Flourishing Sakura, Tokyo. In the study of a manor in Setagaya District, a middle-aged man with a square face stared at his computer, his expression extremely grim.

Seeing the red-haired man on screen being brutally beaten by the Great Sword Maiden, he touched the Three Magatama Bracelet on his wrist. Gritting his teeth, he strode into the bedroom to change his clothes.

"Anada..." his young, beautiful, and charming wife had barely opened her mouth when he cut her off harshly, "Don't ask too many questions. I might not come back today!"

The cry of a baby came from outside. He said impatiently, "Our son is awake; go take care of him quickly."

His wife immediately fell silent, threw off the covers, and got out of bed. After the square-faced man changed his clothes, he hurried to the garage. He opened the livestream on his phone and discovered the maiden had completely shattered the red-haired man's illusion. Panicked, he started driving while making a call.

"Yoshioka, Shuten has been defeated."

"I know," a calm voice replied from the other end of the phone. "Don't worry, they might not trace it back to us."

"No," the square-faced man slammed his hand on the steering wheel as if it were his mortal enemy. "Fairy Palace doesn't use traditional tracing methods. They employ something more mystical, like divine knowledge or a Heavenly Eye. They only need the smallest clue to track someone down—who could have imagined that someone could find Shuten through the aura of a Magatama?!"

As he spoke, the square-faced man's expression grew even uglier. "That was the Shikigami I was planning to acquire... Among the eighteen Dog Monsters I was raising, only that Husky Dog Demon grew the best. It had the greatest potential to become a fantasy Shikigami, almost guaranteed to morph into a Yaksha form, and now it's been released!"

"Fairy Palace really oversteps its bounds!"

The voice on the phone chuckled bitterly. "Yes, they really do. So, what now?"

"We're completely out of options. Ultimately, our strength is still too weak... Now, we can only pray for Amaterasu's protection, hoping Fairy Palace won't sever our foundation."

The square-faced man glanced at the livestream. He saw the Great Sword Maiden take the Magatama Necklace from Shuten Douji, who had now fully recovered and transformed into a Ghost they could no longer control. His face stiffened. "Yoshioka, what on earth should we do? Seek Shelter at the Martial Soul Hall headquarters? Or gather at the stronghold?"

"The stronghold should have Ibaraki, Hihi, and Ubagabi..." the voice on the phone said. "But can they handle Fairy Palace pawns who control Destiny and are immortal? Martial Soul Hall is indeed an excellent choice. Even for national honor, the Transcendents of Martial Soul Hall would have to defend us against Fairy Palace. But it's not a sure thing. Executive Director Kagawa, our best strategy is to prevent Fairy Palace from tracing this back to us."

The square-faced man frowned slightly. "But Fairy Palace's methods are beyond imagination..."

"No. If you carefully recall the content of the livestreams from the past few days, you'll realize that although Fairy Palace's investigation methods are unorthodox, they still need to follow some sort of clue to proceed. We aren't the only Onmyoji connected to Shuten. The Demons and Ghosts Shuten managed are the property of the entire organization. As long as we completely erase all information related to us, Fairy Palace will naturally target others, not you or me. Executive Director Kagawa, the righteous path is to preserve your valuable self now and await the chance for a comeback."

Kagawa had a sudden realization. "I'll go erase all the clues right away!"

Fortunately, he hadn't driven too far from home, so he immediately turned the car around and headed back. He glanced at the livestream again and saw that the chess piece on the wooden table had moved; the Great Sword Maiden had already teleported to the next location.

However, the screen was pitch black, making it unclear if she had entered another cave. The card's name read: "Heart of Evil."

Seeing it didn't seem to involve him, Kagawa breathed a sigh of relief. But on his way home, he unexpectedly hit a traffic jam—it was peak rush hour, after all.

Being stuck like this won't work. Kagawa gritted his teeth, drove to a nearby parking lot, left the car, and then took a shortcut home on foot. Every second counts for survival now. Only by erasing all the clues at home can I rest easy!

With this thought, he instinctively put his phone away, as the current broadcast had nothing to do with him. Then he broke into a run, his speed astonishingly fast. He didn't even use the main gate, instead vaulting over his own garden wall, then leaping high to grab the exterior wall of the second floor, and with a clean flip, landed on the balcony!

Kagawa was also a Transcendent, and his Cultivation level was not low; his Physical Condition had already surpassed that of ordinary people!

Although Transcendents were almost evenly distributed across different age groups, due to population strategies and talent selection and training, most countries focused on cultivating young Transcendents. After all, young people are energetic, learn quickly, and don't have established careers—nations generally shared a similar outlook in this regard.

Older people, due to their age, lower energy levels, diminished Learning Ability, and the responsibilities of paying mortgages and raising children, often found it hard to achieve anything in Cultivation. Of course, this applies on an aggregate level. Exceptions who could outperform young people in various ways—like the old chess masters and plaza-dancing aunties—definitely existed on an individual level.

However, Kagawa's abilities apparently did not solely come from himself. Pressing the Three Magatama Bracelet, he softly called, "Come out, Dog God."

A slender-bodied, gray Dog Monster then floated upright in the air behind the square-faced man.

The type of Shikigami he was most proficient in commanding were the Dog Demons among the Monsters. That was why he had specifically collected Dog Monsters, entrusting them to Shuten for herding.

Although this Dog God was decent, it could in no way compare to Yasha Maru, who had already taken human form and was about to become a fantasy monster. If he just let Yasha Maru grow a little more and feast on human blood, it would fully mature into a powerful White Dog Yaksha. By then, even within the Martial Soul Hall, Kagawa could instantly ascend to Four Clouds Combat Power!

If White Dog Yaksha could one day drink the blood of a million and advance to a Nine Magatama Great Demon, then Kagawa too would rise with the tides, becoming a powerful Great Cultivator without needing to practice Cultivation himself!

The thought of such a wonderful prospect being ruined made his hatred for Fairy Palace intensify. It's always you people, meddling in everything!

Just as he was about to use the Dog God to completely incinerate the documents in the study, Kagawa suddenly heard the THUMP, THUMP, THUMP of footsteps in the hallway outside.

Is that my wife, Qianjia? Before he could sort out his thoughts, he sharply heard Qianjia's giggling laugh, "You got here really fast. No one saw you, right?"

"Of course not. As soon as I heard that old guy was out, I hurried over."

Kagawa's expression stiffened. He quickly searched his memories and soon recognized the owner of the voice—it was his next-door neighbor, Mr. Sanno, the dentist!

The urgency to eliminate clues instantly vanished. Suppressing his emotions, he quietly opened the study door, pressing his ear to the bedroom door to listen to the sounds inside.

Soon, he heard several explosive revelations:

—His wife had cheated on him a year ago!

—His son was not his own!

—His daily meals contained a slow-acting poison; he would be dead in a few months!

Expressionless, Kagawa pushed open the bedroom door. He looked at the shocked adulterous couple on the bed, raised a hand towards them, and said, "Go to Hell and atone for your sins!"

The Dog God illusion spat out an orange-red Fireball the size of a washbasin. It landed on the bed and exploded with a loud BANG. The strong shockwave overturned tables and chairs; only the large wardrobe against the wall survived!

"Well, since you've found out, there's nothing to be done," Dr. Sanno said, crossing his hands like an X. A green barrier appeared before him, deflecting Kagawa's Fireball Attack. He added nonchalantly, "If these are all the tricks you have, then you might as well prepare to die!"

Kagawa snorted. "Is that so? Dog God!"

The Dog God illusion's eyes instantly turned blood red. In mid-air, it conjured fireballs, frost, lightning, and whirlwinds, causing Dr. Sanno's face to turn pale.

"Repent in Hell!"

"Maximum power!"

The Dog God simultaneously launched four attacks. Dr. Sanno's green shield erupted with a blinding light, illuminating the entire bedroom.

A series of explosions followed. Kagawa saw a green light shooting towards his head, but he closed his eyes indifferently, completely unaffected. When he felt the light on his eyelids diminish slightly, he managed to force his eyes open, only to find everything before him was a blur of green.

A large hole had been blasted through the bedroom wall. It seemed Dr. Sanno and that bitch had used the Force of the explosion to escape.

"You can't escape... you can't escape..."

Kagawa turned to glance at the Dog God. The opacity of its illusion seemed to have decreased slightly, but not by much. He felt reassured. The protection of a Shikigami is truly invincible.

Kagawa realized that Dr. Sanno must also be an Awakener. His Awakening Ability seemed to convert damage taken into green light—a typical defensive Counterattack type.

Unfortunately, this Awakening Ability was only effective against Transcendents who had strong attacks but weak defenses. For Onmyoji like them, protected by Shikigami, such a vulnerability simply didn't exist.

"I must kill them..."

Kagawa's eyes also turned blood red, and the Three Magatama Bracelet glowed crimson. He now had no desire but to see their corpses!

Just then, the doors of the large wardrobe suddenly shattered. A sharp blade emerged from the darkness within, stabbing out towards him!

————————

When Ren Suo moved his chess piece, advancing the Great Sword Maiden to the fourth card, the card's name, originally "Great Tengu," bizarrely changed to "Renowned."

The Great Sword Maiden strode confidently into a luxurious manor complete with a swimming pool and garden. The security guards at the gate immediately let her pass upon seeing her. The butler and servants hurried over to escort her into the villa's living room.

A large group of people, old and young, were seated in the living room; it seemed the entire family had gathered.

The most authoritative-looking middle-aged man in the room immediately stood up upon seeing the Great Sword Maiden. He bowed deeply, a full 90 degrees, and said in fluent standard Mandarin, "Disaster Messenger, I am Yoshioka Kensuke. Please, ask whatever you wish. I will hide nothing and answer all your questions. I implore you, do not cause earthquakes or fires here, and please do not create rifts in the relationships between me and my family."

"Great Tengu, come out!"

A humanoid phantom wearing a white Hunting Garment, with black wings on its back and a red Tengu mask covering its face, appeared behind the middle-aged man.

Yoshioka Kensuke stepped aside, pointed at the Great Tengu, and said, "Is the Disaster Messenger here to kill him? Please, don't hesitate! Make yourselves at home! Just please, please do not let any Calamity befall our household!"

Ren Suo remained silent for a moment, then spoke in the guise of Unnamed, "Earthquakes are natural phenomena, fires are man-made disasters, and as for the infidelity... that happened a year ago."

"I know, I know!" Yoshioka Kensuke nodded repeatedly. "The Disaster Messenger certainly has no need for riches from The Mortal Realm, but perhaps some magical items might be of assistance to you? To aid Fairy Palace, the Yoshioka Family is duty-bound to help and will offer everything we have."

"We implore the Messenger to retract her Divine Skills!"

The other members of the Yoshioka Family also chimed in, "We implore the Messenger to retract her Divine Skills!"

One could tell they had learned the phrase hastily; their articulation was clumsy.

Ren Suo had never expected things to unfold like this. He had merely been trying to show off a little. He hadn't thought that, through the livestream, he would actually alter the game's plot, turning a battle into a grandstanding spectacle.

Regarding the previous "Heart of Evil" card, that fellow was already being cuckolded. Ren Suo was, at most, only slightly responsible for drawing the card—and besides, Ren Suo had even saved him, preventing him from suffering the same fate as Wu Dalang.

All that happened was that the entire process of him being cuckolded was broadcast live online. Why are you all so scared?

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