I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

Before he could ask any questions, the girl ran off, leaving two people and a ball at the door.

Uesugi Tetsu: ...

After Kitano Runa's voice completely disappeared, a voice came from the small ball explaining that it could fully charge a phone.

"That's the situation. We're currently selecting the second seed for the seeding match."

Will Ririko participate in the battle?

Uesugi Tetsu recalled Tokugawa Sei's parting words, so he asked.

"I don't know, you'd have to ask her yourself."

"correct."

Xiaoyuelan patted Shangshan Che on the shoulder, poked his chest with her finger and laughed: "At six o'clock in the morning, a very beautiful girl came to the Special Affairs Department."

It seems to be from the Minamoto family; her name is Minamoto Shizumi.

"As soon as she came in, she asked very seriously where Uesugi Tetsu was, specifically asking for you by name... What kind of shady business could be going on here?"

As Xiao Yuelan spoke, she twisted her body in an ambiguous tone.

"Uesugi-kun, you really know how to have a fling."

"what?"

Uesugi Tetsu really wanted to type a question mark.

He certainly remembered the name Minamoto no Shizumizu—but that was only because the other party was currently the number one opponent in the Tokyo seeding tournament.

But when it comes to socializing...

Can you even count it just because you glanced at the public information that Nanjo Manami sent him?

What kind of unwarranted accusation is this?

"Not a sister?" Uesugi Tetsu immediately looked at the silver-white ball. "Nanjo-nee, you know where I am..."

"I'm too lazy to listen. You should ask yourself and the other person about this kind of thing."

Even with the electronic music playing at full volume on the silver ball, you could still hear Nanjo Aimi's relaxed and languid tone: "She doesn't have a LINE account, so I had her leave her phone number so you can call her later."

As she spoke, she rattled off a series of numbers.

Uesugi Tetsu had no choice but to write it down.

The electronic music continued: "And that black phone booth, it's started causing trouble again recently..."

"Don't worry."

Uesugi Tetsuya, who had a rare moment of leisure, interrupted Nanjo Ai-mi, took out his phone, and dialed the number under Akatsuki Ran's watchful gaze.

Turn on speakerphone.

The call was connected instantly.

The next second, a female voice, as ethereal as a secluded valley, emerged from the speaker.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Uesugi Tetsuya, the current seed of the Arakawa Ward Special Affairs Department, who practices the Natural Rishin-ryu style, Corona Breathing, and Lightning Yin-Yang Techniques, has achieved a state of perfect tranquility, likes to use the Three-Stage Thrust as his signature technique, and lives in Villa No. 1 in the Special District...?"

Chapter 187 Expert-Level Spirit Control Techniques! The Crucial Choice Between [Qi] and [Spirit]! Little Jia's Early Childhood Education Time

In a quiet room by the mountain in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.

In front of the incense burner, three long sticks of incense burned slowly.

The smoke dissipated, bringing peace of mind.

With her black hair hanging down her back and dressed in plain white, Yuan Jingshui closed her eyes and knelt before the small incense burner.

On her lap lay a scabbard as black as ink, about three feet three inches long, far exceeding the length of an ordinary katana.

This katana is so menacing that it gives you goosebumps at first glance, completely out of place with Minamoto no Shizumizu's peaceful and serene demeanor.

This sword is a demon sword, named Hotarumaru.

The blade pattern is a rare "all-burn" pattern, and the blade will emit a bluish-white cold light in the dark. It is said that the fluorescence on the blade will increase with each person killed.

The Edo period essay "Mimibukuro" records: "When the blade is swung, the trail of light remains like a shooting star," which refers to this.

This Firefly Strike has slain countless demons and warriors throughout history, yet now it lies quietly on Minamoto Shizumi's lap, bathing and burning incense alongside her.

The room was decorated in an unremarkable manner, and the girl's movements were equally unremarkable.

It seemed like just an ordinary morning.

The only thing worth noting was the cell phone that was specially placed in front of the incense burner.

Correct.

That’s right, a cell phone.

A phone with the screen unlocked and still lit.

"The Fourth Miss is alone in the quiet room again, not moving at all."

"There are always a few times like this every month... Oh well, this is not our business."

Outside the quiet room, the servants at the door were talking in hushed tones, unaware that Yuan Jingshui had heard every single word and every nuance of their sentences.

The source of still water doesn't care.

Because she was already used to people gossiping about her behind her back; it had happened so many times before, one more time wouldn't make a difference.

She was just waiting.

—After returning to her quiet room at six o'clock today, she bathed and burned incense, and has been waiting ever since.

Wait for the phone notification to ring.

Time passed by little by little, but Yuan Jingshui had long since gotten used to it.

If it doesn't work in one day, it will take ten.

It's just waiting; such time passes in the blink of an eye.

Before Yuan Jingshui could shift her attention from outside the door back to her body, the phone placed in front of the incense burner began to vibrate.

pat.

A flash of white light landed on the turquoise answer button, and the call was connected.

Is this a moment, or a fleeting instant?

It's hard to say how short a time that was.

The result was as if a phone call had been automatically connected, and then Shizumi Gen, who was kneeling on the ground, spoke softly:

"Excuse me, are you a current seed member of the Arakawa Ward Special Affairs Department...?"

She simplified the information she had gathered over the past few days and then recounted it in detail, as if reciting a familiar story.

Then, for some reason, an eerie silence fell over the other end of the phone.

Ke Yuanjingshui could also hear the rumble of a car engine from the other side, and even the sound of electrical current surging in electronic devices.

So she clearly and softly stated her name.

"Hello, I am Yuan Jingshui."

After a long silence, a somewhat stiff voice came from the speaker: "Hello, Ms. Yuan, I am Uesugi Tetsu."

After a pause, the speaker continued to vibrate: "Excuse me, what can I do for you?"

Yuan Jingshui stood ramrod straight and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"I would like to apologize to you personally, Uesugi-kun, for what happened last time when Saito Ryuichi and I spied on you while you were dining with your shikigami."

"—Uesugi Tetsu, I'm sorry."

Yuan Jingshui's voice was extremely sincere.

So it took a while before a surprised "Huh?" came from the other end of the phone.

Yuan Jingshui waited quietly, and after a while, Uesugi Tetsuya spoke somewhat stiffly on the phone.

"Uh... okay, thank you for your apology, Ms. Yuan."

He said, "Yes, I accept."

Snapped.

Another flash of white light appeared.

The call was hung up.

After kneeling for almost a whole morning, Yuan Jingshui finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Because she couldn't calm down unless she heard Uesugi Tetsu personally accept her apology.

it's good now.

"From now on, I won't go into these petty thefts with Saito anymore."

—She couldn't sleep well for several days after just one sneak peek.

Yuan Jingshui murmured softly, and then in an instant entered a deep meditation, abandoning everything outside his mind.

Determined to defeat all opponents and gain her sister's approval, Yuan Jingshui continues to walk alone on the path called "Hundred Refinements of the Mind".

……

At the entrance of the Special Affairs Office in Arakawa Ward.

Staring at the phone in Uesugi Tetsuya's hand, which was abruptly disconnected and started beeping, the two fell into an unspoken silence.

Xiao Yuelan, who was all ready to take off her clothes, scratched her head after getting caught up in some inexplicable gossip: "What does this woman mean? Do all members of the Yuan family like to say such nonsensical things?"

Uesugi Tetsuya, who was also momentarily confused, concluded with a strange expression,

"You mean to say that my opponent in the Tokyo seeding battle, Minamoto no Shizumi, the eldest daughter of the Minamoto family, was monitoring me together with Saito Ryuichi, who used Yin-Yang techniques."

Because I felt so guilty, I came here today to sincerely and earnestly apologize, and all for that.

Xiaoyuelan: ?

"What the hell? Why do I need to apologize for this?" She couldn't understand. "Isn't it an unspoken rule that everyone uses their own skills and methods to spy on their opponents before the competition?"

Xiao Yuelan asked in bewilderment, "What's wrong with monitoring for a while? Even if it's 24-hour surveillance, I wouldn't see any problem with it at all."

Uesugi Tetsu raised an eyebrow and stuffed his phone back into his pocket: "Maybe that's why they're better than you."

Xiao Yuelan retorted, "My senior brother is just like me; he's much more capable than this little sister!"

Uesugi Tetsu: "Anyone who didn't know better would think you were called 'Senior Brother'."

Xiao Yuelan was so rebuffed that she switched out of power-saving mode again—what she wanted wasn't this kind of verbal attack, but a physical attack of equal intensity!

Uesugi Tetsu ignored her and just pondered for a moment.

—This Yuan Jingshui is actually quite an interesting person.

But she managed to find out so much about me... The information Nanjo sent me before described her as "arrogant, aloof, and haughty."

It seems that publicly available information cannot be trusted too much.

"Are you done talking now? Then I'll continue. The sooner I finish, the sooner I can slip away."

Nanjo Manami's electronic music interrupted Uesugi Tetsu's thoughts.

Uesugi Tetsu nodded after deciding to get to know Minamoto Shizumi properly after the second round.

"Nanjo-nee, you go ahead."

"Didn't they say the illegal phone booths were causing trouble again?"

It seemed someone was adjusting something, so the electronic music inside the silver sphere fluctuated in intensity, but this didn't stop Nanjo Manami from continuing to speak.

"Although I told you on the phone last time that you don't need to worry about this wave."

Just a few hours ago, this black phone booth began to spread rapidly, carried by waves... That's the annoying thing about ghost stories; they always manage to spread in inexplicable ways.

In just a few hours, it has spread throughout Tokyo—or rather, in smaller cities outside Tokyo.

Stab it!