Ding~ ding~ ding~ dang—
The clear sound of the bells gradually faded, echoing throughout the underground arena until it finally fell into complete silence.
The assessment was over.
Sōjun Minamoto casually stretched, his limbs shifting slightly. The Mahoraga Rings on his body rotated gently—without making a sound.
His thoughts turned inward.
'My body's resistance to high-density Cursed Energy has improved...'
He quietly assessed himself. The combination of adaptive power and the authority of evolution really was flawless. Until now, he'd had no effective method for increasing the density of his Cursed Energy—now, that problem was thoroughly solved.
"That move wasn't bad, right?" Suguru Geto walked over, feigning modesty while clearly showing off.
Sōjun Minamoto curled his lip, then smiled and nodded. "Maximum techniques really do live up to the name."
"Hahaha~" Even with his usual composure, Suguru couldn't hold back a laugh.
By expanding one's conceptual understanding of a technique, it becomes possible to develop specialized moves.
Sōjun recalled the Ten Shadows Technique inheritance manual he'd seen at the Zenin Clan. It contained records of many such derived techniques—combinations between Shikigami, and even techniques for manipulating shadows.
Even he hadn't thought of developing those aspects until he read that book. Sure, part of it was due to a lack of time and focus, but more importantly, it underscored just how vital inheritance truly was.
Some techniques recorded there weren't even tied to specific Cursed Techniques—any sorcerer could benefit from learning them.
Generally speaking, any technique that survived through generations without being lost was, in itself, a mark of power and uniqueness. Like one secret art Sōjun had seen: "Falling Blossom Emotion"...
This was why elite clans could maintain their dominant status. Much of their strength came from the Cursed Techniques passed down across generations—refined over time by their ancestors into a deep well of martial knowledge.
While independent sorcerers might celebrate after developing just a single technique, clan sorcerers were already standing on the shoulders of their predecessors—reaching heights others could only dream of.
That was the reality for wild sorcerers.
Clan-born sorcerers didn't need to struggle as much in development. They had a wide, paved path ahead of them and only needed to spend time choosing the techniques most compatible with their own.
In contrast, unaffiliated sorcerers like Suguru Geto were lucky just to be recruited. Only then could they finally find a stable environment to learn and grow.
As for others still wandering on their own… their fate was often tragic. Some could barely hold their own against cursed spirits of the same grade.
Still, not every path in the Jujutsu world could be replicated—even with a legacy to stand on.
Some kinds of technique development brought all sorcerers back to an equal starting line—like the ultimate secret art of a Cursed Technique:
Maximum.
Generally, a sorcerer would only have one innate Cursed Technique. And aside from Domain Expansion, the secret technique that each one could potentially develop is what's known as a Maximum technique.
It's the strongest move one can achieve—requiring one to get as close as possible to the very core of both their technique and their Cursed Energy, and even then, it's only a slim possibility.
Only a handful in the entire Jujutsu world had ever managed it. Sōjun Minamoto was among them—
Though ironically, his Unlimited made reaching its true peak much more difficult. And his assimilated techniques had yet to be studied in detail.
Suguru Geto, on the other hand, had real talent when it came to curses. He'd explored his technique completely on his own and managed to develop Maximum: Uzumaki for Cursed Spirit Manipulation.
No wonder he was so confident in passing the Special Grade exam. Sōjun shot him a sidelong glance.
But...
In the iris of his eye, a faint black light slowly began to glow. A tiny vortex formed on its surface, swirling just shy of spilling from the socket—before he suppressed it again.
He had also learned part of the Uzumaki technique:
The Cursed Energy Cannon.
"How was it?" Suguru Geto looked at Sōjun Minamoto with a squinting smile, snapping him out of his thoughts.
The attack hadn't seemed all that devastating on the surface, but it had been strong enough to force Sōjun back and injure him—even through his highly developed Reverse Cursed Technique. That alone spoke volumes.
Suguru had already started using Sōjun as a benchmark. If he could break through this monster's defenses, then breaking through anyone else's was definitely within reach.
After all, spending enough time together made it easy to see the truth—this man might look human, but he was a monster in disguise.
He glanced at Sōjun's palm. The burn was already completely healed.
Suguru's eyes narrowed further.
Still, Uzumaki held its own. When pushed to its limit, even someone like Sōjun couldn't emerge unscathed.
Composing himself, Suguru asked again, "So? Would you say that's Special Grade level?"
Sōjun nodded in recognition. "Absolutely. If that doesn't qualify as Special Grade, then the standards are way too high."
"Yay~"
The two girls nearby let out quiet cheers, gazing up at Suguru Geto with stars in their eyes.
Suguru rubbed their heads and smiled softly.
He felt lighter than before—finally reaching this level meant they could now collaborate on equal footing.
Now that he'd gotten the answer he wanted, he didn't linger in the underground arena. He brought everyone up to the executive offices.
The House of the Children of the Star was one of the city's landmark buildings—tall, central, and towering over everything. From the top floors, the entire city stretched out beneath them.
Standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, Suguru Geto and Sōjun Minamoto looked out over the urban sprawl of steel and glass.
After a moment, Suguru said quietly, "We recently contained another batch of Cursed Spirits. Think you'll have time to extract from them?"
Sōjun nodded in recollection. "Still got enough broken swords?"
"Just barely," Suguru replied. "Honestly, I'm mostly relying on the Cursed Spirits I've subdued to do the containment."
He looked over.
"Even though we've increased the number of spirits, the strong ones are still few and far between. You can't expect low-level Cursed Spirits to restrain high-level ones."
"Manpower's kind of wasted on this too. The Church of the Stars doesn't have many capable sorcerers right now—most of them are regular people."
"And you, Vice-Leader, don't even show your face around here."
He let out a sigh, clearly exasperated.
"I might head out soon. I need to find some like-minded people."
As Suguru vented, Sōjun activated the Ten Shadows Technique. From the floor's shadows, a cluster of pale, thorn-covered broken swords emerged, spreading across most of the office.
This was a technique passed down through the Ten Shadows inheritance—an application of shadow manipulation.
In this technique, "shadows" didn't just refer to Shikigami, but literal shadows as well. And shadows were even more fundamental, since summoning Shikigami depended on them.
He could now use shadows for storage, or merge himself into them. With further development, he'd reach Domain Expansion.
While such techniques were difficult for others, for Sōjun they were second nature—he could grasp them with just a glance. He'd reached a level where everything clicked instantly.
After all, he was only a hair away from touching the core of curses. In both modern and ancient eras, among clans and commoners alike, that placed him at the top.
His ability to transfer techniques to others was proof—and even after transferring them, he maintained a shared connection.
That meant the shadow storage technique he created could also be used by Masaki Zenin—and vice versa.
This technique could already be considered a true Source Technique.
Sōjun extended a finger and tapped the massive pile of thorny broken swords. Seeing Suguru's expression, he chuckled. "Here. Take these."
"Spare me…" Suguru sighed, covering his face, but still summoned a Cursed Spirit to swap out the saturated broken swords.
Truthfully, after creating Uzumaki, even low-level Cursed Spirits had gained more utility.
He didn't mind this kind of collaboration. It was just… seeing Sōjun casually bring out so many like that—it made him want to complain on instinct.
"No rush," Sōjun added. "Just treat it as a side task. Don't waste your time on it. We'll trade when there's a large enough batch to make it worthwhile."
The shadows under Sōjun's feet spread out, swallowing the black thorny broken swords. When they emerged again, they had returned to their original pale glow.
He wasn't interested in low-level curses anymore. He only contained them with a "waste not" mindset.
At his current level, only Semi-Grade 1 and higher curses held any value. But collecting high-level spirits wasn't easy—it all came down to timing.
A sudden thought struck him. Sōjun looked at Suguru.
"I am still Vice-Leader of the Church of the Stars. Why not let me manage the non-sorcerers?"
Suguru blinked, then shrugged. "Sure. If you're actually interested, that'd lighten my load."
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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