LIMITLESS PATH: TENMA ASCENSION

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--- Chapter 43 ---

As Shinobu and others were busy with the blood creatures made from the baby-moth's Blood Demon Art, Tenma focused his gaze on the area and tilted his head slightly. 

"What do you think, Iris?" asked Tenma.

Iris used her soul to sense Tenma's enemy and commented, "Such a big mess. This baby moth is clearly just advanced to the general-level demon stage. Still, its ability to create innate domain was much stronger than some general-level demons on your simulations." 

"It's weird. You should have encountered this little fellow over ten times over the past four years, but a new variable happened." 

"It feels like a test." 

"A test?" Tenma frowned slightly. 

Iris was also unsure of her thoughts. 

The existence of Limitless Path could deter the fundamental rules of the universe, which allowed Tenma to experience real-life simulations of future events around him. 

However, Limitless Path is clearly not omnipotent. Although Tenma's presence could change the fate of those around him, he could also change his enemy's fate by accident. 

The chance is low but never zero. 

"Hestia, have you ever interacted with this world's spirit?" Iris couldn't help but ask.

[Negative! This low-level plane has yet to develop its spirit and wasn't on the level to communicate with me] Hestia replied haughtily.

[And it will never develop unless someone can unify the world and make all living creatures in it contribute to its development]

[If you're guessing whether the plane's will was testing Tenma or not, the answer is no] 

[The sudden increase of this General-level demon's strength is probably related to the amount of bad karma it has accumulated, exceeding five digits]

"Reasonable." Iris nodded in agreement.

"Five digits? Hot damn!" Tenma's eyes lit up. He was salivating because this baby moth is no different from a piggy bank.

"What are we waiting for then?" 

BOOM!

Tenma kicked the ground and soared to the night sky, leaping inhumanly over ten meters. The 'white night' in his right hand twirled wildly and flashed with intense white light. 

"Blood Demon Art: Flood Dragon." 

The baby moth looked up blankly and pointed its wrinkly finger at Tenma, conjuring a flood dragon made of blood. A half-snake, half-dragon beast opened its maw at Tenma and roared.

ROAR!

Tenma snorted, "Stop yapping." 

"Spear Breathing - 1st Form: Musou Ichiretsu Kai!" 

Tenma thrust white night with the finest movement, launching a sharp beam and blasting through the flood dragon like a hot knife through butter. 

Although the flood dragon was a 'terrifying' creature to others, Tenma wasn't even intimidated by it. 

'Dragon? This thing is just a little snake.' To Tenma, who has witnessed the wonder of Omniversal Order, the flood dragon didn't arouse much fighting spirit.

It looks like nothing but an overgrown snake to him. 

The white beam traveled like a lightning strike and was about to hit the baby moth, but the latter instantly created a bloody barrier out of thin air, preventing the spear intent from destroying it.

Clank!

The baby moth released a small cry, deflecting the spear beam away and destroying a fifteen-meter area beside it.

BOOM!

A small ravine appeared due to Tenma's attack.

The baby moth smacked its lips and roared, "Blood Demon Art: Sunder Heaven." 

Kacha!

Several whips as thick as an adult's thighs appeared, swinging heavily yet quickly at Tenma.

"Not bad." Tenma's red eyes observed these dark whips calmly and calculated the forces behind them. 

However, Tenma felt something was special about these whips. 

After all, a general-level demon's ability shouldn't be weak. 

Tenma swung white night with similar heaviness, "Spear Breathing - 3rd Form: Houkiboshi!" 

The white spear fell like a mighty meteor, slamming against the incoming whips like a ferocious beast. Then, something surprising happened as the whips passed through the spear like a ghost.

BANG!

Tenma calmly somersaulted mid-air, dodging the whips. He glanced back and saw the deep holes made by the whips. 

"A ghost form, huh?" Iris commented in surprise. 

"This fellow can change the density of those dark whips, allowing it to have a ghost-like form to pass through physical obstacles but then erupt with continuous momentum like nothing ever happened." 

"Another ability that wasn't in simulation." 

"Even then, the whips consisted of blood particles, so your Solar Energy and Fire Tao should be effective." 

"Yeah," Tenma replied without much emotion. "I was testing the demon's ability." 

"But now there is no need to." 

"Besides the domain, everything else is manageable." 

[Then, fight!] Hestia said coldly.

Tenma smirked and vanished from the baby moth's vision. The general-level demon was puzzled because a human shouldn't escape his sight, but suddenly, a life-threatening attack reached its neck.

Slash!

A white spear appeared from the darkness, cutting some flesh off the baby moth's neck with intense light and heat.

RRRAAAAAAA!!

A painful roar echoed in the blood-submerged forest. 

Shinobu, Kanao, and Eri stared into the distance. 

"Damn, so fast!" Eri murmured in disbelief. 

"We just finished our preparation to fight these blood monsters, and Nii-chan already made the general-level demon cry!"

"Stop comparing yourself with Tenma, he's a monster." Shinobu shook her head lightly. Although Shinobu has seen Kanae slay five to seven general-level demons, the Flower Hashira had never beaten them to the point of crying. 

"True, true, true." Kanao nodded like a chicken. Even though she firmly believed in hard work, she felt she could never catch up to Tenma.

Of course, this doesn't mean Kanao has given up. 

If Kanao couldn't catch up with Tenma, that's fine. She will become stronger to accompany him, which is her goal!

Shinobu fiddled with poison sachets and handed them to Eri and Kanao calmly, "The blue is Wisteria Poison Powder, and the red is rice wine I made. Both are highly flammable, and I want you to spread it over this and that area." 

"Kanao, your area is deeper. As for Eri, maintain distance and only spread the sachets outside the rim area." 

"After spreading the sachets, return to this position and wait for my signal before throwing the lighters." 

"Understand?" Shinobu asked while pointing to the areas they were 'specifically' assigned to.

Kanao and Eri nodded before vanishing into the darkness.

Shinobi stared at Tenma far away and mumbled, "Let's do this." 

...

...

"Danger, danger, danger!" An alarm echoed in a well-hidden building.

Several black crows flew in all directions, spreading information about the appearance of a general-level demon. 

A few miles from Ebisu Town, a bright-haired girl in a somewhat revealing demon slayer uniform heard a crow's cry above her head.

"A general-level demon??!" She let out a surprise cry. 

"How could this be!" 

The bright-haired girl had patrolled this area for a week and never received a report about the demon's appearance. 

She did encounter some low-level demons but didn't think much of them because they were too weak under her strength. 

She grabbed the hilt of her katana and stared at the distance, feeling an ominous sensation. She adjusted her breathing and clapped her cheeks hard, leaving red handprints.

"Be calm, be calm me!" She shouted with a huff. 

"Let's do this!" 

"Let's fight the demon!" 

After saying that, the bright-haired girl rushed to Ebisu Town and left a trail of dust clouds.