Additional Rules

"It really was... yes... it had to be the Ten Shadows Technique..."

In the jujutsu world, there were hundreds of techniques that involved shikigami, and hundreds more that possessed shadow-based traits.

But when those two elements were combined, there were indeed several possibilities.

Narrowing it down further by excluding techniques with only a single shikigami left two answers.

They were "Cursed Spirit Manipulation" and the "Ten Shadows Technique."

Xuan had never been seen fighting with cursed spirits. Likewise, he had never released any of the Ten Shadows Technique's shikigami.

Thus, the debate between the two camps had always persisted.

Yet in the end, Cursed Spirit Manipulation had always held the upper hand.

After all, everyone believed that the Ten Shadows Technique could only appear within the Zenin Clan's estate. Without the Zenin Clan, no one would even consider the possibility of the Ten Shadows Technique.

But the Ten Shadows Technique had naturally made it onto the list of guesses because every ability Xuan had displayed perfectly matched the shikigami of the Ten Shadows Technique.

Slashing was a simple type of technique, and many techniques manifested as slashes. Lightning, meanwhile, was exceedingly rare. As a representative of positive energy, cursed spirits possessing lightning were remarkably uncommon.

Nue of the Ten Shadows was one such case.

Piercing Blood was essentially a charged shot of liquid, and Max Elephant could fulfill that condition.

That evasive technique, like a snake shedding its skin, could be achieved by the Great Serpent.

The body-enhancing technique, as well as the acceleration technique that eliminated opponents like a shadow appearing in an instant, was Piercing Ox.

All kinds of speculation pointed toward the Ten Shadows Technique.

"Ah... I have no regrets now. As you said, I'll retract my autonomous shikigami and gather up my domain."

"Ah, though saying this probably sounds a little like I'm showing off."

Xuan looked at Dhruv, who was gathering up his shikigami, then crooked a finger and summoned Nue.

Nue, about the size of a parrot, appeared before Dhruv and instantly piqued his interest.

"How can this be... A shikigami's size and strength should correspond to its cursed energy. With the cursed energy inside you, your Nue should be even larger than my shikigami. How could it be so small...?"

"This is based on the Reverse Cursed Technique."

Dhruv rose to his feet. Cursed energy flooded his withered body, causing it to swell at once. Then he knelt before Xuan.

"I'll listen carefully... Master."

"Ah... old man, it's just the basics. Stop kneeling."

Dhruv could barely contain his emotions.

"The Reverse Cursed Technique... converts the cursed energy in one's body into positive energy. I understand that much... But how does using the Reverse Cursed Technique make a shikigami's size controllable during summoning?"

"When you use the Reverse Cursed Technique, you definitely convert part of your cursed energy into 'positive energy.' And that positive energy does not count toward your total cursed energy."

"Y-yes."

"So, by using the Reverse Cursed Technique to rapidly convert a large amount of cursed energy within your body into 'positive energy' in 0.3 seconds, controlling your total cursed energy to the amount you need, you can control the shikigami's size."

Dhruv seemed to have been enlightened by this. He immediately began trying it—Xuan sensed the old man before him suppressing a massive amount of cursed energy in an instant—then Dhruv let out a long sigh.

"I can't do it in such a short time."

"It's fine. It took me a long time to manage it too."

"How long?"

"About half an hour."

"Haha..."

Dhruv understood that Xuan was monstrously talented, but he had never expected his talent to be this outrageous.

If he gathered his domain back, then without constantly having his shikigami roam about, he could probably maintain it for six hours.

After six hours, the domain would collapse.

As for controlling his cursed energy through the Reverse Cursed Technique, Dhruv expected it would take roughly two days to master perfectly.

If he only needed to produce it briefly, then after around three hours, he should be able to summon a shikigami anywhere from one to three people tall.

Xuan looked up at the sky, at the black barrier.

"I've stayed in this barrier long enough."

"...Do you already have quite a lot of points?"

"I still need five."

"I see."

Dhruv nodded. The next moment, Xuan vanished from before his eyes, leaving only a trail of lightning behind.

"I'm leaving."

After the thunderous roar of lightning, a light voice drifted into Dhruv's ears. Dhruv sat in his chair, silently watching the black barrier before immersing himself in training to control the total amount of his cursed energy.

...Tokyo No. 2 Colony...

"Kogane, how many points do I have now?"

A man holding a long staff, dressed in white robes, with hair rising like deer antlers, stood atop the corpses of several jujutsu sorcerers. Leaning on his staff, he bit down on his right thumb, his teeth anxiously grinding up and down.

"Your current score is 90 points."

"Ah... I can't find a single worthwhile opponent—this is supposed to be the modern age, four hundred years later, yet it's regressed compared to ancient times, hasn't it? If this is all there is, then perhaps Sukuna is the only opponent I have left now..."

Hajime Kashimo swung the long staff in his hand and violently struck the ground several times.

"Sukuna, I hope Kenjaku didn't lie to me. If this era has no opponent who can make me serious... then I'll keep looking... keep looking!"

As Hajime Kashimo raised his staff, Kogane beside him suddenly began tracing patterns through the air.

"Ding dong! A player has added a new rule. General Rule Nine: Players may transfer between colonies."

"An added rule?"

Hajime Kashimo's eyes lit up.

"Kogane! How many points are needed to add a rule?"

"General Rule Five: By spending one hundred points, a player may negotiate with the administrator to add a new general rule."

"Ah, I see! I hope that guy is in my colony... Don't make me get my hopes up too much..."

He killed faster than I did... He might be as strong as me.

More importantly, the rule he added was "interconnected colonies," which meant he was also someone seeking battles against stronger opponents.

...Who could you be?

After thinking for a moment, Hajime Kashimo made his decision.

He would do the same as that guy.

But the rules...

He needed to think them through as well...

First, names were indispensable, then points to determine strength.

But adding rules would reduce the points, wouldn't it?

So he also needed to add the number of times rules had been added, as well as the colony each player was currently in...

Decided—I'll find this guy first, defeat him, and then go defeat Sukuna.

Hajime Kashimo swung the Ruyi Staff in his hand, pushed off the ground, and leaped into the air, landing on the rooftop of a building. His eyes rapidly swept over the areas where cursed energy was erupting. Then he jumped again, his body streaking like lightning toward the nearest burst of cursed energy—