Chapter 147
Chapter 147
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 147
Chapter Title: Fox God VTuber Climbing the Tower 147
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[Job-Exclusive Skill [VTuber's Breath]]
-Greatly increases vocal power.
-Circulates life through breathing.
-Provides mental stabilization, strong recovery effects, and enhanced concentration.
Wakamo had acquired a new skill.
It was a special skill that allowed her to recover mana just by breathing!!
'My believers are gonna get chills.'
Of course, for Wakamo, broadcasting was far more important than that.
She had dragged an engineer from Germany to handle the controls, and Gang Yeoul had released her summons so Mei could maintain her focus.
They had to figure out how to edit the fight with the Martial Sovereign well, but since they needed to climb quickly, they didn't have much leeway.
'Instead of editing, I gotta watch VTuber streams...!'
Wakamo had reached a realm beyond no-look clips, where she could infer situations just from a VTuber's voice and even imagine their expressions in her head.
"[Waaah!! Achoo!! Achoo!! I'm right here!!! You lookin' down on me!? Why, Nie...?]"
"[Ahyut! You bastards!! Don't call me squishy squishy!!]"
"[17th birthday anniversary, not 39! You guys! Is Sencho embarrassed?!]"
She could see it... in high resolution, hey!!
Even if she couldn't do her own VTuber stream, she couldn't tolerate missing out on streams.
She had posted a notice that she was rushing up the [Chinese Tower], so her believers would understand.
Plus, this incident was tangled up in complicated stuff like [Murim] and [Black Society].
For now, she prioritized resolving the situation. If she streamed recklessly and gave the Martial Sovereign time to scheme, who knew what crap the [Chinese Tower] might pull on her.
In their current illegal climb, if they slapped her with massive penalties—especially since she wasn't taking any damage—they might empower the Martial Sovereign to deal with the illegal climber!
That's why a tower with its own ego was such a headache.
"Ancestor, is it okay to climb this fast...?"
"I'm worried about that too, descendant."
"Right?"
"These guys are so weak, their heads shatter before I can show off."
"Pardon?"
The [Rigid Corpses] appearing from the 75th floor—what could she even say about them? They couldn't satisfy Wakamo. They used some martial arts, but after experiencing the Martial Sovereign's profoundly superior realm, she had no desire to learn them.
She lightly dodged an attack from one named something-or-other Rigid Corpse and punched it, shattering its head.
She thought [Heroic Spirits] would be something substantial, but Mei's impression was:
'What, why are they so slow?'
It was just that the [Nuwa Swift Codex] Mei had learned was overwhelmingly fast.
Ultra-swift martial arts didn't care what was in her hand, so combining the basic sword principles of [Eternal Eight Forms] with [Eight Thunderclap Sword] allowed her to slash eight times in one stroke—how could a Rigid Corpse block that with just two arms?
'Overconfidence... I don't want to get hyped and cause a stream accident.'
Overwhelming foes with martial prowess! Great, but it ended too fast for ads, right?
Lately, with all the collab streams and ad streams, she could patchwork it into a chimera, but ethically...
"Hang on, can I meditate a bit?"
"Oh, sure!"
To calm her hype, she sat cross-legged on the floor and settled her mind.
It had been a long journey—how much effort had it taken to gain this power?
The desperate efforts to become this strong...
...Why did she have to do it?
'No, but is this supposed to be a fateful encounter?'
Even being generous, Wakamo thought her life had gone utterly haywire.
Looking back, she could have lived as a rich Vermillion Bird clipper uncle, but she got branded an 【Idol】 by the [Korean Tower].
If it had been a normal [Class], she could have just kept streaming.
Plus, Yu Ying might get hurt hearing this... but if the tower hadn't forced her to meet Yu Ying, she wouldn't have gotten tangled with China... wouldn't have met Rong Wei... could have lived a peaceful, laid-back, ordinary VTuber life...
How did things end up this far...
Pushing down her complicated feelings, Mei steadied her mind and body with [VTuber's Breath].
The balance of the [Five Elements] power she wielded now required delicate [Mana Manipulation] and unshakable focus.
Even a slight lapse, and she'd turn into a tree, burn up, pop like a balloon, or transmute into metal in an instant.
The least problematic part was probably spurting water from her body.
Operating [Three Brains Mutual Combat] at full power, she focused the mental energy for controlling her [Sub-Body] into this flesh.
If she diverted the focus used on Wakamo here, even more might be possible, but things were getting complicated in Germany too.
'No, why does the Papal Court need results from experiments turning people into monsters?'
Was this really the corruption or shadowy conspiracy of religious organizations that pops up in movies and webnovels...? Mei's stomach hurt.
'Focus...'
She needed to master this power more perfectly and naturally.
She had some theory built up, but it was a prototype technique completed by grasping the sense of [Qi] during the clash with the [Martial Sovereign].
Even now, any imbalance caused chaos inside.
It felt like being a Murim martial artist, carefully maintaining the harmonious balance of mind and body to avoid qi deviation.
The mental focus she was doing now—was it called circulating qi in wuxia novels?
The principle was simple.
[Mana] was something every climber had.
Even if not shown in stats.
When [Vitality] or [Agility] stats rose, the climber themselves grew stronger.
In that way, the [Fist King] had little mana but possessed [Qi].
Of course, without using [Skills], it existed for him as a passive sensation, unfelt and unseen through [Stats].
Wakamo knew from her [Shaman Skills] that [Mana] transformed into things like [Demonic Power], [Divine Power], [Holy Power], etc., and had built a foundation, then learned advanced concepts from [Professor] and [Asuka] to understand it intuitively.
Thanks to that, wielding [Qi (Life)] in real combat felt fresh.
But ironically, since it wasn't displayed in [Stats], she couldn't use it for [Skills].
Wakamo used [Skills] with qi, but not because of stats?
[Sage] or [Professor] could learn and use them. Even unknown skills could be grasped similarly.
A [Skill] enabled handling it and proved mastery.
Wakamo used it in the latter form.
Back to the start: Wakamo's [Idol's Body] was 100% mana.
Thus, she sensed mana, mastered [Mana Manipulation], and now used it unconsciously.
Then, with [Idol's Earth], she grew plants inside, filling her body.
Her lungs breathed via flowers and leaves, roots spread through her body sucking mana to supply life.
Beneath mana-composed skin, life flowed fully—controlled via [Mana Core] learned from the slime monster incident.
Three [Mana Cores] in abdomen, chest, and head controlled the plants.
Like tower monsters using [Qi].
Outwardly a climber, inwardly a plant monster.
What a scam.
Then, using [Mana Manipulation], she maintained the pre-activation [State] of [Skills], flowing mana forms through her body.
Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, Wind.
In a sense, purest mana elements flowed like blood through plant stems, multiplying vitality several times, enabling stronger [Qi] emission.
Maximizing efficiency with all possessed [Skills] via [Mana] to create [Life].
And that life produced [Qi].
──Here, anything additional becomes possible.
But Wakamo was already struggling to control flowers and branches tearing through Mei's body; she could imagine what more would do.
'I've come really far.'
The hot qi flowing inside, the wriggling plants' breathing and pulsing gave the feel of a living body.
Still, one eye torn with a red flower blooming... good she felt no pain, or it'd be a natural eyepatch?
At first, she floundered under the overwhelming performance of the [Idol's Body].
Overcoming that, she writhed from insufficient [Mana].
Then, conquering even [Mana], she hit innate limits.
Yeah, from here, it's pure climber talent that decides.
[Challenging the Trial of Sichuan Province Tower 76th Floor]
-Climber, shatter the walls and overcome the crisis.
-Destroy your worthy opponent and seize power!
-Climber, display your martial arts!
※You are climbing with a party.
Climbing in a rule-violating manner.
The next floor's difficulty will increase.
[Platinum Achievement Conditions]
-[Impossible to achieve via party entry instead of normal method.]
-Overcome the [Heroic Spirits]!
-[[Ten Thousand Ghosts Return to One: Ghost Demon] is your opponent!]
[All stats reduced by 50% due to Ghost Gate Warrior Soul-Shattering Formation!]
A ghost in assassin-like dark garb charged.
Hiding hands in fluttering sleeves, eyes gleaming from deep sockets, it hurled bombs causing explosions and smoke.
Simultaneously, dragon ornaments on walls spewed poison mist. As Xiao Liang covered her mouth in surprise, Mei remained calm.
Expecting [Mana Poison] perhaps, but flying daggers shot from fluttering sleeves.
Twelve daggers at once, hidden needles scattering inside, dark blades in their shadows flying at Mei.
And Mei shattered them all at once with [Idol's Storm].
Undeterred by the typhoon barrier, the ghost closed distance aggressively, bursting a pouch of bone-melting extreme poison.
Dense smoke touched her hair, melting it with sizzling sounds.
"[Heaven-Shattering Blood Hand!!]"
The long-cultivated poison claw wrapped in qi struck like lightning at Mei.
Just before contact, Mei's hand blade severed its wrist.
Her hand, similarly cloaked in qi—even blood-red—seemed to swing three times to Xiao Liang.
Before it hit the ground, the ghost was in 18 pieces.
'Fast... I couldn't even see it!'
With [Idol's Storm] unleashing wind blades, how could it endure?
On the 77th floor, a yeti-like massive monkey monster called [Fighter Yeren] burst out.
Long arms and legs covered in thick fur, it raised a huge blade wrapped in lightning and struck down. They were the first Mei recognized as proper martial arts here.
"Ah ha."
The lightning-wrapped swing resembled something Mei had roughly imagined at her debut.
Of course, quality and momentum differed vastly. With overbearing aura, Xiao Liang charged one Fighter Yeren.
Mei eyed the remaining 19.
"[Primordial Thunderclap Blade!!]"
'Hmm, no clue.'
She got the sword swings, but not how to manifest that [Lightning Qi].
Regrettable... similar to [Sorcery]. If deep principles hid, she couldn't learn just by watching.
So Mei flowed [Idol's Thunder] through her body. Adding lightning attribute cracked her arms and body with sparks!
Ignoring, she slashed the raised blade, eliciting roars as it loaded lightning qi into its remaining arm for palm strikes.
Chaotic footwork with lightning rushes disoriented and pressured Mei.
But waves crashed.
[Idol's Tidal Wave] flooded, soaking Yerens—who eyed pooled water at their ankles, meeting Mei's grinning gaze with foreboding.
"Strike down."
Rumble—!!
[Idol's Thunder] struck, Yerens roaring.
Electrocuted while standing, trembling, Mei infused mana into her sword, enlarging it to behead them all at once.
"Ababa..."
Xiao Liang, having downed just one, clapped at Mei wiping 19 in a blink.
On the 78th floor, greeting Mei was the grandiose [Twenty-Eight Mansions Illusory Absolute Sword].
"[Demon who defies rules and breaks discipline! I'll face you!!]"
Swiftly drawn sword showed myriad changes, illusions.
Dozens of ever-shifting stances, especially disorienting vision-reliant Mei as sword forms blended rapidly.
Like a casino gambler shuffling the deck, even spotting it felt like a con artist's skill.
[Acquired Skill [Eighty-One Flowing Star Illusion Sword]!]
"What kind of stance has 81 forms?"
"[What...?]"
After nearly an hour of exchanges, Mei's eyes sharpened, deploying the sword.
Ecstatic blade dance entranced, illusions disrupted focus, sucking it in.
Within, sword split into eight, each different stance, blurring real from fake—space seemed swallowed by blades.
Splatter—!
"—Boring. [Idol's Form] is better."
For illusions, Mei specialized more.
Realizing all shown sword waves were illusions from the start, Mei beheaded the stunned [Illusory Absolute Sword].
"[You vile fiend!! You're defying the rules right now!!]"
On the 79th floor, a beautiful snow woman appeared: [North Sea's Millennium Ice Sword], charging with ice sword amid blizzard.
Master movement left no footprints on snow; swings traced white trails of sword qi.
Whirling snowflakes sliced, multiplied into massive storm swallowing Mei.
Extreme cold froze her body, inner plants shriveling and hardening.
Plants couldn't adapt quickly to surroundings.
Growing from [Seeds], not usable from nothing.
If cultivated plants died, the gap in redeployment meant fatal hits inevitably.
No choice, Mei slowly raised body temperature with [Idol's Flame], glancing at arms.
Clang—!
Arms transmuted to metal. Unlike before, not fully rigid.
Mana skin tore, but inner qi-clumped wood veins were steel-hard.
Not diamond indestructible, but sword-proof?
Glowing red, melting nearby snow into steam.
Panicked Millennium Ice Sword tried distancing, but Mei dashed on snow unbroken, thrusting hand to tear body.
[Acquired Skill [Blood Hand Demonic Art]!]
"Learned something good."
Fox-like eye smile, Mei spun staggering Millennium Ice Sword's head gripping belly.
Staring blankly at her hands, she felt on the verge of realization.
But insufficient. No crisis sense against this level.
Always extreme difficulty, cornered, razor-edge epiphanies!!
──Even reaching 80th floor, Wakamo felt none.
"Tai Chi Sword?"
Thirty Taoist-robed martial artists in enclosure formation hid in white sword mist, wielding Tai Chi Sword assaults.
All flows visible; grasping techniques led to tragic realization, sad expression.
Understood why Fist King preferred sparring Wakamo over teaching disciples.
As his disciple, she knew his techniques—unfinished, she could dismantle.
Mei's shadow unraveled, whipping; Tai Chi deflections rode flow into arms severing.
Outclassed, numbers meant rabble.
".....Shall I?"
Bored with pathetic foes, Mei raised hands.
[Mana] form free... activating [Idol's Flame], slowly transmuting mana to fire, observing intently.
Then [Mana Manipulation] decomposed, reversed, reconstructed.
Fire turned white [Ice], emitting chill.
[Acquired Skill [Idol's Freeze]!]
"Ah haha!"
[Idol's Flame] description: [Consumes possessed mana to ignite flames].
Simple substitution—reversing yielded opposite naturally.
[Idol's Freeze]
-Consumes possessed mana to freeze.
[Acquired Skill [Bare Hand Demonic Art]!]
Arms freezing white.
Full-force clap spread mana as blizzard, freezing surrounding Taoists solid. As living beings—martial artists' life in [Breath]—they inhaled reflexively, lungs freezing into ice statues.
Seven survived amid...
"You've got nothing to show."
Boom—!!!
Full-mana max-output [Idol's Flame] erupted, pillar of fire ashen remains scattered.
Xiao Liang gawking goldfish-like.
Fearing ancestor's displeasure, silent, crouched low.
Knowing trauma-learned, Mei cooed, stroked cutely.
Must affirm fully....!!
Kids are VTubers' future!!
"23 years old..."
Xiao Liang protested not a kid, but age gap shut her mouth.
"Wow!! Baldy!!"
81st floor huge temple excited Mei. Grabbing Xiao Liang, entered: long-bearded monk standing.
[Shaolin Grandmaster] titled [Heroic Spirit] ignored distance, slamming [Hundred-Step Divine Fist] like Martial Sovereign.
Then using Diamond Body, whole body golden.
No weapons needed, indestructible flesh kicked and punched Mei overwhelmingly one-sided.
Eight strikes became sixty-four, deflecting all directions with fists.
Amazed Mei mimicked Martial Sovereign, unleashing different arts dual-handed at Grandmaster.
But unscratched. Mei's fingers and hands shattered.
"[I'll send you to Buddha's side, evil fiend!]"
"Mercy! Buddha!!"
Facial impact smashed [Mana Core], chest punch wrecked internals shattering all [Mana Cores]; Mei slid back spewing mana-blood, yet grinned.
Truly wondrous strikes... Fist King-esque!
"[Why... are you smiling?]"
Situation one-sidedly against Mei.
Yet [Heroic Spirit] couldn't shake unease, chill, ominousness.
"Huh? Why? Why smile?"
Mei tilted head, questioning the obvious.
"People smile when happy, duh?"
"[Happy...? This fight?]"
"Super happy!"
No complex steps or qi circulation.
Shattered body reseeded via mouth, rebuilding; Mei rolled shoulders, drawing [Qi].
Seeming tired, tossed meaningless [Vitality Potion]: "Drink up."
Deflecting shattering it—pride as tester?
Whatever.
Posture radically changed—mirroring Grandmaster's—twisting elder's face.
[Acquired Skill [Six Harmonies Fist]!]
[Acquired Skill [Air-Splitting Palm]!]
[Acquired Skill [Dragon Claw Hand]!]
[Acquired Skill [Tiger Subduing Palm]!]
Matching Six Harmonies Fist entry blocked, but snaking arms slashed chest.
Coiling like spring, palm struck air explosively rocking body.
Six Harmonies with dragon mimicry, Nuwa swiftness, Tai Chi flow—irresistible.
Blocked punches uncoiled into ravenous beast claws. Pushing failed against flowing water.
"Wakamo Style! Tiger Drop!!!"
Clinging arms on entry, headbutted gap.
Blood spurting nose, staggering; Mei condensed qi into [Tiger Subduing Palm] chest slam.
Crack! Unheard internal snap, black blood vomited, kneeling.
Plop—
Potion rolled to feet.
"Drink, gotta fight more?"
Couldn't grasp internals—but techniques visible.
Show more. Eyes burning thirst near madness, hunger for strength; flinching Grandmaster pierced own heart.
Judged staying pointless for [Chinese Tower].
Ruthless resolve. Self-termination stunned Mei.
First monster suicide forfeit.
'I get it...!'
Xiao Liang understood 81st [Shaolin Grandmaster]'s feelings.
Thought one-sided push, but endured to learn [Martial Arts]. Worse, treated as teaching tool not foe... meaningless fight, preserve last pride.
"Ah— no weapons left."
Dual-section staff, tri-staff shattered, [Idol's Ore] sword broken; fought bare-fisted.
"Shall I lend my sword...?"
"Sure? Nah, fine."
82nd floor [Four-Pole Sword Master] troubled Mei.
[Four-Pole Swordplay] thrusts absurdly fast. No gap to close, exhausting.
Plus lavish [Flying Swordplay] [Sword Controlling Arts] pressured.
Sadly distanced, swept by indiscriminate [Idol] attribute barrage, ashed...
Strong foe. Regretted not learning.
Simple thrust, yet why so fast?
Considering Martial Sovereign rematch needed sword: [VTuber Assets] [Modular Beam Saber], [Sculpting Knife], or [VTuber Model] [Sub-Body] as sword?
'....Sub-Body?'
Sub-Bodies could be [Dragon General God] etc.
'......'
Nothing more to gain, try anything?
Impulsive Mei, but [Idol's Body] upgrades rare.
[Sub-Body] unlocks like drought-ending drop.
"Ta-da."
Made [Extending Rod].
New Sub-Body sadly just rod extending, no limbs.
'Can this use [VTuber Model] to move...?'
Worm-wriggle possible, but oddly novel.
"83rd floor, what's next?"
"Whatever, it'll be fine...?"
One floor left to Martial Sovereign rematch.
Entering: endless bamboo sea.
Bewildered scanning, hundreds shouted.
"""[Unleash the Heaven-Spanning Net!!]"""
"O—"
Mei's spread mana detected monster presences. Truly over thousand encircled. Arrows, hidden weapons, even Sword Arts hurling weapons.
Bombs, poison, nets; headcount swarm obvious. Mei spun new Sub-Body wide.
Mere extension performance.
Applied [Idol's Ore] for [Rare Metal] material, mana-infused.
Qi strengthened gripping body, mana coiled vibrating rod.
Crunch—!!!
[Model Adjustment] gigantified rod, crushing bamboo flat; Mei laughed at self-satisfying strike.
[Weight of Faith] building-sized rod swung lightly.
Smashed indiscriminately like bugs, slammed earth muting screams.
Extended, gigantified, hurled full-force; [Object Interaction] remote controlled.
Repeated stretch-shrink pulverized terrain madly.
Spouting flames, freezing contacts, lightning discharges rampaged.
Self-ego like ego weapon [Rod] auto-swept martial artists.
Not worth engaging, Mei necklace-to-bow, Sun Shot sensed spots.
Boom— Boom—
Explosions, light bursts showed rod shadows vanishing.
Enemies dwindled...
Some fled exploiting wide tower terrain.
Time-drag ploy obvious, but inescapable dispersed [Cameras]—futile.
30 minutes post-start, annihilated.
Glanced razed trace-less terrain, patted Xiao Liang shoulder.
"Let's go?"
"....Y-Yeah..."
[Challenging Sichuan Province Tower 84th Floor Trial]
『Layer Plunder』 Duel between 『Perfect Clear Layer』 holders commences.
Determine win/loss without taking lives.
Loser loses 『Perfect Clear Layer』 ownership.
"....You arrived quite fast, Idol."
"7 hours?"
Traversed 10 floors from 74th in 7 hours, Mei grinned up at Martial Sovereign.
Backdrop: scenic peak-viewing sect grounds.
Faded sign unknown, grand main hall onward.
Mei realized similar to Plum Blossom Sword Sect fight.
"Nostalgic sight? Impressions returning to Huashan Sect?"
"Ah, so it was. Boss is Plum Blossom Sword Master?"
"Pathetic skills. Tore apart easily."
No fleeing intent this time?
Had considered him ditching to 100th.
Then 『Perfect Clear Layers』 spawned 『Black Society』 members.
All black garb with dragon emblem: Martial Sovereign's martial artists awaiting Mei.
"100 elites I raised myself. Take your time—I'll wait."
"Not planning to abandon layer and dash to 100th if disadvantaged?"
How loyalty forged? No more Xiao Liang mentions.
Noting "hand-picked," Mei smirked.
Encirled by elites unflinchingly, clapped loud.
Perplexed action turned Martial Sovereign entering hall.
"Been waiting for this moment!!"
"....For what?"
Wrong.
Idol not looking at Martial Sovereign.
At floating something.
[Climber not normal entry!]
[No layer ownership even on victory!]
[Stake more owned layers!]
[Agree?]
Skipped 74th ownership. No fun otherwise?
"I'll stake all 54 layers I cleared in Korean Tower."
[54 layers staked—]
"Plus 10 Perfect Clear Layers from Kyoto 100th Tower I got."
[Additional 10—]
"Wakamo Layer 1! Plus 2nd and 3rd!!"
[──!??!??!]
"Everything on 【Idol】 Class!! Your fave Yu Ying's [Emperor], Rong Wei's [Collector] raise!!"
All in.
Life singular anyway...
Ignoring aftermath, Wakamo Inarizushi all-in responded Chinese Tower penalty threat.
"Even 【Babel Fragment】. Icing on cake, right?"
[Chinese Tower that──@!$^$$&^@#]
Overboard protest glitched out.
[Korean Tower!! Agrees climber's terms, stakes all costs!]
[Tower bet established by mediator. Equal value scales. Winner gets all rewards!!]
Giant scale backdrop, Wakamo's stakes poured—crash!! Tilted aside.
[Chinese Tower writhes!]
Silent empty pan, [Chinese Tower] dithered.
Mei raced 10 floors solely for this.
From first warning, awaited; fox-demon grin blanched Martial Sovereign.
"—You're evil. Unforgivable evil. Stealing kids from parents, parents from kids....foe of [VTubers]!!"
[Korean Tower whispers! Without you, more viewers for Chinese VTubers now!]
"Evil threatening VTubers eradicated!! Evil stealing VTuber happiness!! Denying happiness denies VTubers!! Dreams, love, effort, passion... life's meaning, drive, joy for some—hear this, villain!!"
『Don't love VTubers, support as best friend』.
Poetic line, Mei's face dead-serious earnestness.
Hundred foes? Thousand? Ten thousand? Irrelevant!!
Crush evil threatening, denying, tormenting VTubers!!
"Nice to meet you!! Mei Xiaolongbao!!"
Rod slung shoulder, half-face demonized aflame returned.
Bowing to 100 elites.
"Karma's here!! Yao Fang!!"
Rights-opening Mei Xiaolongbao yelled no escape.
VTuber-staked deathmatch time....!!