My Blade Had Long Since Grown Thirsty

With a dull clank, Gyomei Himejima showed Chu Yang his Nichirin Sword. Judging by its appearance alone, it barely had anything to do with a "sword."

It was a long iron chain, with a single-edged battle axe attached to one end and a spiked meteor hammer attached to the other. It was immensely visually striking.

Paired with Gyomei Himejima’s broad, powerful fighting style, it embodied a brutal kind of beauty.

"My weapon is rather extreme and doesn’t offer much reference. As long as it helps in battle, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a sword or not." Gyomei Himejima swung his weapon, and a sharp howl of wind immediately echoed through the courtyard.

A violent gale swept through the entire courtyard.

Even Chu Yang, standing some distance away, could feel an oppressive force.

"A large amount of high-purity Scarlet Crimson Sand Iron was added to it, making it extremely heavy. You can try swinging it." Gyomei Himejima placed the weapon on the ground and gestured for Chu Yang to pick it up. He wanted to use this to test exactly how strong Chu Yang was.

The moment Chu Yang grasped the chain, he felt its weight. He took a deep breath and pulled hard on the chain, lifting the weapons at both ends.

Gyomei Himejima asked, "Can you try swinging it?"

Chu Yang nodded and whirled the weapon through the air, its movements fierce and forceful. He looked utterly at ease, without even breathing hard.

Gyomei Himejima was very surprised. He had just emphasized that this weapon was incredibly heavy. In the entire Demon Slayer Corps, no one but him could use it.

Yet Chu Yang had picked it up effortlessly on his first try and wielded it with complete ease.

Gyomei Himejima realized that his idea of tempering Chu Yang’s body might have been mistaken.

He seemed to be naturally capable of perfectly adapting to his own strength.

"Put it down first." After Chu Yang set down the chain, Gyomei Himejima silently put the weapon away before saying, "Your talent is exceptional, so my standards for you will be higher as well. Once you have fully mastered Stone Breathing, I will recommend you for the Final Selection."

"The Final Selection is the trial to become a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman. There, you will face fear head-on and fight demons to the death. If you survive to the end, you will become a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman. Otherwise…"

Chu Yang smiled. "Don’t worry, I have that much resolve."

"Then I have nothing else to warn you about." Gyomei Himejima turned and entered the room. As he walked, he said, "There are several vats in the backyard. There is a spring at the top of this mountain. Remember to fill those vats every day."

Chu Yang smacked his lips. He recalled the training methods he had seen on television before and asked tentatively, "Himejima-sensei, there’s nothing unusual about the water-carrying equipment, right?"

Gyomei Himejima paused and turned his head, looking surprised. "You’re quite perceptive. It was a method I once used to train myself. You’ll understand once you see it."

Just as I thought!

A short while later, Chu Yang arrived in the backyard. Beside a large cluster of water vats, he saw two enormous cone-shaped buckets. They could not stand upright on the ground and were pressed tightly against the vats.

The two buckets were made of iron, and even the shoulder pole was iron. They were connected by iron chains.

"Not bad, a true ascetic monk. He could even come up with this kind of inhuman training method. Conservatively speaking, all of this must weigh several hundred kilograms, right?" Chu Yang felt that Gyomei Himejima might not even be able to lift it under normal circumstances.

Unless he maintained Total Concentration Breathing the entire time.

So this training equipment before him must have been what Gyomei Himejima used to practice Total Concentration Constant.

"Up the mountain I go!" Chu Yang hoisted the shoulder pole onto his shoulders. He felt no pressure at all and immediately walked out of the temple beneath the sunlight.

To his surprise, Gyomei Himejima was standing at the entrance, glaring at him. Several new buckets sat at his feet. With his palms pressed together, he said in a loud voice, "With your strength, two iron buckets won’t provide any training effect. Add all of these as well."

Chu Yang’s eyes nearly popped out. Those buckets together must weigh several tons, right?

Was this a joke?

Gyomei Himejima looked entirely serious, not as if he were joking. So Chu Yang immediately abandoned any thought of resisting and obediently added the buckets to both ends of the shoulder pole.

Only then did Chu Yang truly feel the pressure. He instinctively used Total Concentration Breathing, doing his best to lessen the burden on his body.

Gyomei Himejima sensed the Stone Breathing naturally emerging from Chu Yang’s body. Smiling, he turned and returned to the temple.

The mountain path was rugged, and the ground beneath his feet was easy to slip on. After only a few steps, Chu Yang tripped and staggered, nearly rolling down the slope.

Still shaken, Chu Yang took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. Sweat streaming down his forehead slowly blurred his vision.

At the critical moment, an endless stream of vitality surged from within his body, easing his exhaustion. He stepped forward again, his posture steady.

Gyomei Himejima sat before the Buddha statue, continuously chanting scriptures. The sun sank behind the western mountains, the sky outside gradually darkened, and moonlight replaced sunlight in shining upon the earth.

The chanting abruptly stopped. Gyomei Himejima rose and walked out of the temple, preparing to search for Chu Yang. If it got any later, Chu Yang might encounter danger.

Not long after leaving the temple, Gyomei Himejima heard faint footsteps coming from ahead. Only then did he relax, standing quietly where he was to wait.

Chu Yang slowly made his way toward the temple. Only half the water remained in the buckets; the other half had spilled all along the road.

Sweat had thoroughly soaked Chu Yang’s clothes, making them hang heavily from his body. Even so, Chu Yang still struggled to maintain Total Concentration Breathing. Otherwise, he would never have lasted until he came down the mountain.

When he reached Gyomei Himejima, Chu Yang’s legs gave out, and all strength suddenly left him. He fell straight down.

Gyomei Himejima reached out, one hand steadily grasping the shoulder pole.

The two buckets swayed gently before becoming still, while his other hand supported Chu Yang.

"You did very well. I originally thought I would have to go up the mountain to bring you back." Gyomei Himejima smiled, like the compassionate Buddha enshrined in the temple.

Chu Yang returned his smile, but before he could speak, he fainted.

Only then did his Total Concentration Breathing cease.

Gyomei Himejima nodded to himself and carried him back to his room to rest. Then he went to the backyard and poured the spring water Chu Yang had painstakingly carried into the water vats.

After that, Chu Yang climbed the mountain every day to carry water.

At first, he had to set out at dawn and could not come down the mountain until dark. Each time, only half a bucket of water remained, and he could not keep it from spilling.

As his mastery of Stone Breathing grew, the time it took him to descend the mountain gradually shortened. Slowly, he was able to return to the temple before dark, and the water in both buckets grew increasingly full.

Half a month later, Chu Yang could already return to the temple before dusk and ensure that not a single drop of water spilled from the buckets.

After half a month of training, Chu Yang could maintain a stable state of Total Concentration Breathing during any intense activity.

The water vats in the backyard had also all been filled by Chu Yang, enough to last for quite a long time.

Gyomei Himejima silently watched it all, unable to put into words the shock in his heart.

He had originally planned for Chu Yang’s training to take half a year, but he had never expected Chu Yang to complete it all in just half a month.

The next day, the Kakushi, the special unit responsible for Demon Slayer Corps logistics, came to the temple. They had come to deliver something to Gyomei Himejima.

It turned out that half a month earlier, when Gyomei Himejima decided to take Chu Yang in, he had already ordered a batch of heavy weapons from Swordsmith Village.

Gyomei Himejima had prepared these for Chu Yang, who was to choose from among them the weapon that suited his hand best.

How could he know what weapon he liked without trying them himself?

The amounts of Scarlet Crimson Sand Iron and Scarlet Crimson Ore contained in these weapons varied.

But without exception, they were all extremely heavy and possessed terrifying destructive power.

Just transporting these heavy cold weapons required the Kakushi to dispatch quite a few members.