As the last ancient incarnated vessel sorcerer who attempted to scavenge for scraps fell dead beneath Maki's blade, the core area of the entire Kyoto Colony finally plunged into a fleeting silence.
The ground covered with corpses and the pungent stench of blood served as the finest coronation ceremony for this newly risen "Sorcerer Killer."
"Let's go."
Yoru did not waste a single second more on the bodies of these small fries.
Resting Shiranui on his shoulder, his deep red eyes locked directly onto the ancient building emanating an extraordinarily massive and nauseating wave of cursed energy in the deepest part of the Kyoto Colony—the former site of the Kyoto Jujutsu General Headquarters.
That was the core that sustained the operation of the entire Kyoto Colony.
"Right, Boss!"
Kinji Hakari grinned, rubbed his fists together, and followed closely behind Yoru.
Hajime Kashimo, Noritoshi Kamo, Kirara Hoshi, and the newly subjugated Yotohime immediately reformed their formation, advancing forward in grand fashion like a legion of Shura returning from hell.
Meanwhile, Maki held the dripping "Shura" and walked at the very flank of the group, a chilling, soul-stirring glint flickering within her lone wolf-like eyes.
Everywhere the group passed, the ancient Players lurking in the shadows who had previously been restless clamped their mouths tightly shut like mice facing their natural predator, not daring to make a single sound.
It was terrifying.
Anyone picked at random from this squad was a monster capable of rampaging unchecked through the Culling Game.
Not to mention the black-haired man walking at the very front; he had not even made a move, yet the invisible, abyss-like oppression radiating from his body alone was enough to make everyone's soul shudder!
Barely ten minutes later.
The ten-meter-tall, heavy vermilion gates of the former Kyoto Jujutsu General Headquarters site came into everyone's view.
The gate was plastered with dense sealing talismans, and a dark red barrier layer as tangible as solid matter firmly protected the entire building within.
This was the core barrier Kenjaku had forcibly reinforced after altering the rules.
Its defensive strength was formidable enough to withstand a full-power strike from a Special Grade Sorcerer.
"This turtle shell looks pretty tough."
Kinji Hakari walked up to the gates, reaching out to knock on the dark red barrier, which produced a dull echo.
"Want me to open my domain and smash it to pieces by force?"
"No need for so much trouble."
Yoru spoke flatly, stepping slowly right up in front of the barrier.
He didn't even draw his blade.
He simply raised his right hand slowly and pressed his palm against the dark red curtain of light.
"In the face of absolute violence, any rule is just a scrap of waste paper."
Hum—!
Following Yoru's words,
A terrifying heat as if from the interior of a star instantly erupted from his palm!
"Total Concentration, Sun Breathing."
Without using any flashy sword forms, it was merely the most fundamental circulation of the breathing technique.
Yet, when this power combined with Yoru's Synchronization Rate that had already surpassed 70%, along with the "Transparent World" capable of seeing through all flow nodes of cursed energy,
Its destructive power had already reached an unfathomable realm!
Crack... Crack...
Under the scorching assault of extreme heat capable of melting steel, the barrier that Kenjaku had placed high hopes upon and claimed to be indestructible actually began to emit the strained sounds of shattering!
Massive cracks resembling spiderwebs spread wildly outward in all directions, centering around Yoru's palm.
"Break."
Yoru uttered a single word and exerted force through his palm.
Rumble—!
A deafening explosion echoed through the heavens!
The ten-meter-tall vermilion gate, along with the reinforced barrier, instantly disintegrated into powder dancing across the sky beneath Yoru's effortless strike!
The ferocious shockwave even forcefully leveled an entire palace behind the gates!
"Come on, let's go tear the place down."
Yoru lowered his right hand, brushed off nonexistent dust from his clothes, and took the lead into the ruins that had been leveled to the ground.
Behind him, seeing this utterly absurd destructive power, everyone swallowed hard.
This was what he called not needing so much trouble?
This was practically a walking human nuclear warhead!
After entering the former site of the General Headquarters, everything became far simpler.
Without the protection of the barrier, the small-fry cursed spirits guarding the core and a few puppet sorcerers brainwashed by Kenjaku couldn't even withstand a single move from Yoru, and were cleaned up cleanly like chopping vegetables by Maki, Kinji Hakari, and the others.
In less than ten minutes,
Accompanied by a dull, massive boom,
The core of the Kyoto Colony hidden deep underground—composed of countless Cursed Corpses and runes—was sliced cleanly in two by a single slash from Yoru!
Boom—!
The dark red curtain of light covering the whole of Kyoto in the sky instantly collapsed.
Sunlight pierced through hundreds of years of haze, illuminating this ancient capital once more.
At this point, the three core colonies—Tokyo No. 1, Tokyo No. 2, and Kyoto—all collapsed completely!
The rule network of the Culling Game suffered an unprecedented, devastating blow!
...
At the same time,
In a secretive underground cave far away from Kyoto,
Kenjaku, occupying another's body, suddenly spewed a large mouthful of black blood and staggered back several steps.
His face, which had always worn a hypocritical smile, was now twisted into a contorted mess, his eyes filled with irrepressible fury and panic.
"The Kyoto Colony... collapsed as well?!"
"How is this possible?! I clearly reinforced the barrier and even unlocked the authority for colony transfer to wear him down with those ancient sorcerers!"
"Why?! Why wasn't he stalled, but advanced faster and faster instead?!"
Kenjaku stared fixedly at the completely dimmed formation plate before him, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
A thousand years.
Planning from the Heian period all the way to this day, he had set countless contingency plans and calculated against every Special Grade Sorcerer.
His ultimate plan of Merger with Master Tengen was right on the verge of success.
Yet now, because of Yoru—this variable that had popped out of nowhere and defied all reason—more than half of his flawless chessboard had been directly overturned in the most brutish manner!
"I can't wait any longer..."
Kenjaku jerked his head up, a hint of hysterical madness flashing in his eyes.
"If this guy isn't eliminated, the Culling Game might even be brought to a complete end today!"
"I must... I must take action personally! Even if it exposes my trump cards, he must be erased in Kyoto!"
Kenjaku rapidly wove hand signs, preparing to mobilize all the strongest incarnated vessels he had gathered over the past millennium, and even preparing to deploy the "Mimicry" he had seized from Rika to head to Kyoto in person to intercept and kill Yoru.
However,
Right at the moment he was about to activate his teleportation technique,
A hand covered in black demonic markings, radiating a terrifying aura that made the soul tremble, suddenly reached out from the darkness and pressed steadily onto his shoulder.
"Calm down, Kenjaku."
A voice brimming with magnetism, yet carrying absolute arrogance and cruelty, slowly rang out in the spacious underground cavern.
Accompanying the voice, the King of Curses occupying Megumi Fushiguro's body—Ryomen Sukuna—stepped slowly out from the shadows.
Within his four scarlet eyes gleamed an almost morbidly excited light.
"Going now is too early."
Sukuna looked in the distant direction of Kyoto, sensing that faint yet razor-sharp sword intent in the air, his lips curling into an exaggerated grin.
"The temperature of that blade is still continuously rising."
"That man's limits haven't been completely forced out yet."
Kenjaku gritted his teeth and turned to look at Sukuna. "However, if we let him keep wrecking things like this, the rules of the Culling Game will completely collapse! Our plan..."
"Plan?"
Sukuna sneered, a terrifying pressure instantly suppressing Kenjaku firmly in place.
"Don't use your boring rat-like mindset to speculate about me."
"What I want is a peak battle that can make me boil with excitement—an ultimate prey that is genuinely worthy of me drawing out every single trump card."
Sukuna clutched his fist tightly, the popping sounds of bones echoing through the cavern.
"Let him keep tearing it apart."
"Let him dismantle all the barriers, and trample all the rules beneath his feet."
"When he stands at the pinnacle of this world, believing himself to be invincible under heaven..."
A flicker of utter cruelty and murderous intent flashed through Sukuna's eyes.
"Only then will be the best time for me to personally drag him down from the altar and tear him to shreds bit by bit."
"As for now..."
Sukuna released his hand from Kenjaku's shoulder and turned to walk into the depths of the darkness.
"You can send out those amusing toys in your hands to keep him company."
"However, no one is permitted to disturb him from growing stronger."
Watching Sukuna's back vanish into the darkness, Kenjaku's expression darkened and shifted.
He knew that he could no longer stop this complete and utter battle maniac.
"Since that's the case..."
Kenjaku took a deep breath and walked back to the heavily battered formation plate.
"Then let me show you just what terrifying trump cards I have accumulated over these thousand years."
Accompanying Kenjaku's sinister whisper,
Within several secret underground facilities hidden across Japan, pairs of eyes radiating terrifying waves of cursed energy slowly opened in the dark.
An unprecedented ultimate encirclement targeting Yoru had already laid an inescapable net in the shadows.
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