Chapter 310: Demon Item Hundred Eyes
Fortunately, although the Ghost Gods clustered together and squeezed toward Shangshan Che, they still maintained basic poise and decorum.
At least they didn’t shout and scream like rabid fans, with ferocious expressions, yelling incomprehensible nonsense, completely oblivious to what manners are.
Only between the business cards were eerie strands of spiritual power and Qi Barrier threads flowing, finally forming an exceptionally strange balance.
——Each business card was equidistant from Shangshan Che, neither too close nor too far.
Regarding this, Shangshan Che naturally was…
Sweeping them all up!
Not a single business card left behind!
He maintained an amiable smile, greeted each of the Ghost Gods one by one, then with wind-sweeping-remnants-of-clouds hand speed pocketed all the business cards.
So many Ghost God level connections—why not use them!
After exchanging a few more pleasantries with the Ghost Gods, they finally left the side of this rising star of tomorrow, satisfied, without any excessive entanglement.
This was their first meeting after all; a simple face-to-face to get familiar was enough.
Not a single Ghost God on the scene relied on their strength to pressure Shangshan Che into exchanging contact info.
All of them used a “soft” approach.
——Because this “Shangshan Ge Xia” already had an unclear relationship with that Nanjō Great Officer, showed in the Seed Battle that he’d connected with the Tokugawa family line, and after claiming the Champion title seemed to have gained the favor of the Onmyo Assistant.
Not to mention that in a few days he still had to meet the Sword Saint Adult—who knew what the Sword Saint’s attitude toward him would be then?
Nowadays, he could be called the biggest celebrity among the young generation in Tokyo, or even the entire Eastern Region, with none his equal!
To put it bluntly—in Shangshan Ge Xia’s eyes, what was a mere Ghost God?
Who knows, maybe one word from him and you’d mysteriously end up voluntarily sunk in Tokyo Bay by evening!
Shangshan Che was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he noticed one Ghost God, after leaving, quietly turned back and walked up to him.
He thought for a moment, then asked,
“If I remember correctly… Anhe Ge Xia, do you have something else?”
The man surnamed Anhe, with a face around thirty years old, smiled mildly,
“If I remember correctly, didn’t the Nanjō Great Officer register you for the Imperial Grand Competition, Shangshan Ge Xia?”
Shangshan Che was stunned: “You know Sister Nanjo too, Anhe Ge Xia?”
“We’re all from the Special Affairs Office, so we have some work interactions on the usual days.”
Anhe Liang put it simply.
But Shangshan Che knew that Nanjo Emi registering him for the Imperial Grand Competition wasn’t something just anyone could know.
So, this Anhe Ghost God in front of him probably had a pretty good relationship with Nanjo Emi.
Thus, Shangshan Che nodded: “Before the First Wave even arrived, Sister Nanjo signed me up.”
Anhe Liang was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, an irrepressible shock flashing deep in his pupils.
Before the First Wave?
At that time, Nanjo had already started laying the groundwork?
As expected of that Nanjō Great Officer…
——Back then Nanjo Emi said it was an excuse to get him and Lili Zi out of school.
Later when he asked again, it became “free trip.”
Shangshan Che figured a nice trip to see the Three Great Families “firefight” spectacle would be pretty good.
But from what this Anhe Ghost God meant now…
It didn’t seem like it?
So he quickly followed up: “Anhe Ge Xia, I know the Imperial Grand Competition is the so-called ‘Negotiation Table,’ but I’m not too clear on exactly what it is.
Could you enlighten me?”
“This… actually, I’m not too clear on it either.”
Anhe Liang shook his head, with an expression of sealing his lips: “Shangshan Ge Xia, farewell.”
——Something even Nanjo Emi hadn’t explained clearly, why should he go blabbing and ruin this hard-won friendship? Anhe Liang felt there was no need.
With that, this Ghost God turned and left, leaving Shangshan Che behind full of question marks.
Not cool, bro?
Comes over to ask me a question, teases me halfway, then walks off himself?
But the other was a Ghost God, so Shangshan Che couldn’t just grab him and interrogate on the spot.
He could only suppress his cat-scratching curiosity.
……
In the aisle, Tamamo, whose face was stiff from smiling, waved goodbye to the last to leave, Anhe Liang.
She looked down at the long string of new numbers added to her mobile phone. Suddenly, she felt an unreal, floaty sensation.
Who am I, where am I… I actually just talked to so many legendary Ghost God big shots and made connections?
Ghost Gods who you could only glimpse from afar during major incidents actually proactively chatted friendly with me just now?
Tamamo’s vision spun dizzily as she turned her head.
“Chisa, pinch me.”
Chisa was straightforward, grabbing the soft flesh at her sister’s waist and twisting hard without mercy!
“Ah——!”
A pig-slaughtering scream exploded, followed by a gasp that seemed to suck all the cool air out of the world,
“Sis… have you been plotting to murder your own sister for ages…”
Seeing Tamamo snap out of it, Chisa also breathed a sigh of relief: “Just now you were grinning like a panting lapdog with your tongue out, I thought you’d caught some scary virus.”
Tamamo’s face changed colors, not knowing what to say.
In the end, she could only sigh helplessly: “Chisa-chan, the ones who just passed by were all Ghost Gods, the big brother level figures who can protect an entire city safe on their own usually.”
Ghost Gods?
Chisa’s breath hitched as she recalled the weight of those two words, then cautiously asked: “Then us just standing there dumbly won’t cause problems, right…”
“—No no, of course not.”
Shangshan Che, following the voice, waved his hand: “No need to be so deferential to them; at most they’re just superiors.”
Seeing Chisa’s expression hadn’t changed much, Shangshan Che added,
“Worst case, you still know me.”
“Hehe, Elder Brother Uesugi has a point.”
Tamamo patted her little sister’s head, laughing out loud: “Elder Brother Uesugi becoming a Ghost God is just around the corner; no big deal, just a splash of water~”
This is flattery to kill me, huh…
Before Shangshan Che could reply, he saw Tamamo pulling Chisa to his side, eyes sparkling as she asked: “Seed Battle Champion, can we take a photo together?”
Faced with such a request, he naturally couldn’t refuse.
Amid a series of camera clicks, Tamamo nodded happily—hehe, from now on if she met any blind fools, she’d just slap a photo in their face.
After all, from now on, in the entire Eastern Region or even the Mortal Realm, very few wouldn’t recognize “Shangshan Che”‘s face.
While Tamamo was admiring the photos, thinking which ones to post as updates, she caught her little sister out of the corner of her eye, head down, fidgeting with her hands nervously.
A hesitant, wanting-to-speak-but-stopping look.
Oh?
Tamamo raised a brow, hand on hip, and slapped Chisa’s back hard, making the girl stumble: “Whatever you want to say, go tell Elder Brother Uesugi.”
Facing Chisa’s slightly panicked gaze, she jerked her chin forward: “Go on.”
Chisa clenched her fists tight.
——Originally, she’d already made up her mind to come apprentice, no matter how many difficulties in between.
But at this actual moment, the girl hesitated in her heart, subconsciously imagining the worst outcome.
——Elder Brother Uesugi is so amazing, but I have no talent at all—what if he doesn’t want me?
The girl carefully looked up, and seeing Shangshan Che’s calm, gentle face, her heart suddenly settled, clearly voicing her thoughts word by word,
“Elder Brother Uesugi, I’ve made up my mind.”
She said,
“—Please, take me as your disciple.”
Chisa bowed solemnly.
Apprentice to me…
Shangshan Che nodded silently, then seriously pondered.
Taking him as Master was fine, it was just that he wasn’t great at teaching people.
Chisa couldn’t sense spiritual energy much, so she’d have to focus on Sword Technique and Breathing Technique, which was way better than puzzling over Onmyōdō.
Because his own Onmyōdō boiled down to Spirit Control Technique and Five Thunder Technique…
The rest wasn’t even worth looking at, couldn’t support a full Onmyoji combat system.
For daily teaching, Little Jia should manage—it’s a Thrust Expert and Slashing Expert, and he swings it around every day anyway.
And there’s 【Goro’s Sword】 this item; if Kamizumi inside could help, that’d be perfect—Sword Saint level teaching.
Lili Zi’s no good to bother often, since she has nonstop cultivation herself.
Finally, if Samurai Zantetsumaru was around, it’d be great for testing Chisa’s progress.
Shangshan Che hadn’t forgotten he’d left Samurai Zantetsumaru in the Sengoku Period.
Once things big and small in the Mortal Realm wrapped up, he’d go to the Sengoku Period to retrieve it.
Oh right, and one other thing… should suit Chisa too.
Shangshan Che slightly shifted his gaze.
【Due to your Demon Incarnation·Hundred-Eyed Demon quality reaching “Epic”, you obtained Item·Hundred Eyes!】
【Hundred Eyes】
【Quality: Epic++】
The Demon item given by the Hundred-Eyed Demon Incarnation was a bit different, actually a notch higher quality than the incarnation itself.
And it seemed there was no restriction of needing to use “Hundred Eyes” to use the incarnation.
Shangshan Che eyed the three effects back and forth, thoughtful.
【Effect One: Share. You can choose to seal one of the four talents—All-Seeing Eye, Telekinetic Eye, Evil Eye, True Sight Eye—into it, and share out any number of “Hundred-Eyed Demon’s Eye” to boost talent effects.】
Any being only needs your permission, paste “Hundred Eyes” to their forehead to use it, and under simultaneous use of 10 Hundred-Eyed Demon’s Eyes, no load is borne. 】
【Note: You can freely reclaim “Hundred Eyes,” freely retrieve the talent in “Hundred Eyes,” and the “Hundred-Eyed Demon’s Eye” divided from it.】
【Effect Two: Descent. You can split off your own willpower to descend into “Hundred Eyes,” and gain the view of “Hundred Eyes” or the Hundred Eyes user.】
When “Hundred Eyes” is unused, you can manipulate it with thought at will. 】
【Effect Three: Insight. The more “Hundred Eyes” sees, the more it hears, the faster it grows. 】
【—I am earth and stone, witnessing worldly changes, eyes on history’s tides rolling forward.】
Perfect, giving it to Chisa could protect her and let her test the “True Sight Eye” effect for him…
Shangshan Che thought up many paths for Chisa’s future training, but from when Chisa said “Please take me as your disciple,” he hadn’t said a word.
Until now, a good ten seconds or so.
In the thick silence, Chisa holding her perfect ninety-degree bow thought helplessly—
Elder Brother Uesugi still hasn’t responded…
He really won’t take me, will he?
The girl was so anxious she nearly cried, inwardly whipping her past self, questioning why she’d hesitated so long.
But in reality, even with her waist aching terribly, Chisa didn’t budge, didn’t shed a single tear, hoping her sincerity would move Shangshan Che.
“Mm… Chisa, I’ve got a gift for you.”
Shangshan Che said, manifesting a “Hundred Eyes,” discovering it was a colorless multifaceted crystal about pigeon egg size—quite pretty.
As he shifted his gaze, he realized Chisa was still bowed.
“Eh?”
In her daze, Chisa blankly looked up, seeing the colorless transparent crystal turn captivating silver under her gaze, with many more iridescent glowing patterns appearing on it.
“—Paste this on your forehead, and it’ll have amazing special effects; you can try it later.”
“Oh… Th-thank you, Elder Brother Uesugi.”
She took the Hundred Eyes crystal shared with ten “True Sight Eyes,” mouth half-open in a daze for a good while.
“So… Elder Brother Uesugi, you agree?”
Chisa cradled the Hundred Eyes, asking cautiously.
Now it was Shangshan Che’s turn to be puzzled: “Didn’t I just say I agree?”
In other words, yes, he agreed.
In an instant, Chisa felt a huge wave of happiness surge in her heart, but she held back the tears about to burst, bowing to Shangshan Che again and thanking him deeply.
“Chisa, thanks Master for taking me in!”
“No no no… I’m just a brute who swings a blade, haven’t taught you anything yet.”
Shangshan Che quickly helped Chisa up: “Wait until you achieve something, then call me that.”
But Chisa firmly shook her head: “Master is Master!”
Faced with the girl’s utterly resolute gaze, Shangshan Che didn’t know how to refute for a moment.
Whatever… kids’ minds are set hard; can’t argue her out of it, let her call for now and learn the hard way.
He’d teach her the real stuff later.
Shangshan Che glanced toward the passage entrance, continuing: “Then Chisa, formal apprenticeship and teaching you stuff, we’ll save for a few days from now.”
“Pretty busy next few days, might have to go to Kyoto.”
“Mm-hmm!”
Chisa clutched the Hundred Eyes like a priceless treasure, nodding vigorously,
“Got it, Master!”
Tamamo stood by, staring at the faint glow in Chisa’s hands, hesitating repeatedly but ultimately not speaking.
——This thing looked priceless at a glance.
Tamamo felt Chisa shouldn’t accept it.
But Shangshan Che’s decision… or rather the master-disciple decision, she shouldn’t interfere.
Tamamo always had a crystal-clear sense of her position.
Hearing many footsteps approaching, she grinned, one hand yanking Chisa’s collar, the other waving at Shangshan Che,
“Then Elder Brother Uesugi, Chisa and I will head out first; talk in a few days!”
“See you, Master!”
Shangshan Che looked over.
The silver glow was eye-catching, but couldn’t outshine the girl’s bright, sincere smile.
The two hadn’t gone far when a group of footsteps very familiar to Shangshan Che rang out.
Leading was Lili Zi toying with her medal, behind her Saito Ryuichi, Takizawa Kai, Aosuke, and others.
Strange, no Minamoto Shizuka or Kitada Kei.
“—Those from the clans or dojos, the competitors, have already been taken by specialists to study exchanges.”
Lili Zi saw through his question at a glance.
Shangshan Che wasn’t surprised, acknowledged, then asked: “So now we go get the rewards?”
Lili Zi nodded: “Go take a look and think it over; you coming?”
“Coming, how could I not.”
Anyway, first get Heavenly Cycle Flame Armor, then he could start practicing soon.
After friendly greetings with many of Lili Zi’s defeated subordinates behind her, Shangshan Che even spotted Yan Liu’s figure.
Shangshan Che meant to pretend not to see him, but Yan Liu walked straight over upon spotting him.
Oh?
Looking for trouble.
If so, Shangshan Che didn’t mind teaching him another lesson.
But when Yan Liu reached him, Shangshan Che realized the guy now looked deadly serious, none of the flippancy from the Seed Battle start.
——Yan Liu’s purpose in coming over was, unexpectedly, to admit his defeat and arrogance, then issue him a solemn future challenge.
“Shangshan Jun, one day, I’ll challenge you again.”
“Sure, I’ll be ready.”
Shangshan Che nodded gladly, watching Yan Liu leave alone.
This guy… after his pride and blind arrogance got thoroughly shattered by everyone, wasn’t so bad at heart.
Pretty good.
He grinned, sharing the remaining lemon tea from Kyuuketsuin Kin with Lili Zi and the competitors,
“Let’s go?”
Amid chatting and laughing while exchanging contacts, the group arrived at the Sky Castle’s Seed Battle Exchange Office.
“You are… Seed Battle Champion Shangshan Jun, right?”
The Ghost God managing exchanges recognized him at once.
“—One Heavenly Cycle Flame Armor.”
Shangshan Che said.
