Curse Returns: Eight Extraordinary Skills? I lack nothing.

He didn't stop, and he couldn't stop.

He recalled his days as an office worker, squeezing onto the subway, writing reports, and looking at spreadsheets every day.

Those days were peaceful and safe; there were no cursed spirits, no death, no bloodshed. But those days were also meaningless.

He resigned and returned to be a sorcerer. He never regretted it.

Kusakabe swung his sword beside him, the golden aura of his Simple Domain forcing back the surrounding familiars. His swordsmanship wasn't as sharp as Nanami's, but it was more steady, each strike precisely hitting the weak points of the familiars.

He doesn't need to use Black Flash to compensate for damage like Nanami does; his sword is his technique, and his technique is his sword.

"Nanami," Kusakabe said, panting, "how much longer can you hold out?"

"Hold on until they're done." Nanami beheaded a skeleton guard with a single stroke. "Even if we can't hold on, we have to."

In a clearing deep in the forest, Yuuto's battle with the three fake crowned lords continued.

The fake Crowned Marquis wielding a giant sword and the fake Crowned Marquis wielding a warhammer stood side by side, one on the left and one on the right, sandwiching Yuuto in the middle.

The False Crowned Marquis, wielding a long halberd, was dragged to the other side of the battlefield by Ninety-Nine Yugi, where silver-gray mist intertwined with golden light.

Yuuto gripped the Kikuichimonji sword, its blade crackling with lightning.

A shimmering white light, amplified by the Triple Rebirth technique, emanated from beneath his skin, and his white hair drifted in the twilight. He took a deep breath, stepped forward with his left foot, and the Tai Chi symbol beneath his feet slowly swirled.

“Let’s all go at once,” Yuuto said, “to save time.”

The two false-crowned marquises exchanged a glance, and then moved simultaneously.

The greatsword slashed down from the left, and the warhammer smashed down from the right.

Yuuto did not retreat. He slashed horizontally with the Kikuichimonji, the blade colliding with the greatsword. At the same time, he made a hand seal with his left hand, and lightning magic condensed into a pillar of lightning in his palm, which slammed into the chest of the Warhammer Pseudo-Crown Marquis.

"when!!!"

Amidst the deafening roar, the three figures intertwined.

The Greatsword-wielding Pseudo-Crown Marquis was forced back half a step, while the Warhammer-wielding Pseudo-Crown Marquis had his chest armor cracked by the lightning pillar, with silver-gray mist gushing out from the cracks.

Yuuto was jolted back two steps by the impact of the giant sword. The golden light membrane of the spell flickered violently, but did not shatter.

He steadied himself, and the Kikuichimonji sword rose again. The lightning on the blade shone even brighter.

On the side of Jiujiu Yuki, the false crowned marquis wielding a long halberd finally used his true abilities.

He spun the halberd in his hand, and a pale white ball of light condensed on the blade.

The ball of light was small, only about the size of a fist, but the fluctuations of magical power contained within it caused Jiujiu's pupils to shrink slightly.

“The Wrath of the Stars,” Jiujiu whispered.

The False Crown Marquis did not hear clearly, nor did he need to. He pointed his halberd forward, and a ball of light flew out from the blade, hurtling towards Ninety-Nine.

The ball of light flew very slowly, so slowly that its trajectory could be seen with the naked eye, but Ninety-Nine knew that she couldn't catch it head-on.

She dodged to the side, and the ball of light flew past her, hitting a large tree behind her that would take two people to hug.

The tree silently turned into a pile of wood chips, not from being blown up, but from being crushed.

Ninety-nine frowned slightly.

"Imaginary weight," Ninety-Nine said. "You can do that too?"

The False Crown Marquis did not answer, and swung his halberd again, sending a second ball of light flying towards him.

This time, Jiujiu didn't dodge. The Phoenix Wheel flew in from the side and crashed into the ball of light. The golden light collided with the pale ball of light, exploding into a dazzling circle of flames.

The ball of light was shattered by the Phoenix Wheel, which was also sent flying, tumbling several times in the air before regaining its footing.

Ninety-nine glanced at Phoenix Wheel, then at the False Crown Marquis.

“Your spells aren’t just Star Fury, are they?” Jiujiu said. “There are others as well.”

The False Crown Marquis still did not answer, and swung his halberd for the third time. This time there was no ball of light; the halberd blade drew a pale arc in the air, and space distorted, as if being squeezed from within by something.

Ninety-nine's body suddenly sank, and a crack appeared in the ground beneath his feet.

It's not gravity, it's pressure.

It was some unseen force pressing down from all directions, pressing down on her, on the ground beneath her feet, and on everything around her.

Ninety-Nine gritted her teeth as the Phoenix Wheel flew in from the side, its golden light dissipating some of the oppressive aura.

She took the opportunity to step back a few steps, escaping from the center of the oppression.

"Imaginary weight, can it be used like this?" A hint of seriousness crept into Jiujiu's voice. "What exactly are you?"

The False Crown Marquis still did not answer, but simply held his halberd horizontally in front of him, the blade pointing at Ninety-Nine.

“I am the Pale Knight’s squire,” he said. “I’m here to kill you.”

The golden light membrane of the spell, which had been so captivating, shattered under the giant sword of the False Crown Marquis.

It wasn't shattered by a single strike, but by a series of slashes.

The Greatsword Pseudo-Crown Marquis's swordsmanship had no techniques, only power and speed, but that pure power and speed combined to create a terrifying sense of oppression.

He slashed down with his sword, each strike precisely hitting the same weak point in Yu Ren's Golden Light Mantra.

The first sword strike caused the light membrane to tremble. The second sword strike caused cracks to appear in the light membrane. The third sword strike caused the light membrane to shatter.

Yuuto was knocked back several steps, and felt a dull pain in his chest.

The Greatsword-wielding False Crown Marquis did not pursue, but simply stood in place, gripping his greatsword with both hands, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground. Silver-gray mist seeped out from the gaps in his armor, swirling around the greatsword.

"Your defense is broken," the voice of the Greatsword Pseudo-Crown Marquis said in a deep voice.

Yu Ren glanced down at the fragment of the Golden Light Mantra on his chest. The light membrane had shattered into golden specks and was slowly dissipating. He didn't panic. The Qi of the Reverse Life Triple Realm accelerated its circulation within his body, and a shimmering white light shone through his skin, illuminating his entire body.

"It's broken, so it's broken." Yuuto looked up. "I have other things."

He sheathed the Kikuichimonji and returned the sword to its scabbard at his waist. Then he made a hand seal with his left hand and held the sword loosely with his right.

The Tai Chi diagram pattern underfoot suddenly expanded, spreading from his feet to the ground several meters around him.

The patterns of the Tai Chi symbol lit up in the darkness, one black and one white, with black within black and white within black, a primordial chaos, flowing slowly.

Wudang Tai Chi.

Intermediate level, equivalent to the level of the Wudang Mountain sect leader in the original work.

Tai Chi Chuan does not rely on brute force or speed; it relies on an understanding of "force." Every attack has a trajectory of force, an origin and a destination.

Once you understand the trajectory of force, you can change its direction with the slightest difference. Using someone else's force against them, using minimal force to deflect a great weight—this is the essence of Tai Chi.

The Greatsword-wielding False Crown Marquis swung his sword down.

Yuuto did not dodge. He extended his right hand to meet the sword's edge, placed his palm on the spine of the sword, and gently guided the sword's trajectory.

The greatsword's trajectory was deflected; the blade swept past Yuuto's side, striking empty air and blasting a deep trench in the ground.

Yu Ren didn't stop. He made a hand seal with his left hand, and a bolt of lightning shot out from his palm, striking the Greatsword Pseudo-Crowned Marquis squarely in the chest. The Greatsword Pseudo-Crowned Marquis was blasted back several steps, a large section of his chest armor shattered, and silver-gray mist gushed out.

He looked down at the gash in his chest, then looked up at Yuuto.

"What kind of technique is this?" asked the Greatsword-wielding False Crown Marquis.

“Tai Chi,” Yuuto said, “is not a technique.”

The Greatsword-wielding False Crown Marquis neither understood nor needed to understand. He gripped his greatsword tighter and slashed down again.

Warhammer False Crown Marquis flanked from the flank, and his warhammer slammed into Yuu's back.

Yuuto didn't turn around. The Tai Chi diagram spun beneath his feet. He used the momentum to take a step forward, avoiding the blow of the warhammer.

At the same time, he reached out with his right hand, grabbed the hilt of the greatsword Pseudo-Crown Marquis, and pulled him along with his force, bringing his body towards the direction of the warhammer Pseudo-Crown Marquis.

The Greatsword Pseudo-Crown Marquis lost control of his body and staggered into the Warhammer Pseudo-Crown Marquis.

The two collided, their armor clashing with a dull thud, and silver-gray mist splattered everywhere.

Yu Ren did not pursue, but simply stood still, the Tai Chi diagram slowly rotating beneath his feet.

“The two of you can’t beat me alone,” Yuuto said. “Even if you come at me together, it won’t make a difference.”

Chapter 134 Victory

The Greatsword-wielding pseudo-crowned man staggered to his feet, while the warhammer-wielding pseudo-crowned man climbed up from the pile of rubble, and the two stood side by side.

Silver-gray mist seeped out from the gaps in the armor, swirling around the weapon, and its aura intensified.

Youren gave them no chance to catch their breath. He formed a hand seal with his left hand, fully activating the Tongtian Talisman. His fingertips moved rapidly through the void, casting Five Thunder Talisman, Fire Virtue Talisman, Frost Talisman, and Wind Howl Talisman.

The talisman took shape simultaneously, spun around on the fingertip, and then transformed into lightning, flames, ice crystals, and a gale, blasting towards the two pseudo-crown marquises.

This is the most basic, and also the most crude, use of the Tongtian Talisman.

The talisman doesn't require deliberate aiming or complicated manipulation; you just need to maximize the attribute advantage and then throw it at the target.

The Greatsword Master Pseudo-Crown swung his sword to parry, lightning blasted on the spine of the sword, and arcs of electricity shot up the blade to his arm, causing the silver-gray mist between the gaps in his armor to crackle with electricity.

He grunted and took a step back. The Warhammer False Crown Marquis was caught between flames and ice crystals; half of his armor was scorched black, while the other half was frozen and cracked.

"That's all?" As Youren spoke, a magical artifact appeared in his hand: Divine Refinement of a Hundred Elements - Spirit Binding Lock.

Dark gold chains were wrapped around his palm, emitting a faint golden light.

Instead of throwing it away immediately, he wrapped the spirit-binding lock around his wrist twice and then released it.

The chains, as if alive, slithered out from his wrists, silently gliding across the ground and wrapping around the ankles of the Warhammer False Crown Marquis.

Warhammer False Crown Marquis glanced down, raised his foot to try and break free, but the chains tightened suddenly, pulling him to the ground.

Youren didn't look at him; his gaze fell on the giant sword, the pseudo-crown lord.

"now you."

The Greatsword Master did not back down. He gripped the sword with both hands, and the silver-gray mist condensed into a pale white film on the blade.

He held the greatsword horizontally in front of him, the tip aimed at Yuuto, and then suddenly lunged forward.

The speed was much faster than before, and the pale light on the sword's edge left a trail of afterimages in the air.

Yu Ren did not dodge.

He stood still, his right hand forming a mudra, the patterns of the Tai Chi symbol beneath his feet slowly flowing.