Chapter 170: I’ll Slay The Elder Myself! Imagawa Yoshimoto’s Reward, Complete Skin Tempering Within Five Days!
The medicinal bath will be ready tonight.
So, Okabe Motonobu, who has also completed Qi Circulation and even surpassed Shangshan Che by a large margin in the Palace of Flesh forging progress, naturally wants to try it as well.
The meaning of these words themselves is fine.
However, the sentence spoken by Okabe Motonobu and her tone are truly somewhat suggestive.
Shangshan Che was speechless and looked toward Imagawa Yoshimoto, who was still sitting.
Imagawa Yoshimoto’s face was expressionless, showing no reaction, and she even had the mood to pick up her tea and take a small sip.
Because she had spent too much time with Okabe Motonobu, she had long grown accustomed to this woman’s words and actions.
—Usually, all the outrageous things said by Okabe Motonobu with narrowed eyes and a smile are purely verbal bravado.
Even if she says a hundred sentences, not a single one is true.
And at such times, if you take her words seriously…
Imagawa Yoshimoto clinked her teacup down and curved her lips slightly.
The consequences are basically extremely dire.
—Seeing that Lord Yoshimoto, as the head of the clan, showed no reaction, Shangshan Che didn’t feel right saying much more.
He could only nod awkwardly with a smile: “Then later, I’ll have to rely greatly on Okabe Excellency.”
“Mm~ Tetsu-sensei’s cultivation is in my hands, so please rest assured.”
After speaking, Okabe Motonobu turned back, knocked her Qi Barrier-wrapped fist against the massive Samurai Zantetsumaru, and sighed: “Tetsu-sensei, I really like Samurai Zantetsumaru Excellency.
Just from that punch earlier, I can confirm this.”
Samurai Zantetsumaru, swaying slightly from the knock, affirmed equally: “Master, this Okabe Adult is indeed a rare powerhouse.
From her fist edge, I can clearly sense this.”
Hearing their words, Shangshan Che relaxed slightly.
Originally, his plan was to throw out Samurai Zantetsumaru to enhance the strength of the Imagawa Clan samurai cultivating breathing techniques.
He was just afraid that some warriors’ outdated views might lead to rejection, which would be troublesome.
But now, with the Imagawa Clan’s head of the clan and the one who is practically the top warrior of the Imagawa Clan both agreeing, could the plan to “promote Samurai Zantetsumaru” really face any resistance?
“However, still place it in the military camp during future expeditions.”
Okabe Motonobu suddenly spoke: “Placing it in the Imagawa Residence now and attracting too many samurai to test their cuts would disrupt the serene atmosphere, which isn’t ideal.”
What does she mean by saying that…
Shangshan Che was stunned for a moment, but after thinking of the girl sitting beside him, he instantly understood.
—Imagawa Yoshimoto has always disliked overly noisy and chaotic environments, especially when she wants to settle her mind.
Okabe Motonobu saying this is pointing it out to him, wanting him to consider Imagawa Yoshimoto more.
Thus, Shangshan Che nodded, first affirming: “Okabe Excellency makes a good point. Whether it’s you, me, or other accomplished samurai, cultivation requires a relatively quiet environment.”
But the next moment, he shifted his tone,
“But as a shikigami capable of testing the strength of many, many samurai, taking back Samurai Zantetsumaru like this would be too wasteful.”
Shangshan Che locked eyes with Okabe Motonobu, who had only a slit of her eyes showing, and proposed,
“So, how about placing it in a certain spot in Sunpu Castle, as a place where any samurai connected to the Imagawa Clan can freely test their cuts?”
In the silence, Okabe Motonobu’s narrowed eyes widened slightly.
She slowly nodded,
“That would be excellent.”
……
After eating four whole delicious, filling rice balls hand-made by Imagawa Yoshimoto, time quickly reached late night.
Tonight’s Imagawa Residence was different from its usual quietness.
Lights blazed everywhere, exceptionally noisy.
Countless maids and servants stepped on the corridors and aisles, their da-da-da footsteps mixing with the creaking of wooden boards, startling birds that wanted to rest briefly on branches.
Everyone held some zero-star medicinal herbs in their arms, placing them down in a quiet room before hurrying away, repeating this over and over.
Under Imagawa Yoshimoto’s personal instructions, the efficiency of gathering the medicinal herbs needed for the medicinal bath was astonishingly high.
Even for the rarer herbs, fast-footed samurai rode through the night with lanterns, knocking on shop doors and purchasing them at prices higher than usual.
Thus, in just three or four short hours, all the medicinal herbs had been divided in two and piled at the quiet room’s doorway.
Then, under the guidance of Shangshan Che, who had prior experience, it took only a brief ten minutes to brew two large tubs of medicinal bath liquid with a terrifying pitch-black sheen.
“Tetsu-kun, can I watch?”
After Okabe Motonobu went to change clothes, Imagawa Yoshimoto reached out and grabbed the sleeve of Shangshan Che, who was also preparing to enter the adjacent room, blinking as she asked.
Shangshan Che was somewhat puzzled: “Lord Yoshimoto, next it’ll probably just be Okabe Excellency and me tempering our bodies with Qi Barrier in our respective tubs, only our heads showing. Is there anything worth watching?”
“Because I feel like I’ll complete Qi Circulation soon too.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto pinched her chin seriously: “So I want to see the effects… and power of this medicinal bath with my own eyes.”
Power naturally referred to the “medicinal bath is very painful” that Shangshan Che had mentioned earlier.
She wanted to observe up close to confirm just how painful this “very painful” really was.
However, what Imagawa Yoshimoto didn’t know yet was that she was destined to be disappointed this time.
“I have no objection.” Shangshan Che spread his hands. “Then Lord Yoshimoto, you can come in after.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto let go, blinking expectantly: “Then when the time comes, please call out to me, Tetsu-kun.”
“No problem, please wait a moment, Lord Yoshimoto.”
Shangshan Che entered the room specifically for changing clothes.
Soon after, he walked barefoot into the quiet room with the bathtubs, wrapped in a thin bath towel.
Shangshan Che was slightly stunned.
Because what was placed before him now was not another large wooden tub filled with medicinal liquid, but a sliding door that nearly blocked his entire view.
He could only glimpse shadows behind the door through the sparse yellow paper window grids.
However, sound transmission was unaffected.
This was actually sufficient.
Originally, Shangshan Che had been wondering if Okabe Motonobu really intended to do something as she had said, or perhaps temper body face-to-face like with Lili Zi during the medicinal bath.
If that were true, it would probably be somewhat awkward.
After all, he and Okabe Motonobu weren’t that close.
Moreover, this was the Sengoku Period; even if Okabe Motonobu’s mindset was open, she couldn’t escape the traditional shackles of “separation of men and women.”
As expected, plots that only happen in notebooks could hardly appear in reality…
“This is actually pretty good.”
Shangshan Che untied his bath towel and draped it over the bathtub edge, slowly sitting into the icy medicinal liquid, immediately feeling the familiar intense pain on the skin surface in contact with it.
—For exchanging insights, simply closing his eyes and listening was entirely sufficient.
He settled his mind, swallowed a portion of Soul Incense Ash（ small）, and let his Qi Barrier seep into the skin along with the medicinal liquid.
The violent stinging pain surged like a tidal wave again.
But this time, the prepared and experienced Shangshan Che expressionlessly endured the full pain, pouring all his effort into tempering his skin membrane as hard as refined copper.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle!
Heat as if licked by fierce flames spread across his entire body in an instant.
Tiny bubble bursts and dirty blood continuously rose and floated on the medicinal liquid’s surface.
And Shangshan Che thought to himself,
“Yes! This is the feeling!”
Only greater pain can bring faster progress!
A few minutes later, a startled exclamation from Okabe Motonobu came from the other side of the sliding door,
“This! Amazing!”
Also on her first contact with the medicinal bath, Okabe Motonobu easily maintained her squinting smile, her mouth slightly agape as she exclaimed upon feeling her Muscle Refining progress clearly accelerate by several degrees.
Shangshan Che, hearing her shout and about to call Imagawa Yoshimoto, heard the latter’s voice from the other side of the door before he could speak,
“Amazing? Motono… Does soaking in this hurt as much as Tetsu-sensei emphasized?”
Okabe Motonobu: “Not painful at all, it’s rather tingly and numbing. Lord, you must try it when the time comes!”
Her tone was completely unchanged from usual, as if she were simply taking a bath.
Hearing the continuous faint sounds of Muscle Refining from the other side, Shangshan Che was speechless.
Isn’t this too much?
From the sounds he could hear clearly even from here, Okabe Motonobu’s toes were probably already curled tightly at the bathtub bottom!
And she still said this…
Not afraid of getting her own lord killed in the bathtub.
Shangshan Che sighed laboriously with a trembling voice: “Lord Yoshimoto, don’t believe her. This medicinal bath is already insanely painful just to soak in.
Let alone… tempering body in it, which is hellish torment.”
“Eh?” Imagawa Yoshimoto exclaimed in surprise and doubt.
“Lord, that’s because these onmyoji cultivate in isolation year-round, their willpower is weak so they find it painful.”
Okabe Motonobu laughed heartily: “We warriors tempered through countless trials don’t find it painful at all. Surely you think the same, Lord.”
—Could Imagawa Yoshimoto believe such obviously off words?
But as if to refute Shangshan Che’s thoughts, Imagawa Yoshimoto immediately said,
“Of course! I’ll try it the first day I complete Qi Circulation!”
Okabe Motonobu said pleasantly: “Great! Then on that day, I’ll help you with your clothes and wipe your body, Lord!”
Shangshan Che: “?”
—With Imagawa Yoshimoto’s intelligence, how could she not see the issues in Okabe Motonobu’s words.
Yet she still agreed outright.
Shangshan Che was helpless,
“So, she’s really too easy to bait…”
This is called, the willing take the hook.
Imagawa Yoshimoto clearly knew something was off everywhere, yet she insisted on biting.
—Because Okabe Motonobu used reverse psychology, and the pride in the young clan head girl’s heart wouldn’t allow retreat.
Facing such a trivial little challenge, Imagawa Yoshimoto couldn’t possibly back down!
Shangshan Che took a deep breath, clearing distracting thoughts from his mind: “Okabe Excellency, if you’ve adapted, can we start…”
“Of course. I’ll start first—of course, only I can start first.”
She laughed twice as if implying something,
“Tetsu-sensei, just listen carefully.”
In the quiet room, amid the faint boiling of medicinal liquid on both sides of the sliding door, Okabe Motonobu generously shared her experiences and knowledge.
Shangshan Che, with lowered eyes, immediately saw two prompts pop up before him—
【Okabe Motonobu is exchanging breathing technique cultivation insights with you…】
【Your Corona Breathing Technique proficiency growth rate has greatly increased…】
Listening to others’ cultivation insights really works.
Shangshan Che didn’t think much, immediately focusing intently while tempering his body with Qi Barrier and forcing himself to absorb every word from Okabe Motonobu without missing a beat.
……
Two and a half hours later.
【Your Corona Breathing Technique proficiency +66!】
【Corona Breathing Technique（ Skin Tempering 266/360）】!
Feeling as if his entire skin was about to turn into nonexistent liquid, Shangshan Che heavily exhaled turbid air and slumped against the bathtub edge.
Performing Skin Tempering in the specially made medicinal bath, though excruciatingly painful, was indeed very effective!
One session, and proficiency surged by a full 66 points!
If it continued at this rate, even in the Sengoku Period, he could complete the Skin Tempering stage in less than two days.
Although this medicinal bath Skin Tempering had Okabe Motonobu sharing insights from the other side, resulting in a “greatly increased” buff.
Even without that buff, daily medicinal bath + Soul Incense Ash Skin Tempering should yield around 20 proficiency points.
Five days!
Just five days in the Sengoku Period, and he could complete Skin Tempering and reach the Bone Forging stage!
—He had gained considerable rewards upon completing Tough Skin and Copper Skin, and now he was about to finish the first major stage of the Palace of Flesh.
Shangshan Che was indeed a bit expectant.
With the Sengoku Period to mortal realm thirty-to-one time flow rate… less than a day would pass in the mortal realm.
Thinking of this, Shangshan Che halted his thoughts.
Thirty-to-one.
This time flow rate was measured during the first ring of the main quest; he hadn’t tested it this time.
It might have changed.
Yes, he needed to find time to retest the time flow rate difference between the two sides.
This was still very crucial.
If the flow rates suddenly became two-to-one or even identical, many plans would need changing or cancellation.
Just a simple example.
Shangshan Che knew that even if the time flow changed, it shouldn’t be drastic—from the Corona Breathing Technique’s snail-like proficiency gains.
“Tetsu-sensei.”
In the room, now utterly quiet except for breathing and tempering sounds, Okabe Motonobu suddenly spoke.
—Her summary of the breathing technique was very concise, so the exchange lasted about half an hour.
—Imagawa Yoshimoto had left the room an hour ago; as a bystander unable to empathize, watching this long was already quite a bit.
Moreover, she had to rise early tomorrow to handle official documents; watching longer might make her sleep until noon.
That wouldn’t do!
Imagawa Yoshimoto was strict about her schedule; even breaking it tonight, she couldn’t overdo it.
Shangshan Che snapped out of it, gathered his thoughts slowly, and responded.
“Okabe Excellency, is something the matter?”
Having sensed Shangshan Che had finished tempering, Okabe Motonobu opened her eyes, gazing at her clear reflection in the water.
She asked softly,
“As the person involved, what are your thoughts on the Imagawa Clan elders you saw that morning?”
Okabe Motonobu’s words made Shangshan Che jolt alert, his thoughts instantly sharpening.
What does she mean by asking this?
Shangshan Che straightened up, and after brief thought, roughly understood the background behind Okabe Motonobu’s question.
Thus, he seemed to reply off-topic, like a robot “read-receipt random reply,”
“Not now, Lord Yoshimoto is still in the Imagawa Residence—If you want to do something, better wait until after the expedition to Mikawa Province.”
In the bathtub, Okabe Motonobu suddenly laughed out loud.
She slapped the diluted clear medicinal liquid with claps, grinning widely.
—This answer nearly openly declared helping the lord eliminate those treasonous, half-dead old things.
Okabe Motonobu liked this answer.
So, she needed to show corresponding goodwill.
She said slowly,
“This afternoon, I learned more details about Mikawa Province from the lord.
Though nominally a general, in most cases going forward, I’ll center on you, Tetsu-sensei.”
“After all, in dealing with legendary Great Demons, I’m absolutely no match for you as an onmyoji, Tetsu-sensei.”
“Then Che thanks Okabe Excellency in advance.”
Shangshan Che also breathed a sigh of relief.
Because his teammates in the same camp, also assisting Imagawa Yoshimoto, were all sharp-minded—this was good, very good!
Even Asahina Yasutomo, the most straightforward and relatively dumbest he’d met in the Sengoku Period, dared to face and admit his mistakes once he realized.
After another brief silence, Okabe Motonobu said directly: “Tetsu-sensei, the lord doesn’t want you involved in this matter.”
Hearing this, Shangshan Che finally realized what Imagawa Yoshimoto’s inexplicable behavior meant yesterday before going to the blacksmith shop.
Turns out, she wanted to handle those elders alone without telling him!
As for why hide it from him…
Before several tentative ideas in Shangshan Che’s mind could surface, Okabe Motonobu shattered them all and dropped a bombshell,
“Because in the future, she wants to grant you land and a castle, making you a daimyo in name and reality, so she doesn’t want you tainted by such murky affairs.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto wants to make me a substantive daimyo?
Shangshan Che was first stunned, then suddenly enlightened.
—If it’s her, she might really do that!
Because Imagawa Yoshimoto had absolute confidence in her own charm, confident enough that even preemptively offering such weighty benefits, she believed he would still follow behind her.
Shangshan Che couldn’t help but smile.
Such absurd things, probably only this Imagawa Clan head could pull off.
He replied: “But I want to.”
Shangshan Che said,
“Okabe Excellency, I want to cut off the heads of those clueless elders for Lord Yoshimoto—if that can make the Imagawa Clan even stronger.”
Now it was Okabe Motonobu’s turn to be puzzled.
She had stated it so clearly, yet got this response?
Unmoved even by daimyo-level rewards and land, rejecting outright without a second thought.
Was there really such a pure and desireless person in this world?
Truly… unheard of.
So she asked coldly: “Why?”
Shangshan Che answered without hesitation: “I want to assist Imagawa Yoshimoto.”
He disrespectfully called out Imagawa Yoshimoto’s full name, making Okabe Motonobu’s brows furrow instinctively.
—In the Sengoku Period, calling by clan name, common name, or name with suffix was fine, but directly using the full name could very likely trigger a samurai duel.
But before she could speak, she heard Shangshan Che continue,
“I want to see with my own eyes her become the master of Tokaido, see her become the ruler under heaven, even the general above all.”
Shangshan Che: “If I can witness such a scene firsthand, even dying would be completely worth it.”
“As for myself… does high or low status provide extra help for cultivation?
I’ve walked this chaotic world for some time and finally found a wise lord, so I just want to assist her to the top.”
Shangshan Che asked back: “Is such a thought wrong?”
Okabe Motonobu was speechless.
She understood.
She understood that feeling all too well.
—Because she felt the exact same!
As long as she could see the lord become the ruler under heaven in this life, everything would be utterly worth it!
Okabe Motonobu sighed,
“Che, I find we surprisingly get along quite well.”
In a certain sense, indeed.
Shangshan Che nodded inwardly.
Could he also consult her on state of mind cultivation issues?
Shangshan Che acted on his thought,
“Okabe Excellency…”
“Tetsu-sensei, how old are you?” Okabe Motonobu rarely interrupted him directly.
Shangshan Che raised a brow but still answered,
“Eighteen.”
“I’m a few years older nominally, so please call me Sister Motonobu from now on, Tetsu-sensei.”
You call me Tetsu-sensei, I call you Sister Motonobu, huh.
Classic talking past each other.
Still, drawing closer to Okabe Motonobu in this unexpected way was a pleasant surprise.
Shangshan Che didn’t refuse, generously calling: “Then Sister Motonobu, how do you view state of mind cultivation?”
“State of mind…”
Okabe Motonobu was somewhat puzzled: “Such a personal question, you don’t ask yourself but ask an outsider like me?”
But she still gave her answer,
“If one day you truly witness the lord’s successful march to Kyoto, will it help your state of mind cultivation?”
Shangshan Che recalled the matter between him and Lili Zi back then, and the subtle changes in his state of mind, replying uncertainly,
“Probably.”
“Then it’s simple.”
Splashing water sounds rose from the other side of the sliding door, Okabe Motonobu’s shadow extending a hand toward him,
“Tetsu-sensei, go witness it. Stand behind the lord and witness it all.”
……
Four days later, at noon.
【Corona Breathing Technique（ Skin Tempering 336/360）】
In the courtyard, Shangshan Che stared at the proficiency panel before him, murmuring softly,
“One last cultivation session, and the Skin Tempering stage will be complete.”
