Chapter 187: Spirit Control Technique Expert Level! 【qi】 And 【spirit】’s Crucial Choice! Little Jia’s Early Education Time
In Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, inside the quiet room on the mountainside.
In front of the incense burner, three long sticks of incense burned slowly.
The smoke dispersed, calming the mind and spirit.
Letting her black hair fall behind her, Minamoto Shizuka, dressed in plain white robes, closed her eyes and knelt before this small incense burner.
On her lap rested a scabbard as black as ink, about three feet three inches long, far exceeding the length of an ordinary tachi—a “nodachi.”
Just one glance at this tachi made one’s skin crawl all over; it clashed completely with Minamoto Shizuka’s serene and peaceful aura.
This blade was a demonic sword named Hotarumaru.
Its temper line was the rare “all-burned” pattern; the blade would glow with a pale blue-white light in the darkness, and it was said that with every person it killed, the fluorescence on the blade grew stronger.
Edo essays《Ear Bag》 record: “When swung, the light trail lingers like a meteor.” This refers to it.
This Hotarumaru had slain countless demons and samurai since ancient times, yet now it lay quietly on Minamoto Shizuka’s lap, bathing in the incense smoke alongside her.
The entire quiet room’s decor was unremarkable, and the girl’s movements were unremarkable.
It seemed like just an ordinary morning.
The only thing noteworthy was the mobile phone deliberately placed in front of the incense burner.
Yes.
That’s right, the mobile phone.
A mobile phone with no lock screen, its display still lit.
“Miss Gen is alone in the quiet room again, not moving at all.”
“This happens a few times every month… Whatever, that’s not our business to meddle in.”
Outside the quiet room, the servants at the doorway whispered as softly as possible, unaware that Minamoto Shizuka heard every word, every inflection and pause, crystal clear.
Minamoto Shizuka didn’t care.
Because she was long used to people gossiping about her behind her back—how many times had it happened? This one more didn’t matter.
She was just waiting.
—Ever since returning to the quiet room after six o’clock today and finishing her bath and incense ritual, she had been waiting.
Waiting for that phone notification to ring.
Time ticked by slowly, but Minamoto Shizuka was accustomed to it.
If one day doesn’t work, then ten days.
It was just waiting; such time passed with a blink of the eyes.
But before Minamoto Shizuka could shift her attention from the door back inward, the mobile phone placed before the incense burner buzzed and vibrated.
Pat.
Accompanied by a flash of white light landing on the green answer button, the call connected.
Was this an instant, or a split second?
Hard to say how brief a time it was.
The result was as if the phone answered automatically, and then the kneeling Minamoto Shizuka spoke softly:
“Excuse me, is this the current seed of the Special Affairs Office in Arakawa Ward…”
She simplified the information she had gathered these past days, then recited it out clearly, as if counting treasures.
At this, the other end of the line suddenly fell into an eerie silence for some reason.
But Minamoto Shizuka could still hear the rumble of a car engine from the other side, even the sound of electrical current surging through devices.
So she clearly and softly stated her name,
“Hello, this is Minamoto Shizuka.”
After another long silence, the speaker finally transmitted a somewhat stiff voice: “Hello, Miss Gen, this is Shangshan Che.”
A pause, then the speaker continued vibrating: “Excuse me, what can I do for you?”
Minamoto Shizuka sat ramrod straight and spoke word by word,
“I wanted to personally apologize to you, Shangshan Jun, regarding the matter of me and Saito Ryuichi spying on you while you dined with your shikigami last time.”
“—Shangshan Che, sorry.”
Minamoto Shizuka’s voice was utterly sincere.
So after a good while, the other end finally let out a bewildered “Huh?”
Minamoto Shizuka waited quietly, and after another moment, Shangshan Che said somewhat stiffly over the phone,
“Uh… alright, thank you for your apology, Miss Gen.”
He said: “Yeah, I accept it.”
Click.
Another flash of white light.
The call ended.
Minamoto Shizuka, who had been kneeling for nearly a morning, finally let out a breath of relief.
Because if she didn’t hear Shangshan Che personally accept her apology, her mind couldn’t find peace.
Now it was good.
“From now on, no more doing sneaky things with Saito.”
—One peek, and she couldn’t sleep well for days.
Minamoto Shizuka murmured softly, then in an instant entered a meditative trance, shutting out all external distractions.
Minamoto Shizuka, determined to defeat all rivals and earn her sister’s approval, continued stepping forward alone on the path called “Hundred Refinements of the State of Mind.”
……
At the entrance of the Special Affairs Office in Arakawa Ward.
Staring at the mobile phone in Shangshan Che’s hand that was hung up with a swipe and began beeping, the two people and one orb fell into an indescribable silence.
Akatsuki Ran, who had prepared to say something only to eat this baffling melon, scratched her head: “What does this chick mean? Do all Gen family people like saying weird stuff like this?”
Shangshan Che, equally baffled for a moment, summed up with a strange expression,
“You mean, my opponent in the Tokyo Seed Battle, the direct daughter of the Gen family, Minamoto Shizuka, was spying on me before with Saito Ryuichi, who uses onmyōdō.
And because she felt guilty, she came today with genuine sincerity to apologize, and that’s all just for the apology.”
Akatsuki Ran: ?
“What the hell? Why apologize for that.” She couldn’t figure it out. “Isn’t spying on opponents’ intel before the match a tacit unspoken rule, fair game by any means?”
Akatsuki Ran puzzled: “Spying for a bit is nothing; even 24-hour voyeurism wouldn’t bother me at all.”
Shangshan Che’s eyebrow twitched as he pocketed the mobile phone: “Maybe that’s why she’s stronger than you.”
Akatsuki Ran grumbled: “Senior Disciple Brother is the same as me, and he’s way stronger than this little old girl!”
Shangshan Che: “People who didn’t know would think you were calling ‘Senior Disciple Brother.'”
Akatsuki Ran, roasted, switched out of power-saving mode again—she didn’t want verbal attacks like that; give her equivalent physical attacks, physical ones!
Shangshan Che ignored her and pondered briefly.
—This Minamoto Shizuka was actually kind of interesting.
But she managed to get my info so clearly… Sister Nanjo’s document said she was “arrogant, aloof, untouchable.”
Public info really can’t be trusted too much.
“Done chatting now? Then I’ll continue; finish early and slip away early.”
Nanjo Emi’s electronic voice interrupted Shangshan Che’s thoughts.
Shangshan Che nodded after deciding to look into Minamoto Shizuka properly after the second round,
“Go ahead, Sister Nanjo.”
“Didn’t we say the black phone booth was acting up again?”
Seemingly someone was tinkering, so the electronic voice from the silver-white orb came in fits and starts, but it didn’t stop Nanjo Emi from continuing,
“Though I told you on the phone last time not to worry about this tide.
But just a few hours ago, this black phone booth started spreading rapidly using the tide as a carrier… Supernatural phenomena are annoying like that, always diffusing in inexplicable ways.
In just these few hours, it’s branched out across Tokyo City—or rather, more sightings outside Tokyo in smaller cities.”
Zap!
After a massive current surge, the entire silver-white orb refreshed.
After two clanks of a wrench, a childish boy’s voice emerged from the orb: “Should be tuned now, try again, Aunt Nanjo?”
Nanjo… Aunt?
I see Satoru-kun is a ruthless one too.
Shangshan Che kept his eyes down, pretending not to hear.
The orb went silent for seconds, then Nanjo Emi continued as if nothing happened, without missing a beat,
“And this black phone booth specifically targets normal people, so it won’t draw attention from local influences.”
Satoru-kun’s tech skills seem solid; no current noise in the orb this time.
Nanjo Emi: “Though I intercepted a fragment of the black phone booth’s spread not long ago and cleared out the phone booths in Arakawa Ward overnight.
Someone’s already on the main body; it’ll be resolved in a week at most.
But Shangshan Jun, you still need to be extra careful.”
This abrupt turn stunned Shangshan Che; he asked puzzledly: “Why?”
“Because this supernatural phenomenon seems to be showing signs of evolution… And you’ve encountered the Demon Guide Association before, right.”
Demon Guide Association.
Speaking of contact with this Eternal World organization, it was only that nue incident.
Just a measly one or two thousand soul ash, enough to make such a big organization fixate on a small fry like me?
Shangshan Che acknowledged.
Then he heard Nanjo Emi say: “This black phone booth, from the radio fragment I intercepted, is actually the Demon Guide Association’s handiwork.”
She sneered,
“Trailing behind the tide’s aftermath, those rats hiding in the shadows reached out to the mortal realm again, undeterred.
But perfect timing to chop off a couple claws and assert dominance; if some fearless guy uproots them entirely, that’s fine too.”
If even the Demon Guide Association, which Katsumi doesn’t rate highly, is making moves, then surely the factory owners, Sengoku daimyo, and Eight Sufferings aren’t sitting idle?
Shangshan Che felt the mortal realm was a massive cake, with greedy diners wielding bloody knives and forks floating on the tide’s surface, inching closer…
Nanjo Emi said as usual,
“If your trouble-magnet self runs into some unsolvable demon supernatural phenomenon, contact me first or report to the Special Affairs Office right away.”
Shangshan Che said helplessly to the silver-white orb: “Me causing trouble? Sister Nanjo, worry about Student Kitano not getting inexplicably wrecked again first…”
“You even ran into Affliction Kin, and you have the nerve to say you don’t cause trouble?” Nanjo Emi was merciless. “In my opinion, normal people never see Eight Sufferings once in a lifetime!
So before you say that, look in the mirror and see what you’ve been up to all day!”
—I traveled back five hundred years and am now helping Tokaido daimyo Lord Yoshimoto fight Affliction.
Of course such words couldn’t be spoken.
So Shangshan Che simply shut up.
“Alright, go play elsewhere.”
Nanjo Emi knew he wasn’t likely to say much; she yawned. “If you need resources later, just ask; I’ll give what I have, OK?”
“Got it.” Shangshan Che replied.
Nanjo Emi ended the call briskly—the silver-white orb floated back and reverted to its original surveillance camera.
Its functions fully restored in seconds.
Shangshan Che was about to leave when Akatsuki Ran, who had pulled her mask down to her chin nearby, tugged his sleeve.
She grinned sleepily and blew him a flying kiss,
“If Shangshan Jun you feel upset or unhappy later, come find me anytime to vent hard; treat me however, I don’t mind~”
She let go, trying a play-hard-to-get move.
—Good thing she released after that outrageous line, or a hurrying Shangshan Che would’ve unleashed a deliberate punch.
Shangshan Che instantly brushed off the outrageous words and ran toward the distant mountain silhouette.
He wanted an uninhabited spot with slightly higher spiritual energy concentration to consume the spirit-gathering pill.
Six minutes later.
Landing lightly in a dense forest with decent spiritual energy concentration, Shangshan Che took out the spirit-gathering pill from his storage bag.
Without a word, he popped it into his mouth.
The prompt popped up immediately.
【You consumed Compressed Spirit-Gathering Pill·Ultimate!】
What followed was a massive surge of spiritual power from within!
For an instant, Shangshan Che even felt like this surging spiritual power would make him burst at every orifice.
But in a flash, his Spirit Control Technique activated like an automatic switch.
In just a few seconds, it fully absorbed the massive spiritual energy mass that would normally take days to gather, leaving not a trace.
As if telling Shangshan Che, you don’t need to move; let us handle it.
Next, the upgrade prompt for Spirit Control Technique naturally appeared.
【Your skill, Spirit Control Technique proficiency +300!】
【Your skill, Spirit Control Technique has reached Expert Level!】
Two familiar prompts for proficiency gains and skill level-ups leaped out, ones Shangshan Che had seen countless times.
He should have skimmed them and looked further down.
But this time, it seemed…
Different somehow.
But what was different?
Shangshan Che blinked in slight confusion, suddenly feeling the world in his senses become infinitely vast.
From the original “circle,” it extended toward the farther horizon, extending… endlessly expanding.
He clenched his fist, staring at the spiritual power spilling like water from between his knuckles, gradually surging.
Because—Spirit Control Technique reached Expert Level?
Was that it?
While calmly sensing the starkly different senses and world from before, Shangshan Che slowly shifted his gaze.
【Spirit Control Technique（Expert 195/4000）】
【Effect: Control heaven and earth’s qi, connect all things’ spirits.】
From Mastery to Expert Level, just a fourfold proficiency increase—quite cost-effective.
The neighboring breathing technique nearly took that multiplier just to go from Proficient to Mastery; hard to imagine how much for a minor upgrade after true Mastery.
The effect description unchanged, highlighting Spirit Control Technique’s straightforward power.
Now, the intuitive boosts from Expert Level Spirit Control Technique.
【Due to your Spirit Control Technique reaching Expert Level, your Spiritual Arts +10!】
【Due to your Spirit Control Technique reaching Expert Level, your affinity for spiritual power greatly increases!】
【Due to your Spirit Control Technique reaching Expert Level, your perception of “qi” becomes much sharper!】
The first two were easy to grasp.
Now, Shangshan Che could cause small-scale spiritual power tides around him with a casual breath.
—Because spiritual power flows from high to low concentration, faster with greater difference.
But what was sharper perception of “qi”?
Qi?
Internal Qi? Qi Barrier? Or spiritual energy?
Shangshan Che couldn’t pinpoint the upgrade at first and opened the simple data panel instead.
【Shangshan Che】
【Physique: 51】
【Willpower: 31】
【Charm: 12】
【Spiritual Arts: 33→43】
Base stats over 50 Physique and nearly 50 Spiritual Arts.
With mask and jade token, plus activating breathing technique, Physique could easily break 100.
As four-tailed fox incarnation, Spiritual Arts would spike to 89, comparable to most new three-star onmyoji.
Shangshan Che closed the panel and tried operating Spirit Control Technique to suppress his body’s spiritual power fluctuation.
After all, going out with spiritual power fluctuations nearly liquefied would be like a giant humanoid LED lamp.
“Hm?”
Shangshan Che looked down in surprise at his now pristine body surface.
The surging spiritual power… completely suppressed back by Spirit Control Technique in that instant?
The effect was unexpectedly strong.
Vastly increased spiritual power amount, greater control, and senses still extending and changing…
These seemed like changes from the Spirit Control Technique upgrade?
Expert Level Spirit Control Technique boosts far exceeded his prior “heartstring amplifier” expectation.
As Shangshan Che thought this, more prompts suddenly appeared center-vision.
【Detected your skill·Spirit Control Technique reached “Expert Level”!】
【Choose for your skill·Spirit Control Technique between “Qi” and “Spirit” to decide future focus path.】
【Note: This choice is extremely important! Choose carefully!】
Choice?
Qi and Spirit?
Shangshan Che stared at the three prompts, frowning in thought.
Inevitably recalling what Lili Zi once told him, upon sword technique entering “Expert Level,” everyone would face—
The choice between “technique” and “principle.”
“One side sword skill, the other sword principle; as one just stepping into the supernatural threshold, how will you choose your lifelong focus?”
Now, the same dilemma lay before Shangshan Che.
【Qi】
【—Breath of life, pulse of nature, bond flowing through heaven, earth, and man.】
【Spirit】
【—All things have spirit; I shall be chief of all spirits.】
After Qi and Spirit, just two brief descriptions.
Which to choose?
Shangshan Che recalled the earlier prompt and tentatively flicked a strand of qi barrier from his fingertip.
Two seconds later, he confirmed “Qi” at least related to qi barrier.
Linking to the easily suppressed spiritual power leak, it tied deeply to spiritual energy too.
Even from the description, perhaps anything involving “qi” was covered.
—”Spirit” probably leaned toward onmyōdō and shikigami?
Shangshan Che pondered, reviewed prompts multiple times, confirming no third “Qi and Spirit” option.
Maybe because his onmyōdō attainment was too low—mere beginner Five Elements Onmyōdō dabbling.
Whether Five Thunder Technique·Qi Union counted as onmyōdō was debatable.
If he’d studied onmyōdō before Spirit Control Technique hit Expert, raising Four Paths and Five Elements to Mastery.
A third option might’ve appeared now.
“Pity.”
Shangshan Che shook his head.
But without hesitation, he placed his intent on the “Qi” prompt.
Heavily confirmed!
—Regretting the past now held no meaning.
Obsessing over unchangeable past was for the weak.
The strong accept the regret gladly, remember it, press onward, and ensure no repeat.
【You chose focus path·Qi!】
【Your skill, Spirit Control Technique has undergone major change!】
【Spirit Control Technique·Qi（Expert 195/4000）】
【Effect: Heaven’s breath, earth’s breath, man’s breath.】
【—Heart-piercing resonance, this is truth.】
With the prompts, Shangshan Che stared blankly at the pure white qi barrier on his fingertip.
It changed.
Something changed.
Qi circulation, Five Thunder Technique·Qi Union, internal spiritual power flow, even his unconscious breathing… all underwent indescribable changes.
Simultaneously, his senses stopped expanding.
They reformed a circle, but several times larger than before.
Shangshan Che took a deep breath.
Surging power flooded from every part of his body; brim-full vitality made him slightly intoxicated.
Panel attributes unchanged, spiritual power and physique strength same, yet Shangshan Che felt himself “stronger.”
Strength was relative, usually subjective.
But now, Shangshan Che could make this subjective real.
He rubbed his fingertip, toying with the wieldable qi barrier and lightning that had circled 108 times, glanced at the time, and clenched his fist,
“A few minutes till half-hour mark; might as well test a bit.”
First, Corona Breathing Technique—or rather, its most obvious external sign, qi circulation.
With a thought, Shangshan Che expanded the near-invisible body-surface qi circulation explosively.
Crack!
A small tree beside him was instantly pulverized to dust by the expanding qi circulation, scattering in the breeze.
Shangshan Che sheepishly retracted the qi circulation to normal, realizing his qi control was now over tenfold better.
But qi circulation strength was hard to test.
That could wait till Sengoku era, let Affliction Kin test with their bodies.
He raised his hand, drawing a thin winding electric light from his fingertip, watching it form thousands of kanji in seconds.
Shangshan Che flicked and withdrew, reclaiming the lightning streaking skyward back to swirl tamely on his fingertip.
“But flashy tricks aren’t useful…”
For destructive lightning, speed, accuracy, ruthlessness mattered most.
Shangshan Che blinked.
Thus, seventy-eight surrounding trees of varying heights had a faint black dot at 17cm from ground on their trunks’ centers.
“That’s more like it.”
He clapped satisfied.
Shangshan Che eyed Spirit Control Technique, now topping all skills.
This minor Spirit Control Technique brought unexpectedly huge changes.
Before, it was just an upgraded Basic Spirit Absorption Method, plus spirit-infused object communication.
But crossing one level transformed it, boosting overall combat power massively, with bright future potential.
If the already powerful main combat skill Natural Reason School upgraded…
Oh, right.
Speaking of spirit-infused object communication, Shangshan Che nearly forgot upgrading Spirit Control Technique was to better talk with Kaga Kiyomitsu.
He patted Kaga Kiyomitsu’s scabbard apologetically, closed eyes, sank consciousness inward.
Heartstrings, heartstrings…
In seconds, Shangshan Che “saw” two heartstrings clearly, speed over tenfold faster than last.
He locked onto Kaga Kiyomitsu’s heartstring expertly, operated Spirit Control Technique.
Soon, the formerly fixed, kite-string-thin heartstring was swiftly enveloped in glow!
Then, under Shangshan Che’s gaze, it thickened, enlarged, thickened, enlarged…
Finally becoming a healthy heartstring, thickness matching Two-Foot Adult’s nearby, fully clear for communication!
Shangshan Che’s eyes snapped open, looking at puzzledly trembling Kaga Kiyomitsu.
He curved his lips, sending vibrations through the heartstring—
“Done! Little Jia, you hear me now, right!”
“Buzz buzz? Buzz buzz buzz?”
Shangshan Che: ?
Still buzzing?
Suspecting he misheard, he plugged ears with qi barrier and asked via heartstring again.
Predictably, more buzzing replies.
Shangshan Che puzzled: “Wait, Little Jia, are you a mosquito?”
“Buzz buzz…”
Kaga Kiyomitsu replied somewhat dejectedly.
Seeing Kaga Kiyomitsu retreating into scabbard, nearly autistic, Shangshan Che quickly comforted it, getting it buzzing again.
—Strange, why still buzzing.
—But heartstring fine; previously just vague emotions, now clear on Kaga Kiyomitsu’s words, including buzz intonations and tones.
Shangshan Che thought, then fell silent.
—Could Kaga Kiyomitsu be like a newborn with fresh sentience, still an infant unable to speak?
If so, he’d be an early milk dad, starting zero-to-hero toddler education?
Or easier to learn “Kaga-speak”?
Anyway, Kaga Kiyomitsu mostly knew what he wanted.
First keep Kaga Kiyomitsu from getting annoyed, buzz more for language environment, then Shangshan Che pulled out the Key of History.
But that was redundant; Kaga Kiyomitsu showed no annoyance, instead thrilled, buzzing ten sentences a second.
So boisterously noisy…
Shangshan Che sighed, first took document bag from storage bag, spent over a minute reading thoroughly, letting it dissolve into drifting spiritual power via its incantation.
Then, right there in the mountain, infused spiritual power into Key of History.
……
Outside Yoshida Castle, dawn just breaking.
Shangshan Che, maintaining qi circulation and spiritual power fluctuation at departure levels, landed before the feigning-sleep King Kujira,
“Your Excellency Kujira San, any special incidents last night?”
“Nothing happened; all well.”
King Kujira smacked lips, replying without opening eyes.
Behind it, three formerly solemn statue-like koma-inu hatamoto swarmed Shangshan Che barking happily upon sight, extremely affectionate.
Shangshan Che petted the doggos’ heads, about to enter and ask if Lord Yoshimoto rested well, when she emerged stern-faced.
“—The homing pigeon hasn’t returned yet.”
Lord Yoshimoto sighed, gazing toward the rising sun.
She said softly,
“Yoshida Castle has likely fallen.”
Shangshan Che mentally calculated.
The homing pigeon was released about twenty hours ago; if Yoshida Castle—or even just Matsudaira Clan—was fine, it should’ve returned safely.
Dim-witted Affliction Kin wouldn’t attack a pigeon mid-air.
Unless caught after landing in Matsudaira Clan.
Shangshan Che replied expressionlessly.
This was expected.
Just the worse scenario.
Unknown which intelligent independent kin under Affliction came…
Wildword Spirit? Pustule Prelate? Chongke God? Or Kufuku?
Just hope not the trickiest one.
He was about to share Affliction Kin trivia with Lord Yoshimoto when a prompt abruptly popped.
【Current Walker of the Eternal World’s historical influence: 1%→1.1%!】
Historical influence up now?
Previously, no change despite massive reputation from one slash or exorcising nearby village Affliction Kin.
Why now?
Shangshan Che paused.
Moments later realized perhaps Two-Foot Adult’s doing.
Right, full five days, yet no word from Two-Foot Adult or Sister Motonobu.
By time, they should’ve been nearby.
Sensing heartstrings, Shangshan Che found distance to Two-Foot Adult barely closer.
Strange.
Shangshan Che thickened the heartstring to Two-Foot Adult same way, soon reaching faint emotion perception.
He tugged hard, questioning.
Moments later, violent vibration from the other end.
“Trouble” “Safe.”
Such info transmitted.
Meaning, trouble encountered but manageable.
Shangshan Che exhaled, slightly relieved.
After all, if Two-Foot Adult’s shikigami form had safety issues, it’d be too costly.
“Lord Yoshimoto, Two-Foot and Sister Motonobu hit snags, but neither Yoshida Castle nor Mikawa Province overall can wait longer…”
He paused slightly, earnestly to solemn yet calm-as-water Lord Yoshimoto,
“We may have to rely on ourselves first.”
Mikawa Province’s lord faced sunrise, inhaled deeply, then asked calmly,
“Confident?”
Shangshan Che knew this was for him.
So, having just broken Spirit Control Technique to Expert, Natural Reason School nearing breakthrough, and armed with Special Affairs Office Affliction intel, he grinned,
“Saying it’s all in hand might be overconfident.”
Smiling, he gently cradled her fist with nails digging into flesh, pried open, dripped Awakening Spirit Mist: “Lord Yoshimoto, Che can only say he’ll do his utmost.”
Lord Yoshimoto stared at Shangshan Che, this enigmatic great onmyoji still kneeling as her vassal.
Feeling thread of warmth in her palm, her near-max anxiety, urgency, gloom eased somewhat.
Lord Yoshimoto spoke expressionlessly—rare surplus expressions since King Kujira joined.
“In that case, let’s depart.”
The trio mounted, three koma-inu hatamoto loping lightly behind.
Soon, Shangshan Che’s group left the village, reaching nearest hillside forest to Yoshida Castle.
From mid-mountain here, Yoshida Castle’s silhouette was visible afar, little changed from before.
But nearing forest edge upon leaving hill, a spirited old man’s shout came,
“Good sirs! Can you lend this old man a hand!”
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