I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

She looked at Uesugi Tetsuya with some anticipation.

But to everyone's surprise, he shook his head decisively: "Without the protection of the Qi circulation, recklessly using this medicinal bath will only result in sudden death halfway through."

Only those with a Qi circulation level of 1 or higher can use this medicinal bath.

Imagawa Yoshimoto glanced at the smiling Okabe Motonobu out of the corner of his eye before speaking, "I understand."

She pressed her advantage and then asked,

"Then, where is Mr. Che's master now?"

Imagawa Yoshimoto had already prepared his plan. No matter the cost, as long as it didn't affect his fundamental interests, bringing in Che's "master" would be a huge win.

If even the apprentice is this capable, then the master must be even more so!

—And Uesugi Tetsuya, who fabricated a non-existent master to fill in the gaps in the origin of the medicinal bath formula, sighed.

“My master has long since departed for the world, and may have already gone to the other side of the sea. I have no idea where he might be.”

Imagawa Yoshimoto paused for a moment, feeling a pang of regret.

"but."

Uesugi Tetsu changed the subject, wanting to use the "master" topic to bring up the samurai Zanzemaru.

"My master left me a wondrous shikigami that can accurately test the power of a slash, and it can be used by anyone."

As soon as he finished speaking, Uesugi Tetsu raised his hand, causing the round, black samurai Zanzemaru to appear out of thin air and land on the open ground to the side.

The samurai, Zanzemaru, with a serious expression, said in a deep voice,

"Owner."

Imagawa Yoshimoto looked at the round-headed shikigami, which possessed both comical and dignified features, and let out a slightly surprised "oh".

Okabe Motonobu, who had been sipping his tea, suddenly looked up and stared intently at the tall samurai, Zanzemaru.

Samurai Zanzemaru shifted his gaze, and after meeting Okabe Motonobu's eyes, he swayed slightly forward, indicating a bow: "Strong one, would you like to test your fist strength?"

Motonobu Okabe became interested upon hearing this.

She jumped up abruptly, without causing even the slightest ripple in the air.

"Lord!"

Trusting Uesugi Tetsuya, Imagawa Yoshimoto nodded upon hearing those two words.

"Go."

"okay!"

The woman strode up to Zanzemaru and grinned at him: "Hello, just call me Okabe."

“Samurai Zanzemaru,” it said. “Lord Okabe, please do as you please. I will not let even a fraction of my power leak out.”

"Thank you so much!"

Okabe Motonobu patted it happily at first, then turned his head and, seeing that Uesugi Tetsuya was also nodding to her, raised his fist without hesitation.

Tighten your five fingers.

Then fire!

The next instant, a violent explosion erupted within a foot of Okabe Motonobu's fist, less than a foot from the surface of the samurai Zanzemaru!

Samurai Zanzemaru immediately leaned backward, the extent of which was second only to the first full-force strike by Uesugi Tetsuya.

Samurai Zanzemaru seemed to take a deep breath before letting out a furious roar.

"Ten thousand two hundred and thirty-seven strings of cash... that's it!"

Ten thousand strings of cash!

Uesugi Tetsu's pupils shrank slightly.

And this was merely a punch thrown by Motonobu Okabe at close range without him even raising his hand!

You're telling me this is only the beginning of the meat-making process?

Uesugi Tetsu seriously suspected that Okabe Motonobu was about to complete his body's physical transformation and was about to start building muscle.

Otherwise, how could one possibly achieve this level of strength using only physical power and internal energy?

"oh--!"

Standing in front of Zhanzemaru, Okabe Motonobu leaned out to look at the motionless blades of grass behind him, exclaimed in admiration, and laughed loudly.

"Mr. Che, I love this Samurai Zanzemaru! I really love it!"

This is also normal.

After all, what samurai wouldn't like a "wooden dummy" that's impossible to cut and can accurately report your strength?

This is so convenient!

"By the way, Lord Okabe, about the exchange of breathing techniques..."

Uesugi Tetsu opened his mouth.

Okabe Motonobu turned around: "Well... didn't the lord say that the medicinal bath that Mr. Tetsu mentioned could be prepared before the end of tonight?"

She licked her lips and said with a smile,

"Then let's talk about it later when we're alone together late at night."

Chapter 170 I will slay the chieftain! Imagawa Yoshimoto rewards you with five days to complete the skin tempering! (6k)

The medicinal bath will be prepared tonight.

Therefore, Okabe Motonobu, who had also completed the Qi circulation and even surpassed Uesugi Tetsuya in the progress of building the Flesh Palace, naturally wanted to give it a try as well.

The meaning of the statement itself is not problematic.

However, the words and tone of Motonobu Okabe uttered were rather suggestive.

Uesugi Tetsuya remained silent, looking at Imagawa Yoshimoto, who was still sitting.

Imagawa Yoshimoto remained expressionless and unresponsive, even taking a small sip of his tea.

Because she had spent so much time with Motonobu Okabe, she had long been used to what he said and did.

—Generally speaking, all the outrageous things that Motonobu Okabe says with a squinting smile are basically just empty talk.

Even if you say a hundred things, you won't utter a single truth.

And at this point, if you take her words seriously...

Imagawa Yoshimoto slammed down his teacup and curled the corners of his lips into a slight smile.

The consequences were generally quite dire.

Seeing that Imagawa Yoshimoto, as their lord, didn't show any reaction, Uesugi Tetsuya didn't say much either.

He could only nod with an awkward smile: "Then I'll have to rely on Lord Okabe a lot later."

"Hmm~ I'll take care of Mr. Che's training, please don't worry."

After saying that, Okabe Motonobu turned around and tapped the huge samurai Zanzemaru with his fist, which was wrapped in qi, and said with emotion, "Mr. Tetsu, I really like the samurai Zanzemaru."

"Just from that punch just now, I can be sure of that."

The samurai, Zanzemaru, who was slightly shaken by the knock, also affirmed, "Master, this Lord Okabe is indeed a rare and powerful figure."

I could clearly feel that from her punches.

Uesugi Tetsu breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing what the two of them said.

His original plan was to throw out the Samurai Satsumaru and let it enhance the strength of the Imagawa family's samurai who practiced breathing techniques.

The only concern is that some military generals might be too conservative in their thinking and refuse to accept this advice, which would cause problems.

But now that the head of the Imagawa family and the two men who are practically the leaders of the Imagawa family's military commanders have agreed, is there any obstacle to the plan to "promote the samurai Zanzemaru"?

"However, let's leave it in the barracks when we go on expeditions in the future."

Okabe Motonobu suddenly spoke up: "It wouldn't be good to leave it in the Imagawa Mansion now, as it would attract too many samurai to try their skills and disrupt the peaceful atmosphere."

What did she mean by saying that...?

Uesugi Tetsuya paused for a moment, but then immediately understood when he thought of the girl sitting next to him.

—Imagawa Yoshimoto has never liked noisy or chaotic environments, especially when she wants to calm down.

Okabe Motonobu said this to subtly suggest that he should consider Imagawa Yoshimoto's feelings more.

Uesugi Tetsu nodded in affirmation: "Lord Okabe is right. Whether it is you and me or other accomplished samurai, we all need a relatively quiet environment for training."

But the next moment, his tone changed again.

"But it would be a waste for me to take back Samurai Zanzemaru, a shikigami that can test the strength of many, many samurai."

Uesugi Tetsuya met Okabe Motonobu's gaze, who was only partially visible above his eyes, and suggested,

"Then I think we should place it somewhere in Sunpu Castle, as a place where any samurai related to the Imagawa family can freely test their skills?"

In the silence, Motonobu Okabe's narrowed eyes widened slightly.

She nodded slowly.

"So good."

……

After finishing the four delicious and filling rice balls that Imagawa Yoshimoto had personally made, time flew by and it was already late at night.

The Imagawa-kan is quieter tonight than usual.

The place was brightly lit and extremely noisy.

Countless maids and servants trudged through the corridors and passageways, their footsteps mingling with the creaking of the wooden planks, startling away the birds that were trying to rest on the branches.

Each person carried a few scattered medicinal herbs in their arms. Before reaching a quiet room, they would put them down and then hurriedly leave, repeating this process repeatedly.

Under Imagawa Yoshimoto's personal instruction, the efficiency with which the medicinal herbs needed for the bath were gathered was incredibly high.

Even though many of the herbs were rare, some fast-moving samurai would knock on the shop's door at night with lanterns and buy the herbs at prices higher than usual.

Therefore, in less than three or four hours, all the medicinal herbs had been cut in half and piled up at the entrance of the quiet room.

Then, under the guidance of the experienced Uesugi Tetsu, it only took ten minutes to prepare two large tubs of frighteningly dark medicinal bath.

"Che-jun, may I watch?"

After Okabe Motonobu went to change his clothes, Imagawa Yoshimoto reached out and grabbed Uesugi Tetsuya's sleeve, who was also about to enter the room next door, and blinked as he asked.

Uesugi Tetsuya asked with some doubt: "Lord Yoshimoto, what's likely next is just Lord Okabe and I tempering our bodies with qi in our respective barrels, with only our heads showing. What's so interesting about that?"

"Because I feel that I will soon complete the Qi circulation."

Imagawa Yoshimoto stroked his chin and said seriously, "So I want to see the effects and power of this medicinal bath with my own eyes."

The "power" naturally refers to what Uesugi Tetsu had previously mentioned: "the medicinal bath is very painful."

She wanted to observe closely to confirm just how painful it was.

However, what Imagawa Yoshimoto doesn't know yet is that she is destined to return disappointed this time.

“I have no objection.” Uesugi Tetsu spread his hands. “Then, Lord Yoshimoto, you can come in later.”

Imagawa Yoshimoto released his grip and blinked expectantly, "Then, I'll trouble you to call me when the time comes, Che-kun."

"It's nothing, Lord Yiyuan, please wait a moment."

Uesugi Tetsu walked into the room where he could change his clothes.

Soon after, he walked barefoot into the quiet room where the wooden tub was placed, wrapped only in a thin bath towel.

Uesugi Tetsuya was slightly taken aback.

Because what was placed in front of him was not another large wooden tub filled with medicine, but a sliding door that almost completely blocked his view.

He could barely catch a glimpse of the shadow behind the sliding door through the scattered yellow paper window panes.

However, the propagation of sound was not affected.

That's enough.