Back to the present.
Teiichi slowly walked back to Shota, crouched down, and asked with concern:
"How are you? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Shota recovered from his earlier shock, shook his head, and answered:
"Nothing serious. My arms are a little hurt, but thankfully, no bones are broken. I should be fine after resting a while."
Shota looked up into Teiichi's calm, resolute eyes. Suddenly realizing he still did not know his savior's name, he asked:
"Sir, may I ask your name?"
Hearing how Shota addressed him, Teiichi smiled faintly and answered:
"My name is Kato Teiichi. You can drop the 'sir.' I'm just another participant in the trial, like you."
He then looked at Shota and asked gently, "What about you? What's your name?"
Shota nodded and answered, "My name is Yamamoto Shota. Please just call me Shota."
Teiichi nodded with a smile. "Then just call me Teiichi, too."
As he spoke, he reached out and helped Shota up, asking with concern, "How are you feeling? Can you still fight in your current condition?"
Shota fell silent for a moment, feeling the pain in both arms, then answered honestly:
"Probably not tonight, Teiichi. But I'd like to stay with you. Would that be all right?"
After hearing Shota's request, Teiichi considered it for a moment, then looked him earnestly in the eyes and said:
"You can stay with me tonight, but tomorrow you may have to go on your own. If you can't fight, I suggest you head down the mountain during the day tomorrow."
Teiichi's words left Shota both happy and a little disappointed.
He was happy because Teiichi was powerful, and staying by his side would certainly be safe;
he was disappointed because he could only stay for one day. After that, if he wanted to pass the assessment, he would still have to rely on himself.
He thought it over, then said firmly:
"Just tonight is enough. My arm injuries aren't too serious. They should be back to normal by tomorrow night."
Teiichi nodded in understanding at Shota's words. He patted Shota on the shoulder and encouraged him:
"Let's go, then. We'll keep moving."
With that, Teiichi turned and walked ahead, with Shota close behind. The two walked side by side, continuing their trial under the moonlight.
Shota followed behind Teiichi, his steps somewhat heavy.
Countless questions and curiosities weighed on his mind. After a few steps, he finally could not help asking:
"Teiichi, when you fought that demon just now, you didn't seem to use a sword form. How did you break through its defenses so easily?"
Teiichi stopped, turned to look at Shota, then raised the heavy training sword in his hand. He hefted it lightly twice and explained:
"This sword is different from an ordinary Nichirin Blade. It's a heavy sword I use specifically for training. It weighs fifty-five kilograms.
"I didn't actually break through his defenses just now. I simply overpowered him with brute strength. That demon could harden his skin, but he couldn't harden his bones.
"So when I swung my sword, his skin stopped the edge, but his bones couldn't withstand that tremendous force and ended up breaking."
A look of surprise appeared on Shota's face after hearing Teiichi's explanation. He had never imagined that the heavy sword in Teiichi's hand weighed so much, and he exclaimed:
"Fifty-five kilograms! The sword you're holding is that heavy!"
Teiichi smiled faintly and offered Shota the heavy sword. "Want to try?"
Shota hesitated, but finally reached out with both hands to take it.
He had thought he was prepared, but the first time he held a sword this heavy, he still felt a powerful downward pull. He hurriedly put more strength into both hands before he managed to stop its descent.
Straining with both hands, he laboriously swung the heavy sword through the air a few times, then handed it back to Teiichi and asked:
"Do you always train with a heavy sword like this?"
Teiichi took the heavy sword back, nodded, and answered:
"Yes. I'm already used to training this way."
Hearing Teiichi's answer, Shota stared at him intently, as though trying to find some secret in him. He asked:
"Then how did you do it? You're clearly younger than me, but you're already so strong."
Shota's intense gaze made Teiichi a little uncomfortable. He scratched his head and answered:
"There's really no secret. Just hard training and plenty of nutrition, I suppose."
Yet Shota did not seem satisfied with that answer. He continued heatedly:
"I've been training hard, too! Ever since I encountered a demon two years ago, I've been training under a cultivator from the Demon Slayer Corps.
"Other than working for my food every day, I've spent almost all my time training."
Hearing Shota's words, Teiichi thought for a moment. He remembered the frenzied way he had trained after learning of his master's death half a year ago. Then he sighed and said:
"Then... maybe it comes down to talent..."
At the word "talent," Shota immediately fell silent. He felt a little disappointed and dejected, as though that single word had negated all his hard work.
Neither spoke again as they walked silently through the woods.
Bang!
A deafening crash echoed through the dense woods, as startling as the impact of a massive boulder.
Immediately afterward, a succession of bang, bang, bang! rang out, the impacts coming one after another like a rapid drumbeat that set hearts racing.
In the dense woods, two hideous demons were attacking a lone person with all their might.
Their figures darted constantly among the trees. Every collision came with demonic roars and human panting, as though it were a struggle to the death.
The person looked utterly harried under the two demons' assault. He kept dodging and counterattacking, but every counterattack seemed to lack strength.
Though his movements were swift, they had clearly lost their rhythm, as though he were giving everything he had to sustain his final struggle.
The two demons' attacks grew fiercer and fiercer, their hideous faces looking even more terrifying in the moonlight.
Every attack was as fierce as a raging storm, making anyone watching break into a cold sweat for him.
He had already been driven into a desperate situation, his body covered in wounds, but he still gritted his teeth and held on.
A resolute light shone in his eyes, as though he were telling himself that as long as a shred of hope remained, he must never give up.
Yet as time passed, his stamina gradually ran dry. His movements grew slower and slower, and his breathing became increasingly ragged.
Defeat seemed only a matter of time.
Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap...
A burst of hurried footsteps came from the distance.
Five figures came running from afar. One moved incredibly fast, as though unbound by gravity, instantly leaving the other four far behind.
She moved lightly, like a sprite leaping through the woods, each step seeming to resonate subtly with the earth.
In the blink of an eye, she had reached the center of the battlefield.
She took a deep breath, adjusted her breathing, then called out softly:
"Flower Breathing!"
"Sixth Form: Whirling Peach!"
As she called out, a sharp flash of steel instantly burst from the Nichirin Blade in her hand.
The flash was as fast as lightning, sweeping forward with unstoppable momentum, as though it could tear through the air itself, slashing straight toward the two demons' heads.
The instant the blade's light met their heads, a sharp whistle cut through the air, followed by a piercing howl.
Where the blade's light passed, phantom peach blossoms actually bloomed. In the moonlight, they looked especially delicate and vivid, their beauty almost illusory.
At that moment, the entire battlefield seemed enveloped in that beautiful flash of steel. The two demons' heads were severed instantly within it and fell to the ground.
The other four figures quickly caught up as well. They gathered around the figure who had just used Flower Breathing and, under her lead, began speaking with the person who had been surrounded.
In the distance, Teiichi sat quietly on a thick tree branch, his gaze passing through the dense leaves as he leisurely watched the scene before him.
His legs swung gently, as though he had become one with the natural surroundings, looking especially harmonious.
It was the fifth day of the trial on Mount Fujikasane, and he had already encountered six or seven other participants along the way.
Whenever he came across them fighting demons, he would choose a safe spot and observe from a distance.
Teiichi had his own principles. If those participants could defeat the demons with their own strength, he would leave quietly without disturbing their trial.
After all, this was their opportunity to grow and train.
However, if the participants fell into a desperate situation and could not defeat the demons alone, he would also choose to step in and save them.
Today was no exception. Teiichi had already been sitting on the branch for some time.
He had been considering when to go over and save the man, only for someone else to save him first.
He gazed unwaveringly into the distance. In the leader's hair, two delicate butterfly ornaments glimmered in the moonlight, like two real butterflies dancing.
Is that... Kanae Kocho?
Flower Breathing, huh...
What a beautiful sword form!
Teiichi lowered his head and thought for a while. Other than checking in, he seemed to have no other reason to approach her.
So Teiichi shook his head gently, as though dispelling the distracting thoughts in his mind.
He jumped down from the branch and walked lightly in another direction.
Surrounded by the others, Kanae Kocho seemed to hear something. She turned to look and saw only a figure slowly walking away, an unfamiliar back.
"Lady Kanae, please say something to him."
A participant beside her interrupted Kanae's thoughts, his voice filled with admiration for her and anticipation.
"He would have died today without you, Lady Kanae, yet he's still stubbornly insisting on passing the trial alone."
The participant continued, his voice revealing his dissatisfaction with the man who had been saved.
"My, my, isn't that impressive?"
Kanae turned back and spoke softly, her voice as warm and gentle as a spring breeze brushing against the face.