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

"that……"

He was interrupted before he could finish speaking.

“Leave it to us.” A first-level mage from Kyoto stepped forward. “Once the domain is gone, even a special-grade mage isn’t that scary.”

Another person immediately chimed in: "The other side is not even twenty years old, so they definitely lack experience. They also outnumber us eight to one. It seems like the advantage is on our side."

The Grand Elder nodded in satisfaction at what the two had said, then turned to Kusakabe: "Kusakabe, what were you about to say?"

Kusakabe had wanted to ask if he could not go, but everyone was already bound by rules, and the Grand Elder had already revealed the entire plan, so it was impossible to escape now.

He remained silent for a moment, then changed the subject: "What did Duanmu Yan do to be labeled a curse master?"

The elder's tone turned serious. "He murdered more than three hundred people from the Chan Monastery, including Chan Monastery Fan, the leader of the Bing organization. Such a villain must be punished; it would be against all reason."

"This time, the new head of the Kamo family will lead everyone on this mission. I hope you will all do your best!"

Chapter 154: News Ahead of Schedule

July 2, 2009, Tokyo streets.

The sky was dark and the clouds hung low.

Outside the coffee shop, traffic was heavy, and pedestrians hurried past the floor-to-ceiling windows with umbrellas in hand, no one glancing inside.

Duanmu Yan took a small sip of the Americano latte in front of him. The slightly bitter taste made this person, who was used to eating the same dessert as Gojo Satoru, frown slightly.

However, he didn't pay any attention and continued drinking.

He was thinking. The incident at the Zen Temple had blown up too much; hundreds of people had vanished overnight. It was impossible for the elders not to guess who was behind it.

The question now is whether those old guys will tolerate it or flip the table.

He placed the cup on the edge of the saucer and looked out the window at the gray skyline.

The Gojo family has long been one of our own, the Kamo family has the powerful leader in charge, and the Zenin family has also been secured after this battle.

Of the three major families, only the Zen family still doesn't have anyone he personally placed there. This is a good opportunity to test the Elders' Council's bottom line.

He looked away and tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table.

We already have the ability to flip the table, don't we?

A slight sound came from my side; the chair opposite me was pulled out, and a delicate handbag was placed on the corner of the table.

"Oh dear, are you thinking about something? I've come at the wrong time." Her voice was alluring, carrying the languidness unique to mature women.

Duanmu Yan turned his head, and Mingming sat down opposite him, leaning back in his chair and taking off his sunglasses, placing them beside him.

"Miss Mingming, it's been a long time."

"Yes, it's been about half a year since our last collaboration." She smiled slightly.

"Please go ahead, it's on me." Duanmu Yan pushed the menu over.

“Then I won’t stand on ceremony with a rich person like you.” Mingming turned to the waiter and ordered the most expensive set meal.

After the waiter walked away, she turned her gaze back to Duanmu Yan, her tone still as lazy and casual as ever, "Just as you thought~ those old guys are planning to make their move."

Duanmu Yan nodded, tapping his finger lightly on the table. "It seems those old guys are quite confident."

Mingming picked up her coffee and took a small sip. "So are you confident? I don't want my investment to go down the drain."

"No problem. You're a financial master, you've never made a mistake in investing, and this time will be no exception."

Duanmu Yan looked up, and the two smiled at each other.

Mingming is an independent sorcerer outside of the Elders' Council and the Higher Education System. She is resourceful and has connections with various parties.

Long before the Elders' Council convened the first-level sorcerers, she had learned about the contents of that secret meeting through her own channels. With her intelligence network, it was easy to connect the dots about what had happened at the Zen Academy.

Therefore, she deduced the true target of this hunt a few days ago and contacted Duanmu Yan in advance.

This doesn't count as breaking the rules; the information was already in her mind, and the other party already knew it. She just moved her lips a few times.

Ding--

Ding--

Both of their phones rang at the same time.

Duanmu Yan glanced down at the screen, then looked up at Mingming.

Even the underworld was watching him.

He turned off his phone, picked up the fork from the side of the plate, and cut off a small piece of cake.

"Looks like the show is about to begin."

"Then I look forward to your performance! Duanmu, Special Grade..."

The information on his phone was the task and location he was to do tomorrow, which was a deserted area.

It is very difficult for high-level cursed spirits to be born in places where there are no people.

These old fogies, they've stopped acting altogether...

In that case, let the world of sorcery begin to change!

……

After finishing their meal and paying the bill, Duanmu Yan left first, while Mingming remained sitting by the window, slowly stirring her second cup of coffee, showing no intention of getting up.

Turning into a deserted alley, I saw several empty cardboard boxes piled up in the corner, and the streetlights at the alley entrance were not yet on.

A flamboyant figure was leaning against the pile of cardboard boxes. Gojo Satoru was wearing a hoodie with an exaggerated English logo, sunglasses pushed up on his forehead, and carrying a plastic bag from a convenience store. When he saw Duanmu Yan walking over, he took out a piece of candy from the bag, tossed it into the air, and caught it with his mouth.

"Need any help? Jay and I are ready." He chewed on a candy, his voice muffled.

Duanmu Yan shook his head: "No need for now, I can handle it."

Gojo Satoru tilted his head and glanced at him. He swallowed the candy, took a step forward, and lightly punched Duanmu Yan on the shoulder.

Then he laughed and said, "That won't do. Don't even think about sneaking around this time. Since those old bastards dared to attack you, why don't we take this opportunity to wipe them all out?"

Duanmu Yan thought for a moment. If one or two people from the Elders' Council managed to escape while he was dealing with the people those old fogies had ambushed, it would leave a hidden danger.

If you don't cut the weeds at the root, they'll grow back in the spring.

He nodded: "Then I'll leave the Elders' Council to you."

Gojo Satoru walked out with a smile, raising his right hand. Duanmu Yan also smiled, raising his hand, and the two palms clapping heavily together in mid-air.

"Don't let things slip by unexpectedly." Gojo Satoru withdrew his hand, put it in his pocket, and grinned smugly.

Duanmu Yan lowered his hand and smiled faintly: "I should be the one saying that."

Gojo Satoru pushed up his sunglasses, picked up the plastic bag, and turned to walk towards the other end of the alley, casually waving his hand behind him as he went.

Duanmu Yan watched him disappear at the alley entrance and walk in the opposite direction.

The hunt... has begun.

……

On July 3, 2009, the sun blazed overhead, its rays dappling the deep forests of the uninhabited area, causing the leaves to curl up.

Duanmu Yan removed his Tuonaduo armor and landed from mid-air, his shoes landing on the soft, decaying leaves.

He straightened up, glanced around, and then said calmly, "Stop hiding, come out. Your magical power is like a light bulb in the dark to me."

As soon as he finished speaking, eight figures appeared simultaneously from different places.

Immediately afterwards, a black curtain rose from overhead, and a dark light membrane enveloped the entire forest, separating the inside from the outside into two worlds.

The eight people surrounded him, trapping him in the center.

The leader raised his chin, his tone arrogant with confidence: "After all, you're a Special Grade... so don't blame us for outnumbering you."

Chapter 155 Kamo Kenron

"After all, you're a top-tier fighter, so don't blame us for outnumbering you."

Duanmu Yan glanced at the eight people who had surrounded him, somewhat surprised.

He had thought the Elders Council would be able to assemble a more impressive lineup, "but I didn't expect the Elders Council to look down on me so much, only sending eight of you at level one."

The person on the other side didn't look too good; in such a large country, there were only four top-tier officials on the surface.

Tsukumo Yuki is unruly and disobedient, and Gojo Satoru and Natsumi Yuki are in cahoots with Duanmu Yan, so the Elders' Council dares not use them at all.

They've already exhausted all their resources to gather eight level-one players.

The man who had spoken earlier snorted coldly, suppressing his embarrassment: "Stop wasting your breath, let's see who's the real deal."

Zhang Xiang made the first move, clasping his hands together, fingertips pointing straight forward, blood surging between his palms. "Crimson Blood Manipulation Technique - Blood Piercing!"

A massive pillar of blood shot out, but its target was not Duanmu Yan; it was another first-level sorcerer from Kyoto on the other side.

The man was caught off guard and never expected that the leader appointed by the elders would suddenly attack him. As a result, he was struck through the shoulder and sent flying backward, crashing into a tree trunk.

Kusakabe was stunned; how could the head of the Kamo family attack them?

Before he could process what was happening, two more figures broke free from the encirclement and landed beside Zhang Xiang: Mingming and Principal Leyan Temple.

Mingming, with his hands clasped behind his back, waved to Duanmu Yan. Leyan Temple slammed his cane on the ground, his wrinkles revealing a hint of resigned helplessness.

Kusakabe looked at the person opposite him, then at those around him; he didn't want to die.

He didn't want to come in the first place; he was forced onto this pirate ship.

Given the current situation, he gritted his teeth and jumped over it.

Duanmu Yan looked at the four people left on the opposite side. One of them was severely injured and bleeding profusely, lying pale under a tree. Only three people remained.

"Then don't blame me for bullying you. After all, you're only level one." He reached for the summoner at his waist.

The battle ended within a minute.

The seriously injured man was the first to fall, and the remaining three didn't last more than a few moves. The orange and white flames of the Melting Blade flashed a few times in the forest, and then the forest fell silent again.

Duanmu Yan sheathed his sword and turned to look at the four people standing behind him.

"Thank you for your hard work."