Evolution?
Lu Ran’s eyes lit up. “Shikigami can actually evolve?”
This was clearly something Lu Ran didn’t know.
Nanami nodded.
She explained, “There are only two ways for a shikigami to become powerful. The first way isn’t something you can choose—it’s the shikigami’s natural talent and quality. All shikigami are ranked by level. For example, my Kinnara and Tamamo-no-Mae are both S-class shikigami, while a shikigami like the Carp Spirit is B-class. It’s not terrible, but in the eyes of onmyoji who own S-class or even A-class shikigami, it’s basically trash.”
When Lu Ran heard Nanami call the Carp Spirit trash, his brow furrowed.
Nanami continued, “Natural talent and quality come from birth and cannot be changed through any external means later on. So, whether a shikigami’s natural talent and quality are good or bad directly determines the future growth ceiling and combat power of an onmyoji.”
In short.
Even though onmyoji is a profession.
It’s different from other professions.
Take necromancers, for example. Except for the oddball that is Lu Ran, all necromancers are essentially the same.
There’s no difference in skills, attribute growth, or anything else.
The only slight difference comes from the initial attribute variance when the profession awakens, but it’s negligible.
But the onmyoji profession is incredibly diverse.
Depending on the shikigami, its quality, and its combat style, onmyoji are divided into all sorts of categories: powerful ones, weak ones, ranged ones, melee ones, even defensive ones, healing ones…
“So basically, it’s all about luck from birth? An onmyoji’s strength is purely down to chance?” Lu Ran asked.
“That’s right. An onmyoji forms contracts with shikigami, and there’s no way to interfere with that process from the outside. It’s all determined from birth. Even for me, contracting Kinnara and Tamamo-no-Mae was a matter of fate,” Nanami said with a nod.
After a moment,
she added as if remembering something, “There are only some special circumstances where you can choose your shikigami, but the cost is quite high.”
Lu Ran understood immediately.
He glanced at Nanami and said, “Like with your Yamata no Orochi? A reverse contract, where you sell your own body and soul?”
Nanami was stunned.
Then she gritted her teeth and nodded.
But Lu Ran didn’t dwell on this issue. Instead, he continued asking, “Go on, what’s the second way?”
Nanami took a deep breath and composed herself.
She continued, “The second way is evolution. Shikigami can evolve, but the method is extremely cruel. You have to kill other shikigami to obtain the Magatama they drop when they die. A Magatama contains some of a shikigami’s attributes. If a living shikigami consumes a Magatama, it can gain attribute bonuses, and once it reaches a critical point, it can evolve.”
Lu Ran’s eyes lit up.
So that means the Carp Spirit could totally evolve this way!
And…
“If that’s the case, then Sakura could easily create some terrifyingly powerful shikigami, right?” Lu Ran asked.
“In theory, yes. But in Sakura, Magatama are taboo. If you’re caught hunting down and killing another onmyoji’s shikigami, you can be sentenced to death by the Shinto sect,” Nanami explained.
That made sense.
After all, even if you’re hunting a shikigami, an onmyoji can just put their shikigami back into the shikigami space at any time.
If you want to keep hunting, you’d have to kill the shikigami’s owner—the onmyoji—first!
Hunting down professional class holders from your own country is a serious crime in any nation!
But Lu Ran gave Nanami a meaningful look.
With a hint of a smile, he asked, “That’s what they say, and that’s what the law says, but as the child of the gods in the Shinto sect and the head of the Ikenodai Shrine, you’ve definitely used Magatama to strengthen your Kinnara and Tamamo-no-Mae, haven’t you? Maybe not enough to make them evolve, but you’ve definitely enhanced them, right?”
Upon hearing this,
Nanami’s pupils shrank sharply.
Lu Ran then chuckled and said, “Don’t even think about hiding it. You know that Yamata no Orochi can tell whether you’re lying or not.”
Nanami looked at Lu Ran.
Finally, she let out a breath and slowly said, “Yes, I have.”
Just as he thought!
No matter which country you’re in, laws are only meant for ordinary people.
For someone as crucial to the nation as Nanami, there’s no way they wouldn’t use some extra means to make her even stronger.
But then,
Nanami added, “Although I’ve used Magatama, they were all ones that came from the black market. I never ordered anyone to hunt down other onmyoji’s shikigami. And it’s not just me—the Inari Grand Shrine and other major shrines have done the same.”
But Lu Ran waved his hand dismissively.
He said, “How would high-ranking people like you know how the people pulling the strings behind you actually obtained the Magatama? Were they really from the black market? Not that it matters anyway, it’s none of my business. Right now, I just want to know: can I use Magatama to evolve my Carp Spirit, too?”
Nanami looked at the Carp Spirit and nodded. “Yes, you can.”
“How far can it evolve?” Lu Ran asked again.
“In theory, it can evolve indefinitely. But that would require an immeasurable, massive amount of Magatama—it’s almost impossible to obtain. And besides, even if someone were desperate enough to take the risk, they wouldn’t use it to evolve a low-quality shikigami like the Carp Spirit. It’s too wasteful,” Nanami said.
“Almost impossible to obtain? What do you mean? Didn’t you just say you can get Magatama by killing other shikigami?” Lu Ran asked.
“Yes, but in Sakura, hunting and killing another onmyoji’s shikigami is illegal,” Nanami said.
“What does illegal have to do with me? I’m not from Sakura. I’ll kill whenever I want,” Lu Ran said with a shrug, looking completely unconcerned.
Upon hearing this, a chill ran down Nanami’s spine.
Because she suddenly realized she had made a stupid mistake!
She actually told Lu Ran how to obtain the magatama, and Lu Ran was completely unrestrained by Sakura’s laws!
A guy like him wouldn’t care if Sakura got destroyed just to evolve his Carp Spirit!
Originally, after the rise of Dragonxia, Sakura was already going to be the first to face Dragonxia’s sanction, and now things look even more precarious!
But then again.
Lu Ran had already asked the question.
Did Nanami have the right to refuse to answer?
Obviously not!
Right now, because of Yamata no Orochi, she was completely under Lu Ran’s control!
“Oh, by the way, before, Sakura, just like the Eagle Sauce, also sent people to infiltrate Dragonxia to kill me. And they sent them even earlier, though in smaller numbers. Who arranged those onmyoji back then?” Lu Ran suddenly asked.
“It was me,” Nanami said casually.
“Oh?” Lu Ran raised an eyebrow and glanced at Nanami, but he wasn’t surprised at all.
After all, the pressure he had put on Nanami in the Endless Tower back then was just too intense.
It was understandable that she had lost her composure.
“Those onmyoji from back then were all killed by me, and their shikigami died too. But I never noticed anything like Magatama. Why was that?” Lu Ran asked curiously.
“The ones sent to kill you were all ordinary onmyoji, and the shikigami they controlled were of average quality. You can only obtain Magatama by killing A-class or higher shikigami,” Nanami said casually.
Lu Ran’s eyes widened.
He said, “You sent people to kill me back then, and you sent a bunch of small fries? You really looked down on this necromancer, huh?”
Nanami looked at Lu Ran.
And sighed.
To be honest, back then, Nanami really didn’t take that conventional necromancer profession all that seriously.
