Chapter 104 The Treasure Presentation Storm

Upon hearing these words, Abbot Haneda's previously aggressive Aura of questioning immediately withered away.

How could he dare to challenge Abe Kusuku? He had only been shouting along earlier because he saw Tsuchimikado Yeyasu standing at the front.

Having no other choice, Abbot Haneda turned his gaze toward Tsuchimikado Yeyasu for help, but Tsuchimikado Yeyasu was currently focused on his own breathing, seemingly oblivious to the gaze Abbot Haneda was casting his way.

Abbot Haneda then looked toward the other two great monk masters, Great Master Fujiwara Ki and Great Master Hongyi.

Fujiwara Ki deliberated for a moment before speaking: "Chief Priest, our main purpose today is to awaken the God of Fushimi Inari; it would be best not to create further complications at this moment."

Hearing Fujiwara Ki speak, Abe Kusuku let out a cold snort and simply let the matter drop.

Fujiwara Ki's status was quite extraordinary. Not only was he the Sect Master and Abbot of one of the top temples in the island nation, but he was also an elder of the Fujiwara Family, possessing significant influence in both the cultivation world and the imperial court.

Of course, most importantly, unlike Abbot Haneda, Fujiwara Ki possessed extremely high cultivation; even Abe Kusuku might not necessarily be his match without using his Shikigami.

Everyone fell silent, waiting for the practitioner from China to enter and see what his purpose was.

Meanwhile, Yamamoto Ryuzo, sitting in the corner, had vaguely guessed the intentions of Jiang Chen and his companion.

After all, he had just obtained a Magical Artifact from China from his subordinates that afternoon.

And it was one with astonishing power.

In modern times, many manufacturing techniques and methods for creating Magical Artifacts have been lost.

Currently in the island nation, the most famous technique involves using the Killing Stone left behind when the Abe Family gathered all the Yin and Yang masters and numerous deities to Seal the White-Faced Golden Fox.

However, at most, they can only forge first or second-tier Magical Artifacts.

Yet this Magical Artifact seized from China, based on his experience, must be at least a third-tier Magical Artifact!

However, he did not intend to keep the sword he had seized for himself.

There is an old Chinese saying: "An innocent man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is his crime." He understood this principle well.

Therefore, he planned to present this treasure to Abe Kusuku in exchange for an opportunity to enter the Ise Grand Shrine to Cultivate.

That was the place closest to Takamagahara.

...

A moment later, everyone saw two men walking in from outside the hall, led by an attendant.

Everyone's gaze was immediately drawn to the person leading them.

This person was tall and handsome, and even while facing the scrutiny of the crowd, he remained calm and composed.

He was wearing casual clothing, which seemed completely out of place with everyone else's kimonos and hunting robes, yet at this moment, it looked as if everyone else had become his backdrop.

On the other hand, the person behind him, although forcing himself to appear calm, could be seen bluffing by everyone at a glance.

The person leading was naturally Jiang Chen. Jiang Chen glanced at the seating arrangements, walked to a spot near the front on his own, and sat down leisurely.

Seeing this, Jia He followed behind and sat down next to Jiang Chen.

Seeing Jiang Chen's attitude, everyone glared at him in anger.

But they all knew this was Abe Kusuku's home turf; how to treat Jiang Chen and his companion depended on Abe Kusuku's attitude.

Abe Kusuku was also slightly angry, especially when he saw Jia He's Face; he recognized at once that this kid was the guy from the surveillance footage.

This meant that these two were the culprits behind the Yasukuni Shrine tragedy.

Thinking of this, a slight chill crept into Abe Kusuku's heart.

"On this festive occasion, the two of you have come from China; have you come to observe the ceremony?"

Jiang Chen glanced at Jia He. Jia He immediately puffed out his chest and pulled in his stomach, mentally rehearsing his speech before deliberately raising his volume:

"We are Disciples of the Maoshan Sect from China. This is my Junior Martial Uncle, Jiang Chen. The Yamamoto Family of your country took something from China that they shouldn't have, and we have come specifically to retrieve it!"

Upon hearing this, Abe Kusuku turned his head to glance at Yamamoto Ryuzo in the corner.

Yamamoto Ryuzo had originally been sitting quietly in the corner, trying to be invisible, but seeing Abe Kusuku's slightly gloomy gaze glance over, he was nearly scared out of his wits.

They say the Yamamoto Family are retainers of the Abe Family—that is the polite way to put it. To put it bluntly, the Yamamoto Family is just a dog of the Abe Family!

Now, because of his own actions, he had displeased his master. One could easily imagine what kind of treatment the Yamamoto Family would Face once this matter was settled.

He was terrified out of his wits and hurriedly searched his mind for a countermeasure.

Either he could present that Chinese Magical Artifact to Abe Kusuku right now and insist that it was his Family heirloom.

If Abe Kusuku was satisfied with this Magical Artifact, he would naturally forgive his recklessness.

Or, he could pretend to know nothing right now and flatly deny the matter regarding China.

As for handing over the Magical Artifact, that was impossible. Doing so would not only damage Abe Kusuku's Face but also confirm the Yamamoto Family's act of theft.

Although theft was common among the Yin and Yang families in the island nation, everyone kept it an unspoken secret. If it were spoken aloud, wouldn't that be admitting their shamelessness?

However, Yamamoto Ryuzo thought again: if he didn't present the Magical Artifact to Abe Kusuku in public right now, considering Abe Kusuku's petty nature, he would likely deny the whole thing afterward.

By then, he would have suffered a double loss!

Thinking of this, Yamamoto Ryuzo gritted his teeth and stood up.

"Your Excellency is also a practitioner; how dare you tell such blatant lies! Are you not afraid of disgracing the national dignity?"

"My Yamamoto Family acts with integrity; we would never stoop to stealing from others!"

Yamamoto Ryuzo said this with high-sounding words, his hair standing on end in anger and indignation, leaving Jia He stunned.

He had never seen such a shameless person!

Meanwhile, some of the other families seemed to be infected by Yamamoto Ryuzo's emotions, and they now glared angrily at Jiang Chen.

"That's right! We men of the island nation would never stoop to stealing from other countries!"

"Exactly, China is truly a disgrace to the title of a land of etiquette; only our Yamato people deserve that title!"

Seeing that everyone's passion was hard to suppress, Yamamoto Ryuzo was secretly pleased, and then he struck while the iron was hot.

He opened the wooden box beside him and took out a long, slender sword attached to a scabbard, pitch-black all over, with no obvious guard.

"Chief Priest, today is a festive banquet. Ryuzo is filled with fear and trepidation, and I specially present this Shikigami Sword, which has been passed down in the Yamamoto Family for a thousand years, to you."

At this moment, the eyes of those who were originally angrily denouncing Jiang Chen changed instantly.

They all looked at Yamamoto Ryuzo and the long sword in his hand with complex expressions.

Now, even the dullest person understood what was going on.

Being so eager to present a treasure, it was clearly an attempt to shift the blame!

Abe Kusuku naturally understood this principle, but as he looked at that long sword Magical Artifact, he really couldn't take his eyes off it.

The grade of this long sword was so high that it was rare in his lifetime; it was probably not much weaker than the Kikyo Seal passed down by his Abe Family.

And most importantly, this was a sword used for killing, and Abe Kusuku just happened to be a master of the Ten-Shin Sword Dao school.

Seeing this sword now, he was already somewhat tempted.

(To be continued tomorrow)