Lu Bu, the Thunder General, is my adoptive father in Genshin Impact.

It's not easy to deal with Miyamoto Jiro, so it's better to start with Sara Ichito and directly intervene in the match itself, which would be easier and faster.

……

Back to the VIP section.

It's now Kujo Sara's match. Her opponent is an unknown nobody. Sara didn't use her Divine Eyes; she forced her opponent off the stage with just her swordsmanship, which can be described as a complete victory.

As luck would have it, Arataki Ichito's match was right after Sara's, against the top disciple of a famous swordsmanship school.

Unlike Sara, who was holding back his strength, Ichito was born to be the most dazzling guy. He opened his God Eye to the fullest, summoned a giant rock club to knock his opponent away, and shouted to the audience with great swagger. He even publicly declared on the stage that he would fight Kujo Tengu to the death.

While the arena was in chaos, Xiao Yi noticed something strange.

Thor hasn't spoken for a long time.

He remembered that the chat room seemed to be open, and Miss Ying was usually quite lively, so why did she suddenly become so quiet?

(Xiao Yi: Are you alright?)

(film:……)

(Xiao Yi: ...)

(Voiceover: In my hundreds of years of meditation, something similar has happened more than once, hasn't it?)

Xiao Yi knew what Ying was talking about—the disaster that had befallen Miyamoto Jiro's village.

(Video: Human life is so short, barely touching even the edge of "eternity." Immediate death and death decades later are but a fleeting moment. Yet, whenever I hear similar stories, I can't help but feel a pang of sadness.)

(Video: Although the general was in power when the tragedy occurred, ultimately I also bear a great responsibility... But in order to reach eternity, we should not get bogged down in trivial details.)

Thor's thinking was still limited to a narrow concept of eternity, namely that the concept of "Inazuma" would exist forever, and the people were merely a component of "Inazuma." But now, after experiencing various events, she has begun to doubt her own idea of ​​eternity.

Xiao Yi was very clear about this.

According to the correct development of the timeline, it should have been a certain blond traveler who corrected Ying's thoughts. Although Xiao Yi did not intend to interfere excessively, he could do some minor ideological work.

(Xiao Yi: I'll put forward a hypothetical scenario: if the people of Inazuma suffer a catastrophic disaster, with 90% of the population facing extinction, your sacrifice could save them...)

(Voiceover: Are you asking me what I would do?)

(Xiao Yi: Hmm.)

(Shadow: To be honest, I don't know. But I think that in order to maintain Inazuma's eternity, I must first ensure my own eternity. The reproduction cycle of mortals is very short. Even if only 10% remains, it will only take a little over a hundred years to restore the population, which will not have a significant impact on Inazuma's eternity.)

(Xiao Yi: You choose to watch those 90% die; they'll make up for it in a few years anyway.)

(Shadow: I would... I don't know.)

Xiao Yi walked to the edge of the platform and looked down at the Inazuma people who had gathered in Inazuma City to watch the game.

Below the stage, there were fathers carrying children on their backs, children holding the arms of the elderly, vendors pushing carts and shouting their wares, enthusiastic young people, and joyful children...

On stage, there were exuberant oni contestants, bewildered referees, and tengu hiding their faces with bird-beak masks as they went up to grab people...

Each scene is fleeting, disappearing as soon as the match ends, which is completely contrary to Thor's idea of ​​eternity.

However, through Xiao Yi's eyes, Ying could see and feel the brief yet vibrant life force of humanity, an image that would forever remain in her mind.

(Xiao Yi: My view is different from yours. I believe that Inazuma is not just a place, but millions of people, each of whom is unique, passing on their culture, emotions, skills, and history from generation to generation. Although it is short-lived, it is eternal.)

(Xiao Yi: What do you think, Miss Ying?)

(Shadow: I...I don't know.)

Chapter 41 I can do anything

The next day, the round of 16 began.

To the surprise of the Otsuki crowd, Narukami, who usually didn't pay much attention to the matches, unexpectedly asked for the match schedule and sat in the stands to examine it carefully.

Very fortunately, Miyamoto Jiro, Sara, and Ichito did not get matched up.

Based on their strength, they can easily make it into the quarterfinals, but it's tough on the other players.

The level of the Round of 16 was much higher, and Sara began to use the Eye of God, but did not show much elemental power, making it impossible for future opponents to obtain information.

Araki Ichito is still going all out, aiming to be the coolest guy in the game. The difference is that yesterday's opponent was knocked away by Ichiro, but today's opponent is stronger and needs two hits.

Because he was too boisterous yesterday, he received a stern warning from the referee. After winning the first round, he didn't dare to be too unruly. He just shouted and laughed a few times, issued a challenge to the Tengu, and left the arena.

Miyamoto no Jiro performed his usual antics.

Today he is facing a Sky Territory Envoy Samurai, who is said to have performed exceptionally well in the war and has even fought against a certain blonde traveler girl.

Miyamoto felt that yesterday's methods were a bit too bizarre and not conducive to the psychological development of young viewers, so he decided to use a slightly gentler approach this time.

He bought a super-sized cup of milk tea with dumplings, made a straw out of cardboard, and after the game started, he gave up the initiative to attack and ran around with the cup to avoid his opponent's attacks.

Of course, Miyamoto was not without ways to retaliate. He sucked on his drink through the straw while dodging the deadly attacks and spraying dumplings at his opponent's face.

Miyajiro's movements were unpredictable. His opponent, a samurai, slashed dozens of times but couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes, and ended up with his face covered in spittle.

Unable to bear the humiliation, the samurai voluntarily surrendered.

The round of 16 ended peacefully. As Xiao Yi expected, as long as the three big shots did not meet each other, advancing would be a piece of cake for them.

Today is peaceful, but what about tomorrow? Xiao Yi was very troubled.

……

The third day, the quarterfinals.

Xiao Yi nervously flipped through the match schedule, and was incredibly lucky; he hadn't yet been matched against any of the three dark horses.

The players who made it to the quarterfinals were no longer of such uneven skill levels, and Kujo Sara had to put in some effort to defeat her opponent.

As the battle reached a stalemate, Sara recalled the swordsmanship of Narukami-sama that had injured him, broke through the opponent's defense, and slashed at the opponent's right arm. The opponent, whose right arm had been cut, abandoned his sword and surrendered.

Miyamoto, watching from the sidelines while snacking, was puzzled: This little girl's knife technique for dislocating someone's arm doesn't seem like her own; the more I look at it, the more it resembles a technique I invented...

Arataki Ichito's opponent was also an Oni, with red horns, and his weapon was similar to his rock club, carrying a large club made of iron alloy.

Fellow villagers meet, tears welling in their eyes; the competition begins, but the battle is slow to start.

Ichidou and the Red Oni clan chatted and laughed, and amidst their boisterous laughter, they formulated very oni-like and very manly private rules.

Without dodging or evading, they swung their big sticks at each other, one blow to each person, until someone fell down.

As we all know, turn-based gameplay doesn't mean it's boring. On the contrary, this match became the most exciting and entertaining game in the past three days, with the sounds of clubs colliding with flesh echoing everywhere.

This is a contest of wills, a contest of men, a contest of the hardness of a stick!

Finally, in the 114th round, the Iron Hammer Oni fell unconscious, and Arataki Ichito won.

Covered in wounds, Ichidou helped his fellow countryman, the winner and loser sharing their hardships, and staggered away from the ring. Before leaving, Ichidou couldn't help but harass Kujo with a few words.

Next up is Miyamoto Jiro.

Just when Xiao Yi thought his older brother was up to something again, Miyamoto's actions surprised everyone.

His opponent was a strong warrior dressed in the clothes of a sea monster; Xiao Yi could sense the man's power even from a distance.

Miyamoto Jiro finally drew his nodachi and became a little more serious. After exchanging about three moves, Miyamoto drew the long sheath of his nodachi with his free right hand and smashed it hard into the head of the sea monster.

Because Miyamoto always wielded his sword with his left hand, and his unexpected move of using the scabbard as a blunt weapon caught his opponent off guard, he was struck hard, and the impact penetrated his helmet, knocking him down.

Blood seeped from the head of the motionless opponent, slowly forming a pool. Miyamoto, maintaining his resolute spirit, crouched down to observe the state of the sea monster.

The audience fell silent. Was the first victim of the Great Trial about to appear?

"I controlled my strength very well." Miyamoto stood up and reminded the referee, "He's not dead yet, call the doctor quickly!"

Medical staff carried the sea monster away, and the referee announced Miyamoto's victory and advancement.

The audience cheered. Two days later, they finally saw this ronin who did nothing serious fight a real battle and defeat his opponent without taking any damage.

Xiao Yi, sitting at the top of the VIP section, felt extremely anxious.

Through this match, he realized that his elder brother wouldn't keep playing recklessly forever. When facing strong opponents, he would use ruthless tactics, launching surprise attacks on vital points without mercy.

He recalled his elder brother's story of how the shogunate soldiers were brutally attacked by the eleven-year-old Miyamoto and died tragically in the village.

Tomorrow's semi-finals have a two-thirds chance that Miyamoto will face Sara in a fight. Is he really going to just stand by and watch a bloodbath happen?

They must intervene in the competition secretly.

(Video: The Grand Examination was initiated by the General. If you try to do something wrong, the General will be displeased.)

Xiao Yi was speechless.

Are there any other ways? With my talent for deception, I'm sure I can come up with something!

He racked his brains and finally came to the cruel conclusion—there was no way.

Unable to explain the truth to Sara, unable to explain the truth to Miyamoto, and with the stubborn Arataki Ichito possibly not listening to him, his interference could incur the Shogun's displeasure; the worst-case scenario would be incurring the displeasure of all of the aforementioned individuals…

Xiao Yi closed the chat room.

He was lost in thought.

Even though he has already obtained power second only to the emperor, he feels constrained and unable to do anything freely except play and enjoy himself. Why?

Xiao Yi recalled the day they parted ways after eating at the Shenli family's house, and his elder brother's earnest words, which included the principle that "doing whatever you want will help you get out of confusion."

That's it!

Ultimately, I was worrying too much. I wanted to do everything perfectly, maintain good relationships with everyone I knew, and make everything go according to my expectations.

Therefore, he imposed many restrictions on himself.

For example, he could have ignored the civil and military officials and directly rejected their doubts, but he insisted on making them submit to him wholeheartedly. He took the initiative to propose a test and risked faking the collapse of the country, thereby making the nobles sincerely submit to him.

Does this behavior have any practical significance? No.

No matter how much the civil and military officials disliked him, they couldn't kill him, nor could they change the puppet general's unwavering will.

In short, many of the trivial things I did were just pointless efforts for self-satisfaction.

For example, right now, because of his high position and power, he cannot tell Miyamoto the truth, and in order to maintain trust, he is afraid of angering the shogun, so he cannot participate in the duel...

To alleviate concerns about the large-scale trial, there's no need to worry so much; just go for it!

I can't do anything? What a joke!

My strength, my power, my wisdom... with these I am omnipotent.