This Demon Wouldn't Be Easy to Deal With

Han Zhiqi truly felt like crying without tears, cursing Shinobu Kocho and the Demon Slayer Corps over and over in his heart.

But curses aside, this arrangement had instead piqued his interest, making him increasingly curious about what kind of organization the Demon Slayer Corps was.

If even a mere trial was this deadly, perhaps this organization really had something to offer. Maybe it truly could help him find his sister.

Fine. Since you want to watch, then watch to your heart's content. It wasn't like this was the first time I'd encountered a demon.

Igu Qigan, I'll step over the corpses of your kind and stand before you.

Not wanting to dirty his brand-new haori, Han Zhiqi casually tossed it into the nearby bushes. He picked up a wrist-thick branch, snapped it hard, and used its sharp broken end as a weapon.

"Ugly bastard, come on. Let me see what you can do."

Understanding Han Zhiqi's provocation, the demon opened its mouth wide and let out a "Ha!" It lunged at Han Zhiqi again on all fours.

This demon possessed astonishing speed and jumping power. Like a ferocious beast, it had completely abandoned an upright stance.

Its powerful hind-leg muscles handled movement, while the sharp claws on its forelimbs were meant for attack.

"Cold Tide."

Without a weapon at hand, Han Zhiqi could only rely on the cold aura emanating from his body for the moment. He expanded his senses to give himself more room to evade. Moreover, from their first exchange, he had discovered that this demon seemed to hate the cold.

A fishy wind laden with a thick stench rushed toward him. Han Zhiqi immediately swung the wooden stick with all his strength, smashing it toward the demon's chest.

In midair, the demon slapped aside the wooden stick with one hand and reached for Han Zhiqi's face with the other.

Han Zhiqi leaned back to evade the attack, then slid quickly beneath the demon and landed in the open space below.

Just as Han Zhiqi had expected, this demon truly feared the cold. The instant its feet touched the ground, it sprang toward a nearby tree as though it had been burned.

Its sharp claws gave its hands and feet tremendous piercing power. Even clinging sideways to the trunk like that, it would not fall.

Han Zhiqi also discovered that it was immensely strong. Given his current physical condition, victory through strength alone was utterly impossible.

After failing to take down its prey twice in a row and having its entire body made miserable by the cold, the demon was completely enraged. It shrieked, kicked hard off the tree trunk, and pounced again.

Han Zhiqi caught the direction of its attack. The instant it drew near, he sidestepped. Seeing that its hands and feet could not all land at once, he raised the wooden stick and smashed it hard toward its back.

But he had clearly underestimated the flexibility of the demon's body.

In midair, the demon's waist suddenly twisted in an unnatural motion. Its legs rotated ninety degrees counterclockwise, its feet now aimed directly at Han Zhiqi's chest.

Although Han Zhiqi had noticed the twist of its waist, they were simply too close for him to withdraw his strike. Besides, it had twisted its body almost at the exact same moment he attacked. Even if he immediately pulled back and blocked, he would inevitably be injured.

If he lost out here, all his subsequent actions would likely be forced into passivity.

After a brief moment of thought, Han Zhiqi made a bold decision. He judged that, in its haste, the demon's kick would not carry much force. Rather than let every following move fall into passivity, he would take the initiative and fight for mutual injury.

This method was risky, but it might force the demon to withdraw its attack. Even if it did not, it would certainly be affected mentally, further weakening its attack. Besides, Breathing Techniques could enhance the body's resistance.

With that thought, Han Zhiqi took a deep breath and shouted, "Drifting Snow!"

In an instant, his body released a tremendous amount of cold air, and snowflakes began drifting down around him. Gripping the wooden stick tightly with both hands, he watched the brownish-yellow branch become coated in ice and snow in the blink of an eye. Using a chopping strike, he slashed hard at the demon's back.

Sure enough, everyone possessed the instinct to seek benefit and avoid harm. Even after becoming a demon, it could not completely escape certain human traits.

The demon had clearly not expected Han Zhiqi to advance rather than retreat.

It hesitated briefly, yet did not withdraw its attack. With a strange cry, it kicked hard at Han Zhiqi's chest, while Han Zhiqi's wooden stick slashed into its back.

Han Zhiqi took both kicks squarely in the chest. His breath caught, and he was sent flying backward into the nearby bushes. He then rolled down the slope and crashed against the roots of a large tree before finally stabilizing himself.

Han Zhiqi let out a muffled groan. His head spun, his stomach churned, and his throat felt as though something were lodged inside it. His chest was painfully tight. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood, only then finding his breathing gradually become smoother.

He rested on the ground for a while. Only after catching his breath did Han Zhiqi struggle to his feet.

The demon's kick had truly carried considerable force. Every breath now brought a faint pain to his chest, though fortunately, none of his bones were broken.

Han Zhiqi grabbed the bushes and climbed back up the slope, returning to level ground.

The demon was also in great discomfort. It knelt on the ground, twisting its upper body as both hands clawed at the ice that had formed on its back.

If it had been a blade, that strike might really have done some damage. But it had only been a piece of wood, so the extent of the harm was obvious.

Still, although it had not cut open the demon's back, the sharp broken end of the branch had left a finger-length wound.

Moreover, Drifting Snow was not simply meant to inflict a slashing wound. The cut was merely superficial. Its true essence was to form a layer of ice over the enemy's wound.

The locally formed ice would continuously emit cold air. Once the cold entered the body, it could both hinder the enemy's movements and prevent the wound from healing. If the wound was located at a joint, the effect would be even better.

In their first head-on clash, neither side had gained much of an advantage. To be precise, Han Zhiqi had suffered the heavier injury.

Of course, the pain in its back also made the demon realize that the prey before it would not be easy to deal with.

Its former prey had always fled for their lives at the sight of it, their eyes filled with fear and despair. Yet this prey was not only unafraid, but had even taken the initiative to attack.

This made it feel a trace of anger, as well as a trace of danger. Instinctively, it wanted to retreat, but the scent of blood in the air made its body stir uncontrollably.

The demon greedily stared at Han Zhiqi's injured area. Disgusting saliva dripped from the corner of its mouth as it made strange "Wuwu" sounds, anxiously shifting its hands and feet in place.

Seeing the demon's starving appearance, an idea flashed through Han Zhiqi's mind. He untied the bandage around his right hand and deliberately let his blood drip onto the ground.

Sure enough, once it smelled the blood, the demon became restless as though it had been injected with stimulants. In the end, desire overcame fear, and it howled as it lunged at Han Zhiqi.

Of course, it was not charging at Han Zhiqi himself, but at the pool of blood on the ground.

The demon threw itself onto the ground, grabbed the bloodstained dirt, and stuffed it wildly into its mouth.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Han Zhiqi circled behind the demon. Enduring the pain in his chest, he took a deep breath.

"Shattering Timed Rain."

He swung the wooden stick toward the demon's back. Several transparent ice spikes, carrying wind and snow, shot toward its back.