I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

"Chejun, I will accept all the hardships that are bound to come and use them to temper myself."

Gazing at Imagawa Yoshimoto, who was not tense or anxious at these words, but rather amused by them, Uesugi Tetsu suddenly remembered a sentence.

As the saying goes,

—He who bears the nation's shame is the master of the state; he who bears the nation's misfortune is the master of the world!

Imagawa Yoshimoto may have already embarked on this path.

She casually released Uesugi Tetsu's wrist, then looked at the zashiki-warashi who was still focused on forging iron, not even slightly distracted by the external changes.

"Che-kun, Zashiki Tenko's forging may be nearing completion."

Uesugi Tetsuya also turned his gaze to the sparks flying from the anvil.

—The zashiki-warashi, with only a soaked cloth wrapped around his chest and his whole body covered in sweat, had an icy expression as he raised a heavy iron hammer that looked incredibly heavy.

Then, again and again, mixed with the flickering flames of good fortune, it struck towards Kaga Kiyomitsu's blade—

Smash it with all your might!

Every strike was delivered with all one's might!

At the same time, the angle of each hammer blow is impeccable!

Uesugi Tetsu could see that the dazzling golden light emanating from Kaga Kiyomitsu, who was lying on the anvil, had spread to more than nine-tenths of his body and was about to envelop the tip of the blade.

boom!

Tiny sparks flew and scattered between the black iron hammer and the motionless anvil.

boom!

The flames of Fukuzawa fell like raindrops, causing Kaga Kiyomitsu, enveloped in brilliant gold, to tremble violently.

"Give it to me... okay!"

The Zashiki-warashi murmured unconsciously, its eyes reflecting the last glimmer of silver blade tip. It took a deep breath and raised the iron hammer in its hand high.

boom!

The heavy hammer fell, silencing all unnecessary noise.

Everything has calmed down!

Wow!

A burst of intense golden light erupted, followed by the sound of the Zashiki-warashi as if it were about to collapse.

“Mr. Prajna, I am…”

"—I have lived up to your expectations!"

Stunned by the intense golden light, Uesugi Tetsu didn't think twice and quickly went to the Zashiki-warashi, helping her up from where she was about to collapse to the ground.

Uesugi Tetsu looked down and saw a pale face radiating joy and smugness.

"Mr. Hannya, why don't you check on Kagami first?" Zashiki-warashi smiled weakly. "Just leave me aside and let me rest."

She chuckled: "We blacksmiths are very durable!"

buzz~

As the Zashiki-warashi finished speaking, Kaga Kiyomitsu stood up abruptly from the anvil.

Then, it slowly floated in the air and then slipped into Uesugi Tetsuya's palm.

Uesugi Tetsuya supported the zashiki-warashi with one hand, staring blankly at the quality he had never seen before.

【Kaga Kiyomitsu: Blade of Farewell】

[Quality: Epic → Epic+++!]

Can an epic be followed by three "+" signs?

How come this hasn't become an epic title yet?

Or was there originally only a "+", and this "+++" is purely because the Zashiki-warashi's forging skills are too strong?

He noticed that "Epic+++" was still glowing faintly, so he clicked on it with his mind.

【Epic+++: This is an extremely special quality, forged only by highly skilled artisans using special materials. It is not counted between the "Epic" and "Super Epic" quality levels.】

Now I understand.

This extraordinary quality is a miracle achieved only by combining a Zashiki-warashi (a type of Japanese house spirit) that has been preserved here for hundreds of years with this piece of qualified spirit gold.

Uesugi Tetsu gently helped the zashiki-warashi to a nearby temple pillar.

Then, he continued to look expectantly at Kaga Kiyomitsu, who was trembling slightly with pleasure in his hand.

Soul Points: 0

Hmm, there's an extra line of text that I don't understand.

But no rush, let's finish reading first.

[Effect 1: Thrust Enhancement - Extreme.]

Effect 2: Soul Severing → Soul Absorption and Soul Severing (Unique)!

When using Kaga Kiyomitsu's Blade of Parting to slay demons and monsters, Kaga Kiyomitsu's quality will be enhanced more efficiently!

Additionally, when slaying demons, you can choose to forgo obtaining Soul Ashes and convert them into Kaga Kiyomitsu's "Soul Points".

Consuming Soul Points can enhance and upgrade various effects of Kaga Kiyomitsu.

Uesugi Tetsuya opened his mouth slightly; if he wanted to drink water, he would have sprayed a mouthful of water all over Kaga Kiyomitsu.

So that's what the Soul Points are used for!

Accumulating enough Soul Points can actually enhance the effects on Kaga Kiyomitsu?

This, coupled with Kaga Kiyomitsu's enhanced Zanpakuto effect...

That's more than outrageous.

Just outrageous!

It can be said that Kaga Kiyomitsu now comes with a "deep blue panel" by himself!

Actually, seeing this, Uesugi Tetsuya was already completely satisfied.

The "Soul Drain and Spirit Severing (Unique)" effect alone is enough to justify its epic+ quality!

But perhaps, it's not just that.

[Effect 3: Slash Enhancement - Extreme.]

Effect 4: Blazing → Blazing Blessing. When using Kaga Kiyomitsu's Blade of Parting to slash, the enemy will continuously suffer both physical and mental damage.

At the same time, there is a slight probability that it will improve your luck for a period of time.

The change in the intensity of the flames is likely the result of the Zashiki-warashi using the hammer to drive the blessed fire down.

This is something only a Zashiki-warashi can do.

Seeing this, Uesugi Tetsu couldn't help but turn around and look at Zashiki, who was being taken care of by Imagawa Yoshimoto and couldn't suppress her big smile.

I feel like I owe her a huge favor.

How am I supposed to pay it back?

Uesugi Tetsuya had a headache.

[Effect 5: Farewell Blade (unique).]

[Effect Six: Refined to the same. Kaga Kiyomitsu's toughness and hardness are greatly increased, making it extremely difficult to break. At the same time, Kaga Kiyomitsu will become more adaptable to forging.]

Glancing past one of the key figures who shaped Kaga Kiyomitsu into his current state, Uesugi Tetsu looked toward the last, and only, newly appearing notification.

[Effect Seven: Spirit. After enduring the trials of time, drinking the blood of countless demons, and being forged by the Zashiki-warashi, the spirit of Kaga Kiyomitsu: The Blade of Parting has finally awakened to its fullest potential.]

[—This is the blade that slays the eight sufferings, especially separation from loved ones. Forged by the preparatory celestial craftsman, the Zashiki-warashi, it has fully awakened its own spirituality and is far stronger than before.]

Spiritual awakening?

Why is there a riddle-solving effect description here?

Uesugi Tetsu carefully read the introduction to "Spirit".

Then, he shook the Kaga Kiyomitsu sword in his hand, which, apart from the faint golden light emanating from its blade symbolizing good fortune and trembling more violently, seemed to be no different from before.

Uesugi Tetsu looked him up and down again, but still couldn't see any fundamental change.

Conventionally speaking, the effect of a single word is particularly powerful.

For example, the "rage" that the four-tailed fox transforms into.

So he flicked the beautiful blade of the sword—so exquisite that it could instantly attract the attention of all the swordsmen around him just by being drawn—with his finger and asked curiously.

"Little Jia, where have you awakened?"

hum~

Kaga Kiyomitsu swayed the blade from side to side.

Uesugi Tetsu asked, puzzled, "Didn't you make a buzzing sound before?"

Buzz!

Kaga Kiyomitsu was displeased by the earthquake.

Then, it suddenly flew out of his palm, buzzing as it raised its pale and golden blade high towards him.

It was as if a spirit was gripping the hilt of its sword from behind.

Uesugi Tetsuya was dumbfounded.

What if your own sword flies up and tries to kill its master?

Very urgent, waiting online.

Seeing this, Kaga Kiyomitsu happily spun around in mid-air a few times, and after a moment he made two high-frequency buzzing sounds, as if he was saying something to him.

It was only then that Uesugi Tetsu realized with astonishment.

In his heart.

Surprisingly, another extremely faint heartstring was connected, one that could not be detected without calming the mind and perceiving it!

Chapter 184 Little Jia, Transform! Like an invitation from Arakawa Village at parting, Daruma is about to arrive, and the Demon Guide Association appears unexpectedly.

Heartstrings?

Uesugi Tetsu held his breath and focused his attention on his inner self.

After a while, he actually found a brand new heartstring that had suddenly appeared next to the thick heartstring of the two-foot-tall man!

But isn't the "heartstring" thing usually only a connection between a shikigami and its master?

Uesugi Tetsu stroked his chin, sizing up Kaga Kiyomitsu, who was pacing back and forth in front of him.

He calmed himself down and used his mind to touch the delicate and fleeting heartstrings, and could even faintly hear sounds coming from them.

But I couldn't hear it at all.

All you can hear is a buzzing vibration, but it seems to contain some kind of rhythm or pattern.

Uesugi Tetsuya seemed to understand.

—This feeling is probably a byproduct of Xiao Jia's spiritual fulfillment, or rather, the emergence of the new effect "spirit".

The effect of the "spirit" should be that it enabled Kaga Kiyomitsu to develop a more autonomous and complete intelligence.

Previously, Kaga Kiyomitsu could only emit buzzing or tremors of varying strength, but now he can fly into the air on his own and even try to communicate with his master using his heartstrings.

If he could hear a little better, he might actually be able to speak with Kaga Kiyomitsu.

Uesugi Tetsu paused for a moment after thinking about this, then shifted his gaze to another panel.

—【Spirit Control Technique】.

Yes, his initial purpose in learning spirit control techniques was to communicate with the spirit-possessed "Nanjo Doll".

If communication between people and things was possible back then, there's no reason why it shouldn't be possible now!