I teach judo in Tokyo.

Sosuke shook his head awkwardly: "I have no master, but I have a family dojo. Some of the martial arts I learned are family traditions, and the rest I created myself."

"A family tradition..." Upon hearing Sousuke's words, Furinji Tenjin wisely refrained from asking any further questions.

After all, there are many strong people in this world. Although he is knowledgeable and has traveled all over the country and fought against strong people from various schools, it is normal that he does not know about some hidden schools.

He stopped dwelling on Sousuke's legacy and instead straightened his expression: "I've confirmed that with your current strength, even if you can't beat those well-known Berserker-level powerhouses, escaping won't be a problem, so go ahead boldly!"

From his words, it was clear that he had no idea that Sosuke would refuse him.

"OK, OK, I understand." Sosuke waved his hand helplessly. "But Elder, are you sure we don't have any reinforcements on my side?"

“At least not on the Countermeasures Bureau’s side.” Furinji Tenjin waved his hand. “There are very few people on the official side right now. Apart from unofficial staff like you, everyone else’s actions will be leaked very quickly.”

"I don't want the important intelligence that our intelligence agents risked their lives to gather to be wasted."

Sousuke sighed. "Alright."

Then he realized something: "Wait a minute, Elder, with your abilities, these dilapidated strongholds could be wiped out in the blink of an eye, right? Why do you need to find outside help like me?"

Fenglin Temple Tenjin became somewhat embarrassed. He scratched his head helplessly and said, "This is a long story—I can't go too far away from this mountain range."

Ok?

Sosuke looked puzzled. What? Grandpa, you're such a powerful person, who would dare to restrict your actions?

"Never mind, come with me." Seeing Sousuke's expression, Furinji Tenjin thought for a moment and then turned around to lead the way.

The next second, under Sosuke's glare, the old man leaped up to the top of the tall tree next to him in just a few steps.

Then he made a move as if to jump.

"Hey! Elder, what are you doing?!" Sosuke shouted helplessly from under the tree. "What am I supposed to do with you running around up there?"

Furinji Tenjin looked down at Sousuke with a puzzled expression and asked, "Kid, what are you standing there for down there for? Come up here!"

"Elder, you're so awesome you can fly in the trees, I'm just an ordinary person..." Sosuke retorted speechlessly.

Then he abruptly stopped speaking.

Wait a minute—am I still an ordinary person now?

He's gotten so strong lately that he hasn't been able to shift his mindset from that of an ordinary person. Even though he's already ridiculously strong, he's never thought about whether he could be as powerful as the heroes in martial arts novels.

"Hahaha, Atobe kid, what nonsense are you spouting? Get up here right now!"

Furinji Tenjin paused for a moment, thinking Atobe Sousuke was joking, and urged him to climb the tree quickly.

Seeing this, Sosuke looked at the tree in front of him, gritted his teeth and suddenly darted out. Then, using the momentum of his charge, he ran vertically upwards in a few steps and arrived at the top of the tree in no time.

Then, he stood on another thick branch next to the celestial being of Fenglin Temple.

He stood firmly and realized that it was indeed nothing special.

The branch supported his weight, swaying slightly, but it posed no challenge to his extraordinary balance and body control.

They are practically no different from the martial arts masters, ninjas, or "low-level" superheroes in TV shows.

Before I could dwell on it, I saw the celestial being of Fenglin Temple choose a direction, lightly spring to his feet, and leap onto the next tree.

"Kid, keep up. The destination is nearby. If we go in a straight line, it'll be quick."

“OK!” Sousuke pursed his lips, estimated the intended landing point, and then, relying on his superb control, sprang up quickly like Furinji Amanto, landing precisely on another tree.

It's so easy!

"Yoho!" he shouted, and with a series of leaps, he chased after Fenglin Temple's already far away figure.

The sea of ​​trees beneath his feet receded rapidly. With each step he took, he bent the thick branches, and then used the rebound force to propel himself forward, running through the treetops of the mountain.

If an ordinary person could see him and the celestial being from Fenglin Temple flying by, they might think they were seeing legendary immortals!

Sosuke's lips curled up slightly, and he suddenly felt incredibly excited.

Only now has he realized that the scenes and stories he has longed for and fantasized about since childhood are now gradually becoming reality.

It happened to me in a very fitting way.

Aside from lacking superpowers, internal energy, and any magical power...

What he can do has long exceeded the scope of ordinary people.

This world is amazing!

Flying swiftly like this, in just a few minutes, Sosuke arrived at their destination with Furinji Tenjin.

He landed together with the Celestial Being from Fenglin Temple. When the Celestial Being Elder landed, his huge body kicked up a little dust where his feet landed, and his footprints were so shallow that they were almost indistinguishable.

Sosuke, however, could not achieve such an almost mechanically defying effect and could only fall heavily to the ground, kicking up a small clump of sand.

“We’ve arrived.” Fenglin Temple Tenjin pointed ahead. “This is the place where I have to guard this place and cannot leave at will.”

Sosuke looked in the direction pointed out by the aman of Furinji Temple and found that it was just an ordinary mountain wall.

He didn't rush to voice his questions, because he knew there must be a hidden meaning.

Sure enough, Elder Tianren walked over, took out his special phone, and pressed a few buttons.

A thunderous roar came from the mountain wall in front of them. Then, the seemingly perfectly sealed rock wall moved slightly, and a large piece slowly bulged outward, then split into two pieces and spread out to the sides.

A huge cave appeared in front of the two of them.

"This place is called the 'Sealed Prison'," the Celestial Elder said, uttering a name with a touch of fantasy, before leading the way into the cave.

Sosuke, of course, followed without hesitation.

"The Sealed Prison? Is this a cage?" Sosuke followed closely behind Elder Celestial.

As the two entered, the stone wall behind them slowly closed again.

Inside the originally dark cave, lights began to illuminate the entire passageway from the stone walls on both sides.

Elder Tianren walked forward calmly, then said in a low voice, "What I'm about to tell you, if you think it will have too much of an impact on your worldview, you can just listen to it as a story."

Upon hearing Furinji Tenjin's tone, Sousuke inexplicably felt as if the truth of the world was about to be revealed before his eyes, and the wheels of history were about to begin to turn.

So he said softly, "I understand. Please speak plainly, Elder."

"Decades ago, an organization called 'Darkness,' funded by the Serpent of the World, quickly gathered a large number of top superhumans. Then, led by three berserker-level powerhouses, they launched a 'subversion operation' in Japan, intending to assassinate all high-ranking officials and plunge Japan into complete chaos. Before that, they had already carried out the same operation in several small countries using the same methods."

Sousuke's eyes widened slightly: "This is a provocation by superhumans against the modern regime..."

“That’s right. Whatever the purpose of this organization, the result is that major government agencies around the world have taken unified action and quickly formulated a strong regulatory strategy for superhumans.” Furinji Tenjin nodded slightly.

"Those who are willing to accept official supervision have the right to continue living a normal life in the public sphere and can use their own force appropriately under supervision. Those who are unwilling to accept supervision are directly besieged by the official violent organs, either exiled to small overseas countries or completely eliminated."

As Furinji Tenjin led the way, he said, “We’ve strayed from the topic. Back in Japan, that dark organization was defeated with the help of my partner, the government, and me. All three of the Berserker-level experts were killed, and the remaining top experts either died or fled, disappearing from the world and never regaining their power.”

“That’s great.” Sosuke nodded, stroking his chin.

“But…” Furinji Tenjin sighed, “Just when I was doing my best to deal with the dark organization, another group of mysterious people infiltrated Kyoto, Japan, and completely wiped out an ancient family that had a long history.”

"That family's name is Ame-no-Murakumo."

***

Chapter 274 Secrets and the Imprisoned

"Ama-no-Kusana?"

Sousuke scratched his head: "Aren't these the names of the three sacred treasures in Japanese mythology? The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, the Yasakani-no-Magatama, and the Yata-no-Kagami?"

“Hehehe…” Furinji Tenjin smiled faintly, “That is a divine artifact fabricated by the Japanese imperial family from mythology in order to maintain their former imperial rule. After all, whoever possesses the divine artifact will rule the country.”

He shook his head: "The real 'Three Sacred Treasures' essentially refer to three ancient families."

Then, he turned to look at Atobe Sousuke: "What follows is a 'story' with a touch of fantasy. I'll just say it like that, and you can just listen to it like that."

You can hear the hidden 'stories' behind history from the mouths of real bigwigs!

Sousuke's interest was completely piqued, and he nodded expectantly, "I'm all ears!"

Then, the celestial being of Fenglin Temple began to tell a story that was completely different from the "myths and legends" circulating in the real world.

Long, long ago, strictly speaking, perhaps back to before Christ, when Qin Shi Huang sent people eastward to Japan to seek immortality and medicine.

At that time, Japan was still an uncivilized land.

In the popular legends of Japan today, there was a monster called "Yamata no Orochi" that plagued the people of Japan at that time, and was eventually killed by Susanoo.

However, according to the Amanto of Furinji Temple, the "Yamata no Orochi" was not some mythical monster, but rather eight incredibly powerful superhumans.

Furinji Temple described this secret history as follows: "Those superhumans possessed physiques and combat skills far exceeding those of ordinary people, were also highly intelligent, and had long lifespans... Such powerful individuals, leading 'familias' with strength comparable to their own, were virtually invincible forces in ancient Japan, where individual combat power was extremely important."

Sousuke raised an eyebrow: "This, is this the truth behind the legend of Yamata no Orochi? The story of a small group of invincible powerhouses ruling over and oppressing ordinary people?"

“That’s right…” Fenglin Temple Celestial said calmly, “Most importantly, according to some secret research and verification institutions, this small group of special strong individuals are really not human.”

"Not human!?" Sousuke's heart skipped a beat, and he felt a dry mouth. "Not human, could it be a monster? Or some kind of alien?"

Fenglin Temple Amaterasu shook his head: "It's hard to say. According to secret research, those special strong individuals have an appearance no different from ordinary people under normal circumstances, but once they truly display their strength, they will exhibit a completely different demeanor. There are even some rather unreliable claims that these superhumans can even trigger special supernatural phenomena... Of course, the latter claim is purely speculative and has no evidence..."

"Researchers have named this superhuman species 'the Mad Race'."

At this point, Furinji Tenjin glanced meaningfully at Atobe Sousuke.

“A mad seed…” Sousuke’s eyes narrowed.

This wasn't the first time he'd heard this term.

The last time I heard it was the night he defeated Snake Fang Hishin.

That time, when Snake Fang Hishin saw his posture after he activated the liberation, he suddenly became hysterical and insisted that he was a "madman".

Hearing this term again from the mouth of the celestial being of Fenglin Temple gave him a strange feeling.

Seizing the rare opportunity, he directly asked the Celestial of Fenglin Temple, "Elder, I've heard about this 'Mad Seed' from Snake Fang Jiuxin before—the night I captured him, he insisted that I was some kind of 'Mad Seed'... Could it be that I really am a Mad Seed?"

After Furinji Tenjin uttered the term "mad seed," he stared meaningfully at Atobe Sousuke.

However, Sosuke very frankly turned the tables and asked him a question, which surprised him for a moment.

Then, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and looked at Sosuke, laughing loudly: "I don't know for sure, but I have to say, your sudden outburst during the battle just now did make me suspicious of you."

Sosuke nodded slowly, knowing that Furinji Tenjin was referring to his gesture of initiating "liberation".

Once he activates Liberation, especially at full power, his muscles swell, blood vessels and nerves bulge, and his eyes become bloodshot, making him look like a ghost or god. It's hard to call him a "normal person."

Could it be that the so-called berserker's fighting style is very similar to his?

This involuntarily reminded him of the few people he had fought alongside who had taken Black Crow organization drugs.

His entire body was flushed red, his eyes were bloodshot, and his heart was beating so fast and loudly that even outsiders could hear it.

The person will become increasingly frenzied during the battle, and in the end, they will become like a wild beast, completely losing their mind.

Correspondingly, without exception, these people all acquired physical functions far exceeding those of ordinary people, and even barely approaching his "liberated" state.

If one had to say which of these drug users and their liberated state is more like the so-called "madman," then he would undoubtedly say it is the drug users.

So he said seriously, "Although Elder's suspicions are reasonable, I am still very certain that I am not some so-called madman."

As for whether his body, which had been enhanced and reshaped by the system, could still be considered human, he couldn't guarantee that.

Furinji Tenjin chuckled softly again: "Atobe, you don't need to worry. I always judge by the matter, not the person. Even if you really are a 'madman,' before you do anything bad, you're still a good person in my eyes. As long as you have a clear conscience, there's nothing to worry about."

He pondered for a moment: "I'm a pretty easygoing person, but some people might not be. Very few people know the characteristics of the Berserker, but it's not like there aren't any. To avoid trouble, try to expose that state as little as possible during battles in the future."

Sosuke stroked his chin and nodded in agreement.

Even without using any skills, his current strength in all aspects, just in his "basic state," is already at the top level of the absolute level.

Even without using the most exaggerated "Liberation" skill, once he uses those unreasonable SSR-level skills, his overall strength is probably enough to contend with top-tier ultimate-level opponents, or even ordinary berserker-level opponents.

Given this reliance, it is certainly reasonable to rely less on liberation to obtain a more stable environment.

Fenglin Temple Celestial nodded with satisfaction.

"Let's get back to that legend." He deliberately skipped over the topic of whether Sosuke was a madman and continued to tell the "legend."

Eight special "madmen" led their clans to wreak havoc on Japan.

Later, among the oppressed native Japanese, three families secretly contacted the "Medicine Seeker" who had just arrived on the island, and obtained secret medicines and powerful martial arts from the "Western superpower" from him.

Finally, on a specific day of a solar eclipse, the three families joined forces to kill the eight special madmen and annihilate their terrifying power.

Beyond simply killing them, the three families, under the guidance of the "Medicine Seekers," also mysteriously "sealed the blood" of these eight special madmen, suppressing their "souls" in various perilous places, attempting to curse them so that they would never be reborn.