Jujutsu High

A tall, slender figure with a shock of dazzling white hair and small round sunglasses swaggered in.

Behind him came a smiling, narrow-eyed boy with his hair tied in a bun, along with a lazy-looking short-haired girl sucking on a lollipop.

They were seventeen-year-old Satoru Gojo, Suguru Geto, and Ieiri Shoko.

"See? I told you a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit couldn't hurt him. Jie, you just had to drag us over here."

Satoru Gojo complained as he adjusted his sunglasses. His gaze swept over the severed cursed spirit on the ground and the high-spirited Lu Ping. "Done already? Then let's get going. I'm starving!"

Looking at this Special Grade who would one day stand at the pinnacle of the Jujutsu World, Lu Ping dusted himself off.

"Coming."

The night breeze was slightly cool, dispersing the pungent smell of blood and the stench left behind by the dead cursed spirit around the abandoned factory.

Four figures in Jujutsu High's black uniforms walked through the weed-choked wasteland.

Satoru Gojo walked at the front, hands in his pockets, his long legs taking strides that seemed too big for the world around him.

Suguru Geto trailed half a step behind him, while Lu Ping and Ieiri Shoko walked side by side farther back.

"Hey, Lu Ping."

Satoru Gojo, who had been walking at the front, suddenly stopped and turned around, bringing his round-sunglassed face close.

The Eyes of the Azure Heavens hidden behind those lenses—the Six Eyes—openly swept up and down Lu Ping's body.

"That abandoned factory just now... the residual cursed energy fluctuations were pretty outrageous." Satoru Gojo's lips curled into an intrigued smile.

"It only lasted an instant, but that violent, all-destroying aura was enough to give even me a little scare. Hey, you didn't secretly make something incredible behind our backs, did you?"

As the once-in-several-centuries genius of the Gojo Clan, Satoru Gojo had not yet awakened the Reverse Cursed Technique and become the true "strongest of the modern era," but he already stood at the peak of Grade 1 Sorcerers.

He had keenly sensed the unusual cursed energy residue inside the factory.

According to records in the Gojo Clan's ancient texts, among the Zenin Clan's inherited Ten Shadows Technique was an absolute taboo that no clan head throughout history had ever tamed—Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga.

The aura lingering at the scene had nearly reached the level of his own full-power output. Other than that legendary strongest shikigami, Satoru Gojo could think of no other possibility.

The Ten Shadows Technique required shadows as a medium. Even someone as powerful as the Six Eyes could only see a mass of chaotic darkness at the moment.

Lu Ping's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained calm.

The Six Eyes' insight was practically cheating. Lying was pointless, so he calmly nodded. "Yeah. At the brink of life and death, I gained some insight into the Ten Shadows Technique and grasped a bit of new power."

At the words "new power," Suguru Geto, who was walking ahead, turned and smiled gently. "I see. No wonder you were able to deal with that Grade 2 Cursed Spirit alone. Did you tame a new shikigami? Congratulations, Lu Ping."

To Suguru Geto and Ieiri Shoko, progress in the Ten Shadows Technique simply meant taming a stronger shikigami that he had previously been unable to defeat, such as Nue or the Great Serpent.

But Satoru Gojo did not see it that way.

Behind his sunglasses, Satoru Gojo's brows rose slightly. His Six Eyes had clearly caught that the total amount of cursed energy in Lu Ping's body had indeed increased since they had separated.

Moreover, the "quality" of that cursed energy seemed to have undergone an indescribable distortion.

He tamed Mahoraga? Impossible. With that pitiful amount of cursed energy he originally had, he wasn't even qualified to tame Piercing Ox, Tiger Funeral, or Round Deer, let alone survive Mahoraga.

But that residual energy from before could not have been fake...

Stroking his chin, Satoru Gojo quickly reached what he considered a reasonable conclusion: Lu Ping might have accidentally touched some mechanism deep within the Ten Shadows in a desperate situation, triggering something like a "cursed energy rampage" and causing his technique to expand.

At that thought, Satoru Gojo not only stopped probing, but instead grinned.

As a genius born at the summit, someone deeply acquainted with the loneliness of being invincible, he had always felt that only Suguru Geto among their peers could barely keep up with him.

Now, this usually timid "deadweight" of the Zenin Clan had unexpectedly displayed unknown potential.

Now this is interesting! Satoru Gojo chuckled inwardly. Hurry up and get stronger. Don't bore me too much.

Seeing that Satoru Gojo did not continue questioning him, Lu Ping secretly let out a breath.

Naturally, he could not reveal the existence of Three Corpses Manipulation. Blaming everything on a mutation in the Ten Shadows Technique was the safest cover for now.

"Forget about those two idiots who only ever think about fighting and killing."

A lazy female voice came from beside him. Ieiri Shoko had a lollipop in her mouth, her eyes slightly bleary as she looked at Lu Ping.

"Not bad. As long as the Ten Shadows Technique can summon Divine Dogs, you're guaranteed a Grade 2 Sorcerer rating. But you used to be too weak physically, and your cursed energy was like a shallow puddle. Your shikigami were pathetically weak, and you were always a living target yourself. Now that you've awakened new power, you can finally shake off that 'weakest Grade 2' title, right?"

Shoko's words struck straight at the heart of the matter.

In this world, the Ten Shadows might have a great reputation, but if the shikigami user's own body was too weak, that was an obvious weakness.

As she spoke, Shoko extended a pale finger and lightly tapped Lu Ping's arm.

A warm, gentle, life-filled force flowed from her fingertip into Lu Ping's body.

The tiny wounds Lu Ping had received from rubble in the ruins began healing, scabbing over, and falling away at a visible speed, leaving his skin as good as new.

"So this is... the Reverse Cursed Technique?" Lu Ping's eyes lit up.

In his previous life, cultivation spoke of restoring flesh and regenerating bone. This Reverse Cursed Technique was practically the highest-grade healing art! If he could master it, his survivability would take a qualitative leap.

"Shoko, how exactly does this Reverse Cursed Technique work? Is there some kind of formula or route for circulating cursed energy?" Lu Ping asked humbly.

Shoko bit through the lollipop in her mouth, tilted her head in thought, then began gesturing with great seriousness.

"A formula? First, you gather your cursed energy with a 'whoosh,' then make it collide in your head with a 'crack,' then release it with another 'whoosh,' and the wound heals with a 'plop.' Got it?"

"..." The anticipation on Lu Ping's face instantly froze.

No wonder even Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto had failed to learn even a scrap of the Reverse Cursed Technique from Shoko despite being around her for so long.

With this kind of intuition-and-talent-only "onomatopoeia teaching method," even a dog would shake its head after hearing it.

"Forget it. Pretend I never asked." Lu Ping sighed helplessly.

By then, the two people walking in front had somehow begun discussing a sorcerer's duties again.

"Satoru, I'll say it again. Jujutsu is meant to protect non-sorcerers."

Suguru Geto clasped his hands inside his sleeves, his tone gentle but carrying an unshakable resolve.

"The strong protect the weak. That is the law of society, and it is also the meaning of us being sorcerers."

"Huh? Your annoying righteous nonsense again." Satoru Gojo curled his lip in displeasure.

"I hate righteous nonsense the most. Power is for using however you want. What kind of strong person becomes a babysitter for the weak?"

Just as the two seemed about to fall into one of their usual arguments over ideals, Lu Ping suddenly quickened his pace and stepped between them.

"I agree with Jie." Lu Ping looked at Suguru Geto, his tone unusually serious.

Though Suguru Geto thought rather highly of himself, a gentleman judged deeds, not intentions. At the very least, Suguru Geto truly had protected many ordinary people.

Suguru Geto froze for a moment, clearly not expecting the usually quiet Lu Ping to suddenly speak up in support of him.

Lu Ping continued, "The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. We possess extraordinary power not to place ourselves above others, but because this world needs someone to bear the despair ordinary people cannot face. 'The immortal path values life and saves all beings without measure.' Using the strength of the powerful to shelter the weak is itself a form of cultivating one's heart—the so-called Dao."

This declaration of righteousness, infused with cultivation ideals, made Suguru Geto's eyes light up at once.

It was as though he had found a true kindred spirit. The way he looked at Lu Ping gained an indescribable sense of recognition and warmth.

"'The immortal path values life'... Well said, Lu Ping." Suguru Geto smiled gently and moved closer to discuss this fresh philosophy with him.

Watching the two chat animatedly, Satoru Gojo suddenly realized he had become the one being left out.

Like a giant Maine Coon whose treat had been stolen, he angrily kicked a stone by the roadside flying.

"Hey! Are you two treating me like I'm invisible?"

Just as Satoru Gojo was about to blow up, the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.

Satoru Gojo took out his phone and glanced at it. It was their teacher, Masamichi Yaga.

He answered the call. After listening for a few moments, his annoyed expression gradually faded, replaced by an excited, arrogant look.

"Got it, got it. Yaga, you're so long-winded. We're nearby anyway, so we'll take care of it while we're at it."

After hanging up, Satoru Gojo turned to look at Lu Ping and the other two, his mouth stretching into an exaggerated grin. "Everyone, the night's not over yet."

"Yaga said a Semi-Grade 1 cursed energy signature was just detected in the city not far from these suburbs. The higher-ups want us to deal with it nearby!"

At the mention of a "Semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirit," Suguru Geto and Shoko's expressions grew slightly solemn.

Deep within Lu Ping's shadow, however, a head called Azure Corpse grinned excitedly in the darkness, its mouth opening like an abyss.

A Semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirit.

That was a perfect feast, highly likely to bring an enormous amount of negative emotion!