The next day, at noon.
In a forest clearing, Xia Feng stood quietly.
Not far in front of him stood a mechanical puppet shaped like a samurai.
The puppet had six arms.
Each arm held a sword.
The moment Xia Feng saw it, he could not help but think of Vice Admiral Onigumo from One Piece.
At that moment, the village chief, Tecchin Tecchikawahara, was explaining.
"Xia Feng, this mechanical puppet was created more than three hundred years ago during the Warring States era."
"It was modeled after a powerful swordsman of that time."
"According to legend, the sword style he used was Sun Breathing."
"The reason it has six arms is because the swordsmanship was too powerful. Only with six arms could the puppet partially replicate that swordsman's techniques."
"Since you want to use it for training, go ahead and give it a try."
"This puppet's combat style can be adjusted. I'll observe your battle first and modify its behavior according to your abilities."
At the end, he hesitated and added,
"I know swords are dangerous, but if possible… please try not to damage the puppet too much."
Without waiting for Xia Feng to respond, he stepped back.
Xia Feng nodded.
He casually raised his Nichirin blade and looked at the puppet.
The puppet tightened its grip on all six swords.
The next moment,
It vanished from where it stood.
Xia Feng's eyes sharpened as he swung his blade to meet it.
Instantly, flashing sword lights filled the forest.
The constant clang! clang! of blades colliding startled birds into flight.
Before the fight began, Xia Feng had mentally prepared himself.
He had imagined the puppet to be extremely strong.
But once the fight started—
He realized it was far stronger than he expected.
In just thirty seconds of combat, he had already activated Bullet Time twice.
When the two separated, the village chief walked over.
He looked at Xia Feng with confusion.
"How strange…"
"I clearly felt there were two moments when you couldn't defend yourself."
"But somehow you avoided them by the narrowest margin."
"Do you possess some sort of super intuition ability?"
Muttering to himself, he adjusted the puppet's combat settings.
Xia Feng was slightly stunned.
He knew the village chief had sharp insight,
But he had not expected it to be this sharp.
The old man had almost noticed his use of Bullet Time.
This gave Xia Feng even greater confidence in the chief's ability to refine the puppet.
After a short rest—
The battle began again.
After a full day of intense combat, the village chief nodded with satisfaction.
Xia Feng's control was excellent.
Throughout the entire day, aside from the sounds of weapons clashing, Xia Feng had not damaged the puppet at all.
Several times his blade had almost struck the puppet—
But he forcibly redirected the attack at the last second.
The chief could only marvel at Xia Feng's reaction speed and control.
As evening approached, the two began walking back toward the village.
After thinking for a moment, Xia Feng spoke.
"By the way, Chief… do you have any ideas on how to improve Shinobu's sword?"
The chief chuckled.
"I figured you'd ask that."
"That girl Shinobu is too small and lacks physical strength. If she used a normal Nichirin sword, she wouldn't be able to use her advantages."
"With her abilities, if she lost her speed advantage, she wouldn't even qualify to be a Hashira."
"The sword she uses now is already the result of me exhausting every idea I had."
"If you ask me to improve it further, I truly have no solution."
Then he suddenly thought of something.
He turned to Xia Feng.
"Well, there is one way."
"What way?" Xia Feng asked.
The chief smiled.
"It's simple."
"Find a special kind of ore—one stronger than Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand."
"If a metal like that exists, we could forge a blade for Shinobu that is as thin as cicada wings yet sharp enough to cut iron."
Xia Feng felt a little speechless.
If such a metal existed, why would anyone still struggle like this?
Three days later, Xia Feng completed his training.
Meanwhile, Tetsuana Mori's injuries had almost fully healed.
Accompanied by the chief and the other swordsmiths, Xia Feng, Shinobu, and Kanao left the Swordsmith Village.
"Mr. Xia Feng! Please visit again sometime!" Haganezuka sounded as if he were about to cry.
Xia Feng laughed helplessly.
"Don't worry. I'll definitely come back to bother you again."
Shinobu looked at him with mild amazement.
"You really are something… Wherever you go, people end up liking you."
Xia Feng grinned.
"Isn't that a good thing?"
Shinobu puffed out her cheeks in silent protest at his shamelessness.
Behind them, Kanao simply followed quietly with a smile.
On their way back, the village gave Xia Feng special authorization.
He no longer needed to wear blindfolds or earplugs.
Since Kanao was Shinobu's Tsuguko, she also received the same privilege.
With the speed of trained swordsmen, the three quickly arrived near the Butterfly Estate.
Looking at the estate in the distance, Shinobu sighed softly.
She was about to say something when—
A crow's cry suddenly echoed from the sky.
"Caw! Caw! Shinobu! A demon has appeared!"
Hearing the voice, Shinobu's eyes lit up immediately.
She turned toward Xia Feng.
The two nodded simultaneously.
Kanao blinked in surprise.
"So it really came?"
Shinobu smiled.
"A demon with special abilities was mysteriously killed."
"Of course, Muzan Kibutsuji would send someone to investigate."
Xia Feng nodded.
"Fortunately we evacuated everyone already."
A few days earlier, before leaving for the village, they had held a small meeting.
Even Aoi Kanzaki from the treatment room had joined.
Shinobu explained seriously.
"A demon with invisibility abilities managed to reach the area near the Butterfly Estate. Xia Feng killed it."
"All demons are connected to the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji."
"So without a doubt, Muzan has discovered this location."
"Since the demon wasn't one of the Twelve Kizuki, Muzan likely wasn't paying much attention to it."
"He probably only knows the demon died nearby—but not how."
"With Muzan's personality, he will likely send a stronger demon to investigate."
"So while Xia Feng and I are away, everyone at the Butterfly Estate must evacuate to the backup residence."
"But do it secretly. Do not let the demons realize the estate is empty."
"Leave scouts nearby to observe the estate at all times."
"If anything happens, notify us immediately using a Kasugai Crow.
After they left, nothing happened for days.
Shinobu had almost begun to think the demon might never come.
But today, it had appeared.
At the same time, all three of them placed their hands on the hilts of their swords.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.
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