On the marble steps of the Star-Gazing Pavilion, with the sandy temple courtyard on either side, Saori appeared from within the swirling clouds and mist.
The mist began to dissipate, and buildings emerged around them—chalk-white bell towers encircling them. Seiya looked at the scene before him.
What was he supposed to do in this situation? But he quickly found the answer. Since it was a dream, he should definitely do as he pleased.
And so, under the incredulous gazes of the heavenly maidens, he held the bouquet of white chrysanthemums tightly in one hand, while his other hand most naturally took Sasha's soft, small hand—the touch was so gentle, warm, and captivating that one would be reluctant to let go. He pulled Sasha along and walked straight up to Saori.
"I... seem to have come at a bad time?" Saori said, her tone laced with hesitation as she looked at the hand-holding pair before her.
"No," Seiya broke into a clear and magnanimous smile, "you've come at just the right time."
He extended his free arm and gently wrapped it around Saori's shoulder, letting her lean back slightly and rest the back of her head softly against his solid chest.
Embracing the two Athenas, feeling the different kinds of warmth in his left and right arms, Seiya couldn't help but become lost in the moment.
After a brief silence, the winged cherubs and heavenly maidens began to play their melodious music once more, and a white mist gradually enveloped the highlands.
Across the cluster of universes, on a distant shore, Saori Kido, who was resting in her small villa, suddenly opened her eyes.
"Lady Saori, did you dream of Lord Seiya again?" A girl beside her draped a shawl over her shoulders.
"Yes, but this time was a little strange..."
Saori Kido rubbed her head. Although she had not yet awakened, the power of her conviction still allowed her consciousness to occasionally cross the river of time and catch fleeting glimpses of the past.
The reason she could never forget Seiya, with whom she had a brief and not-so-pleasant acquaintance in childhood, was precisely because she always glimpsed that figure in her dreams.
It didn't seem to be the present era, and perhaps it wasn't even her own world. It was a God War waged by the one named Pegasus.
And this made her realize that Seiya was incredibly important to her.
Although this was not the first time she had experienced such a thing, this particular experience felt far too intense, almost as if she were truly there.
But no matter how she looked at it, the idea of herself and another incarnation of Athena leaning against his chest was simply too outrageous.
The water rippled, and Seiya, too, slowly opened his eyes.
He was leaning against a rock at the edge of the hot spring, with only a white bath towel draped around his waist.
Whether it was the healing power of the hot spring or the comfort of seeing the goddesses in his dream, the gnawing pain in his chest seemed to have lessened a little.
He looked at the long-overdue victory feedback. It was the further development of his Covenant of Decay and Revival, which had absorbed a portion of the God of Death's authority.
[Authority Branch Opened — Imagination Manifestation.]
Imagination Manifestation was a representative authority shared by the Twin Gods, allowing one to distort reality and manifest things from imagination.
But because it was power taken from the God of Death, Thanatos, Seiya could currently only manifest things from nightmares and fears.
Although it was a special ability with immense potential, it was not to Seiya's liking.
However, when it needed to be used, he would not hesitate in the slightest.
Fear Tremor was an oppressive combat technique, similar to the God of Combat's aura suppression.
But while the latter used one's own presence to overwhelm the enemy, Fear Tremor inflicted terror on a spiritual level upon beings of a lower existential tier.
Death Gaze, however, was an extremely practical combat technique.
It ignored distance; even across hundreds of millions of light-years, as long as something was within his line of sight, he could bestow death upon all things.
As for Terrifying Decree of Fate, Seiya was all too familiar with it.
It was the combat technique the God of Death, Thanatos, most frequently used against powerful Saints, and it was also the prerequisite combat technique for his ultimate move, Terrifying Decree of Fate.
In terms of compatibility, however, Pegasus Meteor Fist or Atomic Thunder were, of course, more natural for him to use.
"Are you not coming out yet, Saint Cult Master?" Seiya's gaze shifted to the other end of the hot spring, into the misty depths.
Several minutes ago, all the muscles in his body had instinctively tensed—this was the Godslayer's physique warning him of a potential threat.
He hadn't paid it much mind, and the visitor had made no attempt to conceal their presence.
"Your senses are quite sharp." A voice as clear as the striking of jade pierced through the mist.
"Without having attained nirvana, nor mastered the ultimate 'Mind's Eye' or the state of 'Clear Mirror, Still Water,' you can still possess such extraordinary perception, O King of Japan."
The mist parted like curtains. A peerless beauty sat by the edge of the pool, as ethereal as a goddess from Mount Gushe, with skin of ice and bones of jade, her beauty was unparalleled.
She was sizing up the junior who had defeated her not long ago.
When it came to beautiful women, Seiya had seen many.
Setting aside bonus factors like abilities, personality, and temperament, and judging solely from looks and figure, the one who ranked first was surprisingly that nasty little brat, Stella.
After all, she was the goddess of love and beauty, the very concept of beauty was held in her hands; both her appearance and features were on a rule-breaking level.
Following her were Sasha and Saori Kido.
In terms of appearance alone, there was little difference between them; they combined the defined features of a Caucasian with the delicate contours of an Eastern beauty, while also possessing an alluring figure rarely seen among Asians.
And following them, naturally, were Stella, Erica, Liliana, and Ena Seishuin.
They were all top-tier beauties of their respective ethnicities, great beauties who could have become huge stars in the entertainment industry even without being knights.
Further down the list were school belle-level beauties like Yuri Mariya, Kaoru Sayanomiya, and Yuzuriha.
As for the other two Athenas, and his adoptive mother Pandora, they were extremely charming women, but because they were lolis, they were also excluded from the ranking.
But now, a T0-level beauty, one who could challenge the authority of the goddess of beauty Stella, appeared before Seiya wearing only a bathrobe.
Her beauty made one wonder if she possessed a related Authority.
Her black, silk-like long hair was adorned with a blossoming white magnolia, so plump and moist it seemed as if it would drip from her cloud-like tresses at any moment.
But unfortunately, it seemed that women of such extreme beauty all had severe personality flaws.
For Luo Hao, anyone who saw her face had to destroy their own eyes, and anyone who heard her voice had to pierce their own eardrums.
Although these rumors might have been exaggerated, it was not hard to imagine what a vile nature this Martial King possessed.
"King of Japan? Let's skip that title." Seiya said indifferently.
"Oh, you refuse to be called a king. Merely a tiny country, yet you consider yourself an emperor?" Luo Hao raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't expect that of you..."
Seiya tilted his head back, gazing at the profound night sky. The evening wind rustled through the forest leaves.
He did not respond to Luo Hao's taunt, his thoughts seemingly drifting to the cold, eternal night sky of the Underworld.
Seeing Seiya's silence, Luo Hao did not press the issue. As the defeated party, she had her own magnanimity, giving the victor enough space.
"Are you looking at the Demon Gate of this land of Japan?" Luo Hao changed the subject.
Demon Gate? Seiya's Tosho Daigongen Authority was related to leylines and feng shui, but he had not specifically developed it in that direction.
The image of a deep mountain range clearly appeared in his perception.
That was Mount Hiei. While the name Mount Hiei might be unfamiliar to the common person, the Tendai school of Mount Hiei's Enryaku-ji Temple is world-renowned.
And the one who designed the Nikko Toshogu Shrine, the monk Tenkai, was a learned high priest from the Tendai school, who was now nominally Seiya's subordinate.
This old monk, known as Tokugawa Ieyasu's strategist and a man of great wisdom, had served three generations of shoguns. Having lived to this day, he was already a living Buddha.
And according to Luo Hao, this sacred religious site, Mount Hiei, was also the Demon Gate of this country.
"Hmph," a cold arc formed on Luo Hao's lips, "Regarding the arrangement to suppress the Great Sage Equaling Heaven with the Bima-wen curse and to restrain him with the spiritual power of Tosho Daigongen, you, as the ruler of Japan... alright, the administrator of this land, should be aware of it.
"Hahaha..." Luo Hao suddenly chuckled, her laughter carrying a hint of wildness and relief.
"In our previous battle, for the sake of my honor, I was ultimately defeated by your hand.
"However, a peerless hero-god like the Great Sage Equaling Heaven has always been my fated rival. It would be a pity to miss the chance to finish him with my own hands. But..." Her tone shifted, her gaze burning, "I, Luo Hao..."
"I know about this." Seiya nodded.
When it came to the arts of feng shui and leylines, Luo Hao, the master of the Daoist arts, was the true expert.
"The immense spiritual power used for the suppression is drawn from Mount Fuji, the place with the most abundant spiritual energy in this land, and then channeled through the 'Demon Gate' you see—Mount Hiei.
"This place has another crucial property, which is 'demon quelling'!" Her voice grew cold.
"Kyoto has a place where monkeys dwell, located in the Ushitora direction—the northeast—of the Kyoto Imperial Palace. In Onmyodo, the northeast is the Demon Gate, the direction from which evil spirits invade."
"You see," she pointed to the northeast, "the opposite direction of Ushitora is Hitsujisaru in the southwest.
"Therefore, monkeys are used as a symbol for quelling demons. Using monkeys to set up a great formation to guard the Demon Gate—this is the masterpiece of the Tendai school's curse monks!"
Unconsciously, Luo Hao's tone carried a hint of resentment and anger.
"And for a god from my country to be reduced to the steel guardian of the Wokou nation, this is a great humiliation!"
Setting aside the obscure jargon, Seiya finally understood.
In short, through the hub of the Nikko Toshogu Shrine, the Tendai school could, to a limited extent, command the suppressed "Lord Monkey God" to act as a demon-quelling, nation-protecting steel.
In five hundred years, two Heretic Gods had already been vanquished, one serpent-related god slain, one dragon-related god expelled, and most recently, an earth dragon's rampage had been suppressed.
However, to briefly command this Lord Monkey God, the most crucial point was to have a Hime-Miko with a special constitution who could communicate with him.
Only when this Hime-Miko, acting as a 'Stable Master,' coaxed him could he act as the nation-protecting steel.
But in modern times, not a single one could be found in all of Japan, which is why not long ago, more than half of Japan fell into Stella's hands.
And Yuri Mariya's younger sister, Hikari Mariya, was a rare Hime-Miko who possessed this constitution, but she was still too young and temporarily unable to perform the duties of a Stable Master.
And Luo Hao's purpose in coming here was to express to Seiya that if he intended to suppress the Great Sage Equaling Heaven for another five hundred years, then they would become mortal enemies.
But if Seiya did not plan to suppress the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, then as punishment for her defeat yesterday, she would assist Seiya in this endeavor.
Should he say she was too blatant, or too straightforward?
Having finally gotten the chance to fight the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, she was willing to concede it to him because she had lost to him.
Understanding the Cult Master's intentions, Seiya shrugged his shoulders, but this was a chance to fight the Great Sage Equaling Heaven that he would not pass up.
"Then it's a deal." Seiya held out his fist.
After a moment of surprise, Luo Hao, contrary to her usual self, smiled, extended her hand, and bumped her fist against Seiya's.
Mount Nantai, standing majestically on the northern shore of Nikko City, with an elevation of 2,486 meters.
According to legend, the first person to climb the mountain was the founder of Nikko—Shodo Shonin.
In the year 782, after two failed attempts, Shodo Shonin made a grand vow, "I will not enter the Bodhi until I reach the summit," and on his third attempt, he finally succeeded.
It is, in fact, a dormant volcano. The soil and rocks near the summit are rich in iron, giving them a unique reddish-brown color.
The Nikko mountains are a treasure trove of volcanoes and mines, and also a famous volcanic belt in Japan...
And at this moment, deep within this volcano, along with a long breath like a dragon's roar, the essence of heaven and earth was being greedily devoured and refined.
It was sustenance to heal his own body and restore his supreme divine powers.
Just then, a familiar divine light descended from the heavens.
Upon seeing the figure that appeared in the light, the being coiled deep within the mountain's belly let out a joyful smile of long-awaited reunion.
The first to appear was a strange man walking along a path of flames.
Judging from his appearance alone, he was more ferocious and terrifying than a demon god.
His skin was pitch-black, his bristling hair was as red as flames, the corners of his eyes were sharp, his mouth was a bloody maw, and around his neck hung a necklace strung with nine small skulls.
He wore a simple monk's robe.
"It's been a long time, Eldest Brother."
The Curtain-Lifting General, Sha Wujing, clasped his fists in greeting.
, he looked a bit like someone tormented by troubles to the point of suicide.
a necklace strung with nine small skulls. He wore a simple monk's robe.
"It's been a long time, Eldest Brother."
The Curtain-Lifting General, Sha Wujing, clasped his fists in greeting.
, he looked a bit like someone tormented by troubles to the point of suicide.
"Excellent, excellent, Younger Brother Sha! I've finally been waiting for you!" Sun Wukong excitedly scratched the thick hair on the back of his hands, returned the greeting awkwardly, and eagerly asked, "Where's that oaf?"
A strange expression appeared on Sha Wujing's face.
"I saw Second Brother on the way, but in a place called Nitta Tobichi, he saw a group of Japanese women with bared chests and exposed flesh, an offense to public decency.
"He showed a pained expression, wanting to use the supreme Buddhist teachings to enlighten these suffering souls still struggling in the sea of bitterness."
______
✅ Until 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories!
✅ Exclusive content and updates!
Help us hit our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 55 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
Claim your 40% OFF spot and unlock everything now:
👻 P - Walnutchan