Elder Chiu And Their Hunt

Three guests arrived at Gyorei Cave. One was a large one-eyed man, another was a young man around twenty, and the last was a girl who still seemed to be in her late teens. The one-eyed man approached the gatekeepers of Gyorei Cave.

“I am Chiu of Goyou Cave.”

One of the two gatekeepers reacted with a start.

“Elder Chiu, correct? Please wait a moment.”

Saying that, the gatekeeper struck the bell near the gate. Its clear tone rang out, and Elder Tsuen and several inner disciples came out from the Main Hall.

“Elder Chiu. It has been a long time.”

“This is Elder Tsuen. I am glad to see you looking well.”

Elder Tsuen guided Elder Chiu and the others into the Main Hall. Once they were shown into the guest room of the Main Hall, Elder Chiu introduced the two inner disciples.

“This young man is Sui Chiyuen, and the other is Bao Chenshi. Both of them possess outstanding talent even among my disciples.”

“I see. That is splendid indeed.”

“Hmph, surely Gyorei Cave has disciples like that as well. Shall we have them compete?”

“Surely you jest. I heard your purpose is Supreme Silver.”

“Of course, obtaining Supreme Silver is the most important thing, but I also want to broaden my disciples’ experience.”

Elder Tsuen looked at Elder Chiu with probing eyes. It was as though he suspected, “Are you planning to use those two disciples to gauge the strength of Gyorei Cave?” That day, they held a banquet to entertain and welcome Elder Chiu and the others.

The next day, Elder Chiu and the others headed for Kukul Valley under the guidance of Kanru and the others.

“You were Kanru, correct? I heard you won the Martial Competition Festival.”

Elder Chiu spoke to Kanru.

“I was only lucky.”

“There is no need to be modest. One cannot win through luck alone.”

“It is an honor just to have Elder Chiu say that.”

Elder Chiu nodded in satisfaction.

“By the way, we are not used to this demon realm. Until we grow accustomed to it, I am counting on you.”

“Leave it to me.”

Kanru and Johnrin defeated the yōma they encountered on the way to Kukul Valley and pressed onward. After defeating a Piercing Wolf and an Iron-Claw Bear, Chiyuen, Elder Chiu’s disciple, said that he wanted to fight as well.

Elder Chiu turned his gaze toward Kanru and Johnrin.

“You must not show them an unsightly display.”

Chiyuen made a confident face.

“It will be fine. I am confident.”

The weapon Chiyuen carried was a dao. Kanru became interested in what kind of dao art he had mastered.

When they were almost at Kukul Valley, Kanru and the others encountered an Armored Boar. It was a giant boar two meters in length with skin as tough as armor. It was a yōma that could not be killed without some kind of powerful martial art or a treasured sword or treasured spear.

Chiyuen drew a broad, somewhat short dao. Its blade was a slightly reddish silver, and it seemed to be made of Supreme Silver.

“Is that a treasured blade?”

Kanru asked Chiyuen to confirm it.

“Yes, it is the treasured blade Seiryuu.”

Chiyuen answered without taking his eyes off the Armored Boar. At the same moment, the Armored Boar charged forward. Chiyuen also ran forward, lightly evaded the Armored Boar’s charge just before colliding with it, and slashed open its flank with the treasured blade.

The cutting power of the treasured blade, which so easily sliced through the Armored Boar’s supposedly hard and sturdy hide, was incredible. Chiyuen’s movement in evading the fast charge was also incredible. Chiyuen lightly brought the treasured blade down on the neck of the bleeding Armored Boar. That alone severed the Armored Boar’s neck and sent it flying.

Seeing that, the expressions on Kanru’s and Johnrin’s faces changed. Kanru turned toward Elder Chiu.

“What is the name of that dao art?”

“It is a dao art called Dragon Fang Dao.”

After that, when Elder Chiu and the others arrived at Kukul Valley, they hunted more than a dozen Ore-Eating Worms and obtained the necessary amount of Supreme Silver.

Today was the day Kanru was supposed to teach the Heavy Resonance Sword, but I received word that he had just returned from the demon realm yesterday and was tired, so there would be no lesson. So I prepared to go into the demon realm, and when I went to the path leading around the back of Mount Gyorei, I saw Shunlin and an unfamiliar girl.

“Kou, are you going to the demon realm?”

“Yes. I’m going to Crystal North Lake to hunt Blue-Feather Crows.”

At that moment, the unfamiliar girl cut in.

“Is this child an inner disciple too?”

“No, Kou is an outer disciple.”

“An outer disciple… but is it impressive to pass the outer disciple exam at such a young age?”

Shunlin nodded.

“At this age, Kou already won the Elixir Competition Festival. People say he might be a genius.”

At this rate, the conversation seemed likely to become embarrassing, so I decided to cut in.

“Shunlin-san, who is this person?”

“Sorry, I hadn’t introduced her. This is Bao Chenshi-san, an inner disciple of Goyou Cave.”

Chenshi was a beautiful girl about the same age as Ashin. However, because she had sharp eyes, she looked like she might have a harsh personality. I did not know whether that was really the case.

“I see. It’s my first time meeting a Taoist practitioner from another sect.”

“That’s right. Why don’t we come along on this Blue-Feather Crow hunt too?”

“But I’d feel bad getting in Kou’s way. And Chenshi-san, you just got back from the demon realm, so aren’t you tired?”

“We went to hunt Ore-Eating Worms to obtain Supreme Silver, but my senior fellow disciple Chiyuen got too fired up, so I hardly had any chance to take part.”

Since she had hardly gotten a turn, she apparently still had plenty of stamina left. Chenshi turned her face toward me.

“As for those Blue-Feather Crows, is there something special about them?”

“Their beaks are made of metal, and swords made using them cut better than ordinary swords.”

Chenshi turned her eyes toward the Demon Spider Greatsword I was carrying.

“That’s quite a fine weapon you have there.”

“I want a spare weapon.”