The Strongest Talent in History: Three Updates, Please Keep Reading

"I know you’re waiting for your legs to recover, but unfortunately, this is my first time fighting a demon. I have to make sure nothing goes wrong, so…"

Chu Yang’s words jolted the young demon awake. It tried to use its last bit of strength to flee, but the moment it turned around, a flash of steel tore a white line through the night and sliced across its neck.

The young demon’s head flew high into the air. As it spun, it first saw its own body, then its arms.

Its head landed squarely between its arms, the three forming a bizarre work of art.

The head was burning. The young demon’s life had entered its final countdown.

"Who exactly are you? Are you from the Demon Slayer Corps? An ordinary member couldn’t possibly have this kind of strength…"

The dying young demon wanted to say more, but Chu Yang leaped high into the air and brought the Horse-Cutting Blade crashing down onto its head.

After the earth rumbled, the temple fell silent once more.

Early the next morning, Gyomei Himejima returned to the temple in the first rays of sunlight. The scent of a demon still lingered in the air. His expression changed, and he rushed into the temple.

The nightmare buried deepest within him surged up with his memories, and a violent killing intent erupted from Gyomei Himejima.

The wrathful glare of Vajra, the lowered gaze of a Bodhisattva.

But soon, his killing intent vanished.

Chu Yang yawned as he pushed open his door and walked out. Only after rubbing the sleep from his eyes did he notice Gyomei Himejima. His face immediately lit up. "Himejima-sensei, you’re back!"

Living alone in an old temple deep in the mountains was not easy. There was not even anyone to talk to. Chu Yang preferred quiet to noise, but he was not some antisocial recluse.

Gyomei Himejima wore that same calm, unreadable expression again, as though the man who had nearly lost control moments ago had not been him. He slowly asked, "Was there a demon here last night?"

"Yeah! Just a minor one. I took it down in two… three strikes." Thinking back to how it had taken him three strikes to cut off that young demon’s head, Chu Yang felt a little embarrassed. His training was still lacking. If he had wielded the Horse-Cutting Blade more smoothly, the last two strikes would have been completely unnecessary.

Two or three strikes?

Gyomei Himejima was full of question marks. "Tell me everything about your fight with the demon last night."

So Chu Yang began recounting what had happened the night before, while offering a deep self-criticism. He claimed his training had not yet reached the proper level. He could have finished it with one strike, yet had dragged it out to a third.

After listening, Gyomei Himejima fell into deep silence and did not speak for a long while.

He did not know how to evaluate Chu Yang’s performance.

Even as the strongest of the current Hashira, when he had first fought a demon after officially becoming a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman, the battle had been full of danger.

By comparison, Chu Yang’s battle had been relaxed and effortless.

Should I recommend that he go straight to the Final Selection?

The question surfaced in Gyomei Himejima’s mind. Entering the Final Selection after training for only one month was rather shocking.

At this point in time, Muichiro Tokito had not yet joined the Demon Slayer Corps and was still an ordinary person. Otherwise, compared to his talent of becoming a Hashira in two months, Gyomei Himejima would not have found the talent Chu Yang displayed so exaggerated.

After much consideration, Gyomei Himejima still decided to let Chu Yang take part in the Final Selection. With Chu Yang’s current condition, the only way to improve further was through real combat.

Moreover, the Demon Slayer Corps had long suffered an extremely high casualty rate on the front lines and desperately needed fresh blood. The addition of a genius like Chu Yang would undoubtedly be a powerful boost.

"Get ready. Go to Fujikasane Mountain and participate in the Final Selection!" Gyomei Himejima said firmly. "The time has come. The sooner you become an official member, the sooner you can slay those evil demons."

Chu Yang nodded heavily.

"Alright!"

Three days later, Chu Yang set off alone for Fujikasane Mountain to take part in the trial.

As the site of the Final Selection, Fujikasane Mountain was quite remote. Like the temple where Gyomei Himejima trained, it lay deep in the mountains.

However, Fujikasane Mountain had one particularly distinctive feature that let people identify its location from a great distance.

From the foot of the mountain to its halfway point.

Fujikasane Mountain was covered year-round in wisteria, the plant demons hated most.

The Wisteria Incense stored in the temple was made from wisteria flowers.

From afar, a pale purple sea surrounded the mountain range. Chu Yang only needed to follow this sea of flowers to find his destination.

Before long, a stone-paved path appeared beneath Chu Yang’s feet.

Continuing onward, Chu Yang climbed a flight of stone steps, at the end of which stood a torii gate.

After passing through the torii gate, Chu Yang arrived at a platform.

People surrounded him. Everyone had a sword at their waist, while Chu Yang alone carried his on his back.

"Wow! What a huge sword!"

As cries of surprise rang out, Chu Yang’s arrival drew everyone’s attention. They looked at him curiously, though most of their attention was fixed on the sword behind him.

Compared to Chu Yang’s Horse-Cutting Blade, the swords in everyone else’s hands were as thin as matchsticks.

As they observed Chu Yang, he observed them as well. A girl wearing a mask in the crowd caught his attention.

It was a smiling fox mask painted with blue flower patterns. Chu Yang found it familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

Shortly afterward, someone from the Demon Slayer Corps came to explain the content of the Final Selection. It was no different from before: survive on Fujikasane Mountain for seven days.

Yet even such a simple objective would still eliminate ninety percent of those present. Those youths who looked so confident would ultimately die on this mountain blanketed in purple flowers.

The explanation had barely ended when people eagerly rushed onto the path without wisteria. In Chu Yang’s eyes, they were no different from dead men. One confident youth after another walked into the mountain crawling with evil demons.

After some time, only Chu Yang and the girl in the fox mask remained on the platform. Chu Yang glanced at her before slowly stepping onto that path that seemed as though it could swallow people whole.

Meanwhile, the girl leisurely followed him inside.

Chu Yang did not know that the girl was following him solely because she was curious about the enormous Horse-Cutting Blade on his back.

The trial began at dusk.

Once everyone had entered, the sky gradually darkened, just in time for the demons to begin moving about.

Chu Yang walked through the forest for a while without encountering any demons, but he grew increasingly irritated because a little tagalong was following behind him.

"Hey, that’s enough. How long are you going to keep following me?" Chu Yang turned around and impatiently asked the girl.

The girl in the fox mask immediately stopped. In a timid voice, she replied, "Sorry."

Chu Yang sighed helplessly. "Why exactly are you following me?"

The girl said sheepishly, "I’ve never seen such a big sword before, so I got a little absorbed in looking at it."

After hearing her reason, Chu Yang was speechless. If it were not obvious that the girl meant no harm, he would have made a move long ago.

A small burst of extra updates. Please keep reading, brothers! If everyone keeps reading enthusiastically, we can make it onto Sanjiang! If not, and this week’s PK fails, it’ll have to go premium, brothers!!! Especially today—the reading numbers today will decide everything! Please support in every way!