As the greed dissipated, this mission should have been over.
Based on this battle, Li Xing felt that his own strength was still too weak. Without the Heavenly Dao or the power of the evil ghosts, killing a ghost was truly fraught with difficulties.
Stamina, swordsmanship, and Akaza's Blood Demon Arts all had room for improvement. Although he had gained the Mark, killing demons was still arduous. While lower-rank demons might be easy to defeat, facing an upper-rank demon, the Seven Deadly Sins, would be tough without any special advantages.
Last time, he had broken a bone just by comparing strength with Mitsuri. Too weak, too weak.
"Li Yun, I want to continue cultivating. I want to become stronger. Do you have any good methods?"
"It's simple, isn't it? Wouldn't you be invincible if you used the Heavenly Dao? Don't you remember the fireworks at Mount Ibuki last time?"
"I feel those are just trump cards, things to keep me alive. Before, I didn't have much hatred towards demons because there were no evil ghosts like Greed in the manga.
Now that I've seen the detestable nature of such a demon with my own eyes, I'm genuinely tempted by what you said. But I still want to reach the peak of humanity through countless hours of training. You should understand, the world I truly wish to go to, the person I truly wish to see.
This time, Li Yun fell silent. Even a conscious, thinking terminal couldn't comprehend the human heart.
"Young Li Xing, you did well. Although you couldn't save the people here, don't be sad. Life always has such regrets."
Rengoku Kenjuro came over and saw Li Xing with his head down, thinking he was mourning the people of this place. He patted Li Xing's shoulder, telling him not to blame himself.
Li Xing looked up and smiled at Rengoku Kenjuro, "No, it's because I feel I'm too weak. If I encounter other demons from the Seven Deadly Sins, I don't know if I can defeat them. The first one, Pride, I estimate could contend with the top three Upper Ranks."
"Brother Rengoku, you guys head back to the Demon Slayer Corps first. I need to go somewhere else. Kanao, you go back with Brother Rengoku."
Hearing this, Rengoku Kenjuro was about to ask Li Xing to become his tsuguko, but then he remembered Li Xing was from the Butterfly Mansion and dismissed the idea.
"Yes, then we will report back to Master Ubuyashiki. Be careful on your own."
Kanao walked over then and handed Li Xing some money. Kanao knew Li Xing had a huge appetite and was afraid he would go hungry outside.
"Come back soon, Brother Li Xing." With a simple sentence, Kanao then followed Rengoku Kenjuro and left.
Looking at the money in his hand, Li Xing felt a warmth in his heart, as if he was back to childhood when his parents would give him a card with two million in it whenever they went on business trips.
"Pah, what am I thinking about? Kanao is two years younger than me. I'm eighteen now."
...
A few days later, Li Xing returned to Mount Kumotori. He hadn't been back for a long time, and the place was now covered in dust, with a large spider web.
"According to my calculations, Tanjiro should have teamed up with Zenitsu and Inosuke by now, right? The Mount Natagumo arc is about to begin. There isn't much time for training. Tokyo's Asakusa, I need to see Tamayo."
At this moment, there was some movement outside the house. Li Xing frowned slightly. It was daytime now, and there shouldn't be any demons. Who was it?
He went outside the house and saw two bears, he couldn't tell if they were brown bears or black bears. They were nearly two meters tall when on all fours.
"Hahaha, I was just thinking about how to train my physical techniques, and here come two bears. Fate has it this way; geniuses always have some opportunities."
These two bears also saw Li Xing. This human was actually laughing? Seeing his posture, it seemed like he wanted to rush forward? Perfect, they had come out to forage and found such a large piece of meat.
The male bear roared and charged at Li Xing, its front two paws raised high, intending to either crush Li Xing to death or knock him unconscious.
Li Xing didn't dodge or evade. He didn't use any strength or breathing techniques, just met them with his two fists.
But... too weak. Li Xing was knocked to the ground by a swipe. The male bear was about to bite Li Xing and drag him back.
Li Xing suddenly leaped up, landing directly on a tree, and then... he ran.
"I'll fight you again next time. I can't beat you now, but I've remembered its scent. It's not hibernation season, so it can't run far."
At this moment, Li Yun was laughing madly in his mind, "Hahahahahahahaha, you were just laughing about wanting to fight the bear, and now you're running away. You're truly pathetic."
"What do you know? This is called 'better safe than sorry.' The male bear's raw physical strength is far superior to Mitsuri's. I can't even match Mitsuri, so it's normal that I can't beat the male bear."
Afterward, Li Xing found a large waterfall. It was a good place for training. The powerful water pressure could stimulate greater potential, and if he couldn't withstand it, he could retreat to a safe spot.
...
A week later, Li Xing emerged from under the waterfall. He was no longer the "pretty boy" he once was. He now had abs and powerful muscles. The body born from the Heavenly Dao indeed grew quickly.
"It's time to get revenge on that bear. And I'll bring some bear meat back to the Butterfly Mansion." With that, Li Xing returned to Mount Kumotori and used the Heavenly Dao to sense the familiar scent.
"Hahaha, I found you, you stupid bear. Let's fight again."
The male bear was enraged to see this human again. This time, it wouldn't let Li Xing escape.
The same stance, the same fists, but the result was completely different. The male bear was sent back several meters, while Li Xing remained unmoved.
"Li Yun, am I already this strong? After only seven days of training!"
"Don't you have any idea how strong you are, Xing? It's just that the demons you've encountered, from Gyutaro onwards, have become progressively stronger, from the lowest Gluttony to Greed, which is why you feel weak. Your physical fitness just needs improvement. According to the data, you should be close to entering the highest realm, the Transparent World."
Li Xing suddenly realized. So that's how it was. In that case, I'm sorry, but the mother bear will be a widow today.
Li Xing exploded forward, punching the male bear's head and knocking it unconscious. Feeling that the bear no longer excited him, he delivered another punch, smashing the bear's head to pieces.
"I need to go back to the Butterfly Mansion and prepare to save Tanjiro and Nezuko. It's a shame I don't have time to find Tamayo." With that, Li Xing bandaged the bear, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and sprinted towards the Butterfly Mansion.
...
"I'm back, Aoi. Quickly, help me make some bear meat." As soon as Li Xing returned to the Butterfly Mansion, he rushed to the kitchen, asking Kanzaki Aoi to help him cook a delicious meal.
Kanzaki Aoi looked surprised. "Welcome back. Where did you get a bear from? Just put it here for now."
Looking around, he didn't see Shinobu Kocho or Kanao Tsuyuri, so he asked, "Where are Miss Shinobu and Kanao?"
"Lady Shinobu and Kanao went on a mission with the Water Hashira, Master Tomioka."
Li Xing was greatly alarmed. He had returned too late. He had to hurry and protect Nezuko... no, those two subordinates.
"Aoi, don't start cooking yet. I'll go find Kanao. I'll probably be back by tomorrow morning. Cook it when I get back."
Before he could finish speaking, Li Xing ran out of the Butterfly Mansion and sped towards Mount Natagumo, hoping it wasn't too late.