Hurry Up and Thank Brother Jiu

Doma barely managed to dodge this time, but seeing that small tuft of white hair in Lin Jiu's hand left him with lingering fear. He couldn't believe he had been grabbed. Though he could quickly recover, the sight of him being caught was more terrifying than having his heart blown up!

The contractors watching the battle from a distance were dumbfounded. Some knowledgeable contractors understood why they encountered Doma and why the difficulty of the mission increased—it was all to balance the presence of the big shot among them!

"What should we do now? Should we take this chance to run?" someone asked.

A burly contractor, about two meters tall, who had a keen eye despite his rough appearance, said, "The news of demons here would have attracted the Demon Slayer Corps anyway. The commotion from this guy fighting Doma will make them come even faster. This is our chance! It would be even better if we could get in touch with this big shot!"

This group of contractors didn't notice that besides Lin Jiu, there were two other lone contractors. One of them, a young man holding a knife, looked at Lin Jiu with eyes that sparkled!

The battle between Lin Jiu and Doma continued. Lin Jiu felt that the techniques he learned from Nemoce would be of great use this time.

"Blood Demon Art: Barren Hanging Garden!"

Doma swung his frost-covered fans, launching a series of attacks at Lin Jiu.

"Such a fancy name!"

Lin Jiu saw the opponent approaching while waving the fans, seemingly relying on immortality to kill him.

Lin Jiu smirked. While Doma's main body wouldn't take much damage, breaking those fans would be a piece of cake. Doma wielded iron fans, which were easier to damage than himself!

As Doma approached, Lin Jiu's right hand held the Willow Shadow once again. His breathing changed slightly, gathering energy for a few seconds. Doma's attacking figure became detailed in his eyes, and the traces of the iron fans' movements became clearer.

Lin Jiu decisively thrust his sword, stabbing at the fan's surface. With two light taps, the delicate strings holding each fan blade in place snapped. Before Doma could attack him, his weapon was already in pieces.

Although demons like Doma were always getting stronger by eating humans, the ranking battles among the Twelve Kizuki were intense. Most of the time, they crushed their opponents, and they hadn't experienced as many fierce battles as a member of the Demon Slayer Corps. The members of the Demon Slayer Corps were weak, and that's why they fought with all their might every time.

Except for Akaza, the battle experience and abilities of these old demons were more a result of time rather than continuous fierce battles. Perhaps only the Entertainment District Arc could be rated for basic skills!

Isn't this a perfect example?

Lin Jiu, with his unlimited combat foundation, was giving Doma a hard time.

"Damn it!"

Doma's beloved iron fans were destroyed, and he felt a surge of an emotion he had never experienced before—an overwhelming desire for destruction. He remembered this was what humans called anger!

Though he appreciated the opportunity to experience a new emotion, Doma had no intention of holding back.

"Blood Demon Art: Lotus Vines!"

Doma raised his hand, and several ice crystal vines extended toward Lin Jiu.

Lin Jiu threw the Willow Shadow with all his might, aiming at Doma. Doma, seeing the sword flying towards him, instinctively treated it as a Nichirin Sword, controlling the ice vines to intercept the Willow Shadow.

Then he realized that even if the knife pierced him, it wouldn't matter—he could ignore it!

But it was too late. Lin Jiu took the opportunity to avoid the ice vines and appeared beside Doma. Doma could see a faint smile on his opponent's lips, giving him an incredibly cold-blooded feeling, as if he were the demon.

Lin Jiu reached out and grabbed a handful of Doma's thick hair. With a yank, Doma's head tilted back, and Lin Jiu slapped him hard on the face.

Smack!

"!!!"

Doma was completely stunned.

"No emotions, huh? Can't feel anything, huh?"

Lin Jiu smacked him repeatedly. Blood vessels appeared in Doma's colorful eyes involuntarily!

Let me help you restore your human emotions!

Hurry up and thank Brother Jiu!

"Enough!"

Doma couldn't feel the force of the slaps, but he knew it was pure humiliation. He immediately stopped controlling the ice vines and raised his hand to block Lin Jiu's slap.

Noticing Doma's raised hand, Lin Jiu turned his palm into a fist and punched down.

Doma blocked it, but he didn't expect an immense force suddenly pressing down, causing his hand to slam into his face. Then his head hit the ground heavily.

Without hesitation, Lin Jiu stomped on his face and then kicked his head hard. This time, Lin Jiu felt some pain in his foot, while Doma's head buzzed, splitting open.

However, in less than a second, his head restored itself, but the shoe print on his face remained. This combo dealt zero physical damage to Doma but a critical hit to his psyche.

...

"What happened?"

Receiving the news of a demon rampaging, the Demon Slayer Corps dispatched Shinobu Kocho to investigate the area. She was trying to figure out how to lure out the demon when she sensed the commotion in a nearby village and rushed over.

Upon arrival, she saw collapsed houses, dumbfounded onlookers, and very obvious battle traces. Then, she saw someone beating a demon on the ground.

"It seems a skilled samurai encountered an ordinary demon. Although they lack the means to harm the demon, they are suppressing it well, and dawn is approaching soon."

Insect Hashira Shinobu Kocho looked at the morning sun and guessed.

The next moment, her face turned pale. A terrifying aura burst from the ordinary demon under Lin Jiu's foot.

Lin Jiu seemed to have anticipated Doma's outburst, kicking him away and leaping back to land beside the Willow Shadow, pulling it out.

"I'll kill you!"

Doma's eyes overflowed with murderous intent. His pair of colorful eyes prominently displayed the characters for Upper Rank and Two, clearly marking his status as Upper Rank Two of the Twelve Kizuki.

Looking at the ragged and somewhat disheveled yet immensely powerful Doma, Shinobu Kocho recognized him based on his features as the very demon who killed her sister years ago. Seeing the ridiculous shoe print on his face, Shinobu felt that her revenge might not be hopeless after all!

"Is it coming? The low-budget version of Bodhisattva in the Summit Transformation?"

Lin Jiu's words had barely fallen before Doma channeled his energy to unleash his ultimate move.

"Blood Demon Art: Rime — Water Lily Bodhisattva!"

This was the first time Doma fought with such intense killing intent. Previously, whether against the Demon Slayer Corps or in ranking battles among the Twelve Kizuki, he always ended the fights with laughter.

A ten-meter-tall ice crystal Bodhisattva formed, with Doma sitting in the ice crystal lotus flower on its right shoulder.

"Is this Upper Rank Two?"

Shinobu Kocho immediately felt her earlier thoughts were laughable. She could feel the immense pressure even without facing it directly!

But this was the demon who killed her sister. For years, she had continuously injected wisteria flower poison into her body to kill this enemy.

In a daze, Shinobu saw the figure of her sister, Kanae. Her eyes grew determined, her anger solidified, and she was ready to sacrifice herself.

At that moment, a figure appeared beside her, with a strange sword at his waist—it was the same person who had just beaten Upper Rank Two. Shinobu thought he was planning to retreat due to Doma's outburst and said, "You've done very well already. Leave this to me! This is my duty as a Hashira!"

Lin Jiu looked at Shinobu strangely. Was she so eager to die? He extended his hand and said, "Give me your sword!"

"Huh?"

Shinobu was momentarily stunned.

The giant hand of the Bodhisattva Statue was already coming down. Lin Jiu had to grab Shinobu's clothes and dodge to the side, avoiding the strike.

"Give me the sword… never mind!"

Lin Jiu directly took Shinobu's Nichirin Blade himself.

Upon obtaining Shinobu's Nichirin Blade, Lin Jiu found it seemed more like a sword than his Willow Shadow. It resembled a rapier, with a barbed tip. The blade, guard, and hilt were all mint green, and the guard was four-leaf shaped.

Evil Demon and Destruction were engraved on either side of the blade. Due to its special design, Lin Jiu could only use it for thrusting and slicing; his best technique, slashing, was not usable.

Gathering all his energy!

In Lin Jiu's dark eyes, his pupils dilated, and a contradictory mixture of rapid and calm breathing appeared.

With the appearance of the Bodhisattva Statue, a fine ice mist spread around. This mist was poisonous and inhaling it would affect one's breathing, but Lin Jiu wasn't using a breathing technique. His breathing was like that of an ordinary person—he merely adjusted his rhythm and could not draw energy from the external environment. Though he would still inhale some of the mist, it would affect him very slowly!

Doma, who had been confidently sitting in the ice crystal lotus, felt uneasy seeing Lin Jiu with a Nichirin Blade from the Demon Slayer Corps. Lin Jiu, who couldn't harm him, had already driven him to anger, and now he had a blade that could hurt him…

"Blood Demon Art: Crystalline Divine Child!"

With this thought, Doma couldn't help but wave his sleeve, forming an ice sculpture version of himself from the mist.

"Blood Demon Art: Cold White Princesses!"

Two giant ice lotuses appeared in front of the small Doma. On these ice lotuses were two beautiful ice-sculpted maidens, who blew a large amount of white mist from their mouths like snow.

The paths and walls on both sides were instantly covered in ice where the white mist touched.

Lin Jiu, holding Shinobu's Nichirin Blade, had his Willow Shadow hanging at his waist. Shinobu came to her senses, seeing him charge towards Upper Rank Two, Doma. With his earlier speed, her eyes could barely keep up!

Willow Shadow couldn't harm Doma, but cutting through the ice was no problem at all. However, frugal Lin Jiu wouldn't waste his weapon's durability! Using someone else's sword didn't hurt his heart!