Tanjiro, being honest by nature, quickly explained, "Um... this gentleman said that the demons in the mountains have already been killed by him..."
"Ha? Do you take me for an idiot?!"
Genya released Tanjiro and fixed his sinister gaze on Rin.
Looking at Rin's relaxed and carefree posture, he felt deeply insulted.
"This pretty boy killed all the demons on the mountain?"
Genya sneered and reached out to grab Rin by the collar.
"Stop screwing around and tell me where the demons are hid—"
However, before his hand could even touch the edge of Rin's clothing, his voice abruptly stopped.
Because Rin, still sitting on the green stone, slightly tilted his head and glanced at him.
Just a single glance.
Buzz!
Those originally deep black eyes instantly turned an eerie crimson, with three black tomoe spinning coldly within the pupils.
Boom!
The moment Genya met those eyes, the world before him completely changed.
The bonfire vanished. Tanjiro vanished. The entire Fujikasane Mountain vanished.
He found himself standing alone on the edge of a vast abyss beneath a blood-red moon.
The black-haired youth who had been sitting on the green stone had somehow become a godlike figure overlooking the world, watching him with an utterly indifferent gaze.
Under that almost tangible killing intent and overwhelming mental pressure, Genya felt as if his heart were being crushed by an invisible giant hand. Even his breathing stopped.
Thud!
To Tanjiro's horror, the previously arrogant and aggressive Genya suddenly jerked his hand back as if he had touched an electric current. His legs gave way, and he collapsed to his knees in front of Rin.
Large beads of cold sweat rolled down Genya's forehead. He gasped for breath, his body trembling violently and uncontrollably.
Just one glance had made this hot-tempered fighter experience fear as if he had come infinitely close to death.
"If you keep shouting, I'll throw you off the mountain."
The Sharingan in Rin's eyes faded, and his tone remained flat, without the slightest ripple.
He tore off a roasted rabbit leg and did not even bother to look at Genya kneeling on the ground.
If it were not for the fact that in the original story Genya was not a bad person at heart and had a rather tragic life, that glance earlier would not have been a simple deterrent of killing intent. He would have used genjutsu to destroy his mind completely.
In the tree canopy not far away, Kanao Tsuyuri, who had been quietly following and observing, tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword. In those purple eyes, usually as calm as a still well, a trace of shock appeared for the first time.
She had not even seen how Rin made his move.
[Ding! Detected that the host has greatly shocked members of the protagonist group "Tanjiro Kamado," "Genya Shinazugawa," and "Kanao Tsuyuri." Obtained dimension points: 600.]
For the newcomers participating in the Fujikasane Mountain trial, the next seven days became an unprecedentedly strange experience.
There were no intense battles and no desperate escapes.
Because all the demons had already been slaughtered before the trial even began by a certain cheat user wielding the Sharingan and ninjutsu.
Occasionally, a few minor demons that had survived by hiding underground would appear, only to be easily dealt with by Tanjiro and Kanao.
As for Zenitsu Agatsuma?
After discovering that staying near Rin was completely safe, he immediately turned into an enthusiastic follower, helping Rin gather firewood and catch wild game every day while calling him "Big Brother" more affectionately than anyone else.
Seven days passed in this strange atmosphere of wilderness survival mixed with picnic camping.
On the morning of the seventh day, when sunlight once again filled the wisteria forest on the outskirts of Fujikasane Mountain...
The twin guides of the Ubuyashiki family standing before the torii gate could no longer maintain their usual expressionless faces.
In the Final Selection, having five or six people survive was usually considered an excellent outcome.
But this time, twenty-two people walked out alive.
Moreover, every one of them looked healthy and uninjured. That fellow Zenitsu Agatsuma had even gained two pounds from eating.
This hardly looked like a life-and-death trial. It felt more like they had just returned from a mountain vacation.
"Congratulations to everyone on your safe return," the white-haired girl said, suppressing the shock in her heart as she began the next step of the process. "Next, please select the Tamahagane to be used for forging your Nichirin blades."
No one moved.
Instead, everyone turned their gaze toward Rin, who stood at the very back of the group, yawning lazily.
Everyone knew very well that the only reason they had survived was because this god of slaughter had cleared the mountain in advance.
Rin did not bother with formalities and walked straight to the table where the ores were laid out.
He already possessed the Kusanagi sword, which naturally had the properties of a Nichirin blade, so he did not actually need to forge a new sword. However, he still needed the identity of a Demon Slayer and the Kasugai Crow used for communication.
After casually picking up a piece of cold-glinting Tamahagane ore, a pitch-black crow suddenly landed on Rin's head with a flutter.
"Caw! Caw! Rin! Monster! Rin! Monster!"
As soon as the Kasugai Crow landed, it began shouting in its raspy voice.
Clearly, this crow had witnessed Rin's slaughter in the mountains over the past few days from the sky.
Rin raised an eyebrow and lightly flicked the Kasugai Crow on the head with his finger.
"Shut up. If you scream again, I'll roast you tonight."
The Kasugai Crow instantly went silent like a duck with its neck squeezed, obediently closing its beak and even retracting its wings in fear.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completely overturning the results of this Final Selection and saving a large number of swordsmen who were originally destined to die!]
[Significantly influenced the future effective strength of the Demon Slayer Corps!]
[Obtained dimension points: 2000!]
Hearing the generous reward notification in his mind, Rin curled his lips in satisfaction.
Nearly three thousand points in a single gain. As expected, harvesting rewards along the storyline was the best approach.
Once he received his uniform, it would also be time to contact the Hashira, or even Kibutsuji Muzan himself.
____
Oops, Rini is a little selfish that way.. he wanted those points, and it was the best buffet.