Chapter 203: Public Opinion

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“Is this the end?” someone asked in a daze.

The person next to him turned his head, wanting to answer his comrade’s question.

He had just opened his mouth when he was forcefully interrupted by Minamoto Nagatoku’s voice.

“Long live the Shinto Lord!” Without any of the矜持of a Kyoto noble, he shouted with fanaticism.

“Long live the Shinto Lord!” In the next moment, all those who were close to the Honshu Shinto Lord shouted in unison.

“Long live the Shinto Lord! Long live the Shinto Lord!” By the third and fourth shouts, it was already a mountain of cheers and a tsunami.

Itomi Sayaka recovered from the shock of the yokai being eliminated and looked at the religious scene in front of her.

She couldn’t imagine that the frivolous young man who had said, ‘Boss, you give me 100 yen, and I guarantee I’ll reduce your troubles by 100 yen,’ at their first meeting, had become so amazing in just over half a year.

“Buzz~~,” the phone in her coat pocket vibrated.

She withdrew her thoughts, covered her other ear, and said loudly, “Hello?!”

“Sayaka… use…”

“What?! Louder?!”

“…look…”

The call ended.

In the next moment, the phone vibrated again. This time it was a message.

“Tell Ashiya Doman that I want these few remnants. As compensation, I will exchange them with remnants of equal value…”

“What Shinto Lord, long live?!”

Itomi Sayaka suddenly raised her head and looked towards the source of the voice.

This shrill cry, in the fanatical religious ceremony in front of her, was like a stone protruding from a waterfall.

“Why didn’t you act sooner!” the person let out a shrill wail and cry, holding a peeled head in his arms.

In another part of the mountain forest, where the sun could not shine, some people had lost their arms, and some were lying on the ground, their thighs broken at the root.

In the fanatical shouts, no one heard their voices.

Itomi Sayaka immediately put away her phone and flew towards Ashiya Doman, who had been in deep thought since just now.

She had to tell Minamoto Kiyomoto about this situation.

Minamoto Kiyohiro stood coldly outside the crowd, looking at the people who were burning like a bonfire.

“Lord Kiyohiro.”

He turned his head to look. It was the sealing master.

“Such power must not be controlled by a human who can think and has feelings,” the sealing master looked directly into his eyes.

“I’m not interested in pacifism,” Minamoto Kiyohiro said coldly. “As long as you can help me master the Suzaku flute, I can agree to one of your conditions.”

“That’s enough,” the sealing master showed a smile that definitely did not belong to a pacifist.

Itomi Sayaka took the “North Star” and the remains of the mountain giant and flew back to Tokyo.

It was still snowing in Tokyo. On the way up to the shrine, everyone around was discussing Minamoto Kiyomoto’s blow just now.

Not only the people who participated in the subjugation and the Tokyo Daijingu, but the three-colored divine light that cut through the sky, like an aurora surging in the sky, was witnessed by all the practitioners along the way.

Everyone admired Minamoto Kiyomoto’s strength, but Itomi Sayaka saw a crisis.

After walking up the steps and reaching the top of the mountain, she looked in the snow. Minamoto Kiyomoto was in deep thought in the Coral Hall, sometimes writing furiously. It was a quiet scene.

When she walked into the main hall, Minamoto Kiyomoto raised his head and said with a smile, “Thank you for your hard work.”

“Hmm,” Itomi Sayaka handed him the sword and the remains.

Minamoto Kiyomoto pointed at the desk with the pen in his hand, gesturing for her to put it there.

After putting it down, Itomi Sayaka did not leave. She asked, “You can do this kind of thing. Why didn’t you act sooner? Why didn’t you give the sword to the people who participated in the subjugation in advance?”

“Did you see someone injured?” Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t raise his head.

“Hmm,” Itomi Sayaka nodded. “I’m not doubting you. I’m worried that these people will have resentment towards you.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t answer. The pen in his hand sped up and finished neatly.

After approving this document, he put down his pen.

“Yoko.”

Yoko, who was guarding outside the hall, walked in, collected the approved documents, and distributed them to the various departments.

Minamoto Kiyomoto stood up and sighed, “I also want to help them.”

“Is there some restriction?” Itomi Sayaka looked at him with confusion in her eyes.

“Hmm.”

The two of them walked to the front of the main hall and looked at the snowflakes falling outside the hall door.

“The Coral Demon Moth needs a process to absorb divine energy. I’ve only fused with 70% of it now. Every time I absorb divine energy or divine power, it’s like forcing a person with mania to eat.”

“Then you shouldn’t have acted,” Itomi Sayaka frowned. “You saved people out of kindness, but you’ll be taken for granted. They’ll think you didn’t do enough, that you weren’t considerate enough.”

“They also advised me so.”

“Don’t talk about other women in front of me.”

“…”

Itomi Sayaka laughed twice.

“There are two reasons,” Minamoto Kiyomoto continued. “This yokai is very strong. Although there are masters like Ashiya Doman, casualties are still unavoidable.”

Itomi Sayaka nodded.

She said, “The defense is very high. It might let it get close to the town and slap the city.”

With the mountain giant’s three-thousand-meter-tall body and heavy power, this slap might lift a layer of the ground.

“What’s the other reason?” she asked again.

Minamoto Kiyomoto raised his hand, and the yokai remains on the desk flew into his palm.

The remains were very inconspicuous, like a small diamond-shaped clod of earth.

“These few remnants can help me subdue the ‘Mountain Wind Cave’ yokai.”

“Really?”

“I’m not sure if it’s true, but it’s worth a try,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

“Looking at you,” Itomi Sayaka laughed, “it’s not as simple as a try.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto also laughed, “Sayaka, you have to be careful. Some people will dislike me more and more.”

“Then you still sent me on a mission? What if I’m assassinated on the way?”

“I didn’t think that much at the time,” Minamoto Kiyomoto explained. “Among the people who participated in this subjugation, there are those who support me, those who have a grudge against me, and you, who have made mistakes in the past.”

“I understand what you mean,” Itomi Sayaka nodded in realization.

She turned her head to look at Minamoto Kiyomoto and said as if to confirm:

“You’re telling everyone in Honshu that you have enough power to protect your followers, enough power to eliminate your opponents, but you’re willing to give everyone a chance, just like me, a chance to become your follower.”

“As expected of my sister. You’re not just a simple sister,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a laugh.

“Simple? Sure enough, you like my sister more.”

“…Alright, I have something else to ask you for help with.”

“You’re not going on a business trip again, are you? I think it’s more important to stay by your side and protect you.”

“I think so too,” Minamoto Kiyomoto nodded. “So I’m just asking you to organize a press conference. The time is five days later, which is January 16th.”

“A press conference?”

“To explain why I didn’t act. Public opinion is very important.”

Itomi Sayaka was even more puzzled, “Then why not hold it now? Why wait five days?”

Minamoto Kiyomoto smiled and didn’t speak, holding the mountain giant’s remains in his hand, he raised it.

“…I find you a bit bad,” Itomi Sayaka said.

“Am I? It’s okay.”

“It’s okay. I like bad men.”

“Go and get busy, rich big sister.”

“By the way, I’m very curious about something. I know you don’t need money, but how much money do you have a month now?”

Minamoto Kiyomoto sighed, put his hands behind his back, and looked out of the hall.

“So much snow.”

“So much!”

“Ah, I said the wrong word. The snow is so clean.”

After Itomi Sayaka left, Minamoto Kiyomoto also ended his rest time, sat back at his desk, and continued to approve documents.

At night, he was busy digesting the mountain giant’s divine energy and trying to subdue the mountain wind cave. He only had the morning to cultivate.

“How long will it take to digest the mountain giant’s divine energy?” Kamibayashi Miko asked him at breakfast.

“A month.”

“A thankless task,” Himegami Izayoi commented.

Minamoto Kiyomoto nodded.

He didn’t need to deliberately replenish the Coral Demon Moth’s power. Doing so would waste time digesting it.

Of course, Tamahime, who had a compulsion to fill it up, was quite dissatisfied with this.

“And,” Himegami Izayoi continued to give instructions, “you’re a Shinto Lord now. Don’t think about showing off your personal power all day. That’s what a warrior does.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto nodded.

“Are you listening to me?”

“No,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a laugh. “I was thinking about my dead self.”

“Your dead self?” everyone looked at him.

“‘I am the lord of the world. The country is important. How can I, with the dignity of an emperor, show off the courage of a warrior?'”

Himegami Izayoi remembered.

At that time, the dead Minamoto Kiyomoto had indeed said this, and also said that she had been nagging him all day, saying it two hundred times a day.

“Humph!” she snatched the fried egg from Minamoto Kiyomoto’s plate.

When she snatched it, she was angry. When she ate it, her mouth was already smiling.

The next day, when Minamoto Kiyomoto arrived at the Tokyo Daijingu, Amatsumara had already rushed over from Kyushu and was waiting in the Coral Hall.

“Lord Tsukushi-no-Kimi,” Amatsumara still called him by his title in Kyoto.

“Thank you for rushing over. I need your help with something.”

“My lord, please feel free to command!”

Amatsumara was from Kyushu and, according to the rules, should obey the orders of the Kyushu Shinto Lord.

But Minamoto Kiyomoto was not an ordinary Honshu Shinto Lord. He was also the rumored next Lord of Kyoto.

Not to mention Amatsumara, even the Kyushu Shinto Lord himself would make a trip if Minamoto Kiyomoto needed him.

“Time is tight. I won’t waste words. You help me refine these few remnants into a divine artifact. The specific effects are written on this.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto handed him the prepared file.

Amatsumara opened it and read it carefully.

It was very detailed, and even wrote what it would be used for after it was refined.

The principle was probably: to fuse the remnants into one, and turn the capacity in the remnants into a seal. At that time, Minamoto Kiyomoto would seal the mountain wind cave in this divine artifact.

Amatsumara pondered for a long time and raised his head, “My lord, I am very willing to forge such a divine artifact, but sealing a shikigami is simple, sealing a yokai—”

“Don’t worry. I’ve already researched a new sealing spell, but an ordinary divine artifact can’t withstand this power. These few remnants are the divine energy of the mountain, which is just right for carrying the mountain wind.”

“My lord, there’s one more thing. This mountain wind cave is only a village-level yokai. Using a few such powerful town-level remnants to seal it… is too wasteful.”

“This is an attempt. The cost doesn’t matter. The meaning is important,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said. “At that time, you will introduce this divine artifact to everyone for me.”

“As you command!”

“Hahaha!” Minamoto Kiyomoto laughed. “Whether you can ‘obey the command’ depends on you!”

Amatsumara understood in his heart. The matter of sealing the yokai was indeed the key foundation for Minamoto Kiyomoto to become the lord of the world.

If he could do it well, in the future, when forging the ‘divine artifact of this world’, what resources, what spells, what manpower would he not have?
He might even be able to drive a few volcano yokai to be his furnace.

Amatsumara took the remnants, and also took the document with the Honshu Shinto Lord’s seal, went to the nearest volcano refining field, and began to forge the divine artifact.

Minamoto Kiyomoto wanted to go and see, but he couldn’t. He had to approve documents.

“Read. I’ve sent people over. Just coordinate and handle it.”

“Read. What’s the point of keeping this kind of person?”

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During this time, the news that the Honshu Shinto Lord was going to hold a press conference also spread rapidly in Japan.

There were press conferences in the real world, but this was the first time they had heard of one in the world of practitioners.

However, it was said that in other countries, press conferences in the world of practitioners had been held long ago.

Public opinion was something that someone would always occupy.

Time flew by. On January 16th, the Tokyo Daijingu was overcrowded.

In order to increase the number of seats, a circular, stepped stand was temporarily built.

“Nakamura, aren’t you from Shikoku? What are you doing in Honshu?”

“The Honshu Shinto Lord is also from our Shikoku!”

“I heard that people from every prefecture came to participate this time. Even people from Hokkaido came to join in the fun.”

“I wonder what will be said.”

The stand was very high. The highest point was even on the same level as the Coral Hall at the top of the mountain.

The place was not crowded. Yokai didn’t care about press conferences. They would appear when they should. Most of the people who came were practitioners who had already completed their subjugation missions for the first half of the year and had nothing else to do.

“Uncle Nagatoku, do you know what Kiyomoto-nii is going to say?” Minamoto Kiyomi also came.

“Just wait and see,” Minamoto Nagatoku had already gone up the mountain to pay his respects to Minamoto Kiyomoto before coming to the seat.

Minamoto Kiyomi stuck out her tongue and whispered to Minamoto Kiyone and Fujiwara Shino, planning where to go and play later.

“Silence!” Itomi Sayaka appeared at the top of the mountain and shouted down.

The roaring discussion gradually subsided and soon became quiet.

There were so many people, but the environment was so quiet. A silent noise rose in the hearts of the crowd.

Minamoto Kiyomoto walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the mountain.

“Everyone, thank you for coming to the first press conference.”

With the blessing of divine power, his voice clearly reached everyone’s ears.

In a corner of the stand, there was a group of people in the same uniform. They were students from the practitioner’s academy.

Including these students, many people looked at Minamoto Kiyomoto at the top of the mountain with fanatical eyes.

“Long live Lord Shinto!” someone suddenly raised his arm and shouted.

The voice was very abrupt.

But soon, someone immediately responded. In an instant, a mountain of cheers and a tsunami of voices shook the clouds in the sky.

Minamoto Kiyomi’s mouth was wide open. She said in surprise, “So many people follow Kiyomoto-nii!”

Minamoto Kiyone and Fujiwara Shino were also very surprised.

On the contrary, Minamoto Nagatoku, the Ichijo clan leader, the Fujiwara clan leader, and the others had no reaction.

In the almost eternal war with the yokai, who knows how many numb people were waiting for a figure to whom they could dedicate everything!

The appearance of Minamoto Kiyomoto satisfied the fantasies of these people and became their spiritual sustenance.

When the mountain of cheers subsided, Minamoto Kiyomoto continued to speak.

“At this press conference, I have a few things to tell everyone.”

“First, perhaps many people already know. Just five days ago, I killed a yokai in Yamanashi Prefecture in Tokyo…”

Before he could finish, there was another mountain of cheers.

Many people simply stood up and shouted towards the top of the mountain.

“I’m very sorry!” Minamoto Kiyomoto did not wait this time. His voice directly suppressed the cheers. “I really want to continue doing this and helping everyone!”

Only after he finished did the crowd restrain their emotions.

“But, I haven’t completely subdued the Coral Demon Moth yet!”

“It still firmly occupies a corner. It takes me a month to digest the divine energy of a town-level yokai!”

“During this month, besides handling affairs, I can only use the rest of my time to do this.”

“But as the Honshu Shinto Lord, as a practitioner, can I feel that this is hard, can I feel that it’s hard? No! I can’t!”

“This is what I should do!”

In the third mountain of cheers, Minamoto Kiyomoto promised loudly:
“From now on, besides the subjugation missions that I should undertake, every month, I will be here to help everyone once! The most dangerous time!”

“Long live Lord Shinto! Long live Lord Shinto!”

The shouts were too loud. Itomi Yuki, who was standing behind her sister, had to cover her ears.

Minamoto Kiyomoto raised his hand several times before the crowd would quiet down.

“Second, I want to expand the number of people, the number of people who can talk to me directly.”

“In the past, only the Kasen could contact me directly. Practitioners with more than thirty subjugations could contact me through the Kasen.”

“From today on, practitioners with more than thirty subjugations can bypass the Kasen and contact me directly.”

“I will also select two hundred people from the practitioners with less than thirty subjugations. These two hundred people can also contact me directly.”

“And the students of the practitioner’s academy, our future!”

Minamoto Kiyomoto pointed to the location of the practitioner’s academy. The students’ faces were all red, filled with fanaticism, and they were so excited they couldn’t control themselves.

“I will select one person from each class of each grade. These selected students can also send me letters directly!”

The low-level practitioners shouted loudly, wishing they could wave flags and cheer.

The high-level practitioners, especially some Kasen, their faces darkened.

Once the low-level practitioners could bypass their superiors and contact Minamoto Kiyomoto directly, wouldn’t they be under supervision at all times?
In the past, the Honshu Shinto Lord was either ignored by the practitioners from Kansai or ignored by the practitioners from Kanto.

With the support of the Lord of Kyoto and the Ogosho, even if the Honshu Shinto Lord had the power to command all practitioners, he was helpless and had no core of authority.

Minamoto Kiyomoto was different. He had both the power of a Shinto Lord and the power to defend that power.

If it were the previous eight Shinto Lords, if they wanted to punish the son of the Ibuki Kasen, the Ibuki Kasen only needed to invite one or two Kasen to be guests in his home, and the Shinto Lord would be helpless.

When it came to Minamoto Kiyomoto, if he dared to disobey, he would be waiting to become the food of the Coral Demon Moth.

What’s more, he had the support of the three most powerful shrine maidens, as well as the Lord of Kyoto. The Ogosho’s attitude was also a bit ambiguous.

Not to mention practitioners with more than thirty subjugations making mistakes, even if it were a Kasen, if he wanted to deal with them, as long as the reason was sufficient and the evidence was conclusive, the Kasen could only obediently accept his fate.

“Third, and last—”

“Amatsumara!” Minamoto Kiyomoto shouted.

“I am here!”

Most people didn’t pay attention to Amatsumara’s response, but a small group of people heard it.

Amatsumara walked out of the forest. Behind him was a group of people. These people were all practitioners of the body spell with more than thirty subjugations.

At this time, they were sweating profusely, their divine power fully activated, pushing and pulling.

“One, two, ha!” they shouted slogans and moved a thing covered with a black cloth to the center of the shrine square with great effort.

The people on the stand were discussing. These practitioners, added together, could even move a high mountain. They didn’t know what this three-meter-high thing under the black cloth was.

“Uncover it!” Minamoto Kiyomoto ordered from the top of the mountain.

Amatsumara walked to the black cloth and pulled it hard.

The black cloth billowed in the air, like a black wave.

Under the black cloth was an earth wall, yellow. If it were embedded in a farmhouse in some countryside, no one would give it a second look.

“What’s on it?” someone pointed at the earth wall and asked.

On the side of the earth wall facing the stand, there was a pattern outlined with the same yellow lines.

“It looks like a valley?”

“A valley?! Could it be?”

At this time, Minamoto Kiyomoto, who was standing on the top of the mountain, raised his right arm and opened his five fingers towards the earth wall.

“Everyone—”

Black divine power burned on him and the earth wall at the same time.

“Enter the new era with me!”

Following Minamoto Kiyomoto’s voice, the earth wall shot out an endless light, so bright that the crowd subconsciously raised their hands to block their faces.

First, there was a “whoosh” of wind, and then a “bang” of a huge sound.

The crowd’s eyes widened.

A dazzling light shot out of the earth wall and went straight to the sky.

A creature unfolded in the air. It was a valley. A fierce mountain wind was blowing over the valley.

Hundreds of ghostly figures howled in the heavens and the earth. The clear winter day instantly became a kingdom of the dead.

The crowd raised their heads and their mouths were wide open.

“Amatsumara, it’s up to you now.”

Everyone stared blankly at the top of the mountain, not yet recovered, watching Minamoto Kiyomoto disappear.

“Everyone, I will now—”

“Long live Lord Shinto!” the stand exploded. They could no longer control their emotions and burst out with divine power.

Gradually, this slogan could not vent their emotions. They began to sing an ancient song of worship to the gods.

People gathered together;
Food and wine were abundant.

Only for generations to pass on,

To prosper day by day,

Until a thousand autumns and ten thousand generations,

Glory will never end.

Amatsumara used all his divine power and shouted with all his might. The crowd could only vaguely hear a few words.

“This is a sealing stone slab! In the future, the temporary material will be…”

No one cared what he said anymore.

They only knew that Minamoto Kiyomoto could seal yokai and control yokai.

A new era had arrived.