Simulation: Starting from Under One Person

He estimated that the plan to capture the monster could be changed; instead of searching everywhere, they could simply wait for the monster to come to them.

As for whether the companions would be frightened, seeing thousands of monsters surging towards them, it was impossible not to be scared.

Even Umibozu, known as the strongest monster hunter, might be frightened.

While mentally complaining, Fang Rui continued studying the contents of the book, striving for success on the first try and avoiding causing trouble...

Chapter 568 The game begins

Today is the day of the martial arts tournament. Yoshiwara, which has been closed for several days, has opened its doors to welcome tourists.

People who come to Yoshiwara don't look for competition venues first; they look for places to have fun.

However, they discovered that the familiar shops from their memories had disappeared, replaced by ordinary shops.

This discovery left many people feeling downcast, their faces falling as if they had witnessed the destruction of their dreamland.

Fang Rui offered no explanation, simply stating that he couldn't be bothered with these people.

The arena is a 100-meter-long ring, constructed from uniformly sized square stones and slabs. There are no facilities around it to prevent participants from falling off the ring. Its design is based on the World Martial Arts Tournament ring from Dragon Ball.

Near the arena are rows of houses. Thanks to the hard work of many shikigami, these houses have been renovated. The side facing the arena is the audience seating area, with the best view from the top seats, which are reserved for VIPs.

However, even though several buildings were converted into spectator seating, the number of spectators that could be accommodated was still limited, and most people could only learn about the competition by watching the television broadcast.

At this moment, there was still some time before the official start of the competition, and the audience was entering the venue one after another. After Tokugawa Shigeshige's repeated persuasion, Tokugawa Sadamitsu agreed to his invitation and came to Yoshiwara with him. Accompanying him were Princess Sumiyo and high-ranking officials from the Metropolitan Police Department. In short, the group was quite luxurious.

Besides, there were many wealthy people among the audience, perhaps they were there to recruit bodyguards, since in this day and age, it is dangerous not to have a few reliable bodyguards.

Competitions that showcase martial prowess are a great place to find high-quality bodyguards, especially given the scale of this competition; it's believed that many truly skilled individuals will participate.

Meanwhile, the television station had already begun broadcasting live, and those interested in the competition were already glued to their TVs, intently watching the screen…

Fang Rui paid no attention to these things; he was focused on the contestants. Next to the arena was a corridor that connected to a building, which was the contestants' rest area. The rest area had seven floors and could accommodate more than a thousand people.

However, the number of participants in this competition was not just a thousand, but several thousand.

However, it was impossible to screen all the participants in one morning, so the competition was divided into five rounds, which were not the usual one-on-one matches, but rather a free-for-all.

Each competition has 200 participants and a 20-minute time limit. The participants must determine the winner within the time limit, and the number of people who can advance is between five and seven.

Although the scheduled competition was to narrow down the field from 32 to 16, it made no difference to Fang Rui whether there were more or fewer players.

I believe that other viewers will not see anything wrong with it, except for those with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Besides, the melee looked quite interesting and exciting.

Those contestants who were familiar with Fang Rui or whom he valued were not in the lounge, but in a special audience area where Fang Rui knew everyone.

For example, there's Housen, the former ruler of Yoshiwara; the strongest monster hunter in the universe, Kamiya; the strongest warrior in Chagini, Piruro; and the legendary anti-foreign patriots, Domizu Jirocho and Sakata Gintoki...

The atmosphere in the audience was rather somber, given the diverse backgrounds of the audience, making it difficult to maintain a friendly atmosphere.

"You... you're perfectly fine even under direct sunlight?!"

Looking at Fengxian who wasn't using an umbrella, Shenhuang's tone was unusually surprised, as if he had seen something incomprehensible.

In his memory, very few Yato could withstand sunlight without harm. Only Jiang Hua, Kamui, and Kagura were affected. Jiang Hua's resistance to sunlight was due to his special bloodline, while Kamui and Kagura inherited their bloodlines and were more resistant to sunlight.

"Is that so strange?!" Seeing her old rival's startled reaction upon their reunion, Fengxian felt as refreshed as if she had taken a sip of ice-cold beer on a hot summer day.

"Of course it's strange. You used to wear your hating sunlight on your sleeve."

As Hoshinoboru said this, his relationship with Housen was rather ordinary, consisting of only one tense and exciting battle and a few simple exchanges.

The two could not be considered friends, but rather categorized as ordinary acquaintances.

"Really? But I really love the sunshine right now, in fact, the sunshine is the best!"

Fengxian flashed a smug smile. "I think... you must also be longing to bask in the sun, right? Shin-chan~"

Normally, given Fengxian's personality, there would be no way he would show such an annoying smile, but in front of his former rival, the equally powerful Hoshimibozu, he didn't need to put on any airs.

"Tsk! Looks like you've had some kind of extraordinary encounter, like with Fang Rui?"

He recalled his previous conversation with Fang Rui. Since Fang Rui could communicate with the Dragon Vein, it was quite reasonable for him to expel the weaknesses of the Night Rabbit.

“…………” Upon hearing this, Fengxian fell silent, looked the other person over a few times, and then added, “It seems you have already met him and have a deep impression of him.”

“Yes, it left a very deep impression.” Hoshinobozu agreed with Housen’s statement. On their first meeting, he almost went from being a conman to a benefactor. It seemed a bit inappropriate to describe it as having a deep impression.

"Tch!" Housen didn't continue to boast about this matter, believing that if Seagull paid a price, he could eliminate the Yato's weakness, and then changed the subject to other things.

Did you participate in the competition?

"Yes, although I am not interested in the prize money and do not think anyone can bring me any surprises, I have nothing else to do in Edo to pass the time, so participating in the competition is a good choice."

As for purchasing starships and preparing supplies, he has already handed them over to others. As the strongest monster hunter in the universe, many people are willing to build good relationships with him and help him with some trivial matters, which he is naturally happy to do.

“Great, I’m participating in the competition too.” Fengxian smiled brightly. The competition that had no ending before could now come to a conclusion.

"Tsk!" Hoshinobozu suddenly felt a sharp pain in her back molars. The danger level of the Housen that had overcome its weakness to sunlight had increased by fifty percent, making it quite dangerous.

And this dangerous person has now set his sights on him.

"This is terrible!" Hoshinobozu thought to herself, while already deciding to ask Fang Rui to help her overcome her fear of sunlight, otherwise...

He is very likely to lose in his battle with Fengxian.

Aside from the two arguing, other people in the audience were also talking about something.

Katsura Kotaro and Takasugi Shinsuke are criminals wanted by the shogunate and cannot appear here in their true forms, since the high-ranking officials of the Metropolitan Police Department are only about 100 meters away from them.

"Wig, tell me, where do you think we should drop a bomb to throw the shogunate into chaos?"

Shinsuke Takasugi glanced at the other VIP audience seats, a slight smirk playing on his lips, making him appear somewhat crazed.

"I don't think it's possible. The bomb will definitely be stopped. As for who will stop it, I can't guess, but I can guess your fate. You'll definitely get beaten up by Fang Rui."

Gui chimed in from the side, "You're causing trouble in Fang Rui's competition; there's no way you're not going to get beaten up."

Fang Rui cared a lot about this competition, but it was unclear why the other side cared so much. In Gui's opinion, this competition was pointless...

“That’s true.” Takasugi Shinsuke squinted. At present, he knew very little about Fang Rui, only some indirect information that Fang Rui was very strong in personal combat, had defeated the King of the Yato, and had a lot of money, enough to support several forces…

Kagura's attention was elsewhere. As an investigation team sent by Harusame, whose members were renowned division commanders and combat personnel within Harusame, Housen gave them some face by entrusting Tsukuyomi to arrange a seat for the Harusame investigation team that was one level above the VIP audience seats.

Some members of the Spring Rain Investigation Team had no objection to this, but others had strong opinions, believing that Fengxian was belittling them.

Although Fengxian is a veteran of Chunyu, the division commander has the same status, and Fengxian's current behavior is to say that his status is higher than yours.

However, these people were also cunning. They didn't show their anger outwardly, but planned to get back at their seniors in other ways, so that the juniors could see the power of the seniors.

Kagura had no idea what the members of the Spring Rain Survey Team were thinking. The only person she cared about was the one at the very front of the team, her silly older brother—Kamui.

Kagura squinted; this match was an opportunity, a chance to beat up Kamui.

Kagura believes the whole family should go together to find her mother in Hōan. If she doesn't find Kamui there, Kagura plans to go to the Spring Rain Base to find him.

As for the information about where Kamui was, it was Fengxian who told her. After all, she and Fengxian were already quite familiar with each other. On the one hand, because of Fang Rui, she and Fengxian met many times. On the other hand, because her father, Hoshimibozu, knew Fengxian, Fengxian treated her differently.

"Kagura, what are you looking at?" Shinpachi Shimura, who was standing nearby, was curious when he saw Kagura looking so focused. He followed Kagura's gaze and saw someone.

He looks just like you.

“It’s normal for him to look like me; he’s my brother.” Kagura’s tone was serious, as if she were talking about her enemy, not her brother.

"Your brother?" Shinpachi Shimura was surprised. Although he had known Kagura for a long time, he knew nothing about Kagura's family.

Just like Kagura, who also lacked knowledge about their family information, after all, who would deliberately investigate such things?

Hearing Kagura's voice, Hoshinobozu, who was standing nearby, immediately took notice of what she was saying. Following Kagura's gaze, he saw a familiar face...

'Heh, isn't this his stupid son?!'

Shen Huang slightly curled the corners of his mouth. He didn't have many thoughts about his foolish son and adopted a laissez-faire approach. After all, Shen Wei was unlikely to listen to him unless there was a suitable opportunity for Shen Wei to see himself clearly.

But now, an important matter lies before him: all his family members must go to Hōan together. Therefore, even if Kamui is unwilling, Kamui will use force to make the other party obey.

Shenwei felt a chill run down his spine as he was being watched by two people. He looked around and immediately found the source of the chill: his father, his sister, and his teacher were all staring at him.

Besides him, there were also some strangers listening to him.

"Am I being targeted? Looks like the upcoming matches won't be lacking in fun."

Although he tried to use a cheerful tone, his voice was inevitably somewhat somber and serious. There was no need to concern himself with the stranger and his sister for the time being. His father and his teacher were arguably the pinnacle of the Yato clan. He had the determination to overthrow his superiors and the ability to put it into practice, but when he actually faced his target, he still couldn't help but feel nervous and excited.

With everyone having their own thoughts, the competition officially began.

According to the order of registration, Sakata Gintoki and others were in the first session, Kamui and others were in the third session, and Kamui was in the fifth session.

Therefore, they will not meet.

During the competition, real knives and guns are not allowed. All those using weapons must switch to wooden knives or similar items, and intentionally attacking vital organs is prohibited.

The competition officially began as the contestants entered the arena.

On the other side, at Sasaki Isaburo's instigation, Ketsuno Seimei and Mirino Dōman used a spell to control Tokugawa Sadamitsu.

The Onmyoji family is loyal to the Shogunate and will carry out the orders issued by the Shogun. They will not use magic against the Shogun or his relatives.

However, today, the two were persuaded by the current shogun to use a spell on Tokugawa Sadamitsu.

As for how the two were persuaded and why they broke the rules they had always followed, it was thanks to Tokugawa Shigeshige's eloquence and Tokugawa Sadasada's many evil deeds.

As a person "valued" by the Tendoushu, Tokugawa Sadasada was always "protected" by "Naraku" people. However, assassins and Onmyoji are not the same thing. Even with bodyguards, they could not stop the Onmyoji's spells.

Once the spell hits, it has entered someone's body, and its effects will gradually appear, subtly changing them...

After all, if someone's change is too sudden, it will inevitably attract the attention of some people.

After their plan succeeded, the two turned their attention to the arena, as they were quite curious about the strength of the other contestants.

After all, they were representing the Onmyoji family in the competition, and failing to achieve a good result would be a disgrace to the family. Therefore, the two were very serious and had even temporarily put aside their past grudges.

"This person is amazing, his name seems to be Sakata Gintoki?" Ketsuno Seimei said.

"These two are also very powerful. If they bypass the shikigami and launch an attack on us, they will pose a threat to us."

Mirino Dōman watched Katsura Kotaro and Takasugi Shinsuke's performance with a serious expression, and his expression became even more serious after seeing Kagura's performance.

"Is this little girl's strength a bit exaggerated?"

"I don't see any restrictions on the number of shikigami that can be summoned in the competition rules. What if we encounter a strong opponent..."

Ketsuno Seimei didn't finish speaking, but Mirino Dōman already understood.