Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 22 Final Examination
Outside the window, the howling wind and snow showed no sign of calming down.

In the flickering candlelight, the sound of rustling writing could be heard, accompanied by the still-dry ink:

"End Note:
The past six months have been so incredible that I decided to record it properly.

Half a year ago, when I was most confused, they appeared in front of me.

Qiangtu and Maoshan, a boy who doesn’t look much older than me and a girl who speaks a little strangely but is very cute.

That day, the Qiang Rabbit suddenly appeared and knocked me down..."

Tanjiro patiently recorded every bit of what happened when he got along with Souji Usagi and Masaki in the past six months. When the last word fell, Tanjiro looked at the last paragraph he wrote, feeling a little lost, as if he was still reminiscing.

"When I came back to my senses, Qiu Tu and Zhen Xiang had disappeared.

"Tanjiro, you have to defeat that guy." In the mist, I vaguely heard what Masaki said before disappearing.

Then, as the fog lifted from my vision, I was stunned.

My sword was supposed to cut off the mask of Qiu Rabbit...but what it actually cut off was the rock. "

"Mr. Lintaki should show up tomorrow, right? I haven't seen him for a long time. What should I say when we meet..."

Tanjiro leaned back on his chair and looked up at the ceiling, his thoughts a little complicated.

Not long after, snoring sounded, and the exhausted young man fell asleep sitting on the chair without even realizing it.

"Oh, it's really annoying."

Xin Lailai, who had been observing on the roof, sighed, removed the shield used to isolate the breath, rolled into the house twice, carefully lifted Tanjiro and put him on the bed.

"Have a sweet dream, Tanjiro."

After blessing Tanjiro in a low voice, Xin Lai walked out of the door and walked towards Nedaki Sakonji who was standing in front of the rock that Tanjiro chopped open.

"How about it? Let me just say that he will definitely succeed in half a year at most, right?"

Xin Lailai looked at Sakonji Nedaki, who stood in front of the broken rock without saying a word for a long time, with a slight smile on his lips.

Ningtaki Sakonji just nodded, and then said to Xin Lailai: "Let's go, it's your turn."

After saying that, Lintaki Zuo rushed towards the place where Xin Lailai was being tested for the first time, while Xin Lailai followed behind him without ever touching the ground.

More than ten minutes later, Lintaki Zuojin stopped for the first time and said to Xin Lailai behind him:
"Let's start, let me see how far you have grown this year."

"Hey, master, didn't I tell you? It's too difficult for me to cut open a stone of this level with a knife."

Xin Lailai scratched his head again and again as he came to the huge rock one foot high.

"Don't you want me to believe in the strength of you and Tanjiro? Then prove it here." A hoarse voice sounded, mixed with a little anticipation and fear.

Hearing this, Xin Lailai looked at the huge rock in front of him, was silent for a while, sighed, and said:
"Master, you are right. Tanjiro has done this, so I have to produce some results no matter what."

Then, Xin Lailai turned his head and said to Lintaki Sakonji:

"Then can you please step back, Master? After all, you know that I am really not good at swordsmanship. I can only cut through the water with one move and I can't control it well."

Hearing this for the first time, Ningtaki Zuo's eyes trembled, and he seemed to understand something. He didn't ask any more questions and took a few steps back.

"Well, then you don't have to worry about accidental injury."

Xin Lailai nodded with satisfaction, then placed his right hand on the handle of the knife at his waist.

Whoa!
Without any warning, the sword light flashed like a bright moon and passed straight across the huge rock.

"Okay, it's over."

Xin Lailai put away the knife and yawned.

"Sleep, you have to travel tomorrow. Master, you too. Go back and rest early. Don't stand in the ice and snow all the time. Be careful of freezing."

Nintaki Sakonji did not speak, but stared blankly at the huge rock in front of him.

boom!
The upper half of the huge rock that was split into two smashed to the ground with a loud noise.

Snow was flying all over the sky.

The cross section of the rock is as smooth as a mirror.

"So...have you come this far?" Nedaki Sakonji murmured, his gray eyes becoming brighter and brighter.

……

The next day.

"Mr. Lintaki, what is this?"

Tanjiro, who had finished getting dressed, looked at the fox mask in his hand and asked curiously.

"This is called a Disaster Disaster Mask. I cast a spell on it to protect you from disasters." Sakonji Lintaki said earnestly and placed the other mask in Xin Lailai's hand.

"Xin Lailai, this is yours, remember to wear it."

"Of course."

Xin Lailai glanced at the light blue text with his peripheral vision, and his pupils shrank slightly.

……

【Disaster Disaster Mask】

Place of Origin: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Kintaki Sakonji
quality: green

Category: Accessories

Durability: 1/1
Equipment requirements: none

Equipment effect: After being equipped, a protective layer composed of cellular energy is formed on the body surface. When the wearer suffers an attack that will lower his health to less than 20%, he will resist the attack and restore 10% of his health.

*Tip: The upper limit of damage to resist attacks is 300 points.

*Tip: The upper limit of health recovery is 50 points.

Rating: 20
Introduction: Can the mask made by the elderly Ninataki Saru recently insist on consuming the cellular energy in his body, really be able to withstand disasters for his disciples?

……

When Xin Lailai saw the equipment introduction, he paused slightly, but still put on the mask with a smile.

"Then master, see you another day!"

Xin Lailai finished speaking with a smile, pulled Tanjiro and started running.

"Yes." Sakon Taki responded, looking at the two people's retreating figures, closing his eyes and praying in his heart:

"Xin Lailai, Tanjiro... you must come back safely."

……

"Finally...is it about to start?"

Xin Lailai, who was on his way, turned around and forgot about the Sawu Mountain that gradually disappeared from his sight, feeling something indescribable in his heart.

"To be honest, what I have gained in these two years is far beyond my imagination."

Xin Lailai looked at his character panel. In two years, his strength had undergone earth-shaking changes.

[Contractor number: 83112
Name: Xin Lailai
Code: none
Cult: Lailai Cult

Level: LV.2
rank: first rank

Health: 100.000%

Mana: 180
Mana recovery speed: 31 points/hour
Cell Energy: 110
Cell energy recovery rate: 1.4 points/minute

Power: 11
Agility: 12
Stamina: 11
Intelligence: 11
Charisma: 7
Lucky: 1
Talent: "A little transparent person who is not very lucky": Although you won't have to drink water to fill your teeth, you will forget the good things and never forget the bad things. 】

除开莫名其妙升了两点的魅力外，他的力量敏捷体力这三维的提升堪称梦幻，直接从原来的4力5敏5体变成了11力12敏11体，提升了整整20点属性！
Not only that, the skills he mastered have also undergone tremendous changes:
……

[Elementary Holy Light Healing: LV.10]

Skill consumption: 1~100 mana
Skill effect: Summons holy light to the designated area, and the holy light will envelope the living units within the range and receive a slow healing effect.

Upgrade consumption: park points*5000
……

[Water surface slash* modification (cannot be upgraded)]

Skill consumption: 20 mana + 20 cell energy
Skill effect: Quickly perform a large-scale powerful slash in front of you. This slash will have edge and energy-enhancing effects.

*Edge: Slashing will add weapon sharpness *Energy enhancement: Slashing will add 200 points of additional physical damage, and increase the sharpness by 4 points (this damage type is converted according to the specific energy consumption).

……

[Elementary Mana Chip Control: LV.10]

Skill consumption: 0.1~10 mana
Skill effect: Generate mana chips and control them freely.

Upgrade consumption: park points*10000
……

[Spell Specialization: LV.8]

Skill effect: Spell power is increased by 26%, and spell proficiency is greatly improved.

Upgrade consumption: soul crystal (small) * 1 paradise point * 1000
……

[Sword Mastery: LV.10]

Skill effect: Increase melee attack power by 10%, slightly improve knife weapon proficiency.

Upgrade consumption: Paradise points * 10000 soul crystal (small) * 1
……

[Water Breathing (Passive)]

Skill effects: Strength +2, Agility +3, Stamina +2, cell energy recovery speed +1.3 points/minute, body self-healing ability significantly improved, mental concentration greatly improved.

……

Among them, the levels of Holy Light Healing and Spell Mastery and Specialization that have been improved due to long-term training will not be mentioned for the time being.

Just the fact that the two skills of primary spell blade and primary spell shield have been fused and transformed by Xin Lailai into a new primary spell chip control is already a feat for a contractor of his level.

There is also the water breathing that was trained into passive form by Xin Lailai. This thing can be said to have greatly improved him.

Not only did it greatly improve his training efficiency, allowing his basic physical fitness to quickly reach the limit of 9 points, but it also provided an additional attribute bonus of up to 7 points.

And according to Xin Lailai's actual experience, although this skill cannot be directly upgraded, the bonus value will slowly increase the longer he masters this passive.

When I first made Water Breathing into a passive skill, the bonus provided was Strength + 2 Agility + 2 Stamina + 1. Now it has provided 1 more point of Agility and Stamina.

As for the water surface slashing and sword mastery...

Xin Lailai really wanted to pretend that these two things didn't exist.

Although there was a master-level swordsman who taught him step by step for two years, he was stuck at swordsmanship proficiency LV.10 and could not break through. However, Tanjiro, who started learning from scratch with him, had already reached swordsmanship proficiency LV. .20 level.

After learning swordsmanship for two years, I finally managed to master a flat slash that was very consuming and completely uncontrollable by relying on magic skills and converted it into a semi-magic skill, and a half-movement of a water wheel that could roll me down a mountain.

If word of this spreads, Xin Lailai estimates that he will be on the trash list of the new issue of Paradise Express, and will be at least in the top five.

He remembered that 04296 mentioned to him that non-spell skills such as passive skills, such as knife skills, and a little bit of talent, even if they practice with a kitchen knife for two years, at least one of them will be proficient in LV.10.

In order to verify this statement, Xin Lailai used identification techniques to secretly identify several butchers in the past two years, and finally concluded that 04296 was most likely conservative at that time.

It is estimated that the other party had noticed something at that time, but in the end, in order to take care of his self-esteem, he did not say anything too harshly.

"Huh...this matter must be kept secret after returning to the paradise."

Xin Lailai made up her mind.

"However, I still have to thank the master."

Xin Lailai thought of Ningtaki Sakonji again, and felt a warm current in his heart.

He called the other person to be his master from the bottom of his heart.

This old man taught him meticulously for two years without any secrets.

Although the meal was a bit bland, it was surprisingly delicious.

His ability to sew clothes was also taught by him.

Although Xin Lailai was apprenticed to the other party for personal purposes at first, after two years of getting along with him, he has sincerely regarded the other party as his elder.

What I told the other party half a year ago to help him clear his name was also sincere.

He didn't want the old man to live with guilt and regret for his dead disciple for the rest of his life.

"Speaking of which, should I bring two bowls of jelly to the master when I go back? He seems to like it quite a lot."

Xin Lailai thought casually, and then hit the tree trunk without any suspense.

"Brother Lai Lai, don't be in a daze when you are on your way, right?" Tanjiro's kind reminder sounded in his ears.

"……I try my best."

……

In the world of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, vines attack the mountains.

The lavender petals are flying in the wind, and the countless branches of wisteria are swaying, exuding a unique fragrance, which makes people feel relaxed and happy.

“The wisteria flowers grow into spikes in February, are purple and bright in color, drape and sway, and make you look at the beautiful flowers at a glance. Although these vine-covered flowers bloom all year round, the wisteria flowers in February are still the most pleasing to the eye. "

"It's indeed beautiful. I've never seen anything like this in Mount Sagi."

Xin Lailai and Tanjiro walked on the stone steps, admiring the beautiful scenery in front of them.

"It's a pity that those ghosts don't know how to appreciate this beautiful scenery. To them, this wisteria flower is like the filth of livestock, and they want to avoid it."

After Xin Lailai laughed at the ghost's aesthetics, he said to Tanjiro:
"Let's go, hurry up, we should be the last ones to arrive, don't let others wait on the mountain."

"Well, it would be bad if we miss the start of the selection. We will have to wait another three years." Tanjiro nodded and sped up.

Although the final selection of the Demon Slayer Corps is conducted once a year, it will take three years for the losers to be allowed to participate again.

After a while, the two came to a torii gate.

"Brother Lai Lai, I feel like there are so few people..."

Tanjiro looked at the scattered crowd in front of him and muttered.

"The people who can come here are all preparatory swordsmen who have gone through layers of screening. You think there are few, but I think there are many." Xin Lailai knocked on Tanjiro's forehead and explained.

"That's the future protagonist group... The real-life version of Kurika Rakana is a bit prettier than the one on paper. Tanjiro is so lucky."

Xin Lailai looked around the crowd, looking for those special targets in his mind.

"Tsk, tsk, why don't you let Tanjiro try to hook up with someone now?" Xin Lailai looked at Chanahu in the distance, who looked independent and beautiful, and then looked at Tanjiro, feeling a little evil in his mind. Interesting thought.

"Forget it, if you strike up a conversation with someone you don't know well now, you probably won't be able to increase your favorability. It will be embarrassing if you blow off this kid's big future. It's better to let them develop slowly on their own."

After thinking for a while, Xin Lailai shook his head and gave up the plan.

His experience in novels and animations told him that this kind of behavior of tampering with the original development and trying to make someone new would often lead to big trouble.

"Thank you all for coming tonight to participate in the final selection of the Demon Slayer Corps." A clear and pleasant voice sounded, and the somewhat noisy venue suddenly became quiet.

Standing in front of the torii gate, the twin siblings, with faces as delicate as porcelain dolls, suddenly spoke and introduced each other in turn:

"The ghosts caught by the ghost-slaying swordsmen are imprisoned in this mountain of vines, but the ghosts cannot leave."

"Because from the foothills to the mountainside, wisteria flowers that ghosts hate bloom all year round."

"But in front of here, there will be no more wisteria flowers, and there will be ghosts haunting them."

"After living in it for seven days, that is the qualification for the final selection."

After the twins, one with black hair and one with white hair, took turns explaining the rules, they bowed together and said:
"Then, please go all the way."

After saying that, the two of them gave way to the road and looked at everyone on the field motionlessly with a smile that would make people feel uncomfortable after looking at it for a long time.

"Tsk, tsk, if I hadn't known in advance, I wouldn't have known that this was a cute boy."

Xin Lailai's eyes stayed on the black-haired brother of the twins for a few seconds, and he cursed.

"Let's go, Tanjirou."

After Xin Lailai called Tanjiro, Tanjiro came to his senses and quickly kept pace.

Other people taking part in the assessment also reacted and walked through the torii gate in an orderly manner and walked towards the mountain.

……

(End of this chapter)