Chapter 73 — A Failed Domain Expansion
Tokyo Jujutsu High — Library
Inside a reserved private reading room, Ren sat at the center.
In front of him lay more than a dozen books—all related to barrier techniques and domains.
"Cursed Art: Sixth Void Path — True Thousand Hands."
With a quiet incantation, over a dozen arms formed from condensed cursed energy extended from behind him. Each hand grabbed a book, lifting them into the air as pages began flipping rapidly.
The books aligned neatly in front of him, forming a wall of text.
Within his faintly glowing blue eyes, pages flickered past at incredible speed.
This was Ren's self-created technique—
Cursed Energy Speed Reading.
His cognition and information processing ability far exceeded that of ordinary people. Traditional reading methods were simply too slow.
Only by absorbing multiple streams of information simultaneously could he fully utilize the capabilities of his unique constitution.
—
An hour later, he finished reading all the books.
He lowered his head, organizing everything he had just learned—sorting, refining, and structuring the knowledge into a coherent system.
His understanding of barrier techniques had improved significantly.
This time, he was certain—
He would be able to construct a stronger, more refined barrier.
One step closer to successfully achieving a Domain Expansion.
He sat cross-legged and began.
Cursed energy flowed outward, forming a barrier around him.
This part went smoothly.
He had repeated this process countless times.
Next came the critical step—
Infusing the barrier with his innate domain, materializing his inner world into reality.
Ren closed his eyes, focusing completely.
Then—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion shattered the silence.
The barrier collapsed instantly.
A violent surge of energy erupted outward, slamming into the walls and leaving cracks and dents. Books scattered everywhere, wooden shelves splintered, and the entire room trembled violently.
Even the library building itself shook.
Students outside looked up in shock as the overhead lights flickered wildly.
Moments later, everything settled.
The lights stabilized. The tremors faded.
Inside the ruined reading room, Ren sat still.
A look of disappointment spread across his face.
He let out a deep sigh.
…Failed again.
He didn't understand why.
Just like the hundreds of previous attempts, he had constructed what he believed to be a stable and complete barrier.
But the moment his inner world surged in—
the barrier collapsed instantly, like a sand dam against a flood.
What frustrated him the most was this:
Despite all his continuous study and improvement, nothing had changed.
Not even a little.
His barrier techniques had improved again and again—
yet the time his barrier could withstand his inner domain had not increased by even a fraction of a second.
Every single attempt ended the same way—
instant destruction.
That kind of failure—
the kind where there is no visible progress, no hint of hope—
was the most crushing of all.
It left him questioning whether his entire approach was even correct.
Ren had even tried using his Limitless Probability Technique to "divine" the correct method.
But—
it yielded nothing.
The domain Ren was trying to manifest… was itself the domain of his Limitless Probability Technique.
Which created a paradox.
It was like asking an omnipotent god to create a stone so heavy that even he couldn't lift it.
Under Ren's current circumstances—
that was clearly impossible.
So what was the problem?
Was his barrier technique still not refined enough?
For now, that was the only conclusion he could reach.
There were no other clues.
But he had already read nearly every book in the library related to domains and barrier techniques.
Which raised a troubling thought—
Was there some crucial insight that simply couldn't be learned from books?
At that moment, Ren recalled something.
Utahime-sensei had promised to find him a specialist to guide him in Domain Expansion.
So why… hadn't that person arrived yet?
Tokyo Jujutsu High — Lounge
A thin curl of tea steam rose into the air.
Satoru Gojo sat casually with one leg crossed over the other, facing Utahime Iori.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Utahime?" Gojo said lazily, adjusting his sunglasses. "We haven't completely ruled out the possibility that he's the spy, have we?"
"And under those circumstances, you still want to teach him Domain Expansion without holding anything back?"
Utahime remained calm.
"The stitched-face cursed spirit has already mastered a domain," she replied.
"If he is a spy, then he already has ways to learn it."
"But if he's not—then whether or not he can use a domain will make a huge difference in the balance of power."
Gojo studied her silently for a moment.
Then suddenly, he clapped his hands exaggeratedly.
"Excellent, Utahime! I was thinking the exact same thing!"
"You've really improved lately—your intelligence is finally catching up to mine!"
"…What do you mean lately?"
"Gojo!" Utahime snapped, her eyes blazing with fury.
"But," Gojo continued casually, as if completely ignoring her murderous glare, "the person you invited… did they agree to come?"
Utahime hesitated.
"They… should."
As for this "teacher" Utahime had arranged—
It wasn't Gojo.
At least, that had been Ren's initial assumption.
After all, Gojo was the only Domain user he had personally encountered.
But—
"Gojo's too busy," Utahime had said, clicking her tongue. (And I'm not asking him for favors.)
"I invited someone else—someone… relatively free—to give you systematic guidance first."
"If you still have questions afterward, you can ask Gojo."
At first, Ren had been puzzled by that decision.
But after hearing about Gojo's schedule from others at Tokyo Jujutsu High, he understood.
Apparently, Gojo's days were packed with teaching and missions, leaving him only three hours of sleep each night.
Asking him to personally guide someone step by step…
Even Ren felt that would be too much.
Honestly, Ren thought—
If I were the strongest in the jujutsu world and someone forced me to live on three hours of sleep…
My first priority wouldn't be exorcising curses.
It would be destroying the world.
But then—
Who exactly was this other teacher?
If even the strongest sorcerer was this busy…
How could someone who had mastered Domain Expansion still have the luxury to "loaf around"?
Didn't greater power come with greater responsibility?
Or…
Was there another monster out there?
Shaking off his thoughts, Ren cleaned up the wrecked reading room, restored everything as best as he could, then closed the door and left the library.
It was already nearing evening.
The sun dipped low on the horizon, casting golden-red light across the campus.
Ren walked along the path toward the dorms, his shadow stretching long behind him.
VROOOOM—!!
A motorcycle suddenly tore past him at terrifying speed, so close it almost brushed his body. The gust of wind whipped his hair wildly, stinging his face.
Ren pushed his hair aside, turning back with an annoyed expression.
Seriously? Driving like that on campus?
But then—
He froze.
The motorcycle had already circled back and stopped not far behind him. The deafening engine cut off abruptly.
A tall, well-built woman—around 180 cm—swung herself off the bike in one smooth motion. Her figure was powerful yet strikingly curvaceous, her skin a warm tan.
She removed her helmet.
Golden hair spilled out, glowing under the sunset.
"Hey, kid," she said with a bright, confident grin, her sharp features full of vitality.
"What's your name?"