The oppressive, blood-soaked aura of the Black-Corner Region felt like a physical weight pressing against the lungs. For hours, the Griffins had flown over canyons echoing with the sounds of slaughter and plains stained a permanent, rust-like red.
But as the sun finally dipped below the horizon, plunging the world into a deep, bruising twilight, the chaotic energy below them abruptly slammed into an invisible, impenetrable wall.
"Brace yourselves! We are descending!" Teacher Ruo Lin called out, her voice cutting through the rushing wind.
Yoriichi leaned slightly over the railing. Ahead of them, nestled in a vast, lush basin that seemed completely untouched by the surrounding wasteland, lay a massive, brightly illuminated settlement. It was heavily fortified, radiating an aura of absolute, unshakable stability.
The Rank 5 Griffin let out a sharp cry and banked steeply downward.
THUD!
The massive beasts landed with bone-rattling force on a wide, paved clearing several hundred yards away from the town's towering gates. Dust billowed into the air.
"We dismount here," Ruo Lin instructed, expertly unbuckling her safety harness. "The airspace above Peace Town is strictly restricted. Any unauthorized beast or cultivator caught flying over those walls is instantly shot down by the Academy's defense arrays. No exceptions, not even for tutors."
The four other new ones—Xiao Mei and the rival youths—practically tumbled out of the carriage, their legs wobbling like jelly as their boots finally touched solid earth after nearly two weeks in the sky. Even Xiao Yu let out a long, heavy groan, stretching her stiff back.
Yoriichi vaulted effortlessly over the side of the carriage, landing without making a single sound. He adjusted the dark sash holding his Katana and looked toward the looming gates.
The town was bathed in the warm, inviting glow of thousands of lanterns. However, the atmosphere at the entrance was anything but welcoming.
A heavy perimeter was established around the massive iron gates. Stationed there were dozens of guards wearing distinct, blood-red armor. They radiated a cold, metallic killing intent that felt polished and disciplined—vastly different from the chaotic malice of the Black-Corner mercenaries. This was the Jia Nan Academy's infamous Law Enforcement Unit.
As Ruo Lin led the group of recruits toward the checkpoint, Yoriichi's footsteps suddenly slowed.
His Transparent World vision, which passively filtered the ambient spiritual energy, had snagged on a massive, terrifying anomaly situated just to the left of the main gates.
It was a tree. But to call it merely a tree felt like an insult to nature.
It was utterly colossal, its thick, gnarled roots tearing through the paved stone. Its bark was a sickening, ashen grey, and it possessed no leaves. Instead, the sprawling, jagged branches were shrouded in a dense, almost liquid-like miasma of black energy.
Yoriichi's crimson eyes narrowed. 'What a dreadful aura,' he thought, his hand instinctively resting on the hilt of his katana.
He peered closer through the gloom. The tree wasn't bare. Hanging from the thickest branches by heavy, iron chains were strange, elongated shapes swaying gently in the evening breeze.
He focused his vision. They were bodies. Dozens of them.
Some were fresh, blood still dripping slowly onto the roots below. Others were nothing more than dried, mummified husks swinging like grotesque wind chimes. But what truly shocked Yoriichi was the lingering Dou Qi trapped within the corpses. Even in death, several of these hanging bodies radiated the residual pressure of Dou Lings and even a few Dou Wangs or higher.
A sharp, authoritative voice broke his concentration.
"You have sharp eyes, kid. And a surprisingly strong stomach."
Yoriichi turned his head. A captain of the Law Enforcement Unit, a man with a jagged scar running down his jawline and the heavy aura of a Dou Ling, had stepped forward.
The captain was looking at Yoriichi with a mixture of suspicion and grudging respect. Most new recruits vomited or fainted when they noticed the tree in the dark. This youth was simply analyzing it with the calm detachment of a coroner.
"What is the nature of this flora?" Yoriichi asked mildly, completely unfazed by the captain's intense scrutiny.
The captain chuckled, a harsh, humorless sound. He gestured toward the massive, rotting oak with his spear.
"That is the Death Spirit Tree," the captain explained, his voice loud enough for the trembling recruits behind Yoriichi to hear. "It is a mutated strain of demonic flora that actively feeds on the death-Qi and lingering resentment of the deceased. The stronger the cultivator in life, the more nutrients the tree absorbs from their corpse."
Xiao Mei let out a muffled squeak of horror, hiding behind Xiao Yu. The Jia Lie and Ao Ba youths turned deathly pale, their knees knocking together.
"Those bodies hanging there," the captain continued, a cruel, proud smirk touching his scarred face, "are the intruders. The arrogant fools from the Black-Corner Region who thought they could ignore our rules, force their way into Peace Town, or cause trouble for the Academy. Two years ago, a pair of Dou Wangs tried to slaughter their way through this very gate. Their dried husks are the ones hanging on the third branch to the left."
The captain slammed the butt of his spear against the cobblestones. The sharp CLACK made the recruits jump.
"They are used as a warning," the captain declared, his eyes sweeping over the pale faces of the youths. "A reminder that outside these walls is a lawless hell, but inside, the Jia Nan Academy's law is absolute. Even dragons must coil, and tigers must bow. If you break the peace, you become fertilizer."
Yoriichi looked back up at the swaying corpses.
He didn't feel fear, nor did he feel disgust. He felt a profound, solemn awe at the sheer, unadulterated dominance of the Jia Nan Academy.
In his past life, the Demon Slayer Corps hid in the shadows, fighting a desperate, losing war against monsters. But here, the "good guys" did not hide. The Jia Nan Academy had built a sanctuary right in the middle of the continent's most bloodthirsty region, and they maintained that peace by being infinitely more terrifying than the monsters outside.
'True peace in a savage world cannot be maintained by gentle words,' Yoriichi mused internally, nodding in silent understanding. 'It must be anchored by an absolute, overwhelming sword.'
"Alright, that is enough ghost stories to scare the freshmen, Captain," Teacher Ruo Lin interjected smoothly, stepping forward and handing over a stack of academy transit documents.
The captain reviewed the papers, nodding respectfully to the tutor. He gestured for his men to stand aside. "Welcome back, Teacher Ruo Lin. Have the recruits consume the cleansing water before they cross the threshold."
A guard approached with a tray of small, wooden cups filled with a strange, clear liquid. Ruo Lin instructed each of them to drink. It was a specialized alchemical concoction designed to temporarily suppress and track any lingering killing intent, ensuring nobody smuggled violent tendencies into the town.
Yoriichi downed the water without hesitation. It tasted faintly of mint and copper.
Once the rigorous checking was complete, the heavy iron gates groaned open. The group stepped through the massive archway, leaving the terrifying shadow of the Death Spirit Tree behind them.
The transition was jarring.
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Sorry guys🥲🥲!!
I forgot to mention that upto Ch-120, the volume 1 is finally completed 😚🥳
This is starting chapter of volume 2.
Hope u guys be in this journey and enjoy my work!!♥️