Chapter 95 Sub-Dragon God Level
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
On July 23rd, Kuoh Academy began its first-semester final exams.
Aki had taken a lengthy leave of absence previously, but his foundation was still solid.
Aside from History, he passed every other subject with flying colors.
As for History… he was truly at a loss.
In this chaotic world, history was fundamentally different from what he remembered.
It wasn’t just Japan’s national history; world history had significant deviations as well.
However, since Aki’s history knowledge had only been average to begin with, he couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly where the differences lay.
Once summer vacation arrived, Aki fully internalized the gains from his previously acquired Talents and his “Dual Cultivation” sessions.
Aside from his combat experience remaining at its previous level, he had made significant strides in every other area.
[Name: Uesugi (Suu) Aki]
* Talents:
- [Stray Devil Lineage (High-Class) · Incomplete]
- [Physical Mastery (Beginner)]
- [Sword Heart (Beginner)]
- [Lightning Flash · Incomplete]
- [Insight Eye]
- [Mental Resistance]
- [Mirror Reflection]
- [Perception]
- [Spirit Bond]
- [Tenacity]
- [Charm Talent]
* Skills:
- [Magic Power Extraction (Beginner)]
- [Close Combat (Beginner)]
- [Sword Zen (Beginner)]
- [Thunder Spear]
- [Fireball Technique]
- [Wind Blade]
- [Earth Spike]…
* Comprehensive Evaluation: Peak B-rank
There was no “final comprehensive evaluation” on his personal status panel, but Aki discovered that no matter how much he practiced Dual Cultivation, he couldn’t achieve even a shred of further improvement.
Baffled, he made a point to ask Rias.
After a series of careful inquiries and observations, Rias provided him with that evaluation and explained the more detailed power hierarchy of this world.
A middle-class Stray Devil generally possesses A-rank strength, which corresponds to Mid-Rank Mages, Middle-Class Fallen Angels, Four-Winged Angels, and Martial Saint-level powerhouses.
A High-Class Stray Devil is S-rank, corresponding to High-Level Magicians, High-Class Fallen Angels, Six-Winged Angels, and Martial Gods.
Beyond that is the Ultimate High-Class Stray Devil at SS-rank, which corresponds to the Highest-Class Fallen Angels and Eight-Winged Angels.
It is significantly harder for Magicians and Martial Way practitioners to reach this level.
Magicians must find the “Source,” while Martial Way practitioners must ascend to the “Immortal Path.” Rias didn’t go into detail about the “Source” or the “Immortal Path” because she wasn’t entirely clear on them herself.
It was said that once that threshold is crossed, the path ahead is smooth, but the barrier itself is a thousand times more difficult than other methods of advancement.
In the last ten thousand years, there hadn’t even been a rumor of anyone finding either.
After SS-rank comes SSS-rank, also known as the Dragon King class.
Ten-Winged Angels and Fallen Angel Cadres sit at this level.
The Demon King class is even higher-the strongest combat forces in the Three Realms-and is referred to as EX-rank.
This corresponds to the power of Twelve-Winged Angels and the Kings of Fallen Angels.
Beings that surpass the Demon King class generally do not reveal themselves in the Three Realms, and there are no official ratings for them.
However, after Aki’s persistent pestering, Rias finally relented and revealed a bit more.
Above the Demon King class, there are tiers such as Super Demon King class, Chief God level, and finally, the Sub-Dragon God level.
Rias warned Aki that every leap in a major realm is incredibly difficult.
Among them, the transitions to A-rank and EX-rank are the hardest to break through (excluding the “Source” and “Immortal Path”).
Those legendary cultivation paths are estimated to be even more grueling than surpassing the Demon King class.
On the flip side, once successful, they provide a direct path to the Chief God level, and one’s combat power would be unrivaled among peers of the same rank.
The reason Aki couldn’t progress was that he was currently facing the bottleneck between B-rank and A-rank.
In Rias’s words, A-rank is where one truly becomes “extraordinary”; the very essence of life begins to transmute.
Once a person reaches A-rank, supernatural energy like mana becomes the root of their existence.
As long as they have mana, they can go without eating, drinking, or sleeping.
No one had ever heard of an A-rank powerhouse dying of hunger or collapsing from overwork.
At A-rank and above, the increase in combat power is no longer additive; it is exponential.
An A-rank might not be enough to crush a B-rank, but an S-rank can crush a B-rank as easily as an ant.
Aki felt a bit numb after hearing all this.
Rias and the others told him that with his magic talent, he should be able to break through naturally once he mastered Middle-Class Magic Power Extraction… but Aki knew his own truth: he didn’t have any real magic talent.
Since he hadn’t been able to extract the skill from Shinra Tsubaki yet, he had tried to learn it himself.
After nearly a month of study, he saw zero progress.
He’d thought he just needed more time, but it clearly wasn’t a time issue.
Aki didn’t have years to waste.
Every day he wasn’t A-rank was a day he couldn’t utilize the super-multiplied speed of his Dual Cultivation.
He had planned to hit the Demon King class within a year; now, he wasn’t even sure he could hit A-rank in that timeframe.
On July 30th, Aki passed his history makeup exam and officially began his summer vacation.
Since he couldn’t break through via mana, he shifted his focus to the Martial Way.
Unlike his “fake” magic talent, Aki’s aptitude for combat was genuine and exceptionally high.
After obtaining the Beginner Sword Heart from Miyajima Sakura, it took him very little time to grasp a sliver of the “True Meaning of Kendo.” The “Sword Zen” in his skill bar was the result.
According to Sakura, Aki’s Sword Zen was only at the introductory level.
As it improved, his Martial Way strength would continue to grow.
To reach the Martial Saint realm (A-rank), one needs the “unification of essence, energy, and spirit.” In Kendo, reaching the peak of Sword Zen signifies this unification.
At that point, internal Qi is born naturally, and one enters the realm of the Sword Saint.
These secrets were passed down from Miyajima Sosuke to Sakura, who then shared them with Aki.
Since starting Dual Cultivation with Aki, Sakura’s strength had skyrocketed.
The Miyajima family had a Sword Saint in their ancestry, and Sosuke had handed over all the ancestral notes to Sakura.
The highest state of Sword Zen goes by many names, but the most common is the “Unification of God and Man”-the “Nirvana Realm.”
August 3rd.
Aki arrived at the Miyajima Dojo as usual.
Ignoring the resentful glare from Miyuna, he put his arm around the blushing Sakura and headed into the private cultivation room in the backyard.
After a session of intense cultivation that was mutually beneficial, Aki-now naked-picked up the Miyajima heirloom, the famous blade Harusame, and began his Sword Zen.
Sakura didn’t waste any time either.
Even though Aki was using her weapon, her Sword Zen had already reached the Third Realm, meaning she no longer strictly required a physical blade for assistance.
The only downside was a slight dip in efficiency.
However, her lower abdomen was currently full of Aki’s essence, which more than made up for the deficit.
The stunningly beautiful Kendo genius sat beside Aki, her long purple hair flowing loosely.
Her beautiful eyes were half-closed, and the flush on her porcelain skin was slowly receding.
She exuded an aura of serene, holy calm.
If one could ignore the fact that she was currently naked, with traces of white liquid occasionally trickling from her inner thighs, anyone would mistake her for a dignified, sacred master of the blade.
Half an hour later, Aki opened his eyes.
He glanced at the girl beside him, whose aura was now perfectly rounded, then looked at the [Sword Zen (Middle-Class)] in his skill bar.
He decided it was time for another round of Dual Cultivation.
Because he couldn’t rely on Dual Cultivation to boost his mana for the moment, Aki had discovered a detail he’d previously overlooked: the ability didn’t just improve physical stats; it also had an effect on the spirit-the soul.
Compared to the other benefits, the spiritual effect was subtle.
If the other areas hadn’t hit a standstill, Aki might never have noticed it-and the other girls, who only got to “cultivate” with him occasionally, certainly wouldn’t have realized it either.
—
Summary:
Aki faces a progress bottleneck at Peak B-rank, unable to advance further through Dual Cultivation alone. Rias explains the world’s deep power hierarchy, revealing tiers up to Sub-Dragon God level. Aki shifts focus to Kendo and ‘Sword Zen’ training with Sakura to bypass his lack of magical talent.
—
Trivia:
- A-rank is the threshold for ‘extraordinary’ status where energy replaces basic human needs.
- Aki’s High-Class Stray Devil lineage is incomplete, hindering his natural breakthrough.
- The ‘Source’ and ‘Immortal Path’ are extremely rare cultivation shortcuts that lead straight to Chief God level.
- Sakura’s current strength is bolstered by the ‘Essence’ Aki provides during their sessions
—
Character Insight:
Aki is feeling the pressure of time; his ambition to reach Demon King class within a year is being challenged by his own mediocre magic aptitude, forcing him to be more pragmatic and pivot to Martial Way talents.
—
Lore And Worldbuilding Context:
The chapter highlights a common xianxia/isekai trope where physical ‘Dual Cultivation’ results in diminishing returns when a user lacks the ‘qualitative’ insight to break a bottleneck.
—
Glossary:
Notes:
• Aki – Silver‑haired, sharp‑eyed and strikingly handsome, he’s a Peak B‑rank Stray Devil with incomplete High‑Class blood, Dual‑Cultivation, Grandmaster Martial Way stuck on a Mana bottleneck. Works for Akeno, dates Rias & Takamine sisters, leads “Little Aki,” defeated Sosuke, monitors Aisu Academy, joins ORC, and hunts Talents.
• Rias – Rias Gremory, 17, a tall, curvaceous pure-blood High-Class Devil and President of Kuoh Academy’s Occult Research Club, boasts long crimson hair, crystal-like crimson eyes, and elegant demonic wings beneath her refined school uniform. Known as the Crimson Ruin Princess wielding the Power of Destruction, she commands with authority yet shows deep appreciation for her peerage. Having lived with Akeno since childhood, she fiercely protects her team, mentors Aki like a big sister, oversees his training, and, frustrated by his stalled reincarnation, plans rituals while guiding him through the world’s power hierarchy and evaluating his strength.
• Shinra Tsubaki – Dark‑blue‑haired, refined vice‑president of the student council in a status‑worthy uniform; childhood friend and Queen‑type retainer to President Shitori Sona. A middle‑class reincarnated devil with Mirror Reflection talent, later Demon Bloodline, A‑rank peerage member whose mana surged after meeting Aki, making her a strategic ally and loyal subordinate.
• Tsubaki – Shinra Tsubaki, Vice President of the Student Council and Sona’s Queen, is a stoic Devil with black wings, wearing a school uniform, black lace bra, silk stockings, and glasses framing a sharp, intellectual gaze. A master of privacy‑bound magic, she aids investigations with razor‑sharp analysis while hiding jealousy of Aki’s time with the Occult Research Club; her hidden affection leads to their first kiss. Though distant to most, she shares an unspoken bond with Aki, her composed authority masking vulnerable devotion. As Sousuke’s wife and Sakura’s mother, she outwardly flirts with Aki, blending maternal warmth and seductive charm beneath a polished exterior.
• Miyajima Sakura – Upperclassman Miyajima Sakura, a striking kendo prodigy with “Sword Heart,” studies at Aisu Academy and now at Aie Academy. Living with Aki—whom she views as a younger brother despite his predatory nature—she is brave, romantically sensitive, a former Kuoh student, a club beauty targeted by Tanaka Hajime, and unaware of the supernatural.
• Miyajima – Family name of Sosuke, Tsubaki and Sakura.
• Sakura – Sakura Miyajima, a third‑year Aisu Academy student, is a kendo prodigy with Sword Heart talent, wearing a navy blazer and red hakama. Daughter of Sousuke, she views Aki as a younger brother despite his predatory nature, now lives with him after learning his supernatural side, and they practice Dual Cultivation together. A Miyajima family kendo genius, she recently surpassed her father in strength.
• Miyajima Sosuke – Tall, disciplined kendo master in his late 40s, wearing a crisp white keikogi and hakama, he leads the Miyajima household with quiet authority. A devoted father to daughter Sakura, he balances protective instincts with a gentle smile. Near B‑rank, he’s approaching Grandmaster status, aware of supernatural hints but lacking deep technical insight.
• Miyuna – A late-twenties kendo instructor and receptionist at the Miyajima Dojo, she possesses a toned, athletic build honed by martial arts training and exceptional stamina. Infatuated with Aki after their encounter, she harbors a predatory romantic interest, masking her intensity with professional poise. This is the first time she’s brought a man—Aki—to her apartment, marking a bold, personal breakthrough after years of reserved, office-lady decorum.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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