Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

Moxu Luo didn't react much. Perhaps for a shikigami with only a single program, Yue Ren's show-off behavior didn't mean much to it.

After getting used to the Yue people's moves, it charged at them again.

Its enormous body charged toward the Yue people with incredible speed. Its purpose was simple: to kill the Yue people with the knife in its hand and end the ritual.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

It was unaware that the Yue people had fully understood all of its mechanisms, and even less aware that the other party had come prepared.

Even faster than it were the snowflake-like steel fragments that suddenly appeared all around.

Flames and steel solidified once more in the boy's hands, and the final strike reappeared in this world.

The village head of Tomogari, entangled in the karmic fire that burns everything.

Just as those enormous hands were about to touch him, Yue Ren gripped the hilt of his sword and swung it down.

At this moment, time seemed to stand still.

No sound.

Mo Xuluo's figure stopped.

The arm stopped in mid-air, the demon-slaying sword less than a foot from the boy's forehead.

The next moment, a mark appeared on the enormous creature.

A crack running from the very center of the body down from top to bottom cleaved the massive creature in two.

At the same time, a crimson blade mark was left at its feet, and then flames shot up from below, enveloping the strongest shikigami's already split body.

There was no blood, no screams, only a silent collapse. The massive body, like a sandcastle, vanished in the wind, turning into countless points of light.

Points of light rose.

Flying across the dark red wasteland.

The Yue man stood still, holding the snow-white knife blank.

He glanced down at it, then let go.

The katana of the Tomokari fell, but disintegrated and vanished before hitting the ground.

Silence returned to the surroundings.

Only the sound of wind passing through countless sword hilts, only the sound of light spots scattering in the air.

Unlike last time, the "Sword Technique Without Yuan" still exists. The increased mana reserves give him more control. Now, he should be able to use this ultimate move twice when he is at full mana.

Although it might seem like overkill, Yue Ren believed it was necessary just in case, given that this guy was quite special.

Sensing that he could now control an additional force within his shadow, Yue Ren smiled slightly.

The strongest shikigami, Demon Lord, has been successfully subdued!

The outcome, which he had anticipated, made Yue Ren unconsciously breathe a sigh of relief, and his heart was filled with the joy of both strength and progress.

"No Yuan Sword System" is lifted.

The dark red wasteland disappeared, and countless sword tombs vanished, replaced by a familiar training ground.

Looking up, he felt the sunlight soften, and the February breeze brought him joy.

the next day.

Having temporarily lost interest in staying in one place, Yue Ren decided to take a break and wandered around the school.

Here I have to complain about the higher vocational education system. It teaches students very little, because magic is more of a talent-based thing. So apart from teaching some knowledge and spell techniques in public classes, most of the experience is gained by teachers leading teams in missions.

By the time the Yue people reached this stage, the school was almost no different from a temporary residence.

As for teaching, he now mostly teaches things he has summarized in his own words, and in the hearts of Yi Gu, Fu Hei and the others, perhaps Yue Ren is the most qualified teacher.

Since there aren't many other courses taught during normal times, Yue Ren felt that they could teach some normal skills-based knowledge, such as stealth, combat, disguise, medicine, cooking, etc. These could also help the mages better develop their powers, right?

In fact, given Yue Ren's current understanding of spells and spell power, he could easily produce some "advanced teaching materials" to help these younger generations better master their own spells. He also intends to do so, but he needs to postpone it for a while. After all, the higher-ups in spells are still around, and writing these things now would likely face resistance.

After all, it's obvious that doing so would affect their "core interests".

"..."

Wow, a world with extraordinary power, yet its superstructure consists of such scum. It's utterly bizarre.

Shaking his head to put these annoying thoughts behind him, Yue Ren began to think about what to do next.

According to the schedule, it should be time for Tiger to appear. Should we intervene...?

After a long while, Yue Ren rejected the idea. First of all, not to mention that Lu Suo was currently in the shadows, and given how things had developed, he was unsure whether things would continue to develop as they had in the original story. Putting everything else aside, at this stage, Fu Hei was absolutely not going to lose to the little cursed spirit from the school in the original story, so there was no need for Hu Zi to swallow Su Nuo's finger.

He couldn't predict how things would unfold next.

The future has already been changed. Although I am powerful, I am not powerful enough to interfere with fate. For now, I should focus on prevention and see how things develop before making any further plans...

And there's another rather troublesome matter: "Tengen," how should we deal with this guy...?

Strolling leisurely, the Yue people pondered how to proceed while also enjoying the scenery; the environment here was quite pleasant, to say the least.

A familiar voice came from down the corridor.

"The Yue people—!"

"Over here, over here..."

Turning the corner of the corridor, I unsurprisingly saw familiar figures on the playground: Panda, Dog Roll, and Maki. The girl was carrying two wooden swords, clearly training.

After a semester of study, training, and missions, they can now be considered mature warlocks, and they generally have no problem going on missions.

Slightly different from the first year, they are now mainly focused on tasks, and come to school more often to train and chat together in their free time, which is quite similar to the daily life of a Japanese high school.

In terms of strength, with the equipment he received and his own efforts, Gou Juan is undoubtedly a first-level mage. Although he lacks experience compared to Nanami and others, his unique and powerful spells make up for it.

The panda's relatively singular attack methods have been expanded quite a bit. Yue Ren later even made him a defensive item to help him better protect himself. At this stage, he can be considered a near-level one.

The biggest change was undoubtedly in Maki. Compared to before, having completely unleashed "Heaven and Curse," she had grown taller and had a more defined muscular physique, giving Yue Ren the feeling of seeing a "body-cultivating girl."

She's lost some of her fragility and gained more competence, which, to be honest, gives her a unique charm.

She gestured with her chin at him, her eyes seemingly saying, "Let's have a fight."

Yue Ren smiled slightly and glanced at her.

After greeting the other two, he went to the girl's side.

"You can't beat me."

"Enough with the nonsense."

She knew about this, of course, but she still rushed over without hesitation.

The wooden sword sliced ​​through the air, creating a sharp whistling sound. This was a speed and power that she could never have achieved a month ago, but now it was an easy thing for her.

Yue Ren stepped aside, grabbed her wrist, twisted and released her—Maki flew out, flipped in the air, and landed steadily three meters away.

She grinned.

"Again."

His figure disappeared once again, revealing an aura and combat power akin to that of a superman.

"Hey, Dog Roll, why are there always such exaggerated guys among us? It makes us two seem so out of place."

"Cuttlefish Flower"

The two people, a man and a bear, watching from the sidelines were speechless as they watched the two people rapidly carrying out the "demolition".

It's one thing for Yue Ren; his personality, talent, and hard work have made his achievements unsurprising. As for Yi Gu, it's understandable that he's born this way. But why has Maki become so fierce without us even realizing it?

If three out of five offspring are "monsters," where does that leave its dignity as a real animal?

Huh? So that means I'm the weakest among everyone?

I'm Cursed Corpse... that should be fine, right? So the weakest one should be Dog Roll...

He glanced discreetly at the boy beside him, but fortunately, the boy was intently watching the battle and hadn't noticed him.

On the other hand, in order to avoid being held accountable by the principal, Yue Ren did not simply dodge the issue, but instead preserved part of the environment by mitigating the damage, preventing the playground from becoming unrecognizable.

In terms of combat, although the girl's talent has awakened, she has not yet truly "transformed," so she does not pose much of a threat to the Yue people. Her attacks are still somewhat "immature" in their eyes.

Three minutes later.

Maki lay on the ground, panting heavily.

The wooden sword lay to one side, his breath was scattered, and he had no strength left in his body, but a satisfied expression was on his face.

"You monster," she murmured.

The Yue man stood beside her, looking down at her.

"Should we continue?"

"I'm not playing anymore." Maki rolled her eyes, then gave him a thumbs up. "Thanks anyway."

The Yue man remained silent.

He turned around, greeted the other two, and then headed towards the cafeteria, feeling hungry after exercising so much.

The girl was clearly using his help to develop her own power. Since it was to become stronger, he didn't mind lending a hand. The reason the girl thanked him was because although Yue Ren didn't say anything during the fight, his attack style had already pointed out the girl's current problems.

The Yue man didn't turn his head; he simply waved his hand.

"Want to go shopping together this afternoon?"

When asked by the panda, Yue Ren gave an "OK" sign.

They are all partners and friends. Although there is a gap in strength now, Yue Ren does not feel that they will become estranged. This kind of relationship is different from family affection, and he still cherishes it very much.

There weren't many people in the cafeteria.

Yue Ren took his plate and found a seat by the window. Just as he picked up his chopsticks, someone sat down opposite him.

It's been a while since I've seen Ms. Ieiri Shoko.

She held a coffee in her hand, and the dark circles under her eyes, which were usually caused by staying up all night, were almost gone. She had been relying on foundation to cover them up, but now they had returned to normal, making her look a few years younger.

She glanced at Yue Ren, then her gaze fell on the food on his plate—just a few simple dishes.

"This is all we'll eat?"

"Um."

"It's not nutritious."

The Yue man looked up at her, or rather at the food in her hands... and it wasn't necessarily much more nutritious than his.

"Teacher, you're the one who should be here. Now that you have time, why are you eating in the cafeteria?"

What he did should have significantly reduced the pressure on the teacher in front of him; to be honest, he hadn't seen Shoko for a long time.

The end of his studies was one thing, but he was also busy fulfilling orders.

Shoko smiled faintly, as if she hadn't fully woken up. She picked up her coffee, took a sip, and then spoke:

"I should thank you. The magical artifacts you made have reduced the number of sorcerer casualties a lot recently. I was even planning to take a vacation for a while. But... the casualties have suddenly increased again these past few days. I heard that there are a few particularly powerful magical spirits. Even Gotō has taken action."

"Well, as you can see, I was urgently recalled..."

When Shoko said this, Echigo seemed to be able to clearly feel the resentment in her. Of course, if you put yourself in her shoes, no one would be happy to be suddenly called back to work overtime when they were just about to have a holiday.

"I see..."

The Yue man paused for a moment.

The cursed spirit's power has suddenly increased. Could it be because of me? Has the change already begun...?

According to the original story, there shouldn't be anything going on at this stage. It's just that we don't know if the four natural disasters have appeared ahead of schedule, or if there have been some other changes.

"If you don't mind, may I help you, teacher?"

She put down her coffee cup, looked at Yue Ren, and her eyes finally showed some sparkle.

If he really wanted to, then her pressure would undoubtedly be reduced a lot. After all, the young man in front of her was now a healing mage who was no less skilled than her, and she had taught him the medical techniques. How could she not know what kind of strength he was?

"real?"

"Well, I haven't had many orders lately, so I'm relatively free." Yue Ren finished the food in his hand.

Although it was supposed to be a casual stroll, now that things have come to this, I shouldn't just ignore it. I might be able to gather some information by taking this opportunity.

"That's great, thank you for your help."

"Isn't it only right for a disciple to help their teacher complete their task?"

"Oh? The same goes for Article 5?"

The Yue man shrugged.

"As long as that guy isn't just making fun of me, I'd be quite willing."

"Hahaha, that's exactly what he would do..."

In high spirits, Shoko didn't say anything more. She held her coffee, leaned back in her chair, and looked at the cherry blossoms outside the window.

After a long while.

"Thank you for what happened to Jay..."

The voice was so faint that if Yue Ren hadn't had such strong senses, he probably wouldn't have heard it at all.

This startled the Yue people as they ate.

As the most inconspicuous yet most intelligent member of the trio, Shoko actually saw things more clearly than anyone else. What happened before could be kept from the higher-ups, but not from her. She was absolutely certain that Jai was not dead.

Based on her intelligence analysis, the boy in front of her was the most likely person to prevent Jay's death. The gratitude she felt was indescribable. This student always gave her unexpected surprises and prevented the worst from happening. This was the greatest comfort to her. In matters like this, she was not as strong and indifferent as she appeared on the surface.