The Final Selection Ends

After spending two days with Makomo, Ye Chen found an excuse to leave and act on his own.

After all, he still had Demons to grind. Although his three clones had been hunting the Demons here nonstop, many of them had clearly realized that someone ruthless was hunting them down and had gone into hiding. His clones probably had trouble finding them, so he would have to rely on a few tricks of his own.

"Man, these Demons really know how to hide. Only two days left, and now I have to grind myself half to death again."

Ye Chen shook his head, exchanged points for a Farseeing Potion through the system, and drank it. Once he located the hidden Demons, he swiftly moved to kill them one after another. Whenever he detected Demons within a five-kilometer radius, his clones would also spring into action and drag them out.

Soon, another two days passed. With roughly five or six hours left before the Final Selection ended, Ye Chen finally found the last Demon and cornered him. This Demon was weak and could not even use a Blood Demon Art, but his ability to hide was first-rate. Ye Chen had let his guard down earlier and allowed him to escape once.

"Y-you... what are you?"

The Demon's face twisted. He knew that many Demons in the Wisteria Flower Sea had already been killed. No matter how well they hid, this person always had a way to drag them out. It was simply unbelievable.

He had lived in the Wisteria Flower Sea for over twenty years. Unlike the other Demons, he always assessed a person's strength before making a move to kill them. That caution was what had kept him from falling to the Final Selection participants or the Demons who killed one another all these years. Now, however, that same caution seemed utterly powerless.

"You little bastard, go on, run! You made me search everywhere and wasted fifty exchange points. Now die!"

Ye Chen could not be bothered to waste words on him. Blue-white flames surged over his Nichirin Blade, and he sliced the Demon's head off with a single stroke.

His first attempt to catch this Demon had failed, wasting an entire Farseeing Potion and forcing him to buy a second bottle to find him. Fifty whole exchange points, gone!

[Ding! Killed one low-level Demon. Exchange points ×87.]

[Ding! Successfully killed every Demon in the Wisteria Flower Sea. Hidden quest complete. Awarded exchange points ×2,000.]

[The Xeno'jiiva Physique has absorbed sufficient energy. Exchange points may now be spent to evolve it.]

Ye Chen wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead and flashed a smug smile. His haul this time was impressive. Killing every Demon here had earned him a huge number of exchange points, not to mention the 2,800 points from the two hidden quests. His current total was...

Name: Yatsuka Nightstar.

Age: 14.

Height: 168 cm.

Weight: 51 kg.

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

Equipment: Guild Set, Nichirin Blade, Rathalos Long Sword.

Items: Kunai ×6, Throwing Knife ×2, Poison Knife ×10, Light Ball ×1, Mystic Water ×1, solar-powered electric toothbrush ×1, Senzu Bean ×1...

Physique: Xeno'jiiva Physique.

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

Special skills: netherworld fire.

Combat rating: B.

Exchange points: 26,786.

Yes, including the hidden quest rewards, Ye Chen had earned over twenty-six thousand exchange points this time. In these seven days, he had killed more than thirteen hundred Demons. It was an absolutely unbelievable number.

Also worth mentioning was that he had grown five centimeters over the past few months. He had been underdeveloped before, but now his body was catching up, making him grow incredibly fast. In another year, he would probably reach around 175 centimeters.

"But I still can't finish this damned quest."

Ye Chen looked at the quest for the Master Demon Slayer title, which required killing more than three thousand Demons, and felt thoroughly frustrated. His total kill count had not even reached two thousand yet. He had been grinding like mad lately, but these quests were becoming more and more ridiculous.

"But what's this evolution for the Xeno'jiiva Physique?" Curious, Ye Chen opened the system interface and checked the evolution description.

Xeno'jiiva Physique evolution: Once the energy absorbed through netherworld fire reaches a certain threshold, an opportunity to evolve the physique becomes available.

Exchange points required for evolution: 4,000.

"..." Ye Chen's eyebrows twitched violently at the cost. Four thousand exchange points! Has this damned system lost its mind? Who would pay that much? Get lost! I don't talk to crooks!

While thinking that, Ye Chen selected the option to accept the evolution. Well, he had money to burn now, and the things that could improve his strength were becoming increasingly limited. There was nothing more to say.

[Ding! Consumed 4,000 exchange points. Xeno'jiiva Physique has evolved into Arch-tempered Xeno'jiiva Physique.]

[Ding! Combat rating has increased to B+.]

Holy shit! Seeing the notification, Ye Chen knew exactly what an Arch-tempered Xeno'jiiva was. Or rather, anyone who had played Monster Hunter probably knew.

Arch-tempered Xeno'jiiva was the mature form of Xeno'jiiva. Not only was it larger than an ordinary Xeno'jiiva, but the flames it spewed were considerably more powerful, and it had all kinds of devastating moves. Fighting that monster in Monster Hunter had given Ye Chen no end of grief.

"But now my combat rating is B+. That pretty much makes me unbeatable by anyone except Muzan."

Under normal circumstances, Kokushibo might be able to trade blows with him after entering his second or third phase, but Ye Chen had no intention of competing with him on raw combat strength alone. That left only Muzan capable of overpowering him.

Ye Chen took stock of the changes in his body. Although his strength seemed to have increased by only a small step, the difference was substantial. In fact, if he fought the version of himself from ten minutes ago, a normal fight would be decided within twenty moves.

"Come to think of it, it's about time. I should head out. The Final Selection is almost over."

Ye Chen scratched his head and headed toward the exit. Every Demon here was dead, and he had harvested almost all the wisteria trees in the inner area. It was time to leave.

"What... holy shit, what the hell is going on?"

The moment Ye Chen reached the exit and saw what was outside, he nearly blurted out a curse. Wait, this isn't right. What the hell?

Standing before Ye Chen were twenty or thirty people, all of them Final Selection participants. What shocked him was that he knew very few people ever survived the Final Selection. Usually, only a handful made it out alive each time. Seeing more than twenty people here was simply unbelievable.

"Hmm... okay, I think I know what happened..."

Ye Chen thought it over and realized it was probably because he had slaughtered Demons throughout the Wisteria Flower Sea. Besides saving quite a few people along the way, he had frightened the Demons into hiding everywhere, leaving them too afraid to come out and harm anyone. That was why so many participants had avoided dying inside.

The two little girls waiting outside to greet them exchanged glances, their eyes filled with undisguised surprise. In every previous Final Selection, the number of survivors had never reached double digits. What had happened this time for so many people to make it out alive?

"What should we do? Should we inform Oyakata-sama?"

One of the little girls frowned slightly. She did not believe that every one of these people possessed the strength to survive among so many Demons. Something unexpected must have happened.

"No, let's follow the usual procedure for now. If they join the Demon Slayer Corps without understanding their own limits, they'll have no one else to blame... Still, while we proceed as usual, we should report what happened."

The other little girl shook her head, then raised a hand. A crow flew out of her sleeve and soared into the distance.