Chapter 200: A Snezhnayan Liyue Native, Come from Mondstadt, Now Residing in Inazuma
Tengu Sweeper erupted in a flash of brilliance.
There was no way to dodge, in the very next instant, Bai Luo was swallowed whole by the surge of blade light.
BOOM—
Within the small courtyard, stone tiles shattered beneath the storm of sword and steel, and when the dust finally settled, Bai Luo lay lifeless, not a breath left in him.
Mikoshi Michinobu sheathed his blade—Hakuen Michimitsu Amenoma—and turned without another word toward the nearby building.
At first glance, the house looked like nothing more than a humble farmer's hut. But on closer inspection, it was clearly something else—a branchshrine connected to the sacred grounds of Mt. Yougou.
A branch shrine—what did that mean?
A branch shrine also known as a Sessha, it was a subsidiary shrine under the domain of the main one. In this case, it belonged to the Grand Narukami Shrine itself.
But unlike the main shrine, this one had long been forgotten, its offerings dried up, its glory faded. No wonder Bai Luo had mistaken it for a backwater hut.
Michinobu placed his blade back on his lap and knelt solemnly before the shrine, staring in silence, as if lost in thought.
Then—
Shhk—
A sickening sound of blades piercing flesh.
Michinobu froze. Cold pain bloomed from his back—two daggers, one driven into his upper spine, the other skewering his lower back.
And behind him…
Bai Luo.
Alive.
He hadn't dodged Tengu Sweeper—no, he couldn't have.
But after so many battles fought as the "Battousai", Bai Luo had gained insight into the way of the sword. And he understood better than anyone: that move couldn't be evaded.
So instead, he didn't dodge.
Just like how the best way to counter his own Kuzuryūsen (Nine-Head Dragon Flash) was to take the hit head-on if you were strong enough, he did the same here.
Right before the blade connected, Bai Luo activated his Elemental Burst and entered a brief moment of invulnerability.
And the instant that state ended, he vanished again with Shadow Step, a stealth ability that erased every trace of his presence.
With the additional passive granted by the Sealer Passive Skill—something that applied across all classes—it fooled even Michinobu's battle-honed instincts.
To him, Bai Luo had died by his blade.
You couldn't even blame Michinobu for being overconfident. The real issue was simply that Bai Luo was too much of a rat bastard.
Who would've expected him to have something like Quantumization—a skill even the gods couldn't reliably counter?
Still, Michinobu wasn't called the Douin for nothing.
Even after taking two critical hits, he somehow mustered the strength to draw his sword once more.
But it wasn't enough.
Bai Luo didn't play around. He stepped in, each strike precise, merciless, and aimed at a vital spot.
And when the final slash cut clean across Michinobu's throat, it was almost like a gesture of respect—A clean death. An honorable end.
Hakuen Michimitsu Amenoma fell from Michinobu's hand.
And with that, the so-called Douin collapsed onto the stone floor, never to rise again.
[First Trial Complete]
[Reward draw in progress...]
[Congratulations! You have obtained the exclusive weapon: Lake Toya.]
[System Error... Error Code 651.]
[Missing prerequisite: Class "Pakuyasa" not acquired.]
[Resetting reward...]
[Reward reset successful!]
[New reward obtained: Interpreter.]
[Reward issued successfully. You have 10 minutes of rest. Please plan your next class selection wisely.]
[Note: Class changes are disabled during active trials.]
As the system's voice faded, a gentle breeze swept through the battered shrine.
The chaos and destruction caused by their battle was gone—completely undone. Even the dull-eyed man from the courtyard stood once more, whole and unharmed.
"…Eh."
Bai Luo scratched the back of his head awkwardly as Mikoshi Michinobu gave him a weird look.
Well, it was a bit hard not to be awkward, He did stab the guy in the back. Multiple times, even.
To cut through the awkward silence, Mikoshi Michinobu was the first to speak:
"Judging by your attire, you don't seem like a native of Inazuma."
Bai Luo looked down at the kidney in his hand—no, the dagger—and gave a faint smile.
"Well, I suppose you could say I'm a Snezhnayan of Liyue descent, currently staying in Inazuma, having arrived from Mondstadt."
"…."
That ridiculously convoluted self-introduction left Michinobu in stunned silence.
He genuinely had no clue where this guy was from.
"…What year is it now?"
He already knew, deep down, that he's not alive.
The system's power had long made it clear that he no longer belonged to this world, not in the way he once did.
He also understood what kind of existence he currently was.
And even though he knew it wasn't his place to ask, the question still slipped out.
What he really wanted to know was…
Well, it didn't matter anymore. That fate had run its course. Whether the legacy could still be passed on—it was out of his hands now.
"Mm… 2022, give or take?" Bai Luo replied casually.
"…???"
"Actually, people nowadays don't really fight with swords anymore. It's a peaceful world now—well, more or less. Sure, there are little skirmishes here and there, but overall? Yeah, we call it peace."
He stabbed his two daggers into the ground and strung a few steel wires between them, forming a crude little stool.
He sat down on it and began spinning his yarn.
It dug into his backside a bit, but hey—better than squatting.
"So what you're saying is…. swords are now obsolete?"
"Pretty much. These days, it's all about firearms—guns, tanks, planes, missiles… even nukes. Things that can rival divine miracles."
At first, Michinobu scoffed.
Weapons that rival divine miracles?
That was a joke. Even at the height of his training, he could only barely clip the wings of that Tengu girl.
But as Bai Luo went on—explaining, in vivid detail, the science of firearms, the sensation of flight, the terrifying scale of armored warfare—Michinobu's expression began to shift.
This weird "Snezhnayan-Mondstadter-Liyuenese guy" might sound like a clown, but the way he spoke, the depth of his knowledge—it was too vivid, too coherent to be made up.
Especially the part about nuclear weapons.
When Bai Luo described what they could do—what they had done—Michinobu couldn't help but suck in a cold breath.
To him, that wasn't technology.
It was divine judgment.
Had humanity really seized power that was never meant to be theirs…?
Bai Luo shifted in his wire-seat.
"Say, Michinobu-san, do you know who my next opponent is?"
After dazzling this ancient swordsman with tales of modernity, Bai Luo tried fishing for intel.
He wasn't being chatty for nothing—he was hoping the guy would forget all about getting shanked in the kidneys and maybe slip a hint or two.
To his surprise, Michinobu fell silent again.
Bai Luo figured he'd hit a dead end—until, right as the rest timer ticked toward zero, Michinobu finally spoke.
"…If I had to guess, your next opponent is likely to be her."
"Her?"
"The Tengu of Mt. Yougou—Teruyo."
The name left his lips, and the courtyard was instantly swallowed in black mist once again.
[Rest period has ended. Would you like to Commence the Second Trial?]
"Yes."
[Trial of the Second Destiny initiated — Within five minutes, you must strike, wound, cut down, or make physical contact with the Tengu of Mt. Yougou—Teruyo.]
[Note: The better your performance, the higher the quality of your reward.]
. . . . .
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