While I was chanting a curse, the system said I was Xiao Yan?

He took a burst of speed, his foot exploding out of the ground in a wave of air. In that instant, his body accelerated from a standstill to its maximum speed, so fast that he left only a blurry afterimage in the air.

The blade missed its mark.

Kusakabe's sword struck the spot where Tenen had just stood, the blade cutting into the ground and splitting a granite slab in two, sending shards and dust flying everywhere.

Without pausing, he sheathed his sword, turned around, and the second strike followed immediately.

Tianyan's body flipped in the air, his bone wings unfolding from his back. The purple-gold membrane shimmered in the sunlight. His body drew an arc in the air, propelled by the bone wings, and swept over Rixiabu's head. As he swept past, the bone blade at his elbow slashed down, heading straight for Rixiabu's head.

Kusakabe looked up and saw the black shadow swooping down from the sky simply raise the sword in his hand, like an erected shield.

"clang!"

Sparks flew as the bone blade clashed with the knife blade.

For a fleeting moment, Kusakabe's body sank slightly, and fine cracks appeared on the stone floor beneath his feet, spreading outwards like a spider web. His knees bent slightly, but quickly straightened again, managing to withstand the blow.

Tianyan's body flipped in the air and landed on the ground, his bone wings folded and his knees slightly bent to absorb the impact of the fall.

His breathing was steady, his gaze fixed on Kusakabe, calmly analyzing his opponent's strength.

Kusakabe's fingers, which were gripping the sword, turned slightly white, and a tingling numbness ran through the web of his hand.

He secretly groaned inwardly.

Hey, is this kind of skill really something a student could have?

His gaze fell on Tianyan, and looking at that overly calm face, his lips twitched. He had taught at Kyoto Higher Vocational School for so many years and had seen many geniuses, but those geniuses were probably not even worthy of carrying Tianyan's shoes.

No, not just probably, definitely.

He thought of Gojo Satoru, that ridiculously strong white-haired boy. Were all the monsters like that in Tokyo?

Kusakabe sighed inwardly, feeling utterly defeated as a teacher.

"Mr. Kusakabe."

Tianyan's voice came from the other side, interrupting his thoughts.

Kusakabe looked up at him.

"Your strength is more than this, isn't it?"

Kusakabe's expression changed for a moment, then returned to its lazy demeanor.

He shrugged, a slight smile playing on his lips. "There's no other way. I can't just go for the kill right from the start. You're the future head of the Zen family. I can't afford to hurt you."

Tianyan looked at him without saying a word.

Kusakabe looked into his calm eyes and sighed inwardly.

Because of the constraints, if things continue like this, he will have to get serious and use the Shinkage-ryu technique. Based on the previous few exchanges, he has already realized that if he only uses this level of power, he will not be able to stop Zenin Ten'en.

In this case...

Kusakabe took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

He held the sword horizontally in front of him, pressing his left hand against the back of the blade, assuming a standard starting stance for an iaido slash. His body sank slightly, his center of gravity low, and his legs slightly bent, like a fully drawn bow.

His breathing became long and steady, and his eyes changed from lazy to sharp.

Then he spoke.

"Fellow students of the Zen Monastery."

Tianyan's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"Be careful."

Kusakabe's voice was low, but every word was clear and powerful: "I'm going to use Shinkage-ryu."

As soon as he finished speaking, the air around his body began to distort.

The burst of magical power created a visible vortex that spread outwards from the sun's lower part.

A circle.

A circle with a diameter of about three meters, centered on Hikari's body, completely envelops the space around him.

The air inside the circle became viscous, as if something was flowing inside, or as if something was solidifying inside.

Tianyan's pupils contracted slightly.

Simple domain!

The simplified domain of Shinkage-ryu differs from a true domain; it merely uses barrier techniques to construct an area that automatically counterattacks, thus serving as a means of survival within the domain.

When using a simplified domain, most people will impose restrictions such as "immobility" or "reduced range" as a means to enhance it. However, this is only the choice of the weak. Experts will develop different effects based on their own abilities.

Kusakabe looked up at Tenen, a helpless smile playing on his lips.

"Fellow students of the Zen Monastery."

His voice came from within the circle, carrying a metallic hum: "I can actively expand the range of the Simple Domain and forcibly pull you into my domain."

He looked at Tianyan with a complicated expression.

"Honestly, you should go back first."

His tone was earnest: "Let's pretend today's events never happened. I don't want to hurt you."

The methods used to deploy a defensive domain are generally passive defenses, intercepting attacks the instant they enter the body, leaving almost no offensive capability. However, Kusakabe can actively pull his opponent into the simplified domain, which means he has turned defense into a counterattack, and a counterattack that can be compared to an "inevitable hit"!

In a sense, this is the realm without the "ultimate kill" characteristic.

Tianyan smiled at him, a faint smile, but with a gentle yet firm light in his eyes.

"Mr. Kusakabe."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear: "I have a way to counter this domain, so don't worry."

Kusakabe's eyebrows twitched slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Tianyan assumed a fighting stance.

His body sank slightly, his hands formed claws, and curse power surged from his body, covering his entire body and forming a veil over his bone armor.

His breathing became long and steady, and his gaze changed from calm to sharp, as if he were staring at something that only he could see.

The pupils on the lower part of the face contracted.

He recognized the posture.

The feelings of falling flowers.

The Zen family's secret technique for countering the domain works by activating incantation power to automatically deflect attacks the moment an attack reaches the body, thus countering the domain's guaranteed hit effect. The cost is the inability to move.

This is the common method of combat, a completely passive defense, which is why Tianyan needs to learn the New Yin Flow.

A bitter smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

He sighed and then closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, there was no hesitation or helplessness in them, only a pure and earnest light.

The circle expanded outward at an extremely fast speed, and in the blink of an eye, it enveloped Tianyan's entire body.

Tianyan felt as if his body was enveloped by something, as if he had entered a strange space.

Kusakabe looked up at him, a slight smile curving his lips, a smile that conveyed a sense of apology.

Then he swung his knife.

That strike wasn't aimed at the Heavenly Flame, but at the air itself. The blade sliced ​​through the air with a sharp screech, the magical energy on the blade leaving a pale blue trail in the air, like a taut line extending from the tip of the blade beneath the sun, all the way to...

On Tianyan's body.

Tianyan didn't even feel the impact of the blade energy, but a deep scratch appeared on the bone armor on his chest.

The scratches extended from the collarbone to the ribs, and the cuts were as smooth as if they had been laser-cut.

If it weren't for the automatic counterattack of Falling Flowers' Love triggering a spell defense the instant the attack was launched, thus neutralizing most of its power, this strike would likely have pierced his bone armor and injured his flesh.

Tianyan lowered his head, looking at the deep scratch on his chest, then raised his head again, looking at Kusakabe.

Kusakabe stood there, his sword still in the swinging posture, the tip pointing to the ground, the blade still bearing the faint blue lingering power of the curse.

"Fellow student of the Zen Academy, this strike is the minimum power I can control. I'm just reminding you that I really can hit you."

He paused, a slight smile curving his lips, but there was no warmth in that smile: "The next cut won't be so gentle."

"I can't control my strength; the restraints force me to use all my strength."

He looked at Tianyan with sincere eyes: "You still have a chance to go back, it's not too late now."