Chapter 64: A Path of Quantity
It was time to say goodbye. With their business in the demon slayer village concluded, their departure was a simple affair.
The Hiraikotsu had been returned to its rightful owners, the village chief's ashes had been entrusted to the elder, and the lingering dispute with Tsubaki had been settled. Everything that needed to be done was finished.
"Lady Kikyo, take care on your journey!" Matoba called out, standing at the village entrance and waving.
The white-haired elder beside him remained silent, offering only a slight, solemn nod.
"Rest assured," Kikyo replied, her voice carrying on the morning breeze. She turned without another word, her white robes and red hakama a stark, elegant figure drifting further and further away into the pale light of dawn.
Hikaru followed a few paces behind her, casting one last look back at the village nestled against the mountain. The monstrous skulls adorning the wooden perimeter fence still gleamed with a ghastly white under the sun, their empty sockets like countless hollow eyes watching them go.
For all intents and purposes, this chapter of their journey was over.
...
The two of them walked back along the path they had come. The mountain road wound its way through the landscape, flanked on both sides by lush, ancient trees. Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, dappling the ground in a shifting pattern of light and shadow.
As he walked, Hikaru fell into a familiar habit, his mind methodically reviewing the events of the past few days. This process of review and analysis had become second nature to him—a necessary discipline. To grow stronger, to survive in this chaotic world, one had to constantly take stock of oneself.
First on his list was the Hiraikotsu. He had maxed out its favorability and, in doing so, had acquired the [Bone Soul Transformation] ability. This powerful new skill had completed the evolution of his [Shield Bone Transformation], smoothly integrating offense and defense. He could now sprout wickedly sharp bone spikes and blades from any part of his body at will.
Next was the Shikon Jewel. The favorability of the Naohi, its sacred essence, had risen to 56. This milestone had unlocked the next talent after [Spirit Vision]: the [Inspiration] ability. At this rate, he mused, it was possible that reaching maximum favorability would grant him some form of 'control' over spiritual power. Though the final threshold was still a long way off, his progress was steady.
Then there was Yura of the Hair's comb. Its favorability was still in the negative, but it had climbed from a hostile -30 to a more manageable -15. He would take it slow; there was no need to rush that particular relationship.
Finally, there was the matter of that demon. The existence of a creature from the world of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba had deep implications. It meant that the Progenitor of Demons, Kibutsuji Muzan, was also lurking somewhere in this world. It meant that his immortal, bloodthirsty creations were wandering the land. Though they might be few in number, they were a significant threat.
At the same time, however, this presented an opportunity. If he could find a Nichirin Sword—one of those unique weapons forged with solar energy—it could become a catalyst for his own evolution. In a supernatural world like this, the essence of the sun and moon, no matter how meager the amount, would inevitably bring about a significant improvement.
Of course, that was a concern for another day. The most pressing matter, the greatest bottleneck he currently faced, was achieving a Qualitative Transformation.
As he had realized before, the Six Transformations represented the absolute limit of Physical Transformation, a threshold he had already reached. Sharp Body, Sharp Eye, Archer, Spear-Waist, Bone Soul, and Blood Transformation—six distinct abilities, each corresponding to a different part of his body. Adding a seventh was, in theory, impossible.
Yet, he had found a way to circumvent that limit. He had done it by relying on fusion, by adding new 'details' and layers of complexity upon the foundation of his existing Transformations. While this might not seem to be a direct path to a true Qualitative Transformation, Hikaru knew it was a crucial step.
The threshold for Qualitative Transformation was astronomically high. It wasn't just about changing shape; it was about the fundamental manipulation of mass, volume, and density. It was the alteration of basic physical properties. It could even involve the containment and control of elemental attributes. Demons who had reached that stage were in a completely different league from their lesser kin.
For an ordinary demon, achieving such a state required decades, even centuries, of accumulation. He had only been in this world for a few months; breaking through to that level in such a short time was a near impossibility.
He could, in theory, conquer a non-living entity that embodied an 'element' to gain an elemental transformation. But that path was fraught with difficulty. Unless a demon was born as a natural elemental, mastering the elements was a monumental task, and becoming the element itself was even more so. Even if he conquered an artifact with elemental properties, he would likely only gain the ability to control that element. It would be a powerful evolution of his Physical Transformation, but it would not be a Qualitative Transformation.
For Hikaru, the path forward had to be different. A true qualitative leap was easier to grasp in concept than in practice. Achieving it quickly through conventional means was out of the question.
Unless... he relied on quantitative change to force a qualitative one.
It was exactly what he had already done, what he had just successfully achieved by merging the power of the Hiraikotsu. His original [Shield Bone Transformation] had merely made his bones harder. But after integrating the abilities of the giant boomerang, his bones could now grow, be shaped, and erupt from any part of his body. While still fundamentally within the scope of Physical Transformation, it was now teetering on the very edge of a Qualitative one.
This sparked a new line of thought. What if he continued to 'stuff' new transformations into his other five abilities? What if he kept enriching the content and complexity of each one? The Six Transformations were the limit in number, but their capacity was not.
This was a path no one had ever walked. Most demons were muddled creatures, driven by instinct. They mindlessly absorbed the turbid Yao Qi drifting between heaven and earth, desperate to increase the number of their transformations and seek a rapid breakthrough. No demon had ever considered building their foundation to its absolute limit during the Physical Transformation stage. It was too slow. Too exhausting. And there was no guarantee it would even work.
But Hikaru was different. He had a system. He could continuously obtain new abilities by conquering non-living entities. For him, this was not the slow path, but the fastest and most suitable one.
As long as he found enough conquest targets of similar types... he could fill each of his six transformation 'slots' to the brim, turning each one from a small hill into a massive mountain. And then—he would use that sheer, overwhelming quantity to shatter the threshold of quality.
In Hikaru's view, this line of thinking was not just feasible; it was his best shot. It would be difficult, but not impossible. In fact, if he could pull it off, he might be able to complete multiple qualitative leaps at once, advancing from the Six Transformations to the Eighth, or even the Ninth, all in a single, explosive breakthrough.
The key lay in finding more suitable 'things' to stuff into his Six Transformations. Things like weapons. Things like artifacts. Things like... any other non-living entity his system could recognize. As long as he maxed out their favorability, he could obtain their talents. As long as he had enough talents, he could stack them within his six core abilities.
Once they were stacked to a certain critical point... perhaps it would trigger the change he sought.
Having reached his conclusion, Hikaru's pace quickened, and he easily caught up to Kikyo. A weight had lifted from his shoulders. At the very least, he now had a clear direction.
...
However, at the very moment Hikaru was lost in his thoughts, Kikyo came to a sudden halt. The wind that had been a gentle companion now seemed to swell, growing fiercer, vaster, and more turbulent.
"What's wrong?" Hikaru asked, looking up from his reverie.
Then he saw her expression. On that cool and elegant face, her brows were drawn together in a tight, worried line. In the depths of her pitch-black eyes, a rare and deep heaviness had appeared.
Hikaru followed her gaze.
What met his eyes was a vast, open plain. It should have been farmland, a place where peasants would be tilling the soil under the morning sun. Although this world was crawling with demons, human civilization was still dominant. During the day, the Yang energy was vibrant and Yao Qi was relatively weak. Demon rampages were infrequent, and nothing stopped people from working at sunrise and resting at sunset. As long as they returned to the safety of their villages and homes before nightfall, they were generally safe.
But now—there was not a soul to be seen, let alone any signs of farming.
All that remained was desolation.
And corpses.
Bleached bones and rotting bodies were strewn everywhere, dotting the landscape like discarded refuse. In the distance, a visible wisp of black smoke coiled into the sky. It was not the gentle, curling smoke of a hearth fire; beneath it, he could see the angry orange of flames soaring towards the heavens.
That was...
"War?"
Hikaru's eyes narrowed. He was already all too familiar with such a scene.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]