Demon Slayer: After raising Shinobu, I died in front of her.

The next moment she dashed out like an arrow, with Sabito and Giyu immediately following behind.

……

"Help!!!"

A boy ran in panic, while a colossal creature with dozens of arms wrapped around its body chased after him at a leisurely pace.

The monster suddenly sprang up, and several thick arms instantly sprouted from its body, grabbing the boy's legs and dragging him forcefully in front of its enormous mouth full of sharp teeth.

"Water Breathing - Second Form - Waterwheel!"

A sharp slash tore through the air, instantly severing the demon's arm, saving the boy as he fell to the ground. Kanae landed steadily, turning around to look solemnly at the demon before her.

Unlike the small fry she had killed before, the demon in front of her was extremely terrifying. Even from a great distance, she could feel its nauseating oppressive aura.

"You're still faster!"

A sigh of emotion came from behind as Sabito and Giyu landed on either side of Kanae.

Sabito looked at the enormous creature before him, his eyes darkening: "Be careful, this guy is very strong."

Yi Yong was so nervous that his arms trembled slightly, and his palms were already wet with cold sweat.

Kanae keenly noticed that there was a strange hint of surprise in the eyes of the demon as it looked at them.

"Here they come again, my lovely little foxes! And this time, there are three of them at once!"

"Again?" Sabito frowned.

"You little fox, what year is it now, Meiji?"

“1908,” Qin Tu replied coldly.

"what?"

The demon froze for a moment, then burst into a shrill, ear-piercing laugh: "So much time has passed! Unforgivable! Unforgivable! Urokodaki, you bastard! Urokodaki, you bastard!"

Kanae, Sabito, and the others were taken aback: "How do you know Master Urokodaki?"

"Of course I know! He's the one who dragged me here forty years ago!" The demon gritted his teeth, his face contorted in a grotesque grimace: "Nine, ten, eleven..."

"What are you counting?" Kanae interrupted it expressionlessly.

The demon suddenly laughed sinisterly, "This is your order! I've killed eight of his disciples over the years! This is your order! Your fox masks! I remember this! Fox masks that only his disciples wear! Whenever I see one of his disciples, I devour them! Hahaha!"

hum!

Sabito and Giyu felt their minds go blank for a moment, as if their blood was flowing backward.

"What did you say!" Sabito's pupils suddenly turned bloodshot, and his rationality almost collapsed at that moment.

"Water Breathing - First Form: Water Surface Slash!"

Just as Sabito was blinded by rage and about to rush forward, the usually gentle and beautiful figure beside him had already turned into a blur and rushed out.

Just as Kanae's Nichirin Blade was about to strike the demon's neck, the demon suddenly grew many more arms, which actually blocked Kanae's attack!

"Water Breathing - Third Form - Flowing Dance!"

"Water Breathing - Second Form - Waterwheel!"

Two figures, brimming with boundless rage, rushed up after them.

With a flourish of its flowing movements, the rabbit severed all the arms of the evil spirit in an instant.

Yi Yong arrived beneath the evil spirit, his usual fearlessness gone, replaced by boundless rage in his eyes!

The waterwheel slashed upwards, and seeing no way to avoid it, the hand ghost gritted its teeth, and thick arms grew wildly from its body once again.

Although Giyu's attack severed several arms, it was once again firmly stuck just before reaching its neck!

"Heh heh, no use! No use!" The Hand Ghost looked at them mockingly, his eyes filled with cruel pleasure.

However, it was unaware that death had already silently lurked behind it.

"Full Concentration - Water Breathing - First Form - Water Surface Slash".

A voice so calm it was devoid of any emotion rang in its ears, and the demon felt a chill run down its spine.

Before it could turn around, the slash from behind carried a resolute force, instantly severing its head!

He was killed!

How can it be!

My arms are so strong, how could they so easily sever them...? Why...?

The ghostly hand watched as its body was about to turn to ashes, its eyes filled with disbelief and terror.

Kanae's gaze was calm. In the past, she always had a gentle smile on her face, which never faded even when she was slaying demons. But at this moment, there was only a chilling coldness in her eyes.

Kanae watched it gradually dissipate expressionlessly: "My master was also a disciple of Master Urokodaki. He participated in the assessment eight years ago. I want to know why my master didn't kill you back then."

The Hand Demon's eyes became vacant, as if it were trapped in some extremely terrifying memory.

“Eight years ago? I remember now… There was indeed a very powerful guy eight years ago. That guy single-handedly killed all the ghosts here. He was more powerful than any of you… I went into hiding…”

As if he had thought of something terrifying, the Hand Demon's pupils began to tremble, and his voice was filled with fear.

Eight years ago, a boy entered this place.

He used the most ordinary knife, yet he killed all the evil spirits here so that they dared not show their faces. Even he himself was so frightened by the boy that he dared not appear until the new assessment the following year.

Kanae laughed, but there was a hint of cold mockery in her smile: "I see, so you're just a cowardly piece of trash who bullies the weak."

"I understand, you demon. The ones who killed you were Sabito, a disciple of Urokodaki Sakonji, and Giyu Tomioka, as well as Kanae Kocho, a disciple of Ryokawa Toru. You demon, go to hell."

The Hand Ghost vanished completely, filled with endless regret and fear.

However, Sabito and Giyu felt no joy in defeating their powerful enemy.

Instead, they were all looking down, and the atmosphere was extremely tense.

Who could have imagined that the fox mask that Master Urokodaki gave them to ward off disasters and bring good fortune would become the guide for this evil spirit to accurately find and kill its fellow disciples...

"This matter... cannot be told to Master Urokodaki," Sabito murmured, his voice hoarse.

"Hmm." Yi Yong nodded silently, his grip on the knife tightening.

"All right."

Kanae took a deep breath, and her face once again wore that gentle, spring-like smile, as if the icy girl from before was just everyone's illusion.

"There shouldn't be any ghosts around here now, let's go back."

Sabito took a deep breath, suppressing the gloom in his heart: "Okay."

Chapter 21 The Person I Most Want to Get Close To

At the Demon Slayer Corps' base, the sun shone brightly, and a gentle breeze blew.

A smile appeared on Kagaya Ubuyashiki's lips.

"In this new recruit assessment, everyone survived; not a single person was killed."

His gaze shifted downwards, landing on the three figures kneeling on one knee below.

Beimingyu Xingming and Yu Sui Tianyuan couldn't help but turn their gazes to Lingchuan Che beside them.

They all heard the news; everyone who passed the test said they were rescued by three people.

One of them was Kanae Kocho, a disciple of the Cangzhu, and the other two were his junior brothers Sabito and Giyu Tomioka.

The three geniuses all came from the lineage of the previous Water Pillar!

When Himejima Gyomei raised his hands, tears of emotion welled in his eyes: "Amitabha, this is truly a blessing for the Demon Slayer Corps."

It's no wonder they're so happy. Judging from the results of this assessment, the addition of Kanae and Sabito will definitely elevate the Demon Slayer Corps' strength to another level.

"You summoned us here today not just to let us know about the assessment, right?" Himejima Gyoumei asked respectfully.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki sighed: "The demons of Fujikazeyama have been wiped out, so we can only trouble everyone to capture some weaker demons to replenish them in the near future. Otherwise, next year's assessment will have to be postponed."

"I thought it was something serious! Leave this trivial matter to me!" Uzui Tengen laughed heartily. "Watch how I spectacularly capture those evil spirits!"

Kagaya Ubuyashiki nodded slightly: "Then I'll leave it to you all."

Beimingyu Xingming and Yu Sui Tianyuan immediately bowed in return, then turned and left.

However, Ling Chuanche remained kneeling there, unmoved.

"Teru?" Kagaya Ubuyashiki asked, somewhat puzzled. "Is there anything else?"

“I want to ask you for something,” Ling Chuanche said calmly.

"what?"

"Notes of all generations of Flower Breathing users."

Although Kagaya Ubuyashiki asked, he did not refuse. He simply waved his hand, signaling "Kaku" to fetch it.

Lingchuan paused for a moment, then explained, "I got it for Kanae."

Although she now uses Water Breathing, its powerful nature doesn't fully utilize its advantages. Flower Breathing suits her speed and flexibility better than Water Breathing.

Soon, "Yin" ran back with a worn-out notebook.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki handed the notebook to Tetsu Ayakawa: "Take it. Originally, this should have been in the hands of the previous generation of Flower Breathing user, but she unfortunately sacrificed herself a few years ago, so I kept it. If it can be of use to Kanae, that would be great."

"Thank you." Ling Chuanche put away his notebook, stood up, and took his leave.

Back at the mansion, as soon as he opened the door, Ling Chuanche heard the sound of chopping coming from afar.

Hearing the slightly impatient sounds, he sighed softly and went to the backyard.

Sure enough, they saw the small, thin figure holding a knife, hacking at the boulder repeatedly.

Even after practicing until blisters formed on their hands and their muscles ached so much that they couldn't muster any strength, only shallow white marks remained on the boulder in front of them.

The small figure stood silently in front of the boulder for several minutes, and finally left dejectedly like a punctured balloon.

Ling Chuanche watched all of this silently without making a sound.

Kanae has officially become a swordswoman after passing the exam a week ago, but she has been away on a mission and hasn't returned yet.

Ever since learning that her older sister had passed the test and shone brightly, Shinobu has been training like a madman every day.