Chapter 250: Wave Of The Hand, Thunderstorm Dissipates! Seed Battle Rankings Revealed! Brutal Format, Sword Saint Grand Prize!
Above the dome, black clouds loomed like a city on the verge of collapse.
Lightning storms surged.
Pale white Lightning Dragons appeared amid the falling rain, constantly weaving through gaps in the cloud layers, then amplified by an invisible force in the instant they descended, all directed toward the same point—
The rooftop of the Special Affairs Office in Arakawa Ward.
A grand yet invisible concealment Onmyōdō Barrier rose, enveloping Shangshan Che, who was charred all over in the center, slowly exhaling and opening his eyes.
Blocking all curious, puzzled, and subtle gazes from the outside world.
Utterly impenetrable.
“Five Thunder Technique, breakthrough achieved.”
Accompanied by words rising like a near-whisper.
The skin on Shangshan Che’s body, scorched black by lightning, peeled away bit by bit, revealing the newborn, baby-soft skin beneath.
The purple glow in his pupils receded, and Shangshan Che lowered his gaze to the Panel and Prompt that popped up before his eyes—
【Five Thunder Technique·Qi Union（ Expert 5/5600）】
【Effect: Master lightning.】
【—At this moment, I am lightning.】
【Your Five Thunder Technique·Qi Union has reached Expert Level, Physique +3!】
【Your Five Thunder Technique·Qi Union has reached Expert Level, Spiritual Arts +5!】
【Your Five Thunder Technique·Qi Union has reached Expert Level, Lightning Affinity greatly increased!】
【Your Five Thunder Technique·Qi Union has reached Expert Level, your understanding of all “lightning”-related matters has greatly deepened!】
“Lightning Affinity doubled again.”
Shangshan Che reached out, shedding all protections on his body including Qi Circulation, and caught a falling lightning bolt that Sister Nanjo had slightly amplified and directed.
Boom!
The massive lightning crashed down, yet it only left a small black spot and winding lightning patterns on Shangshan Che’s palm.
Along with a tingling pain that even ordinary people could endure.
If he activated Qi Circulation and actively circulated the Five Thunder Technique, then these lightning bolts that could now deal him significant damage would all become toys he could wrap around his fingers.
Shangshan Che stood up, his normal protections rising accordingly, allowing the lightning to strike his head.
Hmm… no sensation at all.
He clenched his fist, and the descending lightning halted in mid-air, contracting and drifting down as per his will, hovering before him.
Lightning produced by nature could indeed be manipulated at will now.
Shangshan Che toyed with the thread-thick lightning, smiling pleasantly.
“Thanks to Sister Nanjo’s help, otherwise it probably would’ve taken days to break through.”
—This thunderstorm was made possible by Nanjo Emi directing lightning to the top of the Special Affairs Office to assist his cultivation of the Five Thunder Technique.
—Nanjo Emi not only appropriately enhanced the lightning’s effects with Onmyōdō, but more importantly, erected a Barrier blocking external prying eyes.
From the first day Sky Dome One hovered over Tokyo and the Eastern Region Seed Battle preliminaries began, gazes throughout Tokyo had grown increasingly numerous and active.
Without Nanjo Emi, even if the thunderstorm doubled in intensity, Shangshan Che would have had to abandon the idea of outdoor cultivation.
Because it was too easy to be seen.
And if others, or even opponents, saw the entire process, it would practically announce that Shangshan Che’s Five Thunder Technique had broken through, so everyone be careful.
Now, that wouldn’t happen.
—Because Nanjo Emi’s outward explanation was that she wanted to collect some thunderstorm for fun and research new Great Onmyōdō.
Since she knew so many Onmyōdō techniques herself, this explanation seemed reasonable and didn’t arouse much suspicion.
Shangshan Che clenched his fist, letting the lightning before him quietly dissipate.
“Hmm… since lightning resistance has improved so much, the offensive side shouldn’t be bad either.”
He thought for a moment, then raised a finger toward the sky dome.
Five Thunder Technique circulated.
Purple-black fine lightning burst from Shangshan Che’s fingertip.
This flash of Lightning pierced through the pitch-black clouds in an instant far shorter than a tenth of a blink, reaching the calm stratosphere.
Through the Eye of Interpretation, Shangshan Che saw that this flash of Lightning, which cost him almost no consumption, fully dissipated only ten thousand meters away.
A kilometer in an instant, ten thousand meters in a blink.
Of course, lightning of this intensity lost its threat beyond a kilometer.
Beyond ten thousand meters, it couldn’t even compare to the most ordinary static electricity.
Lost in thought, Shangshan Che flicked his finger again.
Lightning flashed once more.
But this time, the distance was within a hundred meters.
After repeated observations, he nodded in satisfaction.
—The Five Thunder Technique’s flat A, which could be released continuously with recovery keeping up with consumption, could nearly instantly kill a Half-Star Ghost within about a hundred meters.
As for Demons not weak to lightning, it might need more output.
In other words, from this moment, human wave tactics with Half-Star and below had lost all meaning against Shangshan Che.
“Besides that?”
Shangshan Che raised his palm, squinting to observe the barely perceptible layer of Qi Circulation on his skin, which had undergone another major change.
He could feel that from the instant the Five Thunder Technique broke through to Expert Level, the Qi Circulation on his body surface had been changing with every passing second.
It seemed that “lightning” had surged into the cycle originally woven from Qi and Spiritual Power?
The view through the Eye of Interpretation confirmed Shangshan Che’s idea.
In his eyes, lightning containing traces of Gūhuāniǎo aura surged in at the start of each cycle, communicating and merging with the two “natives.”
This time, it wasn’t even led by Shangshan Che himself, but a natural result of the Five Thunder Technique’s circulation.
The dual Qi Circulation was gradually turning into triple.
Thereafter, the Qi Circulation infused with massive lightning power would become even sturdier, more resilient, and… more destructive.
“The plan to deeply reinforce Muscle and nerves with the Five Thunder Technique can now be put on the agenda.”
With Expert Level Five Thunder Technique’s precise control over lightning at the microscopic scale, plus the Eye of Interpretation allowing him to “see”—
Shangshan Che could repeatedly trial and error in the Eternal World, constantly advancing the progress of how much lightning to stimulate how much Physical Body for greater improvements.
“The Sea of Qi seems to have changed a lot too…”
After gaining a general understanding of the Five Thunder Technique’s external changes, Shangshan Che, sensing the anomaly in his Sea of Qi, began Internal Vision.
The distinctly separated three-colored Sea of Qi expanded endlessly into the infinite Darkness as always.
The change was above the Sea of Qi.
—Above the Sea of Qi, several clusters of floating black thunderclouds had strikingly appeared.
Called thunderclouds, but Shangshan Che could sense part of their essence was his daily “accumulation” of the Five Thunder Technique.
The other part was the Five Thunder Technique’s reserves.
More simply put, Shangshan Che could draw from the thunderclouds just like from the Sea of Qi to release the Five Thunder Technique.
Shangshan Che watched quietly for a while, finding these thunderclouds had no self-consciousness and no excessive influence or connection with the Sea of Qi trio.
Moreover, these thunderclouds were even self-proliferating at an extremely slow speed.
Far from comparable to the Sea of Qi below, but still a relatively outrageous phenomenon.
“After reaching Expert Level, the Five Thunder Technique has become somewhat independent of Spiritual Power release.”
After brief observation, Shangshan Che reached this conclusion.
No wonder the Qi Circulation had automatically shifted toward triple layering before.
He withdrew his consciousness from the calmly expanding Sea of Qi, circulating the Five Thunder Technique to try various new techniques.
Such as generating remote lightning explosions, or secretly guiding natural falling lightning to move and descend as per his will.
Shangshan Che paced back and forth on the Special Affairs Office rooftop for quite some time, confirming that with the Five Thunder Technique’s boost, his current speed was close to the speed of Eightfold Fence before the breakthrough.
If he used Eightfold Fence on top, the top speed would be several times faster than before.
At least in terms of “speed,” Shangshan Che’s stats had undergone a significant qualitative change.
After a full half hour, Shangshan Che finally stretched lazily in satisfaction, unable to suppress a grin.
—The Five Thunder Technique breaking through to Expert Level truly didn’t disappoint him!
—The massively changed Five Thunder Technique would absolutely become a trump card to turn the tables in the Seed Battle.
“Well then, it’s about time.”
Gazing at the still surging, unrelenting thunderstorm clouds, Shangshan Che yawned wearily: “I think this rain is about due to stop.”
As he spoke, Shangshan Che waved his hand.
The lightning weaving through the clouds instantly stalled, expanded, and burst apart.
Instantly dispersing the thunderstorm and showers that wouldn’t have calmed for another hour and a half!
Noonday sunlight poured down.
On the streets, countless pedestrians looked up in stunned surprise, and even people in cars blankly peered outside, puzzled by the sudden change in the weather.
What… happened?
Inside the Special Affairs Office Building, Nanjo Emi, who had handed off some finishing work to the three little ox-horses and was rarely slacking off, paused and looked out the window.
The thunderclouds dispersed?
The next instant, she realized this was probably Shangshan Che on the rooftop.
Had his understanding of the Five Thunder Technique reached the level of “manipulating the weather”?
Nanjo Emi had thought Shangshan Che was far from that level, probably just reaching the previous stage before weather manipulation.
She hadn’t expected this kid to give her such a big surprise.
How long had it been since she taught him the Five Thunder Technique on Line?
Seemed like just over a month?
Not bad, not bad.
A trace of Happiness appeared on Nanjo Emi’s originally weary face.
Really, very nice.
Smiling, Nanjo Emi constructed an Amplification Spell and addressed the public outside, saying she wanted to give everyone good weather and there was no need to panic.
Thus, no suspicions arose, and traffic resumed.
Her phone on the desk vibrated twice; Nanjo Emi picked it up and saw a thank-you emoji from Shangshan Che.
With too many opponents and spies in Tokyo now, to stay hidden, Shangshan Che didn’t show up and quietly slipped away.
【Moon Sand Sauce: Thanks for the hard work, Sister Nanjo. I’ll treat you to dinner next time.】
【Nanjo Emi: I know a new American barbecue place in Harajuku, tons of rave reviews, only downside is it’s expensive… you know.jpg】
【Moon Sand Sauce: Wallet empty.jpg】
【Nanjo Emi: Quit messing around. Oh, right, the prelim rankings just came out three minutes ago. Check the APP.】
Staring at Nanjo Emi’s reply on the screen, Shangshan Che let out an “ah.”
Didn’t the staff say yesterday it would take days? It’s only been one day?
【Nanjo Emi: Actually, everyone finalized the rankings this morning; probably the design team took extra time.】
This is Special Affairs Office efficiency? Love it, love it.
Walking down the street, Shangshan Che, disguised with Thousand Faces, first checked major websites for ordinary people and found them exploding.
—The Special Affairs Office’s official account also posted the leaderboard for the public to see right away.
Instead of checking the more important rankings first, Shangshan Che curiously browsed the comments section.
【Just this? Just this? The hyped Shangshan Che is just this?】
【Why didn’t Lord Shangshan take first! Black curtain! It must be a black curtain!】
【Aaaah Shangshan baby you’re such a baby…】
【What kinda Down syndrome wild chicken ranking is this?】
【First is fine, but what roadside nobodies are second and third? Never heard of them.】
Hundreds of comments piled up in minutes, with over a hundred added per refresh; the comment section without posting barriers was full of all sorts of weirdos.
Practically a demon dance.
Shangshan Che smacked his lips and opened the Special Affairs Office APP.
Upon opening, the prelim leaderboard popped up on the screen.
Shangshan Che still checked the comments first.
The Special Affairs Office APP comments, with their high threshold, were much more normal; most Agents and Supernaturals thought the rankings were fine.
Even controversies were only between a few people or spots.
As expected, laymen and experts can’t be lumped together.
Shangshan Che looked at the dark gold prelim leaderboard and found his name at the top.
【TOP5: Shangshan Che】
“Eh?”
Shangshan Che blinked in some surprise.
Not that the ranking was too low.
But too high… which he hadn’t expected.
After all, in yesterday’s slash, he used outdated moves, so around tenth place would be more reasonable.
Though Shangshan Che wasn’t clear on the exact judging criteria for the rankings.
He looked higher up.
【TOP4: Tsuchimikado Ran】
【TOP3: Kamo Kiichi】
【TOP2: Kitada Kei】
【TOP1: Minamoto Shizuka】
A ranking more or less as expected.
Even though he wasn’t there when the second and third place killed the Puppets, just the names “Kamo” and Kitada Kei’s displayed Sword Principle told Shangshan Che they would be near the top.
As for TOP1, it naturally went to Minamoto Shizuka who unleashed that slash.
That slash could kill not just Puppets, but even Ootama Hoshi with ease.
Showing that in the prelims naturally made her the undisputed first.
Shangshan Che scanned the leaderboard again, spotting a few familiar names.
First was 【TOP6: Takizawa Kai】, the first “cannon fodder” Competitor he saw entering the Venue.
A Seed from the same major district as Saito Ryuichi in TOP10.
As for Saito Ryuichi, Shangshan Che didn’t need to think to know he was sandbagging—among other things, he should be much stronger than their own No.2 Seed.
Next was 【TOP12: Tokugawa Haruhiko】.
Glancing at this somewhat memorable name, Shangshan Che paid it no more mind.
Nothing more to it; just a clown.
If he dared provoke him or Lili Zi now, one kick to death would settle it; this guy probably wasn’t much stronger than the black reserves.
Finally, there was the little brother at the bottom.
【TOP46: Akechi Yuya】
Little Brother not being dead last was already very good, a reward for his diligent cultivation lately.
Now that the prelim rankings were out, what was their purpose?
Memorizing all the rankings and names, Shangshan Che tapped the question and opened the Special Affairs Office official account, seeing a long official announcement describing the Rules in a very rigorous tone.
Spending dozens of seconds reading the announcement several times, Shangshan Che summarized the gist.
—The prelim rankings were actually the standings for the entire Eastern Region Seed Battle’s 128-seat Elimination Tournament.
Tokyo District 23 Seeds occupied the top 49 seats, other regions’ top fours took the middle 32 seats, and those who broke through qualifiers and Swiss rounds filled the bottom 42 seats.
As for the specific effects, the announcement only revealed part.
—That is, the 128-seat Elimination Tournament wasn’t random or systematically paired one-on-one with winners advancing in a standard format.
One round still eliminated 64 seats, but the bottom 64, i.e., 【seats 65-128】.
The specific elimination Rules were as follows—
【After the Elimination Tournament begins, all 128 Competitors are in.
Each Competitor has only three challenge opportunities and can challenge at most up to 10 ranks above their current ranking.
Once in TOP10, they can only challenge one by one upward.
Successful challenges don’t consume opportunities; failures do.
When challenges are used up, they can’t challenge upward but must still accept others’ challenges to hold their seat.】
Shangshan Che narrowed his eyes.
These Elimination Tournament Rules nearly erased all luck factors from the format.
—As long as strength was sufficient, one could absolutely enter the top ten.
No risk of top-ten caliber players inexplicably drawing Minamoto Shizuka or Shangshan Che in the first round and getting eliminated.
This format was brutally fair to the extreme.
Naturally, the announcement didn’t just cover the format… the Elimination Tournament rewards were listed below too!
Shangshan Che scrolled down.
【All 128 Competitors entering the Elimination Tournament receive generous rewards.】
【The higher the ranking, the richer the rewards.】
【The final top ten rankings will receive super grand prizes issued jointly by the Special Affairs Office, various Onmyoji Families, major Dojos, and the esteemed Sword Saint Your Excellency!】
【Rewards as follows—】
End of month, asking for monthly votes!
