Chapter 44
Chapter forty-four
“What are you going to do, Ryomen Sukuna?”
Lin Qi sighed deeply, looking at the wild-looking white-haired man with considerable frustration.
This guy was really a war fanatic, it was indeed troublesome.
While he was sighing, the glowing azure sphere, like a black hole, swept up and destroyed all the surrounding trees and vegetation in its path, then pushed forward relentlessly towards Lin Qi.
“Technique Reversal, Ao!” Under Satoru Gojo’s manipulation, the sphere tracked Lin Qi as he dodged between the trees.
“This is quite tenacious.”
Lin Qi dived right in front of Satoru Gojo, his mouth curling upwards slightly as he punched towards the latter’s abdomen.
Ao was forced to interrupt his technique under Lin Qi’s assault. However, before Lin Qi could get very close, Satoru Gojo immediately aimed two fingers towards him, as if predicting his approach.
Red light flashed at the tips of his fingers and, just as Pain would have done, a tremendous repulsive force sent Lin Qi flying out several dozen meters.
Several trees were knocked down by Lin Qi’s impact, their trunks snapping in half, while soil flew up and leaves scattered, dancing in the sunlight that filtered through them.
However, this hastily released attack failed to damage Lin Qi, only tearing and soiling his clothes.
Looking at the several rips in his blazer from where branches had scratched him, Lin Qi frowned, clearly displeased.
“Hey, are you okay!?” Yukinoshita Yukino, watching from the VIP seats, asked anxiously after seeing everything spin wildly before her eyes.
Before Lin Qi could respond, a sharp whistling was heard overhead.
“It seems you’re enjoying fighting!”
Dodging an aerial knee strike from Satoru Gojo, Lin Qi reached for his neck, even though it was blocked by Satoru Gojo’s arm. Despite that, part of Lin Qi’s body still slammed into a nearby tree trunk, causing wood shavings to fly everywhere.
“Cure!”
An invisible cutting force flew out from Lin Qi’s hand. Though the technique could not break the impenetrable realm created by Satoru Gojo’s boundless techniques, it still managed to send him flying, along with damaging the surrounding plants.
“After all, we haven’t had a serious fight in ages!.”
With a look of excitement still on his face despite being flung hundreds of meters away, Satoru Gojo completed his landing in mid-air using an attraction method to neutralize the force that had launched him.
The next instant, a fist charged with curse energy hit the handsome man squarely in the face, ruining his smile.
The man with the white hair who had been flung away had returned within seconds. Lin Qi raised his hand to block the incoming punch, and they engaged in another melee.
Striking techniques clashed, separated, then clashed again.
Lin Qi was hit with a straight punch, which was followed by Satoru Gojo being knocked back by an uppercut that caused his head to tilt back. The injuries inflicted between them were healed instantly by reversal techniques, making it seem as if they were sparring with the stars and planets, their fists leaving a trail of afterimages.
Violent gusts of wind stirred up dust, tore at leaves, and surged forth with the sudden release of curse power, clearing everything around them.
In the end, Satoru Gojo’s close-range explosion brought their crazy physical battle to an abrupt closure, sending both of them flying like kites, trailing deep gashes in the ground as they eventually stopped.
Who… Who won?
Yukinoshita Yukino on the spectator stands was bewildered, her eyes struggling to catch the movements of both combatants despite sharing the same viewpoint as Lin Qi.
Neither won… No, Satoru Gojo seemed to be at a disadvantage in close combat.
Even though the gap wasn’t obvious, it was definitely present.
“Chinese martial arts, boy.” Lin Qi laughed, nursing his wounds with a reversal technique.
He had long admired the close-combat scenes in martial arts films on TV. With Ryomen Sukuna’s extraordinary experience and learning ability, combined with unmatched physical prowess, he could blend any true or false martial arts techniques he had observed in his previous life and improve upon them, transforming them into his own close-combat tactics.
His close-quarters capability has evolved; utilizing an ability bestowed by the system, coming from Ryomen Sukuna himself, he surpasses Sukuna’s own limits.
“We’re done warming up.” Lin Qi’s wounds were fully healed, and so was Satoru Gojo’s.
“Yukinoshita, watch closely, for what you will see next is the ultimate stage of Jujutsu combat, the Realm Expansion.”
Smiling, Lin Qi raised both hands, “Watch and learn, properly.”
“Realm Expansion.”
“Limitless Vacuity.” “Martial Demon Guardian.”
Behind Lin Qi, a gigantic, oddly shaped bone structure lifted a Buddhist shrine, its blood-colored barrier spreading rapidly in all directions.
On the other side, a brilliant white light also stretched out towards Lin Qi, forming a spherical barrier that enclosed them both. It then began painting the area black like ink spilled on a page.
Stars and galaxies appeared, enveloping them, as if they were floating in an endless universe.
Caught off guard by such a scene, Yukinoshita Yukino felt sudden panic—had she lost?
“The Realm Expansion involves constructing an area imbued with techniques using curse force around you. It heavily consumes curse energy, but grants you enhanced abilities from the environment and a guaranteed hit effect on your attacks.”
While explaining this to Yukinoshita Yukino, Lin Qi kept smiling confidently: “I’ve won.”
Inside the Realm, both opponents’ guaranteed hits continuously canceled each other out, yet Lin Qi’s Realm continued expanding beyond the boundaries set by Satoru Gojo’s barrier.
Dozens of strikes covered the exterior of Satoru Gojo’s Realm, and cracks started emerging on the barrier, allowing sunlight to seep through.
Next, a sound like shattered glass echoed, signifying the rupture of Satoru Gojo’s barrier.
Within the shocked expression of Satoru Gojo, a devastating strike landed upon his body.
Blood sprayed, and the white-haired man became stained red almost instantly.
“When the Born Realm is destroyed, it causes techniques to fail; until recovery, personal techniques cannot be used again,” Lin Qi explained with a smile.
“You… Are you going to kill him?” Yukinoshita Yukino asked hesitantly.
“Isn’t it easy to die? Can’t you see him stubbornly healing himself with a Reversal Technique?” Although Lin Qi did not stop his attack, he did not go for a direct assault either.
“New Shadow Flow·Simple Realm!”
Breathing heavily, Satoru Gojo kept using a Reversal Technique to heal while opening a Simple Realm to temporarily resist the guaranteed hits from Lin Qi’s Realm, giving himself some respite.
Looking up at Lin Qi standing high atop the shrine, towering over him, he felt a surge of annoyance and shouted, “Why don’t you take advantage and attack me? You’re about to win!”
“Weren’t I already victorious?” Lin Qi replied with a smile.
“That’s not certain.” Satoru Gojo raised his finger again. “Realm E…”
“Hold on a moment,” Lin Qi suddenly closed the Realm, interrupting him.
Seeing Lin Qi close his Realm of Birth willingly, Satoru Gojo too ceased his attempt and decided to see what the other man was planning.
Then Lin Qi pulled out a vibrating phone from his pocket, glancing at the caller ID: “It’s your mom calling you, Yukinoshita.”
Far more alarmed than when Lin Qi planned to kill Satoru Gojo, Yukinoshita Yukino exclaimed, “Mother!”
…
After school, then becoming a Jujutsu Sorcerer.