Starting from Demon Slayer, Becoming the Strongest Demonic Blade! Chapter 7

"I'm really looking forward to seeing Muzan's expression when the time comes~"

Lin Fan smirked wickedly, suddenly realizing something.

Perhaps because he had become Ashura Maru, he had become full of mischievous humor.

He had clearly once been a model young man...

Outside.

Tanjiro carried the wooden box on his back and, under Sakonji Urokodaki's watchful gaze, headed down the mountain, setting off on his journey alone.

He kept heading northwest.

It was not until noon that Tanjiro finally reached the so-called town. Crossing the wooden bridge before him, he was greeted by a bustling city.

People streamed endlessly through the streets.

"This should be the town northwest of here, right?"

Tanjiro said uncertainly as he headed straight into town.

One Blade, Three Kills

After entering the town and walking along the streets,

he occasionally heard people by the roadside discussing something. Especially when a bruised and battered man with a dazed expression walked past,

the discussions among the townspeople became incessant.

"Look, isn't that Kazumi? He's become so haggard."

"I heard his fiancée was abducted. Young women have been disappearing every night lately. It's terrifying."

"Another young woman will probably be abducted tonight. Who knows when this will end?"

As Tanjiro passed by and heard their conversation, he seemed to realize something.

He hurriedly turned around and chased after the distraught man, calling out to stop him in time. With a serious expression, he asked,

"Mr. Kazumi, I have something I'd like to ask you about. Would that be alright?"

Kazumi, who had been walking ahead in a daze, turned around at those words. Only when faced with Tanjiro's question did some life return to his expression.

The two exchanged a few words.

Then, led by Kazumi, Tanjiro arrived at an alley.

This time, Kazumi spoke first, saying dejectedly, "You may not believe me, but my fiancée, Riko, disappeared here..."

But Tanjiro replied firmly,

"I believe you!"

As he spoke, he crouched down and sniffed twice. Sure enough, he caught the lingering scent of a demon, but this time it was different from before.

The scent felt elusive and shifting, strangely unsettling.

Following the residual scent, Tanjiro searched all the way onward.

Until night fell.

The streetlights came on, and there were no more pedestrians.

Tanjiro finally caught a fresher scent left by the demon on a street. He immediately rushed toward it without stopping.

Lin Fan watched from the shadows.

When Tanjiro arrived before a courtyard, he finally confirmed it.

The demon was here.

And there was also the scent of a young woman.

He could tell she was nearby, but he could not find her for the moment. He immediately moved to draw his Nichirin Blade and guard against his surroundings.

But Lin Fan spoke up to warn him at that moment.

"Draw me, Tanjiro. I can sense it. That demon is hiding underground to your right!"

"Got it, Ashura Maru!"

With the warning, Tanjiro immediately drew Ashura Maru. His gaze swept to the right as he sniffed, catching the spot where the scent was strongest.

Without hesitation, he thrust his blade down.

In an instant,

the blade pierced the ground as though stabbing into water. A cloud of black mist burst forth, forming a circular shadow, and an unconscious young woman floated up from within it.

Tanjiro had no time to think. He immediately scooped up the young woman and retreated.

Right after that,

half a body crawled out from the shadow-like ground. It was a flesh-eating demon with blood-red eyes and three horns on its head.

The earlier strike had pierced its arm, and the wound continued to bleed.

At the sight before him, Tanjiro immediately recalled Sakonji Urokodaki's teachings. This demon had likely already awakened a Blood Demon Art!

Even as he made that judgment, he asked,

"Where are the abducted girls?!"

The moment his words fell,

Lin Fan's cold yet pleasant voice echoed in his mind. "Do you even need to think about it? They were definitely already eaten!"

Tanjiro's expression immediately turned grief-stricken and furious. He understood, but he still clung to a shred of hope.

At the same time,

a string of system notifications rang out in Lin Fan's mind.

[Ding! Detected Tanjiro experiencing negative emotions. Obtained 17 Emotion Points!]

[Ding! Detected Tanjiro experiencing...]

The flesh-eating demon ground its teeth wildly, its upper and lower jaws trembling as it produced a shrill, grating sound like glass being scraped.

Tanjiro took several steps back, then turned to look at the terrified Kazumi beside him. With a solemn expression, he said,

"Mr. Kazumi, please carry this person and hide to the side. You must stay within my reach. Only then can I protect you both."

"Leave it to me."

Though Kazumi was shocked, he quickly came to his senses. He took the young woman Tanjiro was carrying and stayed close by.

Meanwhile, Tanjiro gripped Ashura Maru and began to speculate about the demon's ability. Most importantly, even when the demon hid itself, it could not conceal its scent!

With that in mind, Tanjiro sniffed, trying to locate the demon.

Watching this unfold, Lin Fan sent a timely warning into his mind.

"Tanjiro, I sense three demons nearby. They're not far behind you and are probably planning to emerge from underground to ambush you. Perfect—play along and use the Second Form to catch them all in one sweep!"

Hearing the voice in his mind, Tanjiro had no doubts.

At the same time, his nose caught the place where the scent was strongest. It was exactly where Ashura Maru had said, not far behind him.

Tanjiro immediately turned around and gripped his sword with both hands.

He dashed toward the place where the scent was strongest, his steps swift as the wind. But just one second before reaching it,

Lin Fan warned him again.

"Now!"

At those words, Tanjiro leaped up without hesitation, holding his blade in both hands as his body began a horizontal slash. "Water Breathing—Second Form—Water Wheel!"

A flowing current appeared along the blade, ceaseless and unending.

The three demons beneath the ground emerged at that exact moment, only an instant apart.

They did not even have time to react.

The flowing water swept across the necks of all three demons. When Tanjiro landed,

their heads flew into the air at the same time before falling to the ground. Despair and disbelief filled their eyes.

"This... is impossible..."

Before they could finish speaking,

their bodies and heads gradually turned to ash and completely vanished. In the end, only an inconspicuous cloth pouch remained on the ground.

At the same time,

a system notification rang out in Lin Fan's mind.

[Ding! Detected the flesh-eating demons' negative emotions before death. Obtained 300 Emotion Points!]

[Ding! Devoured 50 Demon Power. Would you like to return it to blade master Kamado Tanjiro?!]

Hearing the prompt, Lin Fan did not answer immediately. Instead, he asked, "Can I decide how much Demon Power to return to Tanjiro?"

[Ding! Yes!]

After receiving the system's affirmative answer, Lin Fan pondered for a moment before giving his response. "Return thirty percent first. Let me see the effect."

[Ding! Return ability activated. This time, 15 Demon Power has been returned, enhancing blade master Kamado Tanjiro's corresponding physical attributes!]

When the system notification sounded,

Tanjiro, who had been about to sheathe his sword, suddenly saw several threads of black mist emerge from Ashura Maru's hilt.

They wrapped around the back of his hand. Before he could say anything, he felt as though his body had undergone some kind of change.

It was as if he had completed half a month of his usual training in an instant.

What Do You Take Human Lives For?!

Tanjiro stared at his hands in disbelief for a moment. Once he came back to his senses, he hurriedly asked,

"Ashura Maru, what did you just do to me?"

Lin Fan replied unhurriedly,

"This is one of my abilities. From now on, whenever you kill a demon, I can digest its power and return it to you.

So if you want to grow stronger, go kill demons..."

After giving a simple explanation,

Lin Fan also clearly sensed Tanjiro's growth through his ability to control the body. If it were measured out,

the thirty percent returned just now was roughly equivalent to Tanjiro's half a month of arduous training. His body had been strengthened in every aspect.

But Lin Fan still had one question.

"System, are there any limits to this enhancement?"

[Ding! The stronger the blade master's body becomes, the more Demon Power will be consumed when using the return ability to further enhance it!]

Lin Fan understood.

The further he went, the more difficult it would be to improve. But overall, it was not a major problem.

Outside,

after briefly adapting, Tanjiro sheathed his sword and bent down to pick up the cloth pouch that had fallen to the ground.

After opening it, he discovered that it was filled with all kinds of hairpins.

Thinking of the abducted girls,

Tanjiro already had a faint guess in his heart. He could even be certain that all those girls had been killed.

But kind-hearted by nature, he still turned around and walked over to Kazumi, who was already standing there dumbfounded. He presented the cloth pouch with both hands.

"I have to go. Please take this. Perhaps one day, you may see that young lady again."