Why is my anime art style so weird?

Kato Megumi looked at Xu Ming and solemnly instructed him:

"Therefore, once the festival begins, you'll be on your own. Please be very careful."

"I will."

Xu Ming nodded; he would never joke about his own life.

After Kato Megumi's explanation, it makes sense.

If the gods can easily interfere, then it's difficult to guarantee fairness in competitions.

Other factions aren't fools either. If the signs of Suwa Taisha's behind-the-scenes manipulation were too obvious, who would risk their lives to participate in the competition?

After that, Kato Megumi somehow obtained information on most of the contestants.

Among them, those who might secretly plot against Xu Ming were all pointed out by Kato Megumi.

For example, Taisho Seijiro of Akimiya Shrine was the only son of Taisho Kohei.

For example, the bald monk Huijing of the Tiantai sect.

Xu Ming gets a headache whenever he sees a monk.

After the conversation, Xu Ming gained a lot and was no longer completely clueless about this so-called festival.

Afterwards, amidst Kasumigaoka Utaha's enthusiastic farewell to the plague god, Kato Megumi took her leave.

Xu Ming escorted her to the elevator.

Before the elevator arrived, Kato Megumi bowed solemnly to Xu Ming and said:

"May you have great success in your military endeavors."

With Kato Megumi's blessing, Xu Ming took the Shinkansen and arrived in Nagano Prefecture, where he rested for the night in a nearby hotel.

On the afternoon of the second day, Xu Ming arrived at Suwa Taisha Shrine, located by the lake.

A priestess immediately came to greet him.

Looking at the girl in front of him with long blue hair, a white snake headdress wrapped around her temples, and wearing a rather indecent shrine maiden outfit that exposed her armpits, Xu Ming felt that she looked very familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before, like in the xxx Paradise Project.

Xu Ming sized her up briefly, and both her temperament and figure showed that she indeed had the potential to be a leading lady.

Perhaps Xu Ming's gaze was too blatant, because the girl turned around and glanced at him, giving a polite smile, but the smile was very complicated.

She led Xu Ming along the way. The entire Suwa shrine was decorated with lanterns and colorful lanterns hanging under the eaves, and all kinds of colorful flags were planted around it.

Jingle bells!

Under the guidance of the priests, the craftsmen were diligently hammering and building the stage for the Kagura dance.

The blue-haired girl led Xu Ming past the bustling front hall and towards the back of the shrine.

After walking for quite a while, the surroundings gradually quieted down, and we were now completely away from the front hall where the celebrations had been held.

She quickly led Xu Ming to an open space in front of a grand hall, where a number of people dressed in strange costumes had already gathered.

Upon seeing Xu Ming appear, all sorts of complicated gazes immediately shot towards him.

After observing for a moment, Xu Ming immediately noticed the differences between these pioneers.

The vast majority of people looked at him with curiosity, disdain, or indifference.

These people often have an extraordinary bearing, their hunting robes are bright and shiny, and the ornaments they wear faintly shimmer with a strong spiritual light, clearly not ordinary items.

Most of these people are elite disciples cultivated by powerful forces.

The remaining small group looked at Xu Ming with wariness and scrutiny.

They appeared cautious and timid, their gazes towards the elite youths filled with both hostility and awe. These people must be the members of the small factions that Kato Megumi mentioned, who had come to try their luck.

Xu Ming, who suddenly barged in, had a completely different style from the others.

Most of the people here are dressed in the traditional hunting robes of Onmyoji, with tall hats on their heads, while some are dressed like ninjas or ronin.

Looking at it, it's as if you've stepped back into the ancient Warring States period.

Xu Ming, however, was dressed in casual clothes and sneakers, looking just like a tourist who had wandered into a theater.

As Xu Ming observed the crowd, time passed second by second, and the sun began to gradually slant.

After Xu Ming arrived, some other people were led to the front of the main hall by other priestesses. They all seemed to be people who were participating in the White Serpent Festival.

These people were also Xu Ming's potential rivals, and he began to secretly observe everyone in the arena.

He quickly identified two people who had a grudge against him based on the information provided by Kato Megumi.

One of the monks was a tall, burly man with a buzz cut, who looked like a bear walking upright.

Upon noticing Xu Ming watching him, he immediately glared fiercely, raised his fist and swung it violently. At the same time, he opened his mouth wide, rubbed his teeth together forcefully, and bared his teeth, making no attempt to hide his hostility.

Chapter 301 Changing the Rules, Surrounded by Powerful Enemies

However, Xu Ming immediately lowered this person's threat level by one.

The greatest threat to making enemies is not how strong they are, but that they are intelligent and capable of using underhanded tactics.

The most deadly snakes are the ones that hide.

As for this head monk of the Tiantai sect, he was nothing but a brute with no substance; incidentally, the dog was a Siberian Husky.

Xu Ming searched around and then found a young man with a sinister aura standing in the corner, dressed in a traditional white Onmyoji hunting robe and wearing a black top hat.

The other person quickly noticed Xu Ming's gaze. He glanced at Xu Ming indifferently, then turned slightly away, pretending to be talking to the person next to him.

If Xu Ming hadn't seen the photo Kato Megumi gave him, he would have really thought he had nothing to do with this person.

This man was none other than Taisho Seijiro, the son of Taisho Kōhei.

The two had the deepest hatred, yet Taisho Seijiro remained indifferent when facing his 'father's killer'.

Xu Ming immediately labeled him in his mind as 'good at enduring hardship'.

The moment Xu Ming met Taisho Seijiro's gaze, he felt as if he were confronting a venomous snake.

'We need to be wary of this guy…'

Xu Ming thought to himself.

Besides these two more conspicuous targets, Xu Ming discovered several other seemingly similar targets, some of whom, like Erha Xiong, made no attempt to conceal their hostility towards him.

Xu Ming thought about it for a moment and immediately understood the reason.

To put it bluntly, it's a conflict of beliefs between the church and the local Shintoism.

Now that he has been knighted as an honorary paladin, he has already placed himself on the opposite side of Shintoism.

Shintoists dare not do anything to him openly, but they will definitely not be polite if they have the opportunity to do something underhanded.

This time, Xu Ming is surrounded by powerful enemies and fraught with danger at the White Snake Festival.

He secretly became more alert, and at the same time, he subtly slipped into a corner of the arena to avoid being ambushed.

Although this is Suwa Taisha's territory, many of the people here have power behind them that is no less than that of Suwa Taisha, so they may not be as cautious.

Gradually, the number of people in the venue stopped increasing.

Soon the sun withdrew its last rays, and the area around the hall became completely dark.

The sound of gongs and drums began to echo from the front hall in the distance, and faintly drifted over a folk song that Xu Ming couldn't recall. It seemed that the shrine's festival had already begun.

It was getting dark, but the person in question still hadn't appeared.

The open space here also seemed to be affected by the lively atmosphere of the front hall, and many people began to show anxious expressions on their faces.

call!

Just then, the lanterns hanging from the eaves of the surrounding houses lit up all at once without anyone touching them, instantly illuminating the entire area.

If an ordinary person saw this, they would either be amazed or doubt that it was a magic show.

But for these people from the inner world, the master of this place showed off his skills, displaying his exquisite control over power, which was truly amazing.

A dignified female voice came from inside the hall.

"Welcome to Lake Suwa, everyone, for your presence at my festival."

The place where Xu Ming and the others were standing was an open space in the center of a building, and the surrounding area was very spacious. However, for some reason, the sound produced a strong echo effect, like the sound of a bell, which kept reverberating in everyone's ears, deafeningly loud.

This way of speaking is full of majesty and mystery.

As soon as the woman in the hall spoke, the whispering people immediately stopped, clearly stunned by her move.

The owner of the voice seemed quite satisfied with the effect and continued:

The rules for this festival are as follows:

First, killing the monsters that dwell in Monster Mountain will grant you Monster Energy Points.

Second, the demonic energy value increases or decreases according to the strength of the demon.

Third, killing other participants will prevent you from gaining their demonic energy.

The player with the highest demonic energy value will receive the top prize.

The announcement of the rules immediately caused a huge uproar, with many people present whispering among themselves.

"The rules weren't like this in previous years, were they?"

"I heard that the rules were even more brutal in previous years, encouraging us to kill each other. Why has it changed this year?"

"Killing others without gaining points—isn't that to prevent us from attacking each other?"

"This is boring. I was planning to kill those country bumpkins as soon as I went in."

As one of the elite disciples spoke, he glanced maliciously at Xu Ming and the group of cannon fodder sent by minor factions to gamble their lives.

His intentions are self-evident.

Xu Ming was also somewhat puzzled. According to Kato Megumi, the rules of the White Snake Festival were very cruel.

It is said that the two deities of Suwa Taisha were forced to expend their own energy to hold the festival.

Since they were forced into this situation, they naturally wouldn't give these people a friendly look. They were mostly mistaken for thieves or robbers.

Therefore, the rules set in previous years were very cruel, such as getting more points for killing contestants.

Alternatively, killing other contestants can steal their points. Under this rule, many elite contestants who are confident in their abilities find it troublesome and directly treat other contestants as prey.