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

With his right fist gathering power, a pale golden light converged, and with a whistling sound, he aimed straight for Duanmu Yan's chest!

Duanmu Yan nodded slightly; Haibara's strength and speed had indeed improved significantly compared to last time.

However, he merely turned slightly to the side, his palm precisely striking Haibara Yu's wrist, not only deflecting the force of the straight punch but also slightly halting Haibara Yu's forward momentum.

"There has been progress in power control, but the intentions are still too obvious. We must understand that our enemies are not only low-level curses with low intelligence, but also high-level curse spirits and curse masters!"

Duanmu Yan's voice rang in Haibara Yu's ears, and at the same time, his right index finger flashed like lightning, pointing at the gap under Haibara Yu's ribs that had been exposed when his attack was deflected.

Haibara Yu was startled and quickly twisted his waist to block with his other arm.

Just as Duanmu Yan's finger was about to strike Haibara Yu's arm, a flash of cold light appeared from the side!

Qi Haijian silently slid to Duanmu Yan's left blind spot and thrust his short sword straight at Duanmu Yan's supporting leg.

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Duanmu Yan spun around and dodged the blade that Qi Haijianren was thrusting at him.

At the same time, his left hand, which had originally slapped away Haibara Yu's fist, pressed down, the back of his hand like an iron plate, slapping Nanami's wrist holding the knife.

Qi Hai had anticipated this; the stabbing was just a feint. The moment Duanmu Yan's hand struck him, he flicked his wrist, tossing the dagger into his other hand and slashing it toward Duanmu Yan's side.

"Your tactical coordination is excellent. You feinted an attack to follow up with a real move, and used props to create an environmental advantage," Duanmu Yan praised, while simultaneously stomping his foot on the ground.

Sand flew up, and an invisible tremor spread from his toes, instantly sending Qi Hai flying.

At this moment, Haibara Yuya got up, turned his right fist into a palm, and combined it with his left fist, striking Duanmu Yan's head with a double slap, like two gusts of wind.

"The two attacks were connected very quickly, but both fists were thrown out at the same time, leaving the center wide open." Duanmu Yan said, extending an index finger and flicking it into Haibara Yu's chest, instantly sending him flying.

Nanami Kento caught Haibara Yu, and then the two of them, one on the left and one on the right, re-established a confrontation with Duanmu Yan.

Both men were breathing heavily, and sweat was beading on their foreheads. Clearly, the brief exchange had taken a toll on them, making them acutely aware of the despairing gap between themselves and Duanmu Yan.

The opponent didn't even launch an attack; they simply blocked, dodged, and parried, leaving the opponents helpless.

But neither of them showed any discouragement; on the contrary, their fighting spirit only intensified.

They glanced at each other and nodded slightly.

The next moment, the two launched another attack! But this time, their coordination was even better, and the rhythm had changed.

Instead of charging forward relentlessly, Haibara Yu focused on mid-range feints with punches and kicks, constantly forcing Duanmu Yan to reposition.

Nanami Kento completely abandoned a direct attack and moved around Duanmu Yan like a ghost, taking advantage of the opportunities created by Haibara Yu to attack him continuously with his short sword.

Despite the combined attacks of the two, Duanmu Yan remained in control.

His movements were extremely subtle, deflecting attacks with the slightest margin. But the admiration in his eyes grew stronger.

"Haibara, your rhythm control is very good, and your feints have improved, but the instantaneous switching of your spell power enhancement could be smoother to reduce the waste of spell power."

"Nanami is very observant and has a ruthless attack strategy, but he is too focused on killing with one blow, which sometimes causes him to miss better opportunities for continuous suppression."

The battle lasted for about ten minutes. Haibara Yu and Nanami Kento were drenched in sweat, their magical energy was greatly depleted, and their movements began to become distorted. However, the two still gritted their teeth and persevered, their coordination remained intact, and because of their extreme focus, they even had a faint, strange feeling.

Duanmu Yan had seen enough and was ready to end the instruction session.

Duanmu Yan leaned back slightly, seemingly about to be hit by the two.

It's now!

Haibara Yu's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he poured all his will, resentment, and desire for his senior's approval into this punch!

The same was true for Nanami Kento; under extreme concentration, his physical attack and the impact of his cursed power actually overlapped!

Neither of them spoke, yet their actions displayed an astonishing resonance and synchronization! Their magical power...

Duanmu Yan's pupils suddenly contracted!

He felt it! That twisting sensation that transcended all limits!

Ouch!

It's Black Flash!

Haibara Yu and Nanami Kento's attacks, which gathered all their power, struck Duanmu Yan almost simultaneously.

To be precise, it hit his arms, which he had crossed in time to block in front of his chest.

A black arc of electricity flashed and disappeared at the spot where Duanmu Yan blocked!

Although the power of Black Flash was negligible due to the difference in strength between the two sides, it was indeed Black Flash!

boom!

The immense recoil caused Haibara Yu and Nanami Kento to grunt simultaneously, thrown backward, rolling several times on the ground before coming to a stop. Covered in dust and utterly exhausted, they were too weak to even stand up and could only lie on the ground, panting heavily.

But both of them stared intently at the hand that had just attacked them, their faces filled with shock and ecstasy.

Did they just successfully unleash the legendary Black Flash?

Chapter 117 The Meaning of Guarding

Duanmu Yan stood still and slowly lowered his arm.

He felt a slight numbness in his arms and looked at his two juniors who were lying on the ground in the distance.

There was silence for a moment.

Then, a smile full of satisfaction and appreciation appeared on Duanmu Yan's face.

He walked over to the two of them and squatted down.

"Well done, Haibara, Nanami."

"We...we unleashed...Black Flash?" Haibara Yu's voice trembled.

"Although it's weak, it is indeed Black Flash." Nanami Kento was also somewhat dazed, adjusting his crooked glasses as he tried to analyze, "Under extreme focus, highly synchronized spell power, and driven by willpower... theoretically, there's a probability..."

“No need to analyze the probability.” Duanmu Yan interrupted him, smiling as he patted the two on the shoulders. “You did it, you pulled off a Black Flash in actual combat. This is not just luck, but also a testament to your hard work during this period of training.”

He stood up, looking intently at the two people who were helping each other to sit up:

"It seems my previous assessment was too conservative. With your current strength and understanding of combat... you have a very high chance of eliminating an ordinary level one cursed spirit."

Upon hearing this, Haibara Yu and Nanami Kento both trembled and looked up at Duanmu Yan with indescribable brilliance in their eyes.

This is the recognition from the most respected senior Duanmu among the top-level sorcerers!

"R-Really? Senior Duanmu!" Haibara Yu's voice trembled with excitement.

"You flatter me, senior. We still have many shortcomings..." Although Nanami Kento spoke modestly, his clenched fists and shining eyes betrayed the excitement in his heart.

Duanmu Yan looked at them, smiled and shook his head: "It's not an overstatement, it's the truth. Keep up the good work. The future of the sorcery world needs fresh blood like you."

He turned and walked towards the sidelines. Behind him, Haibara Yu's barely suppressed cheers and Nanami Kento's voice, though trying to remain composed, was still filled with excitement: "Yes! Thank you for your guidance, senior!"

Under the shade of a tree, Gojo Satoru had already finished a whole tub of ice cream. Licking the spoon, he raised an eyebrow at Duanmu Yan, who was walking over: "Hey, hey, hey~ Fresh blood, the future of the jutsu world~ Duanmu-sensei, why are you talking to Yagura-sensei like that?"

"We three are only a year older than Haibara and Nanami! Haibara and Nanami are first-year students, and we are second-year students, second-year students! Don't make it sound like we're seventy or eighty years old and entrusting our children to the younger generation, okay?"

Xia Youjie chuckled as he listened to Gojo Satoru's吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic or critical remarks). He walked over and stood on the other side of Duanmu Yan, hands in his pockets, and nodded: "Satoru wasn't wrong this time, Duanmu. What you just said was indeed... well, a bit too heavy. We're still students ourselves."

Duanmu Yan was taken aback for a moment by the two of them teasing him in such a coordinated manner.

He carefully recalled his words, and it seemed... there was a hint of that?

He touched his nose and coughed slightly, somewhat embarrassed: "...Really? I'm just stating the facts. Their growth and potential are indeed worth looking forward to."

"Looking forward to it is fine, but don't express it in such an old-fashioned way!"

Wu Tiao Wu stuffed the last of his ice cream into his mouth, squinted his eyes in satisfaction, and then threw the empty box into a trash can dozens of meters away. Then, the two brothers put their arms around Duanmu Yan and Xia Youjie's shoulders.

"Listen up, Duanmu! We are the strongest trio, youthful, powerful, and with a bright future! Don't talk like Teacher Yemo, who's all old-fashioned."

"We're so strong that we'll beat up anyone we don't like, so strong that we can protect anyone we want, so strong that those old orange peels have to steer clear of us! And we get to enjoy our youth! Like trying all the new desserts, winning all the fun fights, and..."

Gojo Satoru looked at Duanmu Yan with a mischievous smile: "...Correcting my companion's dangerous idea of ​​being too precocious and prematurely aging!"

Xia Youjie couldn't help but rub his forehead, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

Duanmu Yan was both amused and exasperated by Gojo Satoru's twisted logic. "Fine, fine, you're right. We're the strongest trio, okay?"

"That's more like it!" Gojo Satoru snapped his fingers in satisfaction.

At this moment, Haibara Yu and Nanami Kento, supporting each other, slowly walked over.

Haibara Yu's face was still flushed with excitement, and his eyes were frighteningly bright as he looked at Xia Youjie, the person he respected most.

"Senior Xiayou! Just now... just now we really did unleash a Black Flash, did you see it?"

Xia Youjie nodded encouragingly and said, "Haibara, I saw it, you did a great job."

"That's great!!" Haibara Yu was so happy he almost jumped up. If he hadn't been so weak, he might have actually done it.

Looking at the two excited junior students, Gojo Satoru pursed his lips and whispered to Duanmu Yan, "See? In the eyes of real juniors, we are reliable and powerful seniors~ Duanmu, it's not bad for you to occasionally imitate Teacher Ye'e's way of speaking. At least it can intimidate the kids."

Duanmu Yan chuckled and said, "That's not what you just said."

“Things change over time,” Gojo Satoru said confidently.

Duanmu Yan ignored his bickering and said to Haibara Yu and Nanami Kento, "Black Flash is an opportunity, not the end. Continue to consolidate your foundation and strengthen your cooperation. At your current pace, your strength should improve even further in your second year."

"Yes! We will definitely work even harder!" Haibara Yu promised loudly.

Nanami Kento nodded earnestly: "Understood, thank you for your guidance, senior."

Seeing their serious expressions, Duanmu Yan smiled and said to everyone, "Let's go. After training, it's my treat to dinner. What would you like to eat?"

“Sushi!”

"Hand-Pulled Noodle!"

"Dessert, of course!"

"Shut up, this is for Haibara and the others to celebrate their victory."

Jay, you're so annoying!

"Do you think everyone likes desserts like you? You should consider their feelings!"

"Wu Lu Sai, you're so noisy! Duanmu... then tell me what we should eat?"

Upon witnessing this heartwarming scene, Duanmu Yan couldn't help but smile.

"In that case, let's all have a meal together!"