Infinite Void

White brocade descended from the heavens, covering every shattered building. The originally chaotic scene seemed to soften within that gentle embrace.

Before long, Shen Yuanyi received his official First Grade Sorcerer rating, along with the reward he had earned from the battle during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. It was a very large sum.

But for Shen Yuanyi, who had a place to live, food to eat, and no bad habits, it was merely a number. After treating Panda and the others to a lavish meal, he planned to use the remaining money to find a Cursed Tool or shikigami capable of carrying weapons around with him.

Otherwise, his three blades were genuinely difficult to carry. Even packed into a violin case, they stood more than half a person's height. However, such things were hard to find, and there had been no news for the time being.

After Okkotsu Yuta lifted Rika's curse, his rating fell from Special Grade to Grade 4. From then on, he would have to work hard to climb back up himself, but judging by how things looked, that probably would not be difficult for him. It was only a matter of time, and everyone thought highly of him.

During that time, Shen Yuanyi had asked Gojo Satoru about the criteria for being rated Special Grade. The answer he received was that there were no unified standards, but every Special Grade had one thing in common: they were extraordinarily powerful.

"Then can I be rated Special Grade now?"

Hearing Shen Yuanyi ask that, Gojo Satoru casually replied, "Actually, the higher-ups have considered it. It's just that, first, they haven't had a direct sense of your strength yet, and that Special Grade Cursed Spirit, Shuten Doji, was also a curse whose exact strength was unknown."

"So it's only a suggestion. More importantly..."

Shen Yuanyi understood as soon as he heard that. "It's also because I've been placed within your sphere of influence, Gojo-sensei."

"Bingo! If you were also designated a Special Grade Sorcerer, then from their perspective, my side would have three Special Grades counting Okkotsu from before. But if Yuanyi, you made your Cursed Technique public, you should be able to firmly claim the Special Grade title."

"We didn't have time to talk about it before, but now that I think of it, Yuanyi, did you grasp the use of Reverse Cursed Technique during your battle with Shuten Doji?"

This was exactly what Shen Yuanyi had been waiting for. He immediately broke into a smug smile. "Hahaha, Gojo-sensei, in that desperate situation, I suddenly understood the true essence of Reverse Cursed Technique. After that, the effortless Cursed Technique Reversal let me ignore the damage from the enemy's Domain. I'm so strong now that even I don't know just how strong I am, hahaha!"

Gojo Satoru looked intrigued. "You're full of energy, huh? Then spar with your teacher."

Shen Yuanyi readily agreed. To Gojo Satoru's raised brow, he even brought along all three Cursed Blades. The former chuckled. "You'll be fine, right, Sensei? Besides, even if I hurt you, you have Reverse Cursed Technique."

Gojo Satoru stood and walked out of the building, smiling as he said, "Then Yuanyi, you'd better do your best. If you really can't manage it, your teacher can go easy on you."

The two traded childish trash talk as they headed toward the largest Training Ground at Jujutsu High. Maki and Panda were out on a mission, so the only spectators were Principal Yaga and White Wolf. Principal Yaga had been called over partly to maintain the Barrier Technique around the grounds, lest the place turn into ruins again after just a few moves.

Originally, they had only intended to notify him. Otherwise, the shockwaves from the coming battle might make Yaga Masamichi misunderstand. But when Yaga Masamichi heard that Gojo Satoru was going to spar with Shen Yuanyi, he became interested and came to watch.

Shen Yuanyi took off his coat, wearing only a white-and-black inner outfit. His somewhat long hair was tied behind his head. He held Dojigiri in one hand and Onikiri in the other, while Kumo-kiri hung at his waist.

Gojo Satoru, standing opposite him, also removed his blindfold, revealing those brilliant eyes as he stood there loosening up.

"Sensei, begin—"

Shen Yuanyi's words were still hanging in the air when a cloud of dust exploded behind Gojo Satoru. A clean, deep scar extended from the ground behind him.

Maintaining his outstretched-hand posture, Gojo Satoru looked toward Shen Yuanyi at his left, his eyes lighting up. "Oh? Yuanyi, you didn't even use your Cursed Technique just now?"

Shen Yuanyi had moved incredibly fast just then. Yaga Masamichi, watching from the side, had barely reacted at all and had only seen a blurry afterimage. But with the vision of the Six Eyes, Gojo Satoru had still locked onto Shen Yuanyi's slash and blocked it.

"This Dojigiri is pretty effective against Cursed Energy defenses."

Although, as expected, the attack had failed to break through Limitless, it still stirred some memories in Gojo Satoru. If an ordinary Jujutsu Sorcerer or Cursed Spirit had taken that blade head-on, their defense would likely have been cut apart in one strike. At that point, victory or defeat, life or death, would be clear.

And that was without this kid using his Cursed Technique.

"Yuanyi, your Cursed Technique Reversal can reverse even fatal injuries, right?"

Shen Yuanyi instantly understood what Gojo Satoru meant. His hand around the sword hilt loosened, then clenched even tighter as astonishing fighting spirit blazed in his eyes.

"Yes, Gojo-sensei. Come at me. I'm going all out too."

The moment he finished speaking, Gojo Satoru's figure vanished from where he stood. Shen Yuanyi only felt the touch of wind moving behind him, and he even seemed to hear the sound of cloth tearing.

So fast! Teleportation through his Cursed Technique?

But Shen Yuanyi ultimately reacted. With his time sense fully activated, everything around him slowed like a film playing in slow motion. Once he activated his Cursed Technique, that slow-motion world was paused once more.

Shen Yuanyi, having stepped aside, turned back and saw Gojo Satoru reaching toward where his left flank had been. If that had landed, he would probably have had a kidney ripped out.

Silently complaining, Shen Yuanyi crossed his twin blades before him. As his stance rose and fell, his long breath flowed endlessly, like a whale drawing in the waters of a white river. Then blade light suddenly erupted—like the moon falling through gaps in the clouds, like wind rippling water, like roaring rivers, like flying clouds and flashing lightning.

Countless staggered streaks of blade light drowned Gojo Satoru. Shen Yuanyi wildly expended Cursed Energy, reversing and reversing again, until the slash marks left by the three Cursed Blades nearly packed the entire space.

Only when he had nearly reached the limit of his own acceleration did Shen Yuanyi release his Cursed Technique. Countless sword cries then blended together, their strange shrieks stirring the frozen blade lights to life. In a single instant, they tore the space apart.

Yet at the same time, Shen Yuanyi, who had just released his Cursed Technique, felt an incomparably imposing force repelling and shoving him backward. The blade lights filling the sky shattered inch by inch in midair like glass. The ground in a circle around him seemed to be pressed down by an invisible hydraulic press, sinking in an instant without even a speck of dust or dirt being thrown up.

The moment Shen Yuanyi activated his Cursed Technique and entered the Timeless State, he discovered a pain in his abdomen. Looking down, he saw that a fist-sized hole had appeared in his left abdomen at some point. Unable to accelerate himself any further, Shen Yuanyi could only leave the Timeless State to restore the wound.

He did not use Reverse Cursed Technique; that was still somewhat slow for Shen Yuanyi. Then, with nothing more than a shift of the frame, the horrific wound in his abdomen vanished. Even the clothes that had been pierced through returned to normal.

Yet in that instant, Gojo Satoru's next attack arrived. It was likewise an attack with no visible process, but Gojo Satoru used his Cursed Technique to pull himself toward his target. Anything fragile that he struck along the way could be smashed to pieces on impact.

That speed was entirely beyond what a body enhanced by Cursed Energy could achieve. In the gap after Shen Yuanyi released his Cursed Technique and used Cursed Technique Reversal to "refresh" away his wound, Gojo Satoru appeared before him. Those eyes seemed unfocused, yet they remained locked firmly on his direction.

The Cursed Energy shining around the fist that had already landed on Shen Yuanyi was terrifying. It was clear that Gojo Satoru had barely held back on this punch, because that one strike nearly shattered Shen Yuanyi's right chest and shoulder.

The shattered flesh and bone, the blood spraying outward, seemed like nothing more than an illusion. Shen Yuanyi appeared behind Gojo Satoru. When Gojo Satoru vanished from his original position, the faster Shen Yuanyi had still successfully activated his Cursed Technique first.

Wheel of Time: Spin

Since the three Cursed Blades could not hurt Gojo Satoru, Shen Yuanyi abandoned that idea as well. He casually drove all three blades into the ground, then curled his fingers into a fist. Astonishing Cursed Energy surged around it as he smashed it toward Gojo Satoru, who had moved to the other side in an instant.

After discovering that it was still futile, Shen Yuanyi steadied himself. A translucent little sphere condensed over his raised fingertip, then stretched through the air into a line, its other end connected to Gojo Satoru.

The game then became turn-based. Shen Yuanyi tried every possible way to change his methods of attack, and the instant he released his Cursed Technique, it became Gojo Satoru's turn.

Other than Hollow Purple, Shen Yuanyi had sampled both Blue and Red. He could not break through Gojo-sensei's defense, but Gojo Satoru's attacks landing on Shen Yuanyi were likewise like flowers reflected in a mirror, moons reflected in water. In the end, Shen Yuanyi remained completely unscathed.

"How do I break your Cursed Technique?"

Gojo Satoru smiled carelessly. "Then master Domain Expansion first."

Feeling somewhat dejected, Shen Yuanyi said helplessly, "After fighting Shuten Doji, I tried to figure out the direction for Domain Expansion, but I couldn't make any sense of it. I even tried starting from Barrier Technique, but there were still no results."

Gojo Satoru continued, "Don't rush it. It hasn't been that long, and sometimes Domain Expansion only requires a moment of enlightenment. How about this? I'll give you a little taste of my Domain."

"Huh?"

Just as Shen Yuanyi recalled the effect of Gojo Satoru's Domain Expansion, he heard Yaga Masamichi's shout from the side. "Gojo, don't mess around!"

Gojo Satoru said easily, "Relax, I'll keep it very brief."

He then raised his hand, crossing his middle and index fingers. Light spread outward from Gojo Satoru, then vanished after expanding and contracting in a single instant.

Domain Expansion: Infinite Void.

Shen Yuanyi had intended to activate his Cursed Technique to see whether he could escape, but he suddenly changed his mind. Since Gojo-sensei could control the power, perhaps he could give it a try?

So with a single thought, Shen Yuanyi remained where he was and was struck by Gojo Satoru's Domain Expansion. Even in that extremely brief instant, Shen Yuanyi still fell into a strange state. Infinite useless information flooded into his mind all at once, whether he wanted it or not.

He could sense everything around him, yet he could not move at all. The feeling that his body and consciousness had split into two separate parts was unbearably uncomfortable. The endless flood of information was very similar to the sensation Shen Yuanyi felt when his thoughts operated at high speed and detached from the passage of time in the material world.

He could not activate his Cursed Technique. Shen Yuanyi could not even control the blinking of his eyelids. His mind felt as though he were passing through a long stretch of time, but his instincts told him that one second, two seconds had passed.

When he broke free of that state and regained control of his body, Shen Yuanyi saw Gojo Satoru grinning while Yaga Masamichi looked somewhat concerned. He casually used Cursed Technique Reversal to refresh himself, then savored the feeling from before.

Gojo Satoru smiled. "Well? I kept it active for less than a second just now."

"You bastard, how can you casually use a move like that on your own student?" Gojo Satoru dodged Yaga Masamichi's iron fist and put on a loud, exaggerated display.

Shen Yuanyi compared Shuten Doji's Domain with Gojo-sensei's in his mind. When facing a Domain that dealt direct damage, Shen Yuanyi had practically treated it as nothing. But against a Domain like Infinite Void, it seemed that he could only get away immediately. If he got caught in it, things would become troublesome.

Domain Expansion can counter Domain Expansion.

Seeing Shen Yuanyi still deep in thought, Gojo Satoru, having dodged over, pulled him into a one-armed embrace. "Let nature take its course, let nature take its course. Don't get obsessed, Yuanyi. Go take on a mission. There's something else I need you to do too."

Pulled back from his thoughts, Shen Yuanyi asked with a look of disgust, "What is it? Every time you say something like that, it feels unreliable."

"What do you mean? This time, it's about Megumi. Not many students for the next class have been confirmed yet, so I've decided to have Megumi prepare to enroll first. You haven't gone back in a while either, right? It's the perfect chance to go take a look."

"Hmph, I keep in touch with them all the time. I've even sent a lot of things back."

Shen Yuanyi said disdainfully, but he still tacitly accepted Gojo Satoru's arrangement. Whenever they had video calls, it was basically always him and Tsumiki talking. Aside from his mouth moving, that kid Megumi was like a photograph. This time, he would go back and bully him face-to-face. Let's see if he could still maintain that poker face.

Hehe, didn't you say you weren't interested in jujutsu? Let's see what you can use to fight back.

"Yuanyi, your laugh is pretty weird."

"Don't you understand memes?"