The closer he got to the core of cursed energy, the more clearly Sōjun Minamoto could feel the restrictions imposed by the balance mechanism on sorcerers.
For someone of his caliber, the effects were even more pronounced.
Whoever—or whatever—was behind it had stopped hiding their intent. The targeting was blatant now.
His luck had never been great, and that went all the way back to his birth in this world. Back then, hunting for storage-type Cursed Spirits had yielded nothing. Tracking down other curses had also taken considerable effort. Before he grew stronger, he would constantly run into overpowered cursed beings. But now that he needed those same kinds of curses? They were nowhere to be found.
Even when his Cursed Energy had supposedly hit its limit, it hadn't been his personal limit—but one imposed by the balance mechanism.
This cap existed for every sorcerer. Most people had long accepted it as natural, with no thoughts of resistance—mainly because they didn't believe there was any way to overcome it.
That's why the saying "eighty percent of a sorcerer's power depends on innate talent" had taken root, becoming a fundamental belief in the Jujutsu world.
But Sōjun Minamoto was different. He never accepted the idea that fate was predetermined.
And it wasn't just about having the guts to defy destiny—he had a real chance to break it.
Just like stepping beyond the Three Realms, he had a way to slip outside this world's balance.
Half of his soul didn't even belong here.
Which meant he wasn't fully bound by the balance mechanism to begin with. That gave him a natural opening—an opportunity to break free.
Even so, his strength was still partially limited, because the other half of his soul, along with his entire body and all of his Cursed Energy, were acquired later.
The only reason he could keep growing, and at a relatively fast pace, was that he'd indirectly absorbed the remnants—what was left behind—of deceased sorcerers. And the the Fly Head, along with his other clones, were technically counted as being on the cursed side.
To the Jujutsu world, Sōjun Minamoto had always been an anomaly. An outsider. Someone who needed to be watched and suppressed.
And he, in turn, was always locked in a game of wits against the balance mechanism.
No one understands you better than your enemy.
Naturally, he understood it well.
The balance mechanism showed up in countless ways. For instance, when sorcerers publicly cast techniques, the power of those techniques often increased—but that came with restrictions.
Binding Vows, barriers, even technique development—all of it had to follow certain rules to maintain balance.
Another example was the birth of Satoru Gojo. His existence caused the strength of the sorcerer side to stagnate, while the curse side exploded in growth.
…
Every major shift bore the mark of the balance mechanism.
At its core, balance meant one thing: power parity between humans and Cursed Spirits.
As long as that equilibrium was roughly maintained, the system was satisfied.
Sōjun Minamoto had sensed this early on. That's why he kept enhancing his Cursed Spirit clones like the Fly Head—widening the buffer and carving out room for his own growth.
At the same time, he trained Riko Amanai and the other Jujutsu High students, pushing their strength upward in hopes of testing the world's limits.
Yes, he believed that the Jujutsu world had a cap. Not just for humans, not just for curses—but for the entire system. Eventually, both sides would hit a ceiling.
After all, limitless mutual growth wasn't sustainable.
So he had to find that ceiling.
Only then could he move on to the next phase.
Even with today's string of unlucky incidents, Sōjun Minamoto wasn't angry. If anything, he felt a flicker of excitement.
Trip over nothing?
Choke on water?
What is this, playing pretend? Are these really the best tactics it can manage?
Turns out the balance mechanism wasn't omnipotent after all. It couldn't tell the difference between his special clones. And the methods it used on him? Barely effective.
If anything, it was his own moves that had finally provoked a response.
The Starlight Project had been running for over half a month now. Though the flow of incoming curses had been uneven, the total accumulation had grown significantly. His own power had surged again.
Naturally, he had brushed up against the system's limit—and now the balance mechanism was acting.
But the truth was, it had no way of stopping him.
Sōjun Minamoto was sure of it now.
Everything was unfolding just as he'd anticipated. The opposition's limits were beginning to show—waiting for him to expose them.
What comes next?
Sōjun Minamoto was quietly looking forward to it.
His goal had never been to escape the balance—that would make him no different from the other side, petty and evasive. What he wanted was to shatter the balance entirely.
To do that, he had to step into it willingly—enter the game himself.
He had already sorted out his thoughts. Though his movements were restricted for now, there was no rush. He still held the initiative.
Time to run some tests.
At present, all of his clones—excluding a few special variants—were confined within the Shrine Domain. The Domain served to effectively block out the minor tricks of the balance mechanism. While these tricks weren't powerful, they were undeniably irritating.
His goal was to pinpoint the exact numerical limit, down to the decimal point. The method? Simple.
All clones shared a single identity. As long as the total amount of Cursed Energy exposed outside didn't cross the threshold, he'd be fine.
Several Sōjun Minamoto clones began stepping out of the Domain, using Grade 2 as the benchmark.
When nine Grade 2 clones had left safely, the tenth took a step outside—and immediately, the taste of rust filled his mouth. He shifted aside, and just as he moved, a bolt of lightning struck the spot he'd been standing.
Yep. Got triggered again.
The tenth Sōjun Minamoto looked up, curled his lips in annoyance, and stepped back into the Domain.
That was all it took to confirm it: the outside presence limit couldn't exceed the equivalent of nine Grade 2s—at least by his standards.
In other words, he could expose either one Special Grade, five Grade 1s, or nine Grade 2s at most. Stay within that range, and the interference would be minimal. Go beyond, and the balance mechanism would kick in—with increasingly forceful targeting over time.
It had already escalated to calling down lightning.
Sōjun Minamoto recalled all his clones, then redeployed them more carefully—just three this time: one regular Special Grade, and two Grade 1s.
That was enough.
The Special Grade would stay in the dorm as the main body for daily training. One Grade 1 would be stationed at the medical department—not for combat, but because it genuinely enjoyed healing others.
The remaining Grade 1? Just an extra. See? He wasn't restricted at all.
The three Sōjun Minamoto stepped out of the Domain. As expected, nothing happened. Each went off to their respective posts.
Meanwhile, within the Shrine Domain, countless Sōjun Minamoto clones emerged and began their own individual training sessions.
The special variants weren't factored into this calculation—most of them were already classified on the "cursed" side.
With everything arranged smoothly and methodically, the next step was to figure out how to counter the balance mechanism itself.
Sōjun Minamoto had long prepared for this. It would require Kenjaku's involvement.
When it came to Kenjaku, he needed to be even more cautious than when dealing with the balance mechanism. He couldn't reveal any desire or ambition. Only by appearing detached and unmotivated could he seize the upper hand.
Still, for now, he needed more power.
There were many paths to that, but the most effective was clear: develop a Cursed Spirit Form, officially join the cursed side, and maintain the illusion of balance to accelerate his power growth.
A single Special Grade presence wasn't enough to give him peace of mind.
He needed to manifest that Cursed Form as soon as possible—something that could serve as the perfect counterpart to his "human" self, confusing the balance mechanism in the process.
Originally, he had planned to stockpile more Cursed Energy and complete it in one go.
But now?
It was time to move that plan up the list.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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