Seeing this, Gyomei Himejima couldn't help but sigh, feeling a inexplicable sense of loss; teaching a genius like Chu Yang was indeed very easy, but being too easy made him feel a lack of accomplishment.
Especially since it was Stone Breathing, the most difficult Breathing Style among the five major Breathing Styles.
"For this period, I need to go out and investigate demon activity, responsible for clearing out the demons in my jurisdiction, so you will have to cultivate alone in the temple. Remember to light the wisteria incense at night."
When speaking of the wisteria incense, Gyomei Himejima's expression seemed a bit unnatural, as if recalling some sad memories. He returned to his room, packed his belongings, and after giving Chu Yang a few more instructions, he left.
After Gyomei Himejima left, Chu Yang carried water up the mountain every day. Even though the water tanks in the backyard were already full, he remained tirelessly dedicated.
The training results were very obvious. He was soon able to return to the temple by noon, and even had an entire afternoon free to practice his swordsmanship.
However, Chu Yang clearly didn't take Gyomei Himejima's instructions to heart; the wisteria incense placed in the temple was never lit.
Half a month later, Chu Yang practiced his swordsmanship in the courtyard until late at night.
Suddenly, he smelled a strange odor.
It was a stench that was difficult to describe.
It was like a pile of rotting food and corpses fermenting together.
Chu Yang was so disgusted he nearly vomited!
He suddenly realized... this was the smell of a demon!
Immediately after, Chu Yang unleashed his Observation Haki, finally hearing something constantly approaching the temple's perimeter. It was moving extremely fast, like a famished beast spotting food.
Chu Yang concentrated, held his breath, and skillfully entered the state of Total Concentration Breathing, his eyes fixed on the large gate directly in front of him.
Bang!!!
With a loud crash, the gate collapsed, and a dark shadow darted out from the darkness, rushing towards Chu Yang under the Gekko!
At the same time, Chu Yang leaped high!
The zanmatō in his hand swung downwards, striking the shadow with immense force!
[Stone Breathing, Second Form: Sky Crushing]
The immense power caused the air to vibrate, and the violent currents startled the shadow that was ambushing Chu Yang.
This guy with the zanmatō wasn't an ordinary person!
As death approached...
The shadow roared internally, trying its best to twist its body to dodge the attack!
It succeeded!
The zanmatō was originally aimed at its head.
Instead, it cut from its right shoulder all the way down to its right leg, literally slicing it in half!
"Ah ah ah ah!!!"
The shadow let out a horrific shriek, partly from pain and partly from fear.
With just one exchange, Chu Yang had severely wounded it!
If it weren't a demon, it would have died by now!
After cutting off half of the shadow's body, Chu Yang and it passed each other, both turning their heads simultaneously to see each other's faces.
The shadow was indeed a demon, and it had the appearance of a handsome young boy.
However, its face was distorted, covered in eerie runes.
The demon boy's eyes were blood-red, staring intently at Chu Yang.
It seemed to want to engrave his face into its memory, seeking an opportunity for revenge later.
"It was clearly aimed at the head, what a pity…" Chu Yang felt a bit uncomfortable. It was his first time fighting a demon, and he had underestimated the opponent's speed.
The demon boy, now standing on one leg with only half a body, had no intention of fighting desperately against the swordsman who looked about his age.
It knew that fighting desperately would only lead to one outcome: death.
So, without a second thought, it leaped onto the eaves, preparing to climb over the wall and escape this strange temple.
A gust of wind blew.
The shadow of death from earlier resurfaced in the demon boy's heart. It instinctively leaned to the right, but then the familiar, huge zanmatō flashed past its left shoulder.
With a squelch, another arm flew off.
With a thud, the arm landed on the ground, joining the previously severed arm.
This time, the demon boy didn't cry out. It was as if it had been thrown into an ice cellar, trembling uncontrollably. The fear of death clearly outweighed the pain.
"Oh, your reaction is really fast, I missed again!" Chu Yang looked at the demon boy with surprise. Its prediction of danger was almost catching up to his Observation Haki, managing to escape death twice.
"Could your Blood Demon Art be predicting danger?" Chu Yang stared at the demon boy with an unhappy expression.
The demon boy's heart clenched in surprise, because Chu Yang had guessed correctly; its Blood Demon Art could indeed predict danger to a certain extent, which was an enhancement of its instincts.
The demon boy's body was regenerating, and at a very fast rate.
But it wasn't sure if it could last until its body fully recovered. The young man across from it, who was eyeing it like a tiger, had a blade as large as a door panel that could easily slice through its body.
Despite carrying such a heavy weapon, the young man's speed was as swift as lightning!
Chapter 59: Strongest Talent in History [Triple Update, Seeking Reads]
"I know you're waiting for your leg to recover, but unfortunately, this is my first time fighting a demon, and I want to ensure everything is foolproof, so…"
Chu Yang's words suddenly startled the demon boy. The latter wanted to use its last bit of strength to escape, but as soon as it turned around, a streak of light from the blade drew a white line across its neck in the darkness.
The demon boy's head flew high, and as it spun in the air, it first saw its own body, then its arms.
The head landed steadily between the two arms, the three pieces combining like a bizarre work of art.
The head was burning, and the demon boy's life entered a countdown.
"Who exactly are you? Are you from the Demon Slayer Corps? An ordinary member couldn't possibly have this kind of strength…"
The dying demon boy wanted to say more, but then Chu Yang leaped high and slammed his zanmatō heavily onto its head.
After a roar from the earth, the temple became silent once more.
The next morning, Gyomei Himejima returned to the temple with the first rays of sunlight. The scent of a demon still lingered in the air. His expression changed, and he rushed into the temple.
His deepest nightmare surged with memories, and a fierce killing intent instantly erupted from Gyomei Himejima.
Like a Vajra with an angry gaze, or a Bodhisattva with downcast brows.
But soon, his killing intent vanished.
Chu Yang yawned, pushed open his door, and walked out. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes before he saw Gyomei Himejima, and immediately said with a surprised expression, "Mr. Himejima, you're back!"
Life alone in a deep mountain temple was not easy; there was no one to talk to. Although Chu Yang preferred quiet to noise, he wasn't an anti-social person.
Gyomei Himejima had that same unruffled demeanor again, as if the person on the verge of berserk earlier wasn't him. He slowly asked, "Was there a demon here last night?"
"Yes! Just a small fry, I took him out in two… no, three strikes." Recalling that it took him three strikes to decapitate that demon boy, Chu Yang felt a bit embarrassed. His training was still insufficient; if he could use the zanmatō more smoothly, those last two strikes wouldn't have been necessary.
Two or three strikes?
Gyomei Himejima, with a head full of question marks, said, "Tell me about your fight with the demon last night."
So Chu Yang began to recount his experience from the previous night, and made a profound self-critique, stating that his training was still not up to par, and that he could have resolved it in one strike but ended up dragging it out to the third.
After listening, Gyomei Himejima fell into deep thought and silence, not speaking for a long time.
He didn't know how to evaluate Chu Yang's performance.
Even as the strongest of the current Pillars, his first battle with a demon after officially becoming a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman was fraught with peril.
In comparison, Chu Yang's battle was already quite effortless and relaxed.
Should I just recommend him to participate in the Final Selection?
Doubts began to surface in Gyomei Himejima's mind. The idea of someone participating in the Final Selection after only one month of training was a bit unheard of.
At this point in time, Muichiro Tokito had not yet joined the Demon Slayer Corps and was still an ordinary person. Otherwise, if he were to compare Chu Yang's talent with Muichiro's, who became a Pillar in two months, Gyomei Himejima would not find Chu Yang's displayed talent exaggerated.
After much consideration, Gyomei Himejima still decided to let Chu Yang participate in the Final Selection. In Chu Yang's current state, further improvement could only come from actual combat.
Moreover, the Demon Slayer Corps has long had a very high casualty rate on the front lines, and desperately needed new blood. The addition of a genius like Chu Yang would undoubtedly be a strong boost.
"Prepare yourself. Go to Mount Fujikasane for the Final Selection!" Gyomei Himejima said with a firm tone, "Now is the time. The sooner you become an official member, the sooner you can slay those evil demons."
Chu Yang nodded heavily.
"Okay!"
Three days later, Chu Yang set off alone for Mount Fujikasane to participate in the trial.
As the location for the Final Selection, Mount Fujikasane was quite remote, similar to the temple where Gyomei Himejima cultivated, both deep in the mountains.
However, Mount Fujikasane had a very distinct feature that allowed people to identify its location from afar.
From the foot of the mountain to halfway up.
Mount Fujikasane was covered year-round in wisteria flowers, the plant demons hated most.
The wisteria incense stored in the temple was made from wisteria flowers as raw material.
Looking from afar, a pale purple ocean surrounded the mountain range. Chu Yang only needed to follow this sea of flowers to find his destination.
A moment later, a stone path appeared beneath Chu Yang's feet.
Continuing forward, Chu Yang ascended a stone staircase, and at the end of the staircase was a torii gate.
After passing through the torii gate, Chu Yang arrived at a platform.
People were all around, each with a sword at their waist. Only Chu Yang had his sword on his back.
"Wow! What a huge sword!"
As exclamations rang out, Chu Yang's appearance attracted everyone's attention. Everyone looked at Chu Yang with curiosity, but more so at the sword on his back.
Compared to Chu Yang's zanmatō, the swords in other people's hands were as slender as matchsticks.
While they observed Chu Yang, Chu Yang also observed them. A girl wearing a mask in the crowd caught Chu Yang's attention.