The demon pressed one hand to his throat, baring his fangs as he laughed. "A sword? Not bad, but a wound like this will heal right away!"
But the expected healing never came.
Instead, more and more blood poured from the wound, eventually turning into a spray.
The blood gushed like a fountain.
Pshh! Pshh!
Both the man-eating demon and Tanjiro were dumbfounded.
"Eh? ...Eh! Why isn't the wound healing? What's going on..." The man-eating demon clutched his throat tightly with one hand, trying to stop the blood from flowing out.
Tanjiro gripped his katana with both hands and looked anxiously at Nezuko, who stood outside the Buddhist hall, drooling continuously at the human corpses inside.
Seeing this, Lin Fan began to coax him again.
"Looks like you don't have much time left, Tanjiro. Only by killing the man-eating demon in front of you can you stop your sister.
Tanjiro, you don't want your sister to eat people, do you?
What will you do if Nezuko eats someone? Kill her, then commit seppuku?"
Hearing this, Tanjiro's gaze was briefly lost before gradually becoming resolute.
"I'll never let that happen!"
At that moment.
[Ding! Detected negative emotions from Tanjiro. Obtained 5 Emotion Points!] [Ding! Detected intense negative emotions from Tanjiro. Obtained 10 Emotion Points!] [Ding! Detected intense negative emotions from the man-eating demon. Obtained 2 Emotion Points!]
Lin Fan had been quite happy at first, but when he saw the Emotion Points provided by that demon, he realized he had celebrated too soon!
It seemed that aside from Tanjiro, everyone else could provide him with pitifully few Emotion Points.
The thought gave Lin Fan a headache...
Outside.
At this moment, the demon also realized there was something wrong with the sword in Tanjiro's hand. Feeling blood continuously spraying from his throat.
If this continued, even as a demon, he would not last much longer. The only thing he could think of now was killing the guy in front of him!
The man-eating demon was consumed by rage. Releasing his throat with his right hand, he roared with bloodshot eyes, "You damned bastard, I'm going to devour you whole!
I won't fall for the same move twice!"
With that said.
His figure flashed as he charged forward.
Tanjiro could barely react, but fortunately, Lin Fan warned him.
"Swing forward and cut his neck!"
Tanjiro immediately did as he was told, gripping the sword with both hands as he slashed forward.
Just then, the man-eating demon arrived before him, and his neck was cut again. Fortunately, he braced the blade with both hands in time, narrowly avoiding decapitation.
But both his hands had already been ruined, and the wound on his neck had grown even deeper.
The man-eating demon's face hurt like hell, as though someone had slapped him hard across the face. He had just declared that he would not fall for the same move twice, only to be cut by it again moments later.
Furious, the man-eating demon's face twisted. He opened his bloody maw, exposing his sharp teeth as he bit down on the blade. His dark green hair seemed to come alive, wrapping around the sword.
Lin Fan froze at the sight.
"Are you fucking stupid? Why are you biting me instead of Tanjiro?"
It did not hurt much, but it was disgusting as hell!
This System Is Solid—When It Gives, It Really Gives!
The two struggled against each other.
Tanjiro knew full well that he did not have much time, and that he could not match the man-eating demon in strength. He roared.
"I have to save Nezuko, so get out of my way!"
As he spoke, he threw back his head.
The demon curled his lips into a sneer, laughing inwardly.
Just a human.
He actually wants to headbutt me. How ridiculous. The moment his head starts hurting and distracts him, I'll be able to kill him with ease!
But reality was completely different from what the man-eating demon expected.
Tanjiro did not hesitate. He slammed his head into the demon's forehead with a dull thud.
Bang!
The man-eating demon's eyes bulged as his mouth fell open. His face was filled with pain and disbelief, and the impact left him utterly dazed.
Even his hair drooped limply.
Yet that still could not stop the furious question rising in his heart.
How can it be this hard?!
Is your fucking head made of iron?!
Lin Fan could barely hold it together at the sight, but he could not let this chance slip by. He immediately reminded him.
"Tanjiro, now! Cut off his head!"
Hearing that, Tanjiro hesitated for an instant before swinging his blade with determination. As the edge swept across the man-eating demon's neck.
The demon, still not having recovered his senses, was separated from his head. His head rolled across the ground several times, while his headless body fell stiffly to the ground.
In the final moments before his consciousness faded, the man-eating demon looked at Tanjiro with venomous hatred.
[Ding! Detected the man-eating demon's negative emotions before death. Obtained 100 Emotion Points!] [Detected the first successful hunt of a man-eating demon. To better integrate into this world, the system has granted the host the corresponding abilities of a Nichirin Blade!]
Hearing the system prompt, Lin Fan was stunned. "H-How many? A hundred Emotion Points! And it even gave me the abilities of a Nichirin Blade?"
This benefit gave Lin Fan a whole new opinion of his system. This system was solid—when it gave something, it really gave!
And through the Emotion Points gained this time, Lin Fan understood something: at the instant a demon died, its negative emotions reached their peak.
But this was a one-time harvest. Though it yielded fewer Emotion Points than prolonged exploitation, it was far more efficient!
Outside.
After that battle, Tanjiro panted heavily. Even the hand gripping his katana trembled slightly.
The man-eating demon's corpse seemed affected by the Nichirin Blade traits Lin Fan had acquired, and it began rapidly turning into Ember on the wind.
"Demons don't even leave behind corpses after they die?"
Tanjiro glanced at it in surprise, then immediately rushed toward the Buddhist hall, intending to stop Nezuko from eating anyone.
But he had only taken one step when he realized that Nezuko, who had been standing at the entrance of the Buddhist hall and drooling at the corpses, had actually suppressed her hunger and was walking toward him.
Tanjiro let out a long sigh of relief.
He was truly terrified that Nezuko might eat someone. Recalling Azhuluomaru's words, if Nezuko ever did eat a person.
Perhaps the only thing he could do would be to kill her himself, then commit seppuku to atone...
Relaxing, Tanjiro prepared to sheath his sword, but just as he raised his arm.
A large hand suddenly reached out from behind him and rested on his shoulder. A deep, aged voice said.
"May I see your sword?"
Hearing this, a bead of cold sweat trickled down Tanjiro's forehead. He quickly turned around and saw an old man wearing a hooded tengu mask standing behind him.
This man had made no sound when he walked!
But faced with the old man's request, Tanjiro's first instinct was to ask Lin Fan.
Yet the old man effortlessly snatched the sword away with one hand. He held it and carefully sensed it, the nose beneath his mask twitching slightly.
Then he immediately returned the sword to Tanjiro and asked.
"Where did you get this sword?"
Without even thinking, Tanjiro answered, "This sword has been passed down through my family."
The old man said nothing further. Instead, he turned and walked toward the Buddhist hall.
Tanjiro sheathed his sword.
Dawn was approaching. Nezuko instinctively felt fear and disgust, and her body shrank as she crawled back into the bamboo basket to avoid the rising sun.
By the time Tanjiro came back to his senses, the sun had already risen. The old man had also carried the broken corpses out of the Buddhist hall and was burying them.
Tanjiro hurried over to help.
"I'll help you."
Together, they buried those people in the courtyard of the Buddhist hall.
With their backs to the rising sun.
The old man finally spoke again.
"I am Sakonji Urokodaki. You are the one Giyu Tomioka sent, aren't you?"
Only then did Tanjiro realize that this old man was the person Giyu Tomioka had told him to visit that day!
"Yes, I'm Kamado Tanjiro!"
As he spoke, he pointed at the bamboo basket on his back.
"My sister Nezuko is in here."
But Sakonji Urokodaki seemed not to hear him. He directly asked a sharp question. "Tanjiro, what will you do when your sister eats someone?"
Perhaps because Lin Fan had already raised the matter.
Tanjiro had long been mentally prepared. Without any hesitation, he answered resolutely.
"I'll kill her, then commit seppuku. But I'll never let that happen!"
Hearing that answer.
Sakonji Urokodaki could not help nodding slightly in approval.
"It's good that you have that resolve. Next, I will test whether you are suited to become a demon-slaying swordsman. Carry your sister and follow me."
The two ran one after the other toward Mount Sagiri, until the sun set.
Only then did they stop before a wooden cabin. Tanjiro was already exhausted, gasping for breath as he collapsed onto the ground.
Forcing down the violent heaving in his chest, he asked with difficulty.
"So I've passed the test now, right?"
"The test is only about to begin. Settle your sister in, then follow me up the mountain."
Sakonji Urokodaki pushed open the door, removed his hood, and entered the cabin first.
That completely broke Tanjiro.
As for Lin Fan, he was simply enjoying the show while harvesting Emotion Points.
In just one day, Tanjiro alone had provided no fewer than a hundred Emotion Points. Adding Nezuko and Sakonji Urokodaki.
He had gained nearly a hundred and fifty Emotion Points in a single day! At this rate, unlocking abilities was no dream!
After settling Nezuko in, the two climbed the mountain together. Mount Sagiri was now shrouded in dense fog, and with night already fallen, it was even harder to see.
Before you continue