Chapter 187: I Have Reached Age 18, Confirmed Entry

"The Youkai Sage·Yagumo Shiki"

"Race: Youkai"

"Ability: Ability to manipulate boundaries"

The ability to manipulate boundaries is a terrifying power capable of overturning all things at their root; it is well known that the existence of things rests upon the existence of boundaries—without a water surface, a lake cannot exist, and so on.

Boundary youkai, no one understands how they are born; like the primordial beings of myth, they emerged from the very concept of "boundary" at some ancient, forgotten time in the past.

The emphasis is on antiquity.

From the moment of her birth, the boundary youkai girl already possessed extraordinary spiritual awareness and cognitive ability; as her age, experience, and power grew, she named herself—Yagumo Shiki—a unique being, one of her own kind.

Meaning: "A solid wall that traps the gods within."

After Susano-o slew Yamata no Orochi, a poem circulated: "Eight clouds rise, emerging from the land of Izumo, eightfold walls." Perhaps Yagumo Shiki originated from the land of Izumo.

From some unknown time onward, her wisdom, vast accumulated knowledge, mysterious abilities, and formidable strength gradually earned her the respect of youkai, granting her the honored title of "Sage" in the youkai world.

But one day, she was suddenly pulled into a strange place, where a peculiar individual claimed to be "The Ultimate Information Pastry Chef," "The Added Beidou Warrior," "The Heir of Dark Fist Art," and knew the future of every single member of the group.

Naturally, the youkai sage remained wary and cautious; for someone to bypass her will and forcibly drag her into such a group chat was terrifying—something even the hidden ancient beings she knew could not accomplish—and she did not easily believe anything the man said.

From her perspective, since acquiring this "Manjukyou," over two hundred years had passed; for the youkai sage, this was not exceedingly long, but certainly not short either.

Subsequent events repeatedly proved—this group chat held no malice toward her; it was merely a pure, cross-dimensional platform for conversation, and the man had indeed told the truth, even qualifying as a righteous, justice-seeking "good person."

Perhaps it is strange for a youkai to call a human a "good person," but through Yagumo Shiki's observations, this individual deserved her evaluation.

Yet this "good person" constantly asked her strange questions that seemed meaningful, yet also utterly nonsensical.

For example: "In a certain timeline, does the ○○○ Paradise Project truly exist?" "Will unwashed clothes rot if left in a gap?" "If Yagumo Shiki, Yagumo Aoi, and Yagumo Mikan are all present, can Yagumo Akai be specially summoned from the deck?" "Do you have any photos of baby Shiki? Send them." "Did you secretly evolve from 'Ordinary Boundary Youkai' to 'Trans-Multiversal Boundary Youkai' without telling us?" and other absurd questions.

Whenever this happened, the group would fill with joy, and this ordinary youkai sage had more than once voiced her protests or objections: "What is ordinary and natural?... I am merely an ordinary Yagumo Shiki—how could I possibly manipulate the cosmos and invert multiverses with a single boundary? I am certainly not easily hypnotized by ordinary humans!"

As a girl in the group who awakened the Yin-Yang Eye and now frequently works out put it: "The group admin is practically committing X harassment."

Thus, Yagumo Shiki's evaluation of this group admin rose from "good person" to "divine being."

But no matter how she maintained her image outwardly, at least when chatting in the group, she could relax; in this "equal," conflict-free, harmonious space where strength and status meant nothing, she grew close to everyone.

Of course, this "equality" excludes that one individual who is even more equal than the rest.

This experience, for one who had always been solitary, calculating, and unwilling to exchange true hearts in the brutal youkai world—nearly friendless—brought her a rare sense of ease and joy, and within her heart, a vague idea took root: a long-term plan—to one day create in reality a place where humans, youkai, Flame Spirit Warriors, and others could coexist, just as they did in the group.

"Yagumo Shiki is naturally cut out for great deeds."—a certain unnamed iron-faced man told others, "But…"

"But what?"

Whenever others asked, the man fell silent, shaking his head with a smug, waiting-for-the-show look—his attitude made Yagumo Shiki want to leap through a gap into another world and shove his head into lava to roll him around.

But even a lava bath now would barely peel his skin—he was too thick-skinned, too tough, with a health bar too long to be harmed.

In contrast to the group chat's daily chaos—where she constantly bickered with the admin, got muted, and was driven to distraction—the youkai sage's secret real-world plan was advancing steadily at an unexpected pace.

Yet, triumphant and full of vigor, she.

Suddenly encountered unprecedented resistance, an unforeseen blow—a direct, crushing strike.

…………

"What could possibly happen to Yagumo Shiki? The odds of me getting hit in the head by a nuclear warhead while walking, losing my memory, reincarnating into another world, and being blessed by a blue-haired idiot goddess as a hero are higher than her running into trouble… In her world, her dream will surely come true!"

The youkai sage is blessed with fortune, born with an inherently high-fashion boundary ability, a talent that lets her grow stronger even while sleeping, a voyeuristic master of surveillance, and herself a strategist who wins through information—"wisdom bordering on demonic."

Throughout her life, aside from a few minor setbacks, she has never faced major disasters; the worst was perhaps the Lunar War…

"Could Shiki have already started the Lunar War?!"

Recently, pressed by life's demands and busy dealing with demons and monsters from various worlds, Jia Ji had not bothered Yagumo Shiki for a long time, asking her about the time.

Still, Jia Ji looked at his constantly flashing "High Upper Rank" panel, then at his empty right arm, then recalled how his careless slip of the tongue might have altered the timeline, triggering a true catastrophe—and finally, he wore a resolute expression.

He had not gone before because he lacked strength and was merely a weakling; now, strengthened, he was perfectly ready to go.

"Manjukyou, I have reached the age of 18, confirmed entry!"

The next instant, a flash of white light.

Jia Ji vanished from the Beidou world.

(End of chapter)