Chapter 223: Obtaining The Doxxing Artifact, Invitation To The Nine Tribulations Academy Secret Realm Challenge, Guess What My Powerful Buff Is
The White Hannya Mask remained unmoved, and the indifferent gaze behind it stayed the same.
Shangshan Che stared at the black smoke skull head that was right in front of him, a flash of surprise passing through his heart, leaving only what was to be expected.
Demon Guide Association, upon seeing him in the Mortal Realm, would naturally recognize him as “Great Onmyoji Che”.
Because in the Sengoku Period five hundred years ago, not only had Daruma witnessed him, but even directly contacted him, yet escaped under the cover of Ootama Hoshi.
At that time, Ootama Hoshi had called Daruma “the once-in-a-century genius of the Demon Guide Association”.
Thus, if Daruma didn’t die, it was almost a sure thing that he would become one of the higher-ups of the Demon Guide Association five hundred years later today.
And he himself, as the turning point in Daruma’s life, would surely be remembered clearly by the other party.
It could only be this reason.
Otherwise, he had little connection with the Demon Guide Association—a mere Two-and-a-Half Star Nue’s death was no big deal.
Shangshan Che quietly stared at the skull head, as if gazing at the manipulator behind it across an infinite distance.
Suddenly, he smiled.
He raised Kaga Kiyomitsu and gestured, a hoarse and cold voice issuing from Shangshan Che’s throat: “My Master said long ago—’Let Daruma wait, I will personally send him to reunite with his disciple.'”
Shangshan Che certainly couldn’t admit he was Great Onmyoji Che, even though from the outside it looked exactly like Great Onmyoji Che himself.
Five hundred years later, Daruma and the Demon Guide Association had grown stronger than before by an unknown margin, and compared to himself, they would naturally consider “how much stronger Great Onmyoji Che is now”?
At least, before probing and clarifying this point, the Demon Guide Association wouldn’t act recklessly.
He had to make good use of this.
Hearing his words, the skull head fell silent.
A few seconds later, the black skull head with wariness and sinister coldness in its eye sockets dissipated into the air with the blowing breeze.
【Please note, you have been noticed by the Eternal World influence “Demon Guide Association”!】
Casually swiping away the prompt in front of him, feeling the extreme emptiness in his body, Shangshan Che exhaled and lifted his head.
With the Black Phone Booth dead, the haunted house transformation process in this area of Shizuoka City naturally stopped and dissipated, so the sky would clear up again.
Brief yet long-missed sunlight poured down like gold.
Shangshan Che turned his head again and found that the streets, buildings, and the faces of the survivors in the area once shrouded by the haunted house still didn’t look good.
Or rather, very bad.
But this was no longer his concern.
Listening to the rumbling engine of the jeep from afar, Shangshan Che looked toward the agents who had popped their heads out the window, greeting him with utmost astonishment in their eyes and tone.
“—Everyone, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“No no no, not hard at all!”
“What we did is nothing compared to Agent Shangshan’s achievements!”
No one took Shangshan Che’s words; instead, they expressed their admiration and respect in different ways.
Shangshan Che smiled, said nothing more, just sent Tamamo an “mission completed” emoji, and walked toward the outside of the original haunted house.
His work was done.
……
By the time Shangshan Che leisurely walked out after more than ten minutes, he found that Tamamo’s family members were indeed all safe and sound.
Tamamo’s parents had been unconscious from the start, so they were just confused and didn’t quite understand what happened; her two younger brothers were only frightened by the “non-existent danger,” and once it passed, it was over.
On the contrary, Tamamo was still holding Chisa-chan, who was even smaller than her, burying her head in the latter’s chest and crying loudly “wah wah wah.”
Snot and tears smearing a big patch on her little sister’s white dress.
So embarrassing.
Originally, Tamamo’s younger brothers weren’t crying either.
But seeing Tamamo cry so loudly for so long, they seemed emotionally infected, one after another tilting their heads back and bursting into loud wails.
Tamamo’s parents were pulled aside by Yasui Junior Official to understand some basic situation, completely occupied.
So only Chisa-chan, who had been stuffed a Panacea by Shangshan Che not long ago, refreshing her body and spirit to optimal state, was left to comfort the three “children.”
Patting heads here, consoling there, as if she were the eldest sister.
Shangshan Che stood watching from afar.
He originally wanted to ask Chisa-chan how she felt after taking the Panacea, but now it wasn’t good to go up and say anything.
Better let Tamamo cry it out first……
“Big sis, can Chisa go wash her face nearby?”
The girl in the now dirty white dress pointed to her little face like a kitten’s, rubbing her chin against Tamamo’s forehead with a smile,
“I’ll be right back.”
“Mm……sniff~ Chisa-chan, be safe…”
Tamamo sniffed, reluctantly releasing her arms, watching the girl trot with small steps toward the public restroom dozens of meters away.
After lifting her head, Tamamo quickly spotted Shangshan Che who had been standing nearby.
In an instant, the girl’s little face flushed red.
“It’s human nature, no big deal……Tamamo, sort out your emotions first. I have something to talk to your sister about.”
After sending a sound transmission via Qi Barrier thread, Shangshan Che walked to the restroom doorway.
But as he approached, he faintly heard hoarse, fearful, almost suffocating childish sobs from the deepest stall inside the restroom.
Shangshan Che glanced at the empty sinks—no need to think, he understood everything.
He didn’t say much or push the door in.
He just stood at the doorway, quietly listening to the sobs inside grow from small to large, peak, then slowly diminish, finally turning into sporadic sniffing sounds.
He didn’t know if those emotions were finally vented or suppressed back into the girl’s heart.
Splash.
The sensor faucet automatically dispensed water, followed by vigorous gurgling face-washing sounds.
After the faucet ran several times, Shangshan Che saw Chisa-chan emerge from the restroom.
Now, Chisa-chan only had slightly red eye sockets.
Otherwise, no sign she had just cried her heart out.
Chisa-chan, just stepping off the stairs, froze,
“Big brother…”
Seeing the familiar clothing on Shangshan Che who seemed to have been waiting here, and the Hannya Mask swaying at his waist, the clever Chisa-chan naturally knew who it was.
And he had probably heard all the commotion just now, but out of consideration for her as a child, didn’t say it directly.
The girl’s little face instantly turned as red as a boiling kettle, very embarrassed, lowering her head and fiddling with her fingers.
“What’s there to be embarrassed about?”
Shangshan Che tapped Kaga Kiyomitsu, adding eight layers of demon debuff to the black little amulet in his hand, then held it out in front of Chisa-chan.
“Chisa-chan, this amulet is for you. Wear it close to your body and you won’t fear Demons and Monsters.”
Chisa-chan stared at the amulet emitting various lights right under her nose, seemingly very powerful, immediately tossing her embarrassment to the clouds, waving her hands hurriedly,
“No no no, big brother, you saved me already, I can’t let you…”
“Since I saved you, I don’t want to see you get hurt.” Shangshan Che said, forcing the amulet into Chisa-chan’s hand, “Otherwise, wouldn’t my efforts be wasted?”
Chisa-chan was stunned hearing this.
Big brother makes a good point.
“And Chisa-chan.”
Shangshan Che looked at the girl who raised her head, with redness still under her eyes, speaking in the exact same tone as when he rescued her from the Black Phone Booth,
“I think highly of you.”
This wasn’t empty words, but Shangshan Che’s honest evaluation after carefully understanding Chisa-chan’s personal situation and what she did before he arrived.
Calm thinking in crisis, tenacious will never giving up in difficulties, and courage to stake her life at key moments……
If Chisa-chan was willing to touch the Supernatural and join the Special Affairs Office, given time, she would surely achieve something, and might even become a Ghost God level guardian of a region many years later.
Such a promising seedling naturally had to be pulled to Sister Nanjo first for proper nurturing.
So Shangshan Che said: “Chisa-chan, if you want to get strong enough to protect your family, come to the Special Affairs Office in Arakawa Ward, Tokyo.”
Chisa-chan’s eyes lit up first.
But immediately after, the girl holding the amulet shook her head dejectedly,
“Big brother……I took the test in my hometown before, and the uncle who came said I have no talent for cultivation.
Later, with big sis’s help, I studied Basic Spirit Absorption Method for a long time, but no obvious effect.”
“Talent?”
Shangshan Che smiled, spreading his hands: “Is that important? I’ve never had talent either, but didn’t I still reach this point?”
Locking eyes with the stunned girl, Shangshan Che raised a finger in front of her: “Chisa-chan, remember. What limits you has never been talent, but whether you want to.”
“If you want to, you can do it—belief is your magic, anything is possible.”
“Also.” Shangshan Che corrected, “My name is Shangshan Che. You can call me Shangshan Jun, Elder Brother Shangshan, whatever. Just calling big brother feels weird, like some old guy staring at goldfish.”
Chisa-chan blinked.
After a long time, she gripped the amulet making her palm tingly, nodding heavily,
“Shangshan bro, got it!”
“Good.”
Shangshan Che snapped his fingers, leading her toward the source of that Ghost God level aura descending from the sky.
—Chisa-chan casually walked to Tamamo’s side, while Shangshan Che looked at the Ghost God level figure who appeared in his sensing range half a minute ago, arriving much earlier than the scheduled support time.
Yasui Junior Official noticed Shangshan Che’s gaze and immediately introduced the man draped in an abnormally wide pure black haori in front of him,
“Your Excellency Nakamura, this is the boy hero who single-handedly exorcised the Black Phone Booth, Shangshan Che, Shangshan Jun!”
The man called Nakamura turned, looked at Shangshan Che, and nodded slightly: “Regardless, thank you for stepping forward, Shangshan Jun.”
After the thanks, Nakamura properly sized him up.
The man patted Shangshan Che’s shoulder and sighed: “No wonder Sister Nanjo immediately raised your Potential Rank without a word—now it seems her eye is spot on.”
Shangshan Che was somewhat puzzled.
Because in his sensing, the aura emanating from this Ghost God level Your Excellency Nakamura felt slightly different from the Ghost God level figures he had seen before.
Though the difference in Life Essence remained, comparatively, it seemed to lack a bit of majesty, a bit of pressure, a bit of……power?
Or were all the Ghost God levels he saw before unusual?
Which was the reason?
Shangshan Che couldn’t figure it out for the moment.
He couldn’t ask a Ghost God level figure he was meeting for the first time such a personal privacy-involving question.
So Shangshan Che could only suppress the question in his heart for later answers.
“If nothing else, Yasui Junior Official, I’ll patrol Shizuoka City thoroughly and then leave.”
Nakamura glanced at his mobile phone, rubbing his temples quite annoyed,
“Just landed, and now three or four more to-do items popped up.”
Even at over forty, he couldn’t help complaining: “Even Ghost God level durability can’t be treated like a super workhorse to exploit.”
Yasui Junior Official sighed too: “In a few days it’s the 1.5 Tide, since Your Excellency Nakamura chose to become an ‘Executor,’ it’s unavoidable to be busy lately.”
“Then Your Excellency Yasui, good luck with work.”
A subtle Spiritual Power Fluctuation that almost escaped Shangshan Che’s notice surged, lifting the black haori-draped Nakamura thousands of meters into the sky in seconds.
The next instant, a blazing thought like the great sun swept across the ground.
Shangshan Che felt his breath suddenly catch, nearly pressed into the ground like a dry radish by this substantial pressure.
He looked around and found everyone, including Yasui Junior Official, completely unaware, conversing or working as usual.
—It seems unless strength reaches a certain level, one can’t even detect the terror of Ghost God level.
Shangshan Che circulated Qi Barrier through his body several times to barely eliminate this subtle discomfort.
He shook his head, hearing Tamamo beside him say she would first send her family to stay at the Special Affairs Office Building in Shizuoka City to prevent harm from the 1.5 Tide and Demons and Monsters.
—From the beginning, her siblings and parents came to Shizuoka City for this purpose.
—It was just that the Black Phone Booth appeared too opportunistically.
“Then Shangshan bro, I’m off first.”
“Mm, Chisa-chan, just rest well these two days.”
After accepting thanks from Chisa-chan and Tamamo’s parents, Shangshan Che bid farewell to Chisa-chan who was already inseparable from her amulet.
“Shangshan bro……uh, why not Elder Brother Shangshan?”
Shangshan Che could still hear Tamamo’s puzzled mutter as she slipped into the Special Affairs Office’s black sedan.
Watching the sedan drive away, Shangshan Che said to Yasui Junior Official, who was almost nonstop ordering surrounding agents: “If any demons appear, call me anytime.”
With that, Shangshan Che fetched a chair, leaned back in a shady spot.
—Since Tamamo was sending her family to the Special Affairs Office Building, he could take this chance to check the two Special Items obtained after mission completion.
First was the red copper rotary phone, identical to the one in the Black Phone Booth, even more exquisite.
【Ancient Rotary Phone（Special Item）】
【Quality: None】
【Effect: When using this phone to communicate with others, you can obtain their name and location.】
【—At first, people thought this was just an unremarkable phone.】
Shangshan Che’s calm gaze scanned down, suddenly sitting up after reading the “Effect” section.
Holy crap, OP!
This thing’s functionality in certain specific situations is ridiculously strong!
But Shangshan Che suspected……if using it to call Ghost God level or higher existences, would they detect this effect.
For omnipotent Ghost Gods, it wasn’t impossible.
“Mm……test the waters with Sister Nanjo later.”
Without taking out the phone itself, Shangshan Che looked at the next Special Item.
【Proof of Walking（Special Item）】
【Quality: None】
【Effect: None】
【—Hand it to the administrator of the Walking Assembly, and They will know its purpose.】
Mysterious description fitting the enigmatic vibe of the Walking Assembly.
Shangshan Che took it out, examining the letter with a white jade-like texture, same size as a normal envelope.
This material……reminded him of the Key of History given by Magatsu-kami in the Walking Assembly.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t entered the Walking Assembly in a long time.
Magatsu-kami said at least a week couldn’t enter before, now the time far exceeded—Shangshan Che forgot when busy.
After all, it was nearly a hundred days ago for him, and nothing particularly attractive in the Walking Assembly.
“If free later, make time to check the assembly.”
After deciding in his heart, Shangshan Che leaned back in the unusually sturdy engineering plastic seat and dozed off on the spot.
Countless Special Affairs Office agents passed by around, yet none disturbed him.
—With the Approaching Ghost God level Black Phone Booth dead, what remained posed no difficulty for the Special Affairs Office.
“Yo, Elder Brother Shangshan.”
Still Tamamo’s cheerful voice woke Shangshan Che.
He slowly opened his energetic eyes, yawned, already seeing the golden-red sunset slowly sinking toward the horizon.
Shangshan Che glanced at Yasui Junior Official still methodically instructing those around her, asking Tamamo,
“Shizuoka City, all good?”
“Yeah, just some minor issues left, no need for Elder Brother Shangshan.”
Tamamo shrugged, extending her palm to him: “Let’s head to Hamamatsu first to pick up Yagyu.”
“Just what I was thinking.”
Shangshan Che grasped her palm, standing from the seat, then heard Tamamo’s sincere voice from beside,
“This time……really thanks for pulling me and my family out, Elder Brother Shangshan.”
“You should thank me.”
Shangshan Che looked down, shrugging at Tamamo too: “Later, Tamamo, remember to help me a lot.”
Tamamo immediately summoned earth-shaking momentum, slapping her puffed chest forcefully, declaring loudly: “Leave it to me!”
The two rode the Special Affairs Office’s ride-share, arriving at Hamamatsu City’s suburbs shortly after the moon rose.
The originally deserted Streets and Alleys were now bustling; glance at any noisy spot, and you’d see a crowd of heads.
The Secret Realm’s appearance and Top 100 Ranking’s fame had drawn countless challengers or onlookers, camping not far from the Secret Realm.
Making the area around here hot and lively.
Midway, Shangshan Che happened to pass the old bus stop before the earlier Kisaragi Train.
He then remembered, rushing at the time, he hadn’t checked the black gold VIP card and note on the seat.
VIP card aside, Shangshan Che first took the unremarkable note, waving it in front of him.
The front of the note described the black gold VIP card’s usage.
—【Inject Spiritual Power into the card, silently think of the destination in your heart, and know when the next Kisaragi Train will arrive】.
This simple description made Shangshan Che’s eye twitch.
It was practically saying “train on call.”
Mm……such huge privilege better use sparingly; unless desperate, making a midway train suddenly divert isn’t great.
Once or twice fine.
Too many times, Shangshan Che feared entering Eternal World to face a bunch of Great Demons whose schedules he delayed.
Then the back……
Shangshan Che blinked.
The back had only one sentence.
—【Long time no see】.
Shangshan Che looked at the utterly normal bus stop, softly saying,
“Long time no see.”
……
“Yagyu, how far did you get?”
“Three chances all used……I’m at 37th Floor.”
The two looked in the direction Yagyu Oshii pointed.
Even at 37th Floor, his ranking was nearly pushed to the end of Top 100 Ranking, dropping to around 80-something.
And rankings with 【37th Floor】 after names had at least fifty or sixty more.
Yagyu Oshii explained: “The stele updated recently—if same floor, less Strategy time means higher rank.”
Shangshan Che looked further up, finding the top not Minamoto Shizuka.
But Kyuuketsuin Kin.
Though still no kill on 41st Floor projection, he had surpassed Minamoto Shizuka.
Shangshan Che wasn’t surprised.
Eye of Interpretation opened, gazing at the kimono beauty chatting and laughing at vision’s edge……still the same, humanoid nuke glowing white from every angle.
This Four Extremes Breathing Technique is too broken.
Shangshan Che just sighed inwardly when he heard Tamamo smack her lips,
“Damn, Kyuuketsuin Kin is still freakish, just eating drinking lounging around yet easily takes Top 100 first, makes me doubt if we’re same species.”
Saying that, Tamamo sighed regretfully,
“If he got serious from start, might rival Source family big sis now, what a pity.”
No cultivation to this level?
Shangshan Che suddenly doubted his earlier words to Chisa-chan that “talent doesn’t matter”……monsters everywhere in this world.
But thinking again, he grinned instead.
More monsters good, more Mortal Realm monsters means easier handling Eternal World and future Tides……
In the distance, Kyuuketsuin Kin suddenly turned back, looking his way along the line of sight.
The youth with off-the-charts Charm paled slightly, turning amid the crowd’s gaze and surround, eyes with some expectation asking,
“This one, not challenging the Secret Realm?”
So many gazes, yet picked me?
Or some special sensing between powerhouses?
Shangshan Che raised a brow, feeling countless gazes on him.
He pondered a moment, recalling the earlier prompt—
【You gained an unknown powerful BUFF!】.
【This buff will activate on your next entry to “Projection Secret Realm”!】.
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