A date, naturally, meant growing closer by fighting side by side.
Although Jianxia had nothing against getting intimate with a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit, he decided to try a more conventional approach first.
After all, that sort of thing was best enjoyed in moderation...
And Jianxia already had the perfect sparring partner in mind.
"Huh? You want me to fight you?"
Megumi Zenin looked at Jianxia in disbelief, then pointed at herself.
Jianxia nodded. "Yes. I'd like to bond with my newly captured cursed spirit, so I'm counting on you, Megumi."
Going out that evening to find a cursed spirit to fight would have been perfectly fine, but since the mission objective was to "win over all captured cursed spirits," Jianxia wasn't sure whether capturing another one would add to his workload.
Why not just exorcise it, then?
Not capturing it would be a waste!
Besides, Megumi Zenin was free labor. Why let that go to waste?
The two walked down the corridor and arrived in a spacious courtyard.
This seemed to be where the Zenin Clan usually held their sparring matches.
Jianxia and Megumi Zenin stood at opposite ends of the courtyard. The evening light filtered through the branches, casting dappled shadows across the ground.
Shinji Zenin came over as well and sat on the steps to watch in silence.
"Thank you so much for taking the time to train me, Jianxia..."
Who knew how much Megumi Zenin had read into things this time? She formed a dog-shaped hand sign and summoned the Divine Dogs, her voice full of gratitude.
"No need to be so polite. I'm the one who wants to see what this newly captured cursed spirit can do, after all."
Jianxia had already changed out of the clothes the Divine Dogs had torn up, replacing them with a Japanese-style outfit suited for movement.
It looked a little like the outfit Shinjuku Megumi wore.
The Grade 2 Cursed Spirit emerged from the black substance behind him. Its massive body looked even more hideous after being reinforced by Jianxia's cursed energy.
"This might be a little unnecessary, since I was the one who invited you to fight."
Drawing on the knowledge he had received when the system bound itself to him, Jianxia tried coating his fists in cursed energy, then spread his legs and struck a thunderous pose.
"Megumi, you're the challenger here."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jianxia and the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit shot forward together, charging straight at Megumi at the other end of the courtyard.
So fast!
Megumi Zenin's pupils contracted. She hurled herself sideways to dodge Jianxia's attack while directing Divine Dog: Totality to intercept the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit.
Generally speaking, shikigami users who relied on their summons were weaker in direct combat.
Megumi Zenin was no exception, so when faced with Jianxia's fierce barrage of punches, all she could do was scramble away.
"Megumi, have you ever killed anyone?"
Jianxia felt the cursed energy flowing through his body. Although he really didn't have much of it, he could always draw out precisely the amount he needed.
Not a single bit went to waste. It felt as though he possessed something as absurd as the Six Eyes.
Even when Jianxia tried to draw out one portion of cursed energy, another portion would appear out of thin air, giving him two at once.
Maybe I really am a genius?
Barely dodging an uppercut from Jianxia, Megumi Zenin rolled across the ground in an undignified heap.
"Not yet. I've never encountered a curse user. I've only fought cursed spirits and the elders in my clan..."
Jianxia grew more excited with every blow. "I do that every day. I kill thirty thousand imaginary enemies a day, because my fists thirst for blood."
The instant those words shocked Megumi Zenin into freezing, Jianxia's fist slammed into her face.
"Every cell in my body, every pulse pounds violently with a thirst for blood, a worship of killing."
There was no mercy for a pretty face. The man standing on this battlefield was Jianxia, [Sett manifested]!
Megumi Zenin knew she couldn't let this continue. She formed a wing-shaped hand sign.
Jianxia recognized it. That was the sign for summoning the shikigami Nue.
"Nue..."
"Trying to escape?"
Before Megumi Zenin could summon her shikigami, Jianxia closed in and slapped her hands apart, then drove several more punches into her abdomen.
Megumi Zenin protected her vulnerable abdomen with cursed energy. She tried to punch back, only to discover that Jianxia's cursed-energy-enhanced strength was terrifying. She had no room to fight back at all.
He's a cursed spirit manipulator, just like I'm a shikigami user. Why is he so good at hand-to-hand combat?!
That's Jianxia for you!
Meanwhile, Shinji Zenin, who had been watching for some time, offered his own assessment.
"He's just throwing punches at random and relying entirely on his superior cursed energy control."
He first glanced at the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit and Divine Dog: Totality, which were keeping each other occupied, then looked at Jianxia, who was overwhelming Megumi Zenin despite having no form whatsoever.
What a low-level fight...
Still, there was nothing wrong with Jianxia's tactical decision.
His opponent was a shikigami user. Closing in for hand-to-hand combat was the right choice under these circumstances, letting him suppress her while preventing her from summoning more shikigami.
From Shinji Zenin's observations, Jianxia's martial arts amounted to flailing wildly, and his cursed energy reserves were only at the level of a Grade 4 Sorcerer.
His cursed energy control, however, far surpassed that of any jujutsu sorcerer Shinji knew.
Judging solely by his ability to reinforce his body with cursed energy, Jianxia was already performing at nearly the level of a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer, despite having only Grade 4 reserves.
It was almost as though... something was assisting him, leaving Jianxia with nothing to do but keep pouring out cursed energy.
"There's more to this guy than meets the eye."
After watching for so long, Shinji gave his assessment, while a new development unfolded on the battlefield.
"Divine Dog: Totality, come here!"
After enduring a prolonged, one-sided beating, Megumi Zenin finally couldn't take it anymore. She called to Divine Dog: Totality, which was locked in combat with the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit, hoping it would buy her time to summon another shikigami.
"Grade 2 Cursed Spirit, keep it busy!"
Naturally, Jianxia had guessed what Megumi Zenin was thinking. He was having too much fun beating up a punching bag that could fight back to surrender his advantage so easily.
The Grade 2 Cursed Spirit was already an enemy that would give Megumi Zenin a hard fight, never mind now that Jianxia had reinforced it.
If Jianxia's sudden appearance hadn't distracted it earlier, it might actually have managed to exorcise Megumi Zenin.
Responding to its master's call, Divine Dog: Totality had only just turned its head toward Megumi Zenin when the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit seized its body with all four hands.
"Fest... festival..."
The Grade 2 Cursed Spirit spat out broken words, then gave a powerful wrench, pinning Divine Dog: Totality, which was several sizes smaller than it, firmly to the ground.
The outcome seemed all but decided.
"Megumi, I've won!"
Jianxia flashed a confident smile and drove his cursed-energy-reinforced right fist toward Megumi's abdomen with crushing force, forcing her to defend.
Yet faced with this desperate situation, Megumi Zenin instead felt her mind become extraordinarily clear.
Am I going to lose?
If I can't summon another shikigami, I'm going to lose.
But if I can summon another shikigami...
At that thought, Megumi Zenin left herself completely open, abandoning all defense. Ignoring Jianxia's fist as it hurtled toward her, she formed a wing-shaped sign with both hands.
Just as Jianxia's cursed-energy-reinforced iron fist struck her abdomen and sent her flying into the sky, she finally completed the cursed technique to summon her shikigami.
"Nue!"
A strange brown bird appeared on the battlefield!
Before you continue