Kanao's heart fluttered.
The next moment, Su Chen's voice came. "Come on, Kanao, say it with me: 'Pinky promise, hundred years, no changing!'"
Kanao's face flushed with shyness. Even though she didn't understand the exact meaning, she still softly followed along. "Pinky promise… hundred years, no changing."
Su Chen was stunned. "What about the 'hanging' part?"
The girl paused, then spoke with a hint of embarrassment. "Su Chen, can we... not do the 'hanging' part?"
Su Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Yes! Of course, we can! Then we'll just pinky promise, no hanging!"
"Mhm!" Kanao pursed her lips and smiled sweetly. "Then we've made a promise, Su Chen!"
Their thumbs touched, symbolically sealing the agreement.
The next moment, the girl ran off, her face bright red.
Watching Kanao's flustered retreat, Su Chen lightly rubbed the finger he had just used. The unique fragrance of the girl still lingered...
The sky was clear, with white clouds drifting by.
In front of the Ubuyashiki Residence.
The gorgeously dressed Uzui Tengen stood center stage, introducing the event. "Please welcome our contestants!"
Boom!
A whirlwind figure ascended the stage at light speed. He had a face that looked like a crying child, and his body was covered in bulging veins. It was clear he meant business.
On the other side, our protagonist, Su Chen, slowly walked onto the stage. He was dressed in flowing white robes, giving him a subtly otherworldly aura. The Nichirin Sword at his waist gleamed brilliantly under the sunlight.
The moment Su Chen stepped onto the stage, he drew Uzui Tengen's focused attention.
This kid... he has a bit of my flair from back in the day, Uzui thought, stroking his chin. He saw a reflection of his younger self in Su Chen. Elegant, handsome! If he also had three wives, he would be the youthful version of me!
As he pondered, the Sound Pillar raised his hand and began the introductions.
"On the left, we have the Demon Slayer Corps' Wind Pillar —Mr. Shinazugawa! And as for my right!" Uzui immediately flashed to Su Chen's side, striking a dramatic pose. "This is the challenger! The genius doctor of the Butterfly Mansion! A self-taught Breathing Style prodigy! Possibly the youngest Demon Slayer Corps member in history! The legendary successor of Kocho! And second only to me in handsomeness and flamboyance—Su Chen!"
Whoosh!
The audience immediately erupted. "I didn't realize Su Chen had so many titles! Compared to him, Wind Pillar-sama seems a bit overshadowed!" "It looks like Sound Pillar-sama thinks very highly of Su Chen!" "I bet Su Chen will definitely win Sound Pillar-sama's approval! But it's a shame he's fighting Wind Pillar-sama!" "Hurry up and start! I can't wait anymore!"
Below the stage, at the Hashira gathering area, the other Pillars voiced their opinions.
Mist Pillar, Muichiro Tokito: "How strange. Why is Su Chen the same age as me, but his height is almost the same as Tengen?" Love Pillar, Mitsuri Kanroji: "Ahhh! Su Chen-sama is so handsome! Even with Uzui-sama beside him, his good looks aren't affected at all!" Serpent Pillar, Obanai Iguro: "Shinazugawa, good luck. Make Su Chen die quickly." Stone Pillar, Gyomei Himejima: "Namu Amida Butsu..." Water Pillar, Giyu Tomioka: "The weather is really nice today…"
On the other side, at the viewing spot for the three younger slayers:
Inosuke: "Ha-ha-ha! Su Geng is indeed my master! Even that god of flamboyance thinks highly of him!" Zenitsu: "Dude, when did Su Chen become your master? Inosuke, sometimes you need to know your place, okay? Don't just be Su Chen's simp!" Tanjiro: "Su Chen-sensei looks so gentle. Seeing Su Chen-sensei always reminds me of my mother when I was a child."
As he spoke, Tanjiro gently patted the wooden box on his back. "Right, Nezuko?" Nezuko (from inside the box): "Mhm~ Mhm~!"
On the mansion's upper floor, Kagaya Ubuyashiki listened to the cheers. "Su Chen has truly grown up. I can feel that his aura has undergone a tremendous change." Amane Ubuyashiki nodded. "Yes. When I first saw him, he seemed so young and inexperienced. Now, he looks as if he's fully matured." The couple exchanged glances and smiled at each other.
On the battle stage, the three stood facing each other. The atmosphere was tense.
Uzui Tengen glanced in Kagaya Ubuyashiki's direction. After receiving a nod from Lady Amane, he spoke: "Contestants, prepare yourselves! Show us your most flamboyant side!"
"Begin!"
Whoosh!
As soon as the words fell, the Sound Pillar flashed off the stage.
In the center of the arena, the fight everyone imagined did not happen immediately. Both were probing. Both were waiting for the other to make the first move.
At this moment, Su Chen suddenly spoke. "Shinazugawa, do you still want to awaken your Mark?"
Shinazugawa narrowed his eyes, unsure of Su Chen's intentions. But he still answered, his expression unchanging. "Why bring that up? I lost yesterday. You don't need to tell me how to awaken it."
But Su Chen shook his head. "No, strictly speaking, yesterday was a draw. I was the one who passed out in the end."
"So, as a gift for your move into the Butterfly Mansion, I will make you awaken your Mark today."
Shinazugawa was completely baffled. If this Mark thing was really that easy to awaken, why would I have struggled so much? You can make me awaken it with just a few words? He was full of disbelief.
But the next moment, Su Chen answered his confusion.
"Do you remember the conditions for awakening the Mark?"
Su Chen closed his eyes and intentionally began to increase his body's vibration frequency. His body temperature gradually began to rise. A bizarre, black, auspicious cloud pattern began to spread from his neck.
The Mark had appeared.
Su Chen opened his eyes, exposing his neck to display it openly. He pointed to the pattern on his body. "This is the Mark. Simply put, it's obtained by raising your body temperature. The principle is very easy to understand."
Shinazugawa glanced at the Mark. A hint of envy flashed in his eyes. This was the very thing that the Master had repeatedly emphasized as so important, which was why Shinazugawa had always wanted to activate his own. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Shinazugawa had tried everything but failed.
He narrowed his eyes again. He noticed that Su Chen's Mark this time was distinctly different from when he first saw it. This time, Su Chen's Mark had a clear shape.
Patches of black Marks were connected end to end. On Su Chen's neck, the clustered Marks were no longer the scattered, tadpole-like shapes from before. They were more like clouds connected into a single black rope.
It seems Su Chen's understanding of the Mark truly is at a master level, Shinazugawa thought.
He pondered for a moment, then followed Su Chen's words. "So, I still need to keep raising my body temperature, right?"
"No." Su Chen shook his head. "Increasing body temperature is only the cause of the Mark awakening, not the catalyst. You're just missing a catalyst."
"A catalyst?" Shinazugawa looked at Su Chen with a strange expression. "What is my catalyst?"
Su Chen smiled faintly. "The catalyst is one thing that you're currently missing."
Shinazugawa's eyes narrowed. "What is it?"
Su Chen replied, "A life-or-death situation!"
Swish!
The blade gleamed. A sound similar to butterflies flapping their wings suddenly came from the air.
Catching him completely off guard, Su Chen drew his sword at light speed. He lunged, thrusting the blade directly toward Shinazugawa.