Chapter 290: You See Me As A Frog At The Bottom Of A Well Gazing At The Moon! Let’s Warm Up Kamizumi With Near-god Iaijutsu!
Yan Liu only felt his entire body go numb, unable to utter a single word.
Hellfire Rakshasa Fist was already one of his ultimate trump card killing moves.
He had once used this move to simultaneously slay three three-and-a-half star demons, and in an instant defeated over a hundred disciples from an entire dojo.
He stared at Shangshan Che, who was still standing in place, with not even his clothes damaged in the slightest, and the corner of his eye twitched slightly.
Hellfire Rakshasa Fist actually failed to inflict even the slightest damage on him?
What kind of joke is this?
No matter how you look at it, this Shangshan Che doesn’t seem like a Ghost God level, right?
But if he’s not Ghost God level, how could he possibly receive this killing move unscathed, without even moving!?
Below Ghost God level, how could anyone possibly achieve this level!
“Are you thinking, ‘I’m not a Ghost God, so why could I take your fist without a scratch?'”
Shangshan Che raised his finger pointing at Yan Liu, whose muscles were tense like steel in that instant, and calmly stated: “Even though you and I are both below Ghost God level, there’s a world of difference between us.”
“You think I’m strong? Strong to the point where I don’t even seem like Ghost God level?”
Shangshan Che paused his words, then couldn’t help but chuckle,
“Don’t make me laugh… Among those below Ghost God level who are stronger than me, they’re simply everywhere, too many to count.”
Amid Yan Liu’s incredulous gaze mixed with indignation, Shangshan Che’s light laugh echoed,
“Yan Liu, you’re nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well that jumped a bit higher, thinking you’ve touched the water’s surface and can grab the moon above the ninth heaven.”
An unremarkable plain spear appeared beside Shangshan Che’s outstretched hand, making Hozoin Inrai in the audience seats focus his gaze a bit more.
Immediately after, black-red portions of flame armor emerged from the void, manifesting before everyone’s eyes, then piece by piece tightly adhering and biting into the surface of the plain spear.
Fine deep purple threads burst from Shangshan Che’s five fingers, piercing into the flame armor pieces and the plain spear in an instant, transforming into patterns resembling Onmyōdō spells.
Using an ordinary plain spear as the base, reinforced with flame armor controlled by Spirit Control Technique, and injecting Five Thunder Technique to boost power…
In merely a moment, a “plain spear lightning storm bomb” with an extremely hard shell that could be detonated by a mere thought was complete.
“Go.”
Before Shangshan Che could even flick his finger, Yan Liu, right in front of him with sluggish blood flow, had all his hair stand on end, enveloped by a viscous premonition of death.
At once, he cast aside all numbness and sluggishness from his body, using the Secret Technique of Hellstorm Kick to break the sound barrier and retreat backward.
To prevent being pierced by the plain spear that might surpass his speed, Yan Liu deliberately used an S-shaped zigzag movement deviating from his original path.
——Retreat for now, regroup!
Yan Liu retreated at extreme speed, his face heavy, eyes sharp.
He knew he still had one super Secret Technique he hadn’t used.
Anyway, after the battle ends, Ghost God levels would restore his injuries, so no matter how severe the aftereffects, it didn’t matter.
Just as this thought surfaced in Yan Liu’s mind, that black-red wrapped plain spear appeared before his eyes like it had a radar.
!
Yan Liu’s face jolted in shock, eyes contracting sharply, never imagining that even retreating at this speed, he could still be chased by a thrown plain spear.
Damn… can’t escape!
“Damn it!”
Staring twitching at the plain spear already at his face, Yan Liu stopped retreating, halting in the center of the arena, letting the veins all over his body twist and writhe like great dragons.
In an instant, steam filled the air and huge breathing sounds rose in the arena center, then were swallowed by a purple-black lightning storm that dazed all ordinary audience members’ eyes for a moment.
If not for the eye-protection barriers instantly raised by Ghost God levels at the edge, at least half the ordinary people in the venue would have been temporarily blinded by the overly bright lightning storm.
“Break for me—!”
Yan Liu’s hoarse roar tore apart the lightning storm that could annihilate ordinary great demons.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle…
The sound like raw meat searing on an iron plate rang out, and Yan Liu with charred black hands walked out from the lightning storm’s center, letting out two dry cold laughs,
“Shangshan Che, I see… your attacks are also just tickling…”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Just as Yan Liu raised his heavy head, he saw floating beside Shangshan Che in the distance… a full twenty plain spears identical to the previous one!
“Then let’s continue.”
Shangshan Che smiled: “I have as many of these plain spears as you want.”
Twenty… spears?
Twenty?
Yan Liu’s already insensate palms trembled again.
Twenty plain spears surging over would kill him, right.
Definitely would kill him, right.
Even using the super Secret Technique would kill him, right.
Absolutely no escaping it, right.
The fear of death, this biological instinct that ordinary people absolutely can’t avoid, finally surged into Yan Liu’s heart and eyes at this moment.
Across a distance of over a hundred meters, Yan Liu’s gaze finally changed when facing that madly laughing Red Hannya Mask.
He wanted to surrender immediately.
Even if it meant losing all face, even becoming the loser, it didn’t matter.
As long as he could survive—
At this moment, Yan Liu had completely forgotten that even if he truly lost his life on the arena, he could be forcibly pulled back to the mortal realm by multiple on-standby Ghost God levels.
Utterly wretched, Yan Liu opened his mouth,
“I…”
“The game has only just begun, don’t be in a hurry, Shangshan Jun.”
“Go.”
Before the first word could leave his mouth, the tip of the second plain spear had already touched Yan Liu’s panicked raised palm.
Immediately after.
Boom!
Bang…
Boom boom boom!
Yan Liu’s final feeble resistance was almost instantly drowned by the following plain spears.
Purple-black lightning piled up, overlapped, spread, even vaporizing the arena’s central surface.
In mere seconds, countless audience members gaped, witnessing a massive deep purple light orb ignite.
And only a few noticed the sparkling star points at the arena’s edge.
This kid… overdid it with the power and created a miracle.
The referee at the edge raised an eyebrow, extending his palm to instantly boost the arena’s protective barrier power several times.
When all the lightning faded, at the arena’s exact center, Yan Liu—charred black all over, missing who-knows-how-many parts, barely recognizable as human—finally reemerged.
Thud.
Silently, he collapsed heavily to the ground.
“Shangshan Che, victory!”
The referee immediately entered the arena to declare the winner, dragging half of Yan Liu off for multiple colleagues to provide full healing.
In a blink, Yan Liu, who had long stopped breathing, actually started looking somewhat human again, his form visibly recovering at eye speed.
Probably in under half a minute, Yan Liu’s body would recover to peak condition.
“He won just like that… Didn’t he still have some ultimate move he didn’t use?”
He accidentally put too much power into it.
Shangshan Che oddly clenched his fist, feeling the sixty percent spiritual power left in his body rapidly recovering.
Then he was teleported back to the TOP6 seats under a light pillar, picking up Two-Foot Adult who had been sitting cross-legged there.
After he was teleported away, sharp-eyed audience members noticed that even though the arena surface was pockmarked and devastated,
The spot where Shangshan Che had stood remained perfectly intact.
The floating mid-air camera zoomed in, giving that smooth ground patch a long close-up.
“So Shangshan Che never moved from start to finish?!”
Someone exclaimed, drawing a chorus of agreement.
“Such powerful Lightning Magic…”
Takizawa Kai, now in Shangshan Che’s former seat, had twitching eyelids, struggling to describe his feelings from that scene.
Not quite exquisite, not necessarily profound.
Only “strong” could describe the lightning he witnessed.
That level, even for himself as a Five Elements Spiritual Body, would be hard to achieve.
“Just one Lightning Magic spell at this level, what about his other Onmyōdō? Moreover… Shangshan Che’s strongest isn’t even Onmyōdō.”
Takizawa Kai’s mood sank, truly understanding the meaning of Minamoto Shizuka’s words.
He stopped overthinking, instead fully searching for any possible way to defeat Shangshan Che.
At the TO11 position, Saito Ryuichi eyed the intact ground, puzzledly pinching his nose bridge.
——Dual Cultivation of Spirit and Martial Arts, why in this era does someone truly walk the path of Dual Cultivation of Spirit and Martial Arts?
Not the casual practice of a few simple-principle Onmyōdō or breathing secrets that boost strength considerably.
But deeply proficient in Lightning Magic, with spiritual energy manipulation astounding to behold.
If it were his first time seeing Shangshan Che, he might really mistake him for a promising Great Onmyoji with profound cultivation!
When a single path is far from exhausted, why bother expending effort on a second vast unknown realm?
Just to show off below Ghost God level for a while?
Saito Ryuichi tapped his chin with his fan.
——But is Shangshan Che such a shortsighted person?
“Confirmed, it’s Spirit Control Technique.”
Tsuchimikado Ran thought silently, then a doubt rose in his mind: “But aside from that optional Arakawa Ward connection…”
Seconds later, Tsuchimikado Ran and Kamo Kiichi both thought in their minds,
“—This Shangshan Che, could he have married into the Nanjō Family as a live-in son-in-law for Nanjo Emi?”
Yes, only this explanation fits why the Nanjō Family’s secret Great Onmyōdō Spirit Control Technique ended up in an outsider’s hands.
This kid’s got skills, even taking Nanjo Emi without anyone knowing.
This one’s tricky now…
The two exchanged glances, seeing admiration in each other’s eyes.
“What did I say? No need to compete, one finger could crush him.”
At this moment, the protagonist being speculated on by Tsuchimikado and Kamo casually spread his hands, chuckling.
“At this growth rate, Nanjō, you’ll have a young Ghost God under you to share the pressure soon.”
Kujō Rōgetsu tsked, leaning against the wall with a sigh: “A bit envious, honestly.”
Nanjo Emi chuckled, collecting a pile of miscellaneous items from the Ghost God levels who had bet against Shangshan Che winning so easily.
“—Good! Elder Brother Uesugi, well fought! Give that charcoal a kick to shatter it!”
Tamamo whistled, looking every bit the bloodthirsty spectator who loves drama.
Beside her, Chisa’s gaze flickered evasively, unwilling to see the cruel scene.
She just silently thought in her heart that Elder Brother Uesugi was right—talented guys aren’t necessarily strong, talent or ability doesn’t decide everything.
Little Chisa’s resolve firmed a bit.
……
“Ryuji, that little fellow’s main pursuit isn’t Onmyōdō, right.”
“Right.” Tokugawa Ryuji answered, “Shangshan Jun’s main paths are the same as Little Sister’s: Natural Reason School and Corona Breathing Technique.”
“An extremely rare top-tier talent in Dual Cultivation of Spirit and Martial Arts, not held back by either side.”
As he spoke, a hint of appreciation rose in Tokugawa Ryuji’s eyes.
But he quickly realized he was beside Tokugawa Motoyasu, and his evaluation… seemed a bit too high.
Tokugawa Ryuji kept his gaze straight ahead.
Tokugawa Motoyasu just listened quietly in silence, not speaking.
……
“Che Adult, leave these third-rate goods to me from now on, no need to trouble Adult with them!”
Two-Foot Adult, her little face blooming with smiles from being held by Shangshan Che, patted her chest in assurance.
“You’ll get hurt…”
And with your current strength, you couldn’t beat him anyway.
Shangshan Che paused, not voicing the second half.
So Two-Foot Adult giggled foolishly; if not for all the people around, she’d be wildly popopo-ing her world’s smartest, wittiest, handsomest, unparalleled Che Adult.
In the distant audience seats, Okabe Motonobu recalled comparing that series of Lightning Magic to his memories, not looking up at Shangshan Che holding Two-Foot Adult.
Suddenly, most people in the venue puzzledly raised their heads.
Because… they sensed something invisible and intangible yet truly existing floating in mid-air.
The next moment, the swords at the competitors’ waists trembled violently, as if about to unsheathe uncontrollably.
Clang clang clang!
Amid countless crisp sword cries, a brilliant Sword Heart impossible for any swordsman to ignore rose above the venue.
Landing above everyone’s heads.
Generously allowing all looking-up swordsmen to observe, reference, and closely study this flawless Sword Heart.
The man called Sword of Death oh-ed, interestedly stroking his still-calm sword hilt.
Hozoin Inrai dazedly lifted his head, not even noticing the crystal drool slipping from his lips.
Kitada Kei, always drowsy, finally opened his eyes clearly, straightening his back in his seat, looking down at the girl with vermilion daito at her waist.
Only Shangshan Che and Tokugawa Ryuji remained calm, as if they knew what was coming.
——Lili Zi is about to make her move.
If purely by state of mind realm, hardly more than a handful in this venue could surpass or match her now.
Among the competitors, not a single one.
Precisely because of this, it caused such a huge stir.
Under countless focused gazes, Lili Zi thought for a moment, then spoke without reservation,
“Yan Liu, clean your neck and wait nicely.”
She grinned: “I’m coming to chop you.”
Huh?
Yan Liu, just yanked back from death’s door and not yet recovered, froze, puzzledly looking at Lili Zi still in the eighties position.
“—Because I don’t like you.”
In response to Yan Liu’s gaze, Lili Zi gave her answer.
Because I don’t like you, so I’ll chop you.
This logic, to Shangshan Che, was completely…
Perfectly reasonable!
At these words, not only the on-site audience was stunned, countless viewers before the live stream spat out their water.
With that said, Lili Zi no longer gave screen time to this clown, instead advancing ten positions at a time.
Next, Hayashi Jin’ya of Ittō-ryū, originally in tenth, rapidly climbed the ranks.
Struggling somewhat, he defeated Raikō; Higashiyama Kei then forfeited due to his shikigami.
Finally, with a hair’s breadth, he defeated Yan Liu again, who had lost mental composure.
Standing below Shangshan Che, he stopped challenging further.
Not only that.
Before Lili Zi charged up, a youth named Kitamura Yūyū had become the tenth-place gatekeeper.
His iaijutsu was nearly masterful.
This youth Kitamura Yūyū had exceptionally strong spirit, energy, and vitality, still stacking with each victory.
His iaijutsu thus grew faster and faster.
To Shangshan Che, this rising star youth could not only defeat the dazed Yan Liu, but was perhaps even stronger than Hayashi Jin’ya.
“Iaijutsu?”
Shangshan Che lowered his gaze, smiling.
Then before that, use Kamizumi, that young Sword Saint, to warm up a bit.
