Accompanied by an earth-shattering sound of shattering, the colony core hidden within the shadows of Tokyo Colony No. 2 was ruthlessly cleaved by Yoru's single strike into a flurry of dancing points of cursed energy light!
Rumble—!
The dark red light curtain in the sky that separated the inner and outer worlds cracked inch by inch like a shattered glass dome, finally dissolving into nothingness.
The long-lost sunlight once again spilled across the ruins of Tokyo Colony No. 2.
The ordinary players who had been shivering in the colony's corners rubbed their eyes in disbelief as they saw the barrier dissipating in the sky, before erupting into wild cheers of surviving a calamity.
With this, the two major core colonies of Tokyo were declared utterly collapsed!
And the instigator of all this was none other than Yoru, who stood at the summit of the ruined high-rise holding his deep-crimson blade.
"Synchronization Rate exceeded 70%."
The system's cold, mechanical prompt quietly echoed in Yoru's mind.
"Congratulations, Host, on unlocking Yoriichi Tsugikuni's exclusive skill: [Selfless State]."
Along with this prompt, Yoru felt a wondrous metamorphosis occur within his body.
His internal cursed energy fluctuations, muscle tension, and even that peerlessly sharp sword intent and murderous aura all converged to an absolute minimum in this instant.
It was like a drop of water blending into the ocean, a leaf falling into a forest.
If someone closed their eyes, even a Special Grade sorcerer standing right before him would never sense his existence!
No fighting spirit, no killing intent—an absolute clarity devoid of sorrow and joy, akin to a god.
This was the very [Selfless State] that had driven the demon king Muzan to despair in Yoriichi Tsugikuni's era!
"This feeling... isn't bad."
Yoru slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, a faint trace of satisfaction flashing in his deep-crimson eyes.
With this ability, his presence in future battles would be even more elusive and impossible to guard against.
And behind him...
Hajime Kashimo, Hiromi Higuruma, Kinji Hakari, Noritoshi Kamo, Kirara Hoshi, and the others stood lined up side by side.
This luxurious lineup comprised of the ancient strongest, modern prodigies, and an immortal gambler radiated a terrifying pressure that would make any Special Grade Cursed Spirit despair just by standing together.
"Boss, who are we slashing next?"
Kinji Hakari's injuries had mostly healed under the effects of Reverse Cursed Technique. Clenching his fists excitedly, he wore the grin of someone eager to stir up chaos.
Hajime Kashimo's fighting spirit soared as well, lightning flickering in his eyes. "Whoever stands before you, I will blast them to dust with lightning!"
Looking at this bloodthirsty group of subordinates, Yoru narrowed his eyes slightly, his Transparent World gaze seeming to pierce through the vast distance toward western Japan.
At the same time.
In a hidden underground space hundreds of kilometers away from Tokyo.
Kenjaku, occupying a new vessel, stared somberly at the master control formation of the Culling Game flashing with relentless red warnings.
"The cores of Tokyo Colonies No. 1 and No. 2... were actually all destroyed!"
Veins bulged on Kenjaku's forehead, his narrow fox-like eyes brimming with undisguised shock and fury.
"Yoru... it's that damn anomaly again!"
Kenjaku growled through gritted teeth.
The collapse of the two core colonies created a massive loophole in the entire Culling Game's cursed energy circulation system.
The once seamlessly interwoven web of rules now resembled a spiderweb torn through with two gaping holes; left unchecked, the entire Culling Game ritual might even stall completely because of it!
"I can't let him keep destroying things like this."
Kenjaku took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the rage in his heart, and rapidly formed hand seals over the array.
"I must alter the rules immediately to patch the drain of cursed energy caused by the colonies' collapse."
"And at the same time..."
A venomous glint flickered across Kenjaku's eyes, his lips curling into a cruel sneer.
"Since you love playing the savior, I'll stir up some trouble for you."
Buzz—!
Under Kenjaku's manipulation, the rule network of the Culling Game warped violently.
The system prompt rang in the minds of all surviving players at once:
"New Rule Added: Players are permitted to transfer freely between different colonies."
"New Rule Added: The barrier walls of all colonies will receive cursed energy reinforcement and cannot be easily breached by physical means."
Hearing the rule addition prompts echoing in his mind, Yoru, standing atop the ruins, did not panic in the slightest; instead, a mocking smirk curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Modifying the rules, are we? Looks like that rat hiding in the sewer is finally growing impatient."
Hiromi Higuruma frowned. As a lawyer, he was the most sensitive to shifts in rules.
"Yoru, the rule allowing free transfers means those ancient monsters in other colonies could very well cross colonies to cause trouble for us."
"Furthermore, with the barrier walls reinforced, forcibly destroying cores the way we just did will likely become exceedingly difficult."
Hearing Higuruma's concerns, Yoru merely shook his head faintly.
"It doesn't matter."
"In the face of absolute strength, any rule exists only to be broken."
Yoru turned around, a chilly murderous intent flashing within his deep-crimson eyes.
"Since he granted permission for inter-colony transfers, that just saves us travel time."
"Target: Kyoto Colony."
Hearing the word "Kyoto," Noritoshi Kamo's expression shifted slightly.
He knew that not only was it the base of the Kamo clan, but it was also the heartland of the jujutsu world's conservative faction.
Moreover, according to intelligence they had previously acquired, Maki Zenin had gone there alone after awakening her complete Heavenly Restriction and slaughtering the entire Zenin family.
"Maki is there."
Yoru's voice carried a barely perceptible trace of gravity.
"I can sense that a vast amount of extremely perilous ancient cursed energy signatures have gathered within the Kyoto Colony."
"Those rotten old oranges have likely already colluded with the ancient sorcerers."
"Let's set out."
Yoru slowly sheathed Shiranui, the [Selfless State] he had just comprehended activating in an instant.
His entire figure seemed to vanish into thin air, leaving behind only a faint afterimage.
"Let's go turn that rotten ancient capital completely upside down."
Following Yoru's command, this strike force—the most terrifying demolition squad in the Culling Game—set out with tremendous momentum toward Kyoto.
Meanwhile, deep inside the Kyoto Colony thousands of miles away, a nauseating, thick stench of blood saturated the air.
A short-haired figure, bathed in blood yet standing firm like an Asura, was being glared at by countless pairs of greedy, cruel eyes in the darkness; a brutal hunt deciding life and death had already pushed to the most desperate brink.
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