Seeing the girl's obvious misunderstanding, Yuto wisely kept his mouth shut—after all, this wasn't exactly something to brag about.
Besides, he had promised Yamato Kuka that he wouldn't tell a third party about that day's incident.
All things considered, Yuto's first day at the Onmyo Academy had been eventful, to say the least. Sure, he'd been mercilessly beaten by Yamato Kuka for being at fault, but he'd also gotten a rather… interesting view, so in the end, it felt like he hadn't really lost out at all.
Eventually, Yamato Kuka, flustered by a mix of embarrassment and anger, had picked up her sword, Onikiri. Of course, she wasn't planning to kill him—her nature wouldn't allow it. According to Yuto's earlier explanation, the mishap had been caused by his first attempt at using the Escape Spell without properly controlling his spiritual power.
Still, a proper loss was hardly in line with Yamato Kuka's personality.
In the end, Yuto agreed to three of her requests, and that was enough to earn her forgiveness.
The first: he was not to tell anyone else what had happened, or she would kill him.
The second: as a swordsmanship enthusiast, Yamato Kuka demanded that Yuto serve as her sparring partner, free of charge, whenever she wanted.
The third… Yamato Kuka bit her lip, her face flushing deeply, and left it unsaid, hinting she would reveal it at the right moment.
Yuto didn't think any of these were unreasonable—and having seen her naked, he had little choice but to agree to all three.
That day had also shifted Yuto's perspective. Staying at the Onmyo Academy to study Onmyojutsu wasn't so bad after all.
Yokai had their fighting methods, and Onmyoji had theirs. Take the Escape Spell he had used today—it was simple but extremely practical.
What truly surprised him, however, was that in addition to his innate demonic power, he had awakened something new: spiritual power.
The awakening was somewhat mysterious, but a new "Spiritual Power Level" had appeared in his status bar. Surprisingly, his spiritual power, fresh as it was, had already reached a C- level—nearly identical to his existing demonic power.
When Yuto's demonic power first manifested, it had also been at C-. Its current strength was the result of constant use of "inferior demonic power crystals" and relentless self-cultivation.
The reason he had awakened spiritual power quickly became clear. Demonic power was innate to him as a half-demon, but being half-human meant he had the potential for spiritual power, too. Using the Escape Spell, which channeled Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements, had triggered that latent potential within his human side.
Yuto couldn't help but grin. Demonic power plus spiritual power—the dual cultivation of yokai and spiritual abilities—was a recipe for rapid growth. He now had an even deadlier advantage.
Before, people like Shincheng Yixin had assumed his demonic aura came from a curse on his spiritual power. Now that his spiritual power had awakened, Yuto no longer needed to hide his abilities. If he used more demonic power in front of others, he could always claim it was "cursed" power.
In the following days, Yuto adapted to life at the Onmyo Academy. Compared to a normal school, he felt he was learning far more here.
Within a few days, he mastered a fair amount of basic Yin-Yang magic, though his spiritual power showed little growth.
Demonic power could be enhanced through crystals and cultivation, but spiritual power was new to him—he had no established cultivation methods. His awakening had been accidental, so progress was slow.
The Onmyo Academy could teach basic techniques and some common advanced spells, but they could not—and would not—teach spiritual cultivation methods. Not because they were stingy, but because such methods were unique to each exorcist family and closely guarded.
Every family's cultivation method was a cornerstone of its survival. While general Yin-Yang techniques could be shared, cultivation methods were family secrets. Even women marrying into the family were usually barred from learning them.
Yuto had discovered this a few days earlier. The textbooks only contained basic spells—no cultivation methods. Posing as a student, he had humbly asked Yamato Kuka for guidance.
The result? A torrent of abuse.
Yuto hadn't understood the true value of these cultivation methods at first. But when he asked Yamato Kuka about her family's secret spiritual techniques—especially after seeing her naked in the bath—she had completely misunderstood him.
Red-faced, she had grabbed Onikiri and chased him across half the campus.
Initially, Yuto assumed she was still angry about the previous incident. But after speaking with Kamishiro Isshin, he learned the truth: these methods were entirely off-limits to outsiders. Only two paths existed for a non-family member wishing to cultivate them:
One, perform a monumental favor for the family—something tied to its survival.
Two, simpler still: abandon one's original surname and marry into the family.