Who are you calling a stable boy?!

"......whispering sound."

Turning his eyes to the figure that appeared not far away, Shinazugawa Sanemi spat.

According to Zheng Jing and Kagaya Ubuyashiki's plan, the best matchup between the Upper Moons and the Nine Pillars would be Iwa, En, and Fu against Upper Moon One, Kokushibo, and Mizu, Kasumi, and Mushi against Upper Moon Two, Doma. Then, the most coordinated pair, Koi and Hebi, would find Nakime, who could currently control Infinite.

As for the other team members caught up in the Infinity Castle, apart from Tanjiro and his two companions who had undergone special training in Purgatory, they all stayed as far away as possible from the battlefields with Upper Moons, banded together, and were responsible for passing on information and handling any possible cleanup work.

Sanemi Shinazugawa had just seriously intended to fight the so-called Upper Moon One, the great traitor of the Demon Slayer Corps during the Sengoku period, alone, so that Kyojuro and Gyomei could free up their hands to support Zheng Jing, who was currently fighting Muzan Kibutsuji alone somewhere in the Infinity Castle.

But the moment Kokushibo quietly appeared, he understood...

There are absolutely no problems with the arrangements made by Zheng Jing and Ubuyashiki Kagaya.

The one before them, the Upper Moon One, is indeed someone the three of them must face!

"I see. The swordsmen of this generation are indeed quite presentable."

With six eyes, facing the three pillars, Heishimou nodded slightly.

"Rather than wasting your lives here, you should join that lord's ranks so as not to waste your talents and past efforts."

As if he couldn't hear Kokushibo's words, Gyomei raised his hand axe and meteor hammer, while Kyojuro and Sanemi stood on either side of him, facing Kokushibo in a triangular formation, and drew their swords.

"Gentlemen, please remember His Excellency Zheng Jing's instructions."

"understand!"

"I know! Please don't read it anymore!"

Before he could finish speaking, and before Kokushibo could grasp the chilling meaning behind the conversation, he noticed that the breathing rhythm of the three people in front of him suddenly changed!

Seeing the strange patterns that suddenly appeared on the faces, necks, and arms of the three people, Kokushibo's six eyes widened.

How could he not recognize him?

This is—

"Stripes?!"

-

A bloody wind howled, and blood rained down.

Amidst the bloodshed, the continuous clanging of metal was like rolling thunder, and the dazzling golden light was as striking as lightning.

This scene shows Zheng Jing and Muzan Kibutsuji locked in a fierce battle.

On one side was an indestructible, invincible force, each blow heavier than the last, determined to shatter the evil spirit before him, breaking its three souls and seven spirits, and smashing its limbs and bones!

On one side, there was a bloody mess and ghostly figures, with each whip faster than the last, as if they wanted to tear the person in front of them to pieces!

With sticks and whips lashing out, the man and the ghost fought like spinning lanterns deep within the Infinite City.

Zheng Jing grew more and more energetic as the fight progressed, his shouts full of vigor, showing no signs of fatigue.

Muzan grew increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed!

Having seen Gyutaro's memories, he knew that Zheng Jing was special, seemingly possessing an invulnerable martial art.

He had seen some martial artists possess this ability over the past thousand years, but Zheng Jing was truly the first one Muzan had seen in a thousand years to be so hard that even a fully wound blade couldn't cut through it.

He never imagined that Zheng Jingying could be this tough!

It was so tough that even his full-force attack couldn't leave a mark on that golden body!

Ultimately, why does the human body emit golden light?

In Muzan Kibutsuji's eyes, Zheng Jing's body, apart from looking like a human, was not human at all!

Rather, it resembles a human figure forged from gold and iron—

No, that's not right!

Even if it were a statue made of steel, it would have fallen apart long ago after enduring so many heavy blows!

Seeing Zheng Jing's enthusiastic smiling face, Kibutsuji Muzan no longer wanted to fight Zheng Jing like this.

At first, although he didn't know how Zheng Jing managed to block his attack with just his physical body, he was still confident that he could wear Zheng Jing down with the superb body of the progenitor of demons.

How could any human being possibly outlast a ghost in terms of endurance?

But as the battle progressed, Muzan Kibutsuji discovered that Zheng Jing not only showed no signs of fatigue, but was even becoming more and more dominant in the fight.

He noticed that Zheng Jing seemed to be able to keep up with his attack speed...

Muzan Kibutsuji didn't know if this was just his imagination due to excessive pressure, but he really didn't want to continue getting entangled with Zheng Jing like this.

He needs help.

He wanted an opportunity to change the current situation.

He tried to manipulate the Yiwo seat hanging behind Zheng Jing's waist, but for some reason, his ability to manipulate it, which should have been as easy as using his own arm, was now completely unresponsive.

Considering the useless minions in the Infinite Castle, no matter how many came, they wouldn't pose a threat to Zheng Jing. Therefore, the only hope he could have placed in were the three Upper Moon demons—

"Varied?!"

A moment of distraction nearly caused Muzan's head to be smashed by Zheng Jing once again.

Even if he had five brains and seven hearts, the feeling of his head exploding wouldn't be pleasant.

However, at this moment, what Muzan found even more unacceptable than almost being hit by Zheng Jing's staff again was the news of Upper Moon's death.

—Just now, he felt it.

The death of Doma, the second Upper Moon!

How is that possible?

How could those swordsmen have done that?!

Just as Muzan was feeling incredulous about this and was about to urge his most trusted subordinate, Kokushibo, another terrifying feeling rushed into his mind.

"puff!"

This time, he couldn't dodge Zheng Jing's stick, and his head exploded.

Fortunately, the other eyes on his body allowed him to quickly adjust his posture and evade Zheng Jing's pursuit.

However, this does nothing to help him in his current predicament.

—Because of Upper Moon One, Kokushibo, on whom he had placed great hopes, was also defeated!

"Useless! Useless! All of you are useless!!"

With his muscles glowing a striking crimson, Muzan Kibutsuji's rapidly regenerating head stared wide-eyed, bloodshot eyes.

Now, he only has one option left!

"Nekome!"

With a roar, as if in response to Muzan, Zheng Jing and the space around him suddenly changed—

Infinite City, shocked!

"W-What is this?!"

Muzan looked at the ground beneath his feet, which had suddenly begun to push him and Zheng Jing upwards, and exclaimed in surprise.

That wasn't the instruction he gave Nakime!

Zheng Jing would not let this moment of panic slip by.

"Muzan, do you remember how many times you've basked in the sun?"

With a single blow, Zheng Jing pinned Muzan down, deliberately refraining from using his inner strength to melt his flesh. He then stepped on one of Muzan's feet, his fiery gaze fixed on Muzan's eyes through the stick and flesh.

"Come and enjoy your last sunbath!"

Chapter 51: I Can Understand Even Without a Teacher

The dome opened, and Zheng Jing and Muzan were lifted out of the Infinite City by the towering building.

At this moment, as their eyes met, even the slow-witted Muzan should have realized that this was no accident.

Did Nakime betray him?

impossible!

Muzan couldn't think of any reason why Nakime would risk her life to betray him!

But facts speak louder than words, and at this moment, he received no response from Nakime.

Among the current Upper Moons, Nakime is the most unique one.

She possesses the ability to control the entire Infinite City.

Of course, given Muzan's modus operandi, how could he possibly entrust such an important Infinity Castle entirely to intelligent life forms other than himself?

He did this not only because Nakime possessed sufficient power, but also because he could control Nakime herself anytime, anywhere, if he so desired.

Muzan, who was trying to directly control Nakime, suddenly let out a muffled groan of shock and anger.

He finally understood where the problem lay!

In this world, there is actually a demon who can compete with him for control of Nakime?!

"fool!"

A piercing whistling sound tore through the pale turbulent waters along the trajectory of the long staff, heading straight for Wuzan's face. He immediately sacrificed one foot, using it to forcefully retreat, intending to further distance himself from Zheng Jing.

This time, however, Zheng Jing seemed to have anticipated his intentions. The seemingly fierce but actually only three-tenths-of-its-power staff tip trembled in the air, and the metal staff body actually shook open an arc. From top to bottom, the staff tip, like a spearhead, stabbed towards Mucan's head.

"Snapped!"

In his haste, Muzan only had time to turn his head before the tip of the staff struck, instantly causing half of his body to explode.

"You dare to get distracted?"

Zheng Jing scoffed and chased after him, striking again.

"To be honest, you're a total bastard! You dog!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the ground beneath the feet of the man and the ghost trembled violently.

Then, the earth's crust shattered, and strange buildings, like stacked building blocks, emerged from the ground.

In an instant, it was as if a battleground where only life and death were decided suddenly rose up in this desolate wilderness, centered on Zheng Jing and Wu Can.

"what--"

People on those buildings cried out in surprise.

"We're back outside!"

The lively Inosuke pointed his broken sword at the night sky and shouted.

—In fact, not only him, but all the Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen who were trapped in the Infinity Castle by Nakime, despite their injuries, all appeared here alive!

Realizing that he couldn't fight Zheng Jing while simultaneously vying for control of Nakime with the unidentified demon, Muzan went all out and used his Blood Curse Technique to kill Nakime completely.

In this way, the Infinity Castle, which has temporarily lost control, will collapse, and most of the Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen still inside will perish.

But now it seems that the demon who dared to oppose him was indeed quite capable, as he managed to send the Demon Slayer Corps back to the human world at the last moment.

"call......"

Xingming, clutching his last remaining hand axe, slowly stood up, panting.

"I'll go and lend Zheng Jing a hand."

"I'll go as well."

"Ahem! And me too..."

Kyojuro and Sanemi, holding swords, propped up their battered bodies.

"Don't be reckless. Although the method created by Lord Zheng Jing is wonderful, it also has its insurmountable limits! Have you forgotten his instructions?"

"Of course I won't forget it."

Kyojuro smiled as he wiped the blood from his forehead.

"Saying all this..."

Sanemi took a breath: "Mr. Himejima, aren't you just like us?"

"..."