Time passed bit by bit. In less than twenty minutes, Kurozawa reached the foot of the mountain.
Before him stood a modest single-story wooden house.
This was where Sakonji Urokodaki and Kurozawa lived. Makomo, Sabito, and the others were scattered around other parts of the mountain's foothills, though none lived far away, so they could look after one another.
In front of the house stood someone wearing a Tengu Mask and blue robes adorned with wave-and-cloud patterns, his body ramrod straight.
As Kurozawa approached, Sakonji Urokodaki turned slightly. A voice that sounded cold even through the mask came from beneath it.
"Dinner is ready inside."
Kurozawa nodded and was about to enter when he felt Sakonji Urokodaki's presence suddenly sharpen.
A gust of wind swept up beside him as the blue figure flashed past.
The old man in the Tengu Mask entered the house, then emerged again less than three seconds later.
Only, the weapon at his waist had changed from an ordinary iron sword into a Nichirin Blade, a weapon specially made to kill demons.
Kurozawa's gaze hardened as he asked softly, "What is it?"
Sakonji Urokodaki looked at Kurozawa, his voice calm. "A demon has entered Mount Sagiri. Eat first. I'll be back soon."
Yet before Sakonji Urokodaki could leave, Kurozawa shifted his footing and blocked his path.
Sakonji Urokodaki looked at Kurozawa.
Kurozawa's expression was serious. Meeting the fierce eyes painted on the mask, he spoke three words.
"Let me go."
He had been in this world for twenty-one years. His Breathing Technique had reached the Constant stage, and among swordsmen, his physique was unquestionably formidable.
In terms of strength, he had long surpassed junior disciples like Makomo and Sabito.
Based on Kurozawa's understanding of this world, an ordinary demon was definitely no match for him.
Although he had only watched five episodes of Demon Slayer before dropping it... he had seen enough manga spoilers to get a general idea. Low-level demons could actually be held off by ordinary people for a while; the real trouble was that they were hard to kill.
But he had never killed a demon with his own hands.
When he was seventeen, just like today, a demon had foolishly wandered onto Mount Sagiri.
Kurozawa had only glimpsed it from afar.
When he had watched creatures like demons through a screen in his previous life, he had felt nothing much. But when two-dimensional fiction became three-dimensional reality, facing one in person was an entirely different experience.
It could not exactly be called terrifying, but it was certainly strange. Blue-black Demon Marks covered its skin, and vicious fangs filled its mouth, reflecting a chilling gleam in the moonlight. Unfortunately, the night had been too dark for Kurozawa to see what it truly looked like.
Sakonji Urokodaki did not answer Kurozawa's words.
Because of the mask, Kurozawa could not see Sakonji Urokodaki's expression.
Kurozawa continued seriously, "Master, you know this. My Breathing Technique reached the Constant stage long ago. I'm stronger than many full-fledged swordsmen."
Sakonji Urokodaki remained silent for nearly ten seconds before speaking evenly.
"You are not a formal swordsman. You do not yet have a Nichirin Blade of your own."
With that, he was about to leave.
Isn't it because you've always refused to let me take the Swordsman Trial? Kurozawa grumbled inwardly.
At present, Kurozawa could only be considered a swordsman candidate.
In the Demon Slayer World, the only organization that fought demons was called the Demon Slayer Corps. It was the Demon Hunter Swordsmen of the Corps who fought bloody battles that kept Man-Eating Demons from ravaging the human world as they pleased.
Sakonji Urokodaki was one of the Demon Slayer Corps' strongest members.
The Demon Slayer Corps' most elite swordsmen were known as Pillars, and Sakonji Urokodaki was one of them.
The Water Pillar, the strongest practitioner of the Water Breathing lineage, was also a trainer. He was one of the few Pillars in the Demon Slayer Corps who trained a considerable number of Demon Hunter Swordsmen at the same time.
And the so-called Demon Hunter Swordsman was the path that awaited swordsman candidates like Kurozawa.
Take the Demon Slayer Corps' Swordsman Trial and pass it, and one could become a Demon Hunter Swordsman and receive a Nichirin Blade of one's own. Fail to pass... and death awaited.
The Swordsman Trial was brutally cruel. Failure meant dying at the hands of demons.
Kurozawa was still not a Demon Hunter Swordsman at twenty-one because Sakonji Urokodaki had made him wait until his junior disciples had matured, then take the first group of them to the trial together. As a result, he had missed many rounds of the trial.
"In less than a month, the next Swordsman Trial will begin. This time, I'll be taking Makomo and the others. So let me go. You don't want my carelessness to cause casualties among my junior disciples either."
Perhaps because his previous life had been so ordinary, even weak and uneventful, Kurozawa now wanted even more to pursue excitement and gain extraordinary power. Every visible, tangible improvement in strength brought him reassurance and joy.
As he spoke, Kurozawa flashed forward and blocked Sakonji Urokodaki again, explaining his thoughts.
Blocked again... This rebellious disciple has indeed achieved something with his specialized Breathing Technique... Sakonji Urokodaki considered Kurozawa's speed from moments ago.
This time, he had intended to shake Kurozawa off directly, so he had used his full speed. Yet Kurozawa had still arrived later and intercepted him first.
In terms of physical ability alone, his aging body, already in decline, was no longer a match for Kurozawa's youthful strength and mastery of the Breathing Technique.
Then let him give it a try.
Sakonji Urokodaki considered it for only five or six seconds before making his decision.
"It stopped at the Ruined Shrine eight hundred meters to the south."
Kurozawa froze for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Understood."
Next, Sakonji Urokodaki raised his hand and flicked it.
"Take it."
"I don't care if you refuse to learn swordsmanship, but without a Nichirin Blade, you cannot kill a demon."
"Not necessarily. Sunlight can kill demons too."
"It is nighttime."
"Then I'll keep killing it until dawn."
The blue Nichirin Blade flew toward him. Kurozawa caught it and casually tucked it into his belt.
The careless way he fastened the blade made Sakonji Urokodaki's eye twitch.
He had always cherished his Nichirin Blade like a wife, but Sakonji Urokodaki said nothing. He merely decided inwardly that he would teach Kurozawa a lesson once he returned.
Meanwhile, Kurozawa turned and sprinted toward the shrine on Mount Sagiri.
Watching Kurozawa's retreating figure, Sakonji Urokodaki stood still for a long time, unsure what he was thinking.
A minute later, a gentle breeze drifted past. Sakonji Urokodaki moved his feet, intending to observe from the shadows.
After thinking it over, he still could not rest easy about letting Kurozawa go alone, even though he acknowledged Kurozawa's strength.
"Master? Where's Senior Disciple? He came down before I did. Why haven't I seen him?"
A puzzled voice came from a girl. Makomo looked left and right, craning her neck to peer into the house, but she still found no sign of Kurozawa.
Sakonji Urokodaki did not stop.
"He has something to handle."
"There is some food inside. Go call Sabito and the others, then eat together."
"I have something to do as well. I'll be leaving first."
When it came to meals, the disciples usually handled them themselves. Still, Sakonji Urokodaki occasionally cooked for them and ate with them, though such occasions were rare. Coupled with Sakonji Urokodaki's taciturn silence, the atmosphere at the table was rather oppressive.
As soon as he finished speaking, Sakonji Urokodaki became a streak of blue light and vanished from the spot.
Leaving behind a baffled Makomo.
"Why does Master seem so rushed?"
She lingered there for a while, then stamped her foot and headed toward the place where Sabito, Giyu, and the other junior disciples usually practiced their swordsmanship.
Recommended: a historical novel set in the Qin dynasty, "At the Start of Great Qin, I Somehow Became the Crown Prince." The protagonist is Prince Fusu.
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