Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

The following day, news spread that a gas leak had caused a fire at a restaurant in Tokyo, resulting in the deaths of eighteen customers and three employees.

In this age of information overload, such tragedies only linger in a prominent position on news pages for a few seconds before being overwhelmed by new trending topics.

No one knows what was mixed in with that fire.

No one knows what shape of shadow was reflected in the eyes of those who died in their final moments.

Early summer has just arrived, and this time of year is usually a relatively peaceful period for the cursed ones, which is why the exchange meeting was held at this time.

But at this moment, screams echoed across the training ground of the vocational college.

"Aaaaaahh ...

Kugizaki Nobara flew out in an extremely undignified manner, her back slamming into the grass. She bounced twice before collapsing completely.

"stand up."

Maki's voice came from above, devoid of any emotion, as if it were a perfectly normal thing for her to have just sent her junior flying several meters.

Kugizaki struggled to lift his head and look down at the figure holding a wooden sword.

Sunlight streamed in from behind, bathing Maki in a golden glow.

Only then did she notice the distinct and smooth muscle lines beneath the gold trim, coupled with his rock-solid stance and those emotionless eyes.

Kugizaki realized that her first impression of this senior was completely wrong. This wasn't some sweet and gentle best friend at all, but a female tyrant with immense strength!

My decision to ask her for training was a terrible mistake.

"senior......"

"Talks too much."

The wooden knife fell again.

Relying on his experience as the leader of the village kids, Kugizaki scrambled to avoid the attack, grabbing a nearby weapon to parry—

"Bang!"

The tremendous impact came from my arm, my hand went numb, and my entire arm felt like it was about to break.

Kugizaki gritted his teeth, gripped his weapon tightly, and barely managed to block the blow.

Maki's eyes lit up.

"good."

The next second, the wooden sword came slashing down from another angle.

Kugizaki flew out again.

Not far away, Fushiguro Megumi was locked in combat with a panda.

It was called a grappling match, but it was actually a one-sided evasion. His physical skills had improved significantly under the tutelage of the Yue people, but against a power-type opponent like the panda, he could only fight and retreat.

"Hui!" The panda punched him. "Don't run away!"

Fukuro dodged to the side, his footwork shifting rapidly as he circled behind the panda—

A punch landed on his lower back.

The panda, in pain, turned around, grabbed his arm, and threw him away like a sandbag.

Fuhei adjusted its posture in mid-air and landed steadily.

"Not bad." The panda grinned. "Much better than last time. Alright, time for a rest."

Fu Hei, sweating and panting, did not answer.

His gaze passed over the panda and landed on the other side of the training field.

There, Maki is "taking care of" Kugisaki.

The sound of the wooden sword cutting through the air, Kugizaki's screams, Maki's shouts, and the muffled thuds of bodies hitting the cushions intertwined to create a tragic symphony.

"She's in good spirits today." Panda walked over and followed his gaze. "Kugizaki's in trouble."

The two of them looked at the girl who had been tortured beyond recognition, their eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions—sympathy, relief, and a little bit of schadenfreude.

The college students participating in the exchange meeting are all doing intensive training here. The only exception is Senior Yue Ren, but no one has any objections. After all, he is a genuine first-level sorcerer, and his strength cannot be increased in just over ten days.

Moreover, was it necessary for him to continue increasing his strength after reaching that level? Fushiguro Megumi had this question.

"ah--!"

Kugizaki flew out again.

This time, she lay motionless on the ground, having lost all her strength.

Although she was determined to become stronger because of what happened to Itajimaru, the human body has its limits. She even felt that being able to withstand Maki for so long was already a significant improvement.

Maki walked over and looked down at her.

"Dead?"

Kugizaki opened one eye.

"Soon."

Maki's lips curled into a slight smile.

"Not bad, you lasted three minutes longer than yesterday."

Kugizaki's eyes widened.

"Three minutes?! Just three minutes?! My whole body feels like it's falling apart, and it's only been three minutes?!"

Maki didn't answer, but simply turned and walked towards the sidelines.

She took a few steps and then stopped.

"To be continued tomorrow."

Kugizaki's expression instantly crumbled.

Fu Hei walked over and handed her a bottle of water.

The somewhat dejected girl took it and gulped it down, as if to vent her dissatisfaction, then looked up at him.

"Hui, do you think she's even more terrifying than Senior Yue?"

Fuhei thought for a moment.

"no the same."

"What's different?"

"Senior Koshito makes you aware that you're being beaten," he said softly. "Senior Maki makes you unaware of how you're being beaten."

Kugizaki fell silent.

She recalled the trajectory of those wooden swords as they fell, their unpredictable angles, their speeds too fast to see clearly...

That seems to be true; I have absolutely no idea how I flew out.

"Aaaaaah—" she screamed to the heavens, "When will this ever end?!"

The panda walked over and plopped down next to me.

"Soon."

Kugizaki looked at him.

"The exchange meeting is about to begin, then you'll have a different place to get beaten up." The panda even gave a thumbs-up to cheer you on.

"...Is this what you call comforting?"

"No," the panda grinned. "Tell the truth."

Kugizaki rolled his eyes and lay back down on the ground.

The sunlight shone on her, warm and comforting.

She suddenly remembered the Japanese knotweed.

That pink-haired idiot, I have to work hard for him too... but my body really hurts!!

-

The basement of a high-end facility in Tokyo.

Facing the lavish decorations and lights on both sides of the tunnel, Yue Ren pushed open a high-class double door.

The moment it was pushed open, a cacophony of noise erupted.

The space was about one or two hundred square meters, with a few people scattered around, seemingly having a meal together; they were all familiar faces.

Upon hearing the door open, everyone's eyes turned to the doorway at the same instant.

Being stared at by dozens of eyes at the same time, especially when those eyes are not friendly, feels like having dozens of knives held to your neck.

Those eyes held wariness, hostility, curiosity, and a complex mix of emotions that were hard to define.

The Yue people remained unmoved, and did not stop walking.

I walked past each seat, ignoring their expressions, and headed straight to the deepest part of the room.

There, a man sat half-sitting with his eyes half-closed.

Xia Youjie.

He sat cross-legged on the cushion, relaxed and at ease, as if he were in his own home.

A low table was placed in front of him, with tea set and snacks on it, and several people stood around him like loyal guards.

It gave the Vietnamese people a sense of meeting a mafia boss.

The Yue people stopped in front of him.

Xia Youjie opened his eyes, looked up at him, and there was a smile in his eyes, a smile with an ambiguous meaning.

"You're here?"

"Um."

The Yue man sat down directly opposite him.

Someone immediately brought over a new low table and tea and snacks. Without Xia Youjie's prompting, the movements were practiced and skillful, as if they had rehearsed it countless times.

Yue Ren glanced at the pastries on the table, then looked at Xia Youjie.

"I'm living a pretty comfortable life."

"A small token of appreciation from the followers." Xia Youjie picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "Welcome, Kawasaki Etsuto."

He put down his teacup, his smile deepening slightly.

"The person who saved my life."

As soon as he finished speaking, you could feel the atmosphere around him subtly change.

Some people frowned, some glared, and some clenched their fists. In the corner, two girls who looked alike were filled with indignation, as if they might pounce at any moment.

Yue Ren glanced at it, then looked away.

Haha, so you mean... you're pretending to be a big shot? Fine, if you want to play, I'll play along.

"Now that you know, then do your part."

His voice was calm.

"That way, you might have a suitable ending."

Xia Youjie's smile faltered for a moment.

"A suitable ending?" he repeated the word. "An interesting way to put it."

Yue Ren didn't reply. He glanced at Xia Youjie, picked up the teacup on the table in front of him, took a sip, and then asked.

"Speak, what did you find?"

Xia Youjie raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Are you so sure I've discovered something?"

"Otherwise, you wouldn't have called me here."

Xia Youjie was silent for a moment, then he smiled.

That smile was different from before. Before, it was just politeness; now it was a complex mix of appreciation, approval, and wariness.

"You really are..." he paused, "...unfathomable."

He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

A cursed spirit appeared out of thin air.

Its aura is not weak, possessing first-level strength, and even approaching the special level.

It crouched beside Xia Youjie like a loyal dog, but its eyes were fixed on the Yue people with an instinctive wariness.

Yue Ren looked at it and, without waiting for its owner Xia Youjie to introduce it, unceremoniously reached out and touched it.

Xia Youjie placed his palm on the top of the cursed spirit's head. The cursed spirit instinctively wanted to back away, but Xia Youjie stopped it.

However, it stopped moving the next moment because it realized that it was not hurt. Did the boy really just intend to touch it?

Little did they know that the Yue people had already begun their "tracing of origins".

The images flooded my mind.

In a corner of a city, there is an abandoned factory, rusted machines, and piles of garbage.

Moonlight leaked through the hole in the roof and fell on the cursed spirit... At that time, it was just a near-level one cursed embryo, curled up in the shadows, with the surrounding curses gradually gathering, waiting to be born.

Then, a light appeared.

It was not sunlight, not moonlight, not any natural light.

It is a brighter, colder, more metallic light.

The light was extremely swift and inconspicuous, and at one moment it landed on the unsuspecting cursed spirit.

It was something like a bullet.

The next day, the cursed spirit was born.

At the same time, it also possesses a power that ordinary beings of the same kind do not have—techniques.

A voice in my mind, claiming to be a 'partner,' also offered its blessings...

The Yue man withdrew his hand from the top of the cursed spirit's head.

He remained silent for a while.

Xia Youjie looked at him without saying a word.

The people around him were also watching him, seemingly waiting for his reaction.

Finally, the Yue man spoke:

"How much is left?"

"Something like this?" Xia Youjie glanced at the cursed spirits beside him. "I have three more. I've heard they've appeared in other places as well."

"How long has it been?"

"The first one we've seen appeared a month ago." Xia Youjie's voice became serious. "At first, I thought it was a coincidence, until I realized something was wrong after absorbing it."

Yue Ren nodded, his brain working at lightning speed.

The worst thing happened.

He enhanced the power of sorcerers, while on the side of the spirits, something appeared that could enhance them.

This is not a coincidence, but a balance.

That damned, evenly matched "rule".

The appearance of Gojo Satoru disrupted the balance, leading to an unprecedentedly powerful cursed spirit. And now, his own appearance is triggering new changes.

"What are you thinking about?" Xia Youjie asked.

The Yue man looked up at him.

The sudden emergence of an uncontrollable situation left Yue Ren feeling somewhat lost, but his tempered mindset prevented him from showing his worries outwardly.

"An unknown special cursed spirit with unique abilities, but it seems to be able to prove my theory."

Xia Youjie smiled slightly.

"That's certainly the case at the moment. I already have several such cursed spirits in my collection, and what's particularly interesting is that the spells these cursed spirits 'awaken' are all offensive spells, and... extremely aggressive."

Seeing that Yue Ren's expression didn't change, Xia Youjie picked up the cup on the table, took a sip, and then continued:

"Perhaps this is why the pressure on college students has increased so much lately. The things you prepared for your compatriots are probably only ineffective because of this special technique, haha. My friend has also been running around a lot lately."

Yue Ren nodded slightly. This connected the dots, explaining why everyone was so busy. He just wondered about the current strength of this uncertain factor, and whether it possessed any other special abilities...

Regardless of the circumstances, this situation means he needs to be extremely careful going forward.

"I understand the situation. Thank you for your information. It will be crucial for our next steps."

"It doesn't have to be that serious. I find this news quite interesting. The kind of cursed spirit you mentioned might actually appear."

"There's just one thing I don't understand. If we follow your logic, then this cursed spirit must be extremely powerful, but I don't think I could easily subdue a cursed spirit of this level."

"Moreover, even after you subdue it, only it can use the spells of this cursed spirit. As a cursed spirit, it doesn't seem to be able to contribute to your plans."

Of course, it's not up to you. He still has a few copies of the duplicate cards as loot. As long as the "real person" is subdued, the "transformation through non-action" will not be a problem.

However, he now has his own explanation.

How much do you know about your surgical techniques?

The moment those words were spoken, the surrounding area erupted in uproar.

"What nonsense are you spouting!" The girl named Mimiko finally couldn't hold back anymore. "Do you think Lord Natsuyu doesn't understand his own techniques? You little brat—"

"Mimiko."

Xia Youjie's voice was very soft, but the girl immediately shut up.

He looked at the Yue people with a complicated expression, and at the same time, he had a bad feeling.

"What are you trying to say?"

The Yue man did not answer immediately.

He picked up the teapot and refilled his empty teacup.

He took a sip and put down the teacup.

"Your technique is called 'Spirit Manipulation Technique'," he said. "It can subdue spirits and make them work for you."

This is common knowledge, Xia Youjie nodded.