Tokyo: My Hundred Demon Scroll

The terms "结缘" (jiéyuán) and "缘结" (yuánjié) are simply reversed in order, but their meanings are not the same.

A predestined relationship is formed by the Old Man Under the Moon (the god of marriage) tying the red thread between a man and a woman.

Furthermore, the union is a completely positive relationship; after all, a marriage blessed by God cannot possibly be a bad thing.

In contrast, the concept of "connection" leans more towards neutrality and the unknown.

When two people become acquainted, you don't know whether this relationship will bring good or bad things.

This is largely why sorcerers dare not easily make friends with others.

If you have received a favor from someone and owe them a debt of gratitude, and that person needs your help in the future, would you be willing to use your magic to help them?

Not using one's abilities would appear ungrateful and would be detrimental to one's moral character.

When it comes to offering help, one must also make a self-judgment based on the facts and whether or not it is appropriate to help.

In short, it's troublesome.

One event leads to another, eventually trapping the sorcerer in a prison of human relationships from which there is no escape.

While exorcists may live frugally, it's clearly unacceptable to accept money from the Iijima family and then have to work for them indefinitely.

They were excited because of the Iijima family's wealth and resources, which meant they didn't have to bear any burdens.

Accept the task, complete the commission, and receive the reward.

After that, it's over.

The money is clean, and there's a lot of it.

This wave will definitely greatly improve the quality of life for all exorcists.

In a sense, it's like the blessings of gods like Miketsu have extended to exorcists, allowing them to receive corresponding benefits as well.

Some powerful sorcerers quickly realized this.

Yoh Asakura, Midori, and the others are not stupid.

Gu Yun radiated a dazzling light, and being by his side greatly aided one's cultivation.

Only someone with their brain squeezed by a door would make an enemy of such a person.

"As long as everyone is satisfied."

Kotoko Higa looked around and saw that most people had happy expressions on their faces, which made her feel much more relaxed.

In fact, she hadn't expected Nao Hayasaka to be so generous.

A disagreement could result in a triple paycheck.

The financial resources, material strength, and boldness of the Iijima family are evident.

With such a leader who can get everyone to enjoy the fruits of their labor, what reason do exorcists have to refuse?

It's not like they actually signed a contract to sell themselves into servitude.

The Exorcists Association is loosely bound by rules; aside from the prohibition against violating secular laws, it can be said that...

"Finally, there is one more thing."

Higa Kotoko said seriously, "I have been negotiating with the head of the Iijima family for a long time, and I want to use the financial and material resources of the Iijima family to build an academy that specializes in training exorcists."

"Wow!"

"An exorcist academy? Seriously?"

"Is this... possible?"

"What would an academy like this teach? Spell inheritance? How could anyone possibly offer that?"

"..."

The matter of the Exorcist Academy was not brought up by Higa Kotoko alone.

Long ago, in the early 19th century, the Tsuchimikado family had proposed to combine the strength of the ten great families to rebuild the Yin-Yang Bureau.

However, due to various reasons, the Yin-Yang Bureau plan was aborted at that time.

In short, there are really a lot of problems here.

The conflicts between exorcists and ordinary people, the quality of teachers and students, and the issue of where exorcists end up after graduation.

Each and every one of these things needs to be carefully considered.

In the past, the top ten sects would have been embroiled in endless debates, day and night.

Without a sufficiently powerful figure, even if they argue endlessly, they still cannot reach any substantial results.

"This matter is still just a proposal."

Kotoko Higa walked up to the platform and had all the exorcists sit in the prepared seats: "The reconstruction of the Onmyodo is not a matter for one person alone; it concerns all exorcists, so I think it is necessary to convey this to you all."

"If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please feel free to bring them up now."

“I will answer them one by one from this place,” Higa Kotoko said.

Chapter 275 These Demon Ninjas, Is She Serious?

"The Yin-Yang Bureau!"

The exorcists were indeed very concerned about this suggestion.

The academy for psychics aims to train a new generation of exorcists.

This means that the succession is now secure, and they no longer need to worry about the growth of the next generation.

"Excuse me, what are the admission requirements for the Yin-Yang Bureau and the Exorcist Academy?"

One of the exorcists asked, "Is it necessary to have spiritual abilities?"

There used to be a distinction between the pure-blood faction and the emerging faction, which held that only those with spiritual abilities could be exorcists, and that even those without spiritual abilities could exorcise spirits.

To this day, there are still considerable contradictions between the two.

Of course, now that Kotoko Higa holds the reins of power in the Japanese exorcism world, her attitude is far more important than anyone else's.

"As long as the spirit can be exorcised, the method doesn't matter."

When Higa Kotoko said this, everyone knew that she supported allowing those without abilities to become exorcists.

"In the new Yin-Yang Bureau, various disciplines will be established, each representing a different method of exorcism."

Higa Kotoko said, "Human energy is limited. Within a fixed time, apart from geniuses, most people can only master a portion of exorcism techniques."

"The old days, where the Onmyoji class dominated, are no longer suitable for the future."

Higa Kotoko's idea was to establish some exorcism courses in the academy that did not require spiritual power, such as scientific exorcism and exorcism using breathing techniques.

“We understand breathing techniques.”

"What is scientific exorcism? Does it involve firearms?"

Inscribing spells on bullets can indeed exorcise spirits, but this method has a very limited upper limit; at most, it can only deal with lower-level demons.

The true power of firearms lies in their explosiveness.

However, explosive things are basically impossible to be imbued with spiritual energy.

Otherwise, if you consecrate an atomic bomb, wouldn't it be able to kill a great monster?

This is obviously impossible.

This is why using firearms to exorcise spirits is not cost-effective, especially when facing ghost stories, where they are completely countered.

Ghost stories often feature modern inventions whose control over electronic devices even surpasses that of human hackers.

Without spiritual power to assist you, you can't even distinguish between what's real and what's fake, let alone fire a gun.

A single mental illusion spell from the other side could make them kill each other.

By simply confusing phone and internet signals, one can send all sorts of fake messages and manipulate people at will.

This is the fundamental reason why exorcists believe spiritual power is indispensable.

Only those who possess the ability to 'see ghosts' are trustworthy.

"Scientific exorcism is not for training mercenaries."

Kotoko Higa explained, "The essence of scientific exorcism is to use the rules of this world to understand things in other dimensions."

For example, they could extract the remnants of ghost stories, study their principles, and then develop exorcism equipment that can deal with such ghost stories.

In short, scientific exorcism is more like a logistics department or a research department.

"We lack a systematic understanding of the strange tales that have emerged in modern times."

Higa Kotoko said, "The old ways of Onmyoji were to protect humanity from demons. Even now, Onmyoji techniques are still the best choice."

"But in modern society, how many people are qualified to become sorcerers?"

To become a sorcerer who can cast spells at will, one's spirit level must be at least 5 points, and that's for the lowest aptitude group.

But even if it's 5 spirit levels, how many are there in the entire Exorcist Association?

“Look around, everyone.”

Higa Kotoko scanned her surroundings. There were only one or two hundred exorcists present, and without exception, they all possessed the power to see ghosts, meaning their spiritual level exceeded 1.

“You possess spiritual power; you can see ghosts.”

“Now,” Higa Kotoko said, “exorcists who have mastered the art of casting spells, please raise your hands.”

Kotoko Higa still had considerable prestige, and her request was not excessive. Even Tanigumo, Yoh Asakura, and others readily raised their hands in agreement.

"Everyone can take a look; this is the proportion of warlocks."

No need for Higa Kotoko to say anything; everyone had already witnessed this scene.

Of the nearly 200 people who have unlocked their supernatural abilities, not to mention how many have a spirit level of over 5, only slightly more than a quarter of them are actually capable of casting spells.

"A mastery rate of approximately 30% in magical techniques..."

"Does everyone understand?"

Higa Kotoko: "We have too few people."