Curse Reply: After choosing Nawa, the cursed spirit cursed me for being cruel.

"Don't refuse. This is my way of showing my kindness. Besides, that thing isn't of much use to me anymore, so it's perfect for you." Xia Youjie paused, then glanced at Duanmu Yan.

Duanmu Yan happened to be looking at him, and of course he knew what it was.

He looked at Xia Youjie and asked softly, "Is it that man's weapon?"

Xia Youjie nodded.

Duanmu Yan withdrew his hand from Maki's head. "That really suits Maki."

They were referring to the top-tier cursed artifact belonging to a tyrant and a powerful ruler: Wandering Cloud.

That three-section staff had no fancy spells; among all the top-grade magical artifacts, it possessed the simplest and purest effect: enhanced power.

They are a perfect match for the Heavenly Tyrant, who possesses an extraordinary physique.

Afterwards, everyone parted ways. Xia Youjie led the two sisters in training on the cracked training ground, Xiaozi went back to read magazines, and Duanmu Yan went back to his office to continue revising documents.

On his way back to the office building, Duanmu Yan smacked his lips with lingering relish as he walked.

The fight with Maki just now did stretch my muscles, but dessert is just dessert, it can't fill my stomach.

In the past, dealing with a single top-tier cursed spirit required going all out and revealing all my trump cards one by one to barely manage to defeat it. I haven't experienced that thrill of walking on the edge of life and death for a long time.

In this era, the only ones who could make him take a serious stance are probably Gojo Satoru and Sukuna.

He looked up at the blue sky outside the row of windows at the end of the corridor and suddenly felt like a starving beast, guarding a table full of appetizers but never getting the main course that could truly fill its stomach.

He also longed to have a hearty meal like the 16 dragons.

Just then, a familiar figure appeared at the corner of the corridor. Riko Tennen leaned against the wall and, seeing him approach, slowly revealed a mischievous smile.

Duanmu Yan stopped in his tracks, and a sharp pain shot through his kidneys as a conditioned reflex.

"Um, Riko, I just finished training with Maki. Although I only threw one punch, it used 0.8% of my magical power. You know, it was quite exhausting. So, could we wait a bit, like tomorrow or the weekend?"

Riko tilted her head, her smile unwavering, and said gently, "Of course, I can wait no matter how long it takes."

Duanmu Yan looked into her bright, sparkling eyes, then looked down at his aching lower back.

Oh dear, my kidneys are doomed.

Chapter 169 A Covenant

"Oh my~ Isn't this our Chairman Duanmu? Why do you look so tired after not seeing you for a while?"

Wu Tiao Wu pushed open the office door and immediately saw Duanmu Yan sprawled on the sofa like a salted fish. He strode in, pushed his sunglasses up to his forehead, and his expression was full of schadenfreude.

Duanmu Yan rolled his eyes at him, propped himself up from the sofa, walked to the drawer, took out the medicine packet that Xiao Zi had specially prepared for him, tore it open, poured it into a cup, and dissolved it with hot water.

The bitter smell of herbs filled the office as he walked back to his desk with his cup and sat down.

"Wu, what do you need me for? Speak quickly, there's a whole bunch of documents waiting to be approved."

Gojo Satoru took a finger out of his pocket and casually tossed it onto the desk.

"These were dropped by a top-tier cursed spirit we killed this time. I remember you had some of these things too, right? I'm giving them all to you."

Duanmu Yan picked up his finger, examined it, and nodded: "Then leave it to me. I happen to have an idea I'd like to test."

Gojo Satoru stretched and then, as if remembering something, casually added, "Oh right, Ahui said he wants to subdue the legendary strongest shikigami tomorrow and needs the two of us to go and keep watch."

Duanmu Yan paused for a moment while holding the teacup.

Hui is only ten years old this year. It has only been three years since he awakened ten kinds of shadow magic. He has only subdued three shikigami in total.

The strongest shikigami, Demon Lord, is not someone you can easily subdue.

This kid is usually so well-behaved, he would never be so reckless for no reason. He must have been led astray by someone.

He raised his eyelids and fixed his gaze on Gojo Satoru's face. "You were the one stirring things up from the sidelines, weren't you?"

Gojo Satoru immediately turned his head to one side and looked out the window: "Do I look like that kind of person?"

"Similar. Very similar."

Gojo Satoru readily admitted it, spreading his hands: "Hehe, I just wanted to meet the so-called strongest shikigami. It would be a bit risky if I were the only one there, but you're here."

"That's why I want to see it. After all, it's a legendary shikigami that can rival the Six-Eyed One... Don't you want to see it?"

Duanmu Yan remained silent for a moment.

To be honest, he also really wanted to fight Mo Xuluo.

Unlike other shikigami, this thing is not a one-off. As long as it is not successfully subdued, each time a completely new individual is summoned, and its death will not affect the next summon.

He really wanted to have a big meal.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip of the medicinal tea, and put the cup down. "Alright then, but I'll go first to deal with Mo Xu Luo this time, and you can go later."

Gojo Satoru's face instantly fell, and he pointed at Duanmu Yan, "Duanmu, you're being too cruel! This was my idea, I should have been the first to go!"

"I am the chairman of the federation."

"Hmph, you'll regret this!" Gojo Satoru angrily opened the door and slammed it shut.

Duanmu Yan picked up the herbal tea on the table and took another sip.

The medicine dissolved gently in his stomach; the formula was indeed effective, and his kidneys returned to normal.

He put down his cup and his gaze fell on the finger on the table.

For the past few years, he has been thinking about how to deal with Su Nuo, this ancient monster who has lived for thousands of years. He is very cunning and has divided his soul into twenty parts. As long as one part still exists, he is not truly dead.

What's worse is that this finger cannot be eliminated by ordinary means.

Even if someone swallows a finger and suffers flesh, after Su Nuo's soul is reborn through the vessel, only the vessel itself is destroyed.

The old records of the Elders Council document an experiment: an ordinary person swallowed a finger, and then hundreds of sorcerers were dispatched to kill it. The finger was successfully suppressed, the container was destroyed, but the finger remained intact.

Otherwise, sacrificing a few ordinary people to eliminate the King of Curses would be too good a deal for the Elders.

In the original story, Sukuna was able to be completely destroyed simply because Itadori suppressed Sukuna too much, forcing the King of Curses to turn himself into a cursed object in order to escape this "cage".

Although he successfully absorbed Fushiguro Megumi's flesh through the bond he formed with Katsuragi, he also brought himself to the same level as other ancient sorcerers.

Suffering a physical injury is equivalent to a serious physical injury; being completely destroyed is equivalent to true death.

Moreover, that guy has a second stage, which allows him to revert to his original appearance from a thousand years ago.

Only by eliminating Su Nuo in that state can we completely destroy him.

Therefore, what Duanmu Yan needs to do is find a way to force out the original form of this cursed king, without harming the innocent vessel.

After several years of pondering, he concluded that the only way to deal with the king of loans was indeed through loans.

The safest approach is to use restraint to counter restraint.

As he thought this, he had already channeled his magical power into that finger.

It was still that throne piled with bones, and Su Nuo sat high on it, still with that arrogant demeanor to the core, still with those two opening lines that hadn't changed since a thousand years ago.

And yet, he remains the same loser who was punched away by your Uncle Duanmu, stomped on the ground, and unable to lift a single finger.

Su Nuo's face was pressed tightly into the pile of bones, his four eyes staring menacingly from between the bones at the figure looking down at him before the throne.

"You insect, how dare you insult me ​​like this! You only dare to bully me when I'm just a finger, because you have some strength! If this were a thousand years ago in your prime, someone like you wouldn't even have the right to kneel before me!"

Duanmu Yan almost burst out laughing.

Su Nuo is really interesting.

This guy has different faces for different people: he ignores ants, finds ordinary sorcerers boring, mocks and ridicules those with some strength, praises those who are strong and willing to perform, trash-talks those who are evenly matched, and curses those who can seriously injure him.

A true all-rounder.

He certainly wouldn't kneel before Su Nuo, after all, Su Nuo was strong.

He suppressed a smile, looked at Su Nuo who was still cursing among the bones, and said with a playful tone, "So, you think you can defeat me in your prime?"

Su Nuo raised his head arrogantly, his four eyes filled with disdain.

"Of course. You are just an ordinary person born in an era without me. If I were in my complete form, I could kill you in less than ten moves."

Duanmu Yan almost lost his composure this time.

Can I take him down in ten moves? That's interesting.

Even if he really makes a mistake and becomes Duanmu Huo, what will happen then?

However, he then thought that the person in front of him was, after all, a lonely old man who had lived for over a thousand years, and might have some kind of mental illness.

I understand, I understand.

"How about this, let's make a deal. I will feed you all the fingers on my hand, but in exchange, when I say the word 'Qi Kuo,' you must withdraw from the fleshly body and reveal your original form."

Su Nuo's pupils suddenly contracted: "How did you know about the original owner's existence?!"

Duanmu Yan curled the corners of his mouth but did not answer him.

"This has nothing to do with you. You just need to remember this agreement... and then forget about it."

Chapter 180 Battle Against Demon Void Luo

"You just need to remember this agreement... and then forget it."

Duanmu Yan snapped his fingers and then withdrew.

The method he came up with was the same move that Sukuna used against Itajō in the original story.

Taking advantage of someone's vulnerability and seizing their body to advance his own plans—if Sukuna is capable of that, why can't he?

After all, he was a transmigrator. If it weren't for his strength, he would be the true master of no limits.

Only those with strength can confront each other head-on; without strength, he would have started with a dung truck long ago.

He glanced at the sky outside the window, then turned and went to find Fu Hei Hui.

Hui's room was at the end of the dormitory corridor. The door was ajar, letting out a warm yellow light.

Duanmu Yan knocked twice on the door frame, and Hui came from inside with a soft "Please come in."

The room was tidy, with a notebook open on the desk and an un-sharpened pencil next to it.

Hui Zheng sat cross-legged on the ground, distributing snacks to the two jade dogs.