I was sick of grinding

Name: Yatsuka Nightstar.

Age: 14.

Height: 166.

Weight: 51 kg.

Scroll skills: hunter's notes, cook's notes, Bushido Style, Valor Style, Netherworld Breathing Technique, Three Body Technique

Equipment: Traveler's Clothes, Samurai Long Sword.

Items: Kunai ×7, Throwing Knife ×4, Poison Knife ×3

Physique: Xeno'jiiva physique

Active skills: Elder Dragon's Pressure, Flame Burst, Hellfire Blast.

Special skills: netherworld fire

Combat rating: B

Exchange points: 6726

Another four days passed. Disguised as an unidentified demon, Ye Chen stabbed another demon to death. As a notification sounded in his ears, he let out a long sigh toward the sky and flopped onto the ground. Not from exhaustion, but from boredom-he had ground so much that he wanted to puke.

Killing demons was easy with his current strength, but killing and grinding every single day, doing the same thing for over a month straight? Who could stand that?

Beside him, Xiao Hua sat down dejectedly as well. All that demon hunting had brought it up to level 12, but it wasn't happy at all. Ye Chen kept making it act as an assassin support, hiding in the shadows without showing itself. Usually, it secretly set traps for demons or handled the cleanup, all without letting the demons spot it. It was absolutely miserable.

"I'm sick of this. No more grinding for a while. Killing too many demons isn't a good thing either. If I keep this up, I'm afraid I'll lose my mind one of these days. Let's head back. The Final Selection starts in just over half a month anyway."

Ye Chen sighed. He couldn't take it anymore. More grinding would drive him insane; he needed a change of pace. These past few days, his head had been full of demons. He thought about demons during the day, farmed demons at night, and even dreamed about demons in his sleep. If this kept up, he might really go off the deep end!

He thought of the Wind Hashira, that demon-killing maniac from the original story. Though the Wind Hashira was incredibly powerful and ranked among the strongest Hashira in the Demon Slayer Corps, his head really wasn't screwed on right. He was still human at heart, but his temper was so explosive that he acted like a madman. I don't want to end up like that. He glanced at the Monster Hunter Shop, then opened the equipment shop.

"System, buy a Hunter's Guild Set."

[Ding. Hunter's Guild Hat, Wrist Guards, Chest Armor, Belt, Leg Armor. Total cost for one set: 2,000 exchange points. Exchange?]

"Yes."

A red-and-white outfit appeared before Ye Chen the next moment. He picked up the Hunter's Guild Set and put it on. Although it had cost him 2,000 exchange points, it wasn't a waste. The guild set not only looked good, but its skills were useful too. Its defensive stats were decent, it was practical, and it wasn't as heavy as some suits of armor.

"Xiao Hua, let's go. We're heading back to old man Urokodaki's place."

Ye Chen stretched, then felt around his kidneys and liver, confirming that they were still holding up. Although he had spent over a month grinding demons like crazy, he hadn't burned through his reserves yet. Good.

"Meow... meow, meow!!"

Hearing Ye Chen's words, Xiao Hua jumped straight up with excitement, flailing its limbs even in midair. These past few days had left it terribly pent up. Walking around with such a big cat was conspicuous, so Ye Chen had always made it stay out of the demons' sight and hide as much as possible even around humans. Those days were finally over. How could it not be happy?

"All right, all right, let's leave now. At this distance, it'll probably take us two days to get there. For those two days, we'll sell some meat during the day and grind at night..."

Ye Chen smiled and stroked the cat's head, then suddenly froze. "Pfft, what am I saying? Grind, my ass. No more grinding for a while. I'm sick of it. I'm going to take it easy and clear my head. No selling meat either. Let's just treat the trip back as a vacation."

Damn it, selling meat by day and farming demons by night has become a habit. No, no, I can't let that stick. I'll go off the deep end. I need a proper break right now.

"Hmm? Something's coming?"

Ye Chen had barely taken a step when he heard an unusual rush of wind rapidly approaching from afar. After a moment's thought, he had Xiao Hua set a few traps and hide. He made some preparations himself, then used the Transformation Technique to turn into an ordinary passerby and stood there waiting for whoever was coming.

Whoosh!!

A tree overhead suddenly shook a few times. Ye Chen looked up and spotted a demon crouching on one of its branches. The demon was rather short, with several scars on his face, and was staring down at him with a savage expression.

Ye Chen grinned, recognizing him at a glance. This was no ordinary demon, but Byōga, Lower Rank Three of the Twelve Kizuki.

"So you're the one who's been upsetting Lord Muzan?"

Byōga regarded Ye Chen with an utterly cruel smile. It was all because of this fellow. When Ye Chen had previously hunted demons in territory near his, he had been too cautious to make a move, and Lord Muzan had given him a dressing-down for it.

"Hmph, Byōga, this is all your fault. Otherwise, Lord Muzan wouldn't have taken his anger out on us."

While Ye Chen was thinking, a sudden gust sounded behind him, and a figure appeared at his back. He glanced sideways and recognized this demon as well.

This one was clearly a female demon, with two pointed horns on her head. She was unmistakably Lower Rank Four, Koyuki.

"Still, someone actually managed to catch Lord Muzan's attention. How long has it been since that last happened?"

Before Ye Chen could react, another voice sounded in his ears. A demon was already standing a short distance to his right. With a strange scar on his face and hair standing straight up, he was none other than Lower Rank Six, Kamunue.

"Well, well. Three whole Lower Ranks from the Twelve Kizuki."

Ye Chen showed no sign of panic at the sight of them. He continued, "Anyone else? If it's just you three, I'm afraid you'll be in for more than you can handle today."

"Hmph. So you do recognize us. You killed a bunch of lesser demons with a few strange tricks, and now you think you can look down on us too?" Koyuki sneered, utterly dismissive of Ye Chen's words. As far as she was concerned, no one except the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps posed any threat. Yet this man didn't even have a Nichirin Blade-what he wielded was clearly just an ordinary Samurai Sword-and he still dared to act so arrogantly.

Looks like no Upper Ranks came... Ye Chen swept his gaze over them, feeling both relieved and a little disappointed. Oh well. Wrapping up this stretch of demon grinding with these three Lower Ranks isn't bad either.

"Koyuki, be careful. This man caught Lord Muzan's attention. He should have some skill."

Kamunue spoke with a wary expression, then exchanged a meaningful glance with the other two demons and extended a hand. Under Ye Chen's slightly surprised gaze, his fingernails suddenly lengthened. His figure flashed, and a moment later, he was right in front of Ye Chen, slashing viciously at him.

Ye Chen remained calm. Although the Lower Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki were high-level demons, that was all they were. Compared with the Upper Ranks, they were practically eggs smashing against rocks-there was simply no comparison. Ye Chen's current strength was definitely on par with an Upper Rank's. Going all out, he could even put up a fight against either Upper Rank One or Upper Rank Two.

Ye Chen simply leaned back, avoiding the claw strike, then swept out a leg and struck Kamunue's shoulder. Putting force behind the kick, he sent Kamunue flying and crashing to the ground.

"What kind of strength is that..."

Koyuki and Byōga saw that the kick had caved in Kamunue's entire shoulder. Demons had incredibly tough bodies, and as one of the Twelve Kizuki, Kamunue undoubtedly had a body as tough as steel. Ordinary Demon Slayer Corps members couldn't do much damage to him even with Nichirin Blades, yet Ye Chen had crushed his entire shoulder with one kick. Was he even human?