Chapter Summaries

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.

Uesugi Tetsu mastered the Imperial Spirit Technique and tested his strength against young Kamiizumi Nobutsuna in the Projection Secret Realm, where they fought to a near-fatal draw. Back in the real world, he considered how far he had advanced before Huijue arrived at the Special Affairs Division carrying the unharmed Ksitigarbha statue.

• Uesugi Tetsu compressed and controlled spiritual energy at will, discovered he could manipulate Kaga Kiyomitsu's Spiritual Power from a distance, and examined the limits of his new abilities.
• Uesugi Tetsu entered the Projection Secret Realm, where Kamiizumi Nobutsuna recognized his strength and challenged him to a duel.
• Kamiizumi used his Sword Domain to counter Uesugi Tetsu's opening attack, and Uesugi answered with a massive lightning blast.
• Uesugi Tetsu and Kamiizumi exchanged lethal techniques, with Kamiizumi's sword finding gaps in Uesugi's defenses before the duel ended just short of both men's deaths.
• Uesugi Tetsu returned to the secret chamber and assessed his strength, then Nanjō Emi saw Huijue leap through a window at the Special Affairs Division with the unharmed Ksitigarbha statue.

Huijue returned Uesugi Tetsu’s Ksitigarbha statue after protecting it and reducing the wish power within, while Nanjō Emi crushed the distant observers who tried to sense her power. Uesugi learned that Hōzōin-ryū’s ten-year-old “God-Bestowed Treasure” might come to Tokyo, and the chapter ended when the Sanskrit characters on the statue went dark, opening its entrance.

• Huijue arrived at the Special Affairs Division wounded from the Everworld and told Nanjō Emi he had come to return Uesugi Tetsu’s Ksitigarbha statue.
• Nanjō Emi severed the thoughts and perceptions of observers across Tokyo, while Takizawa Kai collapsed after trying to sense the disturbance from afar.
• Huijue returned the statue to Uesugi Tetsu, explained that its remaining wish power was still diminishing, and praised Uesugi’s recent growth.
• Huijue warned Uesugi that Hōzōin-ryū’s ten-year-old “God-Bestowed Treasure” might come to Tokyo in connection with the Seed Battle.
• Half a day later, Uesugi noticed that the Sanskrit characters on the statue had gone dark, signaling that its entrance had opened.

Uesugi Tetsu prepared to enter the Ksitigarbha statue and rescue Two-Shaku-Sama, while he and Ririko discussed their paths toward the Complete Treasury of Kami. Inside the statue, he witnessed Two-Shaku-Sama’s repeated memories of a tragic human life and intervened when the cycle began again, telling her he had come to save her.

• Ririko explained the Lesser and Greater Treasuries of Kami and chose the Nine-Shed Dragon Robe, while Uesugi Tetsu chose to follow the Blue Breath Network route before deciding on a Complete Treasury.
• Uesugi Tetsu lit the Soul Soothing Incense Candle, asked Ririko to watch over him, and entered the Ksitigarbha statue through his consciousness.
• Uesugi Tetsu watched Two-Shaku-Sama relive the loss of her brother, her years as a wanderer, and a little monk’s repeated offer of power in exchange for becoming a bodhisattva.
• Two-Shaku-Sama eventually refused the little monk, recalling a promise to someone important, though she could not remember who that person was.
• Uesugi Tetsu recognized the repeating scenes as a dream eroding Two-Shaku-Sama’s sense of self and kicked the little monk aside when the cycle restarted.
• Uesugi Tetsu took the bewildered girl’s hand and told her he had come to save her.

Uesugi Tetsu endured repeated reincarnations inside the Ksitigarbha statue’s dream to free Two-Shaku-Sama from its incarnation of Willpower. After restoring Two-Shaku-Sama’s memories and reuniting with her, he watched her absorb the remaining wish power and become the Eight-Shaku Bodhisattva.

• Uesugi Tetsu comforted the exhausted Two-Shaku-Sama, promised to help her, and let the little monk draw him into its reincarnation dream after destroying its body.
• Uesugi Tetsu repeatedly found and rescued Two-Shaku-Sama and her brother, killing those who threatened them and teaching Two-Shaku-Sama over the course of many dream cycles.
• The little monk’s attempts to erase Uesugi Tetsu’s memories weakened it until it dissolved into ownerless pure wish power, restoring Two-Shaku-Sama’s memories.
• Two-Shaku-Sama joyfully ran toward Uesugi Tetsu but fell into the wish power and absorbed it, becoming the special Shikigami Eight-Shaku Bodhisattva.

After absorbing vast amounts of pure Willpower, Two-Shaku-Sama evolved into the Super Epic Eight-Shaku Bodhisattva, gaining powerful new talents and a five-star growth limit. She destroyed Lian Guang’s remnant soul and reunited with Uesugi Tetsu, while Ririko noticed them holding hands beneath the moonlight.

• Uesugi Tetsu learned that Two-Shaku-Sama had evolved into the Super Epic Eight-Shaku Bodhisattva, whose talents included a powerful Nioh state and a once-daily Vajra Body.
• Two-Shaku-Sama emerged from her cocoon with greatly increased vitality and embraced Uesugi Tetsu after they reunited.
• Two-Shaku-Sama sensed Lian Guang’s remnant soul, interrupted his curse, and destroyed him with her cross-spear.
• Uesugi Tetsu reassured Two-Shaku-Sama that he understood her actions and said he hoped they would continue to get along.
• Ririko noticed the Ksitigarbha statue light up and saw Uesugi Tetsu and Two-Shaku-Sama holding hands.