Recaps

Uesugi Tetsu infiltrated the polluted Arakawa Village factory and discovered that its production lines were devoted mainly to making Part 028. He reached the Factory Core and seized its hidden blue sphere, but the factory alarm sounded as the heat melted him away.

• Uesugi Tetsu found his shrine buried in a sewage channel and concealed it before exploring the devastated Arakawa Village.
• He examined the abandoned Machiya, found its Spirit Grass patch ruined, and approached the Logistical Unit Factory unseen.
• Uesugi Tetsu noticed that most production lines made Part 028, stole a nearly complete piece, and followed a patrol toward the underground core.
• He discovered the Factory Core was a blue sphere inside a vast ball of light and rushed through the extreme heat to grab it.
• The factory alarm rang and a distant divine presence enveloped the factory as the heat melted Uesugi Tetsu and the sphere vanished with him.

Uesugi Tetsu stole a Factory Core, used it to locate the abandoned Karuta Factory III, and planned to explore it later. When he returned home, Ririko awakened after crossing the threshold between life and death, unified her essence, qi, and spirit, and announced she would join the Seed Battle.

• Uesugi Tetsu recovered from being incinerated while stealing the Factory Core and inspected it in Everworld.
• Uesugi Tetsu used the Factory Core to activate his map and chose the abandoned Karuta Factory III, a failed project backed by seven Factory Masters.
• Uesugi Tetsu obtained the factory's location and a ticket for the Tokoyo Train, then returned home to have dinner with Ririko.
• Uesugi Tetsu found Ririko motionless and seemingly without vital signs in the dojo.
• Ririko awakened, explained that she had unified her essence, qi, and spirit after approaching death, and told Uesugi Tetsu she would participate in the Seed Battle.

Ririko survived a dangerous breakthrough with Embrace Dan, decided to enter the Seed Battle again despite the Tokugawa Family’s threat, and offered to teach Uesugi Tetsu the technique. She was registered for the next day’s preliminary round and ended the evening preparing to give Uesugi one-on-one guidance.

• Ririko explained that she had nearly died while using Embrace Dan, which condensed her power into one point and let her force Uesugi Tetsu back with a single finger.
• Ririko said she wanted to enter the Seed Battle to test herself against other fighters, and told Uesugi Tetsu she would face the Tokugawa Family if they came after her.
• Ririko explained that defeat could help her learn, while Uesugi Tetsu accepted that she might bring trouble into his life.
• Ririko ordered a huge meal, then offered to teach Uesugi Tetsu Embrace Dan and described how it could concentrate all his strength into any part of his body.
• Uesugi Tetsu told Nanjō Emi that Ririko wanted to compete, and Nanjō Emi placed her on Arakawa Ward’s list for the next day’s preliminary round.
• After finishing the food, Ririko told Uesugi Tetsu to take off his clothes so she could assess his progress and guide him personally.

Ririko examined Uesugi Tetsu’s immense and unusual powers, taught him Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound, and guided him through his first attempt at Embrace Dan Sit Crotch. After discussing Chisa and agreeing to help her, Uesugi Tetsu entered Everworld and summoned the Tokoyo Train at Kisaragi Station.

• Ririko examined Uesugi Tetsu’s body and discovered his extraordinary reserves of internal power, spiritual energy, lightning, and Lightning Bone.
• Ririko taught Uesugi Tetsu Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound, which he learned after one attempt and found accelerated his body tempering.
• Ririko guided Uesugi Tetsu through Embrace Dan Sit Crotch, but he gained only slight understanding before she grew exhausted and postponed further instruction until the next day.
• Ririko held back what she had wanted to say to Uesugi Tetsu and asked whether he would accept Chisa as a disciple; he said he would help Chisa and leave her choices to her.
• After sleeping, Uesugi Tetsu entered Everworld, removed the security mark from his Train's Round-Trip Ticket, and summoned the Tokoyo Train at Kisaragi Station.

Uesugi Tetsu rode the Tokoyo Train to Karuta Factory III, where he unlocked the abandoned factory and discovered a memory orb. After reading it, he found himself in a bustling Edo-period Hanafuda Market that was still part of Karuta Factory III.

• Uesugi Tetsu boarded the Tokoyo Train with a Passenger Certificate and used his Ghost God-level Six-tailed Fox disguise to calm four frightened college students and warn them when to leave the train.
• Uesugi Tetsu got off at Karuta Factory III, measured the vast black cube, and found the area isolated and nearly devoid of Spiritual Energy.
• Uesugi Tetsu lit and concealed the factory shrine, learning that the special area had no mainline quests, contained at least one Super Epic-quality item, and punished severe destruction by drawing the Factory Masters' attention.
• Uesugi Tetsu found the remains of a Great Blacksmith Sequence Type 2 and read its Fragmented Memory Orb, witnessing the smiths' voyage across the Deep Sea and the Great Smith's repetitive labor at the factory.
• Uesugi Tetsu emerged from the memory to find himself in a crowded Edo-style Hanafuda Market, while his map still identified the location as Karuta Factory III.

Uesugi Tetsu died after refusing a fox-masked woman's invitation inside Karuta Factory III, then resolved to investigate the encounter if he could enter again. He accompanied Ririko to the Seed Battle preliminaries, where she revealed her overwhelming presence, while Tokugawa Haruhiko learned she had entered and began plotting against her.

• Uesugi Tetsu refused the fox-masked woman's invitation three times, died when she told him to leave, and awoke at home with both lives spent.
• Ririko cultivated on the balcony by absorbing the essence of the rising sun, and she explained the principles of the sword to Kaga Kiyomitsu.
• Uesugi Tetsu and Ririko went to the Arakawa Ward preliminaries, where onlookers recognized Uesugi Tetsu and gossiped about Ririko beside him.
• Ririko released her aura in the contestant waiting area and frightened a young man away with Gaze Strike.
• Tokugawa Haruhiko discovered Ririko's name on the preliminary selection list and called someone in his clan to arrange a way to target her.

Tokugawa Haruhiko tried to rally family forces against Tokugawa Ririko, but Tokugawa Ryūji and their great-grandfather stopped him and told him to compete with her in the Eastern Region Seed Battle. Ririko revealed Sword Domain in her preliminary match, while Uesugi Tetsu’s cultivation advanced and Minamoto Shizuka decided to challenge Ririko.

• Tokugawa Haruhiko secretly ordered ninja to go to Tokyo, but Tokugawa Ryūji interrupted the call and warned him not to target Tokugawa Ririko.
• Tokugawa Haruhiko told their great-grandfather that Ririko had joined the Seed Battle under the Special Affairs Division of Arakawa Ward, and the old man decided to wait until the competition ended before visiting her.
• Uesugi Tetsu practiced Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound while waiting, gained Corona Breathing Technique proficiency, and felt thunderous energy merge with his sea of qi.
• Tokugawa Ririko entered her preliminary match without a sword and beheaded the puppet with Sword Domain, stunning observers and making the video spread widely.
• Minamoto Shizuka learned that Tokugawa Ririko had used Sword Domain, recognized her as a swordmaster, and resolved to defeat her to advance her own swordsmanship.

Uesugi Tetsu welcomed Tamamo and Yagyū Shion to his home, where he and Ririko discussed cultivation with Yagyū until Kaga Kiyomitsu began evolving. Meanwhile, Factory Master Z investigated a stolen Factory Core and secretly continued plans to recreate Karuta, leaving Kaga Kiyomitsu’s evolution complete.

• Ririko agreed to let Tamamo and Yagyū Shion stay at Uesugi Tetsu’s home, and the two agents arrived that evening.
• Ririko welcomed the agents and served them dinner; Yagyū Shion sensed her formidable swordsmanship in her presence and in the sword intent infused into the ramen.
• Uesugi Tetsu, Ririko, and Yagyū Shion discussed cultivation for hours while Tamamo watched television.
• Kaga Kiyomitsu began autonomous spiritual evolution after its knowledge, accumulation, and understanding reached their limits.
• Factory Master Z learned that a Factory Core had vanished from the Arakawa Village logistics factory, but concluded the mold and the Karuta Project remained undiscovered and ordered the factory scrapped.
• Kaga Kiyomitsu completed its evolution, and Uesugi Tetsu learned it had gained 2,000 Soul Points from managing the household.

Kaga Kiyomitsu evolved into a more intelligent, vocal spirit and unexpectedly accelerated Uesugi Tetsu’s cultivation through their connection. Uesugi then returned to the restarted Karuta Factory, where he discovered that entering its tournament required wagering Memory Orbs.

• Kaga Kiyomitsu’s Spirit effect evolved, allowing her to speak aloud, think faster, cultivate, and imitate Uesugi Tetsu’s sword techniques.
• Kaga Kiyomitsu merged with Uesugi Tetsu during his cultivation with Ririko, accelerating his qi circulation and improving his training progress.
• Kaga Kiyomitsu nearly revealed Uesugi Tetsu’s past with Imagawa Yoshimoto, so he put her in his storage backpack while Tamamo overheard and teased him.
• Uesugi Tetsu revived at the shrine of Karuta Factory III and found the Great Blacksmith’s remains and Memory Orb restored.
• Uesugi Tetsu entered the repeated Edo-period memory and learned that the Grand Karuta Tournament was underway and could be won through successive matches.
• The fox-masked woman showed Uesugi Tetsu that tournament entry required wagering Memory Orbs, including one belonging to the Nameless Onmyoji of the Astral Path and one belonging to Sword Master Tokugawa Yugoro.

Uesugi Tetsu tried to measure the value of his memories at Hanafuda Market, but the scale overflowed and destroyed the dungeon. Before the darkness consumed him, he read Tokugawa Yūgorō’s Memory Orb, gaining two Ultimate Forms and the first knowledge of the Mingchuan Breathing Technique.

• Uesugi Tetsu watched a Karuta match and realized the contestants secretly used spiritual power, Onmyōjutsu, and sword techniques to hinder each other.
• Uesugi Tetsu touched the memory scale to measure his memories, causing chips to multiply until the scale broke and darkness swallowed Hanafuda Market.
• As the dungeon collapsed, Uesugi Tetsu read Tokugawa Yūgorō’s Memory Orb and witnessed the sword master’s training and mastery of the Mingchuan Breathing Technique.
• Uesugi Tetsu’s Corona Breathing Technique was completed and manifested the Ultimate Forms Abyss of Skin and Mountain of Bone.
• Uesugi Tetsu received a prompt that he had learned part of the Four Extremes Breathing Technique, the Mingchuan Breathing Technique.

Uesugi Tetsu studied Tokugawa Yūgorō’s memories and discovered that the Mingchuan Breathing Technique trained 108 acupoints to form a Star River Sea of Qi, while its crucial Treasury of Kami section was missing. Meanwhile, Tokugawa Motoyasu prepared to travel to Tokyo with Tokugawa Ryūji, and Uesugi Tetsu returned to explore the buried shrine for more clues.

• Uesugi Tetsu read the Mingchuan Breathing Technique and learned that its 108 Great Acupoints could unite into an Internal Treasury of Kami and create a Star River Sea of Qi.
• Uesugi Tetsu concluded that the technique could transform its practitioner’s life essence toward that of a god, though its cultivation demanded deadly trials and extreme patience.
• Uesugi Tetsu found the Treasury of Kami section blank because Tokugawa Yūgorō’s memory ended just before he began cultivating it.
• Tokugawa Motoyasu decided to travel to Tokyo to watch the Seed Battle and meet Ririko, and ordered Tokugawa Ryūji to accompany him.
• Tokugawa Ryūji suspected that Tokugawa Motoyasu wanted to control him and use Ririko, but obeyed and hoped Hoshiko would help his sister.
• Uesugi Tetsu crossed the Deep Sea again and appeared above the deliberately buried shrine to continue exploring.

Uesugi Tetsu returned to Hanafuda Market and obtained another portion of Tokugawa Yūgorō’s memories, provoking a young Tokugawa samurai before entering the Karuta tournament. He arranged to wager the memory orb against an Onmyoji’s Flame Armor technique, leaving the match about to begin.

• Uesugi Tetsu reentered Hanafuda Market, interrupted the wager over Tokugawa Yūgorō’s memory orb, and condensed another portion of Yūgorō’s memories.
• The young Tokugawa samurai demanded the orb and threatened Uesugi Tetsu, who refused to return it and taunted him about Matsudaira Motoyasu bowing to him.
• The middle-aged Onmyoji defeated the furious samurai after Uesugi Tetsu left, and Uesugi Tetsu searched the market without finding another Tokugawa memory orb.
• Uesugi Tetsu entered the tournament and negotiated with a flame-wreathed Onmyoji, who explained the importance of the Imperial Spirit Technique and offered his Flame Armor memory orb as the wager.

Uesugi Tetsu improved his karuta skills and cultivation over several days, then defeated the nameless Onmyoji and received the Flame Armor technique. He learned that the method was incomplete, while its creator had abandoned his own demon-god cultivation and was still researching a completed version.

• Uesugi Tetsu repeatedly lost to the nameless Onmyoji at karuta, but improved his score from 7–43 to 23–27 as he honed his skills and cultivated with Ririko and Yagyū Shion.
• Yagyū Shion told Uesugi Tetsu that the local rankings had ended, while Ririko said her own competition would probably begin in two days.
• Uesugi Tetsu finally defeated the nameless Onmyoji at karuta with a score of 26–24, and the Onmyoji gave him a memory orb containing Flame Armor.
• Uesugi Tetsu learned Flame Armor from the memory orb and discovered that the ancient technique was incomplete and dangerous to cultivate.
• The nameless Onmyoji revealed that he had abandoned decades of demon-god cultivation because Flame Armor had a low upper limit, and said he was still researching a completed version.

After discovering that the nameless Edo-era Onmyoji had completed and freely donated the Aragami-level Heavenly Cycle Flame Armor, Uesugi Tetsu began cultivating it himself. He finished the night by forming his first Flame Seed in the center of his brow, while mistakenly believing Nanjō Emi and his online friend Work to Death were relatives.

• After losing the second-round Karuta match at Hanafuda Market, Uesugi Tetsu returned to the present and wondered whether the nameless Onmyoji had completed Flame Armor as promised.
• Uesugi Tetsu called Nanjō Emi, who found that Heavenly Cycle Flame Armor was an Aragami-level Onmyōjutsu donated anonymously by an Edo-era Great Onmyoji and preserved in the Special Affairs Division archives.
• Uesugi Tetsu asked Nanjō Emi about Work to Death, and she privately realized that he had somehow uncovered her alternate account; Uesugi Tetsu assumed the account belonged to another member of the Nanjō family.
• Uesugi Tetsu thanked Work to Death by message, then prepared to cultivate Flame Armor using the memory orb’s teachings and the archived method.
• Uesugi Tetsu chose the center of his brow for his first Flame Seed and spent the night carefully drawing its runes with Spiritual Power.
• At dawn, Uesugi Tetsu formed a crimson Flame Seed in his brow and prepared to test Flame Armor.

Uesugi Tetsu tested the defenses and limits of his newly formed Flame Seed before heading to the Special Affairs Division to condense the remaining seeds. As Ririko prepared for the Seed Battle, Tokugawa Motoyasu confronted Nanjō Emi, and his great-grandson Tokugawa Ryūji warned Ririko to abandon the contest and leave Tokyo.

• Uesugi Tetsu used Kaga Kiyomitsu's Fang Thrust to test his Flame Armor, which blocked the attack after he spent a large amount of Spiritual Power repairing it.
• Uesugi Tetsu linked the Flame Seed with Ubugh-onna's Feather and found that the armor counterattacked attackers with flames.
• Ririko prepared for the Seed Battle in a combat suit, and Uesugi Tetsu, Tamamo, and Ririko headed toward the Special Affairs Division while Yagyū Shion stayed behind to meditate.
• Tokugawa Motoyasu entered Nanjō Emi's office uninvited, and Nanjō Emi confronted him as the head of the Tokugawa Family.
• Tokugawa Ryūji told Chisa that Ririko was his little sister and asked her to warn Ririko to give up the Seed Battle and leave Tokyo.
• Uesugi Tetsu arrived at the Special Affairs Division and pressed the elevator button.

Uesugi Tetsu learned that Tokugawa Motoyasu and Tokugawa Ryūji had come to Tokyo and began preparing for the possible conflict over Ririko. He entered a two-hundredfold spiritual energy cultivation room, where he planned to condense his second and third Flame Seeds and advance his Flame Armor.

• Tokugawa Ryūji secretly warned Uesugi Tetsu to take Ririko away from Tokyo before the Seed Battle ended, while Tokugawa Motoyasu considered the possibility of marrying Uesugi Tetsu into the Tokugawa Family.
• Nanjō Emi confirmed that the visitors were Tokugawa Motoyasu and Tokugawa Ryūji, and told Uesugi Tetsu that Ririko had calmly acknowledged their arrival while continuing her group-stage match.
• Uesugi Tetsu assessed the Tokugawa Family’s likely divisions and decided that he needed to grow stronger before a possible confrontation.
• Nanjō Emi offered Uesugi Tetsu access to a cultivation room with two hundred times normal spiritual energy density, and encouraged Chisa to take time off to watch the Seed Battle and visit her sister.
• Uesugi Tetsu entered the cultivation room, confirmed he could withstand its dense spiritual energy, and prepared to condense Flame Seeds in his heart and right chest to form a stable triangle and advance his Flame Armor.

Uesugi Tetsu condensed three Flame Seeds, strengthened his Flame Armor, and developed a lethal Flame Thread technique before returning to Hanafuda Market for another tournament duel. Ririko received Tokugawa Ryūji’s warning to abandon the Seed Battle but chose to face her past, while Uesugi Tetsu found an unexpected memory orb belonging to Ii Naomasa.

• Uesugi Tetsu condensed three Flame Seeds, raised his Imperial Spirit Technique close to Master level, and discovered that his Flame Armor had become much stronger.
• Uesugi Tetsu shaped the Flame Armor into a nearly invisible thread that could concentrate its power inside an enemy, then left the Special Affairs Division.
• Ririko won twelve consecutive matches without drawing her sword, and Chisa told her that Tokugawa Ryūji had urged her to abandon the Seed Battle and leave Tokyo.
• Ririko realized that Tokugawa Ryūji’s message reflected Big Brother’s concern, but decided to remain in Tokyo and face her past.
• Uesugi Tetsu practiced the Lin Character Technique, entered Hanafuda Market, and defeated his second-round opponent.
• Uesugi Tetsu spotted a pale-blue memory orb labeled as Ii Naomasa’s, recalling the person he had met during the Okehazama Trial.

Uesugi Tetsu read Ii Naomasa’s memories and learned that Imagawa Yoshimoto had died suddenly of illness at Okehazama, derailing the Imagawa march to Kyoto. As Okabe Motonobu arrived in modern Tokyo searching for the Tokoyo Train and Tetsu, Tetsu discussed Ririko’s family and advanced the Lin Character Technique to its next stage.

• Uesugi Tetsu read Ii Naomasa’s memory orb and saw the Imagawa Clan prepare to march on Kyoto before Imagawa Yoshimoto died of illness at Okehazama.
• Uesugi Tetsu lost her third-round match against an unidentified Great Demon, then used her second life and won twelve cards.
• Okabe Motonobu reached modern Tokyo and set out to investigate the Tokoyo Train and find the Great Onmyoji Tetsu.
• Uesugi Tetsu spoke with Ririko about her brother Tokugawa Ryūji and their family, then trained with her that evening.
• Uesugi Tetsu comprehended the Lin Character Technique until its mastery passed 10%, improving its effects, reducing its activation cost, and unlocking a new effect.

Uesugi Tetsu discovered that the Lin Character Technique had gained an Overlimit State and completed his Flame Armor, while Ririko won her matches at the Seed Battle. The chapter ended with Ririko facing an old man and a young man from her past and greeting the young man as her big brother.

• Uesugi Tetsu examined the Lin Character Technique’s new Overlimit State, tested its enhanced attributes and barrier, and found that his Limit-Breaking Value had barely increased after cultivating.
• Uesugi Tetsu condensed his fifth Flame Seed, reached Mastery in Flame Armor, and found that the five seeds had appeared inside his Void Qi Sea.
• Ririko won her Seed Battle matches with her sword domain as Chisa watched and became more eager to seek Uesugi Tetsu as her disciple.
• Tamamo noticed an old man and a young man approaching Ririko, tried to lead her away, then secretly messaged Uesugi Tetsu.
• Ririko stayed behind to meet the newcomers, looked at the young man, and greeted him as her big brother.

Ririko rejected Tokugawa Motoyasu’s offer of the Tokugawa Family’s Four Extremes Breathing Technique in exchange for returning home, then reunited with Uesugi Tetsu and bit him after he teased her with a secret. Uesugi Tetsu later won a Karuta match against a Great Demon and received the swordsmanship memories of Musō Gonnosuke.

• Tokugawa Motoyasu and Tokugawa Ryūji confronted Ririko inside a Sword Realm, and Motoyasu offered her the Mingchuan Breathing Technique if she agreed to return to the Tokugawa Family.
• Ririko refused the offer, rejected Motoyasu’s attempt to play matchmaker with Uesugi Tetsu, and left the Sword Realm.
• Ririko returned to the lounge, then told Uesugi Tetsu that she had briefly met Tokugawa Motoyasu and Tokugawa Ryūji and had refused their offer.
• Uesugi Tetsu teased Ririko by withholding the rest of his explanation, so she chased him and bit his shoulder.
• Uesugi Tetsu began another Karuta match and defeated the Great Demon after his opponent made a mistake.
• The Great Demon offered Uesugi Tetsu a memory orb containing the swordsmanship memories of Musō Gonnosuke.

Uesugi Tetsu lost badly to Hoshikuma Doji in Hanafuda Market, then turned his attention to Ririko’s Seed Battle and planned to improve his karuta skills. Meanwhile, Okabe Motonobu learned about the Seed Battle and decided to investigate, hoping to find Uesugi Tetsu.

• Uesugi Tetsu recognized that Musō Gonnosuke’s memory orb held little value for his own training and decided to sell it to Katsumi.
• Uesugi Tetsu entered the fourth round of the Grand Karuta Tournament and suspected that the fox-masked attendants were all the same person.
• Hoshikuma Doji defeated Uesugi Tetsu 46–4, gave him a bowl of wine, and challenged him to return after practicing for five hundred years.
• Uesugi Tetsu identified his opponent as Hoshikuma Doji, stored her wine, and decided to train with karuta masters before challenging her again.
• Uesugi Tetsu noted that Ririko had one final Seed Battle match before entering the knockout stage, where opponents would likely target her after seeing her methods.
• Okabe Motonobu heard about the Seed Battle from Ogasawara and decided to attend in hopes of finding Uesugi Tetsu.

Okabe Motonobu left Ogasawara’s food cart and set out toward Sky City, while Ririko explained her theory of Acupoints and learned the Mingchuan Breathing Technique from Uesugi Tetsu. Their work updated the Corona Breathing Technique, and the chapter ended with the Hundred-Eyed Demon appearing at Uesugi Tetsu’s Edo Castle gacha page.

• Okabe Motonobu borrowed Ogasawara’s phone to locate Sky City, accepted his last bowl of food, and left with Akaname after thanking him.
• Ogasawara found a piece of gold beneath his cart and worried that Okabe Motonobu was heading toward the city.
• Uesugi Tetsu learned that Ririko had figured out Acupoints, and she explained her theory while preparing dinner.
• Uesugi Tetsu told Ririko about the Mingchuan Breathing Technique, and they spent the night combining it with the Corona Breathing Technique.
• The Corona Breathing Technique updated to include the Sunday Acupoint, while Ririko left to clear her head after studying the technique.
• Uesugi Tetsu saw the Edo Castle gacha page and discovered that the Hundred-Eyed Demon was knocking.

Uesugi Tetsu received Hundred-Eyed Demon's warning that a crisis at Edo Castle could soon make her impossible to obtain, then opened the Sunday Acupoint and began the Human Divine Treasury trial. Ririko opened the same acupoint, but its interaction with her Human Great Elixir triggered an uncontrollable surge of qi and blood, and she pulled Uesugi Tetsu into her arms for help.

• Hundred-Eyed Demon warned Uesugi Tetsu that surging darkness threatened Edo Castle, and her quest gave him 88 days to obtain her before she became impossible to draw.
• Uesugi Tetsu reassured Hundred-Eyed Demon with Soul Ash and resisted the urge to draw cards before sleeping.
• Ririko woke Uesugi Tetsu before sunrise, and they trained with the Mingchuan Breathing Technique on the rooftop.
• Uesugi Tetsu opened the Sunday Acupoint, completed its cultivation, and started the Human Divine Treasury trial with progress at 1/108.
• Ririko opened her Sunday Acupoint and experienced a powerful surge of qi and blood as it linked with her Human Great Elixir.
• When Ririko could not control the growing qi and blood, she grabbed Uesugi Tetsu and pulled him into her arms.

Uesugi Tetsu refined Ririko’s blood and qi, perfected his Flame Armor, and learned the Seed Battle Qualifiers would begin on June 30. After opening the Moonlight Acupoint that night, he left his Imperial Spirit Technique breakthrough and the approaching competition ahead.

• Ririko used Embrace the Elixir to guide her blood and qi into Uesugi Tetsu, helping him complete the Mysterious Flesh stage and increase his Physique.
• Uesugi Tetsu linked his five Flame Seeds into a cycle, perfecting Flame Armor and clearing the remaining Spiritual Power from his body.
• Uesugi Tetsu called Nanjō Emi to reserve the 200-times Spiritual Energy Room for his Imperial Spirit Technique breakthrough, and she told him the Seed Battle Qualifiers would start at ten on June 30.
• Uesugi Tetsu saw that White Brahma would advance to three stars around six that morning, giving him a timely advantage before the qualifiers.
• That night, Uesugi Tetsu opened the Moonlight Acupoint and gained the Moonlight trait while Ririko enjoyed the moonlight and said she would not be able to sleep.

Uesugi Tetsu underwent an extreme breakthrough in a thousandfold Spiritual Qi environment and reached grandmaster level in the Imperial Spirit Technique. After discovering he could control ownerless qi according to his will, he prepared to challenge Kamiizumi Nobutsuna again in the Projection Secret Realm.

• Ririko learned the Seed Battle qualifier rules and realized she could keep using Kaga Kiyomitsu while acting as Uesugi Tetsu's gatekeeper.
• Uesugi Tetsu found Sister Nanjō on the third-floor balcony, where she celebrated a miraculous mahjong win before taking him to the prepared breakthrough venue.
• Sister Nanjō and a group of Onmyoji activated an array that raised the Spiritual Qi concentration to a thousand times normal, and she controlled the breakthrough as Uesugi Tetsu absorbed the qi for hours.
• As Uesugi Tetsu broke through, Spiritual Qi flowed toward the Special Affairs Division building from Arakawa Ward and across Tokyo, while Sister Nanjō deterred onlookers who objected.
• Uesugi Tetsu reached grandmaster level in the Imperial Spirit Technique, gaining increased Spirit Arts, reserves, perception, and control over ownerless qi.
• Uesugi Tetsu decided to test his new master-level technique against Kamiizumi Nobutsuna in the Projection Secret Realm.