"Killing intent...!"

"It felt as if his heart was gripped by a large hand, and Yanqing's breathing immediately hitched."

"He closed his eyes, and for a moment, countless voices intertwined in his mind, all repeating the same two words: 'Don't accept!!!'"

"The honor of a swordsman, the life and death in an instant... countless thoughts surged in Yanqing's heart at once, yet they all fell away. Finally, he gritted his teeth, made up his mind, opened his eyes, and resolutely took a step forward."

"My sword has never been disadvantageous!"

"Jingliu smiled slightly, and uncharacteristically nodded at him in approval: 'Good courage.'"

"'Then, let this moon's radiance—'"

"Before she finished speaking, Jingliu leaped up, her cold light unfolding in her hand. Her sword stance inverted, she unleashed a horizontal slash in the air, as if a new moon had passed through the sky, turning the nine heavens' silver river into a pouring torrent, condensing into a sword energy like a crescent moon."

"'—illuminate all rivers!'"

"This strike was unavoidable, and Yanqing had no intention of dodging. He surrounded himself with countless flying swords, and the long sword he held tightly in his hand shone brightly. He intended to fuse everything he had learned in his life into one sword, and meet Jingliu's honed strike head-on!"

"'Hah—!'"

"Accompanying a roar, the sword in Yanqing's hand expanded several times. With a fierce throw, he used the sharp edge of a youth to directly break through the crescent moon in the sky beneath the boundless snow waves."

"This clash of stances turned into a sharp sound. Amidst the spreading dust, it seemed as if goosebumps were falling from the sky, landing on Yanqing's trembling arm."

"This one sword had exhausted him, and he gasped for breath desperately."

Demon Slayer World—

After watching Jingliu's sword strike, the Demon Slayer Corps fell silent.

After an unknown amount of time, Mitsuri Kanroji, who was the first to recover from the shock, asked softly, "Um... uh, I want to ask, who learned this sword strike?"

"..."

No one answered, and there was a deathly silence.

Shinazugawa Sanemi, who had been somewhat arrogant before, completely lowered his head and said nothing. It wasn't until a moment later that Muichiro Tokito, the Mist Pillar, slowly spoke, "Don't ask, you can't learn it. Should I say that this kind of sword skill itself is not something humans can master?"

That inverted sword stance, the boundless snow waves cut out with one sword... Muichiro had a premonition that this sword strike was not only something the Demon Slayer Corps couldn't withstand, but even if Muzan were to take it, it would be enough for him to die ten times over.

"We can't learn Miss Jingliu's, what about Yanqing's?" Mitsuri Kanroji spoke again, "Yanqing took Jingliu's sword head-on... Did anyone learn that?"

It was still quiet, and no one answered.

Only Iguro Obanai patted her on the shoulder from behind. Like Sanemi, his head was bowed low, and his eyes were filled with loneliness: "Kanroji, let's stop here for today. As for learning swordsmanship... it's better not to ask everyone."

And on the other side, inside the Infinity Castle—

Kibutsuji Muzan, sweating profusely, was holding his forehead. He didn't want the other Upper Moon demons to see his almost blackened face.

Jingliu's sword strike... truly awakened the psychological trauma he experienced hundreds of years ago when he met Yoriichi Tsugikuni. At that time, he was cut by the wielder of Sun Breathing and had to split into more than a thousand pieces of flesh to escape, and today, seeing Jingliu's sword strike...

The killing intent almost permeated through the light curtain. The white-haired woman's crescent-like strike almost scared him into splitting apart again on the spot.

Looking up at the few Upper Moons, Gyokko, the Upper Moon Five, had completely hidden inside his pot, and the entire pot was trembling; Hantengu, the Upper Moon Four, was about the same, Shrink in the corner of the shadow, not daring to breathe.

Akaza, on the other hand, had some courage. He was kneeling on one knee, but his whole body couldn't stop trembling; Kokushibo was also similar, but looking at his expression, he seemed to yearn for that level of swordsmanship...

"My lord."

Douma's voice suddenly sounded not far away.

Muzan narrowed his eyes, nodded slightly, and motioned for Douma to continue.

"My lord, if we can truly receive the bounty of the bountiful star, it means that we may also encounter the pursuit of the Xianzhou Alliance."

"At that time, this woman named Jingliu will see us as abominations and hunt us down..."

"—Shut up."

Not wanting to listen any further, Muzan coldly interrupted Douma.

Even if what he said made sense, Muzan had to admit one thing: compared to the temptation of seeing sunlight, the Xianzhou The Hunt and their ilk were even more dangerous...

If he were really targeted by a long-lived being of Jingliu's level, his future days would be miserable.

New Eridu—

Anti-air Sixth Division Combat Training Room.

The high-risk Etheric creatures generated by projection technology were almost swept away by the surging sword energy the moment they appeared. When the next wave was generated, they were quickly swept away in the same manner again.

Tsukishiro Yanagi arrived at the training room with a stack of documents, appreciating the repeated practice of the Foxian girl.

"Section Chief, what is this training for?" Tsukishiro Yanagi smiled slightly.

Hoshimi Ya, who leaped into the air, once again imitated Jingliu's inverted sword stance, but the sword energy she unleashed could never reach Jingliu's quality, only capable of eliminating some high-risk Etheric creatures.

Hoshimi Ya landed lightly, sheathed her sword, and calmly took the documents Tsukishiro Yanagi handed her.

"This training is—to insist on not attending the performance review meeting until I have learned the sword strike Jingliu used to cut Yanqing."

"Is this the latest training to avoid the performance review meeting?" Tsukishiro Yanagi helplessly pushed the Foxian girl out of the training room, repeatedly urging her: "Section Chief Ya, tonight's performance review meeting is very important, you must go!"

"And! Section Chief Ya, while it's good for you to practice swordsmanship, doing this kind of training will only cause your bonus for the next few months... no, even a few years, to be canceled!"

"Yes, Liu." Hoshimi Ya nodded with a calm expression, "So I am practicing hard, striving not to lose next year's bonus."

"—If I can learn it this year."

—

"Yanqing looked at his still trembling hands in disbelief: 'I... I took her sword?'"

"Jingliu had already disappeared, only her voice echoing in the air: 'I'll take those records you found.'"

"'Thanks, Little Brother.'"

"Yanqing walked forward with heavy steps, and suddenly found a thin piece of paper left under his feet. He opened it and saw that it was Jingliu's handwriting: With this one sword, consider it a thank you gift. Our fate is not shallow, we will meet again another day."

"Yanqing crumpled the note into his palm, feeling uneasy in his heart: 'This woman of unknown origin also wants to find Blade's whereabouts...'"

"'No, no matter what she wants to do to the criminal, I must not let her get there first.'"