Becoming a god in a low-key way in the supernatural world

"Oh!" Kotegawa was even more curious: "How strong?"

“Weaker than gods, but the Yagyu family should have more than one ancestral spirit… Should we slip away?” Hu Tao was slightly embarrassed, as if she had messed things up. She and Shirakawa Nozomi had only wanted to scare the other side, but they didn’t expect it to be a case of one train crashing into another.

Shirakawa Nozomi's gaze was fixed on the sky. In front of him and to his left and right, two illusory giant human figures gradually solidified. They were covered in rattan armor and masked, and held long swords in their hands, like ancient daimyo.

Ancestral spirits, the three ancestral spirits!

The talisman in his hand emitted a golden light again.

"If all else fails... then we'll fight them!"

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Kotegawa Wants to Reason

A storm was brewing in the Yagyu family home. Three illusory ancestral spirits, each over ten meters tall, shrouded the sky and looked down upon the inner courtyard.

In the center of the inner courtyard, a golden light curtain steadily held up a patch of sky, isolating the pressure from the outside.

Surrounded by Onmyoji, Yagyu Kiri stared at Kotegawa. He had investigated Shirakawa and his sister, his teammates, and knew they had some strength, but now it seemed he had underestimated them.

But it doesn't matter anymore; no matter how powerful he is, he's just a kid.

He looked up at his three ancestral spirits, and his fear of the golden talisman lessened by a third.

So what if they're gods? They're just mountain gods. If a war really breaks out, they'll definitely have the strength to fight back! Besides, this is Heian-kyo!

A cold smile returned to his face as he coldly watched the three brats, waiting to see their reaction.

The three people inside the golden light shield had no time to look at him; they were busy discussing something.

Kotegawa stopped the junior priest who was about to tear off the talisman and shake the spirit: "Keep this for now. It's just three big ghosts, right? Leave it to me."

The junior priest, his face tense, whispered, "No, it's too dangerous. Those are three ancestral spirits."

Hu Tao gripped the dagger, her pretty face turning cold: "Just ask the gods! Since Father gave us the talisman, he was prepared to use it! The gods must have already granted our request!"

Shirakawa Nozomi nodded and prepared to burn some talismans.

Kotegawa said somewhat helplessly, "It's alright, they're just three big ghosts. Besides, we're here to reason things out, not to fight to the death. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"That's not a Great Ghost, it's an Ancestral Spirit! Don't underestimate it, the Great Ghost is probably only good enough to carry their shoes."

“They’re all the same…” Kotekawa glanced at the sky and said, “Since we have to fight before we can talk, let’s fight first! You two can hold the fort. If things don’t work out, we can call for backup. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

Hu Tao wanted to persuade him again, but looking at the fierce fighting spirit in his eyes, something seemed a little off.

Kotegawa really wanted to fight this so-called ancestral spirit... The feeling of not being able to find an opponent can be quite boring sometimes.

Facing the three great ghosts, his powerful inner energy suddenly surged, and a long sword was drawn on its own, its clear sound piercing the sky.

The small golden dome that had been maintained suddenly burst open, unleashing a real tornado that blew trees and lawns wildly, making it impossible to open one's eyes.

Kotegawa's fingertips brushed across the sword, his true energy surging, and he instantly rose into the air.

Walnut and the little priest quickly looked up and chased after him.

Yagyu Kiri also struggled to open his eyes, his gaze filled with shock and anger. What a strong brat!

Suddenly, two straight bolts of lightning crossed in the sky, followed by a muffled roar.

He subconsciously looked up and saw that his ancestral spirit had suddenly split into several pieces, shattered into spirits in mid-air, and completely disappeared, with only the lingering sound of its wailing echoing in the sky.

The brat in his eyes, wielding a longsword, seemed to stand in mid-air. What was even more intriguing was the unexpected voice: "Projector?"

These ancestral spirits are as fragile as paper; they could be torn apart with a single stroke... How dare these three things claim to be fighting against the gods? Yagyu Kirito is truly skilled at tricking his ancestors.

Kotegawa immediately lost interest. He turned his gaze to the other two large ghosts who also seemed to be in a daze, and frowned slightly.

Are these guys all too old? Their peak strength was only during their lifetime. So much time has passed, so their strength has declined drastically... I feel a sudden pang of guilt, like stabbing a three-hundred-year-old man with a sword.

If I had known you were this weak, I wouldn't have taken it so seriously. After all, I came here hoping to have a proper discussion and reason with you...

The other two ancestral spirits dared not move. While Kotekawa was thinking, they shrunk in size and refused to show themselves again.

Kotegawa didn't bother with it; killing one was enough. There was no need to wipe out all of their ancestors, since they were there to reason with them.

The sky suddenly cleared, and the warm winter sun shone down on the courtyard once more.

He lowered his head and looked at Yagyu Kiri, who was still glaring at him with wide eyes. He channeled his true energy into his longsword again and then slashed out. The huge golden arc of sword energy was like an iron plow, splitting the entire Yagyu family mansion in two.

He looked down at Yagyu Kiri, the tip of his sword slightly raised.

Liu Shengwu turned his head slowly, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.

The junior priest was stunned, his heart trembling, his hands and feet turning cold... Could such power really be achieved by a human? Why did it always seem like Kotegawa had become much stronger every time he made a move? Last time, he killed a great demon with a single breath!

How exactly did he cultivate himself?

Kotegawa returned to the ground, looked at the group of people who were stunned in front of him, and raised the tip of his sword again: "Now, let's talk? Or you can bring out the strongest ancestral spirit in your family."

...The subsequent negotiations went very smoothly. The Yagyu family not only immediately withdrew the bounty placed on the black market, but also offered the most sincere and sophisticated deep apology on behalf of Yagyu Junichiro, who was still lying in bed, and Yagyu Kiri, for a series of rash decisions.

Kotegawa felt as if he were watching a press conference live.

Half an hour later, the three of them left the Yagyu family home, just like everyone else walking on the street. They even bought some fried chicken nuggets to eat along the way.

The young priest looked down at the greasy, hot fried chicken nuggets in his hand, then turned to look at the man and woman feeding each other chicken nuggets, seemingly lost in their own world, and muttered, "Is that all?"

The heavy burden that had put him under pressure for half a month was finally over?

“Brother!” Kotekawa mumbled, “That Yagyu Kiri is just a paper tiger, all show and no substance. Look at him, setting up ambushes and summoning ancestral spirits, he just wants to scare us first. If we really want him to make a move, he’s not really that brave. Otherwise, why not just hire a bunch of ninjas and Onmyoji to assassinate him? He only dares to play around in the black market.”

“That’s right, that’s right!” Hu Tao nodded obediently, following her husband’s lead.

The young priest's lips moved slightly, but he swallowed the words back.

The Yagyu family's problems were resolved so easily, wasn't it all thanks to that one sword strike?

After walking for a long time, as they approached the station, he suddenly asked, "Just how strong are you?"

Hu Tao also glanced sideways, equally curious about the question.

Kotegawa thought for a moment and replied, "I'm not entirely sure, but it's probably not so difficult to kill the Demon King if we encounter it again... I'm going to buy tickets."

He carried his sword bag and strode toward the ticket office.

The young priest watched his retreating figure, then looked at Kurumi and asked in a questioning tone, "Did I hear that right? The Demon King?"

Hu Tao smiled faintly: "Brother, although you're not very strong and your brain isn't very sharp, at least your hearing shouldn't be impaired anymore, right? What exactly have you been learning here these past few months?"

The junior priest was rendered speechless by the rebuttal.

Chapter Seventy What a coincidence!

After the underground bounty was resolved, the junior priest boarded the Shinkansen back to Tokyo. He hadn't received notification of the end of his leave of absence yet, but it should be soon.

Kotegawa and Kurumi weren't in a hurry to go back. They strolled around Heian-kyo for a while, bought a bunch of local specialties, and then prepared to leave in the evening.

Although Walnut wanted to take a sleeper train, it was the end of the New Year and the time when workers were returning to their jobs. The sleeper trains and Shinkansen were already sold out, and there were probably only buses and very expensive first-class airplane tickets left.

The two stared at each other outside the station. Suddenly, Hu Tao lowered her head, her cheeks flushed, and said, "Let's find a place to stay. We can talk about going back tomorrow."

Kotegawa took her hand and chuckled softly, "Want to take a ride on the fire-wheeled carriage of the Demon Kingdom?"

Hu Tao was taken aback: "Sit where?"

"Okay, close your eyes first."

She obediently did as she was told.

Kotegawa looked around, summoned a vortex leading to "Ghost Village," and, pulling Kurumi along, stepped inside.

It felt like a time and space shift in an instant.

"Okay."

Walnut slowly opened her eyes and saw a patch of trees as black as ink. She was instantly stunned and subconsciously looked up at the sky. Through the gaps in the branches, the sky was a chaotic color, as if it were another land.

The ghostly aura wafted like smoke and mist, spreading through the forest.

She suddenly felt a strange feeling and said to Kotegawa, "We only walked a few steps, right?"

Kotegawa thought for a moment and said, "This is a little thing I learned from the local yokai when I came to Yuka last time. It can send people to the land of demons."

Hu Tao stared at him blankly for a moment, then exclaimed excitedly, "Little thing? This is something you can learn so easily? I've never heard of such a thing before!"

“There are still some…” Kotegawa said in detail: “People with strength roughly the same as mine are capable of coming to the Demon Kingdom. Didn’t the history books mention that someone even played the role of judge in a dream?”

The air fell silent. After a long while, Hu Tao asked blankly, "Really? When did you learn that?"

"Oh, that's what they say in the anime."

For the first time, Hu Tao felt an urge to punch this guy.

The two lingered in the Ghost Claw Forest for a long time before finally heading out of the mountains.

"...I'm really sorry to have troubled you this time! Yes! Thank you so much, Lord Three-Tailed!" At the crossroads of Mount Genmu, the enormous Genmu King bowed and thanked a short, hooded monster in front of him with great humility.

The hooded monster didn't say anything, and turned to leave.

King Genmu maintained his humble posture until the hooded monster was completely gone, then he and Little Genmu beside him breathed a sigh of relief and straightened their backs.

Xiao Huanwu was still dressed in a human sailor uniform, with dark red eyes under her neat bangs, just like the one who ran to Luye back then.

The two phantoms, one large and one small, had just been resurrected and were personally returned by the Three-Tailed Lord under the command of the Ghost Queen.

King Huanwu looked down at Little Huanwu with a heavy and helpless expression in his eyes, and shouted in a thunderous voice: "You are not allowed to go out for three hundred years after you return!"

Xiao Huan was not afraid at all; instead, she said angrily, "Your Majesty! We will take revenge!"

Illusion King wasn't angry. Instead, he paused for a long time before sighing, "I can't beat them!"

"Then let's summon the vengeful spirits..."

"Nonsense!" King Huanwu shouted, "The mortal realm is personally guarded by deities! The ghost kingdom is also monitored! If anyone dares to enter the mortal realm in a large-scale manner, the deities will personally intervene without anyone else's intervention, and then you will truly die! You won't even be able to remain a ghost!"

Xiao Huanwu immediately recalled the feeling of being killed earlier, shuddered, her teeth chattering, and stammered, "So, we're just going to let it go like this?"

"Of course we won't let it go like this!" King Huanwu snorted like thunder: "The Demon King said that it also has a deep hatred for that human true king. When it returns to the human world next time, it will inform me, and then we will deal with him together!"

Xiao Huanwu immediately perked up: "Your Majesty! Can you take me with you then?"