Simultaneous Transmigration: From Japanese Anime to American Comics

Chapter 59: The Strongest Talent in History

"I know you're waiting for your legs to recover, but unfortunately, this is my first time fighting a demon. I want to make sure there are no mistakes, so..."

Chu Yang's words abruptly jolted the young demon back to reality. The latter attempted to use the last of its strength to escape. However, just as it turned, a flash of a blade drew a white line through the night, slicing across its neck.

The young demon's head flew high into the air, and as it spun, it first saw its own body, then its arms.

The head landed firmly between the arms, the three parts coming together like a bizarre piece of art.

The head began to burn, signaling the countdown to the young demon's demise.

"Who exactly are you? Are you from the Demon Slayer Corps? A regular member couldn't possibly have this level of strength…"

The dying demon tried to speak further, but Chu Yang leaped into the air, bringing his horse-slaying saber down harshly onto the demon's head.

After a thunderous crash, the temple returned to its former stillness.

The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight shone, Himejima Gyoumei returned to the temple. The air still held a faint trace of demonic presence, causing his expression to change as he rushed inside.

Deep within his heart, the nightmare of his past churned with his memories, stirring up a violent killing intent.

A fierce glare of a Vajra, but with the calmness of a Buddha.

But soon, that aura vanished.

Yawning, Chu Yang pushed open the door, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Noticing Himejima, he immediately beamed with joy. "Mr. Himejima, you're back!"

Living alone in a secluded mountain temple wasn't easy, especially without anyone to talk to. While Chu Yang liked peace and quiet, he wasn't exactly a recluse.

Himejima maintained his usual stoic demeanor, as if the person who had been on the verge of an outburst earlier wasn't him. He slowly asked, "There was a demon here last night?"

"Yeah! Just a minor one. I took it down in two… no, three strikes." Reflecting on how it had taken three hits to decapitate the young demon, Chu Yang felt a little embarrassed. Clearly, his training wasn't quite there yet. If he had wielded the horse-slaying saber more smoothly, the last two strikes wouldn't have been necessary.

Three strikes?

Himejima, filled with questions, responded, "Tell me everything about last night's fight with the demon."

Thus, Chu Yang recounted his encounter, humbly admitting his shortcomings and lamenting that his skills were not polished enough. He remarked that he should have been able to kill the demon in one blow, but it ended up taking three.

After listening, Himejima fell into a long silence.

He didn't know how to evaluate Chu Yang's performance.

Even as the current strongest hashira, Himejima's first battle against a demon after becoming a swordsman in the Demon Slayer Corps had been perilous.

By comparison, Chu Yang's fight had seemed effortless.

Should I recommend him for the Final Selection right away?

A thought began to form in Himejima's mind. Participating in the Final Selection after just one month of training was almost unheard of.

At this time, Muichiro Tokito hadn't yet joined the Demon Slayer Corps and was still an ordinary person. If he had, Himejima might have found Chu Yang's talent less astounding in comparison to someone who had become a hashira within two months.

After careful consideration, Himejima decided to send Chu Yang to the Final Selection. Given his current state, Chu Yang could only improve through real combat.

Moreover, with the high mortality rate among frontline Demon Slayers, fresh blood was urgently needed. A genius like Chu Yang joining the Corps would undoubtedly be a significant boost.

"Prepare yourself to head to Mount Fujikasane for the Final Selection!" Himejima declared firmly. "The time has come. The sooner you become an official member, the sooner you can start slaying demons."

Chu Yang nodded resolutely.

"Understood!"

Three days later, Chu Yang set off alone for the Final Selection on Mount Fujikasane.

Mount Fujikasane, the site of the Final Selection, was located in a remote area deep within the mountains, much like the temple where Chu Yang had trained with Himejima.

However, Mount Fujikasane had a distinctive feature that made it easily recognizable from a distance.

From the foot of the mountain to halfway up its slopes, Mount Fujikasane was covered year-round with wisteria, the plant most despised by demons.

The wisteria incense stored in the temple was also made from these wisteria flowers.

From afar, the light purple sea of flowers encircled the mountain range. Chu Yang only had to follow this floral ocean to find his destination.

Soon, he came across a stone path.

Walking further, Chu Yang ascended a flight of stone steps, at the top of which stood a torii gate.

After passing through the torii, Chu Yang arrived at a platform.

People surrounded him, all of them with swords at their waists, except for Chu Yang, who carried his saber on his back.

"Wow! That's a huge sword!"

As gasps of surprise echoed, Chu Yang's appearance drew everyone's attention. People curiously observed him, but most of their focus was on the enormous sword strapped to his back.

Compared to Chu Yang's massive horse-slaying saber, the others' weapons seemed as thin as matchsticks.

While they scrutinized him, Chu Yang also observed the crowd. Among them, a girl wearing a mask caught his eye.

It was a smiling fox mask adorned with blue floral patterns. Chu Yang felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

After a brief moment, a representative from the Demon Slayer Corps arrived to explain the details of the Final Selection, which were not much different from previous years: survive for seven days on Mount Fujikasane.

Even though the objective was simple, 90% of the participants would still fail, with many of the seemingly confident youngsters destined to die in the demon-infested mountain.

As soon as the explanation ended, some couldn't wait to rush into the paths void of wisteria flowers. In Chu Yang's eyes, these overconfident youths were as good as dead, marching headlong into a mountain filled with demons.

Before long, only Chu Yang and the girl with the fox mask remained on the platform. Chu Yang glanced at her before slowly walking toward the ominous path ahead.

The girl, in turn, leisurely followed him.

Chu Yang had no idea that she was tailing him solely out of curiosity about the enormous sword on his back.

The trial began at dusk.

Once everyone had entered the mountain, the sky gradually darkened, marking the time when demons would start to appear.

Chu Yang walked through the forest for a while without encountering any demons, but he grew increasingly irritated—because there was a little tag-along following him.

"Hey, enough is enough. How long are you planning to follow me?" Chu Yang turned and impatiently addressed the girl.

The girl in the fox mask immediately stopped, weakly muttering, "Sorry."

Chu Yang sighed, exasperated. "Why are you following me anyway?"

Embarrassed, the girl admitted, "I've never seen such a big sword before, so I got a little mesmerized."

After hearing her reason, Chu Yang was speechless. If it weren't for the fact that the girl clearly had no ill intentions, he would have acted long ago.

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