Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 21
"Tsk, tsk, you thought you could see the soul materializing? Didn't you expect it to be done in this way?"

Xin Lailai stood on the treetop and looked at the scene in front of him, feeling amazed.

In the scene he saw, there was no Rabbit, only a thin mist, and Tanjiro was standing in the mist, constantly suffering invisible attacks.

"This kid still dares to laugh at the funny scene of me practicing swordsmanship in my diary. He doesn't even look at how funny he is now with disheveled hair, waving violently at the air and rolling on the ground for no apparent reason."

Xin Lailai muttered, but the worry in Tanjiro's eyes slowly dissipated.

"Since Qiangtu has appeared, there should be no problem."

"But just in case, I'd better come here and take a look at it later."

After making up his mind, Xin Lailai stood up, pushed hard on his toes, and jumped into the air. Then he stood firmly in the air, and then flew up as if he were standing on the ground.

If you observe carefully, you can notice that a magic shield is constantly condensing under Xin Lailai's feet, but it dissipates after being maintained for an instant.

This is a skill that Xin Lailai has developed over the past year and a half by studying the theoretical knowledge of magic given to him by 04296 and constantly using magic shields and magic blades to practice.

Only 0.1 points of mana are used each time to condense an extremely thin but relatively strong spell shield as big as a palm, and the mana is used to temporarily hold it in mid-air, forming an aerial platform with a very short existence.

Although the principle is simple, the actual implementation is quite difficult for Xin Lailai.

How to use the least mana to form a strong enough shield to prevent it from breaking as soon as you step on it, how to accurately and quickly form a shield on the soles of your feet, etc.

Even if the theory is in place, it is still very difficult to put it into practice.

The whole process can be said to be full of twists and turns, but fortunately, the rewards far exceeded Xin Lailai's expectations.

Xin Lailai's initial motivation for studying this technique was simply because he thought it would be great to be able to walk in the sky. However, when he became proficient in it, he discovered that the effect of this technique in actual combat was terrifying.

There is no need to deliberately fly high, as long as he can stay two or three inches above the ground, most complex terrain will have almost no impact on him.

Swamps, snow, water... most of the terrain that would affect movement would be meaningless to Xin Lailai.

"There's still half a year left, what should we do..."

After moving in the air for a while, Xinlailai stopped above an open space, staring at the huge round rock below that was as tall as two people, and began to think.

Like Tanjiro, Nintaki Sakonji also arranged the same test for him half a year ago, and even his test was far more difficult than Tanjiro.

"So, Master, he really thinks highly of me."

Xin Lailai landed on the ground, looked up at the huge rock that was nearly one foot high and looked like a small mountain, and sighed.

Clang~!

Xin Lailai pulled out the standard Japanese sun sword from his waist and struck it on the huge rock, making a harsh buzzing sound.

"You know clearly that my sword skills are not good, but you still deliberately put this kind of test into practice, ugh."

Xin Lailai looked at the trembling blade in his hand with a frown, and covered his ears, feeling his teeth hurt from the vibration.

"Master, how about we change to something simpler? I think a rock of the size Tanjiro challenged would be great, don't you think so?"

Xin Lailai turned around, looked at Sakonji Haotaki who was already standing behind him, and rubbed his forehead.

Ningtaki Sasa didn't speak for the last time, just staring at Xin Lai Lai. Xin Lai Lai felt that he should be able to guess what kind of expression he had behind the Tengu mask.

"How long do you plan to wait before splitting this rock?" After a moment of silence, Nedaki Sakonji asked in his usual hoarse voice.

Hearing this, Xin Lailai smiled awkwardly, scratched his head that had grown long black hair, and showed a puzzled look.

"Haha, how long should you wait? Master, what you said is really strange, as if I deliberately didn't split the stone? You saw it just now. With my level of swordsmanship, I can't split the stone with just one strike, let alone split it. , you have to do it yourself..."

"Let's talk. Speaking of which, you've been here for a year and a half." Nintaki Sakonji suddenly said.

Xin Lailai, who was pretending to explain, paused for a moment, remained silent for a while, and nodded.

"It's so fast... It's been a year and a half, and it feels like it was just yesterday that you guys came here."

Lintaki Sao looked at Xin Lailai for the last time and sighed.

"But my hair can't grow so much overnight." Xin Lailai touched her long hair and joked.

"...You are still the same as when you first came here, giving people the same unique feeling."

"Really? I feel like I'm quite ordinary?"

"As for the appearance, yes." Ningtaki Sakon glanced at him for the first time, and his tone was a bit harsh. Xin Lailai suddenly became excited and did not dare to joke again.

"Relax, I have no intention of breaking your legs." Jin Taki Sao added for the first time, making Xin Lailai completely calm down.

"Speaking of which, Xin Lailai, among the people I have taught, you should have the best talent, except for the talent in swordsmanship."

"Master, can we not mention sword skills?" Xin Lailai's face twitched, thinking of some disgraceful memories.

Nintaki Sakonji ignored him and continued talking to himself:

"You are undoubtedly a rare idiot in swordsmanship. To be honest, you are the first to be able to roll yourself from the mountain to the bottom of the mountain by practicing the water wheel."

"That anti-human movement of flipping 360 degrees in the air and swinging a knife is not meant for people to practice!"

Xin Lailai cursed in her heart, but she didn't dare to say it out loud. She just looked at her and looked at her, as if it had nothing to do with me.

"However, your talent in breathing techniques is definitely a real genius." Ningtaki Sato changed the topic recently and his tone became serious:

"You can learn to use the energy in your body without a teacher, learn to use the full concentration breathing method in less than 10 minutes, and master the full concentration and normal breathing in less than two months, as well as those shocking techniques that you have created yourself. …”

"I have seen so many incredible things in you. I am very happy to have discovered a genius like you, but what makes me most happy is that your heart has not been lost because of this."

Ningtaki Sakonji said, staring at Xin Lailai:
"You are not self-reliant because of your specialness. You have always been consistent in your treatment of Tanjiro. You have never looked down on him because his talent in breathing techniques is not as good as yours." "Your heart is like a clear lake, calm and thorough. No matter how exaggerated the appearance is, your heart is always so peaceful, which really makes me happy."

"Haha, master, do you think so highly of me?" Xin Lailai scratched her head in embarrassment.

"Also, you like to scratch your head when you don't mean what you say. This is not good. Remember to change it."

"..."

"People become better with age. The ancients never deceived me." Xin Lailai muttered somewhat angrily.

"Your mind is much more complicated than mine, and it has more patches than the patches on your clothes." Sakonji Nedaki replied calmly.

……

An old man and a young man stood there, talking to each other.

Among them, Xin Lailai became red-faced several times because of the recent revelations of dark history by Takashi Sato.

The two talked about everything, from Xin Lailai's feeling that the meals he usually ate were too bland to the recent discovery of Ningtaki Sato on how to break his legs more efficiently.

Finally, Nintaki Sakon asked Xin Lailai about Tanjiro's situation.

Xin Lailai was silent for a while and then said:

"To be honest, it's not very good," Xin Lailai sighed, with worry in his tone:

"In the past six months, he has been working hard. In addition to training every day, he often forgets to write in his diary."

"Every day I try and fail again and again, and my hand has long been worn down by the handle of the knife. To be honest, I'm afraid he is the only one who can persist in this situation for so long."

"I remember that when I went to see him for the first time, he was quite energetic, but when it came to the second time..."

Xin Lailai chattered endlessly, while Ningtaki Sakonji remained silent and became a quiet listener.

After listening, Rintagaki Sakon sighed for the first time and said:
"So, you still think he can succeed, right?"

Xin Lailai nodded without thinking and said with certainty:

"Of course! I believe that he will succeed within half a year at the latest!"

This was the first time Lintaki Sato heard Xin Lailai's affirmative tone. He didn't speak immediately. Instead, he walked to the edge of the boulder and touched the mountain-like boulder.

"Seriously, I don't want you to take the final selection..."

"Is it because of the dead senior brothers?" Xin Lailai asked softly as he looked at Nintaki Sakonji.

"you!……"

Rintagaki Sakonji's tone stiffened, but suddenly relaxed. The man's temperament suddenly became much older, and he said in a tired tone:

"You know it all?"

"Ah."

"Aren't you afraid?"

"Why are you afraid?" Xin Lailai's tone was condensed, and he stared at Ningtaki Sakonji with a serious expression, and said:
"Master Lintaki, listen carefully. I, Xin Lailai, and my friend, Kamado Tanjiro, will pass the final selection with the best results!"

"I will find out the real reason why my senior brothers died in the final selection! I will tell the entire Demon Slayer Corps with the facts that Nintaki Saji is the strongest trainer in the world recently! It is not the so-called killing of more than a dozen futures as they say A demon-slaying swordsman who cultivated a mediocre water column through good luck!"

"you……"

Ningtaki Zuo looked at Xin Lailai recently and was so shocked that he was speechless. Then he suddenly became furious and slapped Xin Lailai on the face:
"Bastard!"

Rintagisa shouted angrily for the last time:

"When did I ask you to do this! I taught you breathing techniques and swordsmanship just to make you die for these false reputations!"

Xin Lailai, who was slapped, was unmoved despite the angry scolding of Ningtaki Sakonji. It was not until Ningtaki Sakonji finished scolding that he looked at Ningtaki Sakonji and whispered:
"master……"

"Trust me, and Tanjiro, okay?"

"I promise you, we'll be back."

Ningtaki Sakonji didn't speak, but his body was trembling slightly.

"I will come again in half a year."

After saying these words for the first time, Nintaki Sago left without looking back, but his body and pace felt as if he had suddenly aged by dozens of years.

"Wait, master, this is my promise to you."

Xin Lailai looked at the back of Ningtaki Sakonji with a somewhat complicated look.

"After all, this is one of the few things I can do for you in this world."

Xin Lailai watched as the back of Nedaki Sakonji disappeared from sight, and then focused his attention on the light blue text on the edge of his sight.

【任务期限：11月23天7时32分9秒】

Looking at the light blue countdown, Xin Lailai felt an inexplicable sense of illusion, feeling that he was so out of tune with everything in front of him.

After being in a daze for a while, Xin Lailai came back to his senses, shook his head slightly, and walked towards the hut on the edge of the clearing.

……

(End of this chapter)