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In the end, Yuan Shanxiao and Gojo Satoru both took a step back.
Gojo Satoru proposed that as long as Yuan Shanxiao could defeat him, he wouldn’t have to go on any missions.
Yuan Shanxiao was forced to agree—he wouldn’t have to fight any Cursed Spirits only if he could beat Gojo Satoru.
What? I have to fight Gojo Satoru? Is this for real?
The silhouette of the white-haired teacher, clearly human, flashed through the boy’s mind for a moment. Then, the grotesque figures of various Cursed Spirits, making him nauseous and tremble, also flashed by.
After struggling for a while—
The boy, after thinking for just a second, looked up at his white-haired teacher and said.
“I will try my best to defeat Gojo-sensei!”
As soon as he said that, the rest of his words flowed smoothly. Yuan Shanxiao clenched his fist and raised his head with determination.
“After all, Gojo-sensei isn’t as scary as a Cursed Spirit.”
Fushiguro Megumi, who had been silently listening on the side: …
Gojo Satoru, who originally only intended to take the boy on a mission to deal with some Grade 2 Cursed Spirits: …
Since the boy was so determined to start by challenging a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer, it’s only normal that he begins dealing with Special Grade Cursed Spirits too!
Gojo Satoru didn’t reveal his sinister plan. He just smiled even wider and, with a grin, patted the boy on the shoulder. “Since Xiao just figured out his technique, I’ll give him a month to practice. After one month, if Xiao can beat me, I’ll never make him exorcise Cursed Spirits again—even during training, there won’t be any Cursed Spirits—oh~”
Hearing the first part, Yuan Shanxiao: …
Am I some kind of overpowered protagonist? Chapter one: “Awakening,” Chapter two: “The Strongest,” followed by “Only a month later, this kid has grown to a terrifying degree—”?
Hearing the second part, Yuan Shanxiao: …
It’s not that I’m really tempted, but with the teacher backing off like this, it feels wrong not to agree.
Gojo Satoru watched as the pale boy struggled to maintain his calm while his lips twitched near his cheekbones.
Gojo Satoru: …
Cute.
———
However, the reason Yuan Shanxiao agreed to this duel with Gojo Satoru was largely because he took Gojo’s earlier warning seriously.
“After death, your soul will still face terror.”
Even though he looked half-scared to death and completely believed it at the time, after coming down from that panic, Yuan Shanxiao still ran to the library to check the facts. He confirmed that, indeed, in the World of Jujutsu, there were techniques related to souls, meaning—
It’s entirely possible in this world to turn into a soul after death.
Dying is not something you can do lightly. He really needs to stay alive.
But how to survive—well, that’s another question.
Though he wanted to flee to Antarctica, build an igloo, and isolate himself from the world, it was probably better to get a bit stronger first.
So, Gojo Satoru was pleased to see that the boy started showing up at the training grounds.
And then—
What’s with all these brochures for Antarctic travel tours that keep getting sent to Tokyo Jujutsu High?!
———
Currently, most of the education at Jujutsu High relies on assistant supervisors to provide basic and general education. The training in techniques and physical combat mainly comes from Gojo Satoru. But since Gojo is a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer himself, he doesn’t have much time to personally teach students. Therefore, another primary method for students to learn is through senior students guiding juniors.
Although Fushiguro Megumi was technically a junior to Yuan Shanxiao, Megumi had been exposed to Jujutsu techniques and exorcising Cursed Spirits much earlier than him. That’s why Gojo called Fushiguro back from his mission—to help Yuan Shanxiao understand how to use his technique. As for physical combat, Yuan Shanxiao could ask Zen’in Maki and the others for help. Once Gojo finished his mission, he would return to teach the boy more advanced things.
He gave the boy a month. It wasn’t like he actually expected Yuan Shanxiao to grow strong enough to defeat him within that time.
Come on, Gojo Satoru never imagined he could lose.
He just wanted to give the boy a reason to train hard for a month, so that afterward, they could go together to exorcise Special Grade Cursed Spirits.
However—
Gojo Satoru, thinking of the boy’s abnormal technique and his occasional flashes of amazing intuition, couldn’t help but rub his chin.
“Could he win…?”
It was unclear whether he was referring to himself or the boy.
Gojo Satoru just had a gut feeling that this boy was different from all the other geniuses he had met and students he had taught.
He was the first person Gojo truly believed might catch up to him.
And maybe…
Could there even be something more than that?
———
“So, your technique is about conceptual teleportation and spatial manipulation?”
Fushiguro Megumi didn’t have the Six Eyes, so he could only listen to the boy repeat what Gojo Satoru had explained about his technique. Still, it left Megumi somewhat confused.
“What do you mean by conceptual teleportation?”
“Um…”
“Er…”
“What is conceptual teleportation?” The boy pondered. “That’s a good question. It’s like teleportation in concept. So, what kind of teleportation is it? It’s teleportation in the conceptual sense. And what is the concept? Well, it’s the concept that lets me use conceptual teleportation, so…”
Before Megumi fell asleep from listening, he quickly reached out and covered the boy’s mouth. With a cold glance, he said, “Please get to the point, senior.”
Yuan Shanxiao was silent for a moment.
“I don’t know.”
Fushiguro Megumi: …
———
Yuan Shanxiao tried to explain his technique more clearly. “It’s like I’m here one moment, then over there the next, and in between, a space opens up that can pass through anything.”
He spread his arms, attempting to explain visually.
But to Fushiguro, it still seemed a bit abstract. The spiky-haired boy stared at him, watching his arm-waving for a while before speaking. “…Like pulling noodles?”
Yuan Shanxiao: …
Forget trying to explain things visually.
People just think you’re being abstract.
———
Eventually, the two reached an agreement. Fushiguro summoned a Shikigami, while Yuan Shanxiao used his technique to attack.
At first, Yuan Shanxiao was worried that Fushiguro might summon something terrifying, like a Cursed Spirit.
Until “bang!”—he got so scared that he quickly shut his eyes and jumped away. When he opened them, he saw that the expressionless boy was merely holding a cute white rabbit.
Yuan Shanxiao: …
After this twist, Fushiguro, seeing Yuan Shanxiao teleporting into a corner and sulking, slightly understood the teleportation aspect of his technique. Meanwhile, Yuan Shanxiao began to grasp that Fushiguro’s summoned Shikigami looked like animals.
They were—
Not scary at all.
From ten meters away, Yuan Shanxiao smiled and waved at Fushiguro. “Megumi-kun, summon a different Shikigami. I’m afraid this one is too cute, and I won’t be able to lay a hand on it.”
Fushiguro: …
Who was the one who just jumped ten meters away from this cute Cursed Spirit?
If you’re not scared, then come back here.
Fushiguro twitched his mouth, saying nothing as he formed a hand seal—
Nue
Hmm?
A shadow?
…Hmm,
A really big shadow…
It’s fine. I see wings and feathers. It’s a familiar species!
It’s a bird, right?
Even if it’s bigger, it’s still a bird…!
It’s something familiar, a bird, not a Cursed Spirit.
No need to be afraid.
Yuan Shanxiao realized he had overestimated himself. When not facing something terrifying, he always felt he could muster up a lot of courage. Like how people who’ve never seen a cockroach often claim they aren’t afraid of such things.
But this couldn’t possibly be compared to a cockroach. Yuan Shanxiao thought, no way he’d be scared of a bird—it’s just a bit bigger, but it’s still a bird.
Yuan Shanxiao stared intensely as the Shikigami gradually emerged from the shadow.
Feathers.
Wings.
A bird’s head.
The bird turned its head.
WC! A bird with a human face!!!
———
Yuan Shanxiao vanished.
Fushiguro didn’t understand how he disappeared.
Just as he didn’t understand why his Nue would still scare a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
Where Fushiguro couldn’t see, Yuan Shanxiao had actually hidden inside his own Alternate Dimension.
He was very familiar with his technique, just not sure how to explain it. He thought of his technique as something simple, like entering a door, exiting a door. By opening a door, he could enter an alternate space. Then, by opening another door, he could leave, needing only to pre-set the location of the exit door. He could also choose to reveal or conceal this space to turn it into a weapon.
Or, it could be—
His refuge.
Yuan Shanxiao could continuously open doors and exit, teleporting over and over, staying within the alternate space like someone continuously running on a treadmill.
But normal people don’t just stay on a treadmill forever.
And no normal person would circle around Nue, teleporting and flashing through space like a hamster frantically running on a wheel.
A hamster runs to exercise, while a cowardly human runs to escape.
Yuan Shanxiao’s rational mind told him: Don’t be a coward, just set the path and pass through the… that bird with a human face, and it’ll be fine…!
Yuan Shanxiao’s emotional side told him: Don’t be brave and get killed. This is like telling someone scared of cockroaches, “The cockroach is small, just step on it. What’s the difference?”
Doesn’t he know he can step on the cockroach?!
Damn it, doesn’t he know he has the ability?!
Doesn’t he understand how rare his ability is?!
He just—
“Shua—”
Fushiguro snapped his head around, only to see the boy suddenly appear beside him, with shattered cursed energy shimmering in the air. The boy wavered for a moment, then collapsed. All this happened in an instant. From Fushiguro’s perception, it was like the boy had suddenly appeared beside him, like a drop of ink falling on a canvas, and then—his gaze shifted stiffly.
At some unknown point, the canvas had been torn apart. He had no idea when the Shikigami had been sliced to pieces.
When Fushiguro looked over, he could only see the shattered remains of his Shikigami… layer by layer, as if something had rapidly coiled around it and crushed it. Wait, why did he think of running…?
Silently, when did…
“I just…”
Was super scared…
Right now, Yuan Shanxiao really felt like he was facing a cockroach alone in his room, and the door was locked. No Gojo Satoru to help squash it—oh wait, Gojo was the one who’d release the bug in the first place—so he had no choice but to run around the walls countless times before finally stepping on it.
It seemed simple, just facing the fear, just stepping on the cockroach… Even though he hadn’t touched the human-faced bird when the space broke and tore through it, why was his whole body still shaking and feeling nauseous?
In the end, all fears could easily overwhelm him…
“Amazing…”
…
As Yuan Shanxiao was about to collapse to his knees, he heard Fushiguro’s instinctive remark, which instantly made him tense up and struggle. Just as he was about to hit the ground, he managed to regain control and barely turned it into a one-knee kneel.
Yuan Shanxiao: …
Yuan Shanxiao pretended this was intentional and straightened his back, striking a cool one-knee kneeling pose.
“I thought you were going to use your technique to escape, Yuan-senpai…”
Yuan Shanxiao, who had indeed been planning to escape, running in circles for dozens of agonizing laps, unsure whether to flee: …
“So, you were preparing to do this instead, huh.”
“…Yeah.”
Yuan Shanxiao heard his own slightly congested voice and quickly turned his head away, leaving Fushiguro with a mysterious and dashing back view.
“You used space—this kind of space can easily break even cursed energy… Could it even break through a domain?”
Yuan Shanxiao didn’t hear what Fushiguro was saying.
He was just crying silently—
“Wahh… I can’t believe you understood so fast… Wahhh…”
Fushiguro Megumi: …
Eexeee[Translator]
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