Chapter 133: A single sword strike that collectively silenced the Demon Slayer Corps...
「 Killing intent...! His heart felt as if it had been seized by a large hand, and Yanqing's breathing instantly hitched.
He closed his eyes. For a moment, countless voices intertwined in his mind, all repeating those two words:
"I refuse!"
"I refuse!!"
"I refuse!!!"
The honor of the swordsman, the life and death decided in a flash... countless thoughts surged within Yanqing's heart, only to fall away one by one. Finally, he clenched his jaw, opened his eyes as if having made a final decision, and resolutely stepped forward.
My blade is never dull!
Jingliu smiled faintly, nodding at him with rare admiration: "You have courage."
Before her voice faded, Jingliu leaped up. The cold light in her hand unfolded, her sword stance hanging upside down. She swung a horizontal cut in the air, as if a new moon had passed through the sky, transforming the Nine Heavens Galaxy into a flowing silk ribbon that condensed into a crescent-moon-shaped sword energy.
This strike was unavoidable, and Yanqing did not intend to dodge. He gathered countless flying swords around him, and the longsword tightly gripped in his hand shone brightly. He intended to fuse everything he had learned in his life into one sword strike, to forcibly meet Jingliu's strike, honed by a thousand trials!
"Hah—!"
Accompanied by a furious roar, the sword in Yanqing's hand magnified several times. He threw it violently, using the sharpness of a youth to directly shatter the crescent moon in the sky beneath the boundless snow waves.
The clash of these forces dissolved into a sharp clang. Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, the sky seemed to scatter goose feathers of snow, landing on Yanqing's trembling arms.
This single sword strike had left him utterly exhausted, and he desperately gasped for air. 」
「 .....」
〜Demon Slayer World〜
After watching Jingliu's sword strike, the Demon Slayer Corps fell into silence.
After an unknown amount of time, Mitsuri Kanroji, the first to recover from the shock, softly asked:
"Um... er, I want to ask, who learned that sword technique?"
"..."
No one answered; the silence was deathly.
Sanemi Shinazugawa, who had originally retained some arrogance, lowered his head completely, remaining silent. It wasn't until a moment later that Muichiro Tokito, the Mist Hashira, slowly spoke:
"Don't ask. We can't learn it. Shouldn't we say that this kind of sword skill isn't something a human can master?"
That upside-down sword stance, the boundless snow waves cut out by a single sword... Muichiro had a premonition that the Demon Slayer Corps wouldn't be able to withstand this sword strike; even if Muzan were to take it, it would be enough to kill him ten times over.
"If we can't learn Miss Jingliu's, then what about Yanqing's?"
Mitsuri Kanroji asked again:
"Yanqing forcibly took Jingliu's sword strike... did anyone learn that?"
It remained quiet, and still, no one answered.
Only Obanai Iguro patted her shoulder from behind. Like Shinazugawa, he hung his head, his eyes filled with melancholy:
"Kanroji, let's stop here for today. About learning the sword... don't ask anyone else."
Meanwhile, inside the Infinity Castle—
Muzan Kibutsuji, sweating profusely, was supporting his forehead. He didn't want the other Upper Rank demons to see his nearly blackened face.
Jingliu's sword strike... truly reawakened the psychological trauma he experienced hundreds of years ago when he encountered Yoriichi Tsugikuni. At that time, he was sliced by the owner of Sun Breathing, forced to split into over a thousand pieces of flesh to escape. And seeing Jingliu's sword strike today...
The killing intent almost seeped through the light screen. That white-haired woman's crescent-moon-like strike nearly scared him into splitting apart on the spot again.
Looking up at the Upper Ranks, Gyokko, Upper Rank Five, had hidden entirely inside his pot, the whole vessel trembling; Hantengu, Upper Rank Four, was much the same, shrinking in the corner of the shadow, not daring to breathe.
Akaza, however, showed some courage. He knelt on one knee, but his whole body was uncontrollably starting to tremble; Kokushibo was similar, though judging by his expression, he seemed quite longing for that level of swordsmanship...
"My Lord."
Doma's voice suddenly rang out nearby.
Muzan narrowed his eyes, nodding slightly, signaling Doma to continue.
"My Lord, if we truly manage to obtain the Blessing of 『 Abundance 』, it means we might also encounter the pursuit of the Xianzhou Alliance."
"At that time, this woman named Jingliu will hunt us down, viewing us as abominations..."
"—Silence."
Not wanting to continue listening, Muzan coldly interrupted Doma.
Even if Doma spoke the truth, Muzan had to admit one thing: compared to the temptation of seeing sunlight, the people of the Xianzhou Hunt were far more dangerous...
If he were truly targeted by a long-life species of Jingliu's caliber, his future days would certainly be hellish.
—
〜Zenless Zone Zero World〜
New Eridu—
Hollow Special Operations Section 6 Combat Simulation Room.
The high-risk Ethereals generated by projection technology were almost instantly swept away by surging sword energy upon appearance. Once the next wave spawned, they were swiftly swept away again in the same manner.
Tsukishiro Yanagi, holding a stack of documents, arrived at the simulation room, appreciating the Foxian girl's repetitive practice.
"Chief Miyabi, what is the purpose of this training?"
Tsukishiro Yanagi smiled faintly.
Hoshimi Miyabi, having leaped mid-air, once again imitated Jingliu's upside-down sword stance, but the resulting sword energy consistently failed to reach Jingliu's quality, only managing to eliminate a few high-risk Ethereals.
Hoshimi Miyabi landed lightly, sheathed her sword, and calmly took the documents handed to her by Tsukishiro Yanagi.
"This training is—to insist on not attending the performance review meeting until I have learned the sword strike Jingliu used to cut down Yanqing."
"Is this the latest training implemented to escape the performance review meeting?"
Tsukishiro Yanagi helplessly pushed the Foxian girl out of the simulation room, repeatedly cautioning her:
"Chief Miyabi, tonight's performance review meeting is extremely important; you must go! Moreover! While practicing swordsmanship is good, engaging in this kind of training will result in the cancellation of your bonus for the next few months... no, perhaps even years!"
"Yes, Yanagi,"
Hoshimi Miyabi nodded calmly.
"That's why I am diligently practicing, striving not to lose next year's bonus."
"—If I can learn it this year."
—
「 Yanqing looked at his still trembling hands in disbelief: "I... I deflected it?"
Jingliu had vanished, only her voice echoing in the air: "I've taken those records you found."
"Thank you, little brother."
Yanqing walked forward with heavy steps, suddenly noticing a thin slip of paper left on the ground. He opened it to look; it bore Jingliu's handwriting: Take this sword strike as a temporary thank-you gift. We were fated to meet this day and in days to come.
Yanqing crumpled the note into his palm, feeling uneasy: "This mysterious woman also wants to find the whereabouts of Blade..."
"No, no matter what she wants to do with the fugitive, she must not be allowed to get to him first." 」
「 .....」