Great Yin-Yang Art Remnant Chapter: Imperial Spirit

As soon as he stepped out of the bushes, before Uesugi Tetsu could even speak, the two apprentices squatting beside the stream spotted him and began chattering excitedly.

These clothes worked exceptionally well.

Putting on an astonished expression, Uesugi Tetsu asked them, "Are you workshop apprentices? Why are you living in such poverty?"

The two apprentices hurriedly nodded and knelt before him, beginning to sob out their grievances.

Although the way they spoke sounded rather strange, Uesugi Tetsu could still understand the general meaning.

They were doing nothing more than denouncing how unscrupulous the workshop owner was, exploiting their rest time and never allowing them to leave the cramped workshop...

Thus, Uesugi Tetsu sighed. "How pitiful. Truly, how pitiful."

Bending down and taking the two apprentices' hands, Uesugi Tetsu said earnestly, "Come work at our factory. We strictly enforce an eight-hour workday, prohibit two- and three-shift rotations, provide full benefits, and pay by the piece on top of a base salary."

The many unfamiliar terms left the two apprentices dazed, but there was one thing they could be certain of.

The great man before them was willing to lead them out of this hell!

"Thank you... Thank you!"

By the time Uesugi Tetsu helped them to their feet, the apprentices were already sobbing uncontrollably.

"Then come with me."

Uesugi Tetsu said, "I'll take you to welcome your new lives."

[You killed the minor wandering spirit "Clumsy Worker Apprentice" and obtained 7 Soul Ash.]

[You killed the minor wandering spirit "Clumsy Worker Apprentice" and obtained 6 Soul Ash.]

Inside the gloomy thatched hut, Uesugi Tetsu gently wiped the blood off his woodcutter's axe with a piece of burlap after completing his sneak attack.

There was one thing he hadn't said incorrectly.

Death could also count as a new life, couldn't it?

"I didn't expect them to be so easy to deceive. No wonder they have the 'Clumsy' prefix as minor monsters."

After sighing, Uesugi Tetsu confirmed that no blood had stained him, then returned to his original position. Using Hundred-Eyed Demon's eyeballs to monitor the workshop, he waited for apprentices to sneak out for some fresh air.

After waiting several hours and repeating the same trick twice, Uesugi Tetsu had dealt with five workshop apprentices and decided to stop for the time being.

He couldn't rush this. Otherwise, it would be bad if the foreman noticed something was wrong too soon.

Besides, it was already the middle of the night, and Uesugi Tetsu needed to sleep. He had to attend school as usual, and tomorrow's Ki-ai Technique and swordsmanship practice would also require plenty of energy.

Still, he had to make full use of this life.

Thus, Uesugi Tetsu exited Arakawa Ghost Village and entered Edo Castle, where he began exploring openly and without restraint.

As expected, after searching two corpses that contained nothing and gaining another one percent exploration progress, he was beheaded in three slashes by a passing Sengoku Ronin.

But last time, it had taken two slashes, while this time it had taken three. That was a full fifty percent improvement!

Uesugi Tetsu sat up while clutching his neck and shook his head. He felt that he was gradually getting used to the sensation of being beheaded.

He picked up his phone. Just as he expected, his salaryman netizen had replied in the middle of the night.

[Work to Death]: From your description, it sounds like a ronin or samurai from the Sengoku period. But why was he wearing a Noh mask? Was it cosplay at a comic convention?

A Noh mask?

What was that?

Uesugi Tetsu searched online and found that it had similarities to the Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera of his hometown.

So it was someone performing in an opera.

[Moon Sand-chan]: Does this have anything to do with Noh?

[Work to Death]: You little brat really don't know anything about traditional culture. According to your description, the mask that samurai was wearing was a Noh mask of a Fangxiangshi.

Uesugi Tetsu's expression stiffened slightly, and his grip on the phone unconsciously tightened.

Fangxiangshi?

Perhaps his description had been unclear, causing the other party to mistake the dye on the man's face for a mask...

But whether it was dye or a mask, his salaryman netizen had no idea that Fangxiangshi was the final boss of Edo Castle.

Uesugi Tetsu suddenly found it a little absurd.

On his very first visit to Edo Castle, when he had pushed open the door at the starting point, he had actually come face-to-face with the final boss.

Originally, Uesugi Tetsu had planned to become stronger and then hang that red-faced samurai up and beat him senseless. Now that he thought about it, that day seemed impossibly far away.

[Moon Sand-chan]: Gotcha, hehe. (finger-heart.jpg)

After thanking the other party in the style the original owner had used before, Uesugi Tetsu had originally planned to go straight to sleep. Instead, he silently set down his phone and prepared to practice the Ki-ai Technique for another two hours.

Meanwhile, in the blazing ruins of the Friendship Club branch.

Having just finished working overtime, Nanjō Emi, with a little Hiyori Bō perched on her head and a cigarette between her teeth, stared with dead fish eyes and muttered, "Could that little guy have encountered a samurai ghost?"

She took a deep drag, then clicked her tongue as she exhaled. "The world's too chaotic. I'd better teach him a few skills first."

Beside Nanjō Emi, only the upper half of Hasegawa Ken remained, his face and hair covered in dust. No one knew which section of the ruins the other half had been buried beneath.

The man who loved to smile would never be able to smile again.

Fortunately, the Special Affairs Division had promoted him to [Tokugyōsei] overnight. That would be engraved on his tombstone as well, so at least one of his long-cherished wishes had been fulfilled.

Annoyed, Nanjō Emi tore off the cloth trousers from her battle-damaged state and began typing.

[Work to Death]: Little brat, did you run into something unclean? Don't be scared, okay? I'll teach you something right now and guarantee you a sound sleep.

Teach me something?

Uesugi Tetsu had just entered a state of breath regulation when he frowned and picked up his phone.

It was probably some third-rate folk Onmyōjutsu.

But he didn't have time to learn that sort of thing right now. Otherwise, wouldn't it have been better to simply ask Nanjō Emi?

Still, on the surface, he gave his netizen plenty of face.

[Moon Sand-chan]: Boss, you're awesome. (eager.jpg)

Nanjō Emi curled her lips slightly. Thinking of the cloth doll she had given him, she began typing out long blocks of text at incredible speed.

After glancing at it a couple of times and deciding that he couldn't understand it, Uesugi Tetsu was about to humor her before continuing his Ki-ai Technique practice, when a notification appeared before his eyes.

[Work to Death is teaching you the Great Yin-Yang Art Remnant Chapter: Imperial Spirit...]

[Moon Sand-chan]: ?

["Moon Sand-chan" retracted a message]

[Moon Sand-chan]: Sorry, I pressed the wrong button. Please continue, boss.

Uesugi Tetsu hurriedly opened the window. The cold wind rushed in, instantly clearing his head.

Still practicing the Ki-ai Technique? What was the point of practicing the Ki-ai Technique?

After angrily scolding his earlier self a couple of times, Uesugi Tetsu began concentrating fully on memorizing and trying to understand the long passages of text.

Although Uesugi Tetsu couldn't understand any of it at all, that was fine. The system would help him comprehend it. He only needed to keep staring at it intently.

A few short minutes later, when the long stream of text stopped appearing, another notification popped up.

[You have learned the Great Yin-Yang Art Remnant Chapter: Imperial Spirit.]

[Imperial Spirit Technique (Uninitiated 0/100)]

[Effect: Command the qi of Heaven and Earth and commune with the spirits of all things.]

Why did this effect description sound so profound?

After absorbing the basic knowledge of the Imperial Spirit Technique that had appeared in his mind, Uesugi Tetsu looked at his phone again.

[Work to Death]: This isn't some precious art. It's fine if you want to teach it to a friend, just don't spread it online.

Uesugi Tetsu stared at the words "Great Yin-Yang Art" for a long while, then replied with an "OK" in confusion.

Could his salaryman netizen be the heir of some great family, forced to become a salaryman after being driven out for some reason...

After imagining an absurdly melodramatic plot for a while, Uesugi Tetsu sent another thanks, then began thinking about where he could use the Imperial Spirit Technique.

The uninitiated-level Imperial Spirit Technique did not contain much knowledge. At most, it could use Spiritual Power to warn mindless wandering spirits or allow the user to communicate with certain spirit-infused objects.

After a brief moment of thought, Uesugi Tetsu slapped his thigh. He had remembered the cloth doll Nanjō Emi had given him.

Wasn't that cloth doll a spirit-infused object?

With that thought, Uesugi Tetsu opened the door and grabbed the cloth doll, which had been spinning around on a straw rope, into his palm.

Tomorrow's update time will be changed to 23:30, with two chapters released together. Just letting everyone know.

Also, tomorrow's follow-up reading numbers are very important. Everyone, please come take a look.