The exchange event came to a close. In the individual matches, Riko Amanai took down two opponents on her own, and the remaining two were dealt with by Kento Nanami. Haibara Yu and Kiyotaka Ijichi didn't even need to step in. Once again, Tokyo Jujutsu High claimed victory.
Naturally, the victors were thrilled, and even those who lost didn't seem too disheartened.
Yoshinobu Gakuganji cast a glance at Yuki Tsukumo, then at Sōjun Minamoto, silently shaking his head.
The three students from the Tokyo school were leagues ahead of his own in both physical combat and Cursed Technique mastery—especially that girl. From her grasp of techniques, it was obvious she followed the same style as the man standing before him. His influence was unmistakable.
Word was she had been last year's Star Plasma Vessel, meaning her time studying jujutsu had been brief.
Meanwhile, his own students all came from jujutsu families, trained from a young age. The moment their techniques awakened, they were immersed in sorcery and taught about Jujutsu.
Yet even with all that, they still couldn't match someone who had only been learning for just over a year.
The biggest reason for that had to be Sōjun Minamoto.
And then there was his own Special Grade...
Yuki Tsukumo stood beside Sōjun Minamoto and nudged him with her elbow.
"The exchange is over. I'll be heading overseas soon," she said, pulling out a thorn-covered broken sword.
"Here, this is yours."
Sōjun Minamoto lowered his eyes to the blade. The sword was jet black—this was the third one. That meant she had helped him gather three Cursed Spirits tied to broken swords, all Grade 1, totaling twenty-one in all.
"Thanks. If you need me, contact me through the Garuda," Sōjun said.
As long as the incantation was spoken, he could sense Garuda's location, no matter the distance. Partly thanks to his enhanced perception, and partly because of the Binding Vow, he could ignore the space between them and descend his clone directly.
Once his clone manifested through the Garuda, it would appear before Yuki Tsukumo. The two could communicate freely—or lend each other a hand if needed.
Since she'd been so efficient, it was only fair to return the favor. That way, she wouldn't hesitate to ask again next time.
Yuki Tsukumo had been waiting for him to say that. She nodded in response. Before they could continue their conversation, Yoshinobu Gakuganji walked over and shot a look of obvious disdain at her.
She blinked, confused. It wasn't like she felt guilty toward the old man... okay, maybe just a tiny bit embarrassed.
Noticing he had something to discuss with Sōjun, she gave him a quick farewell and left in a hurry.
"So, have you decided? Want to join my band?" Gakuganji raised an eyebrow.
Sōjun Minamoto didn't hesitate. He'd already made up his mind.
He gave a clear yes.
The next moment, a clone stepped out of his body. With a casual wave across its face, its appearance shifted. The face was about eighty percent of his own level, but it was more than enough to blend in.
His body was nearing perfection, and with no flaws in his aesthetics, his appearance continued to fine-tune on its own. He was still the same person, but had reached another level of refinement.
This kind of perfection didn't result in uniformity. For instance, even though Mr. Minamoto was also a practitioner of flesh-based techniques, his version of perfection was different. Their facial similarities came from bloodline alone and would never fully converge.
That was the nature of techniques guided by the heart—they shifted based on each person's perception of beauty.
But seeing only one clone, Gakuganji looked puzzled.
"Just one?"
"Make three more."
"We still need a keyboardist, a bassist, and ideally a lead vocalist. Or you could take on that role yourself."
"…You're pretty demanding."
So Sōjun created three more clones and adjusted their faces slightly.
He had his reasons for agreeing to form the band.
If fear and guilt born from faith could strengthen Cursed Spirits, then could positive emotions—like admiration, passion, or reverence—give rise to something like the positive Cursed Energy seen in Reverse Cursed Techniques?
Or were they one and the same?
He was deeply intrigued by the idea.
He'd already found a stable, sustainable path to power through the growth of negative emotions—by merging with the source of Cursed Energy and assimilating Cursed Spirits.
Every time he pushed and broke past his limits, his power grew. Whether that growth could continue indefinitely, he wasn't sure—but for now, there was still room to expand.
If the day came when growth stalled, it would be too late to look for alternatives.
But he wasn't satisfied with only harnessing negative energy. He wanted to try gaining positive energy too—and then attempt to merge them.
This idea came from deep within him. Yin alone can't grow, and yang alone can't thrive. Without both, how could it be called perfection?
He'd once considered posing as a guru through the Church of the Stars. But now that seemed far too slow. It was the 21st century—who still relied on old-school preaching in the age of the internet to gather "faith"?
That path was heading backwards.
"What's our band called?" he asked suddenly.
"Your Love," Gakuganji replied.
"..."
That was how Sōjun Minamoto's brain interpreted it. But knowing the guy, the real name was probably even more niche—just like his fashion sense.
Can this thing really make it big?
He couldn't help but doubt it.
Think about it. The man's already so old and still hasn't made a splash in the music world. At least, Sōjun had never heard of him. A quick search didn't turn up anyone matching the name in the first few pages, and there was no point digging further.
If the band could only linger in small circles without gaining traction, then his research might be doomed before it even starts. There'd be no foundation to build on.
Looks like he needed a backup plan.
Say, if the band's still floundering in a year or two, they could just push the old guy into live streaming. Let him do performance battles.
Sōjun Minamoto thought to himself—
A disheveled old man clinging to the remnants of ritual and music, backed by top-tier light music instruments... that's gotta have some market appeal, right?
With a "don't use what you doubt" mindset, his clone went off with Yoshinobu Gakuganji to focus on researching positive energy.
Sōjun noticed the Kyoto students had already left.
Clearly, this loss hit them hard.
Especially that cocky guy. From the very first day of the exchange, he realized just how wide the gap was between him and Sōjun Minamoto. And that was only a small glimpse of Sōjun's real strength.
After that, he kept getting targeted by the Tokyo students and lost twice to Riko Amanai. Thinking back to all the trash he talked before, he probably couldn't stand the shame and slipped back to Kyoto with his tail between his legs.
Sōjun didn't dwell on it. He hadn't paid attention to them in the first place—didn't even remember their names.
With the exchange event wrapped up, something far more interesting had his attention now—
The Forbidden Vault.
Though he already had the key, he still needed to formally hand it over to the person in charge, someone tied to the higher-ups—and Tengen as well.
While mapping out his next steps, he was surrounded by a trio, with Riko Amanai chattering excitedly. He responded with a smile now and then.
...
The next day.
To his surprise, the person in charge of the Forbidden Vault turned out to be someone familiar—a middle-aged man from the Zenin Clan.
Before Sōjun could go looking for him, the man showed up on his own, eyes squinting, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Hello, we meet again."
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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