The black mist dissipated, and the branch shrine and courtyard vanished completely. Bai Luo found himself transported to a mountain forest.
This forest was even more lush than the Chinju Forest he had seen before—almost akin to a primeval jungle.
Stepping on the fallen leaves, he could even smell the scent of decay.
But compared to Chinju Forest, this place lacked the chirping of insects and birds.
Perhaps the system hadn't simulated them.
After all, this thing had always been a bit glitchy. Last time it gave him a trial card, it nearly crashed itself to death.
"Hey, challenger."
A girl with jet-black wings sat perched on a tall tree, her geta-clad feet swinging idly. Despite wearing pristine white socks, not a speck of dust clung to them in this forest.
It was as if the woods themselves refused to tarnish the purity of her legs.
The tengu girl, Teruyo, wasn't dressed in a combat outfit like Kujou Sara's but in casual attire.
The tengu mask tilted on her head didn't make her look frightening—instead, it gave her a mischievous charm.
Though her clothes were dark-toned, the small flower tucked into her hair might have been her last act of defiance against convention.
Who says tengu can't be pretty?
"Shall we begin?"
The tengu girl drew the tachi at her waist and tossed it to Bai Luo, who was clad in black.
This tachi had no special properties—it was just an ordinary blade commonly used by tengu.
Though admittedly sharper than human-forged weapons.
But this tengu girl didn't seem to care for swords. The tachi showed no signs of maintenance, its blade covered in rust, making one wonder if it could even still be used.
"Let me switch forms first."
Politely acknowledging her, Bai Luo planted the tachi in the soil beside him and switched to his Battousai job.
He had already seen the trial's requirements. If merely touching Teruyo counted as completing the trial, it meant this tengu girl's speed was undoubtedly terrifying.
In that case, Battousai was the perfect job to counter her.
Even if he couldn't kill her, he could still injure her with Nine-Headed Dragon Flash to secure the minimum reward.
The binding effect of Flash of the Heavenly Soaring Dragon had given even the Raiden Shogun and Rex Lapis trouble—dealing with a mere tengu would be child's play.
In an instant, a splash of crimson appeared amidst the forest's dark tones.
The black that had blended into the mountains was replaced by a figure in red holding an oil-paper umbrella.
A faint plum blossom fragrance wafted through the air, overpowering the forest's decayed scent and immediately catching Teruyo's attention.
"Interesting~"
Closing his umbrella and tucking it at his waist, he picked up the Rusty Tachi the tengu girl had given him.
The trial demanded he use this tetanus-inducing blade to "sever" the tengu.
Once ready, the system's prompt arrived.
[Challenge Begins!]
Instantly, the invisible barrier between them vanished. The tengu girl spread her wings, darting into the forest like a black lightning bolt.
Where she had been sitting just moments ago, multiple sword slashes now carved into the wood.
Flipping midair, the tengu girl already had a longbow in hand.
Drawing and nocking an arrow in one fluid motion, she loosed it—
The arrow streaked toward Bai Luo's face like a shooting star.
"She gets to fight back too?!"
Deflecting the arrow, Bai Luo protested half-heartedly.
With only five minutes, her counterattacks made this even harder.
"You're way more troublesome than that rock-headed Douin."
Sticking out her tongue playfully, she fired several more arrows mid-retreat, denying Bai Luo any chance to close the distance.
Now Bai Luo understood why Mikoshi Michihiro—a man of straightforward combat—had created Tengu Sweeper, a move akin to Nine-Headed Dragon Flash.
Faced with such a cheeky opponent, even Bai Luo felt the urge to unleash it.
But with time still left, he suppressed the impulse, aiming to maximize his gains.
Under the moonlight, the girl's bell-like laughter mingled with the twang of her bowstring, echoing through Yougou Mountain's forests.
As for Bai Luo?
Though familiar with Yougou Mountain, his knowledge was of the version centuries later—one seemingly damaged by some catastrophe.
This verdant, untouched forest was nothing like what he knew. Against the bird-like agility of the tengu girl, he was outmatched.
She flew swiftly, yet knew every branch, every ridge, every structure like the back of her hand.
She could navigate these woods blindfolded.
Because she was the guardian of Yougou's forests—Teruyo of the tengu!
And this was also where her ill-fated bond with that man had begun.
"Your sword... now surpasses even a tengu's speed."
"These thirteen years of dueling you—I'll never forget a single day."
"Looking back, when I first renamed you... it was to free you from the curse of oni blood."
"The inhuman lineage has grown faint after the war."
"After all, we non-humans shouldn't covet a mortal's peaceful end... but you're different."
"Now you are Iwakura—no longer the Mikoshi burdened by oni blood."
"So goodbye, Douin."
"Forget me."
"And with your sword... carve a path solely for the Iwakura lineage!"
Firing another arrow, the tengu girl deftly evaded Bai Luo's slashes—
Just as she had dodged Mikoshi Michihiro's blade all those years ago.
But the next instant, her wings froze mid-flight, locked in place by an unseen force.
Bai Luo had already sheathed his sword, assuming an iaido stance.
"This is...?"
In her eyes, his crimson silhouette overlapped with that stoic young man from her memories.
"Iwakura-Art Secret Sword: Tengu Sweeper!"
Bai Luo's skills never required vocalization.
He only shouted the name for dramatic effect—to look cool.
So even though he called it Tengu Sweeper, the move he executed was undeniably Nine-Headed Dragon Flash.
Watching the crimson streak close in, the tengu girl sighed softly, as if lamenting her defeat to this technique once more.
Yet the curl of her lips showed she was enjoying every second.
To relive this memory in such a way...
How wonderful.
The sword light flashed—the tengu girl's bow shattered, but she felt no pain.
Instead, the crimson figure caught her midair, landing gently on the ground.
"Sorry, this move tends to miss. I always end up hitting minions by accident."
Removing his cat-faced mask, the red-clad youth revealed a slightly bashful smile, his youthful face softened by the expression.
Even the fierce cross-shaped scar on his cheek seemed less intimidating now.
[You have fulfilled the "sever" condition. Conclude the trial?]