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

"Those who appear glamorous on the surface but work themselves to the bone behind the scenes are ultimately a minority, like that guy who spends all his time idly abroad."

Duanmu Yan chuckled; he knew Wu was referring to the ninety-nine Yuki.

"After all, with corresponding power comes corresponding responsibility. Once I achieve my goal, I will relax appropriately."

"Oh~" Gojo Satoru crushed the soda can and threw it into a trash can some distance away. "Your goal isn't really to kill all the cursed spirits, is it? If so, I bet you'll never get a break in your life."

Duanmu Yan gave a wry smile, picked up his teacup and took a sip. "I don't want to be a beast of burden all day long. It won't be long, I reckon I'll be able to get some rest soon."

Yatalis has already accumulated almost half of the points, and with a bit of luck, he should be able to collect the rest in a year or two.

The main problem is that there are too few high-level spirits to fight them. We can't just expect spirits to revive quickly.

He put down his teacup. "That's enough. Wu, what are your plans for the future?"

“Me?” Gojo Satoru turned his chair around, put his hands on his knees, and grinned. “I plan to stay and be a teacher.”

Duanmu Yan was holding a teacup when he heard this, and his hand paused in mid-air. "You're a teacher? Really?"

Gojo Satoru was annoyed by his gaze, so he stood up abruptly and slammed one hand on the table. "What kind of look is that? Don't you believe I can be a good teacher? How come I'm not cut out to be a teacher? Who's more suitable than me for teaching and nurturing students?"

He took off his sunglasses and pointed to his eyes.

His six eyes can see fluctuations in gravity and pinpoint the student's weaknesses, making him quite suitable... Of course, this statement only applies to this ability.

Duanmu Yan put down his teacup. "It's not a matter of belief. You have such a terrible personality; you'll set a bad example for children."

"Even if my personality is terrible, it's still better than your two scheming guys." Gojo Satoru leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and raised his chin. "At least I'm a sunny and cheerful big boy."

Duanmu Yan's lips curved slightly. "Don't make your brother Duanmu laugh. Jie and I are much better than you."

"Tch~ Just you wait. When I become a teacher, the first thing I'll do is recruit Maki and Mai, whom you raised, into my class. Don't come begging me for mercy then."

Duanmu Yan ignored him and held the teacup to his mouth.

This guy is reliable and trustworthy, but you should never respect him.

Chapter 110 Boundless Emptiness

Seeing that Duanmu Yan was silent, Gojou suddenly leaned over and said, "Duanmu, why don't you show me your domain? I've been researching my own domain recently, so I can use it as a reference."

Duanmu Yan held his teacup, glanced at him, and slowly curled up the corners of his mouth. "Does even Young Master Wu need help with something as simple as his domain?"

"Hmph." Gojo Satoru raised his chin and crossed his arms. "I just wanted to see how the domain works. Unlike you, who had elemental spirits to help you and experience the domain beforehand, I had to figure it out myself little by little."

He pushed his sunglasses back and added, "My field is about 80% complete. I reckon I'll be able to start working on yours soon."

Duanmu Yan put down his teacup and clicked his tongue, saying, "Truly a genius."

In just over six months, he has already mastered 80% of it. Others may not be able to even touch the threshold of the field in more than ten years, but this guy has almost completed it by exploring on his own.

"Okay."

Duanmu Yan put down the wallpaper and clasped his hands together in a mudra.

"Domain expands, Infernal Prison - Binds All Evil."

Centered on Duanmu Yan, golden-red light instantly spread out. All the tables and chairs in the cafeteria disappeared, replaced by an endless space burning with pure amber flames.

Satoru Gojo stood in the center of the domain, took off his sunglasses, and his excessively blue eyes slowly swept over the amber sky, the flowing flames beneath his feet, and the omnipresent purifying will.

He stretched out his finger, letting a wisp of golden-red flame wrap around his fingertip, and stared at it for a long time.

"I see—that's how it works."

With a slight flick of his finger, it was as if he had switched a switch in his mind to the correct position.

Suddenly, Duanmu Yan felt a completely different kind of magical power surging from the opposite side.

The outline of cursed power began to appear around Gojo Satoru's body; it was his own domain taking shape.

He suddenly opened his eyes wide and spread his arms.

"Boundless emptiness."

An endless starry sky exploded in the fiery space, where the starry sky and the flames clashed, each occupying about half of the space.

It's obvious that Gojo Satoru just touched the domain and got too excited. His brain hadn't caught up yet, and he released it directly.

The two realms collided in the confined space, their boundaries pressing against each other. Flames and stars twisted in the air into a vortex of interwoven gold and blue, and the entire space began to tremble slightly.

"What are you trying to do?!" Duanmu Yan grabbed Wu Tiao Wu's shirt collar and pulled him in front of him.

Gojo Satoru was pulled forward and staggered a step. The fervor in his blue eyes slowly faded, replaced by a bewildered look as he came to his senses.

He blinked, looked at Duanmu Yan who was right in front of him, then glanced at the two domains around him that were pressing against each other, and then quickly retreated into the Boundless Void.

He raised his hands, palms facing outwards, in a gesture of surrender. "Sorry, I didn't control it well, I just tried it out."

Duanmu Yan loosened his collar and also put away the Flame Prison Binding Evil.

The cafeteria has reopened, and the tables and chairs are intact.

"You almost blew up the cafeteria. Don't try anything reckless again before I take back my domain."

Duanmu Yan put the teacup back on the table and got up to leave the cafeteria.

Wu Tiao Wu was still sitting in the chair with his legs crossed, his sunglasses slipped down to the tip of his nose, when he suddenly blurted out, "Hey, Duanmu, since you're planning to go to various places to exorcise cursed spirits, why don't you stop by and take a look at the Heavenly Realm?"

Duanmu Yan stopped and said, "If it's on the way, let's go take a look."

It was already completely dark when I left the cafeteria.

The stone-paved path of the college was illuminated by the streetlights, casting circles of yellow light. He walked on it, his pace neither fast nor slow.

Riko's face suddenly surfaced in his mind. Gojo Satoru's words were like a pebble thrown into the water, and the ripples that spread out found her outline on their own.

She screamed in fright at the sea cucumbers on the Okinawan beach, and eavesdropped on their game through the gaps in the bamboo walls of the hot spring...

He put his hands in his pockets, his fingertips touching the cold face of the threat-sensing ring.

Meanwhile, in Okinawa.

The training room for Tsukumo Yuki is a rented old house, backed by a deserted wild beach.

During the day, they practiced their spellcasting on the beach, and at night, Yuki rode her motorcycle to town to buy beer, leaving Riko alone in the room to write her training log.

She lay on the tatami mat, her notebook spread out in front of her, the pen hovering above the paper for a long time without writing a single word.

Today's training focused on testing the duration of Star Blessing. Senior Tsukumo said she's progressing rapidly and can now maintain it consistently for fifteen minutes.

This should have been a noteworthy achievement, but her mind was preoccupied with something else.

Duanmu Yan... what is he doing? Is he thinking about her?

She put down her pen, rolled over and lay on her back on the tatami mat, raising her right hand towards the fluorescent light on the ceiling.

The silver ring on her ring finger reflected a soft light under the lamp, and she turned it around.

She sat up, walked to the window, and opened it. The sea breeze blew in, salty and cool with the night tide.

The distant sea was pitch black, with only moonlight breaking into silvery-white lines on the crests of the waves.

What is Duanmu doing now? Is he killing cursed spirits, or is he with Gaozhuan and Wutiao?

Did he eat on time? Was he injured? Did he ever think of her, even just for a moment?

It's late at night there, he's probably resting.

The sea breeze ruffled her bangs, but she didn't brush them aside. She simply leaned against the window frame, gazing at the dark sea in the distance.

She looked up at the bright moon in the sky.

"The moon is so round tonight."

Does he/she think about himself/herself?

Duanmu Yan stood on the edge of the cliff behind the college, the wind blowing down from the mountaintop, blowing the hair on his forehead back.

He looked up at the moon; the moon on her side was probably the same one.

He stood there for a moment, took off the ring, put it back in his pocket, and turned to walk back.

There are still cursed spirits to kill tomorrow, so if it's on my way, I'll go and see her.

Chapter 111 Shopping

One month later, Okinawa.

Duanmu Yan removed a near-Special Grade Cursed Spirit, and the Melting Scale Blade turned back into a point of light and dissipated into the air.

The system notification announced his score, bringing him one step closer to his goal.

He stood in the nearby parking lot, the sea breeze blowing in through the broken glass door, carrying the salty smell and the muffled sound of waves crashing on the shore in the distance.

He had been to Okinawa once, with Gojo, Natsuyu, and Riko.

He took out his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and paused his thumb on Riko's profile picture.

He remembered that Jiujiu seemed to have sent him the location of the training ground.

Since we're already here, and I heard she's training here too.

……

In Yuki Tsukumo's training room, two sports vests were hanging to dry at the entrance, and a banyan tree with its canopy bent by the sea breeze stretched half of its branches out from the yard.

When Duanmu Yan arrived, Li Zi was squatting at the door tying her shoelaces.

She had gotten quite tanned, her hair was tied in a ponytail, and her hands were wrapped in newly changed white bandages, showing how hard she usually trains.

She heard footsteps, looked up, paused for a moment, then stood up, her eyes wide open.

"W-How did you get here?!"

“On the way.” Duanmu Yan propped the motorcycle up with his foot, took off his helmet and hung it back on the handlebars. “I just happened to pick a cursed spirit nearby, not far away.”

He looked at her face; she looked a little thinner than the last time he saw her. "You didn't tie a bow when you tied your shoelaces earlier; you tied a knot that's too tight. You'll fall if it comes loose."

Riko looked down at the crooked, stubborn bump on her shoe and thought, "Why didn't you tell me beforehand? You haven't called me for a whole month." She wanted to pour out all the things she had been holding back for a month.

But in the end, she just put her hands behind her back and twisted her fingers together. "It's not a knot, it just looks like one. Wait a minute, don't move, let me tie it first."

“Little Riko…” Tsukumo Yuki leaned half her body out of the window of the house, holding a can of iced coffee in her hand.