Half a month later, the calm and uneventful life was broken.
Headquarters,
"Have your injuries healed? I can't hear your breathing very clearly, so I really can't tell."
Bathed in sunlight, Ubuyashiki Kagaya's voice was still gentle, giving off a calm and unhurried feeling.
"I've fully recovered. Is there a mission?"
Kiyokawa Izumi's eyebrows twitched slightly as he couldn't help but ask.
"There are two matters."
The Master said with a smile, "First, there is a powerful demon that needs you to handle. It might be one of the Twelve Kizuki."
?"
Kiyokawa Izumi couldn't help but blink, really wanting to ask: Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about my strength?
"Me, going to fight a member of the Twelve Kizuki?"
"Are you serious?"
I haven't improved at all during this time; it's more like a member of the Twelve Kizuki would be fighting me!
My swordsmanship Rank hasn't budged, I couldn't practice my Breathing Technique because of my injuries, and I have no clue how to develop the Fourth Form Sword Technique.
With almost no improvement in strength, you still expect me to fight the Twelve Kizuki?
I only killed the lower rank six because of luck!
"Is it an Upper Rank?"
Kiyokawa Izumi asked cautiously.
"It's more likely to be a Lower Rank. I can have Shinobu assist you."
"Can I switch to Giyuu-san?"
Kiyokawa Izumi said in a low voice.
He really didn't mean to talk behind Kochou Shinobu's back.
It was mainly because he had better coordination with his Senior Brother Giyuu.
"Giyuu has other missions."
"Understood. Then I'll go inform Kochou Shinobu in a moment."
"Second, how is that batch of Team Members training at the Butterfly Mansion performing?"
Seemingly not expecting Ubuyashiki Kagaya to care about this, the expression on Kiyokawa Izumi's face became complicated. After a moment of silence, he asked gloomily,
"Allow me to take the liberty of asking, was this batch of Team Members from the same Selection session?"
"Quite a few were even in the same year as Giyuu."
Ubuyashiki Kagaya didn't hide anything and said with a smile.
"..."
He had felt something was off when he saw Murata.
He never expected, absolutely never expected, that they were actually in the same year as Sabito!
That guy Giyuu probably didn't even recognize them; he's just silly.
The mystery was finally solved!
No wonder these people were so mediocre. Even Murata was considered a good performer among this batch of Team Members.
It turns out they were in the same year as Sabito!
Less than half are low-Rank rookies, and more than half were carried by a powerhouse; tell me, what kind of quality can there be?
"They... are fairly hardworking."
After hesitating for a long time, he could only manage to say this one sentence.
Nothing left to say.
Speechless.
"Are you very dissatisfied with this batch of Team Members?"
Ubuyashiki Kagaya's tone remained gentle.
"I am indeed not that satisfied. Some Team Members haven't made up their minds; all they think about is killing demons to make some money.
Others have limited talent and have wasted too much time. In just half a month of training, the improvement hasn't been significant," Kiyokawa Izumi said helplessly.
Indeed, many were attracted by the high rewards of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Their idea was just to kill some weak demons and make some money.
"In that case, it is indeed necessary to change the existing Selection method."
'Isn't it? If the old Selection method is still used, now that the Hand Demon has been killed by me, wouldn't the batch of swordsmen in the same year as Tanjirou and Kanao just be able to coast to victory?'
"Izumi, go on your mission first. Be safe on the way, and please give my regards to Shinobu as well."
"Understood!"
Kiyokawa Izumi turned to leave and began to desperately recall—which demon would he encounter?
"Damn!
This part wasn't in the original story!
...Kochou Shinobu, who had also received the news, looked at Kiyokawa Izumi, who had just returned to the Butterfly Mansion, with a smile.
"This should be our first time executing a mission together, right?"
"What do you say? Shall we set off now, or do some preparation?"
Kiyokawa Izumi decided to respect the opinion of his Senior.
"Then, let's set off now!"
"Alright!"
Kiyokawa Izumi slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, feeling both expectant and nervous.
During these two weeks, he had sparred with his Senior Brother Giyuu quite often.
But the improvement was indeed not great.
Rank four and Rank five are like a watershed, separating ordinary people from the Hashira.
It's as if silently saying—not all swordsmen are qualified to step into this Domain.
Geniuses and mediocre people will part ways here.
Kiyokawa Izumi, who relied solely on quick imitation, had managed to touch the edge of this Realm in a very short time.
But the road ahead cannot be rushed, and there are no shortcuts.
Either you go through life-and-death battles one after another, where the winner lives and the loser dies, hovering repeatedly on the edge of death; as long as you don't die, you can always improve.
Or you continuously accumulate and settle, using a slow-grinding method to gradually smooth out the Bottleneck and cross into this Realm.
Still able to maintain a steady mindset, Kiyokawa Izumi began to desperately recall the abilities and characteristics of the original Lower Ranks.
There's a chance he might encounter one.
Perhaps, this is the opportunity... Two days later,
Looking at the demon in front of him, Kiyokawa Izumi fell into silence.
No numbers were engraved in its pupils, and the aura it emitted wasn't that strong, far inferior to the lower rank six he had encountered before.
It wasn't even half as strong as that one.
That's why he was silent.
Two Hashira traveled all this way only to encounter an ordinary demon... Isn't this intelligence a bit too ridiculous?
_______
I'll post the bonus chapter soon, and I'll say it again... another bonus chapter when we reach 800 power stone