Even in the Heian Era, the Zenin Clan, a faction barely worth a damn, could still fight among themselves over who would inherit the clan head's position.
All he could say was that they fit Jianxia's stereotypes perfectly.
Megumi Zenin escorted him back to his room. After they wished each other good night, the day officially came to an end.
Jianxia boiled some water, took a quick bath in the tub, then hurried under the covers and pulled out his phone.
Jianxia Current era: Heian Era, one thousand years ago Innate Cursed Technique: Cursed Spirit Manipulation Subjugated Cursed Spirits: Banquet of Fated Remnants (Grade 1) Advanced techniques: none Objectives: ① Participate in the Culling Game ② Mate with Kenjaku ③ Romance your subjugated Cursed Spirits Mission completion reward awaiting collection
Sure enough, after he successfully romanced Banquet of Fated Remnants, the way the system referred to them on its list had changed too.
He had yet to claim his mission reward, but that wasn't the point. After all, he could collect it whenever he wanted just by taking out his phone.
What surprised Jianxia was that, despite having clearly completed the objective of romancing a Cursed Spirit, the mission hadn't disappeared.
"System, why is objective three still there?"
This objective has been identified as repeatable. The system has automatically designated it a permanent objective to facilitate the host's growth.
Reading the message on his phone, Jianxia grinned from ear to ear.
In other words, as long as he kept subjugating Cursed Spirits and romancing them, he could earn an endless stream of system rewards.
He could get intimate with his beloved Cursed Spirits and keep growing stronger.
Those were the upsides. Where were the downsides?
"System, buddy, I misjudged you before. From now on, as long as I, Jianxia, have a bite of meat to eat, you'll always have a mouthful of cold air to live on."
You know how it was. The system was Jianxia's brother. They had fought side by side.
Filled with joy and anticipation, Jianxia tapped the option to claim his mission reward.
Information obtained: at dawn five days from now, travel ten kilometers due north.
The information entered Jianxia's mind directly, searing itself into his memory like a brand.
Then the reward collection option disappeared, and his phone's interface returned to normal.
Jianxia's smile froze.
"System, that's the reward for completing the mission?"
Yes.
Jianxia got up and opened the door, leaned his entire body back like a pitcher winding up, then drove through his core and hurled the phone outside.
He really shouldn't have trusted this scummy system.
Within seconds of flying out, the phone reappeared in Jianxia's hand without a scratch.
Don't be hasty, host. This information is extremely important. If the host makes good use of it, you may be able to change the course of the entire Heian Era.
Jianxia watched the text keep popping up on his phone, half-convinced.
Earlier, the system had told him there was someone powerful he could rely on. Instead, he'd met Megumi Zenin, who had nearly blown herself up.
Although the Zenin Clan currently had only two people in total, it had indeed given him a place to stay.
Even if that differed somewhat from the system's description.
"Fine. I'm already here, so I'll trust you one more time. It's not like I've got anything to lose."
With Cursed Energy reinforcing his body, traveling ten kilometers wouldn't take long. At worst, he could bring Megumi Zenin along that day and treat it as a hike.
There wasn't a trace of light pollution in the Heian Era a thousand years ago. The night sky was filled with stars Jianxia couldn't name. He glanced up, then shut the door and went inside.
Without spending a single moment mourning his mission reward, the man diving under the covers now was Intelligence Agent Jianxia!
Over the next few days, Jianxia sparred with Megumi Zenin in the name of training while brushing up on everything related to Cursed Energy.
He had to admit, watching it in anime and actually doing it were two very different things.
Although the system had stuffed some of the most basic knowledge into his head, he had to study the more advanced tricks himself.
Fortunately, the Zenin Clan had a small study packed with all kinds of scrolls, which covered most of the knowledge Jianxia needed.
And as he studied, knowledge that should have been obscure and difficult felt wonderfully straightforward to him. Usually, a single glance was enough to commit it firmly to memory.
That was highly abnormal. Back on Earth, once Jianxia started college, he couldn't even solve middle-school math problems anymore.
Pop quiz: what was tan 30°?
He could only attribute this change to the same thing as his absurdly good Cursed Energy control.
I really am a Jujutsu genius!
He then put the theories he'd memorized to flexible use during his sparring sessions with Megumi Zenin.
After just a few fights, he could completely overwhelm Megumi Zenin, even when she summoned two Shikigami at once, using Banquet of Fated Remnants and his own hand-to-hand skills.
Naturally, today's sparring match also ended in a complete victory for Jianxia.
"Your Cursed Technique is such a cheat, senior!"
Megumi Zenin rubbed her aching backside after Jianxia pulled her up from the ground, loudly airing her complaints.
As long as she didn't take Jianxia down in a single blow, he could use Banquet of Fated Remnants to reset himself to an uninjured state.
And when he reset himself, his Cursed Energy naturally returned to its previous state as well.
Jianxia had very little Cursed Energy to begin with and relied entirely on his outrageous control to fight, so resetting himself with Light Returns at Dusk cost very little Cursed Energy.
That led to a bizarre situation.
The less Cursed Energy Jianxia had, the more Cursed Energy he had.
Didn't that feel like an electric meter running backward?
A twenty-four-hour jackpot Hakari? Just an ordinary man born in an era without Jianxia.
Hearing Megumi Zenin's complaints, Jianxia didn't deny them. Instead, he nodded.
"Of course it's overpowered. Why would I use it if it wasn't?"
Jianxia openly admitted that Banquet of Fated Remnants' Cursed Technique was overtuned, leaving even Megumi Zenin momentarily stunned.
If you were going to use a Cursed Technique, it had to be an overpowered one. Using a trash technique only drained your own mental and physical energy.
Using an overpowered technique drained someone else's mental and physical energy instead.
Jianxia knew perfectly well which of those two to choose.
Leaving Megumi Zenin alone in the courtyard to question her life, Jianxia hurried to his next destination.
Over his few days staying with the Zenin Clan, he had come to understand one thing.
Shinji Zenin was a sneaky bastard.
As the head of the Zenin Clan, Shinji Zenin wasn't merely outstanding at Barrier Techniques. He left everyone else in the dust.
It was precisely because Jianxia had his eye on that knowledge of Barrier Techniques that he sought Shinji out for in-depth lessons after every sparring session with Megumi Zenin.
To be clear, Shinji Zenin was a human, not a Cursed Spirit, so Jianxia had no other feelings for him whatsoever.
Naturally, those in-depth lessons concerned the oldest countermeasure against domains-Hollow Wicker Basket.
As the prototype for the modern technique Simple Domain, Hollow Wicker Basket was naturally also a Barrier Technique. In exchange for requiring a two-handed sign, it gained the ability to neutralize a Domain Expansion's sure-hit effect.
For a Jujutsu Sorcerer who had yet to awaken a domain, Hollow Wicker Basket could be considered the only option in a domain battle.
Who wouldn't want to shout "Hollow Wicker Basket!" when their opponent unleashed a Domain Expansion?
Wasn't that right, strongest guy in the village from four hundred years ago?
Shinji Zenin had never turned down Jianxia's requests for instruction and training.
Every evening, the two engaged in vigorous activities in the room, and Jianxia only returned to his own room late at night, panting for breath.
The results of those lessons were also obvious. After just a few days, Jianxia mastered the advanced technique Hollow Wicker Basket.
Those five days of growth passed in a flash, with both Jianxia and Megumi Zenin making clear progress through their sparring.
Even now, Jianxia could exorcise a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit alone using his elbow techniques and Banquet of Fated Remnants. Even taking on a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit wasn't out of the question.
And the day specified by the information arrived right on schedule.
Before you continue