I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

He hadn't noticed before... Now it seems that Tamamo must have given him that nickname.

Uesugi Tetsu shook his head, mentally criticizing the guy's perverse sense of humor, before opening the message.

[Tamamo's sister!: Uesugi-nii, I've decided to come to the Special Affairs Department in Arakawa Ward to become stronger, and my family is very supportive. Can I come after this period is over?]

After reading through the several lines of text, Uesugi Tetsu replied directly with his own words.

[Tsuki-suna-chan: Okay, welcome.]

Two seconds later, a pre-typed message was sent.

[Tamamo's younger sister! : Thank you, Uesugi-nii.]

[Tamamo's younger sister! Also, Uesugi-kun, may I ask what this is?]

【Tamazao’s sister is right! :picture.jpg. 】

Uesugi Tetsu's attention was immediately drawn to the picture.

In the picture, two or three small old men, about the size of a thumb, are hiding in the shadows under the table, holding cables and doing something, seemingly unaware that someone is taking pictures of them.

[Moon Sand: This is a little old man, a nearly harmless little ghost story... but generally speaking, they don't exist in the Special Affairs Department.]

[Tsukisuna-chan: Chisa, you'd better find an adult in uniform and ask if they're raising it.]

Uesugi Tetsuya sized up the few tiny old men who were barely noticeable unless you looked closely, and sent them a "very important" emoji.

【Tamazao’s sister is right! :OK! 】

After that, Chisa didn't reply again, probably because she went to do as he said.

As the chat ended, that flat, aged voice suddenly rang out again.

"it's over?"

"It's... over." Uesugi Tetsu sighed. "Lord Saionji, could you make a sound before you speak?"

The old man walked up to him noncommittally and asked calmly, "That was the first application of Yae-gaki just now, did you see it clearly?"

Uesugi Tetsuya fell silent.

He gazed silently at the old man for a long time, then chuckled.

"Lord Saionji, you really are..."

Uesugi Tetsu swallowed a portion of the calming incense ash, closed his eyes, and began to search for the footsteps of Shihan Dai when he entered the small dojo in the memories left by his peripheral vision.

Slow down, search, slow down, search...

Only after everything else in his memory had slowed to the point of near-stagnation did Uesugi Tetsu barely catch a glimpse of the footsteps that landed on the wooden floor in the blink of an eye.

step?

No...it's two...four steps!

With the combined effects of the Eye of Interpretation and the Soothing Incense Ash, Uesugi Tetsuya barely managed to make out that the phantom of the footsteps overlapped four times in such a short period of time!

The four overlaps allowed Shi Fandai to move forward the distance he wanted with perfect precision, while simultaneously silencing all sound.

Such footwork is truly bizarre!

Having received the answer, Uesugi Tetsu opened his eyes and uttered the words without hesitation.

"Four times."

After waiting for a full half hour, the teacher's representative revealed an unsightly smile full of wrinkles, and nodded with considerable satisfaction.

"Ruzi can be taught."

Shihan Dai gripped the hilt of the bamboo sword he was holding and tapped Uesugi Tetsuya with the rounded tip of the sword, which was wrapped in white cloth.

"Come on, stand up."

Uesugi Tetsu stood up.

Shi Fan said, "Next, I will use the first footwork of this Yae-gaki to attack you three times. Remember it well."

As soon as he finished speaking, Uesugi Tetsuya was astonished to find that the old man who had been standing in his Eye of Understanding had disappeared.

Moreover, it happened without any warning!

Not only that, but even the mirror in my heart didn't reflect anything at all!

Snapped!

A dull, piercing pain radiating from his waist interrupted Uesugi Tetsuya's thoughts, causing him to instinctively gasp.

"The first time."

The teacher's voice, aged and hoarse, came out and then cut off again.

"The second time."

"The third time."

The remaining two blows, unsurprisingly, landed on Uesugi Tetsuya, allowing him to experience the feeling of being beaten by a bamboo sword for the first time in a long time.

Of course, although Shihan Dai's three swords were not very powerful, they felt to Uesugi Tetsuya much heavier than Ririko's swords.

It's so painful he can't even walk.

Just ten seconds later, the old man stood before Uesugi Tetsuya, who had fallen to the ground, and said calmly,

"get out of class is over."

Enduring pain that would make an ordinary person roll from one end of the dojo to the other, Uesugi Tetsu turned back to look at the receding figure of Shihan Dai.

He understood that Shi Fandai had already "retained" these three swords and related footwork in his memory.

In this way, Uesugi Tetsuya can feel and understand at all times.

It was almost as if the teacher was providing him with constant, close guidance.

It is the best choice for quickly mastering this profound footwork.

"But this teaching method is too hardcore..."

Uesugi Tetsu grinned and decided not to stand up anymore.

He lay down directly on the floor of the dojo and moved his body to the wall.

No wonder they asked if I saw it clearly before... How can a normal person learn and cultivate within their memories?

After resting for a while, Uesugi Tetsu picked up his phone, wanting to see if there were any updates on Chisa's situation.

Then, an unexpected surprise awaited them.

—Tamamo said in LINE that the time for completing the Mumuren dungeon has been set for three days from now.

—Then can't he just start the third special salvage operation now?

Uesugi Tetsuya didn't hesitate much and did what he thought of.

Anyway, there's still the excuse of "studying Yaegaki in my mind".

Uesugi Tetsu brought up the panel for the "One and a Half Star Special Salvage: Fishing Master" and clicked it with his mind.

[Do you choose to consume 2000 soul ash points to start the special salvage: Fishing Master? ]

[Note 1: This salvage operation is highly challenging and may take a considerable amount of time. Please allow approximately 48 hours in advance.]

[Note 2: This salvage operation will significantly improve your mental cultivation progress. Your current mental cultivation progress is "Mid-Stage Mental Cultivation - Clear Mirror".]

"Yes."

The subsequent prompts will appear immediately—

[Special salvage is about to begin.]

【Welcome to Special Salvage·Fishing Master! 】

[Here, you need to try your best to catch the fish swimming in the pond within a limited time...]

[At the same time, you must ensure that you are not caught by anglers...]

The prompt in Uesugi Tetsu's eyes suddenly stopped.

He blinked, suddenly having a bad feeling.

【…】

【…】

【…】

[Please note! ■■■■■■!]

[Your last random era has been detected...]

You have been... (illegible)

【Therefore, Special Salvage and Fishing Master have been changed! 】

[—You are entering the Unique Salvage - All Things Branch!]

Chapter 228: Uesugi Tetsu, the Tiger of the Metropolitan Police Department! A Confession Twelve Years Late

Welcome to the Unique Salvage - Wuxiang Branch!

Here, you will experience countless branching futures extending from the "myriad phenomena".

Each time you fully experience a branch in the story, your state of mind will be elevated to varying degrees.

[Salvage, begin!]

……

Uesugi Tetsuya huddled dazedly inside the cold metal cabinet, peering out through the tiny cracks.

That thing...the fox, dog and raccoon should have gone far away, right?

No, surely these urban legends can't actually exist?

This is the 21st century.

The deserted campus was eerily quiet late at night. Not only was there no moonlight, but not even the sound of insects could be heard.

Inside the metal cabinet, Uesugi Tetsuya, with two unconscious brothers embracing on either side, thought to himself:

"Trying to hide in a closet to escape 'pursuit' like in a game? These two are really something..."

As he was thinking, Uesugi Tetsuya suddenly felt a violent wave of dizziness.

I feel dizzy and nauseous.

He immediately covered his mouth with his hand, barely managing to avoid vomiting all over his two brothers.

Pale-faced, Uesugi Tetsu leaned weakly against the metal cabinet, his mind hazy as he thought, "Anyway, I hope this isn't real, and that the police get here soon..."

Snapped!

The next moment, the metal cabinet was suddenly forced open.

A girl with a small kendo pendant around her neck crossed her arms and looked into the cabinet with a puzzled expression.

"Uesugi-kun, what are you three doing?"

As soon as Ririko spoke, Uesugi Tetsu felt his stomach churning even more violently, and even leaning against the metal cabinet, he felt dizzy.

He quickly pushed Kumamoto and the other man out, then ran to the window in a few quick steps and vomited profusely.

After vomiting for a full half minute, almost emptying his bile, Uesugi Tetsuya finally slumped exhausted against the dusty window, where he heard Ririko complaining behind him.

"Unbelievable... A big piece of paper can scare two people to the point of fainting and one person to the point of vomiting. You three are so embarrassing."

As she was speaking, Uesugi Tetsu felt someone gently pat his back.

He slowly turned his head and saw Ririko's slightly worried eyes.

"You look like you're in the ICU, are you alright?"

"fine……"

Uesugi Tetsuya, panting, wiped the cold sweat from his face and replied softly, "I just don't know why I suddenly felt so dizzy and nauseous, but otherwise I'm fine."

After saying that, Uesugi Tetsu tried to lift himself up from the windowsill with his hands, but he lost all strength and collapsed halfway up.