Several hours passed, and more than twenty demons had already fallen beneath Li Xuan's blade.
During that time, he even encountered the many-armed demon. For a brief moment he considered striking it down himself, yet he ultimately decided that Tanjiro should be the one to defeat it.
This was not only because Tanjiro needed tempering through real combat, but also because his bond with Sabito and Makomo ran deeper than Li Xuan's. It would be far more fitting for Tanjiro to deliver vengeance on their behalf.
What Li Xuan had not expected was that, even though he had no intention of killing the many-armed demon right then, the creature reacted in an entirely different way upon seeing his warding mask.
Its eyes lit up with excitement, and it charged toward him with a frenzied eagerness, snarling as it muttered the same sentence again and again.
"I will slaughter every disciple you train. They will all die at my hands!"
Li Xuan's eyes narrowed. He had no intention of indulging the creature's arrogance. In the very next heartbeat, his sword flashed hundreds of times, reducing the many-armed demon's body into a heap of shredded meat.
Yet even after such destruction, the demon clung stubbornly to life. Its regenerative ability was astonishing, and though Li Xuan had deliberately avoided cleaving its head, the fact that its body was hacked to pulp and still not dead was unsettling.
"Your vitality is far more tenacious than I expected," Li Xuan remarked coldly.
He stared down at the many-armed demon with an expression of contempt, his gaze treating the monster as though it were nothing more than refuse.
Had this been the demon he encountered earlier in the shrine, it would have perished beyond all doubt.
The fact that this one still lived could only be called sheer luck. Since fortune had spared it, Li Xuan decided to leave it alive, so that Tanjiro would have the chance to confront it.
When Li Xuan finally departed, the many-armed demon was filled with a twisted sense of relief. He could not understand why a demon slayer who so clearly despised demons would spare his life, but in his mind such mercy was nothing but foolishness.
His fear-ridden face soon warped with humiliation and rage. The despair of being utterly powerless against Li Xuan had been branded into the very core of his being. Yet the fact that he was released, instead of slain, filled him with burning fury.
'I cannot kill you, but I can kill your kind. I will hunt down every one of those masked disciples.'
The many-armed demon did not believe that every masked swordsman possessed the monstrous strength of Li Xuan.
'He must be the exception. Otherwise, the demon reasoned, how could he have already slaughtered so many of those mask-wearers and survived this long?'
'How absurd. I killed so many who wore that same fox mask, and yet you still allowed me to live. What a fool you are.'
As these thoughts seethed in his mind, the demon's body regenerated completely. A hideous smile stretched across his face.
It was then that his nose twitched. He caught the scent of a human. Not far away, Tanjiro was locked in combat with four demons at once.
The many-armed demon crept closer. When his gaze fell upon Tanjiro's fox mask, his eyes turned blood-red with hatred. Tanjiro's display of strength did not stir any fear in him, so he launched himself into battle once again without hesitation.
After a ferocious clash, however, his arrogance cost him dearly. Unlike Li Xuan, Tanjiro showed him no mercy. With fierce determination and a decisive strike, Tanjiro cut him down, finally ending the demon's wretched existence.
By the third day of the Final Selection, Li Xuan found himself approached by a member of the Demon Slayer Corps' logistics division. The man wore a headscarf and bowed respectfully, though his forehead glistened with cold sweat.
"What is it?" Li Xuan asked calmly, flicking the blood from his Nichirin blade. His voice was flat, devoid of even a ripple of emotion.
The logistics officer swallowed hard. The suffocating pressure emanating from Li Xuan felt no different from being in the presence of one of the Hashira.
"Orders from the Master," the officer finally stammered. "The Corps leader summons you to the mansion immediately."
Li Xuan raised his brows in faint surprise. "Already? It is only the third day."
"Yes. You have already been accepted as a member of the Demon Slayer Corps," the officer replied, forcing composure into his voice.
Inwardly, however, he grumbled. Three days, and this man had already slain so many demons in Mount Fujikasane. If he kept going, what demons would remain for future Final Selections?
This situation reminded him of another, many years ago. A young man back then had nearly exterminated every demon in the mountain, though he had tragically failed the Selection in the end.
That young man was none other than Sabito, the spirit who had later guided Tanjiro. Sabito had fought tirelessly, rescuing Giyu at the cost of his own life when he confronted the many-armed demon.
His death had left Giyu carrying a wound in his heart that never healed.
"Very well," Li Xuan said with a nod, sliding his blade back into its sheath. He gestured for the officer to lead the way.
As they descended the mountain path, they passed the plaza where the twin attendants still stood.
Li Xuan approached them and politely requested that they inform Tanjiro of his situation once he completed the trial. The twins agreed with a nod, putting Li Xuan's mind at ease.
Two days of travel later, they arrived at the hidden mansion of the Master, the headquarters of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Its location was extraordinarily secret, nestled deep in the mountains and surrounded by dense forests. Without deliberate effort to memorize the path, Li Xuan knew he would never find it again.
Around the mansion, wisteria blossoms bloomed in abundance, their fragrance drifting gently through the air and serving as a natural barrier against demons.
Even Muzan, who had hunted for the Corps' headquarters for a thousand years, had never found it. That alone was proof of how well concealed it was.
So this is where I meet the Master, Li Xuan thought, a faint smile tugging at his lips. He felt a stirring of curiosity toward the Yashiki family's inherited gift of foresight. Perhaps he would even test that ability with a single touch.
The logistics officer took his leave, and Li Xuan stepped alone into the courtyard. The sweet perfume of flowers filled his senses.
There, a man and woman stood in elegant kimonos with their backs turned to him. Though he could not yet see their faces, Li Xuan knew that the man was Kagaya Ubuyashiki, the leader of the Corps, and the woman beside him was his wife.
As though they had heard his footsteps, both turned slowly.
The man's disfigured visage and blind eyes confirmed his identity. This was indeed Kagaya Ubuyashiki.
Li Xuan halted. In that instant, a surge of invisible pressure radiated outward from his body, sweeping across the courtyard like an unseen tide.
"Oh?" Kagaya tilted his head slightly. Though sightless, he could feel the heavy aura pressing in on all sides.
Yet he remained calm. A man who had guided the Corps for years would not falter so easily. Within that pressure, he gauged the measure of Li Xuan's strength.
"The power of a Hashira, perhaps?" he mused softly, a smile forming on his lips. Joy welled up in him at the thought of such strength joining their ranks.
"Your master must be the former Water Hashira, yes?"
Li Xuan allowed his aura to fade, returning to the composure of an ordinary man. He had not released that pressure to intimidate, but rather so that Kagaya would clearly understand the level of power he possessed. That way, any requests he made would be far easier to accept.
"Yes," Li Xuan replied. "My teacher is Sakonji Urokodaki."
"Then Urokodaki has raised a remarkable disciple indeed," Kagaya said warmly, his smile deepening.
Even he, so accustomed to hardship, could not suppress the gladness in his heart. The Corps was always lacking in manpower.
Demons multiplied with terrifying ease, but every swordsman took years of cultivation. To gain one more warrior, especially one of Hashira caliber, was an immeasurable boon.
"You are now a member of the Corps," Kagaya continued. "A Kasugai crow will be assigned to you. It will deliver missions and guide you."
At his words, a jet-black crow swooped down from the sky, landing firmly upon Li Xuan's shoulder. The bird cocked its head and croaked in a voice filled with intelligence.
Li Xuan raised a finger and gently stroked the crow's head. The bird leaned into his touch with surprising affection.
"I will call you Black Crow," Li Xuan said casually.
"Later, a Nichirin blade will be forged for you… cough…" Kagaya broke off, his body wracked with a soft fit of coughing. The long exposure outdoors had worsened his condition.
His wife immediately stepped forward, her eyes full of concern, and tried to support him back inside. But Kagaya waved her off gently.
"You should rest now, Master," a strong, confident voice called from nearby.
Li Xuan turned to see the newcomer.
He had long golden hair tinged red at the tips, sharp black brows, and eyes that blazed like fire.
He wore the standard dark uniform of the Corps, covered by a white haori whose edges were patterned with flames. His very presence seemed to radiate heat and vigor.
It was none other than Kyojuro Rengoku, the Flame Hashira.