After wandering the mountain forest for a whole night, encountering only that one gossipy demon, the sky began to lighten without a second one appearing.
"Is this the legendary Emperor of Luck physique? Passing the selection while lying down."
"Don't think too much, Xingxing. Haven't you noticed you're surrounded by wisteria? That means you've been coasting along the periphery!"
Li Xing turned his head and indeed, it was true. This final selection had a bug. As long as he stayed near the wisteria, he was much safer.
"This won't do. I need to head to the center. If I don't meet Tanjiro, I should at least run into some random passerby!" With that, Li Xing got up and started walking up the mountain.
...
As he walked, Li Xing noticed several people sleeping in open spaces. He couldn't understand how they could sleep when the sun was beating down on them. They didn't even bother to set up a tent or anything.
Suddenly, Li Xing spotted a young boy with messy yellow hair wearing a yellow haori, currently eating a rice ball.
"Isn't that Agatsuma Zenitsu? Ah, there's food!"
Li Xing eagerly ran towards Zenitsu, slinging an arm around his shoulder. "Young man, do you have any more of those rice balls? Give me one. Here on Fujikasane Mountain, I'll protect you."
This startled Zenitsu greatly, making him think a demon had come out in the daytime.
"Really? I have more rice balls here, I'll give you one. You have to protect me!" Zenitsu noticed the handsome white-haired young man and instantly felt that this person must be very strong and would surely protect him well.
"Don't worry, for the next seven days, I'll protect you and guarantee no demons will harm you." Saying this, he took Zenitsu's rice ball. Mmm, it smelled delicious!
"Wow, that's great! Thank you, Big Brother. My name is Agatsuma Zenitsu, and I'm very weak. You must protect me!"
"My name is Li Xing, Li for 'farewell,' Xing for 'star.' Good little brother, from now on, I'll be your Big Brother." Li Xing was also very happy at this moment. He had always liked Zenitsu, and now he not only met the real person but also gained a subordinate. It was simply too satisfying.
Zenitsu was even happier than Li Xing at this moment because someone would protect him, and he wouldn't have to worry about dying in the final selection.
"Alright, alright, let's set up a tent and rest. How can you sleep under the sun?" Li Xing cut down a few branches, stuck them in the ground, and used his old clothes to construct a small tent.
"Big Brother, if there's no sun, will there be demons? Will they eat us while we sleep?" Zenitsu was a bit panicked, as he only felt safe in the sunlight.
Li Xing lightly smacked Zenitsu. "Are you stupid? As long as there's sunlight around the tent, what demon dares to come near? Even Muzan wouldn't dare."
Zenitsu understood Li Xing's meaning and quickly scurried over to lie down beside him. After a night of worry and fear, he was feeling quite sleepy and drifted off into a daze.
...
Now, as night fell, with the threat of the sun gone, demons began to emerge to hunt. Although Li Xing couldn't see them, he could smell a faint scent of blood.
"Zenitsu, Zenitsu, wake up. It's dark, and demons will be here soon." Li Xing patted Zenitsu. Now, Li Xing wanted to leave this spot and find another place to hunt demons.
"Big Brother, you have to protect me! I'm very weak, I'm really very weak." Zenitsu woke up to the darkness and became timid again, his legs trembling slightly as he walked.
"Relax, with me here, what could possibly happen to you? Besides, you're strong too. You have to believe in yourself."
As they spoke, a giant demon appeared before Li Xing. It looked to be about three meters tall, its mouth watering as it drooled towards Li Xing.
"Ah! Such a big demon! Big Brother, let's run!" Zenitsu was startled by the colossal demon and shouted, trying to pull Li Xing back.
"Don't worry, Zenitsu. I can easily defeat this level. You retreat behind me." Li Xing pushed Zenitsu aside and drew his cleaver, slashing at the giant demon.
"You're so huge, you must have eaten many people, right? Then you deserve to die!"
"Water Breathing, First Form, Water Surface Slash!"
His cleaver struck the giant demon before him, pushing it back, but it didn't manage to sever its head.
"Tch! You have bad breath!"
"Moon Breathing, First Form, Dark Moon - Evening Palace!" This was Li Xing's first time using Moon Breathing to kill a demon. This move directly severed the giant demon's arms.
"Moon Breathing, Second Form, Lunar Elegance!"
"Moon Breathing, Third Form, Decreasing Moon - Ruination!"
With two consecutive strikes, the giant demon's head was severed. It quickly turned to dust, and Li Xing's cleaver, unable to withstand the continuous use of breathing techniques, shattered into pieces.
"Sigh, you've been with me for two years. I'm a bit reluctant to part with you!"
"Big Brother! You're so amazing!" Zenitsu ran out from behind a nearby tree, no longer afraid. Having a powerful Big Brother was truly wonderful.
"Keep it down, keep it down. I'm not someone who likes to show off. When we get back, you must spread the word about my glorious deeds, Big Brother." Li Xing was showing off in front of someone for the first time, and his tail was practically in the sky.
"Xingxing is so shameless!" Just as he was happily contemplating, Li Yun's sarcastic voice reappeared in his mind. Li Xing's face fell. Couldn't I just show off a little? Honestly!
...
Ever since that night when he powerfully slew the giant demon in front of Zenitsu, Zenitsu had completely become Li Xing's... um, Li Xing's little fanboy.
Li Xing and Zenitsu walked through the forest, with Zenitsu chattering incessantly. Even Li Xing was starting to get a little tired of it.
"Why haven't I run into Tanjiro? It would be fine even if I met Kanao. I wonder if the Hand Demon has been killed yet."
The seven days passed quickly. Li Xing actually never encountered Tanjiro or Kanao, which made him a little dejected.
"Zenitsu, the sun is rising. The selection is over. Let's go!" Li Xing led Zenitsu down the mountain.
"Welcome back, everyone!"
"Congratulations to all of you. It's best that you've returned safely!"
"Huh? Why are there only five people? Where are the others? Are they all dead? That's terrifying, Big Brother!" Zenitsu saw only five people left in the plaza and was filled with despair for the future. This time he was lucky to have Big Brother to look out for him, but next time he would still die!
"And then what? What should I do next? Where's the sword?" a boy with a ferocious expression said.
Li Xing immediately recognized him as Genya Shinazugawa, the younger brother of the current Wind Hashira.
At this moment, one of Ubuyashiki's children said:
"The organization will first prepare uniforms for everyone. After taking measurements, ranks will be displayed on the uniforms."
"There are ten ranks within the organization, namely, Ko, Otsu, Hei, Tei, Yo, Shin, Gui, Ji, Wu, and Kou."
"All of you are currently at the lowest rank, Kou."
"Today, the organization will let you personally choose your desired steel. After ten to fifteen days, your swords will be completed."
"Additionally, we will immediately arrange your exclusive Kasugai Crows for you."
"Kasugai Crows are crows used to transmit information."
And a sparrow flew into Zenitsu's hand. Zenitsu looked bewildered. "Huh? A crow? You call this a crow? This is clearly a sparrow!"