从鬼灭开始,成就最强魔刀! 第3章

The evil ghost pressed one hand against its own throat, baring its fangs and mocking, "A sword? Pretty capable of it, huh, but wounds of just this sort will heal right up!"

Yet the anticipated healing never came at all.

Instead, the wound bled more and more, even evolving into a fountain of blood spraying outward.

That blood gushed like a geyser, flowing in a thick column.

Splat, squelch...

Both the man-eating ghost and Tanjiro were dumbfounded.

"Huh?... Huh?! Why isn't the wound healing? What's going on..." The man-eating ghost pressed its hand tightly against its throat, attempting to stem the loss of blood.

Tanjiro gripped his katana tightly with both hands, looking anxiously at Nezuko, who was still standing outside the shrine staring at the human corpses within and drooling incessantly.

Seeing this, Lin Fan spoke up once more with persuasive guidance.

"It looks like you don't have much time left, Tanjiro. Only by using your sword to kill the man-eating ghost in front of you can you go stop your sister.

Tanjiro, you surely don't want your sister to eat people, do you?

What will you do if Nezuko eats someone? Will you kill her and then commit seppuku?"

Hearing these words, Tanjiro's gaze turned somewhat dazed before gradually growing resolute.

"I will absolutely never let something like that happen!"

At that moment.

The system prompt rang out in Lin Fan's mind once more.

[Ding! Detected that Tanjiro generated negative emotions, acquired 5 emotion points!]
[Ding! Detected that Tanjiro generated intense negative emotions, acquired 10 emotion points!]
[Ding! Detected that the man-eating ghost generated intense negative emotions, acquired 2 emotion points!]

He had been quite happy initially, but upon seeing the emotion points provided by that fiend, Lin Fan knew he had rejoiced too soon!

It seemed that apart from Tanjiro, the emotion points everyone else could provide him were pitifully few.

At the mere thought of this possibility, Lin Fan felt somewhat troubled...

Meanwhile, in the outside world.

At this very moment, the fiend also realized that something was wrong with the sword in Tanjiro's hand, feeling its throat continuously spray blood outward.

If things continued this way, even though it was a ghost, it wouldn't last much longer; now, the only thing it could think of was killing this fellow before its eyes!

Burning with fury, the man-eating ghost released its right hand from its throat, its eyes splitting as it roared, "Damned wretch, I'm going to eat you down to the bones!

I won't fall for the exact same move a second time!"

With that.

Its figure flashed as it charged straight ahead.

Tanjiro was somewhat too slow to react, but fortunately, he had Lin Fan's reminder.

"Swing toward the front, cut its neck!"

Tanjiro immediately followed suit, wielding his sword with both hands and slashing forward.

Just as the man-eating ghost arrived right in front of him, its neck was slashed into once more. Fortunately, it blocked the blade with its hands just in time, avoiding decapitation.

However, its hands were already crippled, and the wound on its neck ran several shades deeper.

The man-eating ghost's face hurt like hell now, as if it had been struck by a massive slap across the cheek. It had just declared it wouldn't fall for the same move twice, only to turn around and get slashed again.

Infuriated, the man-eating ghost's face twisted as it opened its blood-stained maw, exposing the sharp fangs inside, and bit down hard upon the blade. Its dark green hair also seemed to come alive, wrapping tightly around the sword body.

Seeing this, Lin Fan froze for a moment.

"Are you fucking retarded? Don't bite Tanjiro, why the hell are you biting me?"

Though it didn't deal any damage, it was completely disgusting!

Chapter 4: This System Is Alright; When It Has Stuff, It Actually Delivers!

The two locked in a contest of strength.

Tanjiro also knew deep down that he didn't have much time, and he was no match for the man-eating ghost in terms of sheer power. He let out a furious roar.

"I'm going to save Nezuko, get out of my way!"

With that, he jerked his head back.

Seeing this, the fiend curled the corners of its mouth, scoffing inwardly.

A mere human.

To actually try and headbutt me—simply laughable. The moment your head hurts and you get distracted, I can kill you with absolute ease!

Yet the reality turned out completely different from what the man-eating ghost had imagined.

Tanjiro delivered a headbutt without a single shred of hesitation, smashing directly into the man-eating ghost's forehead with a dull thud.

Bang!

The man-eating ghost's eyes instantly bulged as its mouth widened, its face plastered with pain and disbelief. The whole creature was dazed and dizzy from the impact.

Even its hair dropped limply down as a result.

Yet that still couldn't stop the urge in its heart to angrily question him.

How could it be this hard!

Is your fucking skull made of iron?!

Seeing this, Lin Fan couldn't quite keep a straight face either, but he couldn't let this opportunity slip by, so he immediately reminded him.

"Tanjiro, right now—chop off its head!"

Hearing that, Tanjiro hesitated for a fraction of a second, but it was followed instantly by a resolute slash of his blade. As the edge swept across the man-eating ghost's neck.

Before the ghost could even recover its wits, head and body parted ways. Its head dropped straight to the ground and rolled a few circles, while its headless torso toppled stiffly onto the earth.

In the final moments before the man-eating ghost's consciousness faded, the gaze it cast toward Tanjiro was filled with venomous hatred!

[Ding! Detected the man-eating ghost's negative emotions right before death, acquired 100 emotion points!
Detected first-time hunting of a man-eating ghost; to better integrate into the world, the system has loaded the corresponding functions of the Nichirin Blade for the host!]

Hearing the system prompt, Lin Fan was also momentarily stunned. "H-How many? One hundred emotion points! And it even loaded the Nichirin Blade ability for me?"

This perk gave Lin Fan a whole new perspective on his system. This system was genuinely all right; when it had items to give, it actually delivered!

Moreover, through the emotion points acquired this time, Lin Fan also understood one thing: at the exact moment an evil ghost died, its negative emotions would peak.

Though this amounted to a one-time harvest and lacked the sustained squeezing power of ongoing torment, its advantage lay in much higher efficiency!

Outwardly.

Having survived that battle, Tanjiro panted heavily, the hands gripping his katana trembling slightly.

As for the man-eating ghost's corpse, it seemed affected by the Nichirin Blade properties Lin Fan had just loaded, quickly dissolving into glowing embers upon the wind.

"Do ghosts not even leave behind bodies after they die?"

Tanjiro looked on in astonishment, then immediately hurried to dash toward the shrine, wanting to stop Nezuko from eating people.

Yet just as he took a single step, he noticed that Nezuko—who had been standing at the shrine doorway earlier, staring at the corpses and drooling—was actually suppressing her appetite and walking toward him at that very moment.

Seeing this, Tanjiro let out a long sigh of relief.

He genuinely feared from the bottom of his heart that Nezuko would eat someone. Recalling Ashura Maru's words, what if a day came when Nezuko consumed a human?

Perhaps all he could do would be to kill her with his own hands, then commit seppuku to atone for the sin...

Relaxing his mind, Tanjiro prepared to slide his sword back into its scabbard, but the moment he raised his arm—

A large hand suddenly reached out from behind, resting upon his shoulder as a dull, aged voice rang out.

"Can you let me see your sword?"

Hearing that, a cold drop of sweat rolled down Tanjiro's forehead as he hurriedly spun around, only to find an elderly man wearing a hood and a tengu mask standing behind him.

This person walked without making a sound!

Yet faced with the old man's request, Tanjiro's very first instinct was to seek Lin Fan's counsel.

However, the old man easily snatched the sword away with a single hand, holding it and earnestly feeling its weight as the nose beneath the mask twitched slightly.

Then, he immediately handed the sword back to Tanjiro and asked.

"Where did you get this sword?"

Without missing a beat, Tanjiro blurted out, "This sword was handed down in my household."

Hearing this, the old man said nothing further, instead turning and walking toward the shrine.

With that, Tanjiro slid his sword back into its scabbard.

By now, dawn was approaching. Sensing instinctive fear and aversion, Nezuko shrank her body down and crawled straight back into the bamboo basket to shield herself from the rising sun.

By the time Tanjiro came to his senses, the morning sun had already risen, and the old man had already hoisted the shattered corpses out from the shrine to bury them.

Seeing this, Tanjiro quickly stepped forward to help.

"I'll help."

Together, the two of them buried those people within the shrine's courtyard.

With their backs to the morning sun.

The old man finally spoke again, asking his question.

"I am Sakonji Urokodaki. You must be the one Giyu Tomioka told me about, right?"

It was only then that Tanjiro understood this old man was the very person Giyu Tomioka had told him to visit that day!

"Yes, I am Tanjiro Kamado!"

As he spoke, he even pointed to the bamboo basket strapped to his back, introducing, "The one inside here is my sister Nezuko."

Yet Sakonji Urokodaki acted as if he hadn't heard at all, cutting straight to the point with a sharp question, "Tanjiro, what will you do when your sister eats someone?"

Perhaps because Lin Fan had already brought it up earlier.

Tanjiro was already mentally prepared. Without a trace of hesitation, he answered resolutely.

"I will kill her, then commit suicide by seppuku, but I will never let such a thing happen!"

Having obtained this reply.

Sakonji Urokodaki couldn't help but nod slightly in satisfaction, stating.

"It's good that you have this resolve. Next, I am going to test whether you are suited to become a demon slayer. Strap your sister to your back and come with me."

The two of them moved one after the other, running toward Mount Sagiri until the sun sank in the west.

They finally stopped before a wooden cabin. By then, Tanjiro was already panting heavily, collapsing into a sitting position on the ground.

Suppressing his violently heaving chest, he asked with difficulty.

"Does this mean I've passed the test?"

"The trial is only just beginning now. Settle your sister in, and then come up the mountain with me."

Sakonji Urokodaki pushed the door open, removed the hood from his head, and entered the wooden cabin first.

At this, Tanjiro completely broke down.

As for Lin Fan, he was simply watching the show while harvesting emotion points along the way.

In just this single brief day, Tanjiro alone had provided no less than one hundred emotion points; coupled with Nezuko and Sakonji Urokodaki's contributions—

Today's harvest had reached nearly one hundred and fifty emotion points! At this rate, unlocking abilities wouldn't be just a dream!

After settling Nezuko in, the two of them headed up the mountain together. At that moment, Mount Sagiri was shrouded in thick fog, and with it already being nighttime, visibility was even more difficult.