I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

The fox-faced woman whispered in his ear, "The rules are the same before the competition. You and that person need to discuss a bet that satisfies both of you first."

"Are you the six-tailed fox who publicly humiliated the Tokugawa family?" the Onmyoji laughed. "I never expected to meet you. I am truly fortunate."

"It's nothing, no need to talk about it."

Uesugi Tetsuya took out the purple orb of light he had just conjured: "I wonder if you would be satisfied with this as a wager?"

“Memory orbs related to the Tokugawa family are certainly valuable.”

The Onmyoji chuckled: "But I only dare to say such things in the Hanafuda shop. If it were outside, I would definitely turn around and run away without saying a word... This thing is a complete hot potato."

"Then what does Lord Six-Tailed Fox desire?" the Onmyoji asked bluntly. "I don't want to waste too much time on riddles."

Uesugi Tetsuya stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Memories related to spirit control techniques, is that acceptable?"

The Spirit Control Technique is originally a fragment of the Great Yin-Yang Technique. Although it cannot be sensed at all, the benefits would certainly be considerable if it could be completed.

"Spirit control technique?!"

He immediately shook his head and said loudly, "Sorry, I don't have such a thing."

From the tone of his voice, Uesugi Tetsu could tell that the other person's expression under the flames must have changed drastically.

Noticing this, Uesugi Tetsu asked somewhat curiously,

"Is there anything special about the Spirit Control Technique?"

The Onmyoji stared at him silently for a long while before sighing, "You don't know... Oh right, you're a great demon, no wonder you don't know."

He snapped his fingers, setting up a simple, small soundproof barrier, then spoke softly, offering a brief explanation.

"Spirit control is one of the cornerstones of the Nanjo family. It is said that those who have mastered it can absorb spiritual energy from a hundred miles away with their own power, causing upheaval and making their cultivation speed ten or a hundred times faster than that of ordinary Onmyoji."

The Onmyoji's tone was somewhat displeased: "These three words are a topic that cannot be touched in the outside world."

"Thank you for your explanation."

After saying thank you, Uesugi Tetsuya's CPU began to run at high speed.

The Nanjo family?

Judging from the cautious and unpleasant attitude of this Onmyoji, the Nanjo family must also be an ancient Onmyoji family with unparalleled strength.

Even if he can't compare to Tsuchimikado, he should still be on par with the likes of Fujiwara and Kamo.

But why has he never heard of the "Nanjo family" in the real world?

The tide has passed, and the great era has arrived, yet the Nanjo family remains completely hidden... Their concealment is simply too profound.

This "spirit control technique" was a gift from a netizen named "Go Die at Work".

In other words, this netizen is very likely a member of the Nanjo family, and of a high status.

As for Nanjo-nee, Uesugi Tetsu felt that she must also be a member of the Nanjo family—of all the people he knew, she was the only one with the surname Nanjo, and she was so powerful, how could she not be?

Thinking of this, Uesugi Tetsuya suddenly realized something.

No wonder that when I told Nanjo-nee that I wanted to specialize in thunder magic, that netizen immediately gave me the equally powerful Five Thunder Magic.

—It's highly likely that Nanjo-nee and "Go to hell with work" know each other and are very close; they're both from the Nanjo family!

Later, I'll just ask Nanjo-nee if she knows about the Nanjo family.

The Onmyoji stared at Uesugi Tetsuya in silence for a long time, and thinking he hadn't figured it out, he spoke up.

"I see that Lord Six-Tailed Fox has achieved considerable success in cultivating thunder magic, and should also be quite interested in our human Yin-Yang techniques."

"What about this memory sphere containing the [Flame Armor] cultivation method, which is primarily based on fire magic but also incorporates some principles of astronomy?"

The Onmyoji reached out and took out a memory orb that was even deeper purple: "Flame Armor was my main cultivation method. With this method alone, it should not be a problem to cultivate to the level of a ghost or god."

Its cultivation requires planting five fire seeds in the five internal organs to enhance strength and physique. Once successful, it can form a "flame armor" on the body's surface to resist external attacks and possesses many miraculous effects.

Dark purple?

Uesugi Tetsuya was taken aback: "This sphere of light from the Flame Armor Technique seems to be even more precious."

"What does that matter?"

The Onmyoji readily agreed, "Once I defeat Lord Six-Tailed Fox and obtain the Tokugawa memories, I can then take a severe cut into the Tokugawa clan, won't that solve the problem?"

"Your Excellency is quite confident."

The Onmyoji's tone was full of confidence: "There's no other way, I came here with the title of the best in the world!"

Uesugi Tetsu didn't say anything more, a pleasant smile appearing behind his mask. In his heart, he had already added this seemingly impressive Flame Armor technique to his collection.

Even if this Onmyoji is indeed a master of Kaguya, how could he withstand his countless restarts?

Chapter 264 The Victory of the Predictor, Flame Armor Acquired! Local rankings ended, and within days, proficiency skyrocketed.

"The duel begins!"

As the fox-masked woman's voice faded, Uesugi Tetsuya and the Onmyoji, who were sitting in front of fifty karuta cards that had been arranged and placed face down on the ground, both became completely focused.

"The people of this world are truly pitiful..."

Before the fox-masked woman could finish reading the first half of her sentence, Uesugi Tetsu and the Onmyoji simultaneously stared at the same karuta card.

The world is truly pitiful, yet also hateful.

The second half of this waka poem is—

Human life is full of sorrow and suffering; my heart is filled with grief and indignation.

Without reaching out to snatch it, Uesugi Tetsu flicked his fingertips, and lightning, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, burst forth in an instant, tightly enveloping the karuta card in front of the other person.

He pulled it right in front of him!

In this first round, Uesugi Tetsu won without any doubt!

The Onmyoji, who had just raised his hand, paused slightly, then slapped his thigh and laughed happily.

"What superb lightning manipulation! Truly superb lightning manipulation! Such precise control over lightning is something I have never seen before in my life!"

Uesugi Tetsu acted as if he hadn't heard, not taking it lightly at all.

The Five Thunder Technique is indeed very fast, making it the best alternative to the palm in Karuta.

But the fact that he was able to get the karuta card without any obstacles the first time was simply because he happened to hit the opponent's blind spot.

Next, this powerful Onmyoji will definitely have a corresponding countermeasure...

The fifteen-minute song competition passed in the blink of an eye.

Uesugi Tetsuya was defeated without any suspense.

The score was 7-43.

After gaining five points with his lightning-fast first move using the Five Thunder Technique, Uesugi Tetsu only managed to steal two points from the subsequent forty-five karuta cards.

He silently raised his eyes, staring at the Onmyoji whose aura was blurred and whose face and exposed skin were shrouded in faint flames.

—This person's methods and the Yin-Yang arts he knows are truly vast and boundless.

In just one Karuta match, Uesugi Tetsu witnessed nearly two hundred kinds of Yin-Yang techniques that could be manipulated as if they were his own arms.

He was convinced to lose.

The Onmyoji laughed and cupped his hands in greeting: "Lord Six-Tailed Fox, you flatter me!"

"Concession."

Uesugi Tetsu breathed a sigh of relief, pondering the variations of each Yin-Yang technique in his mind, and answered with a smile as well.

Then, he said something that the Onmyoji didn't quite understand: "But our real battle has only just begun."

……

Over the course of several days, Uesugi Tetsuya restarted the game more than ten times, and was also defeated by this mysterious, nameless Onmyoji more than ten times.

The opponent's initial statement about wanting to become the best in Karuta did not seem to be unfounded.

Fortunately, even though he kept losing, Uesugi Tetsu's record was getting better and better.

From the initial 7-43, to the current 23-27.

In the game of Songstress, each player starts with 25 Songstress cards in front of them, and the side with more Songstress cards at the end wins.

Therefore, Uesugi Tetsuya is only 3 karuta cards away from victory.

Tonight, he is confident he can defeat this nameless Onmyoji whose skills are as powerful as a ghost!

Aside from their nightly card game, Uesugi Tetsu spent the rest of the past few days training with Ririko and Yagyu Akira.

With others practicing and exchanging ideas together, and with the help of Xiao Jia's "dual cultivation" and the Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound and medicinal baths, Uesugi Tetsuya's proficiency in various skills has indeed increased significantly.

The techniques that saw the greatest increase in proficiency were naturally the Corona Breathing Technique and its accompanying Five Thunder Technique.

Over the past few days, the combined proficiency of the two skills has increased by almost 2000 points!

This would have been unimaginable last month!

[Five Thunder Techniques - Qi Harmony (Expert 104/5600)] → [Five Thunder Techniques - Qi Harmony (Expert 888/5600)]!

[Corona Breathing Technique (Black Flesh 214/2500)] → [Corona Breathing Technique (Black Flesh 1514/2500)]!

Because he focused all his energy on the other side, even though Uesugi Tetsu absorbed a lot of spiritual energy quickly, his proficiency in Spirit Control Technique increased relatively little, only about 300 points.

【Spirit Control Technique - Qi (Expert 3001/4000)】→【Spirit Control Technique - Qi (Expert 3306/4000)】.

As for the Core Formation stage, thanks to the close guidance from Li Lizi, a master of Core Formation, every evening, he is making steady progress.

【Bao Dan (2.5/100)】→【Bao Dan (10/100)】.

The practice of the Natural Mind Style was temporarily put aside, treated merely as a warm-up exercise to maintain the feel for it, and after several days, the proficiency level only increased by a dozen points.

The same principle applies to sword skills that are harder to improve.

However, due to his high spirits, Uesugi Tetsuya has already comprehended 9% of the "Lin" technique through diligent practice, and he should be able to break through the 10% barrier before the seeding battle.

During this time, Uesugi Tetsu, who had mastered the first two chapters of the Myokawa Breathing Technique, secretly probed Ririko to see if she wanted the method of "Acupoints and Sea of ​​Qi".

The answer is no.

Ririko has been lost in thought and contemplation lately. She says that perhaps before long she will be able to understand this area by using her own body and Uesugi-kun's body.

Therefore, Uesugi Tetsu hesitated and did not teach her this part of the Myokawa Breathing Technique.

Let's wait a bit longer. It's not too late to verify this part with Ririko after she has developed her own method.

That evening, Uesugi Tetsu, who had just finished a day of training, asked Yagyu Akira, who had just opened the door,

"Yagyu-kun, is the regional rankings over?"

"Today marks the complete conclusion."

Yagyu Akira took out a medal with a bronze-like texture, the number [62] engraved on the back.

Ranked sixty-second, that's a position that's neither too high nor too low.

However, for Yagyu Akira, who won the championship in Shizuoka Prefecture, this is definitely a much lower ranking. If he goes all out, he should be able to get a ranking of 55th or lower.

Uesugi Tetsu laughed and said, "It seems that Yagyu-kun has been hiding his true abilities."

Slightly tired, Yagyu Chi shook his head: "A few rankings aren't that important. It would be a mistake to use every trick in the book and end up being thoroughly analyzed and countered."

"And what about you, Ririko?" Uesugi Tetsu turned around and poked the soft cheek of the girl lying on the ground. "Is it about to start too?"

"Around the day after tomorrow?"

Ririko slapped his fingers away, stared at the ceiling, and said, "This competition format is very complicated; I haven't figured it out yet."

Then, she shrugged.

"But these minor details don't matter. As long as you're called on, you go on stage and keep winning, right?"

Uesugi Tetsu nodded: "To be honest, that's true."

She smacked her lips and yawned: "Okay, I'm a little sleepy. Uesugi-kun, you should go and get some rest too."

After saying that, Ririko closed her eyes and lay down on the ground, looking as if she were in a trance.

Uesugi Tetsu didn't say much; he had gotten used to Ririko sleeping on the floor these past few days.

I just hope she figurees out the acupoint problem soon; sleeping on the floor all the time isn't a good thing.