[The group arrived at the scene and indeed saw a Cloud Knight wildly swinging his weapon. After subduing him together, he finally regained some clarity from the chaos.]
[He struggled to recall: he had originally come to the Alchemy Commission to clear out evil entities, but somehow it felt like a dream. In the dream, his weapon started speaking—mocking his flashy moves while claiming to guide his martial arts.]
[He relaxed his body and let the weapon take control, feeling his skills truly improve greatly. But the weapon called him dull-witted and said it would take another disciple to pass on its techniques… only then did he realize that standing beside him was the General's prized pupil—Yanqing.]
[He became possessed and attacked Yanqing, but even after Yanqing held back, he was still easily defeated in seconds. He saw Yanqing talking to his own sword, while the weapon in his hand never spoke again.]
——
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.
"This Suiyang is even choosing disciples on its own now, tch…"
Wind Hashira Shinazugawa Sanemi crossed his arms and let out an irritated snort.
Among the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps—except for the Stone Hashira—the rest were roughly equal in strength. But ever since Mist Hashira Tokito Muichiro gained insight from that one sword against Jingliu, his swordsmanship had advanced dramatically. Even if he and the Serpent Hashira teamed up, they weren't his match.
The biggest difference among them was talent—though anyone who became a Hashira already had top-tier human talent, Muichiro went from ordinary person to Hashira level in just two months, undoubtedly the cream of the crop among Hashira. Seeing this Suiyang discriminate based on talent made his heart sting like needles.
"No need to mind it, Shinazugawa." The Serpent Hashira beside him noticed his grudge and comforted him. "Choosing disciples by talent is just masters wanting to slack off. Besides… that Suiyang may not be a good teacher."
"Oh? How do you figure?" Shinazugawa looked curiously at the Serpent Hashira sitting in the tree.
"Any true long-lasting power in the world requires long-term practice and tempering. The possessed Cloud Knight handed his body to the Suiyang and briefly gained power, but once the Suiyang leaves, that power vanishes—he dared challenge Yanqing precisely because the Suiyang made him lose the 'real sense' of getting stronger."
"Learning a ten-year sword technique in one breath—clearly the mind gets it but the hands and feet don't. No clue how to adapt in battle. I don't know if this quick method suits Yanqing, but it definitely doesn't suit a Cloud Knight with even weaker fundamentals."
Shinazugawa deeply related to these words. As a Hashira, he had also taken on adopted sons and tried passing full forms to them. He once spent days having successors who had just learned Breathing memorize complete move sequences—but the results… their First Form was completely distorted, not even one or two tenths of his power.
Later, he began emphasizing basic training for Demon Slayers, but that was undoubtedly an extremely long process.
"This Suiyang has lived who-knows how many years—maybe it has real skill—but for teaching disciples, it relies on possession for quick mastery, trying to make them grasp its lifetime knowledge at fastest speed… the end result is obvious: failure."
As he spoke, the Serpent Hashira in the tree let out an amused laugh: "But right now, whether it possesses Yanqing or not… I'm actually curious how the Suiyang wields swordsmanship, and how it compares to that Jingliu's swordsmanship?"
——
[The group chased along the way and found a flying sword hovering in midair on the road.]
[Sushang recognized it as Yanqing's flying sword—a famous artifact from the Artisanship Commission, linked to its master. For the flying sword to appear here, Sushang guessed he had encountered some great danger.]
["I have a guess… not sure if I should say it."]
["Don't say anything unlucky!" Seeing Guinaifen's serious expression, Sushang felt uneasy.]
["From what that Cloud Knight brother just went through, the one in danger probably isn't Yanqing, but…"]
["…Us?" Stelle guessed what she meant.]
[Guinaifen clutched her chest and nodded with lingering fear.]
[Yanqing was the General's disciple and one of the top swordsmen in the Cloud Knights—plus with Suiyang possession, it was hard to say whether they were going to put out a fire or deliver heads.]
[But the most urgent thing now was to rescue Yanqing before matters worsened. The group followed the flying sword to the ferry crossing. On the way to Dragonprayer Terrace, Sushang suddenly stopped, feeling that just charging in like this was improper.]
["Sushang, are you scared? But this Suiyang isn't like the previous ones—it looks like it knows some serious moves. I'm pretty scared too."]
["What nonsense are you saying?" Sushang blushed and protested. "My mom started teaching me sword practice as soon as I could walk. Though I'm nowhere near the General's beloved disciple, wouldn't chickening out in battle disgrace the Cloud Knights' name and my family's sword heritage?"]
[But as she spoke, the girl lowered her head again: "Still… I really do feel a little scared. Scared that if the possessing Suiyang goes berserk, I won't be able to protect you all."]
——
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End.
"I think… maybe we should play it safe and go find the General?" Stark recalled Yanqing's freely moving flying sword that killed enemies without him even needing to act personally. When betting against Jingliu, those evil entities couldn't even get close.
He wasn't looking down on Sushang, but the facts were there—she had a considerable gap with Yanqing. Plus, no one knew what level the possessed Yanqing had reached.
"Don't rush—Stelle's here too. What strong enemy hasn't Stelle beaten? A mere Yanqing—"
"Lord Sein, better not be so confident."
Just as Sein was about to hype Stelle hard, Fern interrupted his spellcasting in time. The girl narrowed her eyes and said seriously: "After tempering from Jingliu, Blade, and Dan Heng, Yanqing's swordsmanship is already different from before. With his talent… I think it's better to be conservative."
"Fern, aren't you being too cautious? Remember last time she protected Kafka—Stelle clearly soloed and beat Yanqing."
"That was because Kafka was a latent threat—Yanqing had to spare energy to constantly guard against her Spirit Whisper." Fern propped her cheek in recollection. "I remember… Kafka said honestly that time—if Stelle hadn't appeared, she and Blade would have been captured by Yanqing and thrown into The Shackling Prison."
"But this time is different. First, possessed Yanqing is definitely stronger. Second, aside from Stelle, Sushang poses no threat to him. As for Guinaifen and Huohuo… those two can only cheer from the sidelines."