Xia Jie Appears

"Maki!" Okkotsu let out an enraged shout. Powerful Cursed Energy erupted from his body, blasting apart even the shadows on the ground.

He pushed off with both feet and shot into the air, gripping his katana in both hands as he drove it viciously into the ground.

Boom— The ground split open instantly, revealing spiderweb-like cracks.

The shadows on the ground seemed to boil like water, bubbling with eerie blisters before vanishing again in an instant.

The shadows rapidly gathered, reforming Shadow Maru's figure.

Shadow Maru wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Normally, when he transformed into a shadow, ordinary attacks could do him extremely limited damage.

But Okkotsu's previous strike had contained immense Cursed Energy. It had spread through the entire shadow and injured his true body.

"As expected, I shouldn't have underestimated you!"

Looking at Okkotsu, who radiated a terrifying aura, Shadow Maru praised him sincerely.

"Give Maki... back!" Okkotsu gripped his katana tightly in both hands, raising it to his shoulder as he coldly addressed Shadow Maru.

"That girl..." Shadow Maru wore an amused smile. "I already ate her..."

"Is that so?" Okkotsu's gaze turned incredibly dangerous. "Then I'll save Maki by pulling her out of your body!"

Before his words had even faded, Okkotsu was already before Shadow Maru. A meteor-like slash flashed past, instantly cleaving Shadow Maru's body apart!

This brat...! He's even faster than before!

Shadow Maru swiftly stuck his body back together. At the same time, he used his cursed art to transform the ground into countless blades, temporarily forcing Okkotsu back.

But the next second, Okkotsu appeared before him again and brought his blade down heavily toward his head!

Rumble—

Thunder suddenly rang out in the sky. A thick blue-white bolt of lightning abruptly appeared between Okkotsu and Thunder Maru.

Okkotsu reacted incredibly quickly and immediately pulled back, narrowly avoiding the lightning strike.

What was that?! Where did that lightning come from?!

Okkotsu looked behind Shadow Maru, where he sensed the presence of an unfamiliar Cursed Spirit.

Tap, tap, tap.

Unhurried footsteps sounded out. Okkotsu focused his eyes and saw a boy about his own age and a tall Cursed Spirit appear before him at the same time.

The boy in front of me... is human?

Okkotsu looked at the boy in disbelief, but quickly assumed that he might have wandered in by mistake.

He shouted at the boy, "Get out of there, now! It's dangerous around you..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly saw Shadow Maru kneel before the boy.

"Lord Xia Jie! I..."

Half ashamed and half furious, Shadow Maru addressed Xia Jie.

If Lord Xia Jie had not arrived in time with Thunder Maru, that Jujutsu Sorcerer would probably have truly cut off his head.

Looking at Shadow Maru kneeling on the ground, Xia Jie felt his temples throb.

He had originally thought that, with Shadow Maru's strength, he might not be able to run wild through Shinjuku, but he should have come close.

That was why Xia Jie had felt comfortable letting Shadow Maru roam Shinjuku at night and continue expanding his Legend Points.

Who would have thought Shadow Maru would nearly fall today!

If Xia Jie had not made a habit of sensing Shadow Maru's condition, noticed that his Cursed Energy was rapidly declining, and hurriedly had Thunder Maru bring him here, Shadow Maru would likely have been exorcised by Okkotsu!

Yes, Xia Jie had known who Okkotsu was the instant he saw him.

It was actually easy enough to deduce.

After all, Shadow Maru was still a Special-Grade Cursed Spirit. Anyone capable of tangling with him had to be at least a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer.

Then there was Okkotsu's age. He was clearly about the same age as Xia Jie.

At Jujutsu High, the only one with that level of strength who was also around Xia Jie's age was the Champion of Pure Love—Okkotsu Yuta.

"Get up!"

Xia Jie patted Shadow Maru on the shoulder without getting angry at him.

Xia Jie himself had made the plan for Shadow Maru to attack humans at night. Drawing out Jujutsu Sorcerers had always been expected.

It was just that... he had not expected Shadow Maru to run into Okkotsu Yuta.

All he could say was that Shadow Maru had bad luck. If his opponent had been any other Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer, Shadow Maru would not have been so passive.

But Okkotsu Yuta... even without Rika Orimoto, the Queen of Curses, he still possessed strength close to that of a Special-Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer.

It was perfectly normal that Shadow Maru could not shake Okkotsu off. Xia Jie would have found it strange if he had managed to defeat Okkotsu.

Therefore, he would not blame Shadow Maru for his defeat.

But Shadow Maru did not know what Xia Jie was thinking. He only assumed that Xia Jie was being understanding, which made him feel even more guilty.

"Why... are you together with Cursed Spirits?"

Okkotsu stared at the scene before him in shock and asked, unable to understand it.

Could he have mastered the same Cursed Spirit Manipulation as Suguru Geto?

Could something like that really happen?

Xia Jie looked at Okkotsu Yuta and calmly said, "Don't be so surprised. Shadow Maru is mine... You can think of him as a Shikigami under my command."

"Who are you?"

Xia Jie did not reject the idea of interacting with Jujutsu High. He had even considered joining Jujutsu High.

He only knew some basic training methods for condensing Cursed Energy, and he understood almost nothing about more advanced matters.

Although Shadow Maru and Thunder Maru knew many advanced applications of Cursed Energy and Cursed Techniques, those things were nearly instinctive to them and could not be taught to Xia Jie.

In order to improve his own strength, Xia Jie had already begun considering joining Jujutsu High.

He simply had not decided when to join before running into Okkotsu Yuta.

Though it felt somewhat sudden, Xia Jie did not feel much resistance toward it.

Okkotsu watched Xia Jie warily and said in a deep voice, "I'm Okkotsu Yuta, a Grade 4 Jujutsu Sorcerer from Jujutsu High! Since that Shadow Maru is your... Shikigami, make him return my companion!"

Companion?

Xia Jie looked at Shadow Maru with slight surprise. This guy had actually managed to abduct someone right under Okkotsu Yuta's nose?

Right, Okkotsu Yuta probably had not reconstructed Rika yet. His strength might not have been as great as Xia Jie had imagined.

"Let the person out," Xia Jie said to Shadow Maru.

Shadow Maru answered, "Yes," and "expelled" Maki from his body.

His cursed art, Shadow Concealment, pulled targets into his Innate Domain. In a sense, it could be considered a downgraded version of Domain Expansion.

If he could unfold his Innate Domain, it would become a complete Domain Expansion.

After emerging from a pitch-black world, Maki felt dizzy and disoriented. Yet her outstanding reflexes and physical coordination still allowed her to quickly steady herself. Then, with a leap, she returned to Okkotsu's side.

"What's going on, Okkotsu?" Maki cautiously looked at the suddenly appearing Xia Jie and Thunder Maru, asking in confusion.

Okkotsu explained the situation to her. Maki's eyes widened slightly as she stared intently, unable to stop herself from saying, "You've got to be kidding. Someone like that really exists?"

Okkotsu nodded with difficulty. Clearly, he had not expected someone like this to be in Shinjuku either.

"Hey!" Maki shouted at Xia Jie. "Who are you? Why did you have Cursed Spirits attack us?"

My name isn't "hey." It's... A slightly neurotic girl suddenly appeared in Xia Jie's mind.