Demon and the Nichirin Sword

Jing Ziyan could tell that the Demon's immortal body was being suppressed by the boy's golden flames, but she could not understand how a six-year-old child had accomplished all this.

Even Ling Luochan, who had remained silent and cold as ice throughout, showed a rare ripple in her icy blue eyes.

As she watched that small yet powerful figure, a strange feeling rose within her heart.

Ji Juechen, walking at the very front, had not said a word from beginning to end.

For the first time, his black eyes, as still as ancient wells, strayed from their focus on the "sword" and locked tightly onto Bai Mo.

He did not look at the unfortunate One-Horned Demon, nor did he look at the golden flames. What he saw was the pure, utter determination in the boy's eyes every time he threw a punch—the killing intent and resolve that would not rest until his opponent had been completely erased...

That will shared, in essence, something with his own path of the sword.

Without realizing it, his hand had already clenched the hilt of the sword on his back.

The muffled thuds in the courtyard continued, and even the wind and snow seemed unable to conceal that heart-chilling brutality and persistence.

Every genius from Sanctuary Academy present was shaken by the unbelievable scene before them, temporarily forgetting the purpose of their mission.

In the end, Meng Hongchen, the softest-hearted member of the group, was the first to recover from her shock.

Looking at that small, blood-soaked figure and the horrifying burn on his chest, the pity and tenderness in her heart overwhelmed all her astonishment.

"You... can't kill it like this."

She hurried forward, her clear voice, carrying a slight tremble, ringing out amid the wind and snow.

Those sudden words caused Bai Mo's mechanically swinging fist to stop in midair.

He slowly raised his head, turning those golden eyes blazing with fury and killing intent toward the voice.

When he saw that the newcomer was a white-haired girl only a few years older than himself, the madness and violence in his eyes quickly faded, replaced by a trace of confusion and vigilance.

When did these people get here? How did they appear here?

"Who are you?"

His voice was incredibly hoarse, like two rough stones grinding against each other.

"Little brother, don't be afraid. We aren't bad people."

Meng Hongchen stopped several steps away from him and tried to make her voice sound gentle and harmless. "Simple physical attacks are useless against this kind of monster. Its regenerative ability is too strong... You need this to kill it completely."

As she spoke, light flashed around her fair wrist, and a sheathed katana appeared out of thin air in her hand.

Holding the sword carefully in both hands, she offered it to Bai Mo.

Bai Mo's gaze lingered on the ancient-looking katana for a moment before he looked down at the One-Horned Demon beneath him. Its head had already begun wriggling as it regrew, nearly halfway restored.

His mind, boiling with rage, finally calmed down.

He knew the girl was right. His method could only suppress it temporarily; it could not eradicate it.

Without further hesitation, he nimbly rolled off the One-Horned Demon and quickly stepped forward to take the katana from Meng Hongchen.

The instant his palm closed around the hilt, a sudden change occurred.

The katana, which had originally borne the ordinary color of steel, seemed to come alive.

The blade gave off a faint hum as its color began changing at a visible speed. Starting from the guard, a deep crimson rapidly spread across the entire blade. Countless fine golden patterns flowed and intertwined over it like living things before finally settling into place, like the blade's natural veins.

This...

Bai Mo stared blankly at the transformed katana in his hand, while stormy waves rose within his heart.

And during that brief moment of distraction, the One-Horned Demon, no longer suppressed, finally completed its regeneration.

It abruptly crawled up from the snow. There was no longer any trace of intelligence in the eyes of its newly grown head, only the most primitive beastly instinct and madness born from torment.

"Roar—!"

With a roar unlike any human sound, its powerful body became a black shadow as it lunged at Bai Mo with reckless abandon.

An intense sense of déjà vu struck Bai Mo at that moment. The immortal monster, the strange Japanese, and the color-changing sword in his hand... Fragments of memories from an anime he had watched before transmigrating flashed through his mind like lightning.

Demons... Nichirin Swords...

So that's what this is.

Though he was shocked, Bai Mo's body did not hesitate in the slightest. Facing the lunging monster, his small frame erupted with astonishing strength.

He gripped the overly long hilt tightly in both hands and poured all his strength into it.

The next instant, golden flames burst from his palms and spread upward like living creatures, instantly enveloping the entire crimson katana.

"Hah—!"

With every ounce of his strength, he met the lunging One-Horned Demon with a simple yet overwhelmingly powerful horizontal slash.

The mindless monster had no concept of evasion. Its neck slammed solidly into the blade burning with golden flames.

There was none of the resistance he had imagined.

The blade swept through, and a head soared into the sky.

This time, no blood flowed from the wound, nor did flesh writhe and regenerate.

The headless body of the One-Horned Demon froze in place. Then, beginning at the severed neck, its body turned to ash bit by bit like burning paper, swiftly scattering into the bitter wind and snow as though it had never existed.

"Alright, the Demon has been eliminated."

Jing Ziyan was the first to break the silence. She adjusted her glasses, let her gaze rest briefly on Bai Mo, then turned to Ji Juechen and Ling Luochan. "Our mission isn't complete yet. Let's go locate the point where the Transfer Phenomenon occurred."

Ji Juechen withdrew his profound gaze from Bai Mo. The hand gripping his sword hilt loosened as well, and he nodded silently.

Ling Luochan, at the rear of the group, merely cast Bai Mo a faint glance before turning away.

The three of them did not linger at all. With a flash of movement, they became three afterimages and vanished into the other end of the village through the wind and snow.

Their mission was to activate the Spacetime Stabilizer Mirror and calm the spatial-temporal fluctuations. That was the foremost matter concerning the safety of the entire planet.

With the departure of the three senior division students, the atmosphere in the courtyard became somewhat delicate.

Nan Qiuqiu, Meng Hongchen, Ye Guyi, and Xiao Hongchen looked at one another.

According to their mission, this One-Horned Demon should have been their prey. Yet now, it had been dealt with by a boy who looked even younger than they were.

With the pride of being geniuses of Sanctuary Academy, they naturally disdained claiming credit that did not belong to them.