The time of the battle had begun. Both parties had started their march forward. One side was undead and the other was crimson, with a blue robed leader.

The young leader in his twenties wore an embroidered blue robe, standing at the forefront of his red-clad army, his eyes focused intently on the encroaching swarm of jiangshi zombies. They were outnumbered, and not by weak jiangshi either. Each one of them possessed a tenth of their original strength when they were alive. Given that each jiangshi were made from First Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer corpses, the soldiers knew the battle would be difficult.

The wind rustled through the grassland, bringing with it the fetid scent of decay.

Hiding in a safe area for observing the fight, one man smirked as he stared at the leader, "So that's him... Yue Kai?"

Yue Kai extended his arm out and pushed towards the opponent's army of jiangshi. He barely fit in his robe and his biceps started to rip parts of the uniform he wore. His army, the Yue Clan, held their spears in nervous anticipation. Yue Kai felt the weight of their hopes and fears; it was his leadership that had brought them this far.

"Stand ready," he commanded, his voice carried by a subtle manipulation of cursed energy that made his words clear to every ear. "Today, we defend not just our land, but our very existence! Fear not the undead before you; fear the consequences of failure!"

With a big smiles towards the view, his cursed energy began to erupt.

In the distance, he saw the cloaked figures orchestrating the advancing swarm. He recognized them as the Five Empty Generals, notorious operatives from the Fujiwara clan. Among them, he sensed an unfamiliar aura—a wild card in this already chaotic battle.

"Ha! As if I wouldn't expect this from them—no, how could I not! Men, the foot soldiers are your concern; leave the real fight to me!" Yue Kai's voice thundered, resonating like an ominous storm across the battlefield. As he bellowed, his hair levitated, defying gravity, animated by some otherworldly force.

He crouched low to the ground, his thighs coursing with raw energy.

The entire field seemed to pause, every eye magnetically drawn to him in awe and wonder.

Then, in an explosive blur that left even his own troops incredulous, Yue Kai disengaged from the formation and rocketed skyward, propelled by a ferocious surge of his own explosive energy. Suspended in mid-air for a heart-stopping moment, he locked his piercing gaze onto the Five Empty Generals below.

Their eyes connected briefly. Yue Kai smiles and licked his lips, creating a platform above his head made of half-solidified energy. He stared at the group and shifting his body upside down, putting his foot on the platform. Then, a torrent of energy coursed through his entire leg as the muscles in his body grew to the size of a tree trunk. Finally, he pushed off like a shooting star, falling at indescribable speeds at its target.

Yue Kai felt the cursed energy gathering below, a dark army that hungered to consume all in its path. But he was undeterred, a predator zeroing in on his prey. With a deafening battle cry that shattered the tense atmosphere, he clenched his fists, focusing his own immense power into a singular point.

As if in response, the heavens seemed to align with his fury, clouds converging in a swirling dance around him. For a fraction of a second, time itself seemed to hold its breath, watching Yue Kai make his dramatic entrance.

Then, with a roar that shook the heavens, he plummeted like a meteor, "Here comes grandpa!"

Breaking the barrier of sound, engulfed in a blazing aura of energy that turned night into day. As if becoming a ball of black gas, Yue Kai's cursed energy began to seemingly solidify into his body, turning him into a real meteor. Even his energy seemed to catch on fire by the sheer speed of falling.

The Five Empty Generals momentarily broke their barrier incantations, eyes widening in both awe and terror as they looked skyward at the celestial fireball hurtling toward them. They attempted to divert their dark vortex, to create a shield of cursed energy, but it was too late.

Yue Kai slammed into the ground with an impact that resounded like the very clap of thunder, creating a shockwave that decimated everything within its radius. Dirt and debris were sent flying, men were hurled off their feet, and even the well-crafted barrier formed by the Generals disintegrated under the sheer force of his descent.

As the dust cleared, a crater was revealed at the epicenter, smoldering with residual energy, and there stood Yue Kai—triumphant, unscathed, his eyes glowing like molten gold. A silence blanketed the battlefield, a momentary pause as every soul—friend or foe—absorbed the scale of his might.

Then, with a grin that promised untold havoc, Yue Kai brandished his weapon, its blade reflecting the fervor in his eyes. "Hahaha! Now," he bellowed, his voice tinged with maniacal delight, "who's next?"

A ferocious grin stretched across his face, lending an air of wild exhilaration to his battle-hardened visage. Around his clenched fist, a swirling orb of dark, oil-like liquid shimmered and pulsed. His physique, robust and powerful, was now visibly outlined as his bulging muscles strained against the remnants of his tattered robe.

In an intense moment, his fist tightened even further, drawing the enigmatic fluid into the wounds that marred his flesh. Like a dark balm, the liquid sealed his cuts, invigorating his body as it was absorbed into his skin. Then, just as mysteriously as it had appeared, the liquid vanished, leaving him fully rejuvenated.

"TAO: Fan Yang Shui," he murmured, savoring the word as if it were an incantation, acknowledging the ancient philosophy and technique that empowered him.

One Five Empty Generals recoiled, his concentration shattered. They didn't expect their enemy to be able to heal from such a devastating crash. Even more so was that his method of healing wasn't completely familiar to them.

"Idiot! All he did was heal, using something like the reversed curse technique" bellowed the bald general, General Aki, as they reformed their formation. "We have the advantage in numbers and techniques! Just stick to the plan! General Inumaki and I will deal with this barbarian. He is just some guy who uses physical strength without being truly educated in jujutsu."

Two guys and one girl nodded to the bald man and rushed off in another direction, leaving the two Generals alone. Both General Inumaki and Aki stared at each other, noticing that their plan was proceeding accordingly. Yue Kai just waited for them, respecting their time for planning and did not use a sneak attack.

But that didn't stop his from asking, "You called me uneducated earlier. Why say that? I have learnt the ways of my Yue Clan and reached the pinnacle of our methods. Even without an innate technique as you Japanese call it, I have mastered the ways of Qi and fostered a new goal in my soldiers as the leader of my clan. Yet you dare call me a barbarian knowing all this?

General Aki answered while noticing a fire burning in Yue Kai's eyes, "While it is true that you are among the Specia- I mean Half-Immortal elites, you must have been quite the foolish imbecile to incur the wraith of not just my Fujiwara lord, but a special guest as well. It is truly unfortunate for a brainless bastard to be my opponent."

"Words," Yue Kai sneered, his muscles tense and ready. "Too often used as shields by those too weak to face reality. I'm not afraid of you or that 'special guest' that has hidden somewhere nearby."

General Inumaki steeled himself, taking a glance at his unconscious partner on the ground. Then, he looked back at his opponent.

Yue Kai's large figure was cloaked in a dark blue color of energy. His own spiritual pressure seemed to wane in comparison, but the General was far from defeated.

He shifted his gaze back to General Aki and used his Cursed Speech, "Wake up! Heal! Fight!"

A wave of cursed energy rippled through the air and fell on the body. Surpassingly, Yue Kai waited and watched as General Aki stood up from the ground. He was dazed and looked back at his partner, smiling in understanding. They were communicating with their eyes.

Yue Kai scratched his chin, "So the Cursed Speech technique can do more than just annoy others."

The large blue energy expanded with joy alongside Yue Kai.

Both Generals exchanged glances, their faces slick with sweat. Within Yue Kai, a tempest of cursed energy roared, surging to manifest in the physical world.

With a resonating burst, Yue Kai swiftly erected a barrier of energy around them before murmuring an incantation. Focusing on his clenched fist, he unleashed a devastating cascade of energy:

"Domain Expansion: Inverted Spear of Heaven."

Azure blasts erupted from Yue Kai, engulfing the enclosed area like water filling a vessel. It kept filling, and seemed like it wouldn't stop until the barrier would be completely full.

Caught off guard, Generals Aki and Inumaki assessed the situation. Yue Kai lacked an innate or inherited technique, so could this really be a Domain Expansion? The realization dawned on them; the label didn't necessarily authenticate the technique. He had crafted a barrier and flooded it with his own brand of cursed energy, albeit different from the traditional cursed energy they were familiar with.

This made them smile, since without it being a real domain, there wouldn't be a guarantee hit or instant death situation. Even so, they knew this was an unheard of situation and decided to go all out.

They stared at their target and decided to unleash everything against that single opponent:

"Domain Expansion: Twenty-Four Unyielding Perspectives!"

"Domain Expansion: Voice of the Uncrowned Monarch!"

The General of Time and Mind expanding their own barriers, locking onto Yue Kai's own.

It was a battle of attrition, but Yue Kai obviously had a disadvantage in numbers and quality of a domain.

Still, the sheer energy he used was enough to hold on for a few more seconds, so he asked his opponents, "Where is that one slave hiding? I am still holding back just for him."

"Well, there's no point in keeping it from a dead man. The reason he isn't here fighting you is the same reason your sister isn't here fighting us." The bald general answered.

This made Yue Kai's eyes widen in shock, causing his concentration to falter for a moment. And that moment is exactly what General Aki was hoping to achieve.

The dark blue domain shattered, the cursed energy collected being dissipated in vain. This left two domain active which kept clashing against each other, causing both users to lose focus and energy. Then, both General Aki and Inumaki cancelled their own domains, to not accidently hurt each other due to conflicting domains.

Finally, they chuckled and asked, "You said you were holding back, right Barbarian? Is there anything left in the tank for us?"

Yue Kai stood up straight and reached into his robe.

Both generals looked closely, but right as he was going to pull something out, a voice interrupted, "Fuck! I'm so horny for a battle!"

Shock ran through the three. It was the vulgarity and surprise of a new person joining. They turned around and saw a young man with white, untamed hair and a set of pitch black eyes filled with joy.

He was picking his nose with a smile on his face, asking, "If you keep fighting, I might forget that I'm the main character!"

"Unacceptable, a First Grade... How can such trash end up on this battlefield?" General Aki asked his partner, to which he shrugged his shoulders without an answer.

"Oh, please don't mind me. My name is Gabimaru, the one who represents gluttony! Please feel free to rate me, but right now I have an important question for that body building cultivator with the 'chad' aura." The young man stated, flicking something from his nose onto the ground.

Yue Kai spoke up this time, putting something back into his tattered robe, "Gabimaru, is it? If you are talking about me, I am listening."

"Good to know that you are reasonable. Anyway, I wanted to ask if you wanted me to help defeat those two pricks. All I want in exchange is for you to teach me those moves you used with just your energy."

When Gabimaru said this, everyone looked surprised, including Yue Kai. Still, he shook his head and responded, "Brother Gabimaru, if you can solve this issue without me needing to use my trump card, I will consider you my benefactor."

"Yue Kai, right? Cool name. So does being your benefactor mean that you will teach me the thing?"

Not expecting Gabimaru to win, Yue Kai wanted to tell him to runaway, but something stopped him from doing so. Inside Gabimaru, he sensed a wild beast which acted without reason and logic which the world held. It made Yue Kai feel like Gabimaru could actually uphold his deal, so he naturally felt the need to also do so.

Thus, Yue Kai answered Gabimaru, "Of course, it's only natural."