Chapter 28: Familiar Weapons
Doma, the Crystalline Divine Child, and the Cold White Princesses were continuously using Blood Demon Arts, one constantly emitting white mist to restrict Lin Jiu. Observing the dozens of incoming ice vines, Lin Jiu, in a state of concentration, keenly seized an opportunity and slashed through most of the vines with a single stroke.
The surrounding ice mist slowed his movements, and as he cut through the vines, the large hand of the Bodhisattva came crashing down. That familiar feeling, like dodging a deadly hit from Dialga in the previous world, returned, and Lin Jiu flipped and leaped up.
The large hand of the Bodhisattva struck the ground where he had been standing, creating a large pit with cracks spreading outward. Lin Jiu's landing point was precisely on the hand of the Bodhisattva that had not yet been lifted.
At the moment of landing, the power in his legs exploded, and Lin Jiu's figure ran along the arm of the Bodhisattva towards Doma. With each step, cracks appeared on the ice crystal arm of the Bodhisattva Statue.
Seeing Lin Jiu approaching, the petals of the ice crystal lotus on which Doma was sitting immediately wrapped around his body. Lin Jiu's foundational skills were not that advanced, but Nemoce had not taught him basic knowledge; instead, she imparted various combat experiences: use any means necessary to inflict maximum damage on the enemy!
With the ice crystal lotus wrapped around him and no breathing techniques to use, attacking with the Nichirin Blade in his hand would likely only leave small marks on the petals.
Leaping with inertia, Lin Jiu descended from above the bud, instantly shattering a piece of ice crystal.
Outside, Shinobu could not see past the several ice lotuses, but the large hand of the Bodhisattva was pressing down towards the shoulder area.
Boom!
The surrounding white mist exploded outward, and a figure fell from above, landing on the ground and standing up after dissipating the force. Shinobu saw that it was the person who had taken her katana, with some superficial wounds from the ice crystals and the most severe injury being a slight fracture in the lower leg.
The Butterfly Mansion, the medical facility of the Demon Slayer Corps, is run by her, so it is not difficult for her to see.
This also shocked her—after fighting the Upper Moon Two for so long, the most severe injury was a fracture. It was almost unimaginable. If she remembered correctly, she had seen this person pinning Doma, the Upper Moon Two, to the ground and hammering him!
Moreover, this person showed no signs of using breathing techniques, yet with just physical strength and skill, he could contend with an Upper Moon Demon. Could a human achieve this?
However, precisely because Lin Jiu did not use breathing techniques, even though he wielded a Nichirin Blade, a special katana version made by Shinobu Kocho, he did not inflict fatal damage on Doma.
Seeing a glimmer of light in the sky, Doma glanced at Lin Jiu with lingering fear, immediately detonated the Bodhisattva Statue, creating a cloud of white mist to obscure everyone's vision, and disappeared. He fled because dawn was approaching, and he did not want to fight this human again.
He had never encountered such a... vicious human! The wounds on his body healed instantly, but there was a cut on his thigh, just above where his skirt-like garment ended.
He also had a similar wound on his lower back. Doma would rather fight two Hashira than face Lin Jiu again. Although the physical damage was not much, each strike made his heart pound. Even though he knew he could recover, as a male being, it instinctively chilled him.
"Did I see that right? Is that Doma? How did this guy first make him angry and now even scared?"
A contractor familiar with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba exclaimed in amazement.
In his view, Doma, such a character, had never shown emotion even in the face of death. But now, without much visible injury, he had exhibited two emotions!
Doma, the demon who had been the leader of the Eternal Paradise Faith, a cult dedicated to worshipping Doma and a place where he listens to all his followers' troubles and gives them advice. It also acts as a place for Doma to capture and kill humans. This cult also took in Inosuke Hashibira's mother, Kotoha Hashibira, before Doma killed her after finding out that he was eating his followers
Lin Jiu intended to let him feel the slaps he missed in childhood—a palm is stronger than six punches!
As for Lin Jiu's vicious tricks, they vary from person to person. If he had energy like the Blue Steel Shadow that could effectively harm Doma, he would certainly aim for the throat and heart with every strike.
Lin Jiu casually checked the information on Shinobu Kocho's Nichirin Blade.
[Stinger Nichirin Katana]
Origin: Swordsmith Village, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Quality: Green
Durability: 35/50
Attack Power: 6~10 (calculated based on the strength of the slash)
Equipment Requirement: 6 Strength
Rating: 30 (Extreme rating for green weapons, marked as rare with special attributes)
Equipment Effects:
Poisoned: This blade, both the edge and interior, is infused with Wisteria Poison, extremely effective against demons!
Attribute 1: Dance of the Insect, provides a 10% bonus to Insect Breathing Techniques.
Attribute 2: Sunlight, can harm creatures that fear the sun.
Description: The withering of flowers fills the butterflies that dance for them with intense poison!
Note: Irregular items, cannot be taken out of this world, and cannot be traded.
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Even though Shinobu's Nichirin Blade has a green extreme rating, its attack power is still lower than Lin Jiu's Willow Shadow. This is entirely due to the equipment effects and additional attributes adding up.
Lin Jiu returned the Nichirin Blade to Shinobu and waved his hand in front of her, who had not yet recovered her senses, to snap her out of it. Those unaware might think he had lost!
"Who are you? Why do you have the strength to deal with an Upper Moon Demon!"
Shinobu Kocho asked immediately. The other party was not a member of the Demon Slayer Corps; he neither used breathing techniques nor had a Nichirin Blade.
"Red. I am a wandering... traveler!"
Lin Jiu originally wanted to say he was a ronin, considering the era's background. But that term seemed unlucky; if he ended up wandering to his death, that would be the end.
"Have you fought with these demons before?"
Shinobu asked.
"No. This is my first encounter with such creatures. My sword can't harm him, but I noticed your blade seems different!"
Lin Jiu shook his head. He was telling the truth; it was his first battle with demons.
"Would you be willing to join the Demon Slayer Corps?"
Shinobu asked, looking at Lin Jiu with hopeful eyes.
This was thanks to the wise leader, who had made the members of the Demon Slayer Corps more united than ever. As long as you could help kill demons, you were considered a good brother, regardless of your background or origin. Internal strife was minimal; although there seemed to be rank divisions, in reality, it was just ordinary members and Hashira.
"I can go with you to the Demon Slayer Corps and have a look!"
Lin Jiu said. Even if he agreed now, it would have to be approved by the Demon Slayer Corps to complete the mission. So there was no need to promise immediately.
"We also want to contribute to humanity and are willing to join the Demon Slayer Corps!"
As soon as the main mission was mentioned, the contractors couldn't hold back and surrounded Shinobu.
Lin Jiu silently moved to the side, leaving space for them. These contractors dared to approach because they knew that under normal circumstances, the Hashira wouldn't attack ordinary people.
"Boss, my name is Balone, the new member of Dragon Brother's Adventurer Team."
Seeing that Lin Jiu didn't interact with other contractors and moved aside, a young man approached him.
Balone? Or was it Abalone? What a strange name. Lin Jiu frowned, planning to send this guy away.
Balone saw Lin Jiu's expression and knew their team leader had been boasting again, claiming he had befriended a talented contractor and almost recruited him into their adventurer team. Although he didn't agree in the end, they still traded weapons amicably.
The unique sword Willow Shallow, Balone had seen it often from their team leader. This meant that the big boss in front of him was the contractor who traded with their leader.
It seemed that the other party didn't even remember their adventurer team. Balone's plan to seek help from the boss was aborted!
But he didn't give up and drew his weapon from its sheath, saying, "Boss, our team leader Dragon Brother is the one who traded with you!"
"..."
Is it okay to speak about your team leader like this? Whether it was okay or not was none of Lin Jiu's business, but he recognized the sword. It was none other than his previous one, Hunting!
It seemed that the big guy he traded with did mention an adventurer team, but Lin Jiu couldn't remember well. The new member the big guy mentioned was this kid in front of him!
"Hmm."
Lin Jiu nodded and ignored him. The trade was done; was he expecting a return?
Shinobu finished her matters and indicated that the contractors could follow her back to participate in the Demon Slayer Corps' entrance selection. She could tell that these people had not been taught breathing techniques by Cultivators.
She also advised them to learn breathing techniques first and offered to write recommendation letters to Cultivators for them. But the contractors were too eager to join the Demon Slayer Corps, refusing no matter what.
Of course! If they couldn't join the Demon Slayer Corps before the deadline, they'd be doomed. They wanted to learn a free skill, but there was no time!
Anyway, they needed to join the Demon Slayer Corps first. And it didn't necessarily mean joining the combat division; joining the logistics department also counted as successfully choosing a faction!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone