose mouth couldn’t suppress a grin,
“The path of cultivation is long and arduous. Whether practicing breathing techniques, Onmyōdō, or ninja secret arts like yours, the greatest taboos are complacency and arrogance.
But also remember not to lose the spirit of courageous progress.”
Upon discovering that the ninja manual was much simpler than imagined—simple enough that he could understand the first page at a glance—Shiraishi held back a laugh and gave an awkward salute,
“Understood, boss!”
Shangshan Che looked at Shiraishi’s smug expression, knowing full well that although he was standing there listening,
whether these words slid past his smooth brain was another matter.
Shangshan Che wasn’t in a hurry.
You can’t teach people by talking, but when reality teaches them later, they’ll learn for sure.
He simply said,
“Then, for now, cultivate here this afternoon and see how much you can learn from it.”
After sending Shiraishi to the side to read the ninja manual, Shangshan Che also rose from the cylindrical stool by the stone table and sat facing the sun cross-legged.
He planned to see how much proficiency he could gain from half a day of pure skin tempering in the Sengoku Period without using soul incense ash or medicinal baths.
Shangshan Che closed his eyes, and with his breathing, he directed the qi barrier like an arm’s extension, surging into his skin from continuous qi circulation, beginning the long and painful tempering.
……
In the blink of an eye, the sun had set in the west.
An afternoon passed like a snap of the fingers amid the physical body’s tempering.
Shangshan Che, drenched in sweat, calmly opened his eyes. After returning the qi barrier to its original position, he looked at the prompt that popped up after cultivation ended.
【Your skill, Corona Breathing Technique proficiency +2.】
Shangshan Che: “…”
For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
Although there was a time difference between the Sengoku Period and the mortal realm, gaining only a measly 2 proficiency points from an afternoon of hard cultivation was ridiculously low.
It seemed that relying solely on grinding without any resources was terribly inefficient and not advisable.
So he needed to arrange auxiliary cultivation materials, and perhaps exchange insights on cultivation with Okabe Motonobu, which might bring surprises.
Shangshan Che turned his head and silently looked at Shiraishi, who was lying on the ground nearby flipping through the manual, noticing that the thickness of the manual facing him had already decreased by a fifth.
Shangshan Che raised an eyebrow.
That meant Shiraishi could finish reading and enter this manual in just two or three days.
If faster, perhaps half a month to master it all and touch the one-and-a-half star threshold.
This talent…
Could the “increased probability of triggering hidden events” in the Walker of the Eternal World identity actually allow him to encounter all sorts of rare talents?
Unclear.
But it was good news.
If Shiraishi were clueless about the ninja manual and couldn’t make sense of it after a month, he’d have a headache finding the next decently talented person.
—Not far away, after an afternoon of reading and practice, Shiraishi, feeling himself noticeably stronger, put away the manual and walked over.
He held up the manual with wide eyes: “Boss, this really seems perfect for me.”
Compared to his earlier hesitation and lack of confidence, Shiraishi now seemed like a completely different person.
Because during that afternoon of learning the ninja manual, the positive feedback he received was too frequent, too abundant, and too rapid!
Often, Shiraishi would turn a page, understand the diagram’s meaning in mere seconds, and his body would instinctively mimic the exact pose without thinking.
Immediately after, waves of warm currents would surge from deep within his body, continuously increasing his power.
With surging confidence, Shiraishi clenched his still-hot fist and said earnestly,
“Boss, I’ll use it to get strong—really, really strong!”
Shangshan Che shrugged noncommittally.
See, just a simple beginner and he’s inflating again.
But he said no more.
Shiraishi’s overconfident state would be humbled soon enough by reality’s beatdown.
—And after this afternoon’s cultivation test, he needed to find Imagawa Yoshimoto and discuss the medicinal bath.
After all, gathering dozens or hundreds of medicinal herbs on his own was hard, but handing it to the Imagawa Clan made it nearly effortless.
Besides, he needed to show off the Samurai Zantetsumaru he specially brought.
Shangshan Che thought for a moment, then blinked at Shiraishi still standing beside him and took out half a box of pastries from his storage bag,
“I’m going to see Lord Yoshimoto for something soon. Take this box of pastries back and eat them slowly.”
Shiraishi, who was about to say something, lit up with golden light in his eyes at the sight of these unseen pastries and took them with a hehe grin.
“Got it, boss! Understood, boss!”
Shiraishi hugged the pastries and bolted away in a flash.
Shangshan Che also left his small courtyard, asking everyone he met on the way where Imagawa Yoshimoto was.
After asking several times, a hurrying maid finally led him to a small artificial lake.
“My lord, the Head of the Clan is just ahead.”
The maid said, then silently pushed open the door.
By now, the sun had fully set below the horizon, replaced by the faintly emerging silver moon and stars.
Under the half-dark, half-light sky, Shangshan Che looked up and saw two figures sitting in a small pavilion by the lake shimmering with ripples.
Okabe Motonobu was eating a rice ball while drinking tea, seemingly chatting pleasantly.
Imagawa Yoshimoto just quietly gazed at the lake surface, listening quietly, occasionally replying.
Shangshan Che deliberately made his footsteps heavy, so Okabe Motonobu heard him the moment he took the first step.
In no time, Imagawa Yoshimoto turned her head and beckoned him over.
“Tetsu-sensei, please sit.”
Shangshan Che didn’t decline and sat directly on the round stone stool.
Seeing him arrive, the smiling Okabe Motonobu subtly pulled the wooden box on the table toward her side.
Shangshan Che glanced and saw the box filled with nori onigiri about the size of his palm.
What’s so special about this…
“Tetsu-sensei, want to try one?”
Imagawa Yoshimoto slightly rose, grabbed a rice ball from the wooden box, and smiled at him: “Rice balls I made myself.”
Shangshan Che raised an eyebrow and took the rice ball with both hands: “Thank you, Lord Yoshimoto.”
He took a bite right away.
Hm?
Shangshan Che looked down and found the rice ball wasn’t just plain rice—it was stuffed with fragrant shredded meat.
“For me, the process of making rice balls bit by bit helps calm my cluttered thoughts, just like the tea ceremony…”
Imagawa Yoshimoto paused midway, noticing his slightly surprised expression, and added,
“Normally, only Motonobu eats the rice balls I make, so I’ve naturally stuffed them with plenty of essentials. Eating your fill gives you more strength.”
Essentials naturally meant the plentiful shredded meat.
For Okabe Motonobu, who had reached the muscle refining stage, ample carbs and protein were essential; otherwise, even daily cultivation would be difficult.
Watching him devour the still-warm rice ball, Imagawa Yoshimoto hummed in satisfaction.
After taking the wooden box from the food-guarding Okabe Motonobu and placing it in the center of the table, she got straight to the point,
“Tetsu-sensei, is there something you need?”
—For Che to come find her specifically at this time, it must be something “only she can handle” or where “she’s the first choice.”
This was good.
Such requests helped draw them closer.
Imagawa Yoshimoto wished for more such requests.
After finishing the rice ball, Shangshan Che didn’t beat around the bush and directly told the two about wanting a medicinal bath to aid cultivation, along with all the required medicinal herb types.
“Medicinal bath?”
Okabe Motonobu muttered oddly.
She spread her hands: “I’ve never heard of any medicinal bath that shortens this long grind.”
Then she paused, fixed her gaze on Shangshan Che’s exposed skin, squinted and leaned in, asking uncertainly,
“Tetsu-sensei… your skin membrane has changed.
You broke through?”
After staring for a moment, without waiting for a reply, Okabe Motonobu slowly articulated: “In just one afternoon, Tetsu-sensei, you’ve nearly completed skin tempering.”
“Okabe Excellency has sharp eyes.”
Shangshan Che nodded.
After a moment of silence, Okabe Motonobu couldn’t help clapping in praise: “Such change after just one meeting— no wonder the lord speaks so highly of you.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto, listening to their conversation and unaware of Shangshan Che’s concurrent breathing technique practice, frowned and tilted her head in confusion,
“Motonobu, and Che… what are you talking about?”
“Eh? Lord, you don’t know?”
Okabe Motonobu scratched her head first, then realized with an ah: “I almost forgot, lord—you’re still a bit short of qi circulation distance, so you can’t tell.”
Qi circulation?
Hearing the extremely familiar term, Imagawa Yoshimoto blinked, then seemed to realize something in an instant.
She was utterly shocked.
She abruptly turned to the calm-faced Shangshan Che, took a deep breath, pursed her lips, and asked: “Che… Mister, you’ve also practiced a breathing technique and completed qi circulation?”
Shangshan Che nodded his chin humbly,
“Just got it done by sheer luck, far from Okabe Excellency’s mastery.”
He actually… really completed it?
Keep in mind, Che wasn’t a samurai family child trained in breathing techniques from childhood—he was an onmyoji!
The world calls him “Onmyoji Che”!
Including her!
And now, this onmyoji Che was top-tier in breathing techniques too?
The girl felt a twinge of frustration for the first time, wondering what she’d been diligently cultivating all those past years.
Imagawa Yoshimoto slowly rubbed her temples with cool fingers.
But she didn’t sink into thought; instead, she straightforwardly told Shangshan Che that all the medicinal herbs for the bath could be prepared by tonight.
After Shangshan Che explained the medicinal bath’s effects and “origins,” Imagawa Yoshimoto’s eyes lit up as she tentatively asked,
“Since the medicinal bath invented by Tetsu-sensei’s master is so effective, could I promote it throughout the Imagawa Clan for all samurai to use?”
She looked at Shangshan Che expectantly.
But he decisively shook his head: “Without qi circulation protection, using this bath rashly would cause death midway.”
A medicinal bath usable only above qi circulation.
Imagawa Yoshimoto glanced at the grinning Okabe Motonobu and said: “Understood.”
She pressed the advantage, asking,
“Then, where is Tetsu-sensei’s master now?”
Imagawa Yoshimoto had already prepared her pitch: whatever the cost, as long as it didn’t touch core interests, inviting Che’s “master” would be a huge win.
After all, if the disciple was this impressive, how much more the master!
—To cover the medicinal bath formula’s origins, Shangshan Che, who fabricated a nonexistent master, sighed,
“My master has long wandered off, perhaps to the other side of the sea—I have no idea where he might be.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto paused, feeling a pang of regret.
“However.”
Shangshan Che changed tack, thinking to segue from the “master” topic to introduce Samurai Zantetsumaru,
“My master left me a wondrous shikigami that precisely tests slash power—anyone can use it.”
Just as he finished, Shangshan Che raised his hand, and the round black Samurai Zantetsumaru materialized, landing on the empty ground nearby.
The stern-faced Samurai Zantetsumaru said gravely,
“Master.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto examined the comical yet dignified round-headed shikigami, exclaiming in slight surprise.
Okabe Motonobu, who had been sipping tea, immediately looked up and stared fixedly at the tall Samurai Zantetsumaru.
Samurai Zantetsumaru shifted its gaze, nodded slightly to Okabe Motonobu upon eye contact, bowing: “Strong one, care to test your fist power?”
Okabe Motonobu perked up at this.
She shot to her feet without stirring even a breeze,
“Lord!”
Trusting Shangshan Che, Imagawa Yoshimoto nodded at the words,
“Go ahead.”
“You got it!”
The woman strode to Zan Maru, grinning at it: “Hey there, just call me Okabe.”
“Samurai Zantetsumaru.” It said, “Okabe Excellency, please go all out—I won’t let a single ounce of force leak.”
“Thanks a ton!”
Okabe Motonobu patted it happily, then turned. Seeing Shangshan Che nod too, she raised her fist without any wind-up.
Clenched her fingers.
Then struck!
In the next instant, a violent qi burst erupted in the less-than-a-foot distance from Okabe Motonobu’s fist to Samurai Zantetsumaru’s surface!
Samurai Zantetsumaru immediately tilted backward, the massive lean second only to Shangshan Che’s first full-power slash.
Samurai Zantetsumaru roared as if after a deep breath,
“Ten thousand two hundred thirty-seven kan… it says!”
Ten thousand kan!
Shangshan Che’s pupils shrank slightly.
And this was just Okabe Motonobu’s close-range punch without a full swing!
You’re telling me this is just muscle refining?
Shangshan Che strongly suspected Okabe Motonobu was about to complete full-body muscle refining and start muscle casting.
Otherwise, how could pure physical body power and qi barrier achieve this level?
“Oh—!”
In front of Zan Maru, Okabe Motonobu, leaning forward to check the unmoving grass behind, exclaimed in admiration and laughed,
“Tetsu-sensei, I like this Samurai Zantetsumaru—really like it!”
This was normal.
After all, which samurai wouldn’t love an indestructible “punching post” that precisely reports your power?
Way too convenient!
“By the way, Okabe Excellency, about exchanging breathing technique insights…”
Shangshan Che spoke up.
Okabe Motonobu turned back: “Well… didn’t the lord say the medicinal bath you mentioned can be prepared before tonight ends?”
She licked her lips, grinning,
“So, how about we talk when it’s just you and me late tonight?”
