Chapter Eight: Qi-Harmonization Technique, Activate!

A crushing water pressure descended.

Uesugi Toru opened his eyes once again in the dilapidated thatched hut. He leaned against the door, listening for a while, and upon confirming there was no movement, he pushed the door open silently.

The creak of the wooden door was swallowed by the heavy rain after traveling only a few meters. Uesugi Toru poked his head out, exhaling in relief only after confirming that the gassho-style houses on both sides were not inverted.

So, that absurdly powerful ghost samurai really did move around...

Only then did he retrieve the Traveler's Token from his storage grid and hang it at his waist.

After turning back to shut the door, Uesugi Toru squinted, realizing his vision was restricted to about twenty or thirty meters due to the thick, rain-filled mist.

He knew that in reality, with the Eyes of the Hyakume-oni equipped while in his Hannya form, he could clearly see the faces of people two or three hundred meters away.

How was he supposed to scavenge while avoiding monsters at this rate?

This was bad.

Edo Castle was a four-star map; he estimated that the stray mobs here were likely stronger than one star.

While lost in thought, Uesugi Toru stepped into the sticky mud. He held his breath and scanned his surroundings, not walking far before he spotted a dark shape lying prone by the side of the road.

What was that? A corpse?

Uesugi Toru swallowed hard, tightened his grip on his kitchen knife, and paced forward, ready to "go to school" by closing his eyes if things went south.

Closer. Even closer.

When he was about ten meters away, without any further probing, Uesugi Toru smashed through the rain curtain and sprinted forward, leaping into a slash with his knife.

Strike first!

The sensation of the blade biting into flesh was crystal clear, and the round object that rolled to the side confirmed the success of the strike.

However, no kill notification popped up before his eyes.

"A real corpse?"

Uesugi Toru picked up the severed head, examined it for two seconds, then set it down, pressing his palms together in a brief prayer for forgiveness.

He then began to thoroughly search the body.

[You have obtained: Fragment of Qi-Harmonization Technique (Common).]
[Do you wish to learn it?]

As Uesugi Toru withdrew his hand, he pulled out a slippery, blood-soaked, rain-drenched book.

He flipped through it slightly, only to find the pages stuck together, impossible to pull apart. The parts he could open were illegible.

The idea of self-study was immediately snuffed out. Without hesitation, Uesugi Toru chose to learn it.

[You have learned: Fragment of Qi-Harmonization Technique.]
[Qi-Harmonization Technique (Fragment) (Novice 0/100)]
[Effect: Gather the scattered energy within the body into a single point.]
[—Created by a legendary sword saint of the Heian period. As a prerequisite for difficult breathing technique cultivation, it is easy to master but provides shallow effects.]

No sooner had he finished reading the description than memories related to the Qi-Harmonization Technique flooded his mind.

He then felt a dense, lingering energy rising in his chest, and his limbs felt noticeably more powerful.

[Physique: 10 → 11]

Hm? Wasn't it supposed to have shallow effects?

Lowering his head, Uesugi Toru saw the Smiling Hannya mask reflected in a puddle and suddenly understood.

This "shallow effect" was likely for ordinary people. But he was a legitimate demon—specifically, a Hannya, known for its strength!

How could the energy of a Hannya be comparable to that of an ordinary human?

With the gains from this roadside scavenging, Uesugi Toru's strides felt more vigorous.

But the good times didn't last.

When he saw a dark shape by the road for the second time, Uesugi Toru tried the same trick, but the shadow parried his kitchen knife and decapitated him in a single strike.

[You have died.]

...

Uesugi Toru opened his eyes, wincing and gasping as he clutched his own neck.

The pain this time was far greater than before, and the strike had been jagged and messy—likely because the mob hadn't mastered its swordsmanship.

He remembered seeing [Wandering Samurai] and the one-and-a-half stars following it above the mob's head, and he cursed:

"Your blade path is crooked!"

It took decades of training to be just half a star higher than his own infant-stage Smiling Hannya? Had all those decades of sword practice gone to waste?

After speaking, Uesugi Toru writhed on his bed in pain for a while longer.

Minutes later, the pain in his neck began to fade. With a dark expression, he opened the upgrade progress bar for his Smiling Hannya form.

["Smiling Hannya (Infant Stage)" upgrading: 10%]

Tch.

How could it be only 10% after nearly eight hours? Did that mean a full upgrade would take over 80 hours—nearly four days?

Slow, it was far too slow!

This meant he would have to be hacked to death by these roadside mobs seven or eight more times!

The mere thought made his neck ache.

This wouldn't do; he needed to find ways to get stronger beyond just waiting for the Smiling Hannya to upgrade.

Thinking of this, Uesugi Toru turned his attention to the new skill he had acquired earlier, the "Qi-Harmonization Technique."

Although the energy within him was much less than when he was in his Hannya form, it was still a force to be reckoned with in his current state.

He estimated it had increased his Physique attribute by about 0.5.

Uesugi Toru closed his eyes, cautiously gathering the energy within his body. Once he felt all the energy coalesce into a single point, he suddenly opened his mouth:

"Hah!"

With a loud shout, Uesugi Toru felt a brief, intense stimulation spread through his limbs and bones, making them incredibly agile and powerful.

He looked at the proficiency of the Qi-Harmonization Technique—Novice (1/100).

This must be the way to train the technique.

But if that were the case, he wouldn't be able to use his class time to train...

Right.

Uesugi Toru recalled that Tokugawa Ririko was the president of the school's Kendo Club. If he wanted to find time and space to practice the Qi-Harmonization Technique like this, the kendo dojo was undoubtedly the best choice.

He could learn kendo while training his Qi-Harmonization Technique—wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?

Decided. He would join the Kendo Club.

"Dad, I'm heading out."

After the familiar farewell, Uesugi Toru placed the Nanjo doll and the Traveler's Token into his school bag.

...

Just as he was about to enter the school, Uesugi Toru spotted a familiar figure at the gate.

"Ririko?"

After the name slipped out, he realized their relationship wasn't quite that close, so he corrected himself: "Tokugawa-san."

"Just calling me Ririko is fine."

Leaning against the school gate, the cold-faced Tokugawa Ririko looked at him and remarked, "Not bad, you survived another day."

The girl, with a brand-new bamboo sword charm dangling at her neck, walked alongside him. Under the curious gazes of passing students, it was Ririko who broke the silence:

"About last night, thank you."

Ririko bowed slightly toward him: "If you have any requests, Uesugi-kun, I will do my best to fulfill them."

Do her best, huh?

Uesugi Toru didn't stand on ceremony: "I want to join the Kendo Club to learn kendo. Starting today."

"Okay."

Tokugawa Ririko didn't even question how unreasonable the request was; she immediately dialed the number of the Kendo Club's advisor.

After a minute of negotiation, the girl hung up and nodded at Uesugi Toru: "Come to the Kendo Club at noon. I'll wait for you at the entrance."

The efficiency was so absurd that Uesugi Toru's mouth hung open for a moment before he continued:

"Regarding the Friendship Club..."

As if a keyword had been triggered, Tokugawa Ririko immediately locked her gaze onto him.