Chapter 166: Test Selection
Time passed swiftly.
Three cycles of sunrise and moonrise came and went, and in the blink of an eye, three days had passed.
During that time, many students at the Onmyō Academy grew increasingly restless.
Ever since registration closed for the Myriad Dharma Supernatural Department's recruitment, there had been no further news.
These students were regarded as geniuses of Onmyōdō by ordinary people, yet even they gradually lost patience.
Several had approached their instructors more than once to ask what was happening, but the teachers knew no more than they did.
The only response from Academy Head Kurahashi Miyoshi was simple.
Wait quietly.
Nothing else was revealed.
Then, shortly after the morning theory classes ended, a broadcast echoed throughout the entire Onmyō Academy.
"All teachers and students, please assemble on the academy playground immediately."
"I repeat, all teachers and students, please assemble on the academy playground immediately."
The Academy Head's solemn voice reached every classroom, corridor, and training area.
"Students who registered for recruitment into the Myriad Dharma Supernatural Department are instructed to prepare their shikigami, talismans, and ritual implements for the final selection test."
"I repeat, all registered applicants are instructed to prepare their shikigami, talismans, and ritual implements for the final selection test."
"All teachers and students..."
The announcement continued.
Across the academy, teachers and students froze in surprise.
Those who had reached the Quasi-Professional or Professional Level and registered for recruitment reacted most strongly.
Excitement appeared on their faces.
The test was finally beginning.
Students hurried back to their rooms or storage areas to retrieve talismans, ritual tools, and shikigami vessels.
The three days of anxious waiting had come to an end.
When each class arrived at the academy playground under the guidance of its instructors, every student was stunned by the sight before them.
"What is that?"
"Some kind of teleportation space?"
At the center of the previously empty playground stood an enormous mirror-like gateway.
Its surface rippled like water disturbed by a gentle wind, yet the space within those ripples was too deep and indistinct to see through.
It resembled a portal from an ancient legend.
Kurahashi Miyoshi stood before it, waiting for the teachers and students to assemble.
"This must be the Arena my teacher mentioned."
Shirayukihime observed the gateway with quiet interest.
"Kūkai."
As Ashiya Dōman's student, she had learned many secrets of the Heian Period from him.
She naturally knew something about Kūkai, one of the great foundational treasures of the old Onmyōryō.
"Everyone will enter in an orderly manner."
Kurahashi Miyoshi looked over the assembled crowd.
"Teachers, remain responsible for your respective classes and ensure no one leaves the group."
"Yes, Academy Head."
After receiving their response, Kurahashi Miyoshi turned and stepped into the rippling gateway.
Her body disappeared beyond its surface without leaving the slightest trace.
Gasps and murmurs spread through the crowd.
Then, under the direction of their instructors, the students entered one group at a time.
Curiosity, apprehension, and excitement filled their faces.
The moment they passed through the gateway, blinding white light swallowed their vision.
When their eyes adjusted, the teachers and students of the Onmyō Academy stood speechless.
Even Tsuchimikado Natsume, Kurahashi Kyoko, Sōma Takiriko, and the other exceptional students remained stunned for a long while.
Brilliant sunlight poured down from a clear sky.
Before them stretched an enormous complex of ancient buildings, grander and more refined than anything found in the modern academy.
The architectural details were ornate and luxurious.
Pure gold foil lined the eaves and fascia boards. Dark wooden structures contrasted with golden ornamentation, giving every hall a solemn elegance.
To the right stood a five-story castle tower.
Beyond it were an outer waiting hall, a formal entrance chamber, a cycad garden, the Black Study, and the White Study.
Cherry blossoms drifted gently through the air.
Directly ahead stood a temporary arena.
Rows of surrounding stands were already occupied by numerous Onmyoji dressed in white kariginu of an ancient style.
Their clothing, posture, and bearing were completely different from those of modern Onmyoji.
For one disorienting moment, the students felt as though they had stepped directly from the present age into the Heian Period of a thousand years ago.
There were simply too many details here that belonged to that vanished era.
The architecture.
The clothing.
The atmosphere.
Even the spiritual presence permeating the air felt ancient.
"No."
Tsuchimikado Harutora stared at the scenery around them.
"This is not merely something resembling the Heian Period."
He had entered alongside the academy's teachers and students, with Tsuchimikado Natsume, Kurahashi Kyoko, and Sōma Takiriko nearby.
"This should be the Onmyōryō as it existed a thousand years ago."
"What?"
Natsume turned toward him in shock.
"Harutora, are you saying this is the Onmyōryō from a millennium ago?"
Her eyes widened.
"Did we travel through time?"
Natsume and Takiriko were not the only ones who knew that Harutora was the reincarnation of Tsuchimikado Yakou and had already awakened his past memories.
Kurahashi Kyoko knew as well.
"Travel through time?"
Harutora shook his head.
"It is not that exaggerated."
He studied the surroundings with a serious expression.
"Our ancestor must have used some method to recreate the Onmyōryō as it existed a thousand years ago."
Then his gaze moved toward the figures occupying the stands.
"Look at those Onmyoji dressed in ancient white kariginu."
"If my deduction is correct, they are also Onmyoji from the Onmyōryō of that era."
Harutora had already examined them with his spiritual senses.
"They possess a clear Soul Imprint aura."
"They must have used a special method to preserve fragments of their souls, allowing them to appear again in the modern era."
The Onmyōryō of a thousand years ago.
The Onmyoji of a thousand years ago.
Natsume, Takiriko, and Kyoko felt an almost dizzying overlap of time and space.
Many of the Onmyoji watching them from those stands were their predecessors.
Even if they shared no blood, they were ancestors of the path they practised.
"So this is Kūkai and Kingyo."
Shirayukihime looked around, speaking quietly to herself.
She had heard about both treasures from Ashiya Dōman.
Kūkai was the strategic treasure capable of reproducing a complete region within an independent parallel dimension.
It was not surprising that the world replicated within it resembled the Onmyōryō of a thousand years ago.
What Shirayukihime had not expected was for Kingyo, the inheritance treasure of the old Onmyōryō, to appear as well.
Her gaze swept across the ancient Onmyoji seated in the stands.
"Teacher must be delighted."
A playful smile appeared on her lips.
"There are so many of his old acquaintances here."
At the same time, she understood the purpose behind this gathering.
She had already guessed what Gin Tsumugi intended to use as the final selection test for the Myriad Dharma Supernatural Department.
....
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