Curse Return: Infinity

Chapter 6: Attempt



"Your talent is excellent, would you like to be my student?" 

???

"Teacher!" 

Minamoto Sōjun smoothly changed his address, though it reminded him of his original coach. 

Becoming a student of Yagai Seidou was a good choice. 

In the world of Jujutsu, there is a ranking system: Special, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4, with Special being the strongest, and each level progressively weaker. 

If we assume that regular weapons are effective against cursed spirits: 

Special – Requires cluster bombs for carpet bombing 

Level 1 – Even a tank might not be enough 

Level 2 – A shotgun might barely manage 

Level 3 – A handgun should be fine 

Level 4 – A wooden bat will do 

The fly hovering above Minamoto Sōjun's head would be classified as a non-ranked cursed spirit, not even reaching Level 4, posing no threat at all. 

Jujutsu sorcerers are ranked according to cursed spirits, but among sorcerers of the same level, the former is stronger than the latter. 

As for Special Grade sorcerers, that is a different standard, with one of the criteria being: having the strength to single-handedly annihilate a country. 

Who is Yagai Seidou? 

Although he is not yet the principal, doesn't wear sunglasses, and no panda plushie appears by his side... 

But in the future—up until the latest chapter in the manga that Minamoto Sōjun remembers: 

In the Jujutsu world, where there are only four Special Grade sorcerers, and most sorcerers cap out at Level 2 or semi-Level 1, Yagai Seidou almost became the fifth Special Grade. 

For some reason, he rejected the Special Grade evaluation. But undeniably, his strength had already reached the peak of the Jujutsu world. 

He has a deep network of connections; two of the four Special Grades are his students, one is his student's student, and the last one is his junior, with whom he shares a friendly relationship. 

Most importantly, he is also Minamoto Sōjun's maternal uncle, the brother of his mother. 

So, Minamoto Sōjun quickly agreed. Having a big shot to guide him would make the future much easier. 

"Alright!" Yagai Seidou said, clearly in a good mood. He stood up, looked around, and finally walked to a more open space in the living room. He stood still. "You've already mastered refining cursed energy, so the next step is developing cursed techniques." 

He raised his palm, cursed energy surged around it, flowing like water, his palm facing Minamoto Sōjun. "Come, throw a punch here." 

Minamoto Sōjun got up and walked over to him. Without hesitation, he pulled back his arm and threw a punch— 

Boom! 

A short, loud sound echoed. 

It was cursed energy! Minamoto Sōjun used cursed energy! 

Yagai Seidou increased the cursed energy output at the moment he threw the punch. The punch and palm collided and then hovered motionlessly in front of them. 

Minamoto Sōjun withdrew his arm. The amount of cursed energy he used was the same as the amount Yagai Seidou had wrapped around his palm initially, but he had added some of his physical strength. It was soon detected and successfully blocked. 

As expected, the calmness and confidence of the older generation of sorcerers. 

Yagai Seidou also retracted his arm, silently searching through his pocket before pulling out... a small teddy bear? 

He infused cursed energy into the bear and threw it on the ground. 

The bear stood up on its own and started moving its arms and legs autonomously. 

Yagai Seidou pointed at it. "Come, try again." 

"Try what...?" 

Boom—!!! 

Minamoto Sōjun quickly crossed his arms in front of him to block the bear's headbutt, squatting slightly to lower his center of gravity, leaning forward to resist, while his toes dug into the ground... 

In that moment, he did a lot, with only one purpose: to stabilize himself. 

But he still unconsciously slid back a small step. 

After the collision with his arm, the bear nimbly bounced back and landed steadily on the ground. It remained in place, hopping up and down without launching any further attacks. 

Hiss! 

"Got it?" Yagai Seidou caught the bear as it jumped into his arms and patted its head. "The amount of cursed energy I used was the same as before, but the power of the two is completely incomparable!" 

How could it be the same? The cursed energy this time was clearly more; that's what made it incomparable! 

Minamoto Sōjun rolled his eyes inwardly but controlled his expression, showing admiration. "Impressive, impressive. How did you do that?" 

Yagai Seidou glanced at him and chuckled, his hands behind his back. He spoke slowly: 

"If cursed energy is like electricity, then cursed techniques are like electrical devices. Having electricity alone is not enough to use it at will. You need to transfer the electricity into the device to achieve various effects. While cursed energy itself has certain power, it's only when combined with cursed techniques that it can exert its full potential." 

He handed the bear to Minamoto Sōjun. "My technique is Puppet Manipulation, which allows me to create cursed dolls—'Cursed Corpses'. They contain a core equivalent to a heart, and the more cursed energy that is absorbed, the stronger the Cursed Corpses become. The core is the source of its power, but it's also its weakness." 

"Take a look." 

Minamoto Sōjun took it, and the Cursed Corpse began to struggle as soon as he held it. He noticed a faint blue light near its ankle. He looked at Yagai Seidou with a strange expression. 

"The weakness has to be placed in an unexpected spot to be safe," Yagai Seidou explained calmly. 

Minamoto Sōjun gently pressed on the Cursed Corpse's foot and felt no foreign sensation. 

It struggled a few more times before seemingly running out of energy, lying limp in his hand. At that point, the blue light was no longer perceptible. 

Though the doll was autonomous, it was clearly not alive and lacked intelligence. 

From the name "Puppet," it seemed that it could accept simple commands or be manipulated by Yagai Seidou from behind the scenes to perform complex actions. 

Its power was indeed formidable. 

Even though Yagai Seidou had increased the cursed energy output, Minamoto Sōjun could easily tell that, with the same amount of cursed energy, one applied directly for defense or offense, and the other used in a cursed technique, the latter was far stronger. 

What about his cursed technique? 

Minamoto Sōjun spread his palm, and cursed energy surged, causing a small patch of skin to wrinkle, stacking and stretching until a crack formed. The edges of the crack opened, revealing a black pupil. 

His vision suddenly became strange. 

The eye in his palm spun around, adding an upward perspective. In his vision, he saw a muscular man and a child. 

Minamoto Sōjun pondered, until he noticed his soul's right hand also began to show strange signs. A patch of skin trembled lightly, as if another eye was about to open. 

He split part of his focus to stabilize his soul's original form and prevent the eye from appearing. 

Soon, the eye in his palm started to fade away, and his hand returned to normal. 

Phew~ Success! 

Minamoto Sōjun could have started altering his body from the beginning, but he hadn't done much. Being able to change wasn't a big deal; being able to revert was impressive. 

The control he had over the transformation was still too much for him to handle. 

He had many ideas, but restrained himself, fearing that he might turn into a strange form, and then there would be no place to cry. 

As his knowledge accumulated, he had gained more confidence, but it still wasn't enough. With Yagai Seidou watching him, he took the decisive step and succeeded. 

Just like with the eye, its internal structure, blood supply, and nerve connections... the knowledge involved was vast, but he managed to build it, and it functioned normally. 

This symbolized that he had entered a new stage: the soul is used to anchor, and the body can change freely. This is the goal for his new stage. 

... 

Yagai Seidou left, leaving Minamoto Sōjun with some time to digest what he had learned. 

He was busy, and finding time each week wasn't easy. 

He didn't ask about the eye or the fly above Minamoto Sōjun's head. 

The development of cursed techniques was a personal matter, and keeping it secret was important. He could offer some advice from experience but would not interfere too much. 

Providing a safe environment for growth was enough. More importantly, it was up to the individual. The moment you decide to become a jujutsu sorcerer, it's inevitable that death will accompany you. 

In the end, one must adapt, as this is the main theme of the jujutsu world. 

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