Recaps

Uesugi Tetsu confirmed that reaching five percent in Sword Principle improved his understanding and sword damage, then prepared to use the final Master Fisherman special salvage before his labyrinth mission. After studying Lord Saionji’s Yae Gaki footwork, he began the salvage, but the system altered it into a unique Myriad Manifestations branch.

• Uesugi Tetsu discovered that his Sword Principle progress had improved his understanding of swords and slightly increased his sword techniques’ damage.
• Uesugi Tetsu learned that the two-and-a-half-star special salvage would open in about forty-two hours and checked the cost and conditions for his final Master Fisherman salvage.
• Uesugi Tetsu confirmed with Tamamo that the Mokumokuren Labyrinth expedition was planned for three days later, then tested the Black Phone Booth’s tracking ability on Nanjō Emi.
• Uesugi Tetsu eliminated the dangerous monsters gathered on the mountain and returned to the dojo, where Chisa asked to join him at the Special Affairs Division after her current commitments ended.
• Lord Saionji demonstrated Yae Gaki’s first footwork, and Uesugi Tetsu identified its four overlapping steps before enduring three strikes meant to teach him the technique.
• Uesugi Tetsu spent 2,000 Soul Soothing Incense Ash to begin the Master Fisherman special salvage, but the system altered it into the Unique Salvage: Myriad Manifestations Branch.

Uesugi Tetsu revisited a branch in which he met Ririko and Nanjō Emi during a school scare, then pursued university and a police career while Ririko waited for his answer. Twelve years after their parting, he finally went to find her, before awakening in another branch with a token engraved [Walk].

• Ririko rescued Uesugi Tetsu and his unconscious friends from an abandoned school, where he met Nanjō Emi and gave a statement to Shizuma Mafuyu.
• Ririko’s sister Tokugawa Hoshi encouraged Uesugi Tetsu to work toward the University of Tokyo, and his online friend Work to Death urged him not to give up on Ririko.
• Uesugi Tetsu got into the University of Tokyo and reunited with Ririko at its opening ceremony, though he treated her question about his feelings as a request for a protein powder recommendation.
• Uesugi Tetsu chose a police career, graduated early, passed the Class I examination, and rose through the Metropolitan Police Department while Ririko continued pursuing kendo.
• Twelve years after leaving Ririko beneath the cherry tree, Uesugi Tetsu called her and hurried to the address she gave him to answer her question.
• Uesugi Tetsu awoke in another branch holding a token engraved [Walk].

Uesugi Tetsu and Nanjō Emi resolved to preserve their equal nation, but a future branch showed the nation destroyed and the world consumed by Uesugi Tetsu’s final act. Countless alternate lives then unfolded before Uesugi Tetsu until every branch abruptly stopped at the terminus of possibility.

• The Onmyo Bureau and allied families planned to kill the Wanderer, and Tokugawa Haruhiko led the ambush against him.
• Nanjō Emi subdued Tokugawa Haruhiko, while Uesugi Tetsu questioned him about the mortal world and learned how dire it had become.
• Uesugi Tetsu and Nanjō Emi chose to protect the equal nation, though they believed the world might deserve destruction.
• More than a decade later, humans and demons destroyed the nation and slew the Demon King; Uesugi Tetsu pressed a red button and unleashed endless light and heat.
• Countless branches showed alternate lives of Uesugi Tetsu before all possibilities abruptly stopped at their terminus.

After waking from a vision of countless lifetimes, Uesugi Tetsu gained immense control over spiritual energy, opened the Demon King's Earthly Paradise salvage pool, and learned Yae Gaki. He then took command of the Special Affairs Division team assembled to raid the Mokumokuren Labyrinth and led them to its ominous entrance.

• Uesugi Tetsu woke after sleeping for two days, learned that his state of mind had improved, and discovered that his spiritual-energy control had grown dramatically.
• Uesugi Tetsu opened the two-and-a-half-star Demon King's Earthly Paradise pool and salvaged a Super Epic homemade bento and a useless damaged red button.
• Uesugi Tetsu learned from Chisa that disguised machines had infiltrated the Special Affairs Division headquarters and warned Nanjō Emi, Kitano Runa, Tamamo, and the other personnel.
• Uesugi Tetsu mastered the beginner level of Yae Gaki and demonstrated its speed and silence to Yagyū Shion before they departed with Tamamo.
• Uesugi Tetsu arrived at the Mokumokuren Labyrinth camp, assumed command of the raid, reviewed the agents' information, and led the team toward the cave entrance.
• Uesugi Tetsu sensed a frigid supernatural presence in the cave, asked about the absence of Ghost God-level support, and prepared to enter with his hand on Kaga Kiyomitsu.

Uesugi Tetsu led the team into the changing Mokumokuren Labyrinth, where increasingly powerful illusions forced him to send two agents back and call for Ghost God-level support. At the labyrinth’s deepest point, a vast Mokumokuren presence trapped the group, and Uesugi Tetsu prepared to face it alone.

• Uesugi Tetsu gave Tamamo Yongming's Headlamp and secretly spread his Mirage domain before leading the team into the cave.
• Fukada Mei and the others fell prey to Mokumokuren illusions, but Tamamo helped Fukada Mei recover, and Uesugi Tetsu killed a Mokumokuren and collected its eyeballs.
• Uesugi Tetsu ordered Ōtomo Ken and Fukada Mei to leave after realizing the labyrinth’s mental influence grew stronger with depth.
• Uesugi Tetsu sensed an enormous malice ahead and told Tamamo to call for Ghost God-level support.
• Uesugi Tetsu discovered a Mokumokuren shadow among the group and reached the labyrinth’s deepest point, where dozens of Mokumokuren blocked the way back and a gigantic presence awaited.
• Uesugi Tetsu blasted open the escape route with a thunderball, summoned the Brahma Mask, and faced the approaching mass of eyes.

Uesugi Tetsu killed the nearly Ghost God-level Mokumokuren Assembly with the Demon King's Homemade Bento, then witnessed Kujo Shingo erase the labyrinth hill with a display of Ghost God power. As the tidal wave's aftershocks began in Shizuoka City, Uesugi Tetsu stopped a monster incursion, and his Proof of Walking began to shine.

• Uesugi Tetsu used Kaga Kiyomitsu and the Demon King's Homemade Bento to kill the Mokumokuren Assembly, earning soul ash, 872 eyeballs, and a Malice Crystal.
• Uesugi Tetsu fed the Mokumokuren eyeballs to Hundred-Eyed Demon, then met Kujo Shingo, who advised him to become a Ghost God and demonstrated his power by erasing the Mokumokuren Labyrinth hill.
• Uesugi Tetsu, Tamamo, and Yagyū Shion traveled toward Shizuoka City to collect the scale armor as the tidal wave's aftershocks began.
• Uesugi Tetsu killed thirty-two bio-mechanical monsters that emerged from a black vortex beside the shuttle bus.
• Uesugi Tetsu noticed that his Proof of Walking was glowing brightly inside his storage bag.

During Shizuoka City's wave, Uesugi Tetsu observed Karasu Tengu's swordsmanship, received Sea Alien Light's Scale Armor, and defined it in his Qi Sea, creating a powerful link with the Fragment of the Ten-Span Sword and Brahma Card. He then used the Proof of Walking to enter the Walker Assembly again, where someone recognized it with surprise.

• Uesugi Tetsu arrived at Shizuoka City's Special Affairs Division during the wave and met Karasu Tengu, who was defending the city with black sword light.
• Uesugi Tetsu watched Karasu Tengu fight from the command center, improving his Imperial Spirit Technique, Tennen Rishin-ryū, and Sword Principle.
• After the wave temporarily subsided, Karasu Tengu gave Uesugi Tetsu Sea Alien Light's Scale Armor and allowed him to use a quiet cultivation chamber.
• Uesugi Tetsu defined the scale armor in his Qi Sea, linking it with the Fragment of the Ten-Span Sword and Brahma Card and gaining greater Water Attribute Resistance, astral qi, and self-healing.
• Uesugi Tetsu took out the Gathering Token and entered the Walker Assembly, where someone greeted him and expressed surprise that he had obtained the Proof of Walking.

Uesugi Tetsu entered a Heian-era secret realm left by a Walker from a thousand years ago and met its yokai residents and a surviving Great Onmyoji. The Onmyoji led him to the Spring of Spirit Gathering, where Uesugi Tetsu discovered he could promote a Demon Incarnation’s quality.

• Magatsu-Kami explained that Uesugi Tetsu’s Proof of Walking held a difficult trial and an ancient secret realm, then opened its entrance and told him to wear the Walker Arrow.
• Uesugi Tetsu entered the secret realm, met Karagasa-kozo, and followed it to a village inhabited by yokai.
• Karagasa-kozo introduced Uesugi Tetsu to the village chief, a Great Onmyoji from the era of Abe no Seimei and Ashiya Dōman who had waited centuries in the secret realm.
• Uesugi Tetsu told the Onmyoji that Everworld was rising again, and the Onmyoji combined malice and wish power into a Wish Thought Crystal for him.
• The Onmyoji led Uesugi Tetsu and Karagasa-kozo through the mist to the Spring of Spirit Gathering, where a prompt offered quality promotion for White Brahma or Four-tailed Fox.

Uesugi Tetsu advanced White Brahma in the Spring of Spirit Gathering, raising its quality and tier cap, then returned from the secret realm and spoke with Magatsu-Kami. Back in the present, he planned to train during the storm and prepared to attend the qualifiers.

• Uesugi Tetsu chose to advance White Brahma's quality in the spring, raising it to Epic+ and increasing its tier cap to four stars while improving its talents and the Brahma Mask.
• Karagasa-kozo absorbed the spring's mist and rose to one and a half stars as Uesugi Tetsu thanked the Village Chief and received gifts from the spirit villagers.
• The Village Chief opened a vortex for Uesugi Tetsu to leave and asked him to bring back records of the past thousand years if he visited again.
• Uesugi Tetsu returned to Magatsu-Kami, gave her a bottle of soda, and promised to meet her again; she began trying to figure out how to open it.
• Uesugi Tetsu woke beside Chisa, forwarded her Nanjō Emi's contact information, and agreed to attend the qualifiers.
• Uesugi Tetsu saw the storm outside and headed to the Special Affairs Division rooftop to train the Imperial Spirit Technique and Five Thunder Technique.

Uesugi Tetsu cultivated on the Special Affairs Division rooftop during the First Wave, advancing his Four-tailed Fox and tempering his body with lightning. After defeating an incoming Vanguard Spearhead, he arranged for Chisa to go to Arakawa Ward and prepared to draw cards on the shuttle back.

• Chisa added Nanjō Emi as a friend after Uesugi Tetsu left her in the corridor.
• Uesugi Tetsu drew on the storm’s spiritual power and lightning to cultivate, while Karasu Tengu maintained the rooftop barrier and redirected the bolts.
• The Four-tailed Fox reached its complete form, gaining the Thousand Faces, Myriad Phenomena talent, and the Four-tailed Fox Jade Token gained a lightning-based effect.
• Uesugi Tetsu’s Corona Breathing Technique changed into Lightning Bone, and his attributes and skill proficiencies rose sharply.
• Uesugi Tetsu destroyed a three-and-a-half-star Vanguard Spearhead with a compressed lightning sphere, while Yagyū Shion watched in frustration.
• Uesugi Tetsu arranged for Chisa to go to the Arakawa Ward Special Affairs Division with a bodyguard, then prepared to spend his soul ash on card draws during the return trip.

Uesugi Tetsu signed the Demon King's contract and gained a powerful one-use blessing, then completed Lightning Bone and received Kenshin's Gaze. He traveled with Shihan-dai, Akiyama Kai, Tsuchiya Yū, and Tamamo to the City of Disorder, where he saw a vast city filled with Great Demons.

• Uesugi Tetsu promoted the Four-tailed Fox with Soul Soothing Incense Ash and checked Hundred-Eyed Demon's slow progress toward Super Epic.
• Uesugi Tetsu signed the Demon King's Blessing contract and received Soul Spirit's Protection, which would preserve his soul from corruption once.
• Uesugi Tetsu reached the Yagyū dojo, where Shihan-dai gave him a wooden admission ticket and warned him that a grim future awaited as Everworld rose toward the present world.
• Uesugi Tetsu completed Lightning Bone, gained Kenshin's Gaze, and began preparing for the next Palace of Flesh stage.
• Uesugi Tetsu joined Shihan-dai, Akiyama Kai, Tsuchiya Yū, and Tamamo aboard the Kisaragi Train to the City of Disorder.
• Uesugi Tetsu stepped off the train and saw Great Demons above immense city walls engraved with legends from across the ages.

Uesugi Tetsu explored the City of Disorder and learned about the Annual Ring Arena, where ancient projections could be challenged. As the wagered battle against Hōjō Ujiyasu’s forces began, Uesugi Tetsu stood ready to be chosen for the first round.

• Uesugi Tetsu entered the City of Disorder and learned that its rules forbade fighting while its residents freely traded goods and information.
• Uesugi Tetsu visited the Annual Ring Arena, saw Abe no Seimei and Ashiya Dōman atop its ranking tablets, and was instantly defeated by Abe no Seimei’s projection.
• Uesugi Tetsu entered the arena as a contestant and recognized Hōjō Ujiyasu, who had brought three members of the Hōjō Clan’s Five-Colored Guard.
• Hōjō Ujiyasu asked Lord Saionji to name the first fighter, and the assistant instructor’s gaze turned toward Uesugi Tetsu.

Tsuchiya Yū fought Kasahara Yasukatsu and was killed just as he broke through, while Akiyama Kai later withdrew after suffering severe injuries and poison. With Yagyu Dojo down two fighters, Uesugi Tetsu entered the arena to face Tametomo Mototada.

• Tsuchiya Yū chose to fight first, hoping to find a life-or-death battle that would let him break through his bottleneck.
• Kasahara Yasukatsu used a hidden matchlock pistol to kill Tsuchiya Yū at the moment he achieved his breakthrough.
• Akiyama Kai fought Tametomo Mototada for over an hour, broke through, and then withdrew after losing an arm and an eye to a poisoned weapon.
• Tametomo Mototada mocked Uesugi Tetsu and the modern world as the monsters celebrated Yagyu Dojo's losses.
• Uesugi Tetsu entered the arena and asked Tametomo Mototada why he had stopped laughing.

Uesugi Tetsu effortlessly killed Tametomo Mototada and defeated Kasahara Yasukatsu while Tamamo began livestreaming the fights on Deep Space Online. As Hōjō Ujiyasu sent out a mysterious new opponent, Uesugi Tetsu saw the name Fūma Kotarō appear above him.

• Uesugi Tetsu cut off Tametomo Mototada’s leg, blocked his hidden weapons, and killed him with a spear after stopping his escape.
• Hōjō Ujiyasu gave Kasahara Yasukatsu a Substitute Doll to sign before sending him to fight Uesugi Tetsu.
• Tamamo opened a Deep Space Online livestream of the arena, and viewers watched Uesugi Tetsu dominate Kasahara Yasukatsu.
• Kasahara Yasukatsu activated his secret technique and attacked, but Uesugi Tetsu pierced his throat with a lightning-charged spear and killed him.
• Hōjō Ujiyasu sent a black-clad figure into the arena, and Uesugi Tetsu recognized the name Fūma Kotarō above him.

Uesugi Tetsu faced Fūma Kotarō in the arena, while the livestream audience watched their battle and learned the cost of reviving Kasahara Yasukatsu with a Substitute Doll. After trading feints and techniques, Uesugi Tetsu cut down Kotarō’s fourteen illusions and launched a thunderous counterattack at the concealed real one.

• Fūma Kotarō assessed Uesugi Tetsu as the stronger fighter and agreed to withdraw if he showed signs of defeat.
• Hōjō Ujiyasu revived Kasahara Yasukatsu with a Substitute Doll, leaving him weakened and the doll pierced through its neck.
• Uesugi Tetsu drew Kaga Kiyomitsu as Tamamo’s livestream audience recognized Fūma Kotarō and surged in size.
• Fūma Kotarō attacked with kunai, substitution techniques, and fourteen duplicates, while Uesugi Tetsu countered with swordsmanship and thunder-based Onmyōjutsu.
• Uesugi Tetsu used Tennen Rishin-ryū—Nameless Sword: Hidden to behead the fourteen Fūma Kotarōs, then met the real Kotarō’s thunder attack with a forward thrust.

Uesugi Tetsu won the wagered battle by driving Fūma Kotarō out of the arena, securing the agreement that the Hōjō Clan would not attack Shizuoka Prefecture in the Second Wave. Tamamo’s livestream made Uesugi go viral and brought in enormous gifts, and she told him he had already gone viral as she showed him her balance.

• Uesugi Tetsu charged through Fūma Kotarō’s black radiance and nearly struck him, but Fūma stepped out of the arena to avoid the attack.
• Tamamo’s livestream drew more than ten thousand viewers, and Mangaka Kisaragi sent a Deep Space Boat and a 500,000-coin Deep Space Airship.
• Tamamo ended the livestream after the viewer count reached eighty thousand, but Uesugi Tetsu and the battle already occupied the top three trending searches.
• Hōjō Ujiyasu accepted the wager’s outcome, gave Lord Saionji a Hōjō Clan crest for Uesugi Tetsu, and planned to target a different region in the Second Wave.
• Uesugi Tetsu asked whether he and his companions could move freely, then went to Tamamo when she beckoned him over.
• Tamamo told Uesugi Tetsu that he had gone viral and showed him the large balance from her livestream.

After Tamamo explained that her livestream had earned Deep Space Coins, Uesugi Tetsu accepted most of the proceeds and planned to use the attention and rewards to grow stronger. He investigated why people in Everworld refused to discuss Great Onmyoji Tetsu, ending by questioning a foot soldier for 500 Soul Ash.

• Tamamo explained that her livestream had earned 615,822 Deep Space Coins, which could be exchanged for Soul Essence, and offered the proceeds to Uesugi Tetsu as compensation.
• Uesugi Tetsu accepted the money but gave Tamamo ten percent, then received his share of the Soul Ash and reviewed his skill proficiency gains.
• Uesugi Tetsu decided to focus on improving the Five Thunder Technique and the Flesh Refining stage of the Corona Breathing Technique, while considering future livestreams.
• A Deep Space Online operator boosted Tamamo's stream with tens of millions of views, but she closed it before the traffic could be used; the operator was then told to contact and sign the two streamers.
• Nanjō Emi questioned Chisa about her abilities, while Minamoto Shizuka's elder sister praised Uesugi Tetsu and urged Shizuka to defeat him in the Tokyo Seed Battle.
• Uesugi Tetsu found that people in Everworld avoided discussing Great Onmyoji Tetsu, so he offered a foot soldier 500 Soul Ash and asked whether he knew the name.

Uesugi Tetsu searched for food and useful eyeballs in the City of Disorder, then learned his fame had spread after his battle with the Hōjō Clan. Huijue prepared to join him in Shizuoka, where the district Seed Battle finals were about to begin, and Nanjō Emi sent him the finalized Tokyo seed list.

• Uesugi Tetsu failed to learn about Onmyoji from a foot soldier in the City of Disorder and bought a Rare Petrifying Eye for four Soul Essence.
• Uesugi Tetsu spent about 1,500 Soul Essence on unusual eyeballs for Hundred-Eyed Demon, who began absorbing them through Edo Castle's gacha interface.
• Tamamo showed Uesugi Tetsu a viral headline about his victories, and Huijue told him he would arrive in Shizuoka within a few days.
• Tokugawa Haruhiko discovered that Uesugi Tetsu had become stronger than him, while Kyūkōin Jin planned to bring Uesugi lemon tea at the Tokyo Seed Battle.
• Uesugi Tetsu and Tamamo attended the Shizuoka Prefecture Seed Battle finals, where Uesugi predicted Yagyū would win.
• Nanjō Emi sent Uesugi Tetsu the finalized list of seeded participants from Tokyo's 23 wards.

Uesugi Tetsu watched Yagyū Shion win the Shizuoka Prefecture final and prepared to return to Tokyo for the Seed Battle preliminaries. On the shuttle, he learned Chisa wanted him as her master, then opened the preliminary roster and found a list of famous competitors.

• Uesugi Tetsu predicted Yagyū Shion would beat Kawakami Ryōto, and Yagyū won after steadily wearing down his opponent.
• Uesugi Tetsu revealed his identity to spectators who had been arguing about his strength, silencing them.
• Lord Saionji asked Uesugi Tetsu to give his all in the Seed Battle, and Uesugi said he would return to Tokyo to prepare for the preliminaries.
• Uesugi Tetsu, Tamamo, and Yagyū Shion left for Tokyo, where Uesugi exchanged messages with Nanjō Emi and learned Chisa wanted him as her master.
• Uesugi Tetsu opened the preliminary roster and saw the names Saito Ryuichi, Takizawa Kai, Minamoto Shizuka, Tsuchimikado Ran, and Tokugawa Haruhiko.

Uesugi Tetsu reviewed the Seed Battle’s contestants and rules before returning to the Special Affairs Division, where Huijue examined his Ksitigarbha Shikigami and found that immense vow power was eroding her Willpower. As Huijue took the statue to seek help from major temples, Uesugi learned why Huijue would judge rather than compete, and Ririko encountered a girl looking for him.

• Uesugi Tetsu studied the Seed Battle roster and learned that only forty-two places remained in the 128-person knockout tournament for eastern-region candidates.
• Uesugi Tetsu arrived at the Special Affairs Division with Yagyū Shion and Tamamo, where Huijue descended from an experimental flying craft and greeted him.
• Huijue examined Uesugi Tetsu’s Ksitigarbha statue and warned that its enormous vow power was eroding the sealed Two-Shaku-Sama’s Willpower, so he took it to consult temples and other masters.
• Nanjō Emi explained that Huijue would judge the Seed Battle because he belonged to the previous generation, while Huijue said he still lacked something essential for the Ghost God realm.
• Ririko helped a girl carry documents to Nanjō’s office, and the girl said she was looking for Big Brother Uesugi.

Ririko encouraged Chisa to weigh the sacrifices involved in cultivation, and Chisa asked Uesugi Tetsu for more time before deciding whether to become his student. After three days of training, Uesugi Tetsu arrived at the Tokyo Seed Battle qualifiers and rose above the crowd as his name was announced.

• Ririko met Chisa, who said she was looking for Uesugi Tetsu, and brought her to Nanjō Emi's office.
• Chisa told Ririko she wanted to cultivate under Uesugi Tetsu so she could protect her family, but did not want to be away from them or give up everything else.
• Ririko warned Chisa about the hardships of pursuing strength, and Chisa admitted she had not decided whether she could accept them.
• Chisa told Uesugi Tetsu she needed more time to consider becoming his student, and he agreed to wait for her answer.
• Uesugi Tetsu spent the three days before the qualifiers cultivating at home, then headed to the Seed Battle venue on June 10, 2024.
• Uesugi Tetsu heard his name announced as the Arakawa Ward Seed and rose into the air above the packed crowd.

Uesugi Tetsu arrived at Sky Dome One for the Seed Battle preliminaries and watched the contestants demonstrate their abilities. Seeing Minamoto Shizuka’s swordsmanship brought his Sword Principles to 10%, and he decided to fight at full power in his normal state when his turn came.

• Uesugi Tetsu flew up to Sky Dome One, received his contestant badge, and joined Nanjō Emi and the other gathered figures from the Special Affairs Division.
• Nanjō Emi explained that Sky Dome One was a newly tested weapon of war temporarily serving as the competition venue, and that the government had been sidelined because of its corruption and incompetence.
• Uesugi Tetsu watched Takizawa Kai and the other seeds defeat their puppet opponents with powerful techniques.
• Minamoto Shizuka cut her steel puppet in two with one sword strike, and Uesugi Tetsu gained insight that raised his Sword Principles from 9% to 10%.
• Nanjō Emi explained that preliminary performances determined the seeds’ rankings and elimination-round advantages, while Uesugi Tetsu decided to show his full normal-state strength without revealing everything he could do.

Uesugi Tetsu studied Kitada Kei’s sword principle, watched Akechi Yuya struggle through his match, and defeated the arena puppet with a powerful thunder-infused slash. After considering Huijue’s two methods for restoring the Ksitigami statue, Uesugi trained through a thunderstorm and reached Expert mastery of the Five Thunder Technique.

• Uesugi Tetsu used the Eye of Interpretation to study sword principle drifting through the venue and discovered that he could move it with stellar energy.
• Kitada Kei recognized Uesugi Tetsu as the person who had disturbed his sword principle, while Akechi Yuya arrived and revealed he was Arakawa Ward’s second seed.
• Akechi Yuya struggled to defeat the puppet, then Uesugi Tetsu cut down his own opponent with a thunder-and-stellar-energy-infused slash.
• The preliminary matches ended, and Uesugi Tetsu learned that the official rankings and later schedule would be announced in the coming days.
• Ririko gave Uesugi Tetsu detailed advice about his slash, and he gained more than ten points of Tennen Rishin-ryū proficiency.
• Uesugi Tetsu read Huijue’s two proposed ways to restore the Ksitigami statue, then cultivated through a thunderstorm and reached Expert level in the Five Thunder Technique.

Uesugi Tetsu broke through to the Expert level in the Five Thunder Technique, gained powerful new control over lightning, and dispersed the storm above Tokyo. He then checked the Seed Battle rankings and learned that the next stage would be a brutal 128-contestant challenge tournament with major prizes for the top ten.

• With Nanjō Emi strengthening the lightning and hiding him behind a barrier, Uesugi Tetsu reached the Expert level in the Five Thunder Technique and discovered that he could manipulate lightning and withstand its strikes.
• Uesugi Tetsu tested his new abilities, found that his lightning attacks could continuously kill weaker ghosts, and saw lightning begin to strengthen his qi barrier and form reserve thunderclouds above his qi sea.
• Uesugi Tetsu waved his hand and dispersed the thunderstorm; Nanjō Emi reassured the public that she had brought about the clear weather and told him the preliminary rankings were available.
• Uesugi Tetsu checked the rankings and found Minamoto Shizuka first, Kitada Kei second, Kamo Kiichi third, Tsuchimikado Ran fourth, and himself fifth; Akechi Yuya placed forty-sixth.
• Uesugi Tetsu read that the 128 contestants would each receive three upward challenges, with challenges limited by rank, and that the top ten would receive grand prizes from the Special Affairs Division, Onmyoji clans, dojos, and the Sword Saint.

Uesugi Tetsu studied the Seed Battle rewards and decided he needed to reach the top two for an Aragami-level inheritance and other powerful prizes. He then set out to activate his Unknown Factory Core Map by pursuing the Factory Core in Arakawa Village.

• Uesugi Tetsu read the Seed Battle reward rankings and was tempted by the Aragami-level inheritances, Spider-Cutter, and other top prizes.
• Uesugi Tetsu decided that reaching the top two was his minimum goal, though he recognized that defeating Minamoto Shizuka would be difficult.
• Uesugi Tetsu read agents’ comments about the power of Ghost Gods and Aragami, then found that his ranking fragment had become a durable crystal marked TOP5.
• Uesugi Tetsu returned home, discussed the rewards with Ririko, and went upstairs after claiming he was going to sleep.
• Uesugi Tetsu decided to use his Unknown Factory Core Map and headed toward the factory in Arakawa Village to obtain its Factory Core.