Red-Eyed Bear And Yang Fox-Flame

It seemed Shunlin had been worrying about various things regarding how to instruct the new disciples. Incidentally, she said she was also instructing Meimei, whose assistant instructor was Mion, because Mion had become Elder Mon’s direct disciple and grown busy.

“But Meimei uses a rapier, Hongfa uses a warhammer, and you use a fighting staff, right, Shunlin? Can you teach them?”

“As for the warhammer, I had been learning ‘Glazed Hammer Art’ so I could use a warhammer too. As for the sword, I’m learning ‘Peach Blossom Sword’ together with Meimei.”

“I see. That sounds tough.”

“Come to think of it, Kou, you use a warhammer too, don’t you?”

“What I learned was only ‘Demonic Horn Warhammer Art,’ though.”

“If I had a warhammer that used yōma parts and displayed special power, then ‘Demonic Horn Warhammer Art’ would be nice too.”

“In that case, Iron-Claw Bear claws might be good.”

“I’ve heard Iron-Claw Bear claws can even tear through iron… but I’ve never heard they have any special power.”

“I once looked into whether they could really cut through iron with just their claws. When I did, I found that if you pour qi into Iron-Claw Bear claws, their sharpness increases.”

“How sharp are they?”

“If it’s an ‘Iron Claw Hammer’ made with Iron-Claw Bear claws, it can cut through the thick hide of an Armored Boar, but not Gōrō fur. Still, with an Iron Claw Hammer, you can take down a White Wolf.”

When I told her that she might eventually be able to obtain a White Wolf Warhammer, Shunlin seemed interested too.

“Iron-Claw Bear… that’s interesting.”

“I’m going to hunt Demon Twin-Spear Deer next time, and on the way we pass through a place where Iron-Claw Bears live. If you want to hunt Iron-Claw Bears, want to come along?”

“Thanks. I’ll come with you.”

“Senior Brother Kou, please take us along too.”

Meimei and Hongfa said that.

“If those two are going, then we are too.”

Haoxuen and Seiran said they were coming as well, so I allowed it. I was thinking I would have Haoxuen and Seiran guard Meimei and Hongfa.

The next day, the six of us, three boys and three girls, headed for the demon realm. Once we went down into the demon realm, we headed west.

“What kinds of yōma have Seiran and the others been defeating?”

Shunlin asked.

“We mostly defeat Fang Rabbits and Fang Monkeys. But we did defeat a Lapis Deer once.”

A Lapis Deer is a giant deer about two and a half meters long. This great deer is covered in vivid blue, lapis-colored fur, and if you approach it, it attacks with kicks and its antlers.

“I heard from the senior sisters that a Lapis Deer is huge. Amazing.”

Hongfa sounded surprised, and hearing that made Seiran grin. Hongfa is a cute girl, so I could understand the feeling. Thinking something like that, I was actually younger than they were. Maybe because of the memories from my previous life as a detective, I can’t help thinking of them as younger than me.

We arrived at the grassland west of the outer edge of the demon realm. On the way here, we ran into Fang Rabbits and Piercing Wolves, but the new disciples fought and killed those yōma.

Haoxuen and Seiran were defeating them with practiced ease. But Meimei and Hongfa fought without seeming to have much room to spare.

“It looks like Meimei and Hongfa haven’t fought many yōma, have they?”

I asked Shunlin.

“It seems both of them entered Gyorei Cave because they wanted to learn alchemy. So I was mainly teaching them qi training and the basics of alchemy.”

“I see, so that’s it. But many of the materials used in alchemy have to be obtained in the demon realm, so martial arts are necessary.”

“But teaching martial arts before the basics of alchemy also feels wrong.”

I agreed with that opinion too.

“Martial-minded Senior Brother Johnrin probably never even thought about testing ability by any method other than martial arts.”

While we were talking like that, I felt the presence of a yōma ahead.

“Wait. There’s a yōma ahead.”

Haoxuen and Seiran came over beside me.

“Senior Brother Kou, what kind of yōma is it?”

Seiran asked.

“Judging by this feeling, probably a Red-Eyed Bear.”

“A Red-Eyed Bear again?”

“Yeah, you ran into a Red-Eyed Bear too when you went into the demon realm with Senior Brother Johnrin, didn’t you? I’ll take this one down.”

Meimei and Hongfa looked uneasy. Since I was still young and not physically large, I probably seemed unreliable to them. I gripped the Serpent-Sheep Broadsword tightly and stepped forward.

When the Red-Eyed Bear saw that, it roared and started running. While circulating Heavy Yin Qi and Floating Yang Qi within my body, I applied pressure to the Floating Yang Qi and poured it into the Serpent-Sheep Broadsword, then swung upward from below at the Red-Eyed Bear’s neck. Fire burst out from the blade of the Serpent-Sheep Broadsword, and just like that, it severed the Red-Eyed Bear’s neck.

The Red-Eyed Bear fell toward me as though it were going to crush me, so I jumped back and avoided it. Blood gushed from the Red-Eyed Bear’s neck like a fountain, soaking the ground, and after twitching for a moment, it died.

“Whaaat! Fire came out!”

Hongfa shouted loudly. More than being shocked that I had killed the Red-Eyed Bear in a single blow, she was probably surprised that fire had come out of the blade. In reality, it only looks as though the qi is glowing like flames, but people seeing it for the first time seem to be startled.

“To defeat a Red-Eyed Bear in one hit, isn’t that even more amazing than Senior Brother Johnrin?”

Meimei was also astonished.

“No matter how many times I see it, Senior Brother Kou’s ‘Yang Fox-Flame’ is amazing.”

Hearing that, Shunlin made a puzzled face.

“‘Yang Fox-Flame’? Isn’t it ‘Fox-Flame’?”

I thought it would be better to explain, so I explained the difference.

“‘Fox-Flame’ uses ordinary qi, but ‘Yang Fox-Flame’ is different because it uses Floating Yang Qi.”

“I see. Broadsword Fox-Flame Technique really has depth to it.”

It seemed Shunlin mistakenly thought “Yang Fox-Flame” was a technique that originally existed in the Broadsword Fox-Flame Technique.

“Senior Brother Kou, when will you teach us Broadsword Fox-Flame Technique?”

Seiran asked, his eyes sparkling.

“When your qi reaches the Fifth Tier, I might teach it to you.”

“All right, I’ll work hard.”

To Hongfa, who was still surprised that fire had come out, Haoxuen was explaining that it was a secret technique of the Broadsword Fox-Flame Technique. Haoxuen seemed to be good at looking after others.