I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

[Because your Spirit Control Technique has been upgraded to Master level, your perception of "Qi" will be greatly enhanced!]

[Because your spirit control technique has been upgraded to the master level, your affinity and adaptability to spiritual energy have increased dramatically!]

[Because your Spirit Control Technique has been upgraded to Master level, you will be able to freely manipulate any unclaimed "Qi" and influence any "Qi".]

It gained a full 15 points of spiritual skill attribute, as well as a significant increase in the upper limit of spiritual energy reserves.

Uesugi Tetsu brought up his personal panel and glanced at it.

【Uesugi Tetsu】

【Physique: 74】

[Will: 54]

【Charm: 13】

[Spiritual Arts: 56 → 71]

His 71 points of spiritual attribute in his blank state were even more than when he transformed into a four-tailed fox.

However, logically speaking, the extra gaps should have just been filled, so where did all that spiritual energy go...?

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Uesugi Tetsuya immediately found the answer.

The so-called "spirit follows my will" is nothing more than this.

He looked inward into his Qi Sea and found that a thin, translucent substance, like an oil film, was floating on its surface.

It was the extra, already liquefied, concentrated spiritual energy.

This empty sea of ​​qi is truly all-encompassing, welcoming all who come.

Uesugi Tetsu smiled, and suddenly an idea came to him.

—I wonder what the outcome would be if I were to face the young Sengoku swordsman, Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, in the projection realm now?

I am so much better now than I was before.

"I'll use him as a whetstone to test the strength of my master-level spirit control technique."

Chapter 277 The Strength of Spirit Control Technique! Sword Saint Shangquan's "Forbidden Hand," Huijue Appears, Jizo Statue Returns!

Using the young form of the Sword Saint, Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, as a whetstone, tsk tsk, it seems only I could do something so extravagant.

Having a swordsman as a sparring partner will definitely unleash all of my current potential.

However, before that, we need to thoroughly explore the master-level spirit control techniques.

As the thought crossed his mind, the spiritual energy of normal concentration was rapidly compressed and purified within Uesugi Tetsuya, transforming into a pool of semi-transparent, pure liquid spiritual energy in a mere fraction of a second.

Uesugi Tetsu manipulated his spiritual energy, silently thinking, "Now, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is no different from a physical entity to me."

It is no different in essence from water, air, or stone; as long as Uesugi Tetsu can think of it, he can do most things with it.

Or rather, to play with them at will.

This is fundamentally different from the previous "mysterious power that can only absorb and replenish the spiritual energy in the body".

Uesugi Tetsu glanced at Kaga Kiyomitsu, who was dazed by the spiritual energy beside him.

He beckoned with his finger, pulling out some of the spiritual energy that had seeped into the blade, which immediately startled Kaga Kiyomitsu awake, causing him to utter indistinct sounds.

"Ugh! Master, what happened!"

Uesugi Tetsu didn't reply, staring thoughtfully at the wisp of spiritual power on his fingertip that originally belonged to Kaga Kiyomitsu.

—It can even manipulate other people's spiritual power remotely.

Ordinary Onmyoji need to first release spiritual power outside their body to construct Onmyoji incantations, whether they are clumsy or skilled, before releasing the Onmyoji spells.

In this way, an ordinary Onmyoji would be no different from an ordinary person when facing him, and even a master would likely be held back and have their attention diverted.

As for the protective energy...

Although no one tried it, Uesugi Tetsuya did some mental testing and still felt it might not work.

Unlike spiritual energy released outside the body, the circulation of Qi first forms a highly complete Qi cycle.

—The vast majority of the reactions of the Qi are completed within the protection of this cycle.

But this is only for now.

Since Gang Qi is also "Qi", theoretically it can definitely be manipulated using the Spirit Control Technique: Qi.

It's just that I've only just broken through to this level and haven't figured out the method yet.

"Nanjo-nee is a member of the Nanjo family, so she should also practice spirit control techniques, but I don't know what level she is at..."

Uesugi Tetsu stroked his chin, thinking, "Is he a 'master' like me, or even higher?"

He recalled the scene of the red tide sweeping through Arakawa Ward.

At that time, Nanjo Manami had not yet broken free from the shackles of demons and gods, but Uesugi Tetsu believed that he could not cause such a commotion.

The gap still exists, but it has visibly narrowed.

Uesugi Tetsuya activated his Spirit Control Technique again, inspecting his entire body. He discovered that the situation where his body absorbed spiritual energy on its own and accumulated and blocked it was no longer present.

This is as it should be.

Now that Uesugi Tetsuya's body is "following the will of others," the effects related to spiritual energy are naturally inevitable.

Besides, from Uesugi Tetsu's current perspective, Flame Armor is indeed not a very profound Yin-Yang technique.

The so-called Flame Armor is simply a connection of five Flame Seeds using spiritual power and some astronomical runes, and its variations are relatively simple.

However, the "Flame Seed" is an ingeniously designed semi-automatic spiritual energy structure, which explains why it became the foundation for the subsequent "Zhou Tian Flame Armor".

Unfortunately, Uesugi Tetsu didn't have much knowledge of astronomy, so even though he felt that the Flame Armor could be improved, he didn't know where to start.

Uesugi Tetsu clenched his fist and transformed all the remaining spiritual energy in the room into a small, spinning ball.

That's all the master-level spirit control techniques he can think of right now; there are still many more uses to be discovered and developed.

Those in-depth techniques and skills will probably only be discovered under special circumstances.

But no matter what, Uesugi Tetsuya feels very strong right now.

Very cool.

All the strength in his body was used as if it were his own arm, without wasting a single bit of it.

It feels good to have complete control over yourself.

He breathed a sigh of relief: "I'll enhance the Qi circulation again later."

Now, naturally, it's time to see the Sword Saint we haven't seen in so long.

Uesugi Tetsu subconsciously touched his neck and sat down again.

He could sense that spiritual energy was no longer flowing into the secret room—Nanjo Manami naturally knew that she had already broken through, and the magic seals on the ground were also glowing, so she could be teleported back at any time.

Uesugi Tetsu stopped thinking about it, closed his eyes, and pretended to be meditating as he entered the projection secret realm.

……

A pure white world unfolds.

His casual gaze fell on Uesugi Tetsuya after a long absence... or more precisely, on the forty-meter-long cleaver.

The young man chuckled smugly: "If that knife comes down, I'll definitely die."

Uesugi Tetsu shook his head, tossed the cleaver—capable of easily destroying even demons and gods in this space—into a corner, and then said to the boy,

"I will not use this sword, Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami Hidetsuna."

"Oh? You know me?"

The young man, Izumi, widened his eyes slightly as he looked at Uesugi Tetsuya, but couldn't recall when he had seen this face before.

Uesugi Tetsuya didn't say much either.

He simply transformed into a four-tailed fox right before Kamiizumi's eyes, donned the Hannya Mask, activated the Rin-no-Kimi technique, and then took out Kaga Kiyomitsu, summoning the Flame Armor on his body.

Finally, using the Spirit Control Technique, he gathered all the spiritual energy in the white space above his head, transforming it into a bright blue sphere crackling with electric arcs.

After completing everything in an instant, Uesugi Tetsuya, who was breathing and moving freely, even took a moment to check the changes on his attribute panel.

【Uesugi Tetsu】

[Physique: 74→122]

[Willpower: 54 → 80]

[Charm: 13→28]

[Spiritual Arts: 71 → 131]

The dual attributes have already exceeded 100, and even the willpower attribute is approaching the triple digit mark.

When Uesugi Tetsu came to his senses, he found that Izumi, who was standing not far away, had already drawn his somewhat tattered katana.

He gripped the sword hilt with both hands.

Uesugi Tetsu remembered that before this, all the Uesugi Nobutsunas he had met had only held a sword in one hand, with a nonchalant demeanor.

But this time is different.

The four-tailed fox, its face covered by a demon mask, looked up and met the gaze of that solemn and puzzled man.

This time, Nobutsuna Kamiizumi was fully prepared.

In fact, this small change alone is enough to prove that Uesugi Tetsu has grown in strength.

But since he was already here, he had to test his sword against the young swordsman's to see who was sharper.

In the brief silence, Uesugi Tetsu heard Izumi Nobutsuna ask in confusion, "Are you human or a demon?"

"Does it matter? I just want to know through you, Kamiizumi, whether I am stronger than you."

Uesugi Tetsu countered calmly, "Whether I am human or demon, will it change anything?"

"This is the first time I've seen someone like you; it's just out of curiosity."

Uezumi clicked his tongue and nodded: "You're very strong."

"I am Kamiizumi Ise no Kami Hidetsuna, and I will surely become a sword saint in the future, the strongest and unparalleled man in the millennium... And you, state your name."

The future Sword Saint said this.

The unexpected move caught Uesugi Tetsu off guard—when he fought with Izumi before, Izumi had always referred to him as a "seeker of the Way."

Was it because my strength reached a certain level that I received recognition?

“Uesugi Tetsu,” Uesugi Tetsu said.

"A strange name... but I'll remember it."

Kamiizumi muttered to himself.

The young, black-haired boy silently lowered his eyes and then opened them again, and an intense, unparalleled light poured out of his pupils like a torrent.

An intense, almost tangible, energy swept over Uesugi Tetsuya.

Kamiizumi grinned menacingly, revealing a smile more terrifying than any demon's, a smile of insatiable greed.

"Uesugi Tetsu... let me taste what you really taste like!"

As the last syllable fell, the blade, coated with a sticky, pale substance, emerged from the intertwined lightning and fire.

The three sharp blades of light merged into one amidst the blurred trail of fire.

Yaegaki!

Natural rational flow three-stage breakthrough!

With a speed so fast that even the human retina cannot detect it, Kaga Kiyomitsu pierced straight into Kamiizumi's eye in the stillness.

The next moment.

The surging lightning was dispersed by the suddenly expanding qi circulation, and the flame armor that had turned into flowing fire outside the body was compressed to the surface and turned into crystals.

Kaga Kiyomitsu, who was just about to come into contact with the blade, was already fully visible to Kamiizumi.

A hint of surprise flashed across the bottom of Kamiizumi's eyes.