I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

"All right."

After a moment of reflection, Uesugi Tetsuya looked at the fox-masked woman again and said, "Take me to the next round."

"Please follow me, sir."

The fox-masked woman, who had also turned her gaze away for a short while, smiled and led Uesugi Tetsuya deeper into the flower card shop.

In the second round, Uesugi Tetsuya's opponent was an Onmyoji from a small family that had probably been wiped out in history.

Compared to the nameless Onmyoji in the first round, the opponent was not strong; he only defeated Uesugi Tetsu by a hair's breadth.

The score was 24-26.

Despite his defeat, Uesugi Tetsuya was not discouraged. He had the fox-masked woman bring out the scales and then skillfully placed his hands on them.

Everything was destroyed.

Just before his consciousness was swallowed up, Uesugi Tetsu calmly thought.

The next time I come to Hanafuda, this second round will be considered a success.

Skimming across the deep sea, returning to the present world.

When Uesugi Tetsu opened his eyes, he saw the ceiling that was all too familiar, and then felt a tightness in his chest.

Looking up, I saw that it was Kaga Kiyomitsu who had just returned and was lying on top of me.

This bear kid...

He tossed Kaga Kiyomitsu onto the bedside table, then sat up straight, took out his phone, and stared at the time on the screen saver.

2024 years.

"The opening and closing of the eyes can span hundreds of years."

Uesugi Tetsu sighed softly, recalling the nameless Onmyoji's casual words from earlier—"Then let it be as if I'm pointing out another secluded path for the people of this world."

This simple sentence may represent an unimaginable amount of painstaking effort.

In the real timeline, this nameless Onmyoji certainly had never seen his "six-tailed fox demon".

He was certain that his experiences in the flower card shop were most likely fake, and that only the memory orb was real.

However, the "Flame Armor" technique, which originated from the Heian period's "Fire Element - Astronomical Path" Yin-Yang art, was originally seen to be incomplete by an unnamed Yin-Yang master, who had already researched and completed it.

Has it been completed now?

Or is it true, as he claimed, that he bestowed this extremely excellent Yin-Yang technique upon the people of the world?

Uesugi Tetsu wanted to know.

He was already eager to know the answer.

It was the early hours of the morning, but Uesugi Tetsu was certain that Nanjo Manami was not asleep—because if you clicked on her profile picture, you could see that she had posted an update just ten minutes ago.

[The Arakawa Ward Special Affairs Department is hiring a clerk! Excellent benefits, good salary, and eight types of insurance and three types of housing funds! The Special Affairs Department will never force any employee to work overtime!]

After reading the title, Uesugi Tetsuya checked the release date.

【2: 24】

happy.

Nanjo-nee still has a lot of conscience... posting this kind of update at this time, unless the person who sees it is a masochist, they probably won't apply.

Without thinking too much, Uesugi Tetsu made a phone call directly.

Seconds.

During working hours, and when there are no meetings or battles, calls to Nanjo Manami are always answered instantly.

This is the work attitude of the older generation of corporate slaves.

The next moment, a seemingly formulaic, indifferent but clearly energetic tone came from the other end of the phone: "Oh, it's Xiao Che... Just say what's on your mind, I'm listening."

Xiao Che even said yes.

Uesugi Tetsu chuckled and asked,

"Nanjo-nee, how many people have you said this phrase to in the last couple of days?"

"Two hundred? Or three hundred?"

When Nanjo Ai realized that it was Uesugi Tetsu calling, the formality in her tone gradually faded: "Lately, so many little Karamis have been reporting their work progress to me, my phone is practically ringing off the hook."

"So you still have so much energy?"

"I just drank the pink Monster Energy drink twenty minutes ago, and now it's really kicking in." Nanjo Ai clicked her tongue. "To be honest, this tastes awful. No wonder it's a favorite of the niche girl who loves landmines."

Uesugi Tetsu: ...

"Alright, enough of this nonsense." Uesugi Tetsu coughed and asked, "Nanjo-nee, could you check if there's an Onmyoji technique called [Flame Armor] in the Special Affairs Department's files?"

"Just this little thing? Right away."

After Nanjo Ai finished speaking, she seemed to have turned on speakerphone, so Uesugi Tetsu could hear the clear sound of the membrane keyboard being typed, as well as the sounds of people coming and going in the Special Affairs Office building in the middle of the night.

This Special Affairs Department is really stingy to an extreme... making a high-ranking official in District 1 use an old, cheap membrane keyboard that costs several hundred yen.

In addition, the conversation between Shizuma Manatsu and Akatsuki Ran could be heard from afar.

But at least we didn't hear Chisa's voice, which means that at least the "child laborers" haven't been poisoned by this terrible overtime culture.

Within seconds, Uesugi Tetsu heard Nanjo Manami's voice again: "There isn't an Onmyoji technique called 'Flame Armor'..."

Uesugi Tetsu sighed softly.

After a moment, Nanjo Manami continued, "But there is an Onmyoji technique called [Zhou Tian Yan Jia], but it only has the name and nothing else."

Zhou Tianyan Armor?

Uesugi Tetsu's eyes flickered slightly: "Why?"

"Because this is a profound method that can be used as a major Yin-Yang technique, and after mastering it, one can break through the Ghost God realm and touch the edge of the Five-Star Desolate God realm. It can be considered a Desolate God-level Yin-Yang technique."

At this point, Nanjo Manami exclaimed in surprise, "Moreover, the origin of this Yin-Yang technique is quite peculiar."

Aragami!

The nameless Yin-Yang Master was indeed dissatisfied with the realm of ghosts and gods, and in fact broke through this constraint.

From that moment on, he transformed from a jiao (a type of dragon) into a dragon, and could go anywhere in the world!

Uesugi Tetsuya perked up when he heard her say that

"It was donated unconditionally to the Yin-Yang Bureau by a great Onmyōji from the Edo period more than 300 years ago, who said that the Onmyō Bureau should spread it widely so that anyone could practice this Yin-Yang art."

After the Special Affairs Department separated from the Yin-Yang Bureau, this [Zhou Tian Yan Jia] became one of the few Yin-Yang techniques of the demon-god level or above that came with the Archives Room.

After scrolling the mouse wheel twice, Nanjo Aimi continued, "Twenty or thirty years ago, everyone in the Special Affairs Department could indeed repair this Zhou Tian Yan Armor at will."

"—It's just that because this Yin-Yang technique requires too much spiritual energy, the cultivation speed is as slow as many breathing techniques."

However, because it is often placed alongside a large number of basic Yin-Yang techniques, its cost-effectiveness is so high that people can simply abandon thinking and choose it without any thought.

Therefore, this Zhou Tian Yan Armor directly led to a slow emergence of senior Onmyoji in the early stages of the Special Affairs Bureau, and the degree of homogeneity was very high, making it easy to be targeted.

Therefore, the Special Affairs Bureau later set up some thresholds for learning it, but these thresholds were much lower, and the cost to obtain it was about the same as that for ordinary ghost and spirit magic.

After reciting the "Important Notes" specifically marked after "Zhou Tianyan Armor" in one breath, Nanjo Manami was quite surprised and clicked her tongue in amazement.

"If Uesugi-kun hadn't told me, I really wouldn't have known that there was such a magical method in the files room."

Nanjo Manami asked, somewhat puzzled, "But this method has been gathering dust for over a decade since the threshold was set up because of the huge difference in its value. How do you know about it?"

Uesugi Tetsu did not answer.

He gazed at the night sky, which was lit up by countless stars, and was momentarily lost in thought.

The nameless Onmyoji is a man of his word, always keeping his promises...

In the real-world timeline, he didn't encounter himself, so it's highly likely that the nameless Onmyoji won first place in the Hanafuda Uta Tournament.

Even without himself, the nameless Onmyoji still followed his heart and bestowed the completed [Zhou Tian Yan Armor] upon the people of the world.

"What is the name of this great Onmyoji?" Uesugi Tetsu asked.

"Hmm, let me see..."

After two crisp clicks of the mouse, Nanjo Manami exclaimed in astonishment, "Giving away such a method without leaving a name?!"

Uesugi Tetsu smiled happily.

This nameless Onmyoji is truly an interesting person.

To be able to visit a Hanafuda (flower card) shop from the Edo period and have a duel and conversation with such an opponent would be a truly rewarding experience.

After a moment of reflection, Uesugi Tetsu answered Nanjo Aimi's earlier question: "I acquired an Onmyoji technique called Flame Armor a couple of days ago, but I discovered it was incomplete."

So I was wondering if there's a complete version, since the seed battle rewards include a way to complete it.

He laughed and said, "Now it seems that it is."

"I see... So as long as you don't cause trouble and stay in the top ten, I can give you this Zhou Tian Yan Armor without any problem."

After finishing her speech, Nanjo Ai-mi smacked her lips several more times, seemingly still quite curious about the nameless Onmyoji.

"If there's nothing else, I'll hang up."

Nanjo Manami paused for a moment, then said helplessly,

"Recently, with the seed wars, many big shots from other places have specifically asked me to host them. I'm working 24/7 without a break, and I'm going crazy from all the overtime."

Uesugi Tetsu couldn't hold back: "Who told you, Nanjo-nee, to chop off two dog heads in front of so many people back then? You're not happy about it now that you're famous."

"Alright, alright, I won't cut it again next time."

Upon hearing this, Uesugi Tetsuya, knowing that Nanjo Manami's finger had already touched the hang-up button, immediately said, "Hey, don't hang up!"

"explain."

Uesugi Tetsuya said,

"Nanjo-nee, do you know someone with the online name 'Go Die at Work'?"

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.

Nanjo Manami immediately turned off the speakerphone, then tapped her fingers on the table, stirring up a mental storm.

She was a little confused.

No, I should say I'm utterly perplexed.

Even though he hadn't chatted with Uesugi Tetsuya on his alternate account for a long time because he was too busy with work, how did he find out about it at this inexplicable time?

How exactly did this disguise come about?

Nanjo Manami racked her brains but couldn't find the reason or any possible clues.

This kind of thing could easily be listed as one of the world's eleven greatest unsolved mysteries, right?

Seeing that Nanjo Ai-mi remained silent, Uesugi Tetsu assumed that she had tacitly agreed.

He laughed heartily.

"I knew it! So you and that guy are both from the Nanjo family... Alright, I won't tell anyone about the Five Thunder Technique and the Spirit Control Technique to make things difficult for you, don't worry."

After a long silence, Nanjo Manami suddenly asked, "Uesugi-kun, how did you learn about the Nanjo family?"

Without hesitation, Uesugi Tetsu replied, "It's the place where I obtained the Flame Armor Yin-Yang Technique. That Yin-Yang Master told me that the Spirit Control Technique is the Nanjo family's Great Yin-Yang Technique."

"I see."

Nanjo Aimi responded calmly, then said, "Someone's coming, I'll hang up now."

"Oh, okay, then Nanjo-nee, you go ahead with your work."

After hanging up the phone, Uesugi Tetsuichi thought to himself that his idea was indeed correct.

Nanjo-nee and "Go to Work and Die" are definitely from the Nanjo family.

He opened the Line chat interface of "Work is dead," which he hadn't used in a long time.

First, I sent a thank you message to the other party, then I said I knew about the relationship between Nanjo Aimi and you, and finally I thanked you again for teaching me such an important Yin-Yang technique.

The other party hasn't been online much since the wave started... They must be a great Onmyoji who's busy with their training.

Perhaps once this profile picture goes black, it will be gone forever.