Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

Like some kind of instinct, his body sensed the danger faster than his consciousness, causing him to instinctively dodge, but it seemed to have no effect.

"Do you still think it's meaningless?"

Fushiguro Megumi remained silent, but gripped the wooden sword tightly with a serious expression, assuming a fighting stance.

Yue Ren's actions were very effective, making him realize that his feeling was correct. This "senior" in front of him was just like the teacher he couldn't beat, someone who could kill him at will. Since that was the case, there was nothing to hesitate about.

The next second, he rushed out.

The katana cleaved through the air, easily tearing it apart before striking directly at Yue Ren's left shoulder.

The Yue man sidestepped, the blade grazing his clothes. Fu Hei Hui twisted his waist in response, slashing horizontally with his blade—a lightning-fast change of move. The Yue man shifted slightly backward, the katana narrowly missing his chest.

Fukuro gave him no chance to breathe, his feet stomping repeatedly, each strike faster than the last, slashing, chopping, thrusting, stabbing... every move was clean and crisp, without the slightest unnecessary movement, it seemed he had some training, but that was about it.

After five stabs, the Yue man's back was already close to the corner of the wall.

This is the combat wisdom summarized by Fushiguro Megumi: if you can't hit, then create the conditions to hit. When you're in a corner, your movements should be restricted.

But to his surprise, the Yue people disappeared from his sight the next moment.

"good."

Yue Ren spoke calmly and gently tapped Fu Hei's head from behind with his wooden sword.

Fushiguro Megumi staggered back in pain, her breathing slightly disordered, but she was genuinely shocked. What had just happened? How did it suddenly appear behind her?

"Your basic stance is solid, and your variations are clean." Yue Ren put down his wooden sword and stretched his wrists. "But there are quite a few problems."

Fu Heihui looked up.

"A common mistake newcomers make is a lack of adaptability." Yue Ren looked at him and said, "The knife is an extension of the hand, the hand is an extension of the body, and the body is an extension of the mind. Your mind is running ahead, and the knife is chasing behind, with an entire body's time difference in between."

It seems that he did some basic training during his time being adopted by Gojo, but it wasn't enough. His body and mind are still at the stage where he can't react quickly enough. He would be instantly killed by a newbie who is usually a Special Grade monster. Not to mention among talented Special Grade monsters, he is even inferior to 'commoner' players like Kusakabe.

In short, the character's skill level is almost nonexistent.

Fushiguro Megumi tightened her grip on the knife.

"Again."

This time, the Yue people made the first move.

His steps were small, but each step seemed to be precisely measured. The wooden sword in his hand was not like a weapon, but more like a baton. With a light touch, Fushiguro Megumi's attack was deflected, and with a casual flick, Fushiguro Megumi's stance was exposed as a flaw.

In their three encounters, Fushiguro Megumi was forced to retreat each time.

The fourth time, Yue Ren did not pursue. He sheathed his sword and stood still, watching Fu Hei Hui regain his footing and get back into position. He had a general idea of ​​what was going on with this newbie.

"Did you see that?"

Fu Heihui nodded, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"You're too focused on 'hitting the target.'" The Yue man placed his wooden sword on the shelf. "But the essence of combat isn't hitting the target, it's 'not being dodged.' The former is about chasing your target, the latter is about preventing your target from escaping and seizing the initiative..."

He took a form from the table and tossed it to Fushiguro.

"This is the basic physical training schedule. Starting tomorrow, you will train exactly according to the schedule on this sheet. First, build up your foundation. Do you have any questions?"

He arranged this when he was training Yi Gu, and I never thought it would come in handy one day.

The battle just now gave him a general understanding of the kid's physical condition. The good news is that he doesn't need to start training with running like Yi Gu, but strengthening his physical fitness is still very necessary.

Fushiguro Megumi took the form, unfolded it, glanced at it, and her eyes twitched slightly.

A 5km sprint, 200 pull-ups, push-ups... Is this training or torture? And what's with the diet chart at the end...?

"Can this really be done? And... what's the point of doing all this?"

"The training process allows you to use magical power to strengthen your body. Gojo Satoru should have taught you that. As for its significance... Haven't you ever played a game? Do you want to be a fragile mage who gets instantly killed when someone gets close? Gojo is the strongest, and that's not just because of his spells."

Fukuro was taken aback by what he heard. It was indeed a very fitting metaphor for young people, but there was a huge contrast coming from this person. His age wasn't a problem, so was it because his first impression was that he was a mature adult?

"At this stage, the focus should still be on improving physical fitness, because health is the foundation of everything. That's how Yi Gu came about. If you have any other questions, you can ask him."

The Yue people remember that this guy respected Yi Gu a lot, so maybe a little encouragement would work.

Fushiguro Megumi paused for two seconds, then rolled up the form and put it in her pocket.

"Training starts tomorrow." Yue Ren walked back to the workbench, picked up the half-finished blade, and said, "Now, you can leave."

Fu Hei Hui stood still, without moving, while Yue Ren looked up at him.

The boy bowed deeply to him.

"Thank you, Senior Yue Ren."

Then she turned around and disappeared out the door with light steps.

The man from Yue stared at the closed door, his hammer hovering in mid-air for two seconds.

"He seems to have a good personality..." he muttered to himself, and continued hammering the blade blank.

The workshop door was knocked on precisely at five o'clock the next morning.

Fushiguro Megumi stood outside the door; the morning mist had not yet dissipated, and fine water droplets clung to the ends of his hair.

Yue Ren opened the door, glanced at him, and tossed him a towel.

He seems quite serious...

"Dry yourself off, warm up, and then run ten laps around the high school. Remember to strengthen your body with spell power, but only with the minimum amount of spell power output."

Fukuro took the towel but didn't move.

"Ten laps?"

The college occupies the entire top of this mountain. The area isn't huge, but running around it would take at least several kilometers. Ten laps... that's enough for a marathon.

That level of intensity is too much for an average person to handle on their first try.

"Not enough?"

"No..." Fushiguro paused, "I'm just confirming."

He draped the towel over his shoulder, turned, and ran into the morning mist.

Yue Ren leaned against the door frame, watching his receding figure, a slight smile playing on his lips.

More than an hour later, Fushiguro Megumi finished her last lap and returned to the workshop entrance, breathing heavily, her clothes soaked with sweat.

The Yue man sat on the threshold, holding two cups of homemade drinks in his hands, and handed him one.

This kid's body is indeed too "weak". If it were Tiger, who was in the same period, it would be a piece of cake.

Fushiguro Megumi accepted it, thanked him, and sat down next to him.

The fog gradually dissipated, revealing the outlines of the distant mountains.

"What is your technique?" Fushiguro Megumi suddenly asked.

The Yue man turned his head to look at him.

"Didn't you tell me the five rules?"

Fuhei shook his head.

Yue Ren took a sip of tea, did not answer, but simply summoned "Yuan Hong" and handed it to him.

Fushiguro Megumi took it, her movements extremely gentle, as if she were receiving something fragile.

He saw the Yue people's actions. Could it be a construction technique? But it's unlikely they could create something so exquisite in an instant... Or is it some kind of transfer or teleportation...?

His pupils contracted slightly the moment the sword was drawn from its sheath.

The blade was ordinary, even plain except for its exquisite texture, but holding it in your hand gave you an indescribable feeling, as if something was sleeping beneath it, quiet yet dangerous.

"It's breathing," Fushiguro said instinctively.

Yue Ren raised an eyebrow. This kid has pretty good perception...

Fushiguro Megumi snapped out of her daze, somewhat embarrassed, and sheathed the sword, handing it back to him.

"Sorry, I said something strange."

"No." Yue Ren took the knife, flipped his hand, and the weapon disappeared again. "You're absolutely right."

Fukuro looked at him.

"What you felt just now was a different form of perception from spell power." Yue Ren stood up, brushing the dust off his clothes. "It wasn't a spell, it was a bodily instinct."

Is it a talent inherited from Fuheshner? This kid's sixth sense is stronger than the average person's.

No wonder Sukuna took a liking to him; this guy is actually very talented, but he's holding a "treasure trove" without realizing it. It's unbelievable...

"The body senses danger before the mind, and the sword senses the opponent before the body. This is the potential to become an excellent warrior. If you can master this skill, you will become stronger, and you will be more adept at using techniques."

Fu Heihui was taken aback.

"You know my technique?"

"I've heard of the Zen family's ancestral techniques, but I've never seen them before." Yue Ren turned to look at him. "Would you mind showing them to me? I'm quite curious."

Fushiguro Megumi nodded slightly and formed a hand shadow.

The shadow on the ground in front of them suddenly became viscous, and then a solid black shadow appeared, which took less than a second to solidify into shape. Two large dogs resembling wolfhounds then appeared in their field of vision.

This is the original shikigami of the "Ten Shadow Techniques" - "Tamagu".

"Ten Shadow Techniques" is one of the ancestral techniques of the Zen family.

By creating different hand shadows, you can summon corresponding shikigami.

Aside from the "Full Elephant" which consumes a lot of spell power, a shikigami can summon up to two types at a time. The shadow shikigami summoned by the ten shadow spells are more powerful than ordinary shikigami, but once they are completely destroyed, they can no longer appear.

However, the spells and power left behind by the destroyed shikigami can be inherited by other shikigami, making them stronger. Alternatively, the two shikigami can be combined into one by expanding the spell.

After awakening the technique, the user will first obtain two Jade Dogs. Other shikigami need to be tamed before they can be used. Ultimately, the user can control ten shikigami with different functions, and there are also many advanced uses.

It can be described as a surgical technique with an extremely wide range of functions and enormous potential.

However, judging from the original plot, Fushiguro Megumi is really terrible as a user. Until the beginning of the story, he was only a level 2 sorcerer. He not only failed to subdue the strongest demon, but also used it as a suicide truck at every turn.

The Yue man was somewhat interested and took two steps forward to stand in front of the jade dog.

"Can I touch it?"

"Please, do as you please!"

The furry touch is no different from petting any other animal, and because the dog is regarded as an ally by its owner, it does not resist being petted by its owner and even enjoys it just like any other animal.

Without leaving a trace, Yue Ren activated "Tracing the Source". Sensing the information, he couldn't help but be shocked. It was not for any other reason than that he suddenly felt as if he saw a "skill tree" with many branches, which far surpassed many other spells in terms of quantity.

The study and use of the essence of shadow, different shikigami, the strongest "Magic Void," the fused chimera beast, the shikigami technique used by the main body...

All I can say is that if you master it completely, you can create another "strongest" one. This is a technique that can completely rival "Six-Eyed" and "No Limits". Without considering Gojo Satoru, it can completely crush any level of cursed spirit. Unfortunately, the user is clueless.

"The 'Ten Shadow Spells' can theoretically subdue a maximum of ten shikigami. How many do you have now?"

"...Besides the 'Jade Dog,' there are also the 'Nue' and the 'Mantis Shrimp.'"

Upon hearing this, Yue Ren almost slapped his forehead. Good heavens, they were about to meet Hu Zi, but there were still so many fewer than in the original story. Young man, no wonder everyone said you were the number one person who couldn't handle pressure. You just happen to be so useless.

"Then let's continue training. Let's set a goal: tame three more within a month."

"......!"

"Lack of confidence?"

"..."

Fushiguro Megumi didn't speak, but Echigo noticed his lack of confidence, so his expression turned cold.

"Then leave. I'll tell Gojo that you're not suited to be a sorcerer because you're not even willing to make the decision to protect what you care about. You're just an ordinary person who accepts whatever comes your way."

"......!!"

Fushiguro Megumi's pupils dilated violently as a smiling girl's face appeared in his mind, his fists clenched tightly.

"I'm not..."

"Did I say something wrong? Do you think your world is very peaceful? Didn't you hear about what happened two months ago? This place just went through a war. It was war, or is the lack of casualty reports making you think it's nothing?"

The boy looked conflicted.

"And these cursed spirits lurk in the unseen corners of our surroundings, which means they could extend their claws to those you care about at any moment. Without powerful strength, you might be the last to know if they've been harmed. Do you really expect to entrust their lives to an unknown fate?"

The Yue man's voice wasn't loud; it was more of a statement of fact, yet it struck the young man like a blow to the head.

Yue Ren sighed inwardly. Wu Tiao Wu rarely mentioned the related threats to these seedlings in order to protect them. He always put on an attitude that as long as he was there, there would be no problem. This resulted in most of the new generation of students not having much of a sense of crisis.

Theoretically, with Gojo Satoru around, it's not wrong for everyone to relax. But without reading the script, who could have known that they would be facing a national annihilation crisis? The strongest one was directly tricked. Without Gojo Satoru's protection, these little guys would have to kneel down even against a slightly "elite monster" of the Special Grade Cursed Spirit, let alone beings like Toso and Sukuna.

Yue Ren only offered some guidance as someone entrusted with the task; if he still lacked ambition, he wouldn't bother with it anymore.

"Or do you not have any relatives who are ordinary people? If that's the case, then disregard what I said and continue to 'drown' in this false sense of normalcy."