I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

She scratched her head a little embarrassedly, then clapped her hands: "Then I'll go out with Yagyu first. If you need to contact us later, Uesugi-nii, just send us a message."

As the door slammed shut, the sound of their footsteps faded into the distance.

Uesugi Tetsu took a deep breath and looked at the notification that had already popped up in the corner of his vision.

[Hyakume-ki has completed its quality upgrade!]

He rubbed his hands together with some anticipation.

Next, we'll see what the Hundred-Eyed Demon looks like after consuming that fragment of a demon-god level eyeball and completing its ascension...

[Two-star limited salvage: Edo Castle Suburbs! ]

The Edo Castle gacha pool page popped up in front of Uesugi Tetsuya's eyes.

In an instant, he spotted the Hundred-Eyed Demon loli who was in the very center of the gacha pool, but sitting in mid-air above Edo Castle, reaching out to pluck at the clouds.

For some reason, her hair grew longer, the smooth black hair reaching past her waist, making her look more serene and composed.

The white bone throne beneath him was also covered by a layer of black and red agate, making it crystal clear and exuding a sense of nobility from afar.

As for the pile of treasures that was originally piled directly on the muddy ground, they were filled with pale, immaculate bone cups and displayed to Uesugi Tetsuya without reservation.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but Uesugi Tetsu feels like the lighting in the Edo Castle gacha pool has become dimmer.

【Quality: Epic+】

A huge, deep purple label was placed on the top of Hyakume's head.

Just as Uesugi Tetsu was about to shift his gaze, a huge, scarlet eye suddenly emerged from the layers of dark clouds.

The giant eye was staring at him with a cold gaze.

A few seconds later, the Hundred-Eyed Demon, who was sitting on the throne with his knees drawn up, burst out laughing.

She waved her hand, causing the giant crimson eye in the clouds to flip over and wobble as it descended, growing smaller and smaller.

By the time the giant eye fell into the hands of the Hundred-Eyed Demon Loli, it had already turned into a small black and red gemstone that emitted a mesmerizing glow.

She tossed the gem backward, setting it perfectly at the very center of the throne.

Then, Hyakume raised her hand towards the sky, or rather, towards Uesugi Tetsuya, who was looking her over.

["Hundred Eyes Demon" has submitted a transaction request to you. ]

Ok?

Uesugi Tetsuya, still enjoying the thrill of nurturing someone, blinked.

He wondered if Hyakume was an insatiable little glutton who wanted more right after being promoted.

However, the prompt that appeared later ruthlessly shattered Uesugi Tetsuya's thoughts.

Because of the deal proposed by Hyakume-ki... no, it can't even be called a deal anymore.

This is practically free!

Hyakume-ki usually seems cold and unsmiling, but who would have thought he would do something like this?

Uesugi Tetsu's pupils contracted slightly, wanting to observe what Hyakume was thinking.

But the latter has now turned the throne away, preventing him from seeing it.

[Hyakume's requirement: Soul Ash x1]

You can obtain: Hundred-Eyed Demon's Eye x1

Then Uesugi Tetsuya could only look at the trade request... How could he possibly disagree with a mere bit of soul ash?

One point of Soul Ash was deducted, and in its place, a smooth, round, and exquisitely beautiful black and red eyeball fell into Uesugi Tetsuya's palm.

A prompt and panel will pop up indicating that you have obtained an eyeball.

You have obtained the Eye of the Hundred-Eyed Demon!

【The Eyes of the Hundred-Eyed Demon】

[Quality: Epic]

[Effect: After use, your eyes will gain specified unknown properties.]

A gift, a word of thanks.

An epic item that grants special abilities was obtained with just a little Soul Ash.

Uesugi Tetsu swallowed hard.

This isn't just making a fortune, it's... making an insane amount of money!

Judging from the item description, this is clearly a thank-you gift from Hyakume-ki.

In reality, Uesugi Tetsu didn't really help Hyakume much.

Collecting eyeballs to improve Hyakume's quality is ultimately just for his own benefit.

Uesugi Tetsu looked back at the gacha pool and saw that Hyakume, who had fallen to the ground, was still expressionless, simply curling his hair with his fingers.

It was as if nothing had just been done.

A brand new progress bar appeared above her head.

It represents an incredibly long road leading to epic quality.

Uesugi Tetsu smiled, a mixture of joy and unease.

The reason for the joy is that Hyakume's quality can still be improved, which means a higher ceiling and greater potential.

It's hard to say, but just getting from Epic to Epic+ took him all his effort.

Heaven knows how long it will take to upgrade Hyakume to the next quality level.

Uesugi Tetsu sighed, "The road ahead is long and arduous..."

Let's just explore as we go, but at least we'll finish clearing the Mumu Lian Maze, which contains thousands upon thousands of eyeballs, before making any further plans.

Who knows, maybe those eyeballs in the maze will be enough for Hundred-Eyed Demon to advance its quality again?

Uesugi Tetsu breathed a sigh of relief, recalling the first time he saw Hyakume in the gacha pool, when he thought she was just a simple projection.

He recalled being startled by Hyakume's trade request at the time.

Now, the other party can even use this function to send him such a precious gift "remotely".

This can be considered a wonderful coincidence.

Uesugi Tetsu gazed at the black-haired loli whose value surpassed that of all other items in the gacha pool with just one item.

For a fleeting moment, he wanted to thank the Hundred-Eyed Demon, whose eyes were lowered.

But Uesugi Tetsuya kept quiet, knowing that the other person couldn't hear him.

He scanned the "Epic+" tag several more times before closing the Edo Castle gacha page, preparing to use the Hundred-Eyed Demon Eye in his hand.

……

In the "Edo Castle Gacha Pool".

Hyakume breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the gaze that had been watching him for so long finally disappear.

She looked up and gazed into the eternal darkness.

How long has this darkness, which has devoured countless lives and deaths in the past and will continue to devour lives and deaths in the future, lasted?

Hyakume-ki didn't know.

She simply closed her eyes with a faint, elusive hope and began to hum an old nursery rhyme.

"Come quickly, come quickly, please grant us an end and rest..."

……

If you place the Hundred-Eyed Demon's Eye close to your forehead, it will activate automatically.

Holding his eyeballs, this is what Uesugi Tetsu felt in his heart.

He did as instructed.

The dark red pupils, pressed against his forehead, immediately melted like warm snow, turning into a warm liquid that seeped into Uesugi Tetsu's eyes.

A subtle stinging sensation arose in my eyes, fleeting in an instant.

[You have used the Eye of the Hundred-Eyed Demon!]

[You have acquired the Trait: Eye of Interpretation!]

Uesugi Tetsu opened his eyes without any hesitation and found that everything in front of him had become clearer, more distinct, and more... easier to understand.

It remains a simple and easy-to-understand metaphor.

If the world in Uesugi Tetsu's eyes was 1k at the beginning, then now his vision has changed to 4k, exactly the same as when he first used the Requiem Ash (Micro).

[The Eye of Interpretation: After actively expending energy, everything in the world will appear to slow down in your eyes, and you will be able to interpret everything happening before you at a deeper level.]

The change from 1k to 4k is only a passive effect.

Uesugi Tetsu opened and closed his eyes, activating the active effect of the Eye of Interpretation.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he noticed that the dust in front of him was moving at a speed several times slower... As for the "deeper interpretation," Uesugi Tetsu had not yet figured out what it meant.

Even so, the improvement brought by the Eye of Decipherment is enormous!

Whether in combat or in learning, the Eye of Interpretation significantly boosted his combat power!

—She's definitely mine in the future, so why send her such an expensive dowry before that?

Hyakume-ki, you bastard...

After spending about ten minutes getting used to the effects of the Eye of Decipherment, Uesugi Tetsuya took out his phone again.

As soon as I opened the Special Affairs Bureau APP, a message popped up: "[It has been detected that you are not above four stars and are near a secret realm. Do you want to be included in the statistics of the 'Top 100 List'?"

Yes/Yes

Looking at this option, Uesugi Tetsuya was so angry he laughed.

He looked around the screen again and found that the "No" option was right below the two "Yes" options, but its color was dull and couldn't compare to the shiny "Yes" option at all.

After casually clicking "Yes," Uesugi Tetsu immediately clicked the anonymous option in the upper right corner.

He didn't want to get into a lot of trouble just by trying to clear a secret realm.

Uesugi Tetsu browsed the forum for a while longer and found that people in different cities and regions were indeed amused by this top 100 list.

The most frequent and popular posts discuss which famous genius is stronger and can reach a higher level in the secret realm.

Ryuichi Saito, Tsubaki Kujo, Haruhiko Tokugawa, Kai Takizawa, Shizumi Minamoto...

Even more surprisingly, Uesugi Tetsuya saw his own name in some corners.

Electronic cricket fighting has never lacked an audience.

Not to mention that these geniuses do actually exist in reality, and will soon gather on a platform to begin the seeding tournament. There are even bets on the Special Affairs Bureau's contributions.

However, under the control of an unknown force, the highest bet that can be placed is no more than "1" point, which can be said to be more for entertainment than for practical purposes.

"Now that everything is done, why not go and risk your life to test the waters?"

Uesugi Tetsu stretched and walked out of the room. He took a walk around the area for about half an hour and found that the atmosphere around him had changed completely in just that short time.

Restless, passionate, and fiercely competitive...

The reason why the top 100 list hasn't changed much is probably because many people are still waiting for the vanguard to test the waters and find out information about the powerful projection in the secret realm.

Because each person only has three chances to take on the challenge, most potential challengers take this very seriously.

Uesugi Tetsu didn't care.

He showed his pass and entered the barrier. Besides seeing several unfamiliar figures, he also saw Yagyu Chi, who had fallen to the ground with a thud and was shaking his head.

Tamamo, her fists clenched and her eyes sparkling with anticipation, asked, "Yagyu, how many levels have you reached?"

"Thirty-fourth floor."

Liu Shengchi replied, his face showing neither regret nor lingering fear, but rather he had already begun to ponder and review the situation, thinking about how to make up for his weaknesses and win.

Uesugi Tetsu looked at the stone tablet next to him and found that Yagyu Akira's name had jumped to the top.

Fourth place.