In Type-Moon, people create a magic family lineage

If he had been given enough time, like he did in France last time, with his childlike nature that hadn't yet awakened his true self, he would likely have unleashed those magical imprints that didn't belong to this country or this era. He would inevitably have been seen as living in a time when demons were everywhere—there would certainly be no danger, but it would also be difficult for him to develop step by step like an ordinary person and to come into contact with the true mystery of this era, which is continued by people and can continue to be passed down to future generations.

What was unexpected and surprising was that this time, he actually 'landed' in the Far East, in the ancient Yamato Kingdom?

It should be noted that although he had long regarded the simulation of the Far East as his goal, he did not expect to be able to do it directly this time. In his estimation, it would be possible to do it at least the next time, when he actually landed in the Far East.

This is a simulation conducted on an airplane.

This new round of 'accumulation', which began before he even set foot in the Far East, actually directly led to the achievement of his next short-term goal.

How could this not be considered an unexpected surprise?

At only one and a half years old, Lu Kang, who was already eloquent, literate, and even had some ability to write poetry and songs, suppressed the fluctuations of his inner thoughts and emotions. As the melodious sound of the bells hanging above swayed, he forcefully pushed open the wooden door in front of him, letting the warm sunlight behind him fall into it and reflect a patch of dust as smooth as powder, and also illuminating his tall and thin figure sitting behind the desk in the study.

"I met the teacher."

Lu Kang respectfully bowed.

The old man sitting there was none other than his first mentor in this simulation—the over-sixty-year-old Onmyoji, Kamo no Yasunori.

Chapter 108 The Spellcasting System Simulating the Magic of the Age of Gods

Although this simulation was not originally part of Lu Kang's plan, if he could conduct the simulation in the Far East, he was willing to take a pure path that was in line with the times.

He had already grasped the characteristics of Western magic.

As stated in the preface.

Its emphasis on 'preservation' as the fundamental principle of inheritance and continuation may give it an advantage in accumulating a sense of mystery.

But this was no longer enough for what Lu Kang wanted to do next.

If it can't satisfy what Lu Kang wants, then it should make up for its own shortcomings in thinking and increase its own computing power.

The mystery of the East might actually help him.

Whether it's the Far East or the "Celestial Empire"—the reason for ultimately choosing the "Far East" is not only because the Far East has what he wants in modern times, and not only because of his personal psychological factor of wanting the Far East to be the grandson and the Celestial Empire to be the ancestor, but also because compared to the mysterious and dangerous Celestial Empire, the Far East is more suitable for following the map and is more suitable as a first attempt.

In this simulation, he has no intention of using any more mystical magic or miraculous powers.

Of course, the 'principle' of the soul and body transformed into a deity will still be used.

But we need to try a different approach—

Let's change to a style that's in line with the times.

Therefore, understanding the mysteries of this era is essential, and a qualified and outstanding teacher can greatly help in this regard.

Kamo no Yasuhiro fully meets Lu Kang's requirements.

This is not only because he was the senior brother of Abe no Seimei, the great master of Shintoism and the highest-ranking Onmyoji who left his mark on Far Eastern history, but also because of his family background and his own abilities.

The Kamo family's origins are far superior to the Sugawara clan, which only lasted for seven generations as court nobles. Their earliest lineage can be traced back to the ninth Kaika Emperor of Yamato Province, whose history is recorded. Their first ancestor, En no Ozumi, was one of the mainstream Shintoists, Shugendo, which is the founder of the Onmyoji system. After En no Ozumi, the Kamo family held the position of Onmyoryori (Bureau of Yin and Yang) for generations and were all great Onmyoryoji.

While Kamo no Yasunori was not outstanding among the Kamo family's successors, he was certainly competent. Although he was not as good as Abe no Seimei, he was still a true master of Onmyoji (a type of magician) – in the later Western magician's standard, he was a monarch-level magician whose academic ability was at least at the senior level.

He is more than capable of teaching me how to get started.

Even more suitable than the previous simulation of Hengfei Ji—although Hengfei Ji is powerful, she is not very good at teaching. If it were anyone other than Lu Kang, they would have gone astray long ago.

A suitable teacher is a rare find in any era.

Even if it is only considered average, at this moment, the heritage of a family that has been noble for seven generations is still undeniably evident.

Therefore, Lu Kang's respectful address of "teacher" was exceptionally sincere.

His bow was more in line with the requirements of the times, and was more respectful.

As Lu Kang pushed open the door and entered, upon hearing his childish voice, He Mao Yasunori, who was sitting behind his desk, raised his eyes. The tall, thin old man, whose hair and beard were white but whose skin was still firm, also stood up to return the greeting.

"See you back, students."

The old man's white hunting robe, a typical Onmyoji garment, spread out slightly as he bent over, like wings unfurling. The black hat on his head fell straight down, concealing his full head of white hair, leaving only thick sideburns at the edges.

After exchanging greetings, everyone stood up straight and then sat down.

The books in the study were densely packed and neatly arranged in categories.

There are so many books here that, in this Heian period, perhaps even the Emperor's personal collection doesn't match theirs.

Lu Kang, who has experience as a librarian, spent nearly half a month classifying these books one by one.

Sitting here now, amidst the orderly arrangement, there is also a sense of vitality.

Looking at the old man sitting at the head table, Lu Kang waited even more attentively for him to begin speaking.

In the previous six months, he had already learned the aristocratic etiquette, poetry, and other aristocratic knowledge of the era.

If things proceed as expected, the next thing to learn is...

That is also the true 'mystery'.

That Yin-Yang technique called 'Shugendo'.

as predicted.

"Before I came here, your mother mentioned that you were quite interested in the Yin and Yang aspects of 'Shugendo'?"

The old man asked a question.

"Yes, teacher."

Lu Kang nodded in response, naturally unable to deny it.

"What's the reason?"

Instead of starting to teach directly, Kamo no Yasunori asked as if testing him: "Your father, Sugawara no Atsumori, was not a high-ranking official, but he was a scholar with many students throughout the court and was a famous scholar. Your grandfather, Sugawara no Takashi, was also a fifth-rank official in the court. Your great-grandfather, Sugawara no Michizane, even ruled the country because of his scholarship."

"With the talent and ability you have shown, if you follow the steps and do not repeat the glory of your great-grandfather, it will not be a problem to surpass your grandfather."

"And that is a height that Shugendo cannot reach—the highest rank in the Onmyōryō is only the Onmyō-no-kō (head of the Onmyōryō), which is the fifth rank. Even if someone like Seimei also takes charge of the Imperial Divination, he is only the fourth rank."

In the eyes of most people, compared to those who truly rise to high positions, the likes of Shugendo and Onmyoji are indeed considered 'minor arts' in the grand scheme of things for the entire era.

but.

For Lu Kang, this is actually the right path.

His answer was also very simple.

"curious."

as well as.

"interest."

He said, "I am very curious about the principles behind those phenomena that are considered incredible by the world, and I am also very interested in the world in which they exist."

There was no lying, just not all of it.

Yet it is so pure that no one can find any flaws.

Because these are the words of a one-and-a-half-year-old child.

This is also because it is an innate human instinct to explore and be curious about the unknown.

"Is that so... I knew it."

Kamo nods, his long beard trembling, and a hint of reminiscence suddenly appears in his eyes.

"Your reason is exactly the same as his back then."

"You and he are indeed very similar."

"I had this feeling when I saw you."

"Sukawa no Hajime, son of Sugawara, 'Peacock Prince'."

'he'--?

Was it Abe no Seimei?

Lu Kang pondered without any self-deprecation. With the accumulation of two lifetimes, the talent he was showing now was indeed second to none, not even to the famous Yin-Yang Masters of history.

after this.

[Kamo no Yasunori also begins to formally teach you the true 'Shugendo' and the true Onmyōdō.]

[From Kamo no Yasunori]

You have learned about the past and present of Shugendo and the essential principles of Onmyōdō (the art of Yin and Yang).

Like any Western country you've lived in, this land in the Far East, named Yamato, is also in a period of spiritual depletion and decline—a time when the gods have departed and the environment is decaying.

Unlike the West, the East did not have Gilgamesh, who severed the "wedge between God and Man," nor Solomon, who "bid farewell to the gods."

Furthermore, the Far East Yamato Kingdom, like England, is an island nation surrounded by the sea. The time when the traces of gods completely disappeared from this land was later, and the speed at which the mystery faded away was also slower.

However, without the mysterious foundation created by Solomon as a container to preserve them, the dissipation of those mysteries means their complete disappearance and non-existence—making it even more difficult for the foundation to repair or 'reproduce' them.

Fortunately, there is only one Solomon in this world.

People with unprecedented talent are by no means rare throughout history.

To cope with the external environment of the Great Source, where gods have retreated, mysticism has withered, and spiritual energy has dissipated, which also exists in the Far East, hundreds of years ago, Kamo no Yakushi Ozunu, the ancestor of Kamo no Yakushi and grandson of Emperor Kaika, encountered a monk from the powerful Tang Dynasty on the other side of the ocean during his exile due to political struggles. This monk combined the Buddhist Zen concepts from the Celestial Tang Dynasty with his "seeing one's true nature and becoming a Buddha" ideology, and then stitched together the original Shinto concept of "all things have spirits," creating a system called "Jurei" to continue the contract between gods and humans.

In the ancient mythological era, humans communicated with deities and received gifts from branches of divine power, gaining access to the 'secret' power held by the gods—this is the foundation of all divine arts, the reason why divine magicians are generally far more powerful than modern magicians, and the reason why modern magicians generally pursue the 'root,' while divine magicians do not—in the mythological era, deities, as the tentacles of the planet, inherently possessed the ability to connect with the 'root.'

At that time, although the gods rarely appeared in the land of Yamato, some people could still communicate with them through extremely powerful intuition.

Inspiration is both enlightenment and the "nature" in "seeing one's true nature and becoming a Buddha".

The so-called 'Spirit of Curse' system relies on this extremely difficult-to-establish communication channel to 'summon' and 'reshape' fading deities a second time.

[Through the concepts of Zen Buddhism, we enhance the inspiration of all beings, and then allow a sufficient number of people with strong inspiration to establish communication channels that, though fragile, are broadened by their sheer number. This allows the divine to descend upon human beings or all things in the form of 'divine manifestations'.]

Those who descend upon humans are called 'human gods'; those who descend upon all things are called 'demon gods'.

The monks of Shugendo then establish connections with these "gods" or "demons" by inscribing mysterious contracts with talismans, and during altar rituals and incantations, they draw upon their power and even command their existence.

This was the original Shugendo, the original system of cursed spirits.

[It simulates the mysterious workings of the divine covenant between the gods and the divine.]

Chapter 109 The Illusionary Spirit Concept: Establishing a Sect?

Of course, although Kamo no Yamato no Ozuno was a genius, the cursed spirit system he created was essentially only a delay in the rate of mysterious decline on the island of Yamato, allowing the power of the gods that should have disappeared to reappear in the world under certain restrictions. After all, the divided spirits of the gods are not the true bodies of the gods. No matter how high or large the scale of their descent, they are ultimately not complete, and they cannot withstand the world state of the continuous decline of the Great Source and the continuous loss of mystery.

The fragmented spirit will continue to decline over time until it disappears again.

The system of cursed spirits also needs a constant stream of 'inspiration' to be consolidated, and new channels need to be constantly built—and this difficulty will continue to rise with the changing times until it becomes almost impossible to achieve.

Perhaps it is precisely because of the need for constant communication.

We must continuously rebuild new channels.

The spirits that are eventually discovered descend upon different people and things, thus forming different beliefs about the gods.

That is why the so-called eight million gods appeared on the land of Yamato.

Eight million may seem like a lot, but in reality, it may only be a few dozen individuals.

They are all merely 'divine manifestations' and 'side aspects' of deities, some stronger and some weaker.

Based on this, the further back in time one goes, the weaker the connection between the spirits becomes.

You've realized that the 'Spirit Curse' system, compared to the West, does indeed have shortcomings in its inheritance.

Compared to the stable inheritance methods of foundational systems and imprints, which can perpetuate mystery as long as there are no major setbacks, the cursed spirit system relies too much on the uncertainties of 'inspiration' and is even less able to exist independently of the world.

However, it's not entirely impossible to say that there's no possibility of it being passed down.

When a part of the divine spirit descends into a human body, the blood of that person becomes infected with divinity. Using this bloodline as a nexus, it can even transform those close to the divine into beings who are half-human and half-god—this is a phenomenon that does not even require 'reproduction'.

The spirit of God descends upon all things, and all things, in turn, naturally give birth to bloodline branches originating from Him. These are called "demons," 'abnormal' beings that resemble mythical beasts from the West.

Perhaps this was not Kamo no Ozunu's original intention.

However, some of the mystery has indeed been passed down through this bloodline inheritance.

[Leaving aside demigods]

Although demons do not possess the same spiritual power as gods, they are equally mysterious and can be used as 'cursed spirits'—people call them 'shikigami'.

The existence of 'shikigami' is a path chosen by the descendants of the first founder of Shugendo and the ancestors of the Kamo family in order to deal with the ever-decreasing power of the divided spirits of the gods. It is still based on the 'cursed spirit system' but has some differences and is called Onmyōdō (the art of Yin and Yang).