The Outcome Was Decided

"Domain Expansion-Court of Ten Thousand Treasured Arms."

A black barrier suddenly spread outward from Gu Yanzhi, enveloping the entire stretch of ruins. Inside, the domain was pale, empty, and immaculately clean.

The instant Gu Yanzhi's domain enveloped him, Hajime Kashimo formed a hand seal. "Secret Art-Hollow Wicker Basket."

A golden barrier unfolded around him. Standing at its center, he curled his lips into a slight smile. "What a shame. It's not as though I don't have a Cursed Technique to counter domains."

The words had barely left his mouth when Hajime Kashimo's expression froze.

He was pinned in place, completely unable to move.

He remained locked in his hand seal, unable even to draw back his fingers, and shock surged through him. How is this possible? Hollow Wicker Basket is definitely active, and the wall of light is completely intact. Why am I being hit by his sure-hit effect?

Gu Yanzhi pushed himself upright. His movements were slow-blood was still seeping from the wounds in his left shoulder and thigh. He walked up to Hajime Kashimo and raised his fist high, Cursed Energy gathering over his knuckles into a ghostly blue glow, then smashed it straight into Hajime Kashimo's face.

Still locked in his hand seal, Hajime Kashimo was blasted backward, tumbling several times through the air. The blow split his forehead open, and blood ran down the bridge of his nose, dripping onto the fingers that still held their seal.

Gu Yanzhi's domain-Court of Ten Thousand Treasured Arms-was an incomplete domain, just like Fushiguro's.

Unlike Fushiguro, however, Gu Yanzhi possessed an extensive knowledge of Barrier Techniques, thanks to the original owner's diligent studies. His domain's incompleteness did not stem from an insufficient understanding of Barrier Techniques.

Rather, he had not explored his innate Cursed Technique deeply enough-he could not integrate it into his domain. The original owner had spent his entire life unable to cross that threshold.

Gu Yanzhi had inherited the original owner's memories and knowledge, yet he, too, remained stuck at this final step. What he deployed was therefore less a true domain than a barrier that greatly enhanced his innate Cursed Technique.

Still restrained, Hajime Kashimo shouted, "You bastard! Let's see how long you can hold me!"

Lightning blazed across his body as he poured Cursed Energy madly into every inch of muscle. A powerful electromagnetic field formed a layer of dazzling white light over his skin. He intended to take the most straightforward, brute-force approach-overwhelm the restraints' limits with sheer Cursed Energy output.

Watching the dazzling lightning erupt around Hajime Kashimo, Gu Yanzhi could feel him battering his Psychokinesis restraints with ever greater amounts of Cursed Energy.

His own Cursed Energy was draining rapidly. Domain Expansion alone consumed an enormous amount, and with the added burden of restraining a sorcerer at Special Grade level, his Cursed Energy Pool was visibly approaching empty.

Ignoring the erupting lightning, he activated his Psychokinesis again and pulled Hajime Kashimo back, forcibly dragging him within reach before bringing his fist down once more.

The lightning scorched his hand black, splitting flesh and skin. The bones in his knuckles gave faint cracks in the intense heat. Shouting, he kept hammering down punch after punch.

"Even if I lose both hands, I'll beat you to death before my Cursed Energy runs out!"

Hajime Kashimo shouted back, the lightning around him growing brighter until the entire domain was bathed in blinding white.

"Then come on! Let's see who lasts longer!"

After two more punches, Hajime Kashimo's face was battered and swollen. His left eye was swollen almost shut, and a trickle of blood hung at the corner of his mouth, but the lightning building around him had become too intense to look at directly.

He smiled faintly. Gu Yanzhi's restraints were gradually weakening, the Psychokinesis hold over his body steadily fading.

He had won this duel.

Gu Yanzhi panted heavily, his body a mangled wreck. Both hands were ruined and charred black, his fingers completely numb; he could no longer even make a fist. Blood continued seeping from his shoulder and thigh, mingling with his blackened skin until wounds and burns were impossible to distinguish.

At last, he gritted his teeth and charged at Hajime Kashimo. Using the last of his strength, he raised his right leg and kicked him viciously away, then collapsed straight to the ground, his chest heaving.

At the same time, the domain began to unravel.

The enclosing barrier dissolved into tiny motes of light. Court of Ten Thousand Treasured Arms collapsed from its edges inward, returning to nothingness layer by layer like a sandcastle washed away by the tide.

The real surroundings gradually came into view.

Hajime Kashimo tumbled several times through the air. He squinted at the light of the dissolving domain, then saw what lay beneath him-his pupils shrank to pinpoints.

The sea.

An endless expanse of blue water stretched beneath his feet, its waves shimmering white in the early morning sunlight. The harbor? This bastard moved the domain's coordinates to the harbor?!

Gu Yanzhi slammed into the iron wall of a shipping container. Watching Hajime Kashimo fall toward the sea, he knew he could never outlast that monster in a contest of Cursed Energy consumption.

He had never intended to settle the fight inside the domain.

He had copied Kinji Hakari's approach in the original story-moving the domain's coordinates to drop Hajime Kashimo into the sea. Unlike Kinji Hakari, however, he did not have unlimited Reverse Cursed Technique. He could not heal his injuries, and after Domain Expansion, his Cursed Technique would burn out, leaving him unable to stop Hajime Kashimo from escaping the water.

There was therefore only one thing he needed to accomplish inside the domain-make Hajime Kashimo release and accumulate as much Cursed Energy as possible, filling his body with lightning so that it would all discharge the moment he hit the sea.

The instant he touched the conductive seawater, his Cursed Energy would leak out uncontrollably. That enormous quantity of Cursed Energy would erupt in an extremely short span, turning him into a terrifying Cursed Energy bomb.

Gu Yanzhi listened to the thunderous explosion over the sea. A column of water shot into the sky, filled with severed limbs and body parts from Cursed Spirits-probably unlucky victims caught in the blast.

Blinding lightning illuminated the entire stretch of sea. He narrowed his eyes and exhaled. What a monster.

The seawater blasted into the sky by the lightning gradually fell back down, creating a dense artificial rainfall. Droplets struck the metal shipping containers with crisp, ringing taps.

Hajime Kashimo clambered ashore.

His wet hair clung to his forehead, his entire body was drenched in seawater, and water still dripped from his clothes. An unabashed smile now spread across the face Gu Yanzhi had battered so badly. The swelling around his left eye made that smile slightly crooked, but did nothing to diminish the excitement in it.

He slowly walked over to Gu Yanzhi, one step at a time. The lightning around him had completely died out. Leaning against the shipping container, Gu Yanzhi gave a helpless smile.

"I'm really out of options. Kill me or carve me up-do whatever you want."

Hajime Kashimo did not attack. Instead, he turned around and dropped onto the ground beside Gu Yanzhi, lying faceup with his chest rising and falling.

Rain struck his face and trickled down around his swollen eye.

"My Cursed Energy is completely exhausted too," he said, his voice hoarse but his tone satisfied.

"And now I don't have any strength left either. Let's call this fight a draw."

Gazing at the rising sun, Hajime Kashimo said wistfully, "Joining the Culling Game really was the right decision. That was a great fight. Of all the opponents I've faced so far, you're the strongest. I'll probably never forget you!"

"I'll probably forget you tomorrow, strongest guy at the village gate four hundred years ago."

"Huh?!"