Chapter 59: The Strongest Talent in History

"I know you are waiting for your leg to recover, but unfortunately, this is my first time fighting a demon, and I need to ensure absolute safety, so..."

Chu Yang's words abruptly awakened the juvenile demon, which tried to gather its remaining strength to flee. The moment it turned around, a flash of blade light tore a white line through the night sky and slashed across its neck.

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

The head landed steadily right between the arms, and the three pieces combined together like a bizarre piece of art.

The head was burning, and the juvenile demon's life had entered a countdown.

"Who on earth are you? Are you from the Demon Slayer Corps? Ordinary members cannot possibly possess this kind of strength..."

The struggling, dying juvenile demon wanted to say more, but Chu Yang leaped high into the air and brought his horse-cutter saber down heavily onto its head.

After a rumble echoed across the ground, the temple grew quiet once again.

The next morning, Himejima Gyomei returned to the temple to meet the first rays of morning sunlight. The air still lingered with the scent of a demon; his expression shifted instantly, and he rushed quickly into the temple.

The deepest nightmares of his heart surged up along with his memories, and a violent, murderous intent instantly erupted from Himejima Gyomei.

The Vajra glares fiercely, while the Bodhisattva lowers his gaze in compassion.

However, his murderous intent vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared.

Yawning, Chu Yang pushed open the door and walked out. He wiped the sleep from his eyes, spotted Himejima Gyomei, and immediately said with a pleasantly surprised expression, "Mr. Gyomei, you're back!"

Life alone in an old temple deep in the mountains was not easy, with not a single person to talk to. Although Chu Yang preferred peace and quiet over bustling crowds, he was not some recluse suffering from social isolation.

Himejima Gyomei wore his usual calm and unruffled expression, as if the person on the verge of going berserk just moments ago had not been him at all. He asked slowly, "Was there a demon here last night?"

"Yeah! Just a small fry, I took it down in two... three strokes." Recalling that it had taken him three strikes to sever the juvenile demon's head, Chu Yang felt a bit embarrassed. His training was still insufficient; if he could wield the horse-cutter saber a bit more smoothly, the last two strokes would have been completely unnecessary.

Two or three strokes?

With a head full of question marks, Himejima Gyomei said, "Tell me the entire process of your battle with the demon last night."

Thus, Chu Yang began recounting his encounter from the previous night, deeply criticizing himself and claiming that his training was still inadequate, as he could have finished it in a single strike but dragged it out to three.

After listening, Himejima Gyomei fell into a deep silence and remained speechless for a long time.

He did not know how to evaluate Chu Yang's performance.

Even though he was currently the strongest among the current Hashira, when he officially became a Demon Slayer swordsman back then, his very first battle against a demon had also been fraught with peril.

In comparison, Chu Yang's battle had been more than relaxed and effortless.

Should I directly recommend him to participate in the Final Selection?

Questions began to surface in Himejima Gyomei's mind. Participating in the Final Selection after only a month of training sounded a bit startling.

At this point in time, Tokito Muichiro had not yet joined the Demon Slayer Corps and was still an ordinary person; otherwise, comparing it to Muichiro's natural talent of becoming a Hashira in just two months, Himejima Gyomei would not have found the talent Chu Yang displayed to be so exaggerated.

After much consideration, Himejima Gyomei decided to let Chu Yang participate in the Final Selection. Given Chu Yang's current state, further improvement could only be achieved through actual combat.

Moreover, the frontline casualty rate of the Demon Slayer Corps had been extremely high for a long time, and there was an urgent need for fresh blood. The addition of a genius like Chu Yang would undoubtedly be a shot in the arm.

"Get ready and go to Mount Fujikasane to participate in the Final Selection!" Himejima Gyomei said with a firm tone. "The time has come. The sooner you become an official member, the sooner you can slay those evil demons."

Chu Yang nodded heavily.

"Understood!"

Three days later, Chu Yang traveled alone to Mount Fujikasane to take part in the trial.

As the location for the Final Selection, Mount Fujikasane was quite remote, located deep in the mountains much like the temple where Himejima Gyomei trained.

However, Mount Fujikasane had a very distinct characteristic that allowed people to determine its location from far away.

From the foot of the mountain up to the mid-mountain slope, Mount Fujikasane was blanketed year-round with wisteria flowers—the plant that demons hated the most.

The wisteria incense kept in the temple was made using wisteria flowers as raw material.

Looking from afar, a pale purple ocean surrounded the mountain range, and Chu Yang only needed to follow this sea of flowers to find his destination.

A moment later, a stone-paved path appeared beneath Chu Yang's feet.

Continuing forward, Chu Yang soon encountered a flight of stone steps, at the end of which stood a torii gate.

After passing through the torii gate, Chu Yang arrived at an open terrace.

There were people all around, everyone with a sword sheathed at their waist; Chu Yang was the only one carrying his sword on his back.

"Whoa! That's a huge sword!"

As an exclamation rang out, Chu Yang's appearance immediately attracted everyone's attention. People looked at him curiously, but most of all, they were staring at the sword on his back.

Compared to Chu Yang's horse-cutter saber, the swords in everyone else's hands looked as thin as matches.

While they were sizing up Chu Yang, Chu Yang was also observing them. A girl wearing a mask in the crowd caught his attention.

It was a smiling fox mask painted with blue flower patterns, and Chu Yang found it somewhat familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

A moment later, representatives from the Demon Slayer Corps stepped forward to explain the rules of the Final Selection. It was not much different from usual: simply survive on Mount Fujikasane for seven days.

Yet, even with such a simple objective, it would still eliminate ninety percent of the people present. Those youths who looked so full of confidence would ultimately die in this mountain covered in a sea of purple flowers.

As soon as the explanation ended, some people impatiently rushed into the path devoid of wisteria flowers. In Chu Yang's eyes, they were no different from the dead—confident young men walking one by one into a mountain teeming with evil demons.

After a while, only Chu Yang and the young girl wearing the fox mask were left on the terrace. Chu Yang glanced at her before slowly stepping into the ominous path that seemed as though it would devour people.

The girl on the other side also leisurely followed behind Chu Yang.

Chu Yang had no idea that the girl was following him purely out of curiosity regarding the enormous horse-cutter saber on his back.

The trial was scheduled to begin at dusk.

Once everyone had entered, the sky gradually darkened—precisely the time when demons could become active.

Chu Yang walked through the forest for a while without encountering any demons, but he grew increasingly annoyed because a little tail was tagging along right behind him.

"Hey, that's enough. How long are you planning to follow me?" Chu Yang turned around and said impatiently to the girl.

The girl wearing the fox mask immediately stopped in her tracks and replied weakly, "I'm sorry."

Chu Yang sighed helplessly. "Why on earth are you following me?"

The girl said self-consciously, "I've never seen such a big sword before, so I got a bit carried away watching it."

Hearing the girl's reason, Chu Yang was left speechless. Had it not been for the obvious lack of malicious intent from the girl, he would have already taken action.