A New Art / Fragments of the Past

Yamanaka Saigawa smiled. He watched the sighing old man before him without changing expression, no longer surprised that he had agreed. After all, the Amamiya Family's situation was plain to see, and he couldn't think of any reason for Amamiya Tengo to refuse him.

After a few pleasantries, Yamanaka Saigawa left the Amamiya estate and got into the car. His originally amiable expression faded, leaving only a pensive look.

"Minister, holding an event like this is just a waste of the Divine Gate's resources."

The driver suddenly spoke, asking in confusion,

"Even if the Divine Gate is masquerading as the Calligraphy Association, there's no need to go this far, is there?"

"That's exactly why I went to the Amamiya Family."

Yamanaka Saigawa looked at the trusted aide driving and calmly explained,

"The Kawamori Amamiya Family is the most prestigious calligraphy family in Kawamori. Even though the family is in decline now, with only Amamiya Tengo left who can barely be considered a master calligrapher, its accumulated legacy of several hundred years is still beyond the sixty-year-old Calligraphy Association's reach—let alone the Divine Gate, which is merely wearing the Calligraphy Association's name as a disguise. Having this family take charge of the calligraphy competition is the best choice. As for why we're holding this competition..."

Yamanaka Saigawa paused, and his expression suddenly darkened.

"Because you useless lot haven't managed to find the Shepherds hiding in the Kawamori region. The Divine Gate branches in other regions have already warned Kawamori. The Shepherds' influence in this region has spilled over into theirs, causing them major trouble. The Kawamori calligraphy event may be a large-scale competition on the surface, but in reality, it's an excuse for the government to conduct a thorough sweep of Kawamori under the pretext of overseeing the event. The personnel I requested from the other regions will also arrive to help carry out the sweep."

He paused, then looked at the driver.

"Do you understand?"

"I'm terribly sorry! We failed to do our job!"

The driver hurriedly apologized. Only then did Yamanaka Saigawa's expression soften somewhat. He closed his eyes to rest and stopped paying attention to the mess the Kawamori Divine Gate had caused. What he didn't know was that the driver had seen him in the rearview mirror. The driver, who should have been trembling in fear after being reprimanded, now had a perfectly calm look in his eyes—and the corners of his mouth had even curled up slightly.

"A roundup... is that it?"

He murmured softly, then finally focused on driving.

Before long, a group of people gathered in a hidden warehouse, all wearing smiles.

"The Kawamori Divine Gate... so completely unprepared. How boring."

A burly man spoke as he looked at the latest intelligence in his hands, his contempt for the Divine Gate plain to see.

"Now that Sleuth Hound has infiltrated their upper ranks, the whole of Kawamori is completely defenseless against us. It's a shame the leader still hasn't let us act in Kawamori."

"The leader is doing this out of caution."

Beside him, a middle-aged man smoking a cigarette exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"Even though Sleuth Hound has disrupted the Kawamori Divine Gate's operations at every turn, that doesn't mean they haven't noticed a spy in their midst. Even if information has leaked out, there's no guarantee it's genuine. Better to wait and see, rather than let them turn the tables on us. Besides, our fellow Shepherds have already made it to the other cities... The Shepherds' influence will give those Divine Gate branches plenty of trouble."

"That's right. Maybe they'll even find suitable sacrifices to open those gates?"

Across from them, a thin, pale young man sounded regretful.

"What a pity I'm not the one doing it. Suitable Blood Sacrifices must taste wonderful. Since coming to Kawamori, I've had very few fresh Blood Sacrifices to eat."

"...That's true. Still, the leader should contact me about our next operation soon."

The middle-aged man took another drag from his cigarette and slowly breathed out white smoke. A trace of anticipation appeared on his face.

"I have a feeling the leader's next order will be the greatest undertaking the Shepherds have ever attempted."

No one could disagree. They had indeed witnessed their leader's abilities. Whether placing Sleuth Hound in the Kawamori Divine Gate or carrying out his other schemes, the mysterious leader had accomplished far too much while commanding the Shepherds in Kawamori. He had truly fulfilled his promise: to welcome the gods from beyond the gates.

"Next time, the Divine Gate won't be able to stop us from opening those gates that should never have been sealed. But before our next operation, why don't we take a look at the good news coming in from Shepherds in other regions?"

At his words, the old man who had remained silent finally spoke.

"We've found several suitable sacrifices, little by little. Our people will find ways to approach them, then use their flesh and blood to break the seals on the gates. It seems the Divine Gate doesn't think much of these people. They don't seem to take the Shepherds seriously."

"Are they all unaffiliated psychics?"

"All of them."

"Good. If the Divine Gate hasn't caught on, then the Shepherds will gladly take them."

Miko, the Demonic Cultivator — Chapter 46

How had the orthodox and demonic paths of cultivation come about?

If one looked at it purely in terms of interests, it was probably a matter of opposing sides with different interests. The orthodox path represented those who already had a stake in the existing order, while the demonic path represented those seeking to claim a share for themselves. In terms of methods, the orthodox path acted openly and honorably, without making people sick, while the demonic path used underhanded, treacherous methods that could cause serious physical revulsion.

Thus, people usually had this impression of the orthodox path: organized, well-resourced, honorable in its conduct, with its own rules and principles—and one could even simply label it good. The demonic path, meanwhile, had a poor reputation: loosely organized, or made up of lone practitioners; timid and underhanded; treacherous, with no principles whatsoever. Some even said demonic cultivators had ugly, repulsive faces.

For example, Yotsuya Miko's master, Zhang Qiudao, fit the stereotypical image of a demonic cultivator in both appearance and conduct. He was an extremely devious man who often used his methods to kill others and seize their possessions, without the slightest regard for any moral limits. In pursuit of his own path, he had even sacrificed all the living beings of an entire world. He was an out-and-out Great Demon.

After turning it over in her mind, Yotsuya Miko could only look at the cultivation techniques in her mind and sigh.

The Soul Nourishing Artifact Path Understanding contained many techniques suitable for the Spiritual Sense Artifact Control realm, but few that she could learn. If the techniques and talismans she'd learned before had, more or less, focused on killing Ghosts, then the techniques for the Spiritual Sense Artifact Control realm were basically aimed straight at cultivators of the same or lower realms.

Why?

Because cultivators' Soul Bodies were better, and their belongings were more valuable.

Any Foundation Establishment cultivator had spent years struggling through the Qi Refining realm and had naturally built up quite a stock of possessions. Killing one was far more profitable than killing thousands upon thousands of Ghosts. What's more, a cultivator's Soul Body was superior to that of a Ghost of the same realm, with far fewer impurities, at the very least.

Furthermore, any demonic cultivator who gained a reputation could expect to be hunted by orthodox cultivators. The moment a demonic cultivator revealed even a hint of demonic methods, orthodox cultivators—whether motivated by contributions to their sect or a sense of justice—would come sniffing out the cultivator's aura like hounds. When one died, another would take their place.

In the Xuanhui Realm, demonic cultivators were in this awkward position and could hardly escape being hunted. Over time, they developed a wide range of methods for dealing with cultivators. Techniques in the Soul Nourishing Artifact Path Understanding like Spirit Dispersion Great Understanding, Heart Nightmare External Entry, and Bone Extraction Body Shattering Curse Ominous Incantation were all meant to be used against cultivators. Oh, ordinary people could use them too, and they worked just as well. It was only against Ghosts, monsters, and the like that they were slightly less effective.

"But even if I rule out techniques aimed at cultivators, many of them are unpleasant just to look at..."

Miko sighed, then turned her attention to a technique in her mind: Ink Jade Cold Soul Control.

This was a sustained technique. Once released, it granted the user a construct called the Ink Jade Cold Soul, which could use the power of ice to freeze souls. It was highly effective at restraining and damaging Ghosts. However, the technique required casting materials: Thousand Year Ink Jade, Cold Nether Ghost Soul, and Nine Nether Water.

She didn't have any of those.

In fact, techniques in the Foundation Establishment realm required large quantities of materials to assist their use, in addition to the cultivator's own spiritual energy. After all, spiritual energy wasn't omnipotent. Cultivators could acquire spiritual energy with various properties through their cultivation methods, using those properties to bypass or reduce the need for materials, but it depended on the circumstances. For example, if one used spiritual energy with an inherent scorching property to cast an ice-based technique, not only might it fail to work, its power would at least be greatly reduced.

Demonic cultivators had gone a little further than orthodox cultivators in developing techniques that required no materials, since they were so terribly poor. But they'd only gone a little further. Something like Ten Afflictions was all right; it counted as a relatively effective technique that required no materials. Most of the others used a demonic cultivator's flesh and blood, or something else, as the price. Zhang Qiudao had never intended to develop a whole new system of techniques the way he had with talismans, because it was genuinely difficult.

Of the tens of thousands of Spiritual Sense Artifact Control techniques recorded in the Soul Nourishing Artifact Path Understanding, most required flesh and blood as casting materials. They were very demonic. Take Sha God Curse Light, for placing curses on people. It used the target's body parts as casting materials: hair could be used for a minor curse, teeth for something more advanced, and severed limbs for an even stronger one. Then there was the widely used Blood Escape Great Method, which used the caster's own blood as its casting material. The rest either required no materials or were high-grade techniques.

For example, the Eye-Penetrating Incantation Miko had used before, and Sharp Eye Light Body Exhaustive Strength Tough Body, which she'd used against the Mountain God, temporarily strengthened the body or did something similar by means of spiritual energy. Their effects depended on the quantity and quality of the spiritual energy, not on casting materials. High-grade techniques like Ink Jade Cold Soul Control, on the other hand, required precious materials.

Though he hadn't studied the techniques themselves, Zhang Qiudao had still summarized their essence: the combined use of spiritual energy and its properties. A cultivator whose spiritual energy carried the property of thunder, for instance, could add lightning to a technique and deal greater damage to Ghosts. In essence, many techniques depended on spiritual energy to activate the properties of their materials. And once the property of a material had been absorbed, the user could cast the technique again without needing the material, because that "property" had already been imprinted in the body. Of course, because spiritual energy itself could have inherent properties and the materials used in techniques also had properties, conflicts and fusions could occur—for example, scorching heat and cold, or gentle water and lightning.

The properties of Profound Nether Qi were Myriad Thoughts, communication with the netherworld, and cultivation of the spirit. These three properties didn't conflict with most others. But the problem Miko faced now was that she had no materials. After ruling out the many techniques that required flesh and blood or were specifically aimed at cultivators, the remaining techniques either required troublesome materials or needed none at all—though the lack of materials didn't prevent the latter from being used.

After thinking it over, she finally picked out a few techniques that didn't look too much like something a demonic cultivator would use, along with some that exacted a heavy price but were highly effective.

The new techniques were called Breath Concealment Body Hiding Technique, Spirit Jade Myriad Transformations Art, Heavenly Devil False Body True Understanding, Demon Slaying Sha God Control, Heavenly Devil Corpse Unraveling Great Method, Soul Splitting Flesh Crushing Nail, Falcon Spirit Wind Control Incantation, and Blood Soul Nightmare Entry.

There were other techniques she could have chosen, but Yotsuya Miko didn't plan to keep looking. Her impression of demonic cultivators in the Xuanhui Realm had grown even worse after learning about the materials they used to cast their techniques.

"No wonder demonic cultivators are so despised in the Xuanhui Realm... Their techniques are so disgusting."

Although she was a demonic cultivator herself now.

Chapter 47: Fragments of the Past

Futamido Yuria's daily routine began with making her breakfast and lunch every morning.

Since her parents were always working overtime or away on business trips, she made all three of her meals herself. After hurriedly eating breakfast, she looked at the sky, which had yet to brighten, and got busy making lunch. She could have made it the night before, but then it wouldn't be as fresh.

"Okay... lunch is ready."

She carefully arranged the steaming food in the small lunchbox and secured the lid. Then she wiped the fine beads of sweat from her forehead with a tissue and let out a long breath.

She had to get up early every morning, but she was used to it by now. Looking at the lunchbox, she carefully wrapped it and put it into her schoolbag. Then she glanced at the clock in the living room. It was time to leave, so she slung on her schoolbag and headed for the door.

I'm leaving.

She said it silently to herself, without expecting anyone to answer, because she was indeed the only one left in the house. No matter how luxurious a home was, once no one was around, it was hard to escape an indescribable loneliness.

And her loneliness wasn't limited to that.

She came down from the elevator in a high-rise, was swept along with the crowd as they scattered in all directions, and eventually reached school.

The sign of Nanatsumisaki Academy High School still gleamed brightly. Lively high school girls gathered in groups of three or five, chatting about things they all had in common. There were always some who were left out, though.

The cliques created a vague sort of hierarchy. Some people got along with everyone wherever they went, while others had only a handful of friends they could talk to. Yuria was probably at the very bottom. Her classmates ostracized her.

She ostracized them by refusing to cater to their interests. Naturally, they ostracized her in return.

Yuria didn't regret what she did. She knew that no matter how hard she tried to fit in, some people would take it as an attempt to curry favor, then turn it into a complete joke and use it to mock her.

She didn't want to be treated like that a second time.

Walking along absentmindedly, she suddenly spotted someone she knew. She was about to greet her when someone she didn't know appeared at her side. Her intention died away, and she silently returned to her classroom.

Yuria?

Miko's Spiritual Sense noticed Yuria quietly walking away behind her, but she didn't have time to think about why Yuria had suddenly left. She could only look at Yamazaki, who was blocking her way, with an exasperated expression.

"That really wasn't a confession."

"Really?"

Morino, who was almost always with Yamazaki, walked up beside her and draped an arm over her shoulder, wearing a teasing expression.

"So nothing actually happened between you two?"

"...It really didn't."

Ever since the incident with Yurikawa Hana at school, Miko had not only been disciplined by the school, but had also caused her mother to misunderstand something. On top of that, the whole class had started gossiping. No matter how many times she clarified things, people still used the incident to tease her and Hana. Yamazaki and Morino were two such people.

Hana had already been spared their teasing because she was too shy. These troublemakers seemed determined to see Miko blush before they'd let her off.

But Miko had a perfectly clear conscience about it.

"You could ask me a thousand times or ten thousand times, and the answer would still be the same."

She shrugged, her heart steady and her expression unchanged. She even wanted to get back at the two of them.

"You two are together every day, though. Has anything happened between you?"

"You!"

Apparently offended by the accusation, both of them flushed red. At last, they gave up teasing her.

Miko sighed. There was nothing for it but to head for the classroom now. The two troublemakers who never knew when to stop had already wasted quite a bit of her time.

"Whatever. I'll explain it to Yuria at lunch."

Meanwhile, Yuria sat quietly at her desk, waiting for class to start.

She looked as if she had nothing to do at all.

She opened the textbook she used in class and laid it on her desk. Before she could even set it down properly, someone pressed down on half of it.

"Hey, have you heard? Apparently, a transfer student is coming in the next few days."

"A transfer student... Hey, you're squashing her book!"

"Whatever... I'll apologize."

The girl stood up from Yuria's desk without a care, tossed off a breezy "Sorry," then sat on another empty desk and went right back to her earlier topic.

"I wonder what the new transfer student will be like."

"Some country bumpkin?"

"You sure know how to talk. But a country bumpkin might be nice, don't you think?"

"I guess so, haha..."

The noisy voices reached Yuria without hindrance. She simply smoothed out the creased book and silently looked at the notes on its pages.

Getting angry, arguing, or fighting wouldn't change anything at all. Yuria knew that well, so she chose the most effective response: ignore them.

For bullies who instinctively relied on humiliating others, ignoring them was the most effective response—and the one most likely to make them feel humiliated. If they escalated to even more brutal behavior, then they ought to be prepared for retaliation from the Futamido Family.

Futamido Yuria was no ordinary name.

Being snubbed and excluded still fell within the bounds of what could be handled reasonably.

"So annoying," someone said casually. Yuria pretended not to hear.

If you'd been shunned and ignored since elementary school, then facing this kind of hostility became as commonplace as eating and drinking. Compared to hostility, false kindness wrapped around a pinprick was far more unpleasant and repulsive.

Thinking of that, Yuria couldn't help being glad there was a difference between this girls' school and a private academy for the nobility. Even the most socially adept students here didn't treat people as less than human the way the children of politicians and merchants did. Those people... only saw others as commodities, entertainment, or something else to use.

There were very few people she was willing to trust. Those in the same situation as her, those who could see the same things she did, were the ones who stood on the same side as her. At least among them, she wouldn't be rejected as an oddity.

I have to become a powerful psychic.

Futamido Yuria thought.