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

The puddles on the wall reflected part of the cursed spirit's outline. The thing looked like a beetle with its shell peeled off, its limp body clinging to the mine wall, its surface secreting a viscous liquid, leaving a dark drag mark wherever it went.

A level two cursed spirit.

Egoku Yuta made a decision in his mind, and then drew his sword.

The cursed spirit turned its head sharply upon hearing the sound. It had no eyes, but two tentacles on its head pointed directly in his direction. After letting out a hoarse scream, it sprang from the wall.

Yi Guyou ducked to avoid the attack, then slashed upwards with his blade, cutting open the cursed spirit's soft abdomen. The cursed spirit slammed to the ground, twitched twice, and then lay still.

He flicked the remaining shavings off the knife and continued walking.

The deeper you go, the stronger the aura of the curse becomes.

At the end of the second passage, he encountered two level-two cursed spirits that appeared simultaneously. One pounced from the front, while the other emerged from the ventilation duct on the side.

He blocked the claw attack from the front with his sword, and while using the force to retreat, he slashed the head of the cursed spirit on the side with his backhand. Without pausing the moment he landed, the blade spun back and pierced the cursed spirit in front of him through the neck, pinning it to the mine wall.

There are three now.

He silently counted in his mind, gripped the knife handle tightly again, and walked deeper into the area.

Duanmu Yan observed everything inside the cave through the gentle breeze and nodded slightly.

Yuta is much more stable than the three of them were back then. They were three reckless fools, and they got a lot of scolding from Teacher Moth for it.

The next few level three and four cursed spirits posed even less of a threat to Yi Gu You Tai, who was advancing very quickly.

At the bottom of the main mine shaft lies a relatively open area, where the former ore storage yard is now nothing but rusted conveyor belts and collapsed supports. Emergency lights cannot penetrate it; the depths are shrouded in thick darkness.

He stood on the last step, not in a hurry to go down.

The concentration of magical energy in the air reaches its peak here.

Yi Guyou took a deep breath. He knew the level one cursed spirit was below, and he also knew his teacher was waiting for him outside the tent.

He folded the map and put it in his pocket, then stepped down the last step and into the darkness.

Four eyes, each the size of a fist, lit up in the darkness, their dark purple pupils focusing simultaneously on him.

He gripped the hilt of the knife tightly, and his magical power spread along the blade. He slightly bent his knees and charged forward.

During his sprint, he seemed to sense something and instinctively dodged to the side. A gust of wind grazed his ear, and four claw marks, each half an inch deep, blew open on the mine wall behind him.

Wow, that was fast.

He gripped the hilt of his knife, trying to track the movement of the cursed spirit with his eyes, but in the darkness he could only see afterimages. Even with May Rain River, he could only know the location of the cursed spirit's attack a moment in advance.

The thing bounced back and forth between the mine's supports, each time landing with only a very slight sound, and then pounced from a completely different direction the next second.

He counted in his mind, listening to the thuds coming from different directions, forcing himself to calm down.

The cursed spirits moved even faster, and Yi Gu You Tai had to parry them more and more frequently.

No, this will only exhaust us; we must take the initiative.

He retreated to the edge of the mine, leaning against the mine wall, and forced himself to regulate his breathing.

breathe.

breathe.

……

The training scenes taught by Duanmu Yan flashed through his mind: Calm down, feel the flow of the incantation power, don't just follow it with your eyes.

He concentrated his magical power in his eyes, and the world in the darkness changed, with every trace of magical power in the air becoming clearly visible.

He saw that among the swirling dark purple specks of light, there was a particularly dense cluster of light that was spinning around him at an extremely high speed.

He closed his eyes, no longer chasing its location, but instead sensing its patterns.

It circles halfway every three seconds, jumping from the support to the conveyor belt and then bouncing onto the mine wall each time. Before pouncing, it pauses for half a second on the left side of the mine wall... Is it charging up?

He exhaled and reopened his eyes.

Before lunging at you, the cursed spirit will definitely kick the left side of the mine wall to change direction and accelerate.

He poured all his magical power into the blade, and the ordinary-looking dagger exploded with a dazzling blue light in the darkness.

The cursed spirit pounced, shattering the rocks on the mine wall. It used the force to propel itself forward, its four eyes forming four dark purple arcs in the darkness.

Yi Gu You Tai took a step forward, slashing his blade upwards, precisely striking the path the cursed spirit was bound to take.

The blade flashed in a complete arc, cutting into the cursed spirit's head and cleaving it all the way down its torso, splitting the spirit, which was moving so fast that its form was barely visible, in two, head and body.

The two halves of his body crashed onto the mine wall behind him, slid to the ground, and slowly turned to ash and dissipated.

He stood in the sword-wielding stance for a few seconds, making sure the cursed spirit would no longer move, before slowly lowering the sword.

The blue light on the blade slowly faded, and the mine tunnel fell into darkness again.

Chapter 200 I'm Taking Off

Outside the tent, Duanmu Yan leaned against the car door and saw the boy, covered in dust, walking out of the mine tunnel in the distance.

The boy was covered in dust, with several patches of mineral dust on his face, but after the fierce experience of his first battle, his aura was different, becoming even sharper.

"Not bad." Duanmu Yan looked him up and down, his tone full of undisguised praise. "In your first real battle, facing a level one cursed spirit and several level two ones, you were almost unharmed. Your judgment was very calm, and the timing of your last strike was also very accurate. As a newcomer on his first mission, your performance was already very good."

Yuta Etsuko was still immersed in the excitement after the battle when he heard the praise. He was stunned for a moment, and then his face slowly turned red.

He wiped the dust off his face with a handkerchief, his gaze somewhat evasive: "You saw everything?"

"How could we really not care?" Duanmu Yan nodded matter-of-factly. "Even if we're at ease, we still need to have a backup plan, right?"

Yuta's face turned even redder, the tips of his ears turning red as well. He lowered his head, his voice even softer than before: "Then...then you saw me being chased around several times by that cursed spirit at the beginning. You must think I was very embarrassing, right?"

"Shameful? Why should I feel ashamed?" Duanmu Yan walked up to him and stopped, gently patting his head. Yigu Youtai actually felt a little enjoyment.

"It's normal to be nervous in your first real battle, and it's also normal to be suppressed by a speed-type cursed spirit. The important thing is that you don't panic after being suppressed, you know how to adjust your breathing, and you know how to use your cursed power perception instead of your naked eyes to track."

“These are experiences you can’t learn on the training field; you can only learn them when you’re truly facing a life-or-death situation. You did very well.”

Duanmu Yan opened the car door and tilted his head towards You Tai: "Get in the car. I'll buy you something to eat on the way back. You've used up so much energy, you'll definitely be hungry tonight."

Yigu Yuta quickly climbed up, and the two slowly left.

……

Meanwhile, Gojo Satoru was also carrying out his mission.

He leaned against the railing at the station exit, his sunglasses pushed up above his forehead, sizing up the two teenagers dragging suitcases in front of him.

"It was supposed to be two boys, but it's a boy and a girl." He pulled his sunglasses down a bit. The boy was easy to spot; he was burly and wearing only a black hoodie with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing a section of his strong forearm.

The other one is hard to say... She has choppy bangs, trendy long hair, a small, pointed face, and is wearing an off-the-shoulder knit top and a cropped jacket, with a thin lip stud chain hanging from the corner of her mouth.

She looks like a girl no matter how you look at it.

However, Gojo Satoru could tell from his Adam's apple, posture, and shoulder width that it was probably a boy.

He lazily straightened up and waved to the two of them: "I am your teacher, and if nothing unexpected happens, I am also your homeroom teacher, Gojo Satoru. You can call me whatever you want, either teacher or Mr. Gojo."

Kinji's gaze lingered on him for several seconds, his pupils dilated slightly, then he grinned, his eyes gleaming with eager anticipation.

"It's actually Gojo Satoru, the renowned sorcerer in the world of jutsu? The real Gojo himself?"

Looking at him, Gojo Satoru instantly understood what the student was thinking. He pushed his sunglasses up completely and tilted his head with interest: "You want to challenge me."

"If I defeat you, I can become a Special Grade Spellcaster, right? Then I can do whatever I want." Kinji took a step forward and said confidently.

Gojo Satoru became interested. Before coming, he had looked through the files of this batch of freshmen, and there was a rather special note in it: the technique has a built-in domain effect, the personality is combative and disobedient, which must be this arrogant little guy.

"Oh, so you see me as a target for challenge?"

"I like passion, and I like gambling. Once I become a top-tier sorcerer, I'll have absolute power and be able to do whatever I want." Undisguised ambition appeared on Kinji's lips.

“Sure. Once you become a top-tier sorcerer, I can make anything possible for you.” Gojou Satoru nodded with a smile, then pulled his hands out of his pockets and lightly tapped them together, making a crisp sound.

"Of course... that's assuming you can defeat me."

Hoshiki Kirara frowned beside her and reached out to tug at Kinji's sleeve: "Kinji, that's a Special Grade..."

Without turning his head, Kinji flicked his wrist: "No need to persuade me, you know my strength best."

Gojo Satoru took two steps back, stood still, and beckoned with his finger.

"Come on, let me see your strength."

Kinji didn't hesitate.

He pushed off the ground with his left foot, launching himself forward with his fist aimed straight at Gojo Satoru's face.

Gojo Satoru turned his head and his fist grazed past his ear.

Without stopping, Kinji followed up with another punch, aiming for Gojo Satoru's chest.

Gojo Satoru took a half step back, clapped his hands, pressed his fist down, and gave him a tap on the head.

"The speed is alright, but the intention is too obvious."

Shinji snorted, ignoring the pain in his head, and swung his leg.

Gojo Satoru jumped up, touched Kinji's calf with his toes, and used the momentum to flip backward.

Gojo Satoru stretched and said, "You said it's passable, let's test your spell power."

He reached out, spread his five fingers, and a suction force enveloped Kinji.

Kinji felt as if an invisible hand was grabbing the front of his hoodie, causing him to stumble forward.

He gritted his teeth, planted his feet firmly on the ground, and unleashed a surge of magical power that enveloped his body.

Gojo Satoru nodded. "The power output is not bad. Let's try again."

This time, Kinji learned his lesson and rushed over by himself. Unfortunately, when he rushed over, Gojo Satoru disappeared.

Just as she was searching around, Gojo Satoru appeared in front of him, raised his hand, and slapped her across the face.

Jinji hurriedly raised his arm to block, but his arm went numb, and he took two steps back and shook his hand.

"you……"

"Hmm, the reaction was alright." Gojo Satoru put his hands back in his pockets. "But with this level, he's still far from being a Special Grade."

Kinji squinted.