Early morning, golden rays of light filtered through the gaps in the mountains and fields, painting the ground and forming a beautiful golden oil painting.
Kurozawa was already awake. He pushed open the door and stretched with a big yawn.
"Morning, Senior Disciple."
His junior disciple, Hanada Shizuka, skipped over and greeted Kurozawa.
Before Giyu Tomioka arrived, Hanada Shizuka was the youngest of everyone. Coupled with her cute and innocent personality, she was deeply loved by all her senior brothers and sisters.
As soon as Shizuka got close, Kurozawa reached out without hesitation and ruffled her little head.
"Since you're up, why aren't you practicing your Sword Forms?"
"I... I just remembered, I haven't washed my face yet."
Twisting her head to escape Kurozawa's grasp, Hanada Shizuka put on a forced smile and wanted to go back inside.
However, Kurozawa grabbed her by the collar, lifting her back like a kitten.
"Still so lazy. You'll suffer a great loss sooner or later."
"Hurry up! Practice your Sword Forms for two hours!"
Not all swordsmen held a deep hatred for Demons. Among Sakonji Urokodaki's fourteen disciples, twelve had their families destroyed by Demons and therefore decided to become swordsmen, fight Demons, and avenge their families.
The remaining two were Kurozawa and Hanada Shizuka.
Kurozawa was adopted when he was young, and Hanada Shizuka was similar. Her biological parents died when she was five, and she was then adopted.
But her adoptive parents treated her very poorly; beatings and scolding were commonplace. After little Shizuka became capable of escaping, she took a sum of money from her adoptive parents' house as revenge and fled under the cover of a dark and windy night.
Eventually, after wandering around, she arrived at Mount Sagiri and met Sakonji Urokodaki and Kurozawa. And so, penniless little Shizuka pestered them relentlessly, insisting on staying. Then, for the sake of a meal, she somehow muddled her way into becoming a prospective swordsman.
Her childhood experience was unfortunate, but Hanada Shizuka's personality had always been sunny and lively; she hadn't been affected by that period.
Because she lacked a strong driving force and practicing the Breathing Technique or Sword Forms was very arduous, Hanada Shizuka was the one who loved to be lazy the most. Someone had to push her to do it.
"Alright, alright..."
With a dejected look, Hanada Shizuka saw that Kurozawa was serious and dutifully went to practice her Sword Forms.
Seeing this, Kurozawa also felt a headache coming on.
Becoming a Demon Hunter Swordsman might not be a good thing for her.
If she didn't encounter something that truly shook her to her core, like seeing good friends die at the hands of Demons right before her eyes, Hanada Shizuka might never realize the cruel war of slaughter between humans and Demons.
If there was a chance, it would be better to let her leave the Demon Slayer Corps.
Kurozawa had this thought as he watched Hanada Shizuka skip away.
Next, Kurozawa looked up at the golden sun, turned, and returned to the house.
After casually sitting down, he slightly closed his eyes, concentrating all his energy and spirit on the circulation of his Breathing Technique.
The Breathing Technique, when operated at full power, made Kurozawa's heart beat over three times faster than a normal person's. His blood flow also accelerated several times. The muscles throughout his body simultaneously trembled slightly, constantly strengthening.
This state is Total Concentration, a special state that, if maintained for too long, can cause blood vessels all over the body to burst and muscles to tear.
However, Total Concentration for a certain period can very effectively enhance one's physical body.
The Breathing Technique is a divine skill for strengthening the physique, but ordinary people cannot withstand the intense internal activity.
"Potential Points, I should save them as much as possible to break through the fifth stage of the Breathing Technique. That should be a qualitative change."
"I've never heard of a Pillar breaking through the fifth stage..."
Currently, Kurozawa's physique, after training with Total Concentration Breathing and a tiny bit of Potential Points enhancement, was no weaker than a Pillar's. Unless he encountered an Upper Moon Demon, it was already sufficient.
Encountering an Upper Moon... Unless his physique also underwent a qualitative change, it would be futile no matter what. Sakonji Urokodaki said the Demon Slayer Corps had estimated that a powerful Upper Moon required two to three Pillars to match it and four Pillars to encircle and kill. A weaker Upper Moon was still a step stronger than the average Pillar.
"The fifth stage... what exactly is it?"
At this moment, Kurozawa, having learned the dark truth about his extremely poor talent, had given up the unrealistic idea of breaking through the fifth stage on his own.
When his training in Total Concentration reached the limit of his physique, Kurozawa stopped and used the Total Concentration: Constant state to alleviate his internal condition.
Because of his extraordinary constitution, his recovery speed was very fast. After recovering, he would resume Total Concentration, slowly improving himself bit by bit.
Time, during Kurozawa's cyclical training of Total Concentration and Total Concentration: Constant, quietly advanced to noon.
...
At the foot of Mount Fujikasane, in a large open clearing, nearly a hundred people had already gathered.
After finishing his Breathing Technique training, Kurozawa also brought his junior disciples here.
"Everyone, I would like to announce some important points."
A Kakushi member stepped out of the crowd and stood on a makeshift platform in the center, speaking loudly.
The prospective swordsmen present all turned their attention to the Kakushi member.
"First, form teams of two. You can act individually or together."
"Second, the number of Demons killed is not counted in the assessment. There shall be no fighting among swordsmen."
"Third, if you encounter someone in desperate straits, help them as much as possible."
"Fourth, anyone who survives the night on Mount Fujikasane, regardless of how, passes the trial."
Soon, the various points of attention were announced, and the Kakushi members bowed and left.
At the same time, the aspiring swordsmen were led away one by one by the subsequent Kakushi members according to their groups.
On Kurozawa's side, Sabito was with Giyu Tomioka, while Makomo and another junior disciple were together, and the others had also found their teammates.
"Remember, if you encounter danger, shout my name loudly. If I can hear it, I'll rush over immediately."
Before leaving, Kurozawa repeatedly instructed them.
After all, he had spent a long time with his junior disciples, and it would be false to say he had no feelings for them.
Kurozawa didn't want to see anyone he knew die.
Moreover, he had promised Sakonji Urokodaki that he would bring everyone back safely.
Hanada Shizuka followed Kurozawa, and under the guidance of the Kakushi member, they twisted and turned through the winding mountain path until they reached a secluded, tree-lined trail.
On both sides of the trail, Wisteria Flowers were planted, and above the path, the Wisteria Flowers intertwined upwards, forming a canopy that blocked out the sunlight.
"Enter from here, and it leads directly to the middle section of Mount Fujikasane. The middle section is also the area with the densest concentration of Demons."
To prevent the Demons from leaving, the area below the middle section of Mount Fujikasane was densely planted with Wisteria Flowers. Above the middle section was normal mountain forest, complete with ancient trees, rivers, and rocks – everything you could imagine.
The area above the middle section was where the Demons were active and the true location of the Swordsman Trial.
"You can choose to go up the mountain now and familiarize yourselves with the terrain. Of course, there's also danger. Demons hiding in shadows or caves, sensing you, will eagerly attack you, even during the day, as there are still shaded areas in the mountains."
"Or you can wait until night to go up the mountain. At that time, all the swordsmen will go, the Demons' attention will be scattered, and the danger level will be lower."
After presenting the choice, the Kakushi member bowed and left.
Because the dense Wisteria Flower canopy blocked the sunlight, the narrow path, wide enough for one person to pass, appeared quiet and dark, like a gaping, dark maw ready to devour someone.
"Let's go, we'll go now."
Kurozawa thought for a moment before making his decision.
"Huh? Senior Disciple, no way. That person said it's easy to attract more attention if we go up the mountain now."
Hanada Shizuka stared at the dark path and instinctively shrank back behind Kurozawa.
"With me here, what are you afraid of?"
With a light snort, Kurozawa stepped forward, entering the quiet and deep Wisteria Flower path.
Potential Points, I'm coming!
His tall figure and confident words made Hanada Shizuka feel a sense of security, and she followed him involuntarily.
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Read 777+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский at: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Join our Discord: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------