(TL/N: I would like to announce that this book has officially been completed in my patreon. Thank you all for the support. The chapter update will still be 1 chapter daily until we hit the last one.)
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After obtaining the Divine Persona Mask, (TL/N: Also translated as Faith Mask. I forgot which chapter he got it lol. But it's been a long time.)
Su Han had once used the power of the Knight of Boreas to battle Abyss monsters.
The results had been excellent.
Later, he obtained permission from Zhongli and Venti and absorbed a great deal of their faith.
In truth, it was only a matter of informing them.
Although Su Han could have secretly drawn upon it, their relationship was already so good that letting them know was no trouble at all.
When the mask completely covered Su Han's face,
A brilliant golden light burst wildly from his body.
Its radiance tore through the night.
The entire sky was turned into daylight.
The usually expressionless Shogun finally reacted.
Feeling the vast and familiar aura emanating from the golden light, she frowned.
"This feeling... is it the Rex Lapis of Liyue?"
The golden light gradually faded.
Su Han stood clad in a white robe, holding a dark golden spear.
An endless aura surged from his body.
Matching that aura was the strength of Rex Lapis himself.
"Although it's merely a manifestation created through divine fire and the power of faith, it truly possesses the power of Rex Lapis."
He had obtained one hundred percent of Rex Lapis's power.
Though it would only last twenty minutes.
Defeating the Shogun before him should be more than enough.
"I'm coming."
Su Han shouted softly.
Countless golden lights began gathering above his head.
When the light finally condensed,
A dense storm of stone spears descended toward the Shogun.
"Even Rex Lapis cannot obstruct Eternity!"
Facing the rain-like barrage of stone spears,
The Shogun let out a thunderous roar.
Musou Isshin left its sheath.
A violet slash shot toward the heavens.
A large number of stone spears were shattered by the attack.
But how terrifying was the power of Rex Lapis?
The quality of these stone spears, as well as the sealing power attached to them, far surpassed anything the Shogun could match.
Although that strike destroyed countless spears, more continued to fall relentlessly.
"His power is really this great?"
The Shogun immediately unleashed a second slash.
Then a third.
Then a fourth.
Only after four consecutive strikes did she finally destroy every stone spear above her.
Standing in the air, Su Han made no further moves.
Instead, he looked at the Shogun and said,
"Is this all your Eternity amounts to?"
"Don't get carried away."
The Shogun stubbornly replied.
But at that moment, the sky suddenly split apart.
A stone spear the size of an island hurtled toward her.
The clouds shattered.
The sea trembled.
In the distance, Kamisato Ayato no longer knew how to describe what he was witnessing.
A battle of this level was not something mortals could participate in.
Although he had no idea how Su Han had obtained such terrifying power, one thing was certain.
The Shogun was going to lose.
"What will happen afterward?"
Ayato rapidly considered the possibilities.
Given Su Han's style, he would likely seek to completely eliminate the problem.
Otherwise, as long as the Shogun remained, she would continue to threaten Inazuma's future.
But if she were destroyed outright, the Almighty would lose her place of residence.
Facing the enormous stone spear descending from above,
A trace of emotion finally appeared in the Shogun's calm eyes.
It was an emotion born from the deepest part of the soul.
The feeling all living beings experienced when facing death.
Fear.
Though countless thoughts flashed through her mind,
The Shogun still refused to sit and wait for death.
She gripped her blade tightly and gathered every ounce of power within her body before slashing toward the stone spear.
This strike was even more terrifying than the one she had used to slay Orobashi.
Meanwhile, within the Plane of Euthymia,
Ei calmly chose not to seize control of the body.
In her eyes, this was exactly the kind of situation they would truly face in the future.
Since the Shogun claimed to embody Eternity itself,
Then let her see whether that Eternity could endure before the strongest god of war.
Even at her peak,
Ei had never been able to defeat Rex Lapis.
The massive stone spear descended head-on.
A violet slash illuminated the night sky.
Like a river of stars cutting through darkness,
It illuminated the entire ocean while attempting to destroy the island-sized spear.
The outermost layers of rock were shattered.
Countless fragments plunged into the sea.
However,
The authority of Rex Lapis was not simply about throwing rocks at people.
The stone spear contained his understanding of power and his sealing authority.
How powerful was Azhdaha?
How powerful was Osial, the Overlord of the Vortex?
Yet both had ultimately been suppressed.
The slash continued pushing forward,
But its speed gradually slowed.
"It'll probably stop after destroying about fifty percent."
After transforming into Rex Lapis,
Su Han's perception had been enhanced to an unbelievable level.
His judgment of the Shogun's capabilities was exceptionally accurate.
And reality unfolded exactly as he predicted.
After destroying half of the stone spear,
The slash vanished completely.
At that moment,
The victor had already been decided.
"Shogun, do you admit defeat?"
"Impossible!"
Lightning flashed.
Holding Musou Isshin, the Shogun suddenly appeared behind Su Han.
That previous strike had slowed the descent of the stone spear.
She had used the opportunity to escape.
The moment she appeared, she swung her blade without hesitation.
Su Han folded his arms.
He did not even bother dodging.
Instead, he merely shook his head and sighed.
"A completely useless attack. Unbreakable as bedrock."
Golden light enveloped him.
The slash arrived instantly.
Yet it had absolutely no effect.
Su Han turned around.
His golden eyes calmly gazed at the Shogun.
Then he asked once more,
"This is the Eternity you speak of?"
"Even childish dreams must eventually come to an end."
"Generally speaking, you cannot even defeat me, let alone the real Rex Lapis. You are equally powerless against the Heavenly Principles."
"Oh, and one more thing."
"You already lost long ago."
The Shogun stared at him coldly.
"What makes you say that?"
Su Han smiled faintly.
Looking at Musou Isshin, now coated in Haki, he said leisurely,
"You claim to be the guardian of Eternity, yet you're using a technique created by humans. Is this your argument that mortals are useless?"
"Or perhaps even Eternity must learn and progress with the times?"
Those words struck directly at the heart.
If she truly embodied Eternity, then why was she using Haki, a technique Su Han had taught Ei?
Why wasn't she relying solely on the martial path she had pursued for the last five hundred years?
On this point alone,
The Shogun had no answer.
Because she possessed Ei's memories.
She knew perfectly well that without Haki,
Su Han would have completely overwhelmed her.
Within the Plane of Euthymia,
Ei burst into laughter upon hearing Su Han's devastating argument.
Raising her head, she addressed the Shogun.
"Well? Do you still intend to keep fighting?"
"In terms of strength, you're already inferior to Su Han."
"And I already told you, if you can't defeat Rex Lapis, don't even talk about Eternity."
"Or perhaps if you truly want Eternity, you should lock yourself inside your house and ignore everyone forever."
"But we are gods. Humans continue learning and growing while we remain standing still. Is that what you call Eternity?"
Ei waited for the Shogun's response.
Today's outburst had actually been intentional.
The Shogun's convictions were unshakable.
No matter how hard Ei tried suppressing her, she could never change her thinking.
If this continued,
It would be disastrous for Inazuma.
So Ei had chosen to let the Shogun make a scene.
She wanted to see how Su Han would persuade such a stubborn puppet.
However,
Even after waiting a long time,
The Shogun gave no reply.
Looking at the completely sealed Plane of Euthymia,
Ei smiled disdainfully.
What did it matter if she refused to answer?
In the end, she was still afraid.
Outside,
The Shogun remained silent for a moment before drawing her sword again.
She had already realized her own flaws.
Yet the rules engraved into her from the moment of her creation prevented her from admitting she was wrong.
Seeing that the Shogun remained hopelessly stubborn,
Su Han finally lost interest in continuing.
"If you want to die, then I'll grant your wish."
Golden light erupted within his eyes.
Though his transformation still had time remaining,
He had no intention of fighting the Shogun for another five hundred years.
This battle needed to end quickly.
Having learned from earlier experience,
Su Han did not immediately unleash a finishing move.
Instead, he chose close-quarters combat.
Whether in the three forms of Haki or physical strength,
He now vastly surpassed the Shogun.
His spear struck with irresistible force.
Musou Isshin was knocked flying.
Then Su Han's hand landed on the Shogun's abdomen.
"Down you go."
The Gravity Fruit activated.
An overwhelming gravitational force instantly slammed the Shogun toward the ground.
Afterward,
Countless stone spears rained down.
And it still wasn't over.
Following the relentless assault,
Su Han no longer held back.
Using all the remaining power of his transformation,
He condensed six terrifying spears.
"Go."
Locked onto the target below,
The spears descended at astonishing speed.
The entire ocean erupted into waves hundreds of meters high.
Several new islands appeared upon the sea.
"That should do it."
The transformation ended.
Floating in the air, Su Han panted heavily.
Even with the power of Rex Lapis,
Controlling such strength demanded immense effort.
Still, faced with an attack this terrifying,
The Shogun should have no means of resistance left.
Deep beneath the sea,
The Shogun had been suppressed.
Without Musou Isshin,
And with her body sealed by that vast and overwhelming power,
Escape was theoretically possible.
But it would require a very long time.
Conservatively speaking,
At least ten years.
The reason the duration was so short was simple.
Su Han's power was borrowed.
Even though he temporarily gained Rex Lapis's strength, he was not Rex Lapis himself.
The gap in understanding was enormous.
Being able to seal her for this long was already remarkable.
The Shogun attempted to move.
Unfortunately,
She could not even lift a single finger.
At that moment, she thought of Ei.
"Where are you?"
"Oh? Now you remember me."
Ei's voice sounded amused.
"Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about this situation."
She was not joking.
The power of Rex Lapis was terrifying.
Once sealed by it, escaping was no easy matter.
However,
The Shogun could hear a trace of schadenfreude in her tone.
It irritated her greatly.
But given her current situation, she had no choice but to ask for help.
After a long silence, she finally said,
"Help me. Then we'll leave together."
"Hey, are you dreaming?"
"Help you get out and fight Su Han again?"
"Or help you continue causing trouble?"
"I've already stopped competing for the body. After all, you just lost Musou Isshin."
"You..."
The Shogun's expression changed dramatically.
Only then did she realize something.
Ei resided within the Plane of Euthymia.
But the Plane of Euthymia had just been knocked out.
Which meant Ei had already separated from the body.
She had never been sealed.
"Realized it now?"
Ei laughed.
"What a shame. Since you're unwilling to accept progress, you can stay sealed beneath the sea."
"Without that body, I can always make another one."
"And here's some bad news."
"Su Han obtained an incredible treasure called the Divine Tree Fruit."
"It can create a body even more perfect than yours, and it won't possess self-awareness."
"So, goodbye."
Click.
The connection between them was severed.
Above the stone spears,
Ei muttered softly.
Then she opened her eyes and smiled at Su Han.
"Thank you so much this time."
"At first, I thought I could debate her."
"But I eventually realized she was truly stubborn."
"This is also my fault."
"I pursued Eternity alone and forgot about humanity and progress."
When speaking of Eternity,
Ei could not help apologizing.
After all, this mess had been created by her own hands.
But things would be different from now on.
After this setback,
Her state of mind had advanced tremendously.
At the very least, her understanding of conviction had improved countless times over.
Su Han shook his head.
"It's nothing. We're friends."
"However, there's something we should clarify first."
"The Divine Tree Fruit is only a backup plan. There's a very high chance I won't be able to use it for you."
Although he did not know why the Great Lord Rukkhadevata needed to be revived,
He was certain there was an important reason.
So he felt obligated to warn Ei.
"Relax."
Ei replied indifferently.
"I was only teasing the Shogun."
She fully agreed with Su Han's drowning theory.
So she wanted to use this opportunity to test the Shogun.
If she remained sealed away with nobody speaking to her and nobody communicating with her,
Would she eventually change?
It was an interesting experiment.
As for a body,
Ei was not particularly concerned.
As long as Musou Isshin remained, she could stay inside it and recover whenever she wished.
After hearing her explanation,
Su Han finally relaxed.
As long as she wasn't in a hurry, everything was fine.
The battle was over.
The sea had returned to calmness.
Carrying Musou Isshin, Su Han returned to Mt. Yougou.
The moment he arrived,
Kamisato Ayato stepped forward anxiously.
"My lord, the Shogun..."
"Already sealed beneath the sea."
Su Han pulled out a chair and collapsed into it.
Today's battle had exhausted him.
Especially after fighting the Shogun.
He was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open.
As he reclined in the chair, his eyelids grew heavier.
But Ayato remained deeply anxious.
Squatting before Su Han, he tried his best to remain calm.
"My lord, what should we do next?"
"What about the Almighty Narukami Ogosho?"
"And how should we explain all of this?"
A battle between gods was no trivial matter.
There had to be an official explanation.
Su Han yawned and tossed Musou Isshin toward him.
He had been about to say that this was the Electro Archon.
Unexpectedly,
Musou Isshin spun through the air and returned to his hand.
Su Han stared blankly.
"Hm? What are you trying to do?"
Ayato blinked innocently.
"My lord, I'm only worried."
"I wasn't talking to you."
Su Han waved him away impatiently.
At that moment,
Ei's voice emerged from Musou Isshin.
"Yae Miko is handling government affairs, and my body has been sealed. I want to stay by your side and observe things for a while."
"Observe what?"
"When I traveled outside before, I was always surrounded by countless Shogunate soldiers."
"Every citizen I passed immediately knelt."
"I couldn't experience any enjoyment at all."
"Both Kitsune Saiguu and Yae Miko always said the streets were the most interesting places."
"But every time I visited, everything was terribly boring."
At that moment,
Ayato finally understood.
The person inside the sword was the Shogun herself.
He immediately dropped to his knees and no longer dared interrupt.
Su Han opened his eyes.
Suddenly,
He realized this might actually be a good opportunity.
In the past,
Ei had been a god.
Traveling outside brought countless inconveniences.
Allowing her to interact closely with ordinary people now might not be a bad thing.
"That's fine."
"Actually, I have an idea."
Looking at the kneeling Ayato, Su Han said to Ei,
"Yae Miko alone will definitely be overwhelmed handling government affairs."
"This young man here seems quite capable."
"How about establishing an organization of ten people?"
Constantly burdening the fox would inevitably make her resentful.
It would be better to create something similar to the Liyue Qixing.
With Yae Miko and Kamisato Ayato overseeing things,
There should be no problems in the short term.
As for the future,
Professionals could be trained gradually.
Hearing this,
Ayato raised his head.
Then Ei's voice spoke.
"A member of the Kamisato Clan?"
"A loyal and righteous retainer who has never committed any major error."
"If you're recommending him, then I have no objections."
"This servant obeys."
Before Su Han could even speak,
Ayato immediately accepted the order.
Su Han looked at him approvingly.
Now that was a smart man.
After all discussions concluded,
He was truly exhausted.
Soon he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
As for Kitsune Saiguu's issue,
His Observation Haki had been monitoring everything all along.
There was no need to worry.
The next day,
The people and yokai of Inazuma were buzzing with discussion.
Officially, however, the events of the previous night were described as:
The Electro Archon sparring with a friend.
Although that was not exactly what had happened,
The authorities had issued the announcement, and Yae Miko was personally overseeing the matter.
Naturally, nobody dared question it.
The only exception was Kujou Sara, who refused to let the matter go.
Already overwhelmed with work,
The fox finally snapped and complained,
"Isn't it because your Electro Archon wanted to slack off? If you're looking for her, go to Mt. Yougou. Why does everyone keep making decisions without warning? Seriously..."
Half an hour later,
Su Han had just awakened when he saw Kujou Sara kneeling respectfully before Musou Isshin.
"Kanrei-sama, you've awakened?"
"Mm. You're certainly loyal."
She truly never left Ei's side.
As expected of a die-hard loyalist.
Kujou Sara smiled faintly.
"As a retainer, this is my duty."
"Wherever the Shogun goes, I go."
Su Han yawned and shook his head.
"Unfortunately, you can't accompany us this time."
"Why not?"
Kujou Sara could not understand.
Even without a body, surely the Shogun could still use her help.
At that moment,
Ei's voice emerged and explained her plan.
Kujou Sara's expression became troubled.
For a moment, she did not know what to do.
Fortunately, Su Han stepped in.
"Training the soldiers is equally important."
"If you follow us around, it might actually have a negative effect."
"Why not focus on the responsibilities you should be handling?"
"...Very well."
After struggling internally for quite some time,
Kujou Sara finally agreed.
However, she insisted that she would return every evening without fail.
And if Ei needed anything,
She must be informed immediately.
Otherwise,
It would be a retainer's failure in duty.