Chapter 57: My Great Blade Has Long Been Hungry and Thirsty

As a dull sound echoed, Gyomei Himejima of the Stone Hashira displayed his Nichirin Sword to Chu Yang. From the outside, it bore almost no resemblance to a "sword."

It was a long iron chain, connected at one end to a single-edged heavy axe and at the other to a flail covered in iron spikes, possessing an immense visual impact.

Paired with Gyomei's sweeping, grand combat style, it was a display of pure violent aesthetics.

"My weapon is quite extreme and doesn't hold much reference value. As long as it is beneficial for combat, it doesn't matter whether it is a sword or not," Gyomei said, swinging the weapon. A sharp whistling sound of wind immediately echoed through the courtyard.

A gale swept through the entire yard.

Even Chu Yang, standing at a distance, could feel a sense of oppressive power.

"A large amount of high-purity Scarlet Crimson Iron has been added to this, making it extremely heavy. You can try swinging it," Gyomei said, placing the weapon on the ground and gesturing for Chu Yang to take it. He wanted to use this to test exactly how much strength Chu Yang possessed.

The moment the iron chain touched his hands, Chu Yang felt its weight. He took a deep breath, pulled the chain with force, and lifted the weapons at both ends.

Gyomei asked, "Can you try swinging it?"

Chu Yang nodded. He swung the weapon with such vigor that it whistled through the air; he looked quite relaxed, without even breaking a sweat.

Gyomei was surprised. He had just emphasized that this weapon was incredibly heavy, and no one in the entire Demon Slayer Corps besides himself could use it.

Yet, upon his first contact, Chu Yang had picked it up effortlessly and wielded it with ease.

Gyomei realized that his idea of helping Chu Yang temper his body might have been mistaken.

It seemed the boy was naturally able to perfectly adapt to his own strength.

"Put it down first." After Chu Yang set the chain down, Gyomei silently retrieved and put away the weapon before saying, "Your talent is exceptional, so my requirements for you will be even higher. Once you can master Stone Breathing proficiently, I will recommend you for the Final Selection."

"The Final Selection is the trial to become a Demon Slayer. There, you will face your fears and engage in life-and-death battles with demons. If you survive until the end, you will become a Demon Slayer; otherwise..."

Chu Yang smiled. "Rest assured, I have that level of resolve."

"Then I have nothing more to warn you about." Gyomei turned to enter the room, saying as he walked, "There are some vats in the backyard. There is a spring at the top of this mountain; remember to fill these vats every day."

Chu Yang smacked his lips. He recalled the training methods he had seen on television in the past and asked tentatively, "Mr. Himejima, there won't be any issues with the water-carrying tools, will there?"

Gyomei paused his footsteps and turned his head with a surprised expression. "You are quite perceptive. That was a method I used to train myself in the past. You'll see once you try it."

As expected!

A moment later, Chu Yang arrived in the backyard. Beside a large pile of water vats, he saw two large, conical water buckets. They were so heavy they couldn't even stand upright on the ground and had to lean tightly against the vats.

These two buckets were made of iron, and even the carrying pole was iron, with the two connected by an iron chain.

*Tsk tsk, truly a monk of asceticism. To come up with such an anti-human way of training... conservatively estimating, the whole set must weigh several hundred kilograms,* Chu Yang thought. He felt that under normal circumstances, even Gyomei might not be able to carry it.

Unless he maintained the state of Total Concentration Breathing constantly.

Therefore, this set of training equipment was likely what Gyomei used to practice the [Total Concentration: Constant] state.

"Time to head up the mountain!" Chu Yang hoisted the pole onto his shoulder, feeling no significant pressure, and stepped out of the temple into the sunlight.

To his surprise, Gyomei was standing at the entrance staring at him, with several new buckets placed at his feet. With his hands pressed together in prayer, Gyomei said solemnly, "With your strength, two iron buckets won't serve much purpose for training. Add all of these as well."

Chu Yang's eyes nearly popped out. These buckets combined must weigh several tons, right?

Is this a joke?

Gyomei's expression looked very serious, not like he was joking, so Chu Yang immediately abandoned any thought of resistance and obediently attached the buckets to both ends of the pole.

With this, Chu Yang truly felt the pressure. He subconsciously engaged Total Concentration Breathing, struggling to alleviate the burden on his body.

Sensing the Stone Breathing that naturally emerged from Chu Yang, Gyomei smiled and turned back into the temple.

The mountain path was rugged and slippery. After only a few steps, Chu Yang tripped, stumbling and nearly rolling down the slope.

Still shaken, Chu Yang took a deep breath and looked up at the sky, the sweat on his forehead slowly blurring his vision.

At the critical moment, a continuous surge of vitality from within his body relieved his fatigue. He stepped forward again, his movements steady.

Gyomei sat before the Buddha statue, chanting sutras continuously. As the sun set behind the mountains, the sky outside grew dark, and moonlight replaced sunlight to illuminate the earth.

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

Not long after leaving the temple, Gyomei heard the faint sound of footsteps ahead. He felt relieved and stood quietly in place to wait.

Chu Yang approached the temple slowly. Only half the water remained in the buckets; the other half had spilled along the road.

Sweat had completely soaked Chu Yang's clothes, making them hang heavily on his body. Even so, Chu Yang was working hard to maintain the state of Total Concentration Breathing, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to make it down the mountain at all.

When he reached Gyomei, Chu Yang's legs went weak, and he suddenly lost all strength, falling straight down.

Gyomei reached out, one hand steadily catching the carrying pole.

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

"You did very well. I thought I would have to go up the mountain to fetch you." Gyomei revealed a smile, resembling the compassionate countenance of the Buddha enshrined in the temple.

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

It was only at this moment that his Total Concentration Breathing ceased.

Gyomei nodded silently, brought him back to his room to rest, and then went to the backyard to pour the spring water Chu Yang had worked so hard to carry into the vats.

From then on, Chu Yang went up the mountain to fetch water every day.

At first, he had to set out at dawn and could not descend until dark, and every time he only brought back half a bucket, unable to prevent the water from spilling.

As he became more proficient with Stone Breathing, the time spent descending the mountain gradually shortened. Eventually, he could return to the temple before dark, and the amount of water in the two buckets increased.

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

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

The vats in the backyard were also completely filled by Chu Yang, enough to last for a long time.

Gyomei watched all of this in silence, the shock deep within his heart beyond words.

The training he had set for Chu Yang was actually aimed at a six-month goal, but he hadn't expected Chu Yang to complete it all in just half a month.

The next day, the "Kakushi," the special unit responsible for the Demon Slayer Corps' logistics, arrived at the door. They had come to deliver items to Gyomei.

It turned out that as early as half a month ago, once Gyomei decided to take Chu Yang in, he had pre-ordered a batch of heavy weapons from the Swordsmith Village.

These were prepared by Gyomei for Chu Yang, who was to choose the ones that felt most natural to him from this batch.

How could one know which weapon they liked without trying them personally?

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

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

Just to transport these heavy cold weapons, the Kakushi had to deploy a significant number of members.

(End of Chapter)