Liao Chan watched Shier closely, an astonishing desire hidden deep in his eyes.
This was far too interesting, far too rare. He wanted it so badly. Such a rare technique had to be incredibly fascinating... yet he could only look and not touch.
Although he possessed an understanding of techniques and a wealth of knowledge far beyond ordinary people, that did not mean Liao Chan's strength could be considered among the pinnacle of the Jujutsu World. In fact, let alone easily subduing the Heavenly Curse Spirit before him, even taking down Jogo would require him to pay an enormous price.
That was still under the condition that Cursed Spirit Manipulation had a "kill threshold" against cursed spirits.
As Liao Chan observed the so-called "Heavenly Curse Spirit" in the distance, he continued to tempt Jogo. "It seems our alliance can no longer proceed. After all, before long, cursed spirits will embark on a path of peaceful coexistence with humans."
"Absolutely impossible!"
Jogo clenched his teeth even tighter.
"That may be true, but we have no way to resist her."
Liao Chi smiled helplessly.
"If she fought Ryomen Sukuna, who would win?"
Jogo suddenly asked.
The smile on Liao Chan's face widened slightly, and his voice became low and alluring. "She is indeed powerful, enough to be called the strongest cursed spirit of the modern era. Even if Sukuna faced her, it would surely be very difficult."
"Would Sukuna lose?"
Jogo looked at Liao Chan.
"He would win."
Training.
Amber, who had been waiting for Nanami and Mahito to make their appearances, spent an uneventful week with everyone.
During that week, the three second-year upperclassmen returned one after another. After getting acquainted, everyone became fairly familiar with one another. Amber's presence gave the three of them the feeling of being transported back to a year ago, when they had faced Yuta Okkotsu. She had the same gentle, shy personality, the same special-grade treatment upon enrollment, and the same cursed spirit no one could afford to provoke.
However, Amber was both their underclassman and an adorable girl, so everyone treated her far more gently than they had treated Yuta Okkotsu.
Unfortunately, no matter how gentle they were, they would not slacken their training of Amber.
After knocking the scythe from the girl's hands once again, Maki kicked Amber aside and declared the practice over.
"You're amazing... Maki-senpai..."
Although Amber had been kicked and sent flying several meters due to her light weight, she did not seem injured in the slightest. Her face held only admiration. "Shier felt like she had improved, but she still couldn't beat you, senpai."
"Huh? Of course not. You weren't allowed to use Cursed Energy to reinforce yourself, so I naturally had the innate advantage in our match."
Maki wore an easygoing smile. "My constitution is special, after all."
That was what she said, but she was already sweating profusely.
Every living thing in this world possessed Cursed Energy, though the amount varied from one lifeform to another. Yet as a human, Maki possessed less Cursed Energy than even an animal. The reason was the Heavenly Restriction.
A Heavenly Restriction differed from an ordinary Binding Vow. It could not be made willingly; rather, it was forcibly imposed upon one's body from birth.
The conditions sacrificed and the power obtained through a Heavenly Restriction differed from person to person. There were two entirely opposite types: "trading physical ability for Cursed Energy" and "trading Cursed Energy for physical strength."
Maki had exchanged all of her Cursed Energy for a powerful body.
...Or at least, she should have.
In the Jujutsu World, twins were extremely ominous existences. Not only was there an unseverable connection between them, but they also "shared" their Cursed Energy. Maki, who should not have possessed any Cursed Energy, had gained a faint amount because she was a twin. Her twin sister Maki, who should have been like an ordinary person, consequently possessed weak Cursed Energy.
Unable to release all of her Cursed Energy, Maki's physical talent was also suppressed. Meanwhile, Maki, left incomplete because some of her Cursed Energy had been divided away, became a "defective product" in the eyes of the world.
Even so.
Even relying solely on her physical abilities, Maki knew full well that she could exorcise a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit with a casual gesture. Although a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit would take some effort, she could still defeat one.
She could rival a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer through physical ability and martial arts alone! Yet now, she had been forced to resort to underhanded tricks by an underclassman who had trained for only five days and was not even using Cursed Energy to reinforce her body.
In a few more days, would she still have anything left to teach her?
Of course, Maki had no intention of saying any of that aloud. On the surface, she still forced herself to maintain that relaxed appearance.
Panda saw through her act at a glance. "You're incredible, Shier. You've only been enrolled for such a short time, and you've only trained in martial arts for five days, yet you nearly pushed Maki to her limit."
"Huh? Why are you butting in? I still have plenty of moves I haven't used, you know?"
Maki did not want to be exposed in front of her cute underclassman and glared irritably at Panda beside her.
That was what she said, but at this point, her remaining moves would not be anything capable of turning the battle around. They were merely unexpected tricks.
Panda ultimately gave her some face. "Even so, Shier's growth is terrifying."
"Shier was only able to learn so quickly because all of you senpai taught her without holding anything back."
Amber did not mean to be excessively modest, or it would sound like she was showing off. In truth, she was somewhat surprised by her own progress. In the previous world, her Tai Xu Sword Qi had advanced rapidly, and she had assumed it was because of Fu Hua's body.
But with this happening too... could it be that she was actually a martial arts genius?
"I was taught without anyone holding back too! I almost died!"
Nobara, who had long since collapsed on the ground, could not help speaking up. "Panda-senpai was way too merciless."
"It's worth suffering a little more during training. At least it's better than losing your life when you encounter danger."
Panda scratched his fluffy head.
"That may be true, but that's not what I wanted to hear..."
Nobara was not comforted at all. Everyone understood that reasoning.
"Then... shall we go to a cake shop later? Shier exorcised a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit yesterday and got paid a lot."
Amber walked over to Nobara, knelt on the grass, and blocked the sunlight for her. At the same time, she placed a hand on Nobara's head. A cool sensation swiftly spread through Nobara's body, and the muscles damaged by training rapidly regenerated even stronger than before. Nobara, who had been exhausted all over, instantly recovered her energy.
"Ahhh! Without little Shier! Watashi!"
Feeling comfortable from head to toe, and realizing that the girl clearly intended to treat her, Nobara immediately rolled over and sprawled across Amber's lap. She shouted while rubbing her head back and forth.
"Don't make such a pathetic move toward your underclassman."
Maki commented, "Even though you're in the same year, Shier is actually a middle school student, right?"
"That's so nice... I want to wear clothes other than uniforms too, like Shier!"
Nobara did not care about that. She only wanted to cling to her goddess, while also lamenting how hideously ugly the school uniform was.
"You still have to wear the uniform. It's a defensive Cursed Tool, after all... Though it can't protect you from cursed spirits, it works like stab-resistant clothing. If you don't like the standard design, just alter it yourself."
Maki did not really care whether it looked good.
Nobara knew the uniform had some defensive properties, but that was all it had. Against cursed spirits, its defensive effect was not exactly useless, but it might as well have been.
Still, although she mocked Yuji for being unfashionable, even with all her confidence, she knew she was still a novice when it came to fashion sense. Having her alter it herself would be worse than leaving it alone.
After looking once more at Amber's fitted and attractive outfit, Nobara sighed. "Forget it. I should think about what cake to eat later."
"Let's invite Yuji-senpai and Fushiguro-senpai too."
Amber could not resist rubbing Nobara's head as she rested against her legs, then looked at Maki. "Would Maki-senpai and the others like to come too?"
"No. I still need to train with Panda for a while longer."
Maki shook her head.
Panda awkwardly pointed at himself. "Um... I kind of wanted to go too..."
"You can't even eat anything, so there's no point in going!"
Maki looked speechless. "And you can't just show up in front of people looking like that."
"At least I could improve our relationship or something..."
Panda scratched his head again, but did not argue.
"You go on without us. Inumaki and those two went to buy drinks and haven't come back yet. They should be resting over there."
After saying that, Maki turned away and stopped looking at them.
Exchange Meeting.
Today was a rest day, so leaving the school grounds was not a problem for everyone. Besides, they had already trained for an entire morning, so it was not as if they were being lazy. Moreover, Amber, as an exchange student, was not eligible to participate in this year's Exchange Meeting, so Maki and Panda naturally had no objections.
Still, if they ate cake, they would have to make up for those calories with double the training.
Unaware that their upperclassman had already decided to put them through extra training, Amber and Nobara headed toward the only place on campus with vending machines, chatting and laughing together.
"Little Shier is here too? Good work."
When Yuji saw Amber and Nobara appear, he greeted them and stood up from the shade, a can of cola still in his hand. "What would little Shier like to drink? My treat."
"Are you pretending not to see me?"
Nobara's expression immediately darkened.
"Ah, no..."
Yuji hurriedly added, "What would Kugisaki like to drink?"
"No need! A dumb guy like you isn't qualified to spend money on me or little Shier."
Nobara passed him with a sour expression and stopped in front of the vending machine. "Little Shier, I'll treat you."
"Um... I'll have..."
Amber naturally had no intention of refusing such kindness. Accepting someone's kindness was also a way of expressing her own.
However, before she could say anything, the sound of a drink dropping came from beside them. Fushiguro took out a bottle of sports drink and calmly handed it to Amber. "Mizone."
"Thank you."
Amber accepted the drink. "How did Fushiguro-senpai know Shier wanted this?"
"Other than mineral water, this is the only drink you've had these past few days."
Fushiguro Megumi wore a calm expression that seemed to say, How could I not know?
Nobara appeared at his side in an instant, stared at him with an exaggerated expression, and said, "Didn't I say I—would—treat her?"
"Anyone can do that, right..."
Fushiguro Megumi was not very good at dealing with someone suddenly getting in his face, so he answered helplessly.
"Then I'll treat little Shier to a late-night snack tonight."
Yuji popped up again.
"I already said a guy at your level isn't needed!"
Nobara did not have much savings and was probably the poorest among them, but treating someone to a meal or a bottle of water was still not a problem.
Watching the two of them bicker, as well as Fushiguro Megumi being caught in the middle, Amber could not help reflecting on her school life. In her previous life, she had only attended elementary school, so she had never experienced the youth people talked about, nor had she gone out with friends to play and argue. Fortunately, she still had a chance to experience it now.
Though no one would argue with her, of course.
As a precious healer with an extremely likable personality and strong combat ability, the three of them had already begun treating this underclassman like a little sister. Nobara in particular had sisters of her own, so she understood how to get along with one.
Furthermore, the girl's special ability was not merely that of an ordinary healer. She could even help everyone in their training.
Reverse Cursed Technique could not be used for cultivation, because training muscles came with all kinds of symptoms: lactic acid buildup, muscle damage, fasciitis, and so on. If Reverse Cursed Technique was used, repairing those conditions would also mean that the training had been for nothing.
However, the technique the girl called Creation Withering was completely different. It did not restore something to its original state; it created something new.
Though that also meant they had entered an even more inhumane training hell.
But how could they blame their kind and adorable underclassman for that? Clearly, it was because the second-year upperclassmen were too demonic!
"Speaking of which, where is Inumaki-senpai?"
Seeing the three of them still making noise, Amber asked curiously.
"When he sparred with us earlier, he ran out of throat lozenges, so he went back to restock."
Yuji explained, "He probably left just before you arrived, little Shier, so you barely missed each other."
"I see..."
Amber nodded in understanding, then asked, "Shier and Nobara-senpai are planning to go out for some desserts. Would Yuji-senpai and Fushiguro-senpai like to come too?"
"We were just planning to take a break too. We've trained continuously for so long. Our bodies are fine, but our minds need rest as well."
Before you continue