Chapter Summaries

Uesugi Tetsu drew a strange Black Book that claimed to predict the future, but its prompts changed and it revealed itself as an area-unlock item. He left for the Minamoto Clan and entered the Walker Assembly, where the book reacted in terror to its new surroundings.

• Uesugi Tetsu drew the [Precognitive Black Book] alongside rare advancement materials and watched it display a warning that he would die during his ghost-god advancement.
• Uesugi Tetsu rejected the Black Book’s threats, put it in his storage bag, and discovered its true prompt identified it as an area-unlock item called the [Black-Skinned Book].
• Uesugi Tetsu asked Tamamo to investigate the name Kujo Machi and prepared to travel to the Minamoto Clan.
• Uesugi Tetsu gave Ririko [Gengoro's Sword], then boarded a Special Affairs Division armored vehicle with Two-Shaku-Sama and entered the Walker Assembly.
• Uesugi Tetsu opened the Black Book in the Walker Assembly, where its threatening message froze and it asked where he had brought it.

Uesugi Tetsu showed Lord Magatsu the Black-Skinned Book, tested its prophetic limits, and asked whether Katsumi’s method could let Two-Shaku-Sama replace Kami. After leaving the assembly, he cultivated on the way to the Minamoto Clan and formed his core just as Minamoto Shizuka greeted him.

• Uesugi Tetsu stopped the Black-Skinned Book from warning him about Lord Magatsu, then waited while Lord Magatsu finished her Snake game.
• Uesugi Tetsu told Lord Magatsu how he had obtained the Black-Skinned Book and asked her to spare it after she learned it had threatened him.
• The Black-Skinned Book failed to answer Uesugi Tetsu’s questions about the Factory Masters, Everworld, and the previous Lord of Tokoyo, and Lord Magatsu helped it recover.
• Uesugi Tetsu asked Lord Magatsu whether Katsumi’s method for letting Two-Shaku-Sama replace Kami would work, but she said she did not know.
• Uesugi Tetsu left the assembly, cultivated during the journey, and formed his core upon arriving at the Minamoto Clan, where Minamoto Shizuka greeted him.

Uesugi Tetsu visited the Minamoto Clan with Minamoto Shizuka, who shared her progress toward becoming a demon god and received his instruction in body cultivation. As they reached the bamboo grove where Spider-Cutter was stored, Shizuka introduced him to her great-great-grandfather, who jokingly called himself her eighteen-year-old big brother.

• Minamoto Shizuka told Uesugi Tetsu that she had begun carefully advancing through the Sea of Tribulations after gaining her own understanding of it during the Seed Battle.
• Uesugi Tetsu explained Ririko's methods for controlling and tempering qi and blood, and Minamoto Shizuka thanked him with a deep bow.
• Uesugi Tetsu and Minamoto Shizuka walked through the Minamoto Clan, where Uesugi Tetsu spotted Kyūkōin Jin being escorted away and startled the young clan members spying on him by flicking their foreheads.
• A little girl asked Uesugi Tetsu for an autograph to give Naoki, who had secretly kept Uesugi Tetsu's photo beside his bed.
• Near the bamboo grove containing Spider-Cutter, Uesugi Tetsu sensed a powerful presence and met Minamoto Shizuka's great-great-grandfather, who introduced himself as her eighteen-year-old big brother of two thousand months.

Uesugi Tetsu entered Spider-Cutter’s trial and used his Hundred-Eyed Demon incarnation to slaughter the monsters and defeat the Projection of Tsuchigumo’s Vengeful Soul. After witnessing Spider-Cutter’s endless history of demon-slaying, he met its spirit, which prepared to test their compatibility.

• Minamoto Shizuka led Uesugi Tetsu past her great-great-grandfather, who cleared a path through the dangerous bamboo forest and warned them to return before midnight.
• Uesugi Tetsu reached Spider-Cutter, learned that only Minamoto Shizuka’s elder sister had passed its trial, and began the trial by touching the spider statue.
• Uesugi Tetsu transformed into his Hundred-Eyed Demon incarnation and discovered that killing the trial’s vengeful spirits earned Soul Ash.
• Uesugi Tetsu slaughtered the horde of monsters with psychokinesis and lightning, then defeated the Projection of Tsuchigumo with one strike.
• Spider-Cutter’s spirit appeared before Uesugi Tetsu and announced that it would test their compatibility before deciding whether to serve him.

Uesugi Tetsu passed Spider-Cutter’s trial by accepting its call to slay demons while declaring that he intended to destroy Everworld and separate it from the mortal world. He claimed Spider-Cutter and planned to stay with the Minamoto Clan, while anticipating the Four-tailed Fox’s three-star advancement.

• Azure recalled how a girl rejected Spider-Cutter eleven years earlier, and Uesugi Tetsu asked what it meant to pursue something at all costs.
• Uesugi Tetsu accepted Azure’s demand to slay demons until death, then declared that he wanted to destroy Everworld and offered to let Azure witness it as his blade.
• Azure accepted Uesugi Tetsu as his master, took the name Azure, and the trial ended after about half an hour.
• Uesugi Tetsu shattered Spider-Cutter’s stone statue, drew the sealed Super Epic sword, and learned that it could absorb slain creatures’ essence and summon them as vengeful spirits.
• Minamoto Shizuka invited Uesugi Tetsu to stay at the Minamoto Clan’s residence and visit the Sword Saint with her, and he agreed.
• Uesugi Tetsu considered his plans for the coming days and anticipated that the Four-tailed Fox’s three-star advancement would bring major changes.

Uesugi Tetsu watched two Minamoto elders play Go and used a Go AI to help Minamoto Kiyohiro win, learning a technique for manipulating Spiritual Power in the process. After advising Minamoto Nao about discipline and training, Uesugi entered Everworld and completed his Demon Incarnation-tailed Fox upgrade.

• Uesugi Tetsu left the bamboo grove with Minamoto Shizuka and noticed two elders' Go moves subtly changing the Minamoto Clan's Spiritual Power.
• Uesugi Tetsu used a Go AI to guide Minamoto Kiyohiro through twenty-three moves, making the black-haired elder concede and gaining Imperial Spirit Technique proficiency.
• Minamoto Shizuka caught Minamoto Nao and Minamoto Yoshino spying, then sent them to escort Uesugi Tetsu to the guest room.
• Uesugi Tetsu told Minamoto Nao that the clan's restrictions made sense if he wanted to grow stronger, and warned him not to waste his advantages.
• Uesugi Tetsu entered Everworld with Spider-Cutter and Kaga Kiyomitsu, and his Four-tailed Fox upgrade completed as Demon Incarnation-tailed Fox.

Uesugi Tetsu’s Four-tailed Fox advanced into a Six-tailed Fox, greatly strengthening its disguise, spiritual power, and alluring appearance. After incarnating as the new fox demon, he faced Spider-Cutter’s demand for an explanation and a threat to cut him down.

• Uesugi Tetsu discovered a vast, unnaturally smooth rift valley beside Kisaragi Station and wondered what had caused it.
• Uesugi Tetsu examined the Six-tailed Fox’s enhanced talents and learned that Thousand Faces, Myriad Phenomena could fool ordinary entities of Five Stars or below.
• Uesugi Tetsu saw the Four-tailed Fox Jade Token become a Six-tailed Fox Jade Token, gaining stronger effects and a new bonus while he planned to visit the Karuta Factory.
• Uesugi Tetsu incarnated as a Six-tailed Fox and tested its powerful spiritual presence and captivating appearance.
• Spider-Cutter addressed Uesugi Tetsu as Lord Uesugi, then threatened to cut him down unless he gave a convincing explanation.

Uesugi Tetsu convinced Qing that his demonic forms were only sources of power used by an Onmyoji, then revealed he was a Walker to explain his arrival in Everworld. At Hanafuda Market, Hoshikuma Doji wagered that Uesugi would go home with her if he lost their karuta match, while he secretly prepared a card that guaranteed victory.

• Uesugi Tetsu transformed into a Six-tailed Fox, Red Brahma, and Hundred-Eyed Demon to persuade Qing that his appearances and demonic aura were part of his Onmyoji powers.
• Uesugi Tetsu showed Qing the Walker Arrow, and Qing assumed it explained how he could travel freely through Everworld.
• Uesugi Tetsu covered Spider-Cutter and entered the Karuta Factory, then reached Hanafuda Market and proceeded to the fourth round of the Grand Karuta Tournament.
• Qing recognized Hoshikuma Doji and reacted with murderous intent, but Uesugi Tetsu told him she was only an illusion.
• Hoshikuma Doji proposed that Uesugi Tetsu come home with her if he lost their karuta match, and Uesugi agreed while secretly preparing a card that guaranteed victory.

Uesugi Tetsu defeated Hoshikuma Doji in ten more karuta matches, winning their challenge 11:0 and claiming the Mask of Wrathful Brahma along with several jars of wine. He left to attend the final round of the Grand Karuta Tournament, where he found a familiar figure waiting behind the door.

• Uesugi Tetsu beat Hoshikuma Doji in ten consecutive karuta matches, and she asked him how he had won so decisively.
• Hoshikuma offered dozens of jars of aged wine and the Mask of Wrathful Brahma as her wager, explaining that she had taken it from a Great Aragami at Mount Oe.
• Uesugi Tetsu examined the mask, recognized it as Super Epic+ equipment tied to his Red Brahma incarnation, and accepted it.
• Uesugi Tetsu collected several jars of wine, declined Hoshikuma's invitation to stay, and left her room.
• The fox-masked attendant congratulated Uesugi Tetsu on winning the fourth round and escorted him to the final-round venue, where he saw a familiar figure behind the opened door.

Uesugi Tetsu defeated Karuta in the Grand Karuta Tournament, learned she was an abandoned failed creation, and claimed Karuta’s Edict. As Hanafuda Market collapsed, he formed a temporary contract with her, but Factory Master Z appeared and declared Karuta’s residual image would live while the Six-tailed Fox would die.

• Uesugi Tetsu entered the hall and challenged the fox-masked woman to a best-of-five karuta match after she promised answers if he defeated her.
• Uesugi Tetsu won three consecutive karuta matches, and the fox-masked woman removed her mask and revealed herself as Karuta’s Afterimage.
• Karuta told Uesugi Tetsu that the Factory Masters had abandoned her as a failed creation and presented him with Karuta’s Edict as the tournament’s first-place prize.
• As the hall began collapsing, Uesugi Tetsu invited Karuta to join him and established a temporary contract with her using the Universal Possession Item.
• Factory Master Z appeared through the shattered ceiling and declared, “Karuta’s residual image—live” and “Six-tailed Fox—die.”

Uesugi Tetsu had Qing unseal Spider-Cutter to strike down Factory Master Z’s eye, then returned from Everworld alive and brought Karuta to the mortal world. He offered Karuta freedom or a place as his Shikigami, while the Black-Skinned Book warned him not to let her take possession of it.

• Factory Master Z restrained Karuta and called her a tool, leaving her shaken as Uesugi Tetsu prepared to act.
• Uesugi Tetsu told Qing to unseal Spider-Cutter, and Qing split Factory Master Z’s eye in two before it could finish speaking.
• Uesugi Tetsu used the Universal Possession Item to bring Karuta back, then disintegrated from the unsealing’s backlash; Koga and Qing followed him to the mortal world, where he revived unharmed.
• Uesugi Tetsu explained to Karuta that their temporary contract would end in a week and offered to make her independent or take her on as his Shikigami; Karuta said she wanted to serve him for life.
• Uesugi Tetsu left Two-Shaku-Sama to teach Karuta and Qing about the present era, then found the Black-Skinned Book warning him not to let Karuta take it.

Uesugi Tetsu decided to make Karuta keep the Black Book as a notebook and was surprised by how quickly the Heavenly Path Trial had progressed. At a Minamoto Clan gathering, Qing’s response to an old acquaintance made the elders realize Uesugi’s bond with Spider-Cutter was unlike that of its past owners.

• Uesugi Tetsu rejected the Black Book’s advice, decided Karuta should keep it, and put the book away.
• Uesugi Tetsu spent more than 1,700 Soul Soothing Incense Ash to begin the Six-tailed Fox’s advancement, then saw the Heavenly Path Trial progress rise from 0.13% to 5.41%.
• Minamoto Shizuka told Uesugi Tetsu that a Minamoto Clan elder wanted to speak with him, and Uesugi brought Qing along.
• Uesugi Tetsu met Minamoto Kiyohiro, Minamoto Kiyomasa, and other elders in a reception room at the clan residence.
• An elderly Minamoto Clan member greeted Qing as an old friend, and Qing replied only after Uesugi Tetsu prompted him.
• The Minamoto Clan elders watched Uesugi Tetsu closely and realized he was a different kind of owner for Spider-Cutter.

Uesugi Tetsu left the Minamoto Clan’s reception room after learning that he should be cautious when meeting the Sword Saint, then entered Everworld to use the Mask of Wrathful Brahma on Red Brahma. The mask triggered an evolution choice, leaving him to decide between a Super Epic path and a Legendary path.

• Blue showed that she willingly regarded Uesugi Tetsu as her lord, prompting the Minamoto elders to reassess their relationship.
• Minamoto Kiyohiro advised Uesugi Tetsu to say as little as possible when he met the Sword Saint because the Sword Saint liked geniuses.
• Uesugi Tetsu declined Minamoto Shizuka’s invitation to train and said he might visit Fushimi Inari Shrine before leaving Kyoto.
• Uesugi Tetsu returned to his guest room, where Karuta studied modern knowledge with Two-Shaku-Sama, then entered Everworld.
• Uesugi Tetsu transformed into Red Brahma and used the Mask of Wrathful Brahma, which offered him two evolution paths.

Uesugi Tetsu chose a legendary evolution route for Red Brahma that required him to gather resentment and jealousy, and the jealousy mask began filling quickly after his Seed Battle victory. He then contacted Nanjō Emi, whose promotion and voice messages revealed that Hokkaido’s demons and supernatural phenomena were running rampant while she dealt with them herself.

• Uesugi Tetsu chose the Red, White, Laughing evolution route, receiving masks that filled through resentment and jealousy instead of requiring him to hunt rare Brahmas.
• Uesugi Tetsu saw the jealousy mask’s progress rise rapidly, likely because millions of people envied him after his undefeated Seed Battle victory and Ririko’s public claim over him.
• Uesugi Tetsu added a trip to the Warring States era to his plans so he could provoke enough resentment to fill the other mask, and the Wrathful Brahma Mask strengthened his talents and increased his Constitution by five.
• Uesugi Tetsu returned to the Minamoto Clan residence and learned that Nanjō Emi had become an Onmyo Great Administrator and was working in Hokkaido.
• Nanjō Emi told Uesugi Tetsu that demons and supernatural phenomena were rampant in Hokkaido, then claimed she was merely practicing sword strokes as splattering sounds came through her voice message.

Nanjō Emi carried out a purge of Hokkaido’s corrupt officials and supernatural collaborators while discussing the aftermath with Uesugi Tetsu, who learned that Hokkaido would be important to his future. After arranging positions there and deciding not to visit Fushimi Inari Shrine yet, Uesugi continued training with the Minamoto Clan until the day he was to meet the Sword Saint, with the Mask of Jealous Brahma completed.

• Nanjō Emi told Uesugi Tetsu that she was executing Hokkaido’s corrupt officials and described how local authorities had colluded with supernatural entities, causing more than five hundred thousand confirmed deaths.
• Uesugi Tetsu asked the Black Book whether Hokkaido would matter to him, and it prophesied that the region would be a crucial point in his future.
• Uesugi Tetsu asked Nanjō Emi to arrange several honorary and official positions for him in Hokkaido, and she agreed.
• Nanjō Emi answered Uesugi Tetsu’s question about Fushimi Inari Shrine through her hidden Line account, advising him that a visit would likely yield little unless he went only to sightsee or draw a fortune slip.
• Uesugi Tetsu trained with the Minamoto Clan for two days, then prepared to meet the Sword Saint as Minamoto Shizuka came to escort him; the Mask of Jealous Brahma had been completed.

Uesugi Tetsu traveled with Minamoto Shizuka to meet the Sword Saint, while considering how to have his Mask of Jealousy forged and reviewing his cultivation gains. The pair arrived at the Nine-Layered Heavenly Keep and saw the Cloud Pavilion, as Factory Master Z ordered an investigation into Spider-Cutter.

• Uesugi Tetsu examined the Mask of Jealousy prototype and asked Minamoto Shizuka whether the Minamoto Clan knew any master blacksmiths.
• Minamoto Shizuka advised Uesugi Tetsu to meet the Sword Saint alone and warned him not to speak carelessly about that person.
• During the drive, Uesugi Tetsu reviewed his gains in cultivation, breathing techniques, and swordsmanship.
• Factory Master Z failed to restore his lost right eyeball and ordered his subordinates to investigate the Six-tailed Fox and Spider-Cutter.
• Uesugi Tetsu and Minamoto Shizuka arrived at the residence of the Sword Saints, where they saw the Cloud Pavilion above the mist.

Uesugi Tetsu entered the Nine-Layered Heavenly Keep and met Miyamoto Musashi, who led him to the current Sword Saint. After the Sword Saint examined him and tested his sword technique, he plunged Uesugi Tetsu into an experience of centuries of cultivation and combat, leaving him to awaken before Miyamoto amid a flood of notifications.

• Uesugi Tetsu crossed the impossible stairway and encountered a powerful, disheveled swordsman inside the Nine-Layered Heavenly Keep.
• Qing identified the swordsman as the long-dead Miyamoto Musashi, who said he was taking Uesugi Tetsu to meet the current Sword Saint.
• Miyamoto Musashi led Uesugi Tetsu to the Sword Saint's residence, where Uesugi stopped nine steps from the curtain under a deadly premonition.
• The Sword Saint inspected Uesugi Tetsu and Qing, read their hidden abilities, and learned that Uesugi had cultivated for just over two months.
• Uesugi Tetsu demonstrated Tennen Rishin-ryū's Unknowing Sword, and the Sword Saint judged it barely acceptable before sending him into an experience of endless cultivation and slaughter.
• Uesugi Tetsu awoke before Miyamoto Musashi after experiencing what felt like centuries and saw countless notifications filling his view.

Uesugi Tetsu returned from a thousand-year phantom dream after only five minutes, with his sword abilities greatly strengthened and new techniques unlocked. Meanwhile, Okabe Motonobu arrived at Uesugi Tetsu’s Tokyo villa demanding to speak with her alone.

• Uesugi Tetsu realized that his dream had raised Sword Skill and Sword Principles to 49%, granted him Unknowing Sword: Void and Samurai Rain, and advanced several other abilities.
• Uesugi Tetsu found that only five minutes had passed, then left Cloud Pavilion with Minamoto Shizuka and asked to go to Fushimi Inari Shrine.
• At Uesugi Tetsu’s villa, Chisa practiced sword swings with Ririko watching and correcting her.
• Okabe Motonobu arrived at the villa and told Ririko that he had something important to tell Uesugi Tetsu alone.

Ririko confronted Okabe Motonobu, who insisted on waiting at the dojo to speak with Uesugi Tetsu. On the way to Fushimi Inari Shrine, Uesugi Tetsu heard updates about Hokkaido’s cleanup and entered the shrine after revealing his six-tailed fox identity to its guards.

• Okabe Motonobu told Ririko that she had seen her claim Uesugi Tetsu during the Seed Battle and said she would wait for him to return.
• Ririko warned Okabe Motonobu not to target Chisa, then let her into the dojo, where Okabe insisted on staying until she could speak with Uesugi Tetsu.
• In the MPV, Uesugi Tetsu discussed the Sword Saint’s overwhelming power with Minamoto Shizuka, Two-Shaku-Sama, Koga, Qing, and Karuta.
• Nanjō Emi called Uesugi Tetsu to thank him for sending help to Hokkaido and reported that most monsters and supernatural phenomena there had been cleared.
• Uesugi Tetsu arrived at Fushimi Inari Shrine, revealed six tails to its wary fox guards, and entered with Minamoto Shizuka.

Uesugi Tetsu visited Fushimi Inari Shrine with Minamoto Shizuka, Karuta, and Two-Shaku-Sama, then learned that an unusually large Festival of the Evening Shrine was being prepared. After Granny Fukuda examined him, she warned that the wish he sought probably could not be granted at the Grand Shrine.

• Uesugi Tetsu crossed into Fushimi Inari Shrine's divine domain and gave soul crystals to the spectral fox guardians.
• Uesugi Tetsu, Two-Shaku-Sama, and Karuta washed their hands and prayed, while Koga wished for Uesugi Tetsu's safety and happiness.
• Uesugi Tetsu learned from a young Miko that the Festival of the Evening Shrine would welcome Inari's arrival and that eighteen thousand lanterns were being prepared.
• Uesugi Tetsu agreed to wait for the festival with Minamoto Shizuka, and Granny Fukuda warned him that the Grand Shrine probably could not grant what he sought.