Not long after, their boring wait finally ended, and two figures appeared before them.
"Thank you all for coming tonight to participate in the Demon Slayer Corps Final Selection."
"On Mount Fujikasane, demons captured alive by Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen are imprisoned."
"But the demons cannot leave, because from the foot of the mountain to the halfway point, wisteria flowers, which demons detest, bloom all year round."
"However, there are no more wisteria flowers beyond this point, and demons will appear there."
Two twin girls (?) in kimonos, with one black and one white hair color, but almost identical appearances, stood beneath the torii gate, explaining the requirements of the Final Selection to everyone.
They had no expression other than a faint smile, and their voices and tones were quite peculiar. At first glance, they seemed like two puppets, speaking under the manipulation of a puppeteer, giving people the feeling of watching a puppet show.
If he hadn't known their performance in the plot, Fang Hao would have thought he was in a supernatural world.
These two were the children of the Demon Slayer Corps' master, and although one of them was male, he was raised as a girl.
This was also a custom in the island nation's folklore: if a boy was weak and sickly from a young age, he would be raised as a girl, which was meant to pray for peace.
Just like how people in rural areas give their children humble names, such as Gou Sheng (Dog Leftover), hoping that the children will grow up safely.
"Surviving for seven days inside is the condition for passing the Final Selection."
"Now, gentlemen, please begin. I wish you good fortune in battle."
Most of the people who came to participate in this selection had probably learned about the final assessment in advance and had all undergone rigorous training. They were not surprised by the selection conditions and stepped onto the path into the mountain one after another.
Fang Hao avoided Zenitsu's expectant gaze and entered Mount Fujikasane a step ahead. "Don't worry, Junior Brother. Once I kill some demons to practice, I'll let you see some evil demons too. I won't disappoint you, hehehe!" Fang Hao sneered in his heart.
For some reason, Zenitsu suddenly felt a chill, and seeing Fang Hao had already entered Mount Fujikasane, he cried, "Big Brother! Waaah!" Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.
Not long after, Fang Hao was strolling leisurely in the mountain. His eyes were unfocused, his hands in his pockets, as if he was in a daze, without any guard.
"Rustle, rustle." The trees behind Fang Hao kept shaking, making rustling sounds. Fang Hao, however, seemed not to hear it, remaining in his original state, wandering on the road.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle." The branches shook more and more rapidly, and the sound came from far to near. Amidst the rustling of the leaves, there seemed to be the cries of some animals, as if something was approaching Fang Hao.
Suddenly, the shadow under Fang Hao's feet seemed to deepen. "Human, die!" An evil demon leaped out from the tree canopy above Fang Hao, extending its sharp claws to attack Fang Hao's neck. "Food is here." He licked his lips, letting out an excited shriek.
"Got him!" His sharp claws were about to tear open Fang Hao's neck. He became even more excited, saliva uncontrollably secreting from his mouth and dripping onto the ground.
"Hum." In an instant, the evil demon's ferocious face froze, as if it could no longer make any expression, and its body also stiffened.
"Drip, drop." He heard the sound of water falling on the ground.
"Is it raining?" The evil demon looked up, confused, "No rain."
At this moment, he remembered that he was still chasing a human, and looked towards that human, only to see that person had already walked away.
"Hey, human, can't you see..." Suddenly, his throat seemed to be blocked, unable to speak, and a strange sensation came from near his Adam's apple.
He suddenly understood, and finally realized, "So, I'm already dead..." A bloodline suddenly appeared on his neck, and the blood could no longer be stopped, pouring out from his throat like water boiling in a kettle.
"Cough, cough, cough." His mouth slightly opened, and the last sight in his eyes was the back of the person who killed him. His vision then went black, and he fell into eternal sleep.
Fang Hao, who had killed an evil demon for the first time, felt no joy. After all, it wasn't a difficult kill after a bitter struggle between evenly matched opponents, but an instant kill, which really gave him no sense of accomplishment.
"Compared to rushing to kill demons, it's indeed simpler to lure them. But why isn't there a legend like 'First Kill of an Evil Demon'?"
Fang Hao felt quite helpless in his heart. It had been a year since he transmigrated, and the legendary compendium was still the same. Except for his numerical values, everything else remained unchanged.
"Sigh, it's clearly like an achievement system, but it's not as powerful as others'." Fang Hao began to complain about his cheat in his mind.
"Could it be an upgrade?" He thought of the Demon Slayer Corps' ranks, which were divided into Kinoe, Kinoto, Hinoe, Hinoto, Tsuchinoe, Tsuchinoto, Kanoe, Kanoto, Mizunoe, and Mizunoto, in descending order. Above these were the "Hashira."
"Or do I need to kill a few Twelve Kizuki?" Fang Hao thought, troubled.
After having a cheat, he naturally wanted to master it, but imagining things out of thin air was useless and only made Fang Hao feel irritable. So he decided to kill some demons to relax.
"I found this human."
"It was me, he's my prey."
"I haven't eaten a human in a year, how about you let me have him?"
"No way, whoever kills him first, he's theirs."
Two evil demons scrambled, running towards Fang Hao from under the tree shade, both viewing Fang Hao as their prey, refusing to yield to each other.
Fang Hao impatiently placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, "Thunder Breathing, First Form—"
His eyes quickly scanned the two evil demons. In Fang Hao's eyes, they seemed to have frozen. At this moment, whether it was their movements or expressions, there was no difference from before.
Fang Hao's heart beat powerfully, and a large amount of air entered his lungs with his breathing. After that, blood, and in this instant, breath and blood followed the trajectory of the breathing technique, entering their proper circulation.
"Thunderclap and Flash." The sword was drawn. Fang Hao's body transformed into a pitch-black flash, shimmering with the golden light on the sword. In just an instant, he appeared behind the two demons.
Only a golden sword mark was left in mid-air, with lightning dancing on it. This sword mark was very long, cutting across the bodies of the two evil demons, as if connecting them.
The evil demons remained in their original postures, while Fang Hao's sword had already returned to its sheath. At the same time, as Fang Hao sheathed his sword, two large heads fell in response, their bodies still stiffly standing in place, before turning into dust along with their heads.
"This is getting a bit boring. Are the evil demons in Mount Fujikasane only this strong after all?" Fang Hao felt a little disappointed by their strength. "I'll try to find the Hand Demon. I hope he can give me some surprises."
Since entering the mountain, Fang Hao had killed five evil demons, and they were simply too weak in Fang Hao's eyes, neither qualified as opponents nor as entertainment.
"Run, run!" Suddenly, a shrill scream attracted Fang Hao's attention. He flew towards the source of the sound.
Coming towards him was a novice swordsman, who was incoherent at the moment, his face filled with terror, as if he had previously endured a panic beyond his capacity.
"What happened?" Fang Hao already had a guess in his heart and asked the approaching person gently.
That person, however, seemed to have lost the ability to think. Upon hearing Fang Hao's voice, he became even more flustered, directly bypassing Fang Hao and running quickly.
His voice was still filled with terror: "Run! Run! Monster, a monster with many hands! Aliens, everyone, everyone is dead!"
He then looked back at Fang Hao, "You run too! Everyone in this Mount Fujikasane is going to die!" His face was pale, and the fear and unease on his face intensified.
Hearing his words, Fang Hao became even more certain of his guess. His body moved slightly, and amidst the person's panicked expression, he ran forward quickly.