Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

The young man felt he had received too much from the Yue people, and now that they were giving him the magic tools, he was too ashamed to accept them.

The more people understand this feeling, the less they intend to say. Let reality teach him a lesson. When he encounters insurmountable problems and regrets his own lack of ability, he will come to terms with it.

Now that we have the equipment, it's time to level up.

Unfortunately, Gojo Satoru has been extremely busy lately, so the three little ones have been left to their own devices since they entered school.

Just as Yueren was thinking that it was about time, he indeed received a text message from Gojo Satoru requesting his help.

The meaning is simple: they asked him to "substitute for a few days" and teach the new trio, or more precisely, to teach Tiger some basic things.

After all, among the three, Tiger has the worst foundation and can't even do the most basic refining and manipulation of spell power.

Knowing that Tiger might die again, the Yue people naturally couldn't just sit idly by. Moreover, the situation was subtly suspicious. If the creature they were facing next, which originally only had the strength of a special-grade cursed fetus, turned into an enemy like one of the Four Calamities, the three little ones would really have no way to complain.

Therefore, he planned to give Hu Zi a major training session in the shortest possible time.

Considering that time might be limited, he decided to adopt a new approach.

It just so happens that the sun was shining brightly that day.

On the training field, Hisahito Itadori stood ramrod straight.

The Yue man stood three meters away from him, hands in his pockets, his gaze sweeping over him from top to bottom.

The familiar location, Yigu, Fuhei, and now Huzhang, were all trained here by the Yue people, so they can be considered to be of the same lineage.

Not far away, Fushiguro and Kugizaki watched quietly, but Fushiguro's expression seemed a little off. Coming to this place seemed to have brought back some "profound" memories.

"Your teacher, Mr. Gojo, has something to do, so he asked me to cover your classes for a few days."

"Yes!" Itachi's voice boomed. "Please guide me, Senior Yue Ren!"

The Yue man did not respond.

He glanced at the empty space beside him. Fushiguro Megumi and Kugizaki Nobara sat under the shade of a tree, one expressionless, the other full of anticipation.

"You all come over here too."

Kugizaki immediately stood up and pulled Fushiguro over. The four of them stood in a circle, with Yue Ren in the middle.

"I'll give you a week," he said. "I'll teach you something."

Itadori raised his hand: "Senior, I haven't even refined my spell power yet—"

"I know."

The Yue man interrupted him, his gaze falling on him.

"So you're the worst off."

Huzhang blinked.

"miserable?"

Ten minutes later.

Hadji now understood what "misery" meant.

"Again."

The Yue people's voice came from above.

Tiger Stick lay on the ground, his face pressed against the scorching earth, every muscle in his body howling in pain. He had been thrown seventeen times during his sparring match with the Yue people.

This wasn't an ordinary fall; it was the kind that flips you 360 degrees in the air before slamming you to the ground. The real key point is that this senior slapped you in the face every time! This was not only highly damaging but also extremely humiliating, to the point that even someone as good-natured as Tiger couldn't take it anymore.

"stand up."

His temper gradually flared up, and Huzhang gritted his teeth, pushing himself up from the ground.

His legs trembled, his arms shook, and sweat blurred his vision. He looked up at the man opposite him, who had his hands in his pockets and wasn't even breathing erratically.

It's hard to imagine that a human could turn him into this. This is a feeling he's never experienced in his first fifteen years. Is it true that there are humans in this world he can't defeat...?

"senior....."

"Annoyed? If you're not happy about it, then channel that anger into your fists and come back for more."

The Yue people moved.

Huzhang didn't even see how he moved; he only felt a blur before his eyes, a pain on his face, and then he was thrown into the air again.

This is the eighteenth time.

The moment he hit the ground, he heard Kugizaki gasp from not far away.

"Is he...is he going to kill him?"

Fukuro Megumi watched expressionlessly, his lips twitching. He was also somewhat puzzled; Yue Ren hadn't been this brutal when he trained him.

You'll get used to it.

"Habit?! How can you get used to this?!"

"Senior Yue Ren changes the training method according to the specific person. The reason he does this is probably..." Fu Hei carefully chose his words, "Itadaki is more suitable for this training method."

Kugizaki watched as Itadori was slammed to the ground once again, and remained silent for three seconds.

"You're not kidding me, are you?!"

If it weren't for the fact that Yue Ren gave them a good impression, she would have already stepped forward to argue with her classmate who was being bullied. Although that guy seemed rustic and silly, after spending a few days with him, she found that he was actually a good person, so there was no reason for her to watch her friend be humiliated.

Just as the girl was about to get up, a new change occurred on the opposite side of the scene. Tiger, who roared and charged forward to throw another punch, had something wrapped around his fist. It was energy that ordinary people could not see, but Kugizaki and Fushiguro knew exactly what it was—cursed power.

Their eyes widened involuntarily. It actually worked? He used his magical power... and it only took ten minutes?

Kugizaki felt his worldview had been completely shattered; what the guy next to him was saying was actually true! At the same time, his gaze towards Itadori was filled with a strange expression.

Is this guy an idiot or a monster? How can he improve while being beaten up? Are there really such simple-minded creatures in the world?

Our dear Tiger is unaware that his image in his companions' eyes has now evolved into that of a single-celled paramecium.

"You guys come over here too!"

A sudden remark from the Yue people ahead froze Kugizaki's gloating expression on his face.

For a moment, she had an urge to turn and run. If she were punched like that, her beautiful face would be disfigured. She didn't want that to happen...

Half an hour later.

The three people lay neatly on the ground.

Itadori was lying in the middle, with Kugizaki on his left and Fushiguro on his right. The three of them were in different poses and had no obvious wounds, but their expressions were surprisingly the same—utterly hopeless.

Suppressing his inner satisfaction, Yue Ren spoke.

"Do you know why you were beaten?"

The Yue people's voice came from above.

No one answered.

It's not that I don't want to answer, it's that I don't have the energy to answer.

Yue Ren glanced down, then raised his foot and gently kicked Hu Zhang's leg.

"I'm asking you."

With difficulty, Huzhang raised his head, his face covered in dust and sweat.

"Because... I'm too weak?"

"wrong."

The Yue man squatted down and looked him in the eye.

"Because you only use brute force when you fight, which is your advantage, but you haven't made full use of it."

Huzhang was stunned.

"Your physical abilities are quite good." Yue Ren's tone was calm. "You can shatter a wall with one punch and break steel bars with one kick, but that's not enough. In the world of sorcery, this level cannot be considered 'powerful'."

"You need to use your power more efficiently, reducing the delay between your attacks and your spellcasting..."

He stood up and took a few steps back.

"stand up."

He pushed himself up from the ground. This time it was slower than before, but he finally managed to stand up.

Yue Ren nodded slightly. His guess was indeed correct. Hu Zi's body still had room for development. It was only after he came into contact with the "curse power" and was possessed by Su Nuo that his body truly entered the "development period".

Yue Ren's attacks were all precisely timed to the limit of his endurance. Logically, he should have been knocked down by Yue Ren's blows, but his body broke through the limit one after another in a short period of time, as if it had just received nourishment. At this moment, his body was being constantly 'developed'.

What is this? A hidden perk of being possessed by Sukuna? Or is it the result of Tōsō's adjustments?

The reason doesn't matter; all he needs to know now is that this kid is a "punching bag" that will keep reinventing itself if he isn't killed the first time.

He wanted to give this punching bag some experience, and of course, he used the method of that famous Kaido master: use what he taught you to beat you until you learned it.

"Recall what I just did, extract what you can use from it, make it your own, and then use it to defeat me. That's your training for today."

"In other words, you have to accept my 'tutorials'."

Huzhang blinked.

"Feeding tips?"

"Um."

"The situation is unclear right now. You might encounter a true top-tier cursed spirit in your next mission. Putting aside the power of domains for now, you need to make sure you're not instantly killed the moment you meet them. In other words, you need to know what it's like to face the world's top combat power, and at the same time, be able to exert your own power when facing an enemy of this level."

"This was supposed to be a gradual process, but time is tight right now, so I'm going to take a different approach, which is to let you experience what it's like to face a real Special Grade enemy."

These words left the other two dumbfounded. Listen to what he's saying. Beating you up to prevent future possibilities? Is this just an excuse because he wants to beat you up?

What surprised them even more was that Tiger didn't seem to find anything wrong with what he said; instead, he looked puzzled and asked.

"But senior, I can't even touch your shadow—"

"Then push yourself and push your limits."

Yue Ren's voice was calm, speaking in the most relaxed tone about thoughts that were hard to understand. What does "breaking the limit" mean? Does he really think limits are so easy to break?

"Got it, training is over for today."

Upon hearing this, Itadori's expression changed. If he was a clueless greenhorn just now, he was now a fierce tiger that had found its target.

Seeing Hu Zi enter a state of focused concentration, Yue Ren smiled slightly, eagerly anticipating his next move.

As expected of a naturally gifted player, with Yue Ren's explanation, the boy thoroughly understood how to use the power of magic in the next half hour, and unsurprisingly, he began to race towards becoming an "elbow strike master".

The two people paddling nearby were stunned.

Yue Ren was also secretly shocked. He could only say that he was indeed the "Tiger Emperor" who had been invincible for six months. He had an unimaginable talent for fighting.

With a little pressure and some pointers along the way, their skills will improve rapidly.

It's a pity. I thought I could let him learn Black Flash as well, but to Yue Ren's surprise, the higher-ups didn't even plan to give him a week.

On the third day, the three of them were called to carry out a mission.

Yue Ren only learned of this after discovering that the three had not shown up at the training ground as agreed, and he specifically inquired about it.

At the Eishu Juvenile School in Nishi-Tokyo City, above the sports field, the cursed embryo of a Class-A Imaginary Vengeful Spirit (name undetermined) was witnessed by several non-magicians.

The situation was urgent, and the college specially dispatched three first-year students to carry out the exorcism!

A conspiracy by high-ranking officials!

This is an undeniable fact. In order to get rid of Huzhang, who had become a vessel, they should have notified the Yue people. After all, if there was a real shortage of manpower, even if the Yue people had special roles, they should have been mobilized.

It's simply a case of using someone else to do the dirty work.

Having noted this down, the Yue people who had obtained the address from Yidi immediately rushed to the scene of the incident.

Juvenile Detention Center

"Dai Tian" is the temporary name of this special-grade cursed spirit.

Upon seeing the victims' families crying and pleading on the sidelines, and witnessing the pain and sorrow on their faces, Tiger's sense of mission was ignited.

Unaware of the danger, the three-person team directly entered the territory of this special-grade cursed spirit. The difference was that although Kugizaki was suddenly teleported away, Torako and Fushiguro were not overwhelmed by fear when faced with the cursed spirit that suddenly approached their faces.

It now seems that although the Yue people's training time was short, it was still effective. The two were not paralyzed by fear, but instead launched their own attacks immediately.

Tiger carried the short sword made for him by the Yue people, and with his already solid physique, he teamed up with Fu Hei, who possessed the skill of a first-level sorcerer.

If it were the previous cursed fetus, it would probably have been exorcised by the two of them working together. But unfortunately, this special-grade cursed spirit, which was originally supposed to be a cursed fetus, also received assistance from its "partner" at a specific time.

Thus, the supposedly classic, action-packed, monster-slaying, and level-up story of "Future" was overturned.

Tiger, who was halfway through the fight, was stunned. He was fine just a moment ago and felt like he could go toe-to-toe with this guy, but what happened the next moment? Why did the arm holding the knife suddenly break off?

Senior Yue Ren had taken very good precautions for him. The opponent's spell attacks would be directly cut in half by his weapon. The two days of special training and being beaten made him still able to see the opponent's movements clearly when facing this sudden guy.

For Tiger, that's enough. As long as he's not powerless, he can force himself to keep catching up. That's his confidence.

However, reality seemed to be a little different from what he had imagined. Everything was fine until, after he had broken through several attacks and was about to strike a vital point... what did it do? What was that hand gesture—a gun?

It wasn't until he felt the pain of losing his right arm that Tiger realized it wasn't a real pistol; it had just made a firing gesture, which was why he had been fooled. The next instant, the arm holding the knife was gone... It attacked? Was it very fast...? How come he didn't see it?

Seeing his arm lying on the ground, still clutching the dagger, Tiger felt a pang of existential doubt for the first time.