"Confirm completion!"
Holding the black feather plucked from the tengu girl's wing, Bai Luo chose to complete the trial.
In truth, with the power of Heart of the Earth and Fairy's Glitter, he could have attempted to kill her.
But after recalling the story of Mikoshi Michihiro and Teruyo, he had a bold idea.
He decided to try simulating the scene where Mikoshi Michihiro severed the tengu girl's wings back then.
Would doing so... fulfill some hidden achievement?
Or trigger a secret requirement?
This was why he named Nine-Headed Dragon Flash as Mikoshi Michihiro's Tengu Sweeper.
After all, once the "sever" condition was met, the system's rewards shouldn't be bad.
Even if he got another useless item, with the exclusive equipment for Black Swordsman and the job change book from the third trial, this round wouldn't be a loss.
As it turned out... Bai Luo's gamble paid off.
[Second Trial Completed (Exceeded Expectations)]
[As you perfectly recreated Mikoshi Michihiro's severing of Teruyo's wings, your rewards have been upgraded to the highest tier.]
[The original high-tier item reward has been replaced with a random card.]
[Drawing rewards...]
[Obtained Skill Card: Journey Off the Train at the Abandoned Station]
[Reward distributed successfully. You have 10 minutes to prepare. Use this time wisely for the next trial.]
[Note: Job changes are disabled during trials.]
As the system's voice faded, a gentle breeze swept through the mountain forest.
The tengu girl Bai Luo had caught also gradually lost her weight.
But Bai Luo was more focused on his new item.
A skill card?
Bai Luo was stunned. He had expected the system to give him some ordinary equipment, but it turned out to be a skill.
But what was a skill card? This seemed to be the first time he'd received such a reward.
Out of curiosity, Bai Luo summoned the so-called skill card.
[Journey Off the Train at the Abandoned Station]
By borrowing the power of a certain 17-year-old girl who wishes to remain anonymous, summon a high-speed abandoned train to deal massive damage and knock back all units in a straight line.
Note: The girl's name, much like her age, is a mystery. Never say it out loud, and absolutely do not refer to her by a certain title. Otherwise, that old... ahem young lady will press your face against the keyboard byhgunt67ji8tbg6vrf5
Remaining uses: 3
At first, Bai Luo's expression was odd—he never expected to draw a skill from that Sage of Gensokyo.
If he could use it without limit...
But when he saw the usage count, he relaxed.
Of course, such a powerful skill wouldn't just be handed to him for free.
Still, it was a pleasant surprise—better than getting some generic weapon with elemental damage bonuses. It might come in handy at a critical moment.
Exiting the card interface, he noticed the tengu girl Teruyo hanging playfully upside-down from a branch, twirling a black feather as if teasing him.
Her jet-black wings contrasted sharply with her pristine white socks.
"Awake now?"
Completely unbothered by being caught in her mischief, Teruyo grinned, her personality reminding Bai Luo of Hu Tao.
Maybe not as whimsical, but definitely livelier than Diluc.
Somewhere... in between the two.
"Thanks for indulging me. It's been so—so long since I last flew freely through the mountains like this."
Teruyo stretched, her wings spreading wide, before flopping carelessly onto a pile of dry leaves.
Honestly, the scent of decay wasn't pleasant, but compared to the gunpowder stench of her clan, it felt oddly nostalgic.
"If you want to fly, you can keep flying. We still have ten minutes here."
Bai Luo already had a rough guess about his next opponent.
He'd fought Mikoshi Michihiro himself and even flirted with his ill-fated love.
Next up... was probably the Maguu Kenki itself, right?
But thinking of it, Bai Luo recalled someone else—
The Raiden Shogun.
The supreme being now seated within the Tenshukaku is, in fact, a puppet.
And the younger "brother" currently causing her trouble in Inazuma City... is also a puppet.
So then... could this Maguu Kenki, who wanders the land where fate has been severed, also be connected to the Raiden Shogun?
Or was it a prototype she made before creating the Puppet Shogun or Scaramouche?
Unfortunately, all records about the Maguu Kenki were lost. The world only knew it carried the memories of a certain swordsmanship school's founder—but not who created it.
And that founder was none other than Mikoshi Michihiro, whom Bai Luo had just fought.
This was also why Bai Luo encountered Michihiro and Teruyo a in the Maguu Kenki's trial.
"Challenger, here—a gift for you."
A few minutes later, perhaps tired from flying—
Or maybe because this illusory forest couldn't satisfy her urge to soar, she landed beside Bai Luo again.
What she handed him was the very tengu feather he had severed.
"Can I take this out?"
Holding the feather, Bai Luo tested the waters.
This was just a trial. Teruyo and Mikoshi Michihiro were merely recreations based on the Maguu Kenki's memories.
So... was this feather also an illusion?
"No idea~ My job's just to give it. Whether you can keep it is your problem."
Teruyo giggled, offering no clear answer.
"Honestly, I'm not even sure if I'm the real Teruyo. I'm more like... a copy made from someone's memories. To put it simply—the 'me' right now is just how Michihiro remembered me."
As she said, everything about her—
Her longing for the mountains, her frustrations with clan affairs, her defiance against worldly prejudices, even her untainted purity—all were shaped by Mikoshi Michihiro's memories.
The way she sat on branches, playfully swinging her feet, bestowing him a new name and life like parting storm clouds—that was how he remembered her.
Thirteen fleeting years like a dream,
Amid crimson snow at Shadow Pass, dancing light as smoke.
Turning back—you were already gone.
Back then, the Sacred Sakura's petals had fallen like endless snow.
The branch shrine beneath their feet, though godless, still stood intact.
Her laughter, clear as a spring, echoed through the valleys.
Yet neither ever stepped again into that ruined courtyard.
The mountains were where their bond began; the shrine, where it ended.
With this single strike—Their bond was cut.
If Mikoshi Michihiro had known that severing the tengu's wings would also sever their ties...
Would he have regretted that slash?
Perhaps that was why he named his blade Hakuen—"Fleeting Bonds."
[Rest period ended. Begin the final trial: Bloodline?]
"Begin."
[Final trial initiated. Survive the target's attacks for 3 minutes.]
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
[Death in the trial space won't affect reality, but irreversible consequences will occur. Value your life.]