anwhile, the Ōmiya family.
Unlike the Kujo family's imposing manor filled with modern technology, the Omiya family's main residence is a vast complex of ancient buildings.
With its flying eaves and brackets, and covered with green tiles, every beam and pillar exudes the weight of hundreds of years of history.
The morning mist had not yet dissipated, enveloping this ancient courtyard and adding to its somber atmosphere.
On the bluestone path leading to the family's core shrine, dozens of figures stood silently on both sides.
They were all dressed in traditional black haori, their expressions solemn, and they were completely silent.
These people are all core mbers of the Ōmiya family, each of whom is a powerful figure in Japan who can cause a stir with a single stomp.
But at this mont, the pride and power on their faces have vanished, leaving only an unyielding worry and heaviness.
At the very front of the procession stood Hideki Ōmiya, the current head of the Ōmiya family, with his hands behind his back.
He stared at the tightly closed vermilion gate of the shrine in the distance, his brows furrowed and the bloodshot veins in his eyes clearly visible.
Clearly, he hadn't slept all night.
Just then, a figure slowly walked towards them from the end of the path in the distance.
It was an old man.
He was dressed in a simple gray kimono and wooden clogs, walking with a calm and unhurried pace.
Her head was tied back with a simple wooden hairpin, her face was etched with the lines of ti, but her eyes were still deep and bright, as if they could see into people's hearts.
It was none other than the spirit painter, Soma Kosuke, who had recently escaped from the clutches of the SS-level powerhouse Qin Ze.
Upon seeing him appear, a slight commotion arose in the previously deathly silent crowd.
A look of genuine awe appeared on everyone's face.
When Kosuke Soma approached.
Without exception, all the mbers of the Omiya family on both sides bowed at a ninety-degree angle.
"Teacher Cangzhen!"
The greetings were delivered in unison, filled with utmost respect.
Kosuke Soma didn't stop walking; he simply nodded slightly in response.
He walked straight to the front of the line and stood in front of Hideki Omiya.
"Thump!"
Hideki Ōmiya, the head of a family that controlled half of the country of Sakura, knelt down without hesitation and kowtowed heavily to Soma Kosuke.
His voice trembled uncontrollably with guilt.
"Teacher, I'm so sorry!"
"It is my incompetence that not only failed to stop Kujo Hiroji's madness, but also put you in danger."
By the end, he was sobbing uncontrollably.
Kosuke Soma looked at the head of the family kneeling before him, blaming himself like a child who had made a mistake, and sighed softly.
He bent down and helped Hideki Omiya up with his calloused hands.
"There's no need for that, Master."
His voice was gentle yet powerful, carrying a calming force.
"Kujo Hiroharu is insane and ruthless; this is not your fault."
"My old life was saved by your grandfather from the battlefield back then."
Kosuke Soma's gaze passed over Hideki Omiya's shoulder and landed on the ancient shrine, his eyes becoming distant and resolute.
“I am already quite old. If I can do sothing for the Omiya family before I die, it will be a good thing to repay your grandfather for recognizing my talent.”
After saying that, he stopped looking at Hideki Omiya and turned to the vermilion gate of the shrine.
He slowly raised his arm and pointed to the door.
"Open a shrine."
"Please grant the divine artifact."
Hideki Ōmiya's body trembled, and a resolute glint flashed in his eyes.
He nodded emphatically to the two elders standing behind him.
The two elders, with solemn expressions, each took out an ancient-looking key from their robes, walked to the shrine gate, and inserted it into the lock.
"Creak—"
It was accompanied by a tooth-grinding, seemingly ancient, heavy sound.
The enormous door, sealed for countless years and crafted from a single piece of ancient sacred wood, began to slowly open to both sides.
A cold, desolate, and sacred aura wafted in from the crack in the door.
Everyone present involuntarily held their breath, their eyes filled with awe.
The interior of the shrine was then revealed to everyone.
There are no luxurious decorations here, only a spacious and almost simple hall.
At the end of the main hall, three enormous stone statues, each over ten ters tall, stand side by side.
The stone statues depict three ancient deities with majestic faces, clad in armor, holding different weapons, looking down upon the tiny creatures entering the hall, exuding a terrifying divine aura.
And directly in front of the three giant statues.
An ancient jade piece shaped like a hook is quietly suspended in mid-air.
It has a warm, milky white color throughout, without any patterns or carvings, and its design is extrely simple.
He did not emit any amazing energy fluctuations, nor did he have any dazzling radiance.
It just floated there quietly, like an ordinary antique.
But the mont everyone saw it, their gazes beca incredibly devout and fervent.
This is the sacred artifact of the land of cherry blossoms.
It is the ultimate trump card that the Omiya family uses to fight against all calamities.
The Eight-Foot Magatama!
The shrine was empty and deathly silent.
Three enormous statues cast silent shadows in the dim light, looking down silently at the intruder.
Kosuke Soma stood in front of the floating jade tablet.
Silently gazing at the eight-foot-long magatama.
There was no excitent on his face.
Those eyes, which had witnessed a century of vicissitudes, were as calm as a dry well.
for a long ti.
As if he had finally made up his mind, he slowly extended his wrinkled, withered hand.
He grabbed the magatama.
Outside the door, all the mbers of the Ōmiya family seed to sense sothing at the sa ti.
An indescribable sorrow gripped everyone's throat.
So of the older clan elders couldn't hold back and knelt down, tears streaming down their faces.
Inside the shrine.
The mont he grasped the magatama, Kosuke Soma's body trembled violently.
He groaned, and his already aged face beca even more withered at a visible speed.
Life was rapidly slipping away from him.
Kosuke Soma gritted his teeth and tightly tucked the cold magatama into his bosom.
He turned around.
With just a turn of his head, he staggered and almost fell.
"Teacher Cangzhen!"
The crowd at the door could no longer contain themselves, and cries and screams filled the air.
Everyone knelt down, and cries of grief echoed through the ancient courtyard.
Kosuke Soma steadied himself by holding onto the door fra.
He looked at the crowd kneeling on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, and forced a smile that was even more unsightly than crying onto his withered face.
"Why are you crying?"
His voice was terribly hoarse, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together.
"I'm not dead yet, these old bones of mine."
He walked slowly and heavily, step by step, until he reached the entrance of the shrine.
He looked at Hideki Omiya, who was kneeling at the front and had been crying his eyes out.
"After I leave, rember to water the cherry blossom tree in my yard from ti to ti."
"Take good care of it for ."
Hideki Omiya knelt on the ground, saying nothing, but kowtowing with all his might, tears already blurring his vision.
Kosuke Soma ignored his grief and continued explaining to himself.
"There are still so paintings in my bedroom."
"Find a few trustworthy people to keep it safe and seal it in a special scroll."
"Rember, never open this unless it's the last mont before the family's survival is at stake."
"At critical monts, it might save so people's lives."
He spoke each sentence as if he were giving his last words.
As he was speaking, Kosuke Soma suddenly stopped.
He stood there, stunned, his eyes sowhat blank.
"Where...where was I?"
He tried hard to recall, but his mind was blank. The words he had just spoken were completely forgotten in the blink of an eye.
He gave a wry smile and shook his head.
"I'm getting old, and I can't rember things anymore."
He simply stopped talking.
He lifted his foot, ready to leave.
He had only taken two steps when he suddenly stopped.
The old man remained silent for a mont before speaking again.
This ti, his voice was soft, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly.
"What ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ if I lose the battle..."
"Let's find a way to take the Omiya family out of Sakura Country."
"Go as far away as possible, and never co back."
After saying these last words, Kosuke Soma had no more regrets.
He suddenly looked up at the gray sky, his eyes bursting with the last brilliant light of his life.
The next second.
He soared into the sky, transforming into a streak of light and disappearing into the horizon in an instant.
Only the sounds of weeping and wailing remained in the courtyard, lingering for a long ti.
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