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

I am Narukami-ko, who will stop me? Who can stop me?! Who dares to stop me?!

That's right. One should not be bound by power, but rather use it as a tool to do as one pleases without overstepping the bounds—relying on power to save friends who are killing each other.

Even if it's immoral, even if they're unwilling, they will not let any of them die.

Xiao Yi made up his mind to intervene in the competition in his own way and create a future where no one—Big Brother, Sara, or Ichidou—would be sacrificed because of the Grand Tournament.

……

Day four, the semi-finals.

The form read in black and white: Fujiwara Kojiro vs. Araki Ichito.

Xiao Yi looked at the contestant list in his hand, smiled, and left the exclusive stands for the nobles.

Chapter 42 Demons and Beans

The first match of the semifinals will be between Fujiwara Kojiro and Araki Kazuto, starting in one hour.

Xiao Yi sat in a chair in the VIP section, observing the two contestants from above.

First up was Miyamoto, who arrived at the entrance of a shop selling grains and cereals. He seemed to be chatting and laughing with the shop owner, without engaging in any pre-match preparations or warm-up activities.

One dou (a unit of dry measure) is about right.

The young demon found a ramen stall about 100 meters away from Miyamoto, sat down in front of the stall, ordered a bowl of ramen, and then happily began to eat.

“Lord Narukami.” An Okuzaki member walked up behind Xiao Yi. “The mung bean cakes you requested have been sent to you by the Tenshukaku kitchen. They are made with the finest mung beans, and the chef, following your instructions, specially made them unlike mung bean cakes.”

With its golden-yellow crust and a faint aroma of meat, it looks exactly like a beef patty.

"Hmm, not bad," Xiao Yi commented.

This is the Noble Phantasm that saved Ichito.

The Inazuma people like to smear beans to drive away demons, not because the demons are actually afraid of beans, but because they are congenitally allergic to beans, and even skin contact will cause a strong reaction.

Xiao Yi planned to send mung bean cakes to Yi Dou, hoping to "accidentally" cause him to have a food allergy, thus preventing him from participating in the upcoming competition and avoiding being slaughtered by Miyamoto Jiro.

Afterwards, pretend you know nothing about it, sincerely apologize to him, treat him to a meal, and give him a few more Hercules insects. Ichidou will forgive you. As for the Coral Palace...

Forget about the Coral Palace.

He checked the contestant list one last time, then, holding a mung bean cake disguised as a beef patty, he smiled happily and left the castle tower, heading towards the stall where Ichito was.

……

The burly, silver-haired young demon put down his empty bowl; this was the third bowl of ramen he had finished.

"Wow! Delicious!!!" Yi Dou roared to the sky, slamming his prize money from the grand trial onto the table. "Boss, another bowl, just like before, no beans."

"Master Dou, the number one fighter in the world of Huanglong, you've already eaten three large bowls," the old man cooking noodles advised. "You still have a martial arts competition later, so you can't eat so much."

"A fight? Hahahaha, of course we'll eat our fill before we fight!" Ichidou said. "Don't underestimate a demon's appetite; I'm not full at all right now!"

Clearly, Araki Ichito is in excellent health and has a great appetite. The injuries he sustained yesterday from fighting with his clansmen have almost fully healed.

The owner explained helplessly, "My noodle stall was brought from a village outside the city. I wanted to take advantage of the competition to make some money—I'm truly grateful for Lord Narukami's business decree—because I'm from out of town, you don't know the name of my noodle shop."

"Huh? A title?" Ichidou was confused.

“My noodle shop is called ‘Three Bowls and You Can’t Get Out of the Village’. The noodles are made with compressed buckwheat, which is not only delicious but also very filling. You won’t feel any problem right after eating, but you’ll feel bloated as soon as you leave the shop. If you eat more than three bowls, your stomach will be so bloated that you won’t be able to leave the village.”

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! No ramen can beat me!" Ichidou exclaimed, getting even more excited. "I have to take on the challenge! I'll have another bowl; I can still eat!"

When Xiao Yi approached the stall, he had already slurped down eighteen bowls of rice, looking quite energetic.

"As expected, no ramen can beat me, hahahahaha..."

"Hey, Yi Dou, bro," Xiao Yi greeted.

“Oh! I remember your name is… Miyamoto Tsubasa!” Ichito said excitedly. “I haven’t seen you since I was imprisoned in the Magistrate’s Office by the Tengu. It’s been so long.”

……

At the entrance of a grain store a hundred meters away, Miyamoto Jiro, who was chatting with the store owner, was initially all smiles, but suddenly frowned for no apparent reason.

Despite the bustling crowds surrounding the stadium, which acted like a wall separating the street vendors from the stalls on the other side of the street, he still managed to pick up those three words thanks to his keen hearing.

“Miyamoto Tsubasa, Tsubasa…” Miyamoto Jiro muttered to himself, “I hope I misheard.”

If I heard correctly, things are in trouble.

……

Xiao Yi handed the mung bean cake to Yi Dou and said, "We met by chance and I didn't prepare any gifts, so I bought this as a gift to wish you good luck in your martial arts. There's an old saying in my hometown: 'A full stomach is good for the journey.' In short, you need to eat more to have the strength to fight."

If a stranger suddenly offers you food, a normal person would hesitate a few times before accepting it. However, Ichidou is not a normal person; he is a simple-minded devil.

"Then I'll accept your kindness!" The young ghost immediately took the food.

The chef at Tenshukaku is very skilled; the mung beans are perfectly sandwiched inside the pancake. You won't notice it if you just grab it with your hands; you'll only be surprised when you bite into it.

"I'm going to start eating." Yi Dou brought the mung bean cake to his mouth, and Xiao Yi's smile gradually brightened.

"Hiccup!" Ichidou made a strange sound.

Even the Oni clan, whose appetites are like bottomless pits, will find it hard to hold on after eating eighteen bowls of "Three Bowls and You're Gone" ramen, and will start to feel the pain of being too full.

"Brother Yidou, it won't taste good if it gets cold," Xiao Yi subtly urged.

"What's your hurry... *hiccup*!" Ichidou puffed out his chest and raised his head, ready to tear into the mung bean cake. "Don't worry, I'll definitely eat it... *hiccup*!"

Yi Dou tried his best to suppress his hiccups so that Xiao Yi and the noodle shop owner wouldn't notice.

He finally realized that he was completely full.

But admitting it directly would definitely be ridiculed by Miyamoto Tsubasa and the noodle shop owner. As the leader of the Araki faction and the strongest street hustler in Inazuma, he absolutely cannot do something that would diminish his prestige.

“This cake is made in a particularly… impressive way, it looks very precious.” Yi Douyi, unusually, returned the cake to Xiao Yi, “I can’t eat precious things, you should eat it.”

Xiao Yi was stunned for a few seconds.

Could it be that the plan to hide beans in the cake has been exposed, and Yidou is deliberately making excuses to save face for me?

No, Yi Dou's IQ isn't that high.

"You should eat it," he said, pushing the pancake back to him.

Just then, Ichidou saw a familiar figure in the crowd, took the cake, and shouted.

"Kujo Tengu, come here quickly!"

Sara had only seen Narukami leave the stands, so she followed her. Unexpectedly, Narukami came looking for this troublesome guy, who then discovered that Sara had been secretly observing her.

Worried that Ichito would continue calling out loudly, she went to the ramen stall.

Before she could even bow to Xiao Yi, Yi Dou stuffed the cake into Sha Luo's arms.

"Nine Tengu, eat it quickly!" Ichidou showed unusual enthusiasm. "You need to eat more to have the strength for the fight. Don't lose today, I'll be waiting for you in the finals!"

Saro was a little confused about the situation, but in the end she did what was appropriate for her status—offering a tribute.

She stuffed the cake into Xiao Yi's hand.

"Ming... Mr. Xiao, please eat."

Helpless, Xiao Yi stuffed the cake into Yi Dou's hand again, Yi Dou gave it to Jiu Tiao, and Jiu Tiao gave it to Xiao Yi...

After several rounds of "passing the parcel," Kujo, being a reliable adult, finally couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed the mung bean cake he had used to save Ichidou's life and took a big bite.

"Hmm? It's sweet."

At the same time, the referee's shout came from the arena, summoning the contestants to come up and prepare. Xiao Yi was just about to stall for time when he found that the ghost youth had disappeared.

Xiao Yi sighed, "Even a god couldn't save us!"

He quickly racked his brains and immediately came up with a Plan B, just as the competition was about to begin.

Xiao Yi pondered to himself: The semi-finals are a best-of-three series. As long as he can survive the first round, I can activate Plan B and make him willingly give up the competition.

Chapter 43 Don't underestimate me, old man!

Besides his elaborate and elaborate plans, Xiao Yi also had the most effective backup plan: to use his power to personally lead an expedition with his elder brother Sala to disrupt the grand trial and clarify the truth.

However, this method can only be used once, because although the general is easy to fool, she is stubborn. Openly opposing her will definitely result in being confined to the castle tower until the end of the competition. She might even personally supervise the process, making it impossible to escape.

Therefore, this match must be resolved cleverly. We can wait until tomorrow's final match and then overturn the table without any regard for the consequences. By then, it will be too late for the general to punish us however he sees fit.

Xiao Yi originally wanted to have Kujo fight one of them, eliminating one of them first. Unfortunately, the match was arranged by the general himself, and arbitrarily altering it was tantamount to blatantly causing trouble.

We had no choice but to improvise.

……

Before arriving at the ring, Arataki Ichito went to the restroom. Now he felt completely relaxed, having already converted all eighteen bowls of ramen into nutrients, and could now enjoy his ramen to his heart's content.

The match is about to begin, and the contestants are currently in the final preparation stage. Ichito approaches Miyamoto.

"You seem pretty strong, but I'm even stronger. I'll definitely win in the end!"

Unlike usual, Miyamoto Jiro stood with his hands behind his back, displaying the demeanor of a grandmaster, and responded to the oni youth's boastful words with only a smile.

This attitude, so different from his usual demeanor, sent chills down the spines of the audience. Even Sara couldn't help but feel a pang of worry for the foolish Red Demon.

For some reason, Ichidou felt that the man in front of him was radiating a strong sense of foreboding, which even made him, who was fearless, feel afraid.

What kind of deadly move is this guy hiding? Ichidou couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried.

He watched as Miyamoto Jiro stepped back, widening the distance again. Just then, the referee announced the start of the match.

A strange situation occurred.

Miyamoto not only didn't launch an attack, but he didn't even draw his sword, and even tried to communicate with Ichito.

He maintained his masterly demeanor and proposed, "Hey, I watched your fight yesterday. It was a very exciting contest between men. I want to recreate yesterday's scene."

Yi Dou scratched his head: "What are you trying to say?"

Miyamoto Jiro continued, "I'm not a demon, nor do I have a big club, so let's each punch the other once, and whoever falls first loses. What do you think?"

Xiao Yi, sitting in the audience, was anxious: Quickly refuse! You can't beat your older brother when it comes to cunning!

Araki Ichito laughed heartily: "A clash of fists and flesh? Good, that's very manly! I grant your request, but who will make the first move?"