"This is?!"
Genichiro stared in shock at the various lights that lit up on his body. In the next second, an indescribable power instantly filled his entire being.
The surging mysterious power even made him feel as if his body no longer belonged to him.
Only after stacking over a dozen magic circles on Genichiro did Xia Yu stop.
After all, this was his older brother who had taken good care of him when they were young. There was no drama of brothers killing each other for status, so Xia Yu had a decent impression of Genichiro.
Although in the game, Scum-ichiro had kept him stuck for over two days, and he only managed to pass after watching a strategy video by the Bilibili content creator Lao Dai.
But back then, the two were enemies in a game, so there was no need to take it to heart; he could distinguish between games and reality.
"Yu, is this Onmyodo?"
Genichiro clenched his fist; he felt as if he could kill a Blazing Bull with a single punch right now.
"That's right." Xia Yu nodded solemnly. "This is Onmyodo. I've just inscribed Onmyodo formulas on you to boost your strength. You are now a Superman."
"Superman?" Genichiro looked puzzled. "What kind of person is a Superman?"
"A human who surpasses ordinary people." Xia Yu rolled his eyes. Why did Genichiro seem a bit dim-witted? "Words are useless. You'll know once you spar with me."
"This..."
Hearing Xia Yu's suggestion, Genichiro hesitated. Based on his understanding of Xia Yu, if his younger brother could lie down, he would never sit; if he could sit, he would never stand; if he could stand, he would never walk; and if he could walk, he would never run.
He remembered the other's solemn life motto clearly: moving even a little is exhausting, and eating one bite less is starving.
When they were children, he had tried to drag him to run and practice swordsmanship, but he never once succeeded. Later, when the other showed a talent for intellect, he finally let him be.
Now, Xia Yu was actually inviting him to a duel. Although the other had learned mysterious Onmyodo, he was still somewhat skeptical.
Seeing Genichiro's hesitation, how could Xia Yu not know what he was thinking? His teeth instantly itched with annoyance. Since the other still saw him as a little brother, he wouldn't hold back.
"My foolish onii-san, feel the pain."
Xia Yu tilted his head back and squinted his eyes, wearing the arrogant expression of a younger brother looking down on his elder.
Being looked at like that, Genichiro's hesitation turned into a daze, and then he laughed out of anger. Fine, it seemed his brother had grown up and needed a lesson.
Since he had been provoked, Genichiro didn't hesitate. He stood up somewhat unsteadily; his physical attributes had suddenly skyrocketed, and he currently had trouble controlling them.
However, with each step forward, his unsteady gait gradually stabilized. By the time he reached the wooden sword on the wall, he had completely steadied himself.
"Come, Yu, let me see how strong you are now!"
Genichiro took two wooden swords off the wall and casually tossed one to Xia Yu.
Xia Yu reached out and caught it, taking a high-guard stance. He would let Genichiro understand the meaning of absurd swordsmanship.
The atmosphere in the room instantly became solemn. Xia Yu suddenly felt a sense of nostalgia, as if he had returned to the moment he played the game.
Back then, he had been beaten by Scum-ichiro into a state of impotent rage and could only desperately look up strategies. But how could he have imagined that he would now be fighting the real Genichiro?
However, one thing was different from the game: Genichiro didn't start by firing an arrow. After all, he was still wearing casual clothes right now.
"Hah!"
Genichiro gave a low shout, lowered his body, and burst forward, thrusting toward Xia Yu.
The buffed Genichiro was incredibly fast, his thrusting form almost a blur. Even his own face showed amazement, as if he hadn't expected his speed to be so great.
But in Xia Yu's eyes, this speed was child's play. He was currently thinking whether to use the old method, the Mikiri Counter, or just a simple parry to break his balance.
No, since he was going to use absurd swordsmanship, it had to be even more ridiculous.
With that thought, Xia Yu stopped his Accelerated Thinking. The flow of time, which had slowed down like bullet time, instantly returned to normal, and Genichiro's thrust was right before his eyes.
To this, Xia Yu neither dodged nor avoided; he gently thrust out the wooden sword in his hand. For an instant, time seemed to stand still.
In Genichiro's eyes, the trajectory of the wooden sword was so clear that he could even see the grain on the wood despite its slowness.
Yet he couldn't dodge it at all. This strike seemed to have derailed from the world; it was a completely incomprehensible level of swordsmanship.
*Clack~*
The tips of the two wooden swords collided, and a soft force traveled up from the sword. Genichiro came to a halt under this soft force, looking at the wooden sword in his hand in a daze.
The wooden sword had no damage at all. Clearly, with his strength, it wouldn't be surprising if the wooden sword shattered into pieces. This only meant that Xia Yu was even stronger than he had imagined.
"I lose."
Genichiro felt a bit dejected, but he wasn't a sore loser and readily admitted defeat. He hadn't expected his lazy brother to be so much stronger than him now.
Just as Genichiro was lamenting, Xia Yu suddenly covered one eye with his hand and tilted his head high.
"My foolish brother... if you want to possess this power, then harbor hatred! Resent me! And then live on in ugliness!"
"..."
Looking at the suddenly chuunibyou Xia Yu, Genichiro was dumbfounded. This... should he resent his brother for defeating him? Did he, Genichiro, have so little caliber in the other's eyes?
Seeing Genichiro's dumbfounded expression, Xia Yu deeply practiced the philosophy that 'as long as I'm not embarrassed, the embarrassment belongs to others.' Thus, he casually tossed the wooden sword aside and spoke.
"Alright, the test is over. The Interior Ministry is still having skirmishes with us at the border, right?"
Hmm, a perfect pivot from the previous topic. He really was clever.
Hearing this, Genichiro also became serious. "That's right. The Interior Ministry seems to know that Grandfather's body is failing. Our skirmishes are growing more frequent. I'm afraid it won't be long before they start their move."
"I see..." Xia Yu pondered for a moment. Although he could buff all the Ashina soldiers, that would be too time-consuming. Was there a better way?
Right, the spells from clash of clans!
Xia Yu had a flash of inspiration and thought of the spells from clash of clans. These spells were meant for troops anyway, so they were perfect for the Ashina soldiers.
With that thought, Xia Yu pulled out one spell potion after another from behind him: Healing, Rage, Haste, Poison, and Earthquake.
Healing goes without saying; Rage can boost morale and combat power; Haste can increase speed; and both Poison and Earthquake are highly effective against groups, capable of mowing down large swaths of the Interior Ministry's army.
Moreover, these spell potions didn't have exaggerated special effects like Lightning, Freeze, Skeleton, or Bat.
After taking out the spell potions, Xia Yu introduced the effects of each one, and Genichiro's eyes grew brighter and brighter as he listened.
"Great! With these magical potions, we are sure to win."
At this point, Genichiro looked at Xia Yu and said seriously, "Thank you, Yu. On behalf of all of Ashina, I sincerely thank you for being here."
"Hehe, if you really want to thank me, then help me find the immortal severance." Xia Yu chuckled.
"immortal severance? What is that?"
"The old man knows. When you go to see him later, just ask him."
"I understand." Genichiro promised with a serious expression. "I will definitely help you find the immortal severance!"