Yin-Yang Guardian Hall, this is the core violent organization of the Yamato Dynasty, and it is also the holy place in the hearts of all onmyoji and samurai.
Its status is equivalent to the Western Continent's "Magic Knights". The master who leads this palace, General Yin Yang, has a status in this country that is almost equivalent to that of the "Magic Emperor" in the West. He not only controls the country's military power, but is also the pinnacle that countless powerful men look up to.
Deep in the hall, there is an office with simple and solemn decoration.
A middle-aged man is sitting cross-legged on the tatami. He is wearing a black patterned haori embroidered with the family crest and a tall black gauze hat. He has a resolute face and is not angry or intimidating.
He is Yamato Dynasty's current Yin-Yang General--Arata Seimei.
Although he was reviewing a mountain of military documents in his hand, his hand holding the brush suddenly stopped in mid-air for a moment, as if he sensed something.
"Come in."
Arata Seimei's voice is deep and deep, with a sense of oppression developed from being in a high position for a long time.
The sliding door was gently opened, and a man in dark clothing walked in quickly, and then he knelt heavily on the ground, his forehead pressed against the back of his hand, his posture extremely humble.
"General, I have something important to report for my humble duty." The man remained in a kneeling position, not daring to raise his head at all.
"Say."
"It's the miko-sama... She said there is an urgent oracle and she needs to see you immediately."
Arata Seimei put down the brush in his hand and frowned slightly. He stared sharply at the shivering subordinate on the ground and said coldly, "Why doesn't she come here by herself?"
The subordinate's body trembled suddenly, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back, but he kept his mouth tightly shut, not daring to say another word or move an inch.
The air seemed to freeze.
Arata Seimei's silence was like a solid boulder, making the air pressure in the room lower and lower. The kind of coercion belonging to the top powerhouse made the subordinates feel that breathing became a luxury.
"That's all."
Finally, Arata Seimei withdrew his gaze and stood up, "Since it is that woman's request, I will go there myself."
He pushed aside the desk piled with official documents and walked straight to the top floor of the Guardian Hall. There was an independent shrine there, which was a forbidden place dedicated to observing the stars and communicating with heaven and earth.
The design of the shrine is extremely exquisite, with an open roof, as if it blends into the vast starry sky.
On the altar in the center of the shrine, a girl wearing a red and white Shinto shrine maiden costume was standing quietly. She had long black hair like a waterfall, falling smoothly behind her.
She looked up at the starry sky and turned her back to the entrance. Even when she heard the steady and powerful footsteps, she did not look back.
"Why are you looking for me in such a hurry?" Arata Seimei stopped a few steps away from the altar, his voice flat.
The shrine maiden known as the "goddess" slowly turned around.
At that moment, even Arata Seimei, who was heartbroken, could not help but skip a beat.
What kind of eyes are those - the pure black pupils are bottomless, as if deep in those eyes, the tracks of the stars in the sky are really reflected. Her beauty is beyond the world, with a kind of divinity that no one dares to blaspheme.
"The stars... have changed."
The witch's voice was ethereal and calm, as if coming from the distant sky, "Just now, Star of Revolution was shining in the sky. A huge turmoil is about to sweep the entire dynasty."
"Star of Revolution?"
Arata Seimei's face instantly darkened, "Can you be more specific?"
"I can't be specific, but I can see that the fate of the Yamato Dynasty is deviating from its original course."
These words made Arata Seimei's mood hit rock bottom. The last time I heard this goddess make a similar Prophecy was fifteen years ago.
At that time, Yamato Clan had just completed the unification of the continent, and the family's power had reached an unprecedented peak. However, just when everyone thought that the prosperous age would last forever, the late emperor, who was known as the strongest onmyoji in the continent, suddenly passed away.
The sudden death of the late emperor directly led to a cliff-like decline in the Yamato Clan's strength, and even once put this new dynasty in danger of falling apart.
The thing about Luck is that Yamato Clan was not full of idiots at that time.
In order to stabilize the situation, they made a very politically wise decision: During the "Unification War" period, Yamato Clan had promised to grant noble status and power to those royal members who surrendered peacefully. However, after the death of the late emperor, Yamato Clan quickly changed the law - the position of "Yin Yang General" was no longer the hereditary private property of the Yamato Clan, but was open to all royal nobles to compete for positions through strength.
This move of "retreating to advance" is a stroke of genius.
Although it handed over some military power, it also successfully directed the spearheads of the major royal families and nobles against each other, causing them to fall into internal strife in order to compete for the position of general, thereby preserving the core position of the Yamato Clan.
It was also in that turbulent era that Arata Seimei seized the opportunity and formed an alliance with the goddess in front of him, and finally fought his way out of the cruel competition and ascended to the throne of "Yin Yang General".
"What is the purpose of telling me this?" Arata Seimei retracted his thoughts and stared at the goddess with burning eyes.
"Because you are still valuable." The goddess spoke indifferently, as if she was talking about an item. "And, so far, you have not completely violated our original contract."
Arata Seimei The fists hidden in his sleeves clenched suddenly, but he took a deep breath and suppressed the displeasure in his heart.
"Do you know when and where this change will happen? Or, who will bring it about?"
"Unfortunately, I can't see it."
The goddess raised her head again and looked at the deep starry sky, her beautiful eyebrows slightly furrowed, "There is an unknown force... or someone, covering my Divination. The fog is thick and cannot be spied on."
"Can't you even see through it...?"
Arata Seimei looked at Blink, and after a moment he said coldly, "In this case, I will be more vigilant, and no disturbance will escape my eyes."
After saying that, he turned around and left, his black clothes rustling in the night wind.
The goddess still stood where she was, staring at the starry sky with an expressionless face, as if the conversation just now had never happened.
At the same time, thousands of miles away.
Ian is busy making final preparations for his "infiltration plan".
In the past few days, he had collected a large amount of information about "qi" through various means, and in the process he deeply realized how abnormal this country's blockade of knowledge was.
The nobles here have simply carried out the "policy of obscuring the people" to the extreme.
All knowledge about Onmyodo and advanced martial arts are sealed deep in the minds of nobles. This seal is extremely overbearing. Once someone tries to forcibly read it through Legilimency or other means, the seal will be triggered immediately, destroying all relevant memories in an instant, and may even turn the person being read into an idiot.
Although with Ian's current magical attainments, it is not impossible to bypass these seals, it will take a lot of time to crack and analyze.
And what he lacks most now is time.
"What a disgusting system." Ian complained secretly, "Although I also have a knowledge monopoly in the Western Continent, at least it has not reached this level of extermination."
Since hard grabs don't work, the only option is to outsmart them.
This is also the fundamental reason why he formulated the "Academy Infiltration Plan" - only by entering Imperial Onmyo Academy can he legitimately come into contact with the core power system of this world.
In order to ensure nothing goes wrong, Ian carried out a complete transformation on itself.
[Real Magic·Cell Reorganization]
This is not simply Transfiguration or Polyjuice Potion, but using his understanding of the rules of life to directly rewrite his body structure from the genetic level.
His bones shrank in a crackling sound, his originally deep facial features became soft and flat, and his skin was stained with a unique oriental color. In just a few minutes, he changed from a tall Western wizard to a malnourished, sallow-looking Land of the Sun boy.
This change is semi-permanent.
In order to prevent someone from using "Demon-Breaking Spell" or "Anti-Magic Field" to detect him during the college entrance examination, he must become a "native" biologically.
After the transformation was completed, Ian forged a perfect identity for himself - an orphan.
Although he might be able to obtain more resources by pretending to be the illegitimate son of a down-and-out noble, he still chose the civilian route after careful consideration.
"In the long run, civilian status will be more beneficial to my plans."
Ian looked at the thin young man in the mirror, with a meaningful smile on his lips.
He gave himself a new name: Kozuki Akimitsu (Kozuki Akimitsu).
His goal is not only to acquire knowledge, but also to set off a revolution in this class-solidified country. He wants to rise as a "civilian genius", lead the people at the bottom to resist the oppression of the aristocracy, and spread the modern idea of "social equality."
Only in this way, when his Empire army comes here in the future, can these "ideologically liberated" people be integrated into his ruling system without any barriers.
A few days later, "National Awakening Ceremony", which attracted nationwide attention, finally arrived.
On a winding dirt road leading to Imperial Capital, a dilapidated wooden convoy pulled by a few thin horses was slowly moving forward.
Now Ian - that is, Kozuki Akimitsu, who is only 15 years old and as thin as a bamboo pole - is crowded in the rickety carriage. He is surrounded by children from the same orphanage, and the air is filled with the smell of sweat and dust.
Looking out through the car window, you can see countless similar vehicles converging into a stream, heading in the same direction.
The so-called "National Awakening Ceremony" is essentially the same as the "Grimoire awarding ceremony" of the Western Continent. All children of appropriate age will go to the Imperial Onmyo Academy to accept the fate of Judgment.
Most of the children in the carriage looked nervous, some were clutching their clothes tightly, and some were praying in low voices.
There was only Ian, huddled quietly in the corner, his eyes so calm that belied his age.
This is the character label he carefully created for the character "Kozuki Akimitsu": calm, precocious, with wisdom and leadership qualities beyond ordinary people.
In order to make this identity impeccable, he used Mental Magic to weave countless false memories in the past few days, implanting them into the minds of the director of the orphanage, his companions, and even the residents of the remote town.
Even if Imperial Family's intelligence agency went to check his details now, they could only find an ordinary boy with an innocent background who grew up in an orphanage.
After several days of turbulence, the convoy finally arrived at the bustling Imperial Capital.
The orphanage had limited funds and could only find a cheap inn on the outskirts of the city to stay for one night. Early the next morning, which was the day of the ceremony, the director took the children to the huge awakening venue.
As soon as he stepped into the venue, the invisible "great chasm between rich and poor" was nakedly displayed in front of Ian's eyes.
The venue was clearly divided into two halves by a cordon.
On the left, there is a group of well-dressed aristocratic children. They are dressed in exquisite silk kimonos, surrounded by groups of bodyguards and servants, and they are talking and laughing, showing their innate sense of superiority.
On the right, there are civilian children from the lower class like Ian. Most of them wear patched coarse cloth clothes, their faces are covered with dust from long journeys, and their eyes are full of envy, inferiority and uneasiness.
Looking at the glamorous peers across from them, many children in the urban area lowered their heads, as if even breathing became cautious.
Ian watched all this with cold eyes, without any disturbance in his heart, and even felt that this was the best soil for spreading the revolutionary fire.
Soon after, an old man wearing a white hunting coat and a long white beard walked onto the high platform. In his hand was a Crystal ball that emitted a faint blue light.
"Quiet!"
The old man's voice echoed throughout the audience with the blessing of magic power.
Immediately, the roll call began.
"The next one is from the North District Orphanage, Yamada Taro!"
Following the old man's call, the director of the orphanage quickly pushed a boy next to him. The boy's hands were covered in dirt and he was so nervous that he almost had his hands and feet tied up. However, under the majestic gaze of the old man, he still walked onto the stage tremblingly.
"Put your hands on the Crystal ball, close your eyes, and concentrate." The old man repeated the instructions mechanically.
The boy swallowed and stretched out his small black hand cautiously.
"Buzz--"
Crystal ball shimmered. After a few seconds, the light gathered and materialized into the shadow of a samurai sword in front of the boy. On the blade of the sword, a light cyan tornado logo was vaguely visible.
The old man glanced at it and announced in a calm tone:
[Occupation: Samurai] [Weapon Martial Soul: Standard sword] [Attribute: Wind]
"He is actually a samurai..." The boy was stunned for a moment, and then a burst of ecstasy broke out on his face.
For civilians, awakening to become a warrior means having a ticket across classes!
"Go over there and line up, don't block the road." Before he could cheer, the old man waved for him to leave quickly.
Immediately afterwards, another civilian child ran up with great expectation.
Light flashed, and what emerged this time was neither a sword nor Shikigami, but a... rusty rake.
There was dead silence in the whole place.
The old man didn't even bother to look at it, and said coldly, "Farm tools, no fighting ability. Next one."
The light in the child's eyes was extinguished instantly, and he was driven off the stage in despair. This meant that he could only be a farmer with his face turned to the earth and his back to the sky for the rest of his life, and he would never turn around.
As the ceremony proceeds, the cruel reality unfolds again and again.
The vast majority of civilian children awaken "waste Martial Soul" such as kitchen knives, hoes, and musical instruments that have no combat value. Only a very small number of Luck children can awaken samurai swords with the five elements of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth.
Until--
"Roar!"
A low beast roar suddenly echoed in the hall.
In the surprised eyes of a group of nobles, a giant Water Wolf with a body length of more than 3 meters condensed in front of a common boy! The giant wolf's entire body was made of water, exuding a biting cold air, and was full of intimidation.
The expressionless old man finally raised his eyebrows and announced loudly:
[Occupation: Onmyoji] [Summon: Attack type Shikigami·Water Wolf] [Attribute: Water]
The crowd instantly became excited.
"Onmyoji! It's actually Onmyoji!"
"There is a genius among the common people who can summon Shikigami?!"
Ian stood behind the crowd, looking at the majestic Water Wolf, with the corners of his mouth raised slightly.
"It's interesting. It seems that this so-called awakening ceremony is not completely stagnant."
But he knew that the real show was yet to come.