The weak needed to reason, while the strong did not need to listen. But if the strong wished to reason with the weak, the latter had best listen carefully.
Tengu rarely experienced such emotions, because most of the time, she was an absolute powerhouse in the eyes of the world.
The feeling was exceptionally bitter and helpless.
"I always mocked humans and other tengu, thinking they needed to cultivate themselves properly and overcome the arrogance within their hearts," Kishibō Hōgen said. "But now it seems the arrogance in my own heart is no less than that of an ordinary person."
Arrogance was a Buddhist term. It referred to believing one had attained an exceptional teaching, considering oneself superior to others, and thus giving rise to a prideful mindset.
Having said that, the tengu respectfully bowed to Hebe.
"I understand now—from this day onward, I will train my martial arts properly. I will repeatedly practice the strategies recorded in the military texts. I will diligently cultivate my talent for wielding wind and thunder. Until I have fully integrated these three arts, I will never go to Heian-kyō."
Hebe wanted to speak, then stopped. She felt this tengu was probably overthinking things.
This era was simply like that; humans and monsters alike had similar flaws.
But since the other party had already assumed such an enlightened expression, she could hardly expose it.
Hebe simply changed the subject, pointing at the people scattered across the ground, still immersed in the illusion and sleeping every which way.
"I used an illusion to weave false memories for these people. Since, as you said, they were deceived by Ashiya Dōman's disciple, then please do not take your anger out on them. Let them go down the mountain freely."
The tengu frowned.
"It is not that I bear any particular grudge against these ordinary people. It is that they are simply too ignorant. Dōman's disciple could drive them with just a few words, making them willingly believe I was a monster who enjoyed blood sacrifices... But do you believe it? If someone else came along, they would still willingly do the same thing.
"I do not say this because I want to blame them. I merely find it tragic. If only there were a way to solve this problem once and for all."
After saying that, the tengu looked at Hebe expectantly. Clearly, she had also heard of Hebe's deeds in Hyuga Province.
"That cannot be done. No matter the era, such people will always exist. The most crucial thing is that they believe they themselves are walking the right path." Hebe waved a hand. "Do not treat me as some Wish-Granting Machine that can solve every problem. There is very little I can do. Besides, you possess the Six Paths and Three Strategies military texts from Cathay. Those are the true key to bringing about change."
"Military texts?" The tengu doubted herself, though she was even more wary. "How could that be..."
"Why could it not?" Hebe smiled faintly. "Must every single word in those military texts remain a closely guarded secret?"
Of course not. If that were the case, the eastern tengu could never have become the guardians of Cathay's military texts.
They did indeed contain certain secret teachings that could be used in war, but the rest of the words were hardly forbidden from seeing the light.
Of course, doing so would certainly carry great risks—but the one taking those risks would be Great Tengu Kishibō Hōgen, not Nine-Tailed Fox Tamamo-no-Mae, and certainly not Hebe Stanton.
"Then why do you not teach the military texts to others?" Hebe guided her patiently. "Using humans to change human society is always easier than having monsters change human society."
After Hebe's attempt to alter Miss A-Long's faction, she was now trying to make the tengu open an academy and become a teacher.
The latter would bring about a far greater change to the Power Struggle than the former.
"But I... fear it would violate the rules." The tengu hesitated.
"Haha!" Hebe laughed. "Knowledge is like water—how can a canal remain clear? Only when fresh water flows from its source! If it is not allowed to circulate, it will eventually become stagnant water.
"Besides, you are a monster. Why must you obey those human rules? Go ahead and do it boldly. Perhaps decades, or even centuries from now, you will gain an exceptional disciple."
The tengu's eyes lit up. She was no fool, and she caught some hidden meaning in Hebe's words.
"No, I have no deeper meaning." Hebe tucked her hands into her sleeves and smiled faintly. "But if you believe in prophecy, then I did once have a dream."
"In that dream, you met a very, very good disciple. She was humble and eager to learn, and you wished you could teach her everything you knew. She absorbed all knowledge like a dry sponge. Before long, you had nothing left to teach her except the Six Paths and Three Strategies military texts.
"Then, while you were away, she secretly read those texts. You felt betrayed and furiously pursued her, yet ultimately failed to kill her.
"After growing up, your disciple joined a war. Using tengu techniques, she won that war and became renowned throughout the eastern provinces."
Hebe raised a finger and traced a downward curve.
"After that, she suffered betrayal, turned against her elder brother, was forced into a dead end, and finally took her own life.
"When things reach an extreme, they change; through change, they find a path; through a path, they endure. You have studied military texts. You should understand the principle I mean."
The tengu frowned and thought for a long, long time.
"You also said it was only a dream. Setting aside whether I will meet this person in the future, I cannot possibly empathize with everything she went through right now.
"But if everything can become better, then I am willing to try. I will begin by changing myself."
The tengu made up her mind.
Current Lostbelt Progress: 15%
Heavenly Fox Imparts the Dharma, Establishing a School
Having resolved the tengu's matter and incidentally planted a piece for the future, Hebe was in excellent spirits.
She had intended to continue traveling through the night, but Kishibō Hōgen firmly refused to allow it, insisting on hosting her properly and at least having her stay the night.
The darkness before dawn was especially pure in the depths of this mountain. Deep within the forest, frogs croaked beside the pond—Miss A-Long loved this environment.
The former reminded her of her homeland on Mount Takachiho, while the latter meant she could eat her fill.
Kishibō Hōgen was somewhat drunk. She drew the sword at her waist and, emboldened by drink, challenged Hebe to a duel.
There really was such a custom among monsters, and it was one of the iron rules established by Scar Father.
It was said that on Mount Ōe, where the Oni Host gathered, this happened even more frequently. A considerable portion of the oni's casualties came from the frequent duels at banquets.
Hebe gazed at Kishibō Hōgen. Once she was certain the tengu was not using this chance to seek revenge, she rose from her seat.
"Lady Tamamo, why do you not carry a weapon?"
The tengu spoke drunkenly.
"I do not have a suitable sword," Hebe answered solemnly.
This was also a problem that deeply troubled Hebe now—she no longer had a weapon she could use.
Even one of the world's finest swords would be scrapped on the spot after a few swings in her hands, becoming part of Hebe's swordsmanship memories.
"Caw, caw, caw, caw, caw—you are drunk! How could one who trains in martial arts not carry a weapon?" The tengu laughed loudly and tossed her own sword to Hebe. "Come, use my sword!"
She herself turned back and took out a nodachi.
Hebe examined the tachi in her hand, its redwood scabbard heavy in her grasp.
The golden tassels outside the scabbard clinked together with a crisp sound.
"Greetings, Lady Tamamo-no-Mae. I am Kishibō Hōgen."
"Greetings, Mister Kishibō Hōgen. I am Tamamo-no-Mae."
The two saluted each other with swords in hand—this was a necessary step before the secret masters under Scar Father began sparring, and during the Power Struggle, the monsters under Remnant Wolf had copied this ritual exactly.
As time passed, this step became indispensable, whether for sparring within the factions of the two rulers or for armies facing each other before a formal Power Struggle.
The moment the words fell, the tengu spread her wings and thrust at Hebe's eyes.
She was as fast as lightning. Even as the blade neared Hebe's eyes, its angle did not shift in the slightest.
Cries of alarm erupted from the banquet seats, with the tanuki howling the loudest.
Tanutarō thought that if it were him, even ten of him would have been pierced through by that single thrust from the tengu.
Lady Tamamo neither retreated nor dodged. Had she been frightened stiff, or did she intend to surrender outright?
The next instant, they received their answer.
Hebe raised her hand and swept the sheathed sword before her.
Smack!
The tremendous force bent the sword in the tengu's hand, sending her staggering and flinging her aside.
So heavy! Unable to resist, the tengu was left dizzy by Hebe's club-like swing.
Clatter, clatter...
Hebe raised a hand and crooked a finger at the tengu, who had just climbed out of a pile of rocks. "Again."
Holding the tachi decorated with gold, gemstones, and a redwood scabbard, she did not look like she was wielding a sword at all. She looked like a mountain hunter carrying a stick through the forest in search of pheasants.
The tengu was that foolish pheasant.
The surroundings fell silent.
The tengu's arm trembled. She was both angry and incredulous—she shook her head, flinging away the last of her drunkenness.
"Rise!"
This time, she tapped the ground with her toes and climbed upward between the branches. During that process, clouds gathered around her blade, and a chilling sensation rushed forth.
The tengu swung her sword amid the clouds, twice as fast as before.
The nodachi traced an arc through the mountain forest like a swallow skimming water. It would lightly kiss Hebe, then plunge back into the clouds before the ripples of blood could spread.
Hebe's long brows rose slightly. Achievement?
No, not Achievement. Yet it did carry the flavor of multiple marks being combined... thinner than Achievement, but more aggressive.
Hebe still swung her arm as before, striking precisely three inches from the edge of the tengu's nodachi.
Yet before that could happen, a semi-illusory blade suddenly extended from the tip of the nodachi and struck Hebe's wrist first.
The blade swept across the girl's slender, fair wrist.
The tengu's body went from extreme motion to stillness, her face filled with confusion and disbelief.
"How could this be? How could this be? How could this be!"
Hebe turned her wrist over. Her delicate, pale skin bore not a single mark, nor did it look as though it had been struck by a blade.
Seeing Hebe completely unharmed, the tengu felt an overwhelming sense of grievance. "I swung two swords in total just now. The first had no god of secret swordsmanship, but it did have the form of a secret sword. It was invincible against ordinary monsters and mages... The second strike was the complete Secret Sword: Tengu's Copy—"
"The secret of Tengu's Copy lies in speed, speed, speed!" The tengu shook her head. "When I use the true Tengu's Copy, I can summon clouds and fierce winds, increasing my divine speed once more. At the same time, the sword in my hand will split off an illusory blade to attack. No matter what, it will move faster than the opponent."
"But I never expected that this strike could not even scratch your skin, Tamamo..."
Hebe was speechless.
She had finally figured out how the eastern provinces' so-called secret swords worked.
They were mechanics.
Kids who played games often knew that bosses and certain elite monsters often possessed strange mechanics—for instance, when unleashing an ultimate move, the higher the opponent's health, the greater the damage; or when their own health dropped below a certain threshold, their damage became magical damage.
Secret swords were the same.
In game terms, Tengu's Copy greatly increased movement speed and had a chance of splitting off a sword shadow to attack the target, with that damage amounting to only one-third of the true sword's strike.
If everything in the eastern provinces were quantified right now, Kishibō Hōgen would definitely see a glaring line of words above Hebe's head—your attack failed to penetrate the enemy's armor.
It had not even symbolically deducted a single point of health...
With Hebe's current physical qualities, even if she stood still and let Kishibō Hōgen strike her once, the tengu could not break her skin.
As for why Hebe could understand Secret Sword: Tengu's Copy, it was because after those two swings, the sword Kishibō Hōgen had lent her had already shattered into pieces everywhere.
It had not been broken by the two collisions, but by the terrifying force Hebe wielded, as well as the effect of Sobek's Training.
Great Tengu Kishibō Hōgen's swordsmanship had now completely become part of Hebe's memories. Though she had not learned Secret Sword: Tengu's Copy, she could see its principles clearly.
If the swordsmen of the eastern provinces played with mechanics, then Hebe was the opposite—she had no mechanics like secret swords, but she had stats!
The tengu's physical qualities are already far greater than those of swordsmen, yet even she cannot break my defense... Then ordinary human swordsmen— Hebe twitched the corner of her mouth.
On the other side, the tengu crouched on the ground, looking despondent.
She did not mourn the destruction of her beloved sword. In her view, that was a normal result of contending with a secret sword.
Hebe walked over. "Is this the only secret sword you have mastered?"
"How could there be more than one?" The tengu asked reflexively. "A secret sword is the integration of essence, breath, and spirit. Naturally, one person can only possess one secret sword."
"Then are you currently a swordmaster or an ordinary swordsman?"
"What swordmaster or swordsman?" The tengu frowned. "Only three years ago did I comprehend a secret sword from the Six Paths and Three Strategies military texts."
Hebe froze. Could it be that in the Heian era, there was not yet a system of swordsmen, swordmasters, and sword saints, much less a standardized system incorporating secret sword mechanics?
That is right. This system was not widely accepted until after the Heian era ended, when the shogunate era had already begun! Hebe suddenly understood.
So she passed on to the tengu the knowledge about swordmasters that Mordred had once told her.
The tengu crouching on the ground widened her eyes. "So that is how it is! Swordsman, swordmaster, sword saint—I understand! So I am merely a tiny little swordsman. I have not even entered the hall yet!"
The next instant, Hebe saw the blades of grass on the ground sway, their veins twisting into words only she could see.
Before you continue