I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

However, she eventually pointed to the thin fabric covering Okabe Motonobu's body.

"Oh... this."

Motonobu Okabe waved his hand and said with a smile, "It's alright, it's perfectly fine, I don't mind at all."

The man checked again and received the exact same answer.

Since the person in question had already said so, she didn't need to say anything more. Instead, she waved towards the door and called Uesugi Tetsu in.

As Uesugi Tetsu approached, he discovered that Okabe Motonobu also had a faint aura flowing around him.

This was the first breathing technique practitioner he had encountered after arriving in the Warring States period who had completed the circulation of vital energy.

No, that's not right.

His pupils contracted slightly, and after staring intently for two seconds, he realized that Okabe Motonobu's qi circulation was not shallow.

On the contrary, it can be described as extremely solid!

Because she had contracted and controlled the qi that originally circulated around her body to the surface of her body, actively compressing it into a very small space, the amount of qi appeared to be very small.

Therefore, the truth is that Okabe Motonobu has extremely high control over his own internal energy, which can be said to be at least two levels higher than his own.

No wonder she dared to sleep outside dressed so lightly; it turns out she had a protective aura that kept her warm and prevented her from freezing to death.

Motonobu Okabe was also looking at Tetsuya Uesugi.

To be precise, it was about observing the circulation of Qi on his body surface.

In the Warring States period, when breathing techniques were the primary means of cultivation, the circulation of vital energy could almost be considered a "proof of strength."

This is because it can be said to be the first real hurdle on the path of breathing techniques, a hurdle that is very difficult to overcome and smooth out, unlike the ones that have been overcome with a lot of time before.

Over the course of a century, it has stumped countless warriors of different backgrounds and classes.

Moreover, before forging the Palace of Flesh, one must first complete the circulation of Qi in order to continue tempering the body and making it stronger.

A moment later, the woman stood up. Although her eyes were still narrowed, her tone was different from her previous languid one; it was deliberately more formal.

"I wonder who you are?"

“Teru.” Uesugi Teru looked up slightly at the woman who was even taller than him and said, “The Onmyoji directly under Lord Yoshimoto can now be considered a samurai of the Imagawa family.”

"Che...that sounds familiar."

Okabe Motonobu frowned in distress, almost closing his eyes: "Lately, I seem to have heard this word in many places."

Only after she finished speaking did she realize that Uesugi Tetsu had just used the term "Onmyoji".

The woman paused for a moment, a rare occurrence, and asked in return, "An Onmyoji?"

Uesugi Tetsu nodded, extended his finger, and let a small flame leap from his fingertip.

"I came here today because of His Excellency Tai Chao's request. He said that His Excellency Okabe seems to be having trouble sleeping lately... and seeing him now, I can confirm that it is true."

"Wow."

Motonobu Okabe almost touched the outer flame of the fire with his nose, showing no fear of getting burned.

She clapped her hands and praised, "Che... um, that's your name, right? Mr. Che's talent is truly one of a kind in Yuan Xin's life."

"That's amazing!"

The fact that he was recruited by the lord as an "Onmyoji" proves that Che has definitely gone further on the path of Onmyoji than in terms of his mastery of breathing techniques.

—That's what Motonobu Okabe thinks.

Uesugi Tetsu shook his head and extinguished the flames: "My meager talents are not worth mentioning."

"Being too modest is not good, as it can easily make others think you're showing off."

Okabe Motonobu bent down and leaned closer to the two-foot-tall woman, reaching out to pinch her soft little face and chuckling, "Little sister is so cute... Mr. Che, is this your shikigami?"

Uesugi Tetsu ignored the resentment that constantly welled up in his heart from the two-foot-tall man who was completely powerless against these clutches.

"Her name is Lady Nishaku. Lord Okabe can just call her Nishaku."

—Hehe, Erchi, you always used to pet me when you were a four-tailed fox, now it's your turn to experience that feeling!

"Mmm, little Erchi is so cute."

Having said that, Okabe Motonobu scooped up the two-foot-tall man and pulled him into her arms, stroking him all over like petting a cat. She smiled and said...

"Mr. Na Che, let's go inside first and talk."

Uesugi Tetsu nodded, then blinked when he turned around and saw that his apprentice had already walked far away and was waving at him. He then followed Okabe Motonobu into the house where she usually lived.

"It might be a bit messy, please don't mind~"

As soon as he opened the door and stepped into the Tsuchiza area, which was his personal rest area, Uesugi Tetsu's eyebrows twitched violently.

You call this a bit messy?

—Because, apart from a small resting area covered with tatami mats, the entire earthen site was filled with discarded and dulled wakizashi, katana, tachi, and various spears.

There were even headless arrows scattered around.

Uesugi Tetsuya prefers to call this place "abandoned weapon recycling center" rather than Okabe Motonobu's house.

However, despite the many discarded weapons piled up haphazardly, the entire room was surprisingly clean and tidy, with almost no visible garbage or dirt.

This Lord Okabe is certainly not one to mince words.

"Because I don't come back very often, I haven't tidied up much."

Okabe Motonobu kicked a large pile of weapons into a corner, then sat down with his back to the blades, holding a pair of tatami mats, gesturing for Uesugi Tetsu to sit in the safer corner.

"Mr. Che, please have a seat."

After sitting down, Uesugi Tetsuya took some time to accept that Okabe Motonobu was not the "loyal and righteous hero" of history, but rather the person in front of him.

Then, after organizing his thoughts, he said, "This is to address Lord Okabe's sleep problem, but we don't have a good idea yet. So, I'd like you to explain the details to me first..."

Uesugi Tetsuya suddenly stopped talking.

It wasn't because any clues were discovered.

Instead, Okabe Motonobu, who was halfway through petting the two-foot-tall man, actually fell asleep with his head tilted to the side right in front of him!

Uesugi Tetsu: “…”

It seems that Motonobu Okabe has indeed been tormented and exhausted these days.

Uesugi Tetsu called her name twice more, and Okabe Motonobu suddenly woke up, straightened up, and let out a long yawn.

"I'm sorry... I was really sleepy and accidentally fell asleep. Please repeat it again, Mr. Che."

She put on a serious listening posture.

So Uesugi Tetsu repeated himself, basically asking Okabe Motonobu to provide as much useful information as possible.

"Oh...I see."

Okabe Motonobu squinted, tilted his head and thought for a while before saying, "Aside from the strange noises that wake me up in the middle of the night every day, there's nothing else strange about it."

But there's no sound when I'm not asleep.

"It's because I don't understand why I'm getting sleepier and sleepier... that's why I only want to sleep now..."

Uesugi Tetsuya, however, sensed a demonic aura.

However, the demonic aura was extremely faint and almost evenly distributed throughout the room, making it impossible for him to pinpoint its source even at a glance.

Therefore, Uesugi Tetsu suggested, "If Lord Okabe wishes to temporarily replenish his energy, would it be possible for him to stay at the Imagawa residence, or perhaps somewhere else?"

"I'm afraid that won't work... I need to do my daily exercise in a large open space."

Okabe Motonobu pinched and rounded the little man's face: "More importantly, I'm quite unrestrained when I'm asleep, so it's not convenient for me to sleep with other people."

Uesugi Tetsu recalled Okabe Motonobu "swimming on his back" on the pebbles in the yard earlier and thought that this was indeed a problem.

"Then, Lord Okabe, let's talk about it after you've fallen asleep here late at night."

"Okay..."

Before Okabe Motonobu could finish speaking, his stomach started rumbling.

"Ah, my body says it's a little hungry." She stood up, smiled with her eyes narrowed, and asked, "Mr. Che, Xiao Erchi, if you haven't had lunch yet, would you like to try my cooking?"

Generally speaking, the cooking skills of a solitary ascetic like Okabe Motonobu, who has a large appetite, are usually not too bad.

Because almost no one can endure eating their own homemade culinary disasters every day.

So Uesugi Tetsu bowed slightly and said, "Then I'll leave it to you, Lord Okabe."

The equally greedy young master put Kaga Kiyomitsu down temporarily and followed Okabe Motonobu out the door.

She had to prevent Okabe Motonobu from falling asleep before she even started cooking.

Then we won't have lunch!

And soon after, Okabe Motonobu lived up to expectations and fell asleep.

However, he didn't fall asleep before cooking, but rather he started snoring against the wall during the downtime while waiting for the rice to cook, after all the dishes were cooked.

If it weren't for the Second Master coming back and taking a look, this whole pot of fragrant white rice would have been burnt to a crisp!

On an oversized dining table.

Uesugi Tetsuya looked at the small mountain of rice piled up not far in front of him, as well as a large bowl of colorful and appetizing pork stew with radish, and was somewhat surprised.

Because he remembered that during the Warring States period, a hunting ban was issued, prohibiting people from eating meat.

Therefore, the average height of people during the Warring States period was relatively short.

But the woman in front of him seemed completely unaware of the law, eating large chunks of meat at every meal.

Motonobu Okabe slammed his large bowl heavily on the table: "Eat as much as you can, I'll finish every last grain!"

Seeing that Uesugi Tetsu hadn't touched his chopsticks yet, she patted her chest and explained,

"Because I've been working on building up my muscles lately, I definitely need to eat more! As the saying goes, training is 30% training and diet is 70% nutrition! If you want to train well, you have to eat well first, right?"

Tempering all the muscles in your body... meat tempering?

Okabe Motonobu is actually close to completing the overall casting of the Flesh Palace?

This is truly unexpected; I've learned some major news.

Uesugi Tetsuya filled a large bowl with rice, then scooped up a bunch of radish and pork with a wooden spoon and began to wolf it down.

He paused slightly after taking his first bite.

Hmm, the taste is actually better than I expected.

Soon, the mountain of rice and a large pot of pork stew with radish were all gone.

Motonobu Okabe alone solved 70% of the problems.

Uesugi Tetsu patted her round belly, finding it hard to imagine how she managed to stuff so much food into her body all by herself.

"Then, Lord Okabe, I and Nisha will pretend to leave first. You go to sleep as usual. We will catch the culprit tonight."

"Alright, then I'll trouble you two."

……

Time flies, and soon it was late at night.

Outside Okabe Motonobu's house.

Uesugi Tetsuya, who had almost completely concealed his aura and spiritual power, turned around and looked at the "conspicuous" two-foot-tall adult.

"Erchi, you stay outside and keep watch."

"Lord Na Che, please be careful."

The two-foot-tall man remained a hundred meters away from the courtyard, watching as Uesugi Tetsu silently disappeared into the darkness.

Soon, Uesugi Tetsu peeked his head out from the courtyard wall and heard faint noises coming from inside the house.

The sound was so faint and soft that it was almost unnoticeable if you weren't paying attention.

Then, unsurprisingly, they found Okabe Motonobu slumped in the doorway, looking somewhat tormented.

This is probably what it looks like when someone is half-asleep and not fully awake because of the noise.

Uesugi Tetsu couldn't help but sigh.