Jigoro Kuwajima turned his head and looked at Xia Feng.
Didn't you promise not to interfere?
Xia Feng had already healed all of Jigoro's injuries. He looked toward Kaigaku and spoke calmly.
"That's exactly why this fight isn't fair."
"Mr. Kuwajima doesn't have any killing intent toward you."
Kaigaku grinned.
"And what does that have to do with me?"
"If he has no killing intent, that's his problem."
"I certainly won't show mercy because of it."
He had become a demon to grow stronger.
Things like emotion were useless burdens that could be discarded at any time.
Xia Feng smiled slightly.
"Which is why I said the duel isn't fair."
"And honestly, you probably don't want to fight someone who doesn't even intend to kill you."
"That goes against your own philosophy."
Kaigaku raised an eyebrow.
How did that contradict his philosophy?
Xia Feng explained casually.
"What you seek is strength."
"And the fastest way to grow stronger is through a fair battle of life and death."
"Techniques born at the edge of death are the most powerful."
"But if you're fighting someone with no killing intent, you're just wasting time."
After hearing that, Kaigaku actually found the argument very reasonable.
He nodded slightly.
"Then what was that 'good idea' you mentioned earlier?"
Xia Feng gave a mysterious smile.
"I'll find you an opponent with strength comparable to yours."
"And someone you'd definitely want to kill."
Kaigaku looked puzzled.
He had no idea what Xia Feng was planning.
But it didn't matter.
As long as the opponent was someone he could fight fairly.
"Fine."
"I'll wait here."
"No matter who you bring—even if it's a Hashira—I won't be afraid."
Kaigaku sheathed his blade and gave Jigoro a contemptuous glance before walking deeper into the forest.
Jigoro looked at Xia Feng with a trace of sorrow.
Now he had failed to do either of the things he had sworn.
He hadn't killed Kaigaku.
And he hadn't taken his own life.
Xia Feng clapped his hands lightly.
"Mr. Kuwajima, you should understand something."
"Not every Demon Slayer you trained is like Kaigaku."
"And eventually, one of your disciples will be the one to kill him."
Jigoro took a deep breath and shook his head.
"Kaigaku is already Upper Rank Six."
"Even Hashira might not be certain of defeating him."
"Let alone my students."
As a former Thunder Hashira himself, Jigoro knew exactly how difficult it was to reach that level.
Even if one of his students became the next Thunder Hashira, defeating Kaigaku would still be uncertain.
So he treated Xia Feng's words as comfort.
But Xia Feng suddenly smiled brightly.
"I'm completely certain of it."
"Even if you don't believe in Zenitsu, I do."
"I believe he'll become the next Thunder Hashira."
"And it won't even take long."
Looking at Xia Feng's confident gaze, Jigoro suddenly felt that perhaps the world wasn't as hopeless as he thought.
If he couldn't kill Kaigaku himself—
Then he would dedicate his remaining strength to training more Demon Slayers.
After all, he was a trainer of the Corps.
Xia Feng spoke seriously.
"Train Zenitsu."
"Train him until he has the strength to challenge Kaigaku."
Jigoro nodded slowly.
"Then I'll leave Zenitsu in your care as well, Mr. Xia Feng."
At that moment—
A notification sounded in Xia Feng's mind.
[You have gained Jigoro Kuwajima's favor.]
[Reward: 1 Silver Card Draw.]
Xia Feng escorted Jigoro back to headquarters.
After gathering information, he learned that Zenitsu had gone to the Eternal Paradise Faith Temple.
Xia Feng frowned.
That place sounded extremely familiar.
Then it suddenly hit him.
That was the cult base of Upper Rank Two—Doma.
Why had Zenitsu gone there?
That was basically suicide.
With Zenitsu's current strength, facing Upper Rank Two meant certain death.
Without hesitation, Xia Feng immediately rushed out again.
When he arrived at the city where the Eternal Paradise Faith was located, a strong religious atmosphere filled the air.
Most of the city's residents were believers.
They firmly believed that by joining the cult, all disasters and suffering would disappear.
Before reaching the temple, Xia Feng decided to use his reward.
[Drawing Silver Card…]
[Draw successful!]
[Congratulations! You obtained the Silver Ability: Absolute Zero!]
[Absolute Zero – Lowers the temperature of a weapon or a two-meter area to extreme cold. Enemies entering the area or struck by the weapon will instantly freeze!]
Xia Feng's eyes lit up.
This was basically the strongest Shikai ability used by Rukia Kuchiki in Bleach.
Not bad.
Very useful.
At the center of the city stood a massive temple.
Stone steps stretched upward for nearly fifty meters.
The staircase was so wide that thirty people could walk side by side.
Strange pillars lined both sides, connected by thin cords decorated with paper flowers.
Xia Feng looked up and smiled.
"This temple is ridiculously huge."
"Even the Demon Slayer headquarters isn't this grand."
"Isn't Doma afraid of being exposed?"
He slowly walked up the steps.
Many believers were heading to worship.
Xia Feng chuckled quietly.
"If these people knew the cult leader they worship is actually a demon…"
"I wonder if they'd completely collapse."
When he reached the top, he discovered that the temple complex had many courtyards.
Dozens of rooms surrounded the central hall.
All the believers entered the main hall, where a strange statue stood.
It vaguely resembled a Buddha—
But its expression was mocking, its facial features strangely distorted.
The longer one stared at it, the more sinister it appeared.
Xia Feng frowned slightly.
"If I search every room one by one, Zenitsu and the others will probably already be dead by the time I find Doma."
Zenitsu and his companions were nowhere near Hashira-level yet.
Even the three of them combined wouldn't match a single Hashira.
Against Doma—
They would be killed in a single move if he got serious.
And Nezuko had also been brought here.
If Doma captured Nezuko, he would definitely hand her over to Muzan.
After all, she was an extremely rare demon.
Just as Xia Feng was planning how to destroy the place—
He suddenly noticed something strange.
"Hm?"
Among the believers who had entered the hall earlier—
Three people had disappeared.
He carefully observed the hall's surroundings.
From the outside, nothing seemed unusual.
Which meant the hidden mechanism must be extremely subtle.
Xia Feng slowly smiled.
"Now this is getting interesting."