Master of Kaidan
Chapter 391: Blatant Undercover

Chapter 391: Chapter 391: Blatant Undercover

Name: Phantom Object, Decision Cane

Elements: [Loyalty], [Swearing allegiance], [Tool], [Choice]

Description: An ordinary-looking wooden cane that gained special power due to a certain legend.

When facing the higher-ups of an organization, one can break the cane over their knee to swear allegiance to the opposite party.

This allegiance will be accepted, and as long as the swearer does not commit any act of clear betrayal, they can enjoy benefits second only to those higher-ups within the organization. All members whose status does not exceed that of the higher-ups will not be able to act hostile towards the swearer.

Remarks: Hahaha! Humans are indeed amusing; I’ve decided not to destroy the Earth after all.

...

With a snap, the cane broke, and a peculiar power spread out. The so-called setting transcended all, and the attitude of the young man with giant horns visibly changed. He let out a hearty laugh, stepped forward, and patted Feng Xue on the shoulder, saying,

"How interesting, from now on you’re one of the Hundred Tales. Let’s go, I’ll introduce you to the world!"

"Can I keep live streaming?" Feng Xue showed a shy smile. The young man with giant horns immediately nodded and said,

"Of course, we’ve been live streaming to the entire network all along!"

[What the hell is this situation?]

[Isn’t this Shuten a fool?]

[Is this possible?]

[Is breaking the cane some kind of special symbolic gesture, or is it a code?]

...

Members in the live streaming room started to go crazy, but Feng Xue, following the young man with giant horns, smirked. The Decision Cane was a phantom object he had created before heading to the cyberpunk world. It was initially intended to serve as a stepping stone for a large corporation, but unexpectedly, he "easily" conquered that world, so the cane hadn’t been used.

His hoarding tendency wasn’t severe; for such an effective yet highly targeted tool, it needed to be used wisely.

Before long, Feng Xue arrived at the Skytree Tower, stepping into a spacious space with a traditional Japanese layout that had been specially modified.

In theory, the Skytree Tower’s 450-meter observation deck shouldn’t have such a large area, but clearly, a special phantom object was used here.

Though he couldn’t tell whether it was space replacement or space expansion, or perhaps someone had brought their Babylon Tower room here, this space was far larger than imagined.

The room, estimated to cover over five thousand square meters, was covered with tatami mats that had a faint scent of lampwick grass. The northern wall featured an extended scroll depicting numerous bizarre demons and ghosts. Feng Xue took a distant glance and noticed it was a phantom object named [Night Parade of Hundred Demons].

In front of this picture, individuals sat on neatly arranged cushions, forming a large circle of a hundred people in the very center of the space. In front of each person, there was a candlestick either extinguished or lit.

However, unlike in other regions’ live streams visible through the built-in screen of Feng Xue’s Masked Rider Armor, these individuals weren’t speaking about Kaidan and were quietly waiting for something.

Suddenly, one person moved slightly, and at the same time, the extinguished candlestick in front of him spontaneously lit up.

He lowered his eyes slightly, glanced at the flame, and made no further movements. However, Feng Xue could vaguely see that the flame seemed to be a Kaidan Fire.

"[Combat], [Slaughter], [Sharp], [Chasing], [Hunting]..."

Silently reading the tags within the Kaidan Fire, Feng Xue turned his gaze to the other flames, confirming that each flicker of flame was indeed a Kaidan Fire.

He aimed the live stream camera at this bizarre scene but didn’t speak, instead intensely watching other regions’ Hundred Tales live streams and recordings.

As one candle after another lit on its own, he finally grasped the key point.

He discovered that among the Hundred Tales around the world, very few were truly creating new Kaidan; the majority were reciting old tales. However, upon completing the story and blowing out the candle, the person underwent a transformation, turning into a Kaidan corresponding to the story.

Yet, this behavior wasn’t direct creation. To Feng Xue, it seemed more like an "inheritance" because, within those Kaidan, he found many he had killed, even members of the Heavenly Dog Council. Furthermore, he noted that each time a person turned into a Kaidan, the phantom object named [Night Parade of Hundred Demons] would have a Kaidan silhouette flicker.

Once the 100th Kaidan was told in the sub-venue, all the candles in the venue would extinguish, and at the same time, a candle in Skytree Tower would ignite.

After making several comparisons, Feng Xue realized that the lit candle’s Kaidan Fire wasn’t a single spark; a hundred flickers gathered, resembling the undigested state of multiple Kaidan entries.

"Is this the essence of the Hundred Tales ritual? The local Hundred Tales ritual acts as an inheritance for awakened Kaidan, while the core of Skytree Tower either creates or awakens new Kaidan. It’s just unclear if the awakening regards the Kaidan Fire solely as a ritual consumable, or if one must tell a story consistent with the flame’s tags on the candlestick."

Feng Xue pondered while again shifting his focus to the Night Parade of Hundred Demons scroll. He was curious whether it was a companion phantom object to this Kaidan or whether this phantom object inspired the creation of the Hundred Tales.

Before he could delve deeper, hostile gazes targeted him, prompting Feng Xue to stop observing the Night Parade of Hundred Demons. He looked at the so-called Hundred Tales cadres, who were actually watching over him, becoming quietly cautious.

The Decision Cane’s power was indeed abnormal, but its capability was to "prevent hostile actions," not "prevent hostile thoughts." In other words, while the young man with giant horns pulled him into the organization, all Kaidan clearly knew he was problematic. However, due to the phantom object’s power, they couldn’t act against him—not only couldn’t they act, but he could also enjoy all the benefits accorded to a senior member of the Hundred Tales, including witnessing this crucial ritual.

Naturally, the people of Hundred Tales weren’t fools. He believed that even a hint of betrayal would unite them against him.

However, it had to be an "explicit" act first!

Feng Xue chuckled inwardly, waiting for time to pass.

When the moon climbed to the sky’s peak and the stars, due to Tokyo’s decay, formed a river of stars, the final candle in the room lit up at this instant, enveloping the entire Skytree Tower in a peculiar power.

A person near the north wall, as if waiting for a long time, stood up. The Kaidan responsible for shooting adjusted various new and old photographic equipment into place, and Feng Xue launched his live streaming drone.

However, before the person could speak, Feng Xue secretly cast upon himself a [Hard to Understand].