Chapter 33: Worshipping Oneself as a God

Several girls excitedly surrounded him before he could even get up from the ground.

Chihaya was the fastest, reaching You in two steps. Futaba followed closely, forgetting to wave her fan, holding it in her hand as she stared intently at You. Hitomi walked slower, but her gentle smile had been replaced by shock. Mai was even more direct—she crouched down to get in You’s face, her big eyes wide with disbelief.

“You, are you okay?”

“You, how exactly did you do that?”

Chihaya’s voice was higher than usual.

They could hardly believe it. Someone had challenged the iron rule of Shinto cultivation—to perceive spiritual power without worshipping a deity. It was incredible. Ordinary people could barely sense the thin spiritual energy of the modern age, which was why they had to rely on unity with a god.

After all, among all practitioners in Japan, only Onmyoji could use spiritual power without worshipping a god. But that was because they were said to have inherited the “Breathing Technique” from the Celestial Empire, allowing them to draw spiritual energy from heaven and earth.

But You couldn’t have that inheritance.

And besides, how could anyone sense spiritual power that fast? It took them at least half a month to develop spiritual perception, didn’t it? How long did he take? Just a few minutes, right?

How had he done it?

You looked at the four curious girls surrounding him, his vanity thoroughly satisfied.

He smiled.

“Actually, when you strip it down, it’s really simple.”

He paused.

“I treated myself as a god and worshipped that.”

The air went silent for two seconds.

Futaba reacted first.

“You mean…?” Her voice carried a rare seriousness, full of disbelief.

“You treated yourself as a divine being, united body and mind with the imagined version of yourself, and thus perceived the spiritual power?”

You nodded.

“Yeah. I’m a Living God, right? And the first generation at that.”

He scratched his hair.

“I figured half a god still counts as a god, so I gave it a try. Didn’t expect it to actually work.”

The girls drew in a sharp breath.

The same thought ran through their minds—’How does this man’s brain work? How did he even come up with that?’ A strange, indescribable feeling settled in their hearts.

If You could hear their thoughts, he would calmly tell them: he’d seen this kind of approach countless times in web novels from his previous life. Basic operations, nothing to praise.

Chihaya recovered from her shock first. She took a deep breath, barely regaining her dignified and serious expression, and sat up straight again.

“Since You has already sensed the spiritual power, let’s move on to the next step.”

She pulled a sheet of paper from her sleeve. A white piece of paper, about A4 size, folded neatly, with slightly curled corners.

“This is the technique for ‘Purification.’ One of the simplest Curse Arts, mainly used to clean small stains.”

She unfolded the paper and laid it flat on the wooden corridor floor.

“Try injecting your spiritual power into this paper.”

You blinked.

“How do I do that?”

Chihaya thought for a moment.

“Just like how you perceived spiritual power just now. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, feel that force inside your body—then guide it to your palm, and from your palm to the paper.”

You sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

The girls quieted down, sitting around him without speaking.

The bamboo in the courtyard swayed gently in the wind, leaves rustling. The hydrangea bush beside the stone lantern bloomed lushly, its blue petals glowing softly under the sunlight. A butterfly flew over the flowers, its wings flapping slowly as it drifted away.

You kept his eyes closed, feeling the faint power inside him.

Spiritual power.

Just moments ago, he hadn’t even known this thing existed. Now he could clearly sense it within his body—like an extra thin thread, stretching from his chest to his limbs, faint yet definitely there.

He tried to guide that thread toward his palm.

Nothing moved.

He tried again.

Still nothing.

The thread seemed to be anchored in his chest, impossible to pull no matter how hard he tried.

You frowned.

Chihaya’s calm, steady voice reached his ears.

“Don’t pull it forcefully. Feel it, and follow its direction.”

You took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders.

The thread was still there. Instead of thinking about “pulling it over,” he imagined his attention slowly flowing from his chest to his arm, then to his palm.

The thread moved.

Like a thin stream, it started from his chest and flowed down his arm. It passed through his shoulder, his elbow, his wrist, and then stopped at the center of his palm.

He opened his eyes.

Chihaya was staring at the paper in front of him.

Nothing had happened on the paper. It was still clean.

You stared at the paper for a long time. Still nothing.

He asked Chihaya,

“Is something wrong?”

Chihaya shook her head.

“No. The spiritual power did reach the paper.”

She reached out and touched the paper, her fingertip lightly brushing across the surface.

“Look.”

You leaned in to look. There was a very inconspicuous water stain on the paper—not like water had been splashed on it, but thinner, fainter, as if something had soaked it from the inside.

“This is spiritual power?” You asked.

“Yes. This is the manifestation of spiritual power being released outward.”

Chihaya turned the paper over. There was also a small water stain on the back, exactly corresponding to the front.

“The spiritual power has been successfully injected into the paper. Now the next step is to release it according to the structure of the technique.”

She turned the paper back to the front. There were a few faint pencil lines drawn on the surface, barely noticeable unless you looked closely.

“This is the structure of the ‘Purification’ technique. Try to make the spiritual power run along these lines, and release it at the ends. When you release, you also need to recite the incantation. The incantation for ‘Purification’ is: ‘Expel impurity, with pure light.'”

You thought of a question and asked,

“Chihaya, I remember when you used Curse Arts before, you didn’t chant.”

Chihaya smiled.

“That’s after you become proficient. Beginners must chant, otherwise the spiritual power won’t follow the structure of the technique. Of course, you are a Living God, so you might be able to shorten this process.”

You stared at the white paper for a moment, making sure he remembered the route and the incantation.

He closed his eyes and guided the spiritual power again.

This time, it went a bit more smoothly.

The spiritual power flowed from his palm to the paper, moving slowly along those lines.

The spiritual power filled three lines simultaneously, surging forward together. At the three endpoints, it burst outward. He seized the moment and chanted,

“Expel impurity, with pure light.”

The water stain on the paper disappeared.

Not just the water stain. The pencil marks, the creases on the corners, the fingerprints—all gone. The paper was completely clean, as if it had just been taken out of its packaging.

“You did it! You’re amazing!”

Mai shouted in excitement.

Chihaya also smiled. Futaba’s fan opened again, swaying slowly, but her eyes kept watching the paper. Hitomi smiled gently, her gaze shifting between You and the paper.

You himself was stunned for a moment.

That was it?

He looked down at the paper, then up at Chihaya.

“That was too easy, wasn’t it?”

Chihaya shook her head.

“Not easy at all. Your control over spiritual power is very strong. An ordinary person guiding spiritual power for the first time could never do what you just did.”

You felt a bit smug. ‘So I’ve become the genius protagonist type? It really does feel good.’

Chihaya picked up the paper, dripped two drops of ink onto it, and placed it back on the floor.

“Try again, following the route I just drew on it.”

You nodded, closed his eyes, and guided the spiritual power once more.

This time, even without the auxiliary lines Chihaya had drawn, the spiritual power still flowed smoothly, and it seemed even faster than before. The spiritual power flowed from his chest to his arm, from his arm to his palm, from his palm to the paper, traced the three lines, and released at the ends simultaneously.

The entire process took less than half a minute. The ink stains on the paper vanished.

You opened his eyes and smiled.

“I think I’m getting the hang of it.”

Chihaya looked at the paper and was silent for a moment.

“You, you’re a monster. I guess it lives up to the title of Living God.”

Her tone was serious.

“When I was a child learning this, it took me three days to reach your level just now.”

You blinked.

“Three days?”

“Three days.”

Chihaya’s voice was still cool, but You detected something else in it. Not envy, not jealousy—more like… relief?

He couldn’t quite tell.

Futaba sat beside him, fanning herself with a smile.

“Chihaya was already considered very talented. It took me five days to learn.”

Hitomi gently added,

“After all, he is the bloodline of Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto.”

Mai blushed a little.

“It took me a week to learn.”

But she quickly added defiantly,

“I’m already amazing—among the miko I know, except for my sister and Futaba-nee, I was the fastest.”

You felt a mix of amusement and exasperation at Mai’s words. He patted her soft head.

“Mhm, mhm, my Mai is the best.”

Hearing his praise, Mai squinted in comfort. It took her a moment to realize what had happened. ‘Ahh, You’s treating me like a kid again.’

You asked Chihaya,

“What do we learn next?”

Chihaya thought for a moment.

“First, get familiar with ‘Purification.’ This technique is simple, but it requires high control over spiritual power. Once you master this, learning others will go smoother.”

“Okay.”

You picked up the paper again and closed his eyes.

Spiritual power began to flow again.

The girls sat quietly beside him, watching You cultivate with his eyes closed.

Chihaya sat upright, her back straight, her gaze fixed on You, her expression focused.

Futaba’s fan stopped swaying, resting on her knees, her eyes half-closed, lost in thought.

Hitomi watched You with a gentle smile.

Mai hugged a cushion, resting her chin on it, staring intently at You’s face, grinding her teeth in pretend anger.

After about twenty minutes, You opened his eyes.

The paper in front of him had been “purified” who knows how many times, the slightly curled corners now gleaming white.

“How is it?” Chihaya asked.

“I feel… smoother than before.”

Chihaya nodded.

“Let’s stop here for now. Continue tomorrow.”

You folded the paper and put it in his pocket, stood up, and stretched.

The sunlight shone down from above, casting a short shadow from the stone lantern in the yard. The distant mountains had turned a deep blue-green in the afternoon light, and at the border with the pale blue sky, a faint white mist lingered.

You took a deep breath.

This was the first step of the long march. Tomorrow, he would continue.