I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

But as soon as he stepped across the threshold, Uesugi Tetsuya's steps suddenly faltered.

Subconsciously, I looked around.

Thus, the completely different aura of the demons and gods stimulated Uesugi Tetsuya's nerve endings until they felt cold and numb.

"You felt it?" Nanjo Aimi, who was walking ahead, slowed down and came to his side, smiling. "The subordinates of the 23rd Ward of the Tokyo Special Affairs Bureau are all here now."

In silence, Uesugi Tetsu stiffly took in everything around him with his gaze, feeling as if even breathing had become difficult and viscous.

Now, the number of god-like beings standing before him has exceeded thirty.

All of Tokyo, and even most of the eastern region, are officially registered as supernatural beings gathered here.

"Nanjo-nee, why are you sending this...?"

After hanging the Hannya Mask on his waist, Uesugi Tetsuya felt his breathing become a little easier.

Of course, this also attracted some strange and questioning gazes from those who were usually indifferent.

"With so many seeds in the Special Affairs Department all together, we have to be careful not to get wiped out in one fell swoop," Nanjo Manami replied casually.

But after a moment, it seemed even she herself felt this reason was untenable, so she explained after reaching the rest area in Arakawa Ward.

"Today is the first day that this [Sky Dome One] has been put into use."

Nanjo Ai used her elbow to bump against the wall.

"Although it's unlikely, if something really goes wrong and the plane crashes, we're all here, so it won't fall to the ground."

This answer resolved Uesugi Tetsu's previous doubts.

With dozens of ghosts and gods present, even if this floating arena went out of control on the spot due to super shoddy construction, it could be annihilated into a pile of particles in an instant.

Uesugi Tetsu nodded and exclaimed, "The Special Affairs Department really put in a lot of effort to build such a good venue for this kind of seed battle."

"Who told you this was a competition venue?"

Upon hearing the rhetorical question, Uesugi Tetsu looked around at the familiar faces of the seeded players waiting to take the stage: "What else is this but the arena?"

"Of course it's a weapon of war; it's only a temporary venue."

Nanjo Ai used her hands to mimic the sound of guns firing, and said matter-of-factly, "If those Tokoyo Factory owners can make things, how could we not?"

Uesugi Tetsuya opened his mouth, recalling the terrifying diameter of nearly one kilometer, and swallowed with some difficulty.

—How many people, supplies, materials, and weapons can such a huge thing carrying in the sky at once?

—It's just that it's too big a target and easy to be shot down.

But the Special Affairs Department must have thought of such a simple problem, so it's not my place to worry about it.

"Awesome..."

Uesugi Tetsuya pondered for a moment, then frowned in confusion: "Wait a minute, why would the government approve such a project?"

The Sky Dome 1, with its terrifyingly high level of technology and materials, must have been backed by massive amounts of funding.

And the Japanese government...

"government?"

Nanjo Manami laughed: "This kind of system, which is superior in name only but actually backward, has been defunct since the last comprehensive top-down inspection."

She shrugged and spread her hands, sighing helplessly: "It's a pity. We originally wanted to work closely with the government, which would have definitely achieved a 1+1>2 effect."

Unfortunately, this government was so corrupt and incompetent that even after the first wave of reforms, there was no fundamental change, which is regrettable.

"So, it can only be done by us..."

Nanjo Ai used a hand knife to make a cutting motion.

WTF, this government is too cunning! It's been completely sidelined without anyone noticing.

That's true. If they were even slightly useful, they wouldn't be completely useless.

Uesugi Tetsu's lips twitched. He used to feel uncomfortable whenever he thought about how the taxes he couldn't possibly avoid ended up in someone else's pocket after going through several detours.

it's good now.

He used his interpretive eye to examine the delicate yet intricate Yin-Yang patterns on every inch of the ground, which were brimming with spiritual energy, and marveled at them.

The thought of taxes becoming a floating city in the sky made Uesugi Tetsuya feel great.

Since today's Tianqiong-1 is only a trial run, only 49 seeds from the 23 wards of Tokyo will participate in the preliminary rounds.

Therefore, the preliminary rounds were progressing slowly inside the venue, and there weren't many ordinary people sitting in the stands.

However, the live streaming team was very well prepared.

Many professionals were carefully moving around with ridiculously expensive equipment, broadcasting the scene to various platforms.

Uesugi Tetsu blinked and, from a spot where he could see far into the center of the stadium, saw a slightly unfamiliar face emerge from the darkness.

He said, "This is... a seed from the same district as Saito Ryuichi, Takizawa Kai? This spiritual power is so conspicuous, like a light bulb."

The boy, dressed in cheap clothes but exuding powerful spiritual energy, took to the field unarmed.

Despite facing a puppet whose strength was only at the peak of two and a half stars, his expression was quite serious.

“He’s seventeenth, you’re one of the last few, you still have plenty of time.” Nanjo Manami yawned. “Everyone else arrived this morning, you were the last one to come.”

Uesugi Tetsuya was shocked: "Then what did 'next one' mean just now? Does it play every hour?"

Nanjo Ai nodded: "More or less, but it's every half hour, and your name is always on the list during that time."

"Tsk..."

The words that Uesugi Tetsu was about to say were abruptly interrupted by the violent spiritual energy sweeping through the area.

Rumble!

In his sight, the blazing sea of ​​fire that had almost filled the arena, which was a hundred meters in diameter, slowly dissipated.

The boy named Takizawa Kai breathed a sigh of relief, smiled at the camera and the few remaining spectators, and then left the stage.

Uesugi Tetsu twitched his eyebrow.

"Is it really necessary... This is like using a cannon to kill a mosquito. I bet Puppet Bro will be burned to ashes."

— Just like the information says, Takizawa Kai is a turret-type Onmyoji. He can unleash his full power just by standing there and raising his hand.

"They are born with the five elements of spiritual body, they can put big fireballs, big waterballs, and big earthballs at will, I'm just kidding."

Nanjo Aimi smacked her lips,

"Moreover, the Special Affairs Bureau missed him during the first talent test. Fortunately, Y caught him when he passed through the countryside, otherwise this talent would have been lost."

Following Takizawa Kai, each subsequent seed demonstrated considerable strength in the face of puppets that could be easily destroyed.

Most seeds even go so far as to reveal some of their deadly moves, eliminating the puppet before it can even make a move.

Having no time to think about these things, Uesugi Tetsuya, who had memorized every move of the previous contestants, stood up from the soft chair.

Because of her simple white dress, Minamoto Shizumi, who wore a waist ornament, made her entrance.

She lowered her head, seemingly staring at her toes.

A puppet made entirely of steel landed on the arena. As spiritual energy was injected, the spell lit up, and the puppet's eyes changed from dim to bright.

In that instant, Yuan Jingshui drew his sword.

The clearly visible blackness suddenly appeared in everyone's sight, causing the puppet that was about to roar and intimidate the contestants to freeze in place.

The gleaming blue blade was sheathed.

Click.

With the clang of the blade striking the scabbard, the puppet was cleaved in two.

In the distance, Uesugi Tetsu, who had witnessed the sword strike with perfect clarity and had transformed himself into a puppet, let out a heavy sigh.

A smooth, raw phantom pain appeared on his torso.

Clearly, Uesugi Tetsuya couldn't withstand that sword strike.

However, if Uesugi Tetsu were to unleash his full power and suddenly swing the Mumei Sword, even Minamoto Shizumi might not be able to withstand it.

Because the swordsman only needs to consider how to hit the opponent with this sword and maximize the damage.

But the one who receives the sword has many more considerations.

"However, the gap still exists and needs to be faced squarely."

Uesugi Tetsu took a deep breath and focused his attention back on the scene, this time adopting Minamoto Shizumi's perspective.

Immediately, a strange feeling enveloped his thoughts.

Take a step.

Then he drew his sword.

Nothing else.

Simple and pure.

To kill the enemy, you only need to do these two things.

As the black sword light flashed again, Uesugi Tetsu opened his eyes in a daze, only to find that the whole world had changed slightly once again.

In some places, things have become...more complicated.

Yet, in such a complex world, Gen Shizumi is able to wield such a simple sword strike.

This is perhaps the reason for her strength.

A series of notifications popped up, causing Uesugi Tetsuya to refocus his attention.

[You have entered a state of enlightenment, and your trait "Sword Principle" (9%) has been changed to "Sword Principle" (10%)!]

[Because your Sword Principle trait has reached 10%, your understanding of "Sword Principle" has been further deepened!]

[Because your Sword Principle trait has reached 10%, your understanding of everything related to swords has deepened!]

[Due to your Sword Theory trait reaching 10%, the damage of all your sword skills has been slightly increased!]

[Because your Sword Principles trait has reached 10%, you have mastered some knowledge related to "Sword Domain"!]

what?

Even Uesugi Tetsuya was stunned.

Previously, I was stuck at 9% on the Sword Principles and couldn't move forward, but I broke through it easily after inexplicably immersing myself in it.

Sensing something, Nanjo Manami turned her head and noticed that Uesugi Tetsu's aura seemed slightly different.

This feeling was familiar to her, and it was highly likely that she had made a breakthrough in some aspect of her inner self.

Can you really break through just by watching as a bystander?

Is there such a good thing?

After regaining his senses, Uesugi Tetsuya, who hadn't had time to think about anything else, felt genuinely puzzled.

"—Nanjo-nee, why do we all have to show so much skill when we're beating up a puppet? What's the benefit?"

"Because the knockout stage is based on the ranking of the 49 seeds in the qualifiers, the higher the ranking, the greater the advantage in the knockout stage."

Nanjo Manami swallowed her question and instead gave a dry explanation.

Staring at the randomly drifting "threads" before him, Uesugi Tetsuya fell into deep thought.

It turned out to be the case.

He understood the meaning of the rule.

Because everyone wants to achieve a higher ranking, they will inevitably have to show off their skills when fighting against the puppets.

But revealing too much makes it easy for opponents to study and target.

How much to reveal and how much to hide is a test for each contestant.

So, what should I do?

After thinking about it carefully, Uesugi Tetsuya had the answer.

Just let your normal self go full throttle.

—Equip two pieces of avatar equipment, fully unleash the breathing technique, five thunder techniques, three-stage burst, plus a small buff to reduce the convergence debuff.