Why does the world show a health bar? !

Seven days—it wasn't a long time. Just a blink of an eye, really. During this period, Li Mo had quite a bit of fun on the mountain. Every demon he encountered was swiftly dealt with, a single slash of his blade ending their existence. He vaguely remembered that the Hand Demon he killed on the first night was supposed to be the strongest on the mountain. But they were all so weak. The sensation of cutting through their necks felt exactly the same.

The whole experience was like a high-level player from a top-tier server descending into a beginner's world and wreaking havoc.

On the final night before descending the mountain, Li Mo found a puddle of water and opened his system interface to assess his gains. First, his **Life Level** had jumped to **LV5**. At the same time, he had gained two free attribute points, bringing his total to an "unlucky" number: **13**.

This broken system was practically useless, except for its ability to fully heal him upon leveling up. If it weren't for the fact that it was still under repair, Li Mo would have uninstalled it in a heartbeat.

—Not that there was an uninstall button, anyway.

"Leveling up only gives one free attribute point. If this system had a developer, they'd be roasted alive," Li Mo muttered, clearly dissatisfied. He had complained about his system countless times, but since it had no intelligence, it couldn't argue back.

"Junior brother, it's time to head down. How much longer do you need?" Makomo's voice called from a distance.

"Coming!"

Li Mo had excused himself to find some privacy. Today marked the end of the **Final Selection**. Having cleared this so-called "beginner village," Li Mo had gained a lot. The level-ups were secondary; the real prize was becoming an official Demon Slayer and obtaining his own **Nichirin Blade**.

From this perspective, Li Mo had come out on top. But during these seven days, he had also experienced some frustrations.

"Finally, it's over. These demons are such jerks! Where are all the animals on the mountain? Did they eat them all? Seven days of dry rations! Seven whole days!"

As soon as he met up with Makomo, Li Mo started complaining. It wasn't that he couldn't eat dry rations, but given the choice, who would? Before heading up the mountain, he had hoped to hunt and improve his meals. He had even brought seasonings in his belt.

But in the end, those seasonings were useless. This made him furious. How could such a large mountain have no wild game?

"Alright, alright. We'll get to eat something good soon. The demons on the mountain ate all the animals, so stop complaining," Makomo said.

Demons didn't just feed on humans; they could also consume the flesh of animals. But to demons, animal flesh was like tree bark—barely enough to sustain them. It was nowhere near as delicious as human flesh.

But since the demons on Mount Fujikasane couldn't eat humans, they had gone mad with hunger and devoured all the animals.

Li Mo understood this, but his frustration was real.

Makomo continued, "If you keep complaining, I'm going to get annoyed. You practically wiped out all the demons on Mount Fujikasane. Aren't you satisfied yet?"

"Actually, I'm more interested in what we're going to eat."

"Head into town?"

"Perfect."

Li Mo and Makomo made a pact to go into town and enjoy a good meal. Together, they left Mount Fujikasane.

"By the way, junior brother, I noticed your Nichirin Blade is getting dull, isn't it?" Makomo remembered that Li Mo had cut through so many demon necks that his blade had started to lose its edge.

Not that it stopped him from one-shotting demons, of course.

"Yeah. But it's fine. Urokodaki-sensei can handle it. He'll know what to do. I'll be getting a new blade soon anyway, so I don't care," Li Mo said.

After the **Final Selection**, he would receive his own personalized Nichirin Blade. Since he was getting custom gear, he didn't mind the state of his current blade. As long as it wasn't broken, it was good enough to hand back to Urokodaki.

After seven days, they returned to the platform. The wisteria flowers were still in full bloom. The moment Li Mo caught their scent, his mind conjured images of flower cakes, and his mouth began to water.

He couldn't wait to get to the city. But first, there was the matter of selecting the **Tamahagane Steel** for his new blade.

A representative from the **Kakushi** stood at the front of the platform and began speaking. "It's a relief to see so many of you return safely. Congratulations on passing the **Final Selection**..."

The representative went on to explain the next steps: selecting the Tamahagane Steel for their Nichirin Blades, which would take ten to fifteen days to forge, having their measurements taken for their Demon Slayer uniforms, and learning about the Corps' ranking system.

The ranking system consisted of ten levels below the **Pillars**, named after the ten heavenly stems: **甲 (Kō)**, **乙 (Otsu)**, **丙 (Hei)**, **丁 (Tei)**, **戊 (Bo)**, **己 (Ki)**, **庚 (Kō)**, **辛 (Shin)**, **壬 (Jin)**, and **癸 (Ki)**.

After learning all this, it was time to select the Tamahagane Steel. The process was simple—just pick a decent-sized piece.

Once the selection was done, Li Mo shamelessly struck up a conversation with the Kakushi representative. From him, Li Mo learned that the Master's appearance seven days ago had been unexpected. Normally, the representative would have handled it, but the Master had insisted.

After gathering this information, Li Mo returned to Makomo. "Makomo, let's head to the city."

"Not so fast. Someone wants to thank you," Makomo said.

"Huh?"

Li Mo tilted his head. During his time on Mount Fujikasane, he had practically swept the mountain clean of demons, from the peak to the base. At one point, demons had become a rare sight.

Thanks to his efforts, many Demon Slayers had survived. The Kakushi representative had even complained that they almost ran out of Tamahagane Steel.

Frowning, Li Mo said, "Is there really a need for thanks? Helping fellow Demon Slayers in trouble is just common sense."

Despite his words, he eventually met the person in question.

It was a man with an average face, unremarkable in appearance and height. The only notable thing about him was his determined expression. He gave off the aura of a true warrior.

"Thank you for saving my life!"

Li Mo replied, "Oh, I remember you. You were surrounded by demons and at a disadvantage. If it were just one, you would've handled it yourself."

"Still, it's because I wasn't strong enough. I'm eternally grateful for your help. My name is **Shinazugawa Kyouji**. If there's ever anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask."

The man bowed deeply. After much persuasion, he finally left.

Shinazugawa Kyouji's actions seemed to set off a chain reaction. Others followed suit, and Li Mo had to put on a serious face as he exchanged words with them. After sending off more than ten people, things finally quieted down.

"So exhausting…"

Once the last person left, Li Mo sighed as he turned to Makomo.

"Alright, it's over now. Junior brother, it's time to go home."

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Li Mo already ahead of her, waving at her. "Makomo, hurry up!"

Makomo looked at his tall figure and couldn't help but shake her head.

Even though he stood tall and imposing, there was no sense of distance when it came to him.