Exploring the City

Issei spent two and a half weeks in closed-door cultivation.

In Earth terms, he basically became a complete shut-in. He kept himself confined to his bedroom, even going as far as to forgo eating and using the toilet. Naturally, his actions concerned his parents. Through some quick thinking, Issei was able to assuage their concerns by telling them that he was currently undergoing an important sacred ritual called a fap-a-thon.

To wholeheartedly say such a thing like that to his parents, of all people… Issei's time in the Immortal World had truly tempered him into a fearless warrior.

While this explanation confused his mother, a look of understanding flashed through his father's eyes. If anything, the older man looked proud of the boy. How could he not? After all, his son was already two weeks into a fap-a-thon and he was still going strong. Clearly, the Hyoudou genes had blessed the boy with incredible stamina and willpower.

As a result of his frantic cultivation, Issei's personal strength shot up by leaps and bounds. Towards the end of his session, he managed to officially reach the peak of Qi Condensation.

As always, his cultivation speed was ridiculous. This was mainly due to a number of different factors.

For one, there was his cultivation technique. The Harem King Divine Art was truly something else. The more he cultivated it, the more he realized just how awesome it was. The difference between it and other Void-ranked techniques was like heaven and earth.

Next was the magical energy of this world. Compared to the Immortal World, the energy on Earth was a lot more chaotic. Issei hypothesized that this might be due to the fact that Earth served as a tether to multiple different dimensions. From what Ddraig described, places like the Underworld, Olympus, Asgard, all of them contained 'different-flavored mana'.

He didn't quite understand what the old dragon was talking about, but he could at least recognize the sentiment.

The chaotic nature of Earth's energy would have made cultivation difficult for those with a cultivation technique weaker than Saint-rank.

On the other hand, the density and output of Earth's chaotic energy was actually greater than that of the Immortal World's.

In other words, for those with weaker cultivation techniques, cultivating on Earth would be like trying to suck up gravel through a straw. For those with superior cultivation techniques, Earth was nothing short of a cultivation holy land.

Issei naturally fell to the latter.

Yet despite his frantic cultivation, Issei did not force a breakthrough into the next realm. Instead, he allowed true Qi to accumulate within his body. As a result, Issei's foundations grew deeper and more profound.

There was also another reason as to why Issei delayed his breakthrough.

He could feel a tingling pressure bearing down on his cultivation. It was a somewhat familiar feeling, though it only ever came about whenever he was on the cusps of a realm advancement that required a tribulation. That's why he knew. He knew that if he were to attempt a breakthrough right now, then he'd certainly receive a tribulation for his troubles.

From the very start, to cultivate was to go against the heavens. That was why the further along one got on the path to immortality, the more frequent the tribulations became. This was no different. From what he could tell, the heavens really, really, really hated his new cultivation technique.

After all, normal techniques don't usually trigger tribulations at Qi Condensation.

From previous experience, Issei knew that the greater the cultivation technique, the more tribulations it instigated during realm advancement. Back when he practiced the Burning Tempest Divine Art, he had faced a total of four tribulations, two of which he barely survived.

The fact that he was receiving his first tribulation just for attempting to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm spoke volumes of the Harem King Divine Art's hidden potential.

As expected of such a legendary art.

Issei was not worried about surviving the tribulation. What worried him was the collateral damage.

Tribulations tended to be a messy affair. Not even counting the threat that a tribulation brought to a cultivator's life, almost every tribulation event resulted in large-scale environmental damage. He certainly did not want to accidentally destroy his house while advancing.

Also, he did not want to accidentally attract the attention of the supernatural forces that called this city home.

Speaking of which, Issei still did not know what faction controlled Kuoh. According to Ddraig, Japan had been split between the Devil faction and the Shinto/Youkai faction for a while now. Unfortunately, the old dragon was unable to sniff out which power controlled the city.

Although it would have brought him peace of mind to know who his potential enemies were, he did not worry too much about this issue. After all, Issei was still an unknown quantity. As of yet, nobody even knew he existed. So long as this continued, then he should remain relatively safe.

For now, he needed to focus on advancing to the next realm.

After much deliberation, Issei decided to go outside for once and explore Kuoh.

His primary objective was to search for a place where he could safely attempt his breakthrough. He needed a location that was less conspicuous than his house. At the same time, Issei also wanted to refamiliarize himself with the city. After all, he had been gone for over three hundred years. Despite the fact that he called Kuoh his hometown, the city was basically foreign territory to the current him.

So, that's how Issei spent his Sunday afternoon.

He explored the city and visited various landmarks, tourist destinations, and local hotspots. Issei saw sights that were completely new and sights that dredged up old, forgotten memories. Overall, the day was both a novel experience and a nostalgic trip down memory lane.

While out on his day trip, Issei also took the time to search for any potential locations for his breakthrough.

Issei paid particular attention to places with fewer foot traffic and larger land space.

As expected, the urban and suburban areas were a no go— too many civilians and not enough open space. If he attempted a breakthrough in any one of those areas, then there would be significant loss of life, and terrible damage to the city's infrastructure.

His only hope was to find someplace outside of the city limits. The only viable location that he could think of was the forested area behind Kuoh's suburban district. Still, he would need to check up on it first before he made the final decision.

By the time Issei finished his impromptu tour of the city, the sun was already beginning to set.

****

An orange rim of hazy light colored the horizon.

Issei walked through the streets with a lackadaisical gait in his step. He was currently somewhere in the suburban areas of Kuoh. At this time of day, the streets were empty. Most of the residents were already at home, spending time with their families or jerking off, probably.

"Any ideas, Ddraig?" Issei spoke aloud, his stride never breaking.

"I'm not too sure, partner." The heavenly dragon responded back. "It could be devils, but I also smelled a bit of youkai mixed in there too."

While Issei had been out refamiliarizing himself with the sights and sounds of Kuoh, Ddraig had kept busy in his own way. The old dragon attempted to sniff out the faction that controlled the city. He did so, by identifying the residual energy trails that lingered within the city.

Energy trails were basically residual particles of life force/mana. Most supernatural beings discharged these trails merely by existing. Trackers and bounty hunters (the supernatural kind) often used them in order to hunt down their quarry.

Unfortunately, Ddraig was having trouble sorting through the mess of magical signatures scattered all across Kuoh. It couldn't be helped. Being confined to the Boosted Gear greatly hampered Ddraig's natural abilities, including his sensitivity to energy trails.

"From what I can tell, Kuoh's either controlled by the Devils, or by a joint operation between the Devils and the Youkais."

"Why not the Youkais by themselves? Why aren't they in the running?" Issei asked curiously.

"The smell of Youkai is too thin," Ddraig explained. "I think there might only be one of them in the city. If there is only one, then it's far outnumbered by the Devils. So, either the Devil and the Youkai factions are working together, or the Youkai itself belongs to an outside force."

"I see…" It made sense. A brilliant deduction from his trusted partner.

Issei tried to think of how best to use this newfound information to his advantage. Namely, he wanted to know how best to avoid these devils and/or youkai.

"You think I should start going to church, Ddraig?" He asked lightly. "Don't devils hate that kind of stuff?"

"Well, that's certainly one way to repel them." Ddraig chuckled, amused.

"Too bad the city's only church is abandoned," Issei stated with a shrug. "I might still have that rosary that Irina gave me. That could probably work…"

"Sure, but if you overdo it, the devils might confuse you for an exorcist or something." Ddraig caution. "If that happens, then they'll start gunning for you."

Issei cringed at that thought. Considering his luck, that's probably what will happen.

He recalled what little knew of the Devil faction.

The Devils, the Angels, and the Fallen Angels, collectively known as the Three Factions by the rest of the supernatural world, were currently stuck in an unstable treaty.

In actuality, there was still a lot of pent-up animosity between members of each faction, so calling it a treaty was a bit of a stretch. If anything, it was more like an uneasy ceasefire, the type that could break at any moment.

That sounded like the type of mess that he definitely did not want to get involved with.

"Ugh, never mind then. I'll just keep my head down. Hopefully, those guys aren't too intrusive to us 'ordinary citizens.'"

"Probably for the best, partner.'

So, it was basically back to the original plan: maintain his anonymity for as long as humanly possible.

After that brief discussion, Issei continued on his way home. He had just passed a nearby park and was about to make the corner to his street when he heard it.

It was an ugly, guttural sound. The mix between the roar of a bear and the squeal of a pig.

Issei stopped in his tracks. There was something off about that sound, something that felt distinctly… inhuman.

"Oi, Ddraig…"

"Yup, definitely not human." The heavenly dragon quickly confirmed his theory.

Issei lapsed into silence.

'What to do, what to do…'

Of course, the best course of action right now was to simply turn the other direction. From what he could tell, the noise had come from somewhere in the vicinity of the marketplace. It was in the complete opposite direction of his house. If Issei were to go home right now, then he'd be able to avoid encountering whatever the hell made that noise.

And wasn't that what he wanted? To lay low, to avoid getting involved with the supernatural, at least until he was suitably strong enough to properly protect himself?

Before Issei could come to a decision, something else stopped him.

It was a second noise. This time around, it was distinctively human.

A human scream.