This kid was promising!

"Hey, old man Myōga, are you sure this is the place? It reeks of booze."

A magnificent waterfall over two hundred meters tall cascaded through the valley.

Beneath it, rows of enormous vats stood side by side, making the sight even more spectacular.

"This is definitely the place. The smell comes from those vats. They're all filled with fine wine."

Old Myōga bounced on Inuyasha's shoulder as he explained.

The Medicine Elder Poison Immortal was, in fact, a lecherous drunk.

"Master Inuyasha, please bring up one of the wine vats from the pool beneath the waterfall..."

At those words, Inuyasha effortlessly fished a vat nearly as tall as a person, filled to the brim with wine, onto the bank with his right hand alone.

"Then what?"

"Pour out the wine."

Grandpa Myoga prompted him.

Inuyasha complied, lifting the huge vat and tipping it over without the slightest strain, as though it weighed nothing.

In reality, however, every single vat was incredibly heavy!

At least five hundred kilograms!

Li Xia tried hauling an identical vat out of the pool beneath the waterfall himself. He succeeded, but only by using both hands and straining with every ounce of strength he had.

There was simply no comparing him to Inuyasha, who swung one around single-handedly like a little toy.

This made it abundantly clear just how high Inuyasha's strength stat was.

[Arm strength], [Speed], [Explosive power], [Vitality], [Defense], [Reflexes], [Demon power], and [Four Souls potential] were the eight basic stats Li Xia had identified in the world of Inuyasha. On a scale from half a star at the lowest to seven stars at the highest, the official guidebook rated the half-demon Inuyasha's arm strength at four stars.

That natural strength was no joke.

Four-star arm strength meant that Inuyasha ranked among the elite of upper-level demons when it came to strength.

As a human who had trained rigorously since childhood, Li Xia had made tremendous overall progress through his continued training lately. Even so, constrained by the limits of a human body, he estimated that his arm strength had only just reached one and a half stars.

With a premium Strength Talisman, he should reach two and a half stars, approaching three.

(Stronger than Miroku, but weaker than Sango.)

Previously, Inuyasha had only two-and-a-half-star demon power in his half-demon form, yet he could fight plenty of demons with three- or four-star demon power without relying on Tessaiga's Wind Scar or other techniques, and even defeat stronger opponents!

It seemed... there was a reason for that after all!

Li Xia thought.

This small detail gave him a strikingly clear understanding of the gap between himself and someone born to a powerful demon.

Their arm strength alone was already worlds apart. Once the other seven stats were factored in, the gap in their overall strength would only grow wider.

To bridge that gulf, he had to rely on outside help.

Weapons!

For now, the quickest and most effective approach was to follow the Demon Slayers of the Demon Slayer Village, using superior weapons to fight above his level. Hiraikotsu was undoubtedly the most representative example.

Following the example of Inuyasha and his brother, or the Swordsmith Dao Qiu, and wielding a demon blade with built-in abilities would work even better. The improvement in Inuyasha's and Sesshomaru's strength after obtaining Tessaiga and Tōkijin respectively was plain for all to see, especially in Sesshomaru's case.

Before obtaining Tōkijin, the noble demon's combat performance had seemed nothing particularly remarkable. But once he acquired a reasonably suitable demon blade, he could put much more of his demon power to use, and his fighting strength rose exponentially. When he awakened Bakusaiga, the weapon best suited to him, he shot straight to the very forefront of the top tier. It was a truly massive upgrade.

"Unfortunately, I don't have a father I can count on. I have to rely on myself for everything."

The Thunderstrike Blade...

No, it should really be called the [Fire-Tipped Spear] now!

After Totosai's modifications, what had originally been a long-handled blade had become a spear with both lightning and fire attributes.

Its lightning attribute still came from the inherent lightning power of thunderstrike iron, a specialty of the Thunder Beast Tribe.

Its fire attribute came from a few scraps of flame meteoric iron that Totosai had forged into it, granting the weapon the power of fire. Its exact strength was still unknown, but it presumably would not be too shabby.

Obtaining this Fire-Tipped Spear meant that Li Xia had officially set out on the path of reaching the pinnacle through superior weaponry.

What lay ahead was unknown. He would have to explore it himself, step by step.

Splash...

As Inuyasha emptied the huge vat of wine, an old man dressed in white, with long hair and a long beard, tumbled out.

"Is this the Medicine Elder Poison Immortal?"

He really did love his wine more than life. Did he spend most of his days lying inside a wine vat?

Li Xia looked at him curiously.

Inuyasha did not bother with such thoughts. Acting on impulse, he went straight up, grabbed the old man's long beard, and tugged it.

"Hey, old man, wake up..."

"Master Inuyasha, stop! That's the Medicine Elder Immortal..."

Myōga cried urgently.

He was practically hopping with panic.

When the Medicine Elder Poison Immortal slowly came around, Grandpa Myoga explained why the two had come.

After hearing the general situation, the old immortal yawned and looked at Li Xia first.

"Human boy, you want to collect some Spirit Spring water?"

"Yes, Grandpa Medicine Immortal."

Li Xia knew how to sweet-talk.

The old man was over a thousand years old. Calling him Grandpa to build a little rapport was nothing to be ashamed of.

Besides, he lived all alone, with no one to depend on.

If the old man really wanted to take him as an honorary grandson, Li Xia would not necessarily object.

"Your request is simple enough. Very well. My Spirit Spring flows endlessly anyway, so giving you some water won't hurt. Heh, would you like to try the wine I brew? It's made from Spirit Spring water and my medicines. One mouthful, and I guarantee you'll feel light as air today, letting go of all your worries and burdens..."

The old immortal retrieved another wine vat from the pool, filled a bowl from it, and set it on the grass before Li Xia.

Perhaps Li Xia was reading too much into it, but he kept feeling that the old immortal's words carried a deeper meaning.

Looking at the full bowl of clear wine before him, he hesitated only briefly before downing it in one gulp.

Old Myōga had brought him here, and this man was an old acquaintance of Myōga's, as well as one of the Dog General's former friends. He was unlikely to tamper with the wine just to harm an insignificant human like Li Xia.

The moment the wine went down, he tasted not only the familiar flavor of strong liquor. More wondrously, after that initial sensation came sourness, sweetness, bitterness, heat-all the myriad flavors of life.

It gave him the illusion that he had lived through an entire lifetime all over again, and he could not help losing himself in it.

"Excellent wine!"

His praise came from the bottom of his heart.

The old immortal merely nodded with a smile, then turned to Inuyasha. "You want me to imbue the Tessaiga your father left you with my poison immortal power?"

"Can you do it, old man?"

Inuyasha's eyes brimmed with anticipation.

The Medicine Elder Poison Immortal's answer did not disappoint him.

"I can, yes, but are you sure you can wield that power? From what I can see, you haven't even mastered Tessaiga's most basic wind force yet."

"That's right, Master Inuyasha. He's an exceptionally powerful immortal among demons. His power isn't so easy to control."

Old Myōga also began offering reminders from the side.

He knew perfectly well that his old acquaintance's power was balanced and gentle, making it ideal for laying a foundation for the young. But the favor his lord had left behind was only enough to ask for help once. If his young master failed to seize this precious opportunity, the immortal would not be so accommodating next time.

"Let Tessaiga and me try. I have a feeling this power is important!"

Inuyasha looked earnestly at the two elders.

Just then, Li Xia rubbed the back of his head, took a Shikon Shard from his pocket, and offered it to the old immortal with an innocent expression.

"Grandpa Medicine Immortal, could I trade this Shikon Shard for a chance to strengthen my weapon? I'm very fond of this Fire-Tipped Spear, and you're so powerful. If you could imbue my weapon with your power, surely it would be better able to protect me and the people around me."

Strengthening a weapon was not about killing enemies, but about protecting others.

That was the art of speaking.

Though Li Xia had never specifically studied rhetoric in either his previous life or this one, he still had some idea of what words worked best with what kinds of people.

"A Shikon Shard?"

The old immortal's eyes abruptly narrowed.

But when he saw that the shard the young man had produced was largely untainted, his gaze toward Li Xia... immediately took on a hint of appreciation.

This kid was promising!

(Thanks to Kagome for casually purifying the jewel shard he carried beforehand. Those who knew, knew.)

"What do you think, Grandpa Medicine Immortal? Shikon Shards are very useful. You can use them to strengthen medicinal herbs and Spirit Spring water, and even improve the flavor of your wine..."

Li Xia's smile was very sincere.