Spirit Energy

Spirit Energy (玄 (ゲン) 力 (リョク) , Genryoku) is an energy dwelling within humans similar to their life-force which exists in every single person. It can be used to amplify one's physical prowess and allows sorcerers to use Sorcery (妖 (よう) 術 (じゅつ) , Yōjutsu).

Overview

Spirit energy dwells in all humans, regardless of age and combat capabilities. Due to all humans having spirit energy, the ability to gain superhuman physical abilities and practice sorcery is theoretically available to anyone through sufficient training. Those aiming to utilize spirit energy must train hard in order to better control and harness their spirit energy and increase their spirit energy capacity. The ability to utilize spirit energy is governed by specific neural pathways, and if these pathways are damaged, an individual's ability to use spirit energy and sorcery will be impaired.

There exist methods to bring ownerless spirit energy into existence, such as inscriptions that convert heat into spirit energy, but by nature of being ownerless, this spirit energy typically cannot be used and will dissipate over time. However, through special physiological changes like the ones undergone by the Kamunabi's Core Station Vessel, a person can adapt to be able to make use of ownerless spirit energy.

Usage

Utilizing spirit energy can be divided into two stages.

• The first stage of using spirit energy is circulating it through the body, which enhances one's physical capabilities, such as their strength, speed, agility, and durability, to superhuman levels.
• After accomplishing this stage and obtaining a strong body, aspiring sorcerers can begin the process of training to manifest sorcery. Sorcery refers to any supernatural abilities, objects or events manifested through the manipulation and consumption of spirit energy.

The impact of spirit energy on swordsmanship

An extension to manipulating spirit energy throughout one's body is using it to enhance one's swordsmanship. Through correctly channeling spirit energy to a sword (which Kuguri describes as imbuing a blade with one's spirit energy and thus merging with it), the power of swordsmanship can be greatly amplified.

Each sorcerer can generally only manifest and utilize one kind of sorcery, with very few exceptions. In addition to their innate sorcery, sorcerers can also learn to use movement and barrier sorcery through study.

Through knowledge of specific inscriptions and symbols, sorcerers can also perform spells distinct from their own sorcery. There exist a plentiful number of manuals detailing such spells, such as the ones located at the Kamunabi Headquarters Level 2 Library. The Masumi are experts in this field and frequently use spell inscriptions labelled on scrolls and the like.

Restriction and Amplification

Limitations can be placed on a sorcerer's spirit energy, such as through a rope with a seal that prevents an individual from using their spirit energy to reinforce their body or use sorcery. Certain areas can also be warded against specific types of sorcery, as in the case of the heavily sealed areas such as the Sazanami Clan's Naginojoen, which Shiba could not teleport into, and the Kyoto Bloodshed Hotel, which employed a barrier to block detection-based sorcery.

Currently, the only known way for someone to permanently lose a sorcery technique is through forming a Lifelong Contract with an Enchanted Blade, where the sorcerer's sorcery-governing nerves will be displaced and the sorcerer will lose their original sorcery in exchange for being able to wield the blade. If a Contract is somehow severed without killing the bearer, their previously-defunct sorcery nerves will gradually recover over a period of time, and the sorcerer will be able to use their innate sorcery once again.

On the other hand, certain items can amplify an individual's spirit energy, most notable among them Datenseki. Datenseki possesses the ability to massively amplify any spirit energy imbued into it, but upon returning to the user's body the spirit energy is far too great for the body to contain and thus the body explodes.

In history, Kunishige Rokuhira was the only individual able to successfully utilise Datenseki through forging it into the Enchanted Blades, which circumvented the massive amplification of spirit energy by redirecting it outside the body, manfesting it as various shapes. Kunishige was able to stabilise the Datenseki due to his ability to identify minute properties within the Datenseki purely by sight, and extract the exact properties of the Datenseki necessary to stabilise it.

Known Sorcery

Name	Example Image	Type	User
Enten (淵天 (えんてん) , Enten)		Enchanted Blade	Chihiro Rokuhira
Pine Tree Sorcery (松 (まつ) の妖 (よう) 術 (じゅつ) , Matsu no Yōjutsu)		Innate	Hishaku Sorcerer Yura
Fire-Based Teleportation		Movement	Hishaku
Barriers (結界 (けっかい) , Kekkai)		Barrier	Rokuhira Swordsmith Sazanami Clan Kamunabi Tokyo Headquarters Kyoto Bloodshed Hotel
Teleportation		Movement	Togo Shiba
Explosive Daruma Activation Command: Invincible (不 (ふ) 落 (らく) , Furaku)		Innate	Norisaku Madoka Chihiro Rokuhira (temporarily)
Dirt-Based Cloning		Innate	Clone Sorcerer
Psychological Induction		Innate	Trauma Sorcerer Brothers
Engorged Arms		Innate	Engorged Arms Sorcerer
Chanting-Activated Projectiles		Innate	Chanting Sorcerer
Coin (己印 (こいん) , Koin)		Innate	Soshiro Azami Azami Clan
Teleportation		Movement	Oni Mask Sorcerer
Cloud Gouger (刳雲 (くれぐも) , Kuregumo)		Enchanted Blade	Ibuki Misaka Genichi Sojo Chihiro Rokuhira
Gansui (岩垂 (がんすい) , Gansui)		Innate	Shiyumi Harima
Enlarged Hands		Innate	Makoto Kasahara
Iron Transformation		Innate	Hajime Kugara
Jikai (磁 (じ) 戒 (かい) , Jikai)		Innate	Ikuto Hagiwara
Demon Cloak (鬼 (き) 装 (そう) , Kisō)		Innate	Mohawk Henchmen
Jobaku (如縛 (じよばく) , Jobaku)		Innate (Item-Based)	Kiyohiko Uzuki
Kaichi (怪 (かい) 魑 (ち) , Kaichi)		Innate	Kazane Machi
Isou (威 (い) 葬 (そう) , Isō)		Innate	First Sazanami Clan Head Hakuri Sazanami Soya Sazanami Tenri Sazanami Tamaki Sazanami Enji Sazanami
Flame Bone of the Starving (餓 (が) 者 (しゃ) の炎骨 (えんこつ) , Gasha no Enkotsu)		Unknown	Hiyuki Kagari Chihiro Rokuhira (temporarily)
Battle Dimension		Innate	Tafuku Mihara
Storehouse (蔵 (くら) , Kura)		Innate	Nine unnamed Sazanami Clan Heads Sora Sazanami Kyora Sazanami Hakuri Sazanami
Magatsumi (勾罪 (まがつみ) , Magatsumi) More commonly known as Shinuchi (真打 (しんうち) , Shin'uchi)		Enchanted Blade	Akemura Soga Kyora Sazanami (by proxy) Yura (by proxy)
Prayer Beads		Innate	Izaru
Smoke Axe (煙 (えん) 斧 (ぶ) , Enbu)		Innate	Fushimi
Blood Crane (血 (ち) 鶴 (づる) , Chizuru)		Innate	Hiruhiko (formerly)
Transportation Mandala		Spell	Masumi Unnamed Hishaku Sorcerer
Tobimune (飛宗 (とびむね) , Tobimune)		Enchanted Blade	Seiichi Samura
Kumeyuri (酌揺 (くめゆり) , Kumeyuri)		Enchanted Blade	Yoji Uruha Hiruhiko
Limb Reattachment		Unknown	Unnamed Hishaku Sorcerer
Finger-Based Contract		Unknown	Yura Seiichi Samura
Memory Seal		Spell	Masumi
Motorcycle Scroll		Spell	Masumi
Body Pieces Manipulation Body Part Exchanging Needle Sprouting		Innate	Kakai Yomei Kiriyashin
Twilight Wave (破 (は) 暮 (ぐれ) , Hagure)		Innate	Kuguri
Core Station		Barrier	Core Station Vessel Six supporting sorcerers
Yellow Chains (黄 (こう) 鎖 (き) , Kōki) Airborne Spikes		Innate	Older Shigyu Brother Younger Shigyu Brother
Warrior's Path (士 (し) 透 (とう) , Shitō)		Innate	Kudo
Transformation (変 (へん) 身 (しん) , Henshin)		Innate	Transformation Sorcerer
Koen (紅 (こう) 演 (えん) , Kōen, VIZ Translation Note: Crimson Recital)		Innate	Yoji Uruha
Mako (魔 (ま) 咬 (こう) , Makō, VIZ Translation Note: Demon Bite)		Innate	Bingo
Book of Holding		Spell	Unnamed Hishaku Sorcerer
Armored Doll Creation		Innate	Hokuto
Lightning Menace (雷 (らい) 躯 (く) , Raiku)		Innate	Natsuki Misaka
Ice Manipulation		Innate	Uran
Regeneration		Innate	Yukisada

Note: Sorcery names listed above without Kanji are not their official names, and are named based on conjuncture.