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nMatsumoto Shigejiro did not reply directly. Instead, he asked, “How’s the negotiation going with the Daxia Kingdom? Is there a possibility of resolving it through diplomatic channels?”

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nFukuda Ryoji replied, “The current reply is still for us to wait. They are currently verifying it.”

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nMatsumoto Shigejiro shook his head helplessly.

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nTo be able to defeat two clans at the peak of the warrior realm in Japan, how could this expert from the Daxia Kingdom be a nobody?

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nClearly, they could not put pressure on this expert through the Daxia Kingdom. They could only rely on themselves to think of a solution.

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nThe people in the shrine suddenly fell silent.

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nA breeze blew past, and the talismans on the altar began to shake. For an instant, the patterns on the talisman lit up, before everything returned to normal.

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nDuring this time, a sinister aura appeared briefly. A black shadow appeared on the altar, but it quickly hid itself.

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nAfter some time, the head priest stared at the altar and frowned. “We’re in big trouble this time. No matter who this expert from the Daxia Kingdom is, if we can’t work together, we’ll soon be defeated one by one. In the end, even the shrine won’t be spared.”

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nThe priest, Fukuda Ryoji, hesitated for a moment and probed, “What do you mean, Head Priest?”

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nMatsumoto Shigejiro looked meaningfully at his subordinate. “Now that things have come to this, there’s only one way. We have to abandon everything else and work together.”

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nFukuda Ryoji asked, “But, Head Priest…”

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nMatsumoto Shigejiro interrupted him and continued, “Do you want to fight for a chance of survival, or die lying down? You don’t have to force them. The clans know what they should choose.”

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n“Yes, I’ll get it done right away.”

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nFukuda Ryoji turned to leave.

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nThe shrines were above everything else, and were set up under the orders of the emperor in all regions of Japan to keep an eye on the situation across the nation. Now that they were facing a powerful enemy, it was both a crisis and an opportunity.

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nIt was usually impossible to gather the sacrificial spirits of the various large clans at the shrine.

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nThe reason was that the more spirits there were gathered in one place, the more unstable their emotions would be.

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nBefore an enemy appeared, these spirits would start fighting each other, all wanting to devour their own kind to strengthen themselves.

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nNow, the shrine could make use of the pressure Chen Yiming put on the clans to combine the spirits in order to openly carry out their plans.

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nThis coincided with Chen Yiming’s thoughts. In the end, they would compete to see which one of them was stronger.

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n…

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nIn Osaka City, Chen Yiming walked out of the Shimura clan’s ninja encampment.

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nBeside him was Asou Nishiko, and behind them were the angry clan members.

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nThe Shimura clan was a faction at the peak of the warrior realm in Osaka City. The clan was divided into the Shadow, Top, Middle, and Lower ranks.

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nAmong them, the Shadow rank was where the head of the clan belonged, and corresponded to the peak of the warrior realm, while the Lower rank corresponded to the disciple realm.

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nAsou Nishiko had a look of pity on her face as she said softly, “Master, I didn’t expect the Shimura clan to be so timid. They are the top clan in Osaka City.”

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nChen Yiming nodded and said, “Osaka City is the largest city in this region, and the Shimura clan is the top clan here. If I’m not mistaken, their sacrificial spirits should already have been transferred to the shrine.”

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nAsou Nishiko asked, “Master, should we go straight to the shrine?”

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nChen Yiming deliberated for a moment before replying, “In order to ensure that nothing goes wrong, we’ll go to two other large clans first.”

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nAfter Chen Yiming and Asou Nishiko disappeared, the clan members in the Middle and Lower ranks cursed loudly at the entrance of the village.

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nHalf an hour ago, Chen Yiming had walked into the clan’s encampment and openly requested to visit the sacrificial ground.

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nThe facial muscles of the head of the Shimura clan twitched, but he eventually agreed. The Shimura clan was not much stronger than the Asou clan, and they were unwilling to follow in the footsteps of the Asou clan.

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nIn a wooden house, the head of the Shimura clan, Shimura Takashi, held his hands behind his back as he stared at the map on the wall in a daze.

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nThe map was marked with various clans of all sizes around the city, as well as a large mark indicating the position of the shrine.

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nBehind him was a group of clan members in the Upper rank. Most of them were elders of the clan. Not only did they have to be strong enough, but they also had to have enough battle achievements.

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nKumiko Koshimura, one of the Upper rank members, suddenly held her stomach and squatted down. “I feel terrible.”

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nSeeing this, the other Upper rank members could only stand at the side anxiously.

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nShimura Kumiko was not only a member of the Upper ranks, but also a pillar of the clan.

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nThe Japanese ninjas called the people who were the hosts of the sacrificial spirits the pillars of the clan. Furthermore, they also had a special method to seal the spirits, which could temporarily suppress and seal away the aura of the spirits.

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nHowever, this method would cause harm to the spirit. It could also easily cause a spirit to riot after the seal was removed.

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nUpon sensing the aura of the spirit, Shimura Takashi snapped out of his daze.

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nHe instantly arrived in front of Shimura Kumiko and stretched out his right hand. His five fingers lit up with flames of various colors, and then he pressed his five fingers on Shimura Kumiko’s stomach.

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nThe seal was lifted.

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nHowever, Shimura Kumiko’s pain did not disappear. Instead, it became even worse.

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nShe fell to her knees, and her beautiful face contorted. Blood flowed out of her clenched fists, and her chest trembled uncontrollably as her blouse became unbuttoned.

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nWhen her cleavage was revealed by her body’s uncontrollable trembling, these Upper rank clan members would probably not be able to withstand the temptation under normal circumstances. Shimura Kumiko was the number one beauty in Osaka City, and everyone wanted to be intimate with her.

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nBut now, no one had any such thoughts. The Upper rank members corresponded to those at the warrior realm who had mastered the transformation of internal force, but now, they were facing the spirit at the peak of the warrior realm that was living in Shimura Kumiko’s body.

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nSeeing this, the head of the clan, Shimura Takashi, took the initiative to release his aura to suppress the spirit.

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nAfter a few anxiety-inducing minutes, the spirit in Shimura Kumiko’s body finally calmed down and did not riot.

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nShimura Kumiko was drenched in sweat and she let out a deep breath. “I almost thought I was going to die.”

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nThe method of sealing a spirit was undoubtedly a provocation to the spirits that only had unstable emotions.

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nFortunately, all the higher-ups of the clan were gathered here. Their combined strength was stronger than the spirit in her body. Coupled with some good luck, it ended without any further incident.

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nShimura Takashi took a deep breath and said with a serious expression, “Kumiko, stay in the clan from now on. Don’t take any abnormal actions.”

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n“Understood,” Shimura Kumiko replied.

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nThe presence of Asou Nishiko made these large clans not dare to feign civility. As an Upper rank member, Shimura Kumiko had been hiding her identity as the clan’s pillar very well.

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nHowever, as a member of the clan’s higher-ups, her whereabouts could be traced easily. If she suddenly left the clan, it meant that there was something amiss.

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nHowever, even if they managed to protect one of their sacrificial spirits, the other two spirits had already been transferred to the shrine. It was still very painful for the Shimura clan.

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nJust as the higher-ups of the Shimura clan heaved a sigh of relief, a Sword Aura appeared out of thin air and stabbed straight into Shimura Kumiko’s chest.

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nThis sudden development made the members of the Shimura clan tremble as they looked towards the source of the Sword Aura.

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nThey only saw Chen Yiming and Asou Nishiko chatting as they walked further and further away.

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