I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

"So that's how it is. I really will become a Sword Saint in the future."

Nobutsuna Kamiizumi was not surprised.

He nodded his chin matter-of-factly and pulled out the mediocre, even inferior, katana from his waist.

For the first time, the boy looked directly into Uesugi Tetsuya's face and eyes, and spoke to him seriously and earnestly: "Then, seeker of the Way, let me see how much fun you can bring me this time..."

Then Uesugi Tetsu smiled.

In the pure white space, no more words or speech appeared.

Only the intertwining of sword lights.

……

On the tatami mat, Uesugi Tetsuya suddenly opened his eyes and touched his neck, which was completely unharmed.

He grinned, "Damn it, all these knife-wielding bastards seem to like cutting people's necks..."

Completely forgetting that this was also his favorite place to strike, he was truly a master of decapitation.

Unlike being beheaded before, the feeling of having his neck chopped by Uesugi Nobutsuna was exceptionally real, so real that even Uesugi Tetsu could clearly feel the phantom pain in real life.

However, it's not entirely without its advantages.

[After discussion and reflection with others, your skill, Spirit Control Technique - Qi Proficiency +93!]

[Your skill, Natural Mindfulness Style, proficiency +51!]

Looking at the notification that appeared in mid-air, Uesugi Tetsuya smiled with satisfaction.

Although dying in three moves is quite shameful, and it hurts a lot afterwards... it's obvious that the projection of Kamiizumi Nobutsuna is feeding him moves.

Therefore, the improvement in proficiency is also significant.

Decided.

Uesugi Tetsu sat up, appreciating the decisive and exquisite swordsmanship of the projection of Izumi, and wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth as he thought to himself.

From now on, I will die once every day in the projection secret realm.

Although he really wanted to go back in and get his head chopped off again right away, he decided to hold back a little, considering that he needed to have a life as a safety net for entering the mortal world.

After stretching his stiff body a little, Uesugi Tetsu opened the door and walked out of the guest room, only to find that even in the early hours of the morning, it was still bustling with activity outside.

Many men and women dressed in Taoist robes walked around, carrying something in their hands.

Uesugi Tetsu guessed that it was probably some kind of material used to maintain the barrier.

He didn't think about it too much, since it wasn't really his concern.

"Uesugi-kun."

An aged voice suddenly rang out beside Uesugi Tetsuya, causing the latter to turn his head sharply.

Shi Fandai stood in the shadows and slowly said to him, "Come with me for a moment, and I'll introduce you to my two teammates in this bet. They will go on stage before you."

"Row."

Although he wanted to complain about Shifan Dai's ability to teleport, Uesugi Tetsuya, who had nothing else to do, followed without saying much once he heard about the important matter.

A few minutes later, in the empty dojo.

“These two are it.” Shi Fandai extended his hand. “In a sense, the three of you will be fighting side by side in a few days.”

Following the direction the old man was pointing, Uesugi Tetsuya saw two young men, one strong and one thin, both wearing Taoist robes.

"Nice to meet you, Uesugi-kun. My name is Akiyama Mei. You can just call me Akiyama."

Standing nearly two meters tall, Akiyama Mei, whose loose, oversized taekwondo uniform was almost bursting out of his hand, walked forward and grinned at Uesugi Tetsuya, extending his palm.

Uesugi Tetsu shook hands with him.

There was no handshake or show of force as expected; Akiyama Mei simply exerted a little force and nodded amicably to Uesugi Tetsuya.

"Tsuchiya Yu, nice to meet you."

The young man, with a serious expression and two bamboo swords at his waist, bowed to Uesugi Tetsuya.

Uesugi Tetsu bowed slightly to him as well.

These two teammates are not bad.

After a brief encounter, Uesugi Tetsuya, who had activated his Eye of Insight, could clearly sense that the two people before him were no ordinary individuals.

His steps were as steady as Mount Tai, his breathing was almost non-existent, his exposed muscles were like cast steel, and the qi circulating on his body was thin yet strong.

Without a doubt, both of them have already climbed to a very high level on the mountain of the Palace of Flesh. The Yagyu Shinkage-ryu school has also long since obtained the certificate of all-powerful mastery, and has entered the inner sanctum. It is already at the level where they can go out and open their own small dojos.

Even without practicing Yin-Yang techniques, they are still among the strongest in the three-and-a-half-star category.

However, he is still a bit short of his transformation into a four-tailed fox.

After all, Uesugi Tetsuya also possesses a Qi Sea and has spiritual power reserves exceeding the amount of Gang Qi within his body. The difference in combat power is not as simple as one plus one.

—If the two of them go together, Uesugi Tetsu might have a bit of a hard time, but his chances of winning are still quite good.

"Now that we've met, I'll speak."

Shi Fan spoke up, drawing the attention of the three: "The duel will take place in a week."

A week.

This timeframe is neither too short nor too long; it's quite ample.

After a pause, the substitute teacher glanced at the three of them and said, "I won't go on and on about anything else. I'll just say one thing..."

The old man's gaze was deep and unfathomable, his eye sockets shrouded in darkness, and a hoarse, stern declaration emanated from his throat.

"This is a fight to the death; people will die! If anyone has any thoughts of backing out, they can withdraw now!"

No one present showed any fear.

Akiyama Ming laughed loudly: "Teacher, don't say such outdated things!"

Yu Tsuchiya didn't speak, but a hint of fervor and anticipation flickered in his narrowed eyes.

Teacher Fan Dai slowly exhaled.

"So, very good."

After a brief meeting with Uesugi Tetsu, Akiyama Tsuchiya and his companion hurriedly left the small dojo—though they were not afraid of a life-or-death battle, the necessary preparations were still essential.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to prepare another hundred copies, given the battles between the Hojo clan of the Warring States period... and possibly the generals and powerful figures of the Hojo clan from two or three hundred years ago.

Even Uesugi Tetsu had to rack his brains to find ways to increase his chances of winning before the duel began.

This is the principle of strategic contempt but tactical respect.

Uesugi Tetsu didn't leave.

He was forcibly pulled down to sit by the teacher's assistant, and watched as the old man in his seventies or eighties took out the tea set and began to brew tea with apparent skill.

Having witnessed Imagawa Yoshimoto's elegant tea-brewing techniques, Uesugi Tetsu subconsciously pointed out the problem.

"Lord Saionji, this move is flawed."

The old man raised an eyebrow and took back the teacup that was about to be placed in front of Uesugi Tetsuya: "Take it or leave it."

"Ah, I have to drink! How can I not drink!" Uesugi Tetsu immediately took the teacup with both hands and drank the warm tea in one gulp. "Delicious!"

It really tastes good.

After drinking the tea in one gulp, Uesugi Tetsuya felt refreshed and even received a small buff in his status bar.

All I can say is that the raw materials are good; even if the brewing technique is a bit off, it doesn't matter.

Hey.

Just as Shi Fandai was about to speak, he was interrupted by the cell phone in Uesugi Tetsu's pocket.

The old man picked up his teacup: "It's alright, look."

I watched it.

He glanced at the information on the screen, which roughly meant that Nanjo Aimin had received the notification for the seeding tournament preliminary rounds, which would be in a few days, and he would need to go through the motions.

When Shi Fan asked what was wrong, Uesugi Tetsuya didn't hide anything.

"The qualifiers..."

Shifan Dai ran his fingers along the rim of the teacup: "It just so happens that Yagyu is going to play in the Shizuoka Prefecture finals. When you meet him in Tokyo, little friend..."

Uesugi Tetsuya suddenly realized: "Let me run some water?"

"Do not."

Shi Fandai, holding his teacup, looked at him, grinned, and a ruthless, villainous smile appeared on his weathered face.

"Fight them to the death, don't hold back."

Uesugi Tetsu almost spat out his tea.

After coughing several times, Uesugi Tetsuya finally recovered.

Looking at the seemingly genuine words of the teacher, he couldn't help but slap his thigh and burst out laughing.

—It can only be said that the relationship between this father and son is closer than that of blood relatives!

The teacher, suppressing his malice, smiled nonchalantly: "Only through failure and pressure under the public eye can that kid make better progress."

Although he had seen many brilliant geniuses of this era, he had never experienced facing one and being utterly defeated.

Teacher Dai also drank his tea in one gulp, his tone sincere.

"Young friend, I hope you can make that brat Yagyu taste the bitterness of defeat."

"Lord Saionji, I would have done it even without you saying so."

Uesugi Tetsu gave a kind smile.

Shi Fan Dai paused for a moment, then nodded: "Then I am relieved."

The two of them took turns drinking tea, and soon the whole pot was empty.

Teacher Fan looked up at the moonlight and asked, "Young friend, would you like to learn footwork now?"

“Tomorrow is fine.” Uesugi Tetsu shook his head, having just been beheaded once. “I won’t have enough energy, and my efficiency will be low.”

"As it should be."

Shi Fandai stood up: "Then, young friend, you should get some rest tonight."

"Then see you in the morning, Lord Saionji."

After a brief farewell, Uesugi Tetsu turned around and leaned comfortably against the doorframe of the dojo.

And so, the various matters that happened tonight have come to an end.

He glanced at his phone and accepted the Line friend request from Tamamo's younger sister, Chisa.

Tamamo said this is the first phone she bought for Chisa today, and she just taught Chisa how to register for Line today, so please forgive Chisa if she says anything wrong.

Uesugi Tetsu didn't think so.

—Chisa is actually quite shy. If I don't speak up, she probably won't send a message for a long time.

But we just said goodbye today, so there's not much to talk about.

Let's wait a while and ask about the situation again.

—At this moment, the forum of the Special Affairs Bureau APP was in an uproar. Countless people were curious about the true identity of the anonymous person and were also discussing whether the suppression of Yuan Jingshui and Jiujieyuan Jin by this nameless person was undeserved.

Uesugi Tetsu didn't have time to deal with these kinds of messages.

Now that I finally have some free time, taking care of myself is the most important thing.

He put his phone aside and, as usual, first looked inward at his dantian.

Hmm... the area of ​​the entire Qi Sea has expanded by about 10%. The bonus period defined by the Ubume's Feather is indeed good. The area of ​​the Qi Sea occupied by the three has not changed much, which is reassuring.

Because the Qi Sea is steadily growing every moment, Uesugi Tetsuya always feels like he's playing an idle game when he watches it.

Just by taking a look, you can see new changes.

I have to say, it was pretty cool.

Uesugi Tetsuya took out the rotary phone that could open the box from his storage backpack, hesitated for a moment after placing his hand on it, but did not dial.