"I'm really looking forward to seeing Muzan's expression when the time comes~"
Lin Fan chuckled evilly, suddenly realizing something.
He didn't know if it was because he had become Ashura, but now his whole person was full of dark humor.
Clearly, he used to be a model youth...
In the outside world.
With the wooden box on his back, Tanjiro walked toward the foot of the mountain under Sakonji Urokodaki's gaze, embarking on a journey alone.
He kept walking straight toward the northwest.
It wasn't until noon.
Tanjiro finally arrived at the so-called town. Crossing the wooden bridge before him, a bustling town came into view.
People came and went in an endless stream on the street.
"The town in the northwest direction should be this one, right?"
Tanjiro said somewhat uncertainly, walking straight into the town.
Chapter 9 One Blade, Three Kills
Upon arriving in this town and walking along the street.
People on the roadside were discussing something from time to time, especially when a bruised and battered man who looked dispirited walked by.
The discussions among the people on the roadside were simply endless.
"Look, isn't that Kazumi? He's actually become this haggard now."
"I heard it's because his fiancée, who was with him, was abducted. Now girls disappear every single night; it's truly terrifying."
"Young girls will probably still be abducted tonight, I really don't know when this will ever end."
Passing by, Tanjiro heard the conversations of several people and seemed to realize something.
He hurriedly turned around and gave chase to the dispirited man, calling out to him in time and asking with a serious expression.
"Kazumi-san, I have some things I'd like to ask you about, may I?"
Hearing this, Kazumi, who was walking ahead in a dispirited manner, turned around, and finally showed a bit of expression in the face of Tanjiro's inquiry.
The two sides exchanged a brief conversation.
Subsequently, guided by Kazumi, Tanjiro arrived at a small alley.
This time, Kazumi spoke up first, saying rather dejectedly, "Although you might not believe it, my fiancée Riko disappeared right here..."
Yet Tanjiro replied firmly.
"I believe you!"
With that, he prostrated himself on the ground and twitched his nose twice, indeed smelling the lingering scent of a demon, but this time it was different from the past.
It smelled fickle and elusive, giving people a strange feeling.
Following the lingering scent, Tanjiro searched all the way.
Until night fell.
Street lamps lit up on the street, and after there were no longer any pedestrians.
Tanjiro finally smelled the relatively fresh scent left behind by the demon on a street, and immediately rushed in that direction without stopping.
Lin Fan watched from the shadows.
Until Tanjiro arrived in front of a courtyard, he finally confirmed it as well.
The demon was right here.
And there was also the scent of a young girl.
He could confirm it was nearby, but he couldn't find it for a moment, and was about to draw his Nichirin Blade to guard his surroundings.
Yet Lin Fan spoke up with a reminder at this moment.
Draw me out, Tanjiro! I sense it—the demon is hiding underground to your right!
"Understood, Ashura!"
Having received the reminder, Tanjiro immediately drew Ashura, his gaze sweeping to the right as his nose twitched, sniffing out the spot where the scent was strongest.
Without a shred of hesitation, he thrust the blade down.
In an instant.
The blade pierced as if entering the surface of water, bursting open a ball of black fog to form a circular shadow, and a fainting young girl even drifted up from within that shadow.
Tanjiro had no time to overthink as he immediately scooped up the girl and retreated backward.
Right on the heels of that.
Half a body crawled out from that shadow-like patch of ground—it was a man-eating demon with blood-red eyes and three horns on its head.
That previous blade had stabbed its arm, and the wound was still bleeding continuously.
Seeing the scene before his eyes, Tanjiro immediately recalled Master Urokodaki's teachings; the demon in front of him should have already awakened a Blood Demon Art!
While making his judgment, he spoke up to question it.
"Where are those abducted girls?!"
The moment his voice fell.
The ruthless yet pleasant voice of Lin Fan rang out in his mind, Does even need to be asked? They've definitely been eaten already!
Hearing this, Tanjiro's expression instantly turned grief-stricken and indignant. He understood, yet he still harbored wishful thinking.
Simultaneously.
A continuous series of system notification chimes rang out in Lin Fan's mind.
[Ding! Detected that Tanjiro generated negative emotions, gained 17 Emotion Points!]
[Ding! Detected that Tanjiro generated...]
As for that man-eating demon, its upper and lower jaws shook as its teeth ground together crazily, producing a sharp and piercing screech resembling glass being scraped.
Seeing this, Tanjiro stepped backward a few paces, turned to look at Kazumi, who was frightened beside him, and said with a serious expression.
"Kazumi-san, please hold this person and hide to the side. You must stay within my reach; only then can I protect you both."
"Leave it to me."
Although shocked, Kazumi quickly regained his wits, took the young girl Tanjiro was holding, and closely followed nearby.
As for Tanjiro, he gripped Ashura tightly, guessing the demon's abilities in his heart. The most crucial point among them was that even when the demon lurked, it couldn't hide its scent!
Targeting this point, Tanjiro twitched his nose, wanting to sniff out the demon's location.
Watching this scene play out, Lin Fan also provided a timely telepathic reminder.
Tanjiro, I sense there are three demons in this vicinity, right behind you not far away—they should be preparing to come out from underground to ambush you. Just turn the tables on them and use the Second Form directly to wipe them all out in one sweep!
Hearing the voice in his mind, Tanjiro harbored no doubts whatsoever.
At the same time, his nose also caught the scent where it was strongest, which was precisely not far behind him, just as Ashura had said.
Tanjiro turned around immediately, gripping the blade with both hands.
His footsteps flew as he rushed toward the spot where the scent was strongest, but right a second before he was about to close in.
Lin Fan reminded him once more.
Right now!
Hearing that, Tanjiro leaped into the air with both hands holding the blade without a moment's hesitation, his body initiating a horizontal slash: "Water Breathing—Second Form—Water Wheel!"
Rivulets of flowing water manifested on the blade, endless and unceasing.
Those three demons on the ground appeared at that exact same moment, separated by only a split second.
They didn't even have time to react.
Only a rivulet of flowing water was seen sweeping across the necks of the three demons. After Tanjiro landed.
The heads of the three demons were sent flying into the air at the very same moment, dropping to the ground. In that instant, what revealed itself in their eyes was despair as well as disbelief.
"This... how is that possible..."
Before their voices could fade.
Their bodies and heads gradually turned to ash, completely dissipating, until finally, only an inconspicuous cloth pouch was left on the ground.
Simultaneously.
The system's notification chime also rang out in Lin Fan's mind.
[Ding! Detected the negative emotions of the man-eating demon right before death, gained 300 Emotion Points!]
[Ding! Devoured 50 Demon Power. Shall we provide Nourishment to blade master Kamado Tanjiro?!]
Hearing this prompt, Lin Fan didn't answer immediately, instead asking, "Can I decide how much Demon Power to feed back to Tanjiro?"
[Ding! Yes, you can!]
Having received the system's affirmative reply, Lin Mo pondered for a moment before giving his own answer as well, "Return three-tenths first and let me see the effect."
[Ding! Nourishment ability activated. This return of Demon Power is 15. Corresponding physical fitness has already been upgraded for blade master Kamado Tanjiro!]
When the system's notification chime rang out.
Tanjiro, who was just preparing to sheath his blade, suddenly saw several threads made of black smoke emerge from Ashura's hilt.
They crept onto the back of his hand, and before he could say anything, he felt as though some kind of change had occurred within his body.
It was as if he had completed half a month's worth of training in a single instant.
Chapter 10 What Do You Take Human Lives For?!
For a moment, Tanjiro looked at his own hands in sheer disbelief, and once he recovered his wits, he hurriedly asked.
"Ashura, what did you just do to me?"
Hearing this, Lin Fan replied unhurriedly.
"This is one of my abilities. Whenever you kill a demon in the future, I can digest its power and feed it back to you.
So if you want to grow stronger, go kill demons..."
After a brief explanation.
Through his physical control, Lin Fan also clearly felt Tanjiro growing stronger. To put it into perspective.
The thirty percent returned just now was probably equivalent to half a month of arduous training for Tanjiro, and his body had been comprehensively enhanced.
Yet Lin Fan still had a question.
"System, are there any limitations to this enhancement?"
[Ding! The stronger the blade master's physical body, the more Demon Power is consumed to use Nourishment to enhance it!]
Lin Fan understood as well.
This meant that improvement would become increasingly difficult later on, but overall, it was not a major problem.
Outside, however.
After a brief period of adjustment, Tanjiro sheathed his sword and bent down to pick up the cloth bag that had fallen to the ground.
Opening it, he found that it was filled with all sorts of hairpins.
Thinking of the young girls who had been abducted.
A vague guess already formed in Tanjiro's heart, and he could even be certain that those girls had all met their demise.
Yet, being naturally kind-hearted, he still turned around, walked up to the already dumbfounded Kazumi, and offered the cloth bag with both hands.
"I have to go. Please accept this; perhaps one day you will see that young lady again."
Before you continue