51: Arriving in Tokyo! Summoning Shuten-dōji to raze the shrine.

The moment the words fell, a faint blue glimmer suddenly lit up in the eyes of the no. 2 puppet beside Jiang Ming, who looked exactly like him.

At the same time, a hand was placed on Jiang Ming's shoulder.

There was not the slightest delay.

The scene before Jiang Ming's eyes underwent a violent, indescribable change.

The luxurious living room of the Tomson Riviera penthouse, along with the familiar night view of the Demon Capital outside the window, was distorted and folded in an instant, all colors and lines converging into an incomprehensible singularity.

The next second.

The singularity exploded.

Endless clamor and light pollution instantly poured into Jiang Ming's senses.

Deafening advertising music, the noisy hum of crowded throngs, and the dazzling neon flashing on giant billboards together formed a Ukiyo-e of a steel metropolis.

They were no longer in the Demon Capital.

This was Tokyo, Shibuya.

The busiest intersection in the world.

Jiang Ming and the no. 2 puppet stood side by side amidst the surging crowd, surrounded by a constant stream of pedestrians.

A peculiar scene occurred: those hurried salarymen and fashionably dressed young men and women would subconsciously and naturally take a step to the side just before they were about to bump into them.

The entire process was as smooth as water flowing around a rock.

No one cast even a glance at the two living people who had appeared out of thin air right next to them.

[Cognitive Shielding].

They had become "ghosts" walking among humans, yet perceived by no one.

It was a strange feeling; despite being in the center of the world's most boisterous place, it was as if they were separated from the entire world by a layer of invisible glass.

Jiang Ming did not linger there; a silent thought was issued in his mind.

"Give me a new identity."

A waterfall-like stream of data flashed through the no. 2 puppet's eyes, the entire process taking less than a tenth of a second.

A legal identity named "Suzuki Toru" had appeared out of thin air in the Sakura Country's household registration system.

This identity possessed flawless birth records, educational history, and tax payment certificates, so clean that no flaws could be found.

In the bank account under this name, no more and no less, exactly one billion yen had just been added.

The ownership of a penthouse apartment in the core area of Chiyoda Ward, overlooking the Imperial Palace, had also quietly completed its online transfer.

All the data falsification was completed in the ocean of the global internet without alerting any firewall or leaving any trace.

This was the power of [Data Manipulation].

In modern society, this was akin to a god.

Half an hour later.

Tokyo, Chiyoda Ward, the top floor of a certain high-end apartment building.

This had become his new safe house in the Sakura Country.

With this perfect tool, the no. 2 puppet, the freedom of movement for Jiang Ming's main body had gained an unprecedented boost.

He no longer needed to hide behind the scenes; instead, he could personally go to any "stage" he wanted to visit and appreciate the good show he had directed from up close.

Jiang Ming ordered the no. 2 puppet to hack into global databases and begin screening templates for the next "Servant."

The appearance of "Azure Lotus Sword Immortal · Li Bai" had revealed the existence of "Immortals" to the world.

That transcendence, free-spiritedness, and romance had triggered a massive spiritual resonance in the East Asian cultural sphere.

Thus, to create a stronger dramatic conflict, the next character had to be the polar opposite of Li Bai.

An existence full of "demonic" nature.

A symbol sufficient to make everyone feel fear, chaos, and trembling.

The no. 2 puppet's analysis speed was astonishingly fast, as countless Sakura Country myths, legends, folk tales, and historical figure data flowed through its consciousness.

Amaterasu Ōmikami, Susanoo-no-Mikoto, Yamata no Orochi, Abe no Seimei... Finally, Jiang Ming locked onto a name.

The King of Hyakki, the Master of Mount Ōe—Shuten-dōji.

His traits of chaos, destruction, and arrogance, along with his legendary background of leading a horde of demons, made him the perfect "Berserker" template.

With the character determined, the next step was the stage for his debut.

To maximize the emotion points, Jiang Ming chose the most controversial location for Shuten-dōji's debut, one that could ignite public opinion in East Asia and even the world.

Yasukuni Shrine.

When this decision formed in Jiang Ming's mind, there was not a hint of hesitation.

He was no longer that ordinary college student who needed to be cautious.

Now, he was the sole dealer, and the entire world was his card table.

Jiang Ming checked his system panel.

[emotion points Balance: 13,340,000]

The emotion points was still growing continuously.

At the same time, Jiang Ming decided that to ensure the high-end positioning and spectacle of this "Global Holy Grail War," the basic investment for every created "Servant" could not be less than one million emotion points points.

This was both a guarantee of strength and a threshold for prestige.

Jiang Ming focused his attention on the [Mirror Puppet] ability interface.

Using "Shuten-dōji" as the template, he set his class as "Berserker."

Subsequently, a calm command was issued in Jiang Ming's mind.

"Invest 1,000,000 emotion points points and begin creation."

[emotion points -1,000,000]

[Current emotion points Balance: 12,340,000]

It was completely different from the clear, pure golden light when Li Bai was born.

This time, in the center of the apartment's living room, a surge of dark red energy filled with the smell of sulfur and blood converged out of thin air.

The air temperature rose in an instant, and charred patterns even appeared on the floor.

The dark red energy churned and gathered frantically, its form extremely unstable.

Finally, all the violent energy collapsed inward, condensing into a concrete human silhouette.

The light dissipated.

A young man wearing a complex and magnificent kimono appeared before Jiang Ming.

He was tall, with skin that was sickly pale, and a head of unruly long red hair scattered loosely.

His features were handsome to an eerie degree, but the pair of ferocious demon horns on his head and the strange red demonic markings on his cheeks completely ruined that handsomeness, leaving only a heart-palpitating malevolence.

The King of Hyakki, "Shuten-dōji," had descended.

He slowly opened his eyes, which were a pair of pure golden, beast-like pupils devoid of any human emotion.

An aura of chaos, tyranny, and a desire for destruction instantly filled the entire room.

If an ordinary person stood here, their sanity would likely be crushed by this aura immediately, plunging them into complete madness.

But Jiang Ming just looked calmly at the perfect creation before him.

As the creator, there was an absolute relationship of dominance between him and these puppets on a soul level.

Shuten-dōji felt this absolute suppression from the source of his life; he withdrew his outward aura, knelt on one knee before Jiang Ming, and lowered his proud head.

Jiang Ming looked at the Berserker before him and issued the first command.

"Go to the Yasukuni Shrine."

"Level that place to the ground."

"Then, announce your name to the world, and convey that the Holy Grail War has begun."

Hearing this command, Shuten-dōji, kneeling on the ground, slowly raised his head.

He licked his lips, and a smile filled with bloodlust and fanaticism blossomed on his handsome yet eerie face.

The next moment, his figure turned into a visible black gale, smashed through the floor-to-ceiling window behind him, and disappeared into the Tokyo night.