I'm a demon in Tokyo!

Chapter 282 Rooftop, Head-to-Head Clash! The Master of Balance, Uesugi Tetsu! Elimination Rounds: On the Eve of Hakuhannya's Advancement!

On the rooftop.

Suddenly, a tall, white-dressed figure, over eight feet tall, appeared beside Uesugi Tetsuya and grasped his hand with her large, soft one.

The two-foot-tall adult, maintaining his eight-foot form, stared blankly at the winding, brilliant Milky Way in the sky for a long while before being drawn to the voice emanating from the girl who could not be seen without looking down.

The two-foot-tall man looked down and saw that the girl he once called "the Great Demon King" was holding Kaga Kiyomitsu, the sword of Uesugi Tetsu, in her hand.

Looking down again, you can see the Jizo statue placed in front of Uesugi Tetsuya.

After a moment's thought, she understood what was going on.

So the two-foot-tall lady gripped her palm even tighter, and amidst the visible encasement and restless rubbing of her fingers, she smiled and said...

"Thank you for protecting Lord Che for so long, Miss Ririko."

No longer calling Ririko "Great Demon King" with that astonished and fearful tone, Erchi-sama believed that his current strength was now equal to hers.

After withdrawing her gaze, Ririko looked up and calmly met the eyes of the enormous two-foot-tall man.

Just as Uesugi Tetsu was about to speak, he felt a chilling, invisible force emanating from the rooftop, emanating from the point where their gazes met.

At times like this, he felt it was best not to say anything more.

After a long silence, the girl said softly,

"Long time no see, Er Chi."

The two-foot-tall man, who had already prepared a whole host of responses, was taken aback by this greeting.

She hesitated for a moment, but finally responded in the same way.
"It's been a long time, Ms. Ririko."

"Anyway, it's good that you two are alright."

With an air of composure and great magnanimity, Ririko casually tossed Kaga Kiyomitsu back to Uesugi Tetsu.

She sat down cross-legged again and exhaled.

"After all, Uesugi-kun went through a lot of trouble to find you out of the Jizo statue, and he wouldn't let me, who was theoretically safer, enter to look for you."

From this short sentence alone, even an adult can glean an incredibly difficult and tortuous journey.

—The things Lord Che prepared to rescue me were no less than the hardships I endured in the recurring dream of the Jizo statue.

Erchi pursed his lips and nodded heavily at Lilizi: "I know, so I will make it up to Che-sama for this."

She deliberately paused and emphasized the word "compensation".

Uesugi Tetsu's fingers, which were being held, twitched slightly, and his eyebrows involuntarily rose.

This compensation... though he doesn't know what it is, he will never let Lord Erchi have his way.

Well, absolutely not.

Unless it is a truly green and healthy form of compensation.

Ririko didn't say anything after hearing this, she just narrowed her eyes.

Previously, Uesugi-kun's shikigami, who was named "Two Feet" but was actually the "Eight Feet Master" from the ghost stories, would never speak to him like that.

Ririko looked the two-foot-tall man up and down, whose appearance had not changed much, and carefully sensed the aura emanating from him.

Soon, it dawned on her.

No wonder it had such a powerful presence.

It turns out that their strength has indeed increased significantly.

This is a good thing.

Lili nodded almost imperceptibly, but clearly.

However, there's no need for me to compete with his mere shikigami.

There's no need for that.

It's more important to clarify your goals and avoid wasting your energy on trivial matters.

Having realized this, Ririko stopped staring at the two-foot-tall man who looked like he was facing a formidable enemy, and instead looked at Uesugi Tetsuya, who had been silent since the beginning.

"Uesugi-kun, are you tired now?"

Once his name was called, Uesugi Tetsu could no longer remain unnoticed.

He coughed slightly, subtly using his spiritual power to wrap his hand and pull it out of the two-foot-tall man's palm.

Facing Ririko's two-foot-tall father, he didn't say much, but rubbed his fingertips together with some disappointment and jealousy.

"Because of the soothing incense and candles, and the help of moonlight, it's actually not bad."

Using his inner energy, he retrieved the burnt-out incense and candle remnants, now reduced to a few specks of ash, into his storage backpack. Uesugi Tetsu shook his head, feeling no obvious dizziness or pain.

Having experienced more than a dozen illusory lives within the Ksitigarbha statue, one's five senses remain as clear as ever.

As it turns out, the calming incense and candles are quite effective.

Lili nodded: "Alright, then I'll continue to personally guide you in your cultivation of the Golden Core."

She recounted the events as if nothing had happened.
"After so many days, Uesugi-kun, you must have gained a deep understanding by now."

Ririko's expression didn't change much; she seemed to be just stating the training arrangements for the evening as usual.

But it's different from before.

This time, she spoke these words in front of the Second-Rank Official, who had already experienced countless trials and tribulations and had been promoted.

The latter, with exceptional keenness, caught the key words, his pupils shrinking rapidly.

However, upon hearing the word "cultivation" in the following text, Erchi Daren had no choice but to shut his mouth in resentment and said nothing more.

She knew that for Uesugi Tetsuya, "training" or "becoming stronger" was definitely the top priority.

Having followed Uesugi Tetsu for so long, Erchi-sama understands this principle better than anyone else.

So she had a lot of pent-up anger with nowhere to vent it, and had no choice but to puff out her chest.

"It would be good to have Lord Erchi patrol the area and prevent passersby from disturbing us."

Lilizi casually said, "Since we all have Moonlight Aperture, it's better to replenish our energy on the rooftop, and it won't delay our progress."

Ririko's logic was almost unsolvable; she managed to dismiss Erchi Daren with just a few words.

Unfortunately, the latter was completely unable to refute it.

Just as Erchi-sama's CPU was working at high speed and he was about to open his mouth, Ririko said seriously again.
"There are only a few days left until the knockout stage of the seeding battle, so we need to make the most of every minute and second."

This statement, packed with information, silenced the Second Master, whose gentle face suddenly contorted into a frown.

—Ririko, are you usually the kind of person who says things like that?
Uesugi Che was speechless for a while.

Only then did the two-foot-tall man realize what was happening.

The "seed war," which had only been brewing for a short time but sounded very important, is about to officially begin in just a few days.

How much time has passed in real time?
The young master quickly grabbed Uesugi Tetsu's shoulder and asked, "By the way, Lord Tetsu, how long has it been since I sealed myself inside the Jizo statue?"

Uesugi Tetsuya pondered for a moment,

"It's been about a month."

A month?

Wow, it's been that long?
A slight unease rose in the heart of the two-foot-tall man.

She hadn't known Uesugi Tetsu for very long... and now a whole month has passed. Who knows how far Ririko has run off to?

The two-foot-tall man secretly bit his lip.

Could it be that Lord Che was already... possessed by her while he was asleep?

Do not!
The two-foot-tall man shook his head vigorously in his heart, loudly denying it.

impossible!

Lili Zi, this cultivation fanatic, has no time to care about Lord Che's trivial matters, nor would she put her energy into other things!
The two-foot-tall man, having achieved a spiritual victory, pondered.

No...

In any case, I need to find a way to prevent Lord Che and Ririko from being alone together during this time.

However, the seeding battle is definitely very important for Lord Che.

Completely subdued, the two-foot-tall man was so angry he wanted to grab Uesugi Tetsuya and give him a good beating to assert his dominance.

But in reality, she had already looked towards the perimeter of the villa, preparing to float into the air and patrol. How utterly incompetent I am…

But then, Uesugi Tetsu suddenly spoke up: "The elimination rounds are only four or five days away, right? It seems like we can't complete the Core Formation in just a few days."

He reasonably suggested, "Why don't we continue to open up the acupoints of our respective minor divine treasures, and at the same time complete the flesh-refining and blood-replenishing stages?"

"As for Erchi, could you also patrol around the villa during this time to make sure the barrier is intact?"

"Mission accomplished, Lord Che!"

The two-foot-tall man's eyes lit up, and he happily responded.

Ririko glanced at the fleeting beads of sweat on Uesugi Tetsuya's forehead and chuckled to herself, thinking to herself, "He really knows how to keep things balanced; his hand doesn't tremble at all."

—I wonder if your hand is that steady when you hold the sword.

She nodded: "That makes sense. Let's continue to open up acupoints as you said, and try to open up twenty acupoints before the elimination rounds begin."

"it is good!"

Uesugi Tetsu breathed a sigh of relief, discarding the extraneous thoughts in his mind, and in the blink of an eye entered the flow state of breathing exercises.

Ririko also closed her eyes.

The night was long, but in the subjective time of the two of them, it was just a few fragmented moments.

……

[You have completed the Qi Sea Cultivation - Azure Meridian Aperture...]

[You have completed the Qi Sea Cultivation - Breathing Aperture...]

[Your progress in the Flesh Palace Training - Flesh Refining Stage - Blood Enhancement has been increased!]

After the sun rose, an extremely exhausted Uesugi Tetsu slowly exhaled, and smiled upon seeing the prompt before him and feeling the two additional acupoints in his body.

The two newly opened acupoints are different. The former allows the user to passively absorb some external energy to recover, while the latter can completely eliminate all sounds emanating from the body.

Of course, they can also store Qi.

Now, if we don't include the Void Sea of ​​Qi, the four acupoints together have increased Uesugi Tetsuya's Qi reserves by one-tenth.

This quantity is considerable.

If all 108 acupoints were opened, the amount of internal energy stored would increase several times over, and the recovery rate would also increase several times over. And this is the effect of pure, undeveloped acupoints.

Uesugi Tetsu stood up and stretched his slightly stiff body. As he felt the warm, sticky gaze on him, he felt as if he were soaking in a hot spring.

"call……"

Uesugi Tetsu smiled at the two-foot-tall man who had returned to his more mobile two-foot form, and continued to sort through the night's haul.

The progress of the Blood Refinement has also advanced by about one-third. When ten acupoints are opened, it will be about time to enter the third stage of Flesh Refinement.

Ideally, the remaining tasks of flesh refining and tendon forging can be completed before the 72 acupoints are opened.

The future is expected.

After the two went downstairs, they met Ririko, who had just placed three plates of fragrant, steaming hot breakfast on the table.

Without needing any further communication, the two naturally and obediently sat down in front of the breakfast table—having tasted Ririko's cooking, the two adults naturally had no further questions.

He thanked Ririko and was told by her that he didn't need to use his chopsticks again until he started eating.

Halfway through his meal, Uesugi Tetsuya suddenly blinked, bit off the half-eaten fried egg he had already stuffed in his mouth, and asked the young master, "..."

"By the way, Erchi, do you know how to advance to the level of a ghost or god?"

After all, the current maximum rank of the "Eight-Foot Bodhisattva" is... a five-star Desolate God!
……

Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.

"Is it absolutely necessary to use... 'mobile phone QR code payment'?"

The little monk, wearing a kasaya, took the two cotton candies, one blue and one red, scratched his chin with a puzzled look, and pulled out two crumpled banknotes from his pocket.

"Young Master Yinli! Young Master Yinli—please stop running! There are too many people here, we'll get separated!"

From the crowd in the distance, one could hear a man shouting at the top of his lungs.

The little monk, with his rosy lips and white teeth, winked at the shop assistant, giving her a pitiful look: "Sister, this is all we have, can I buy it...?"

The shop assistant, who was afraid of trouble, hesitated for a moment, but after seeing the little monk's expression, he nodded hesitantly.

"Yay! Thank you, sister."

"Young Master Yinli..."

After bowing slightly, the young monk grabbed two cotton candies and, just as the man behind him arrived, placed the red cotton candy in front of him.

A smiling face peeked out from behind the cotton candy, waving it at the sweaty man.
"Brother Yuanzheng, aren't you going to eat? I bought this especially for you."

The man who strode over was also a bald monk.

The young man, known as Yuanzheng, sighed helplessly but still accepted the cotton candy: "Young Master... please listen to me and don't run around, okay?"

The little monk, however, acted as if he hadn't heard anything and took a bite of the cotton candy, his eyes crinkling with sweetness.

He remarked with emotion,

"It's been so long since I've been to a big city. It's so lively here."

As he spoke, the little monk, with a blue cotton candy in his mouth, looked up at the azure sky and walked forward again, leaving the monk Yuanzheng behind him exhausted and scrambling to catch up.

A few steps behind the two, a plainly dressed, expressionless woman followed at a distance that was neither too far nor too close.

At the same time, he kept a constant, silent gaze on the young monk.

As he walked, the young monk got lost, so he randomly asked a passerby wearing a baseball cap for directions.

"Big sister, do you know where to go if you want to watch the seeding and knockout stage?"

The passerby was taken aback and pointed to the sky.

—That floating city in the sky!
"No wonder I couldn't find it... Hey, it's right here! Thank you, big sister!"

The young monk thanked him.

As the passerby was about to leave, he discovered that his wrist had been grabbed without his knowledge.

"But big sister, aren't you a contestant?"

The young monk smiled and said gently,
"Because you... seem really strong."

A disciple of the Hozoin school?
Okabe Motonobu, whose wrist had been grabbed, squinted behind his sunglasses. After the hidden force was neutralized three times in a row, he temporarily abandoned the idea of ​​breaking free and leaving.

This kid is very strong.

"No."

She shook her head: "I'm just here to watch."

"What a coincidence!" the little monk exclaimed in surprise. "I'm here to watch the game too!"

"--Big sister, why don't we go see it together!"

"Do you have a ticket?" Motonobu Okabe asked in return.

"I'm confident I can get in, no matter how many people I bring!"

The little monk said with a grin.

"In that case... alright."

Okabe Motonobu, who had been struggling for the past few days with no tickets and no way to get to the Floating City, was relieved and felt a sudden loosening on his wrist.

The little monk, with bright eyes, said cheerfully, "Thank you for gracing me with your presence, big sister."

Just as Okabe Motonobu was about to speak again, he saw the expressionless woman further away.

Her gaze swept over the shoulder of the other person's clothes, and her pupils contracted slightly.

This logo looks somewhat familiar.

correct.

She remembered seeing it before.

It's from the Sword Saint's side...

　I need a vote at the beginning of the month!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)