Several black business vans formed a long convoy, left the city of Sapporo, and headed toward the suburbs.
Their destination was a primeval forest east of Sapporo, where the island nation’s most mysterious organization—the Temple—had its headquarters, built against the mountain at the forest’s edge.
At the same time, there were other vehicles heading to the Temple as well, but most of them were in small groups of two or three, or even traveling alone.
Following the winding road, the black business convoy arrived first. Twenty people got out of the vehicles—these were the young representatives sent by the Samurai Order to the Temple’s secret realm for training.
Their team leader was Satou Mima, one of the four Red Sun-level samurai and a true high-end combatant of the Samurai Order.
With her were Sakurai Mei and Uesugi Okai.
These two had both strong abilities and solid backgrounds. For example, Kusakage Kou, known as White Moon Number One, was clearly very powerful but had no connections, so she wasn’t qualified to ride in the same vehicle as Satou Mima.
Satou Mima gathered everyone together and began giving reminders about the rules: “According to the Temple’s customs, we have to walk the last kilometer. And remember, before entering the secret realm, no private fights are allowed inside the Temple. If anyone is found doing so, your qualifications as a trial-taker will be permanently revoked. Think carefully about that, everyone.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Alright, follow me.” Satou Mima had a rather robust build, and walking in the middle of the group, she looked just like a big sister from the underworld.
The group made their way to the Temple’s main gate, only to find that the so-called gate was merely two green stone pillars carved with patterns, instantly recognizable as the Yamata no Orochi.
Passing through the stone pillar gate, they arrived at a vast square. Surrounding the square were eight long jade carvings, exactly representing the eight heads of the Yamata no Orochi, all staring fixedly at a single sword floating in the center of the square.
This sword was the very treasure the Temple had taken back from the Samurai Order—the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, also known as the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi.
Holding it was another treasure: the Sword Seal Pedestal.
The Sword Seal Pedestal not only sealed the malevolent energy of the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi but was also the key to opening the Temple’s secret realm.
These young people looked at the Ame-no-Murakumo, which they could admire from afar but not touch, and their blood began to boil: “So this is the Ame-no-Murakumo, the legendary number one divine artifact in the world.”
“The secret realm will open in half an hour. Please wait a moment. If you haven’t entered within that half hour, you will lose your qualification for this trial.” The moment the High Priest appeared, everyone, including Satou Mima, instinctively lowered their heads, not daring to look at him.
Rumor had it that this man was an existence beyond A-level, likely the only S-level human alive right now.
Beside the High Priest stood a young man with a stern, handsome face, full of youthful ambition. He stared intently at the people in the square, his gaze eventually settling on Sakurai Mei.
“Shuu, as the Temple’s representative, you should go and wait with them as well.”
The young man responded respectfully, “Yes, Master.”
He walked down from the platform, came to Sakurai Mei’s side, and smiled confidently: “Excuse me, miss, may I stand next to you?”
Sakurai Mei looked up at him. The young man was quite handsome, and his aura was even more impressive than almost all the other male trial-takers present—only Kusakage Kou could compare with him.
“Sure.”
“Thank you.”
The other trial-takers behind them began whispering among themselves.
“Who is this guy? He looks really strong. Is he the only one from the Temple participating in this year’s trial?”
“Didn’t you hear him call the High Priest ‘Master’ just now? Use your imagination—he’s the Temple’s Junior Priest, the future High Priest, the once-in-a-millennium genius, Minamoto no Shu.”
“Oh, so it’s him! I heard about him back at the Genius Camp. He’s called one of the three great geniuses, along with Vear from the Western Church and Black from America.”
“You guys were both at the Genius Camp—haven’t you ever met?”
“Funny enough, no…”
“I see.”
Trial-takers arrived one after another. Besides the twenty from the Samurai Order, there were another twenty selected from all over the country.
As one of them passed through the green stone gate, he was suddenly suppressed by the Temple’s divine might and couldn’t enter.
The High Priest glanced over and reminded him: “Since you’ve already obtained a trial-taker slot, anyone is allowed to enter. There’s no need to disguise yourself.”
A faint black airflow seeped from the person’s body surface, which he forcibly suppressed.
He tore off his human skin mask, bowed to the High Priest, and said, “I’ve long heard of the High Priest’s magnanimity. Now that I’ve seen it for myself, it’s truly as they say.”
Under the mask, he turned out to be a white man. Several people who had returned from the Genius Camp to participate in the secret realm immediately recognized him.
Black!
The trial-takers began discussing among themselves.
“How did a white guy get the qualification to trial in our Temple’s secret realm?”
“Who knows? I heard that of the twenty nationwide slots, three were secretly manipulated by the Samurai Order. Probably the work of some big shot.”
“Shh—do you want to die? Huh? Hey, another one didn’t make it… What? It’s Vear, the other one of the three great geniuses? How did she sneak in, too?”
Vear tore off her human skin mask and gave an embarrassed smile.
“This isn’t right. There seem to be a lot more trial-takers this year than usual. And look—what’s with all those black and white people in the back? Why are they allowed to come, without even any disguise? That’s way too arrogant.”
“Oh no, the Samurai Order is rotten to the core… Spit spit spit, I’m dead. I didn’t say anything.”
The commotion grew more and more noticeable. The High Priest himself spoke up: “Our country has suffered the most from this disaster. To thank our friendly nations for their tremendous help, Lord Satou, the head of the Samurai Order, personally proposed adding ten extra slots. This is a righteous act, and the Temple naturally supports it.”
Hearing the High Priest say this, the trial-takers immediately felt proud.
“Repaying kindness is only right.”
“Exactly—black or white, we’re all brothers and sisters.”
“Welcome, all brothers and sisters, to the Temple for a visit…”
Sakurai Mei watched the crowd filing in and sighed to herself: Chiba, if you hadn’t died, there would be a spot here for you too.
Suddenly, she spotted a hateful figure—Su Mo!
Aside from the two “stowaways,” Vear and Black, six of the ten foreign trial-taker slots belonged to the other six major supernatural powers. “Su Mo” was the representative of Xia Country.
By strength and reputation, it should have been “Ye Qingyi,” but Satou Tatsu had set the rule that B-level and above were not allowed to enter, so it ended up like this.
With a hostile expression, she headed straight for “Su Mo.” Minamoto no Shu kept his eyes on her.
“Player, long time no see,” Sakurai Mei said coldly as she arrived in front of Ye Qingyi.
Ye Qingyi was taken aback. Calling me a ‘player’ in front of everyone like that is bound to cause misunderstandings, you know.
Sure enough, many people turned to look, ready to enjoy the drama.
“Being a player shows I’ve got game. What’s it to you?” Ye Qingyi shot her a proud sideways glance, then turned and walked away, only to receive a big thumbs-up from Vear.
She couldn’t help but facepalm. Being a guy isn’t easy, either.
Just then, the High Priest’s voice rang out: “The secret realm is about to open. You will all be teleported inside at the same time. There are various opportunities within—whether you find them or not depends on your own abilities.”
Everyone stood at attention solemnly, while Ye Qingyi’s eyes wandered all over the place, looking for Su Mo. Sakurai Mei, meanwhile, kept glancing back toward the green stone gate, as if hoping for something.
“Last ten seconds—ten, nine… three, two—”
“Wait!”
A figure shot in from a distance with afterimages trailing behind. “Swoosh!” It passed through the stone gate and landed in the square, causing the people nearby to stagger backward from the shock.
“Chiba!!!” Sakurai Mei covered her mouth in disbelief, her joy overflowing.
