Ren did not know how long had passed before a tall, lean figure suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Relying on his superhuman strength, Ren noticed that although the man had a handsome face, he was completely bloodless, his skin as pale as a corpse. The man seemed impervious to the cold, wearing only a thin kimono.
Upon seeing those plum-red eyes, Ren was one hundred percent certain: this person was the first demon in the world, Kibutsuji Muzan!
Although there was still a distance of several hundred meters between them, he could smell a thick scent of blood coming from the other party and felt an intense, oppressive pressure.
There was no helping it; after all, he wasn't Tsugikuni Yoriichi. He couldn't chop Muzan into mincemeat with a single slash.
As the distance between them closed, Muzan also noticed Ren. He stopped in his tracks, lost in thought.
'I am the Demon King; the cold weather means nothing to me. But this brat is just an ordinary human, yet he remains as immovable as a mountain in such a freezing environment.'
'It seems he has the potential to become a demon. Perhaps he could even become one of the Twelve Kizuki in the future.'
Thinking of this, the corners of Muzan's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a wicked, charming smile.
"Oi, brat, you..."
Before Muzan could finish his sentence, his eyes suddenly widened. Ren had unknowingly rushed right in front of him.
Ren swung the spiked club in his hands, aiming a head-on strike right at Muzan's face.
"Evil demon! I could tell at a glance you weren't human!"
"Eat my Thunder Bagua!"
Ren let out a loud shout, and the spiked club, weighing over five hundred pounds, smashed onto Muzan's head with the force of a thunderbolt.
This was a combat technique he had pioneered, named after Teacher Kaido's "Thunder Bagua"—simple, brutal, efficient, and practical. It used pure strength and extreme speed to inflict massive damage on the enemy in an instant!
When the spiked club hit Muzan, the spikes not only pierced his skull, but the massive impact that followed smashed his head into meat paste!
In the blink of an eye, Muzan's head shattered like a watermelon dropped on the ground. Blood sprayed out, dyeing the ground beneath their feet crimson.
Despite this, Ren did not show a relieved expression. He knew that the only things capable of killing Muzan were sunlight and Tsugikuni Yoriichi's crimson red blade.
Although he had blown up Muzan's head, Muzan would recover from this level of damage very quickly.
Sure enough, Muzan's crushed head regenerated at a speed visible to the naked eye. In moments, his mouth had already reformed, and he raised the corners of his lips in a hideous grin.
"Heh heh, interesting! Brat, how did you tell I wasn't human?"
"What kind of good person wears such thin clothes in freezing weather? Besides, the smell of blood on you is too heavy. Even if you aren't an evil demon, you're definitely a villain who has killed countless people!"
"I see, I see. It seems your senses are quite sharp! It will definitely be interesting to turn you into a demon! Hahaha..."
Muzan laughed aloud, but upon hearing Ren's next words, the smile on his face instantly vanished.
"What's so funny? What's so interesting? What exactly do you take life for?"
"!!!"
Muzan fell silent. The same words, the same tone, and the same powerful strength to cut off his neck in a single blow.
Although Ren and Tsugikuni Yoriichi looked nothing alike, at this moment, the two figures gradually merged into one in Muzan's mind. His body trembled slightly from endless anger and fear.
Ren continued to speak: "I've heard the legends of evil demons. You already possess infinite life, so why must you harm the lives of others and destroy their families? Why do you only know how to plunder?"
While questioning Muzan, Ren constantly swung his spiked club, smashing Muzan's body into pulp to stop him from launching an attack.
"Hmph, brat!"
Muzan roared in rage: "Do you think you can kill me this way? I am the progenitor of demons!"
"Just as I thought. Any living creature would feel pain, fear, or reveal an opening when attacked, but an evil demon feels none of that!"
Seeing Muzan act as if nothing had happened, Ren frowned deeply and muttered to himself.
"But I didn't expect to kill you so easily. I just need to stall you until the sun rises..."
Before he could finish speaking, Ren's expression changed drastically. Muzan's arms suddenly transformed into two tentacle-like barbed whips, shooting out with the force of a sweeping storm!
At the ends of the barbed whips were sharp blades. Like a parasitic beast, they cut iron like mud and could sever a hair just by blowing on it.
This move came with ferocious momentum. Fortunately, Ren's eyes had been strengthened by attribute points; his dynamic vision was more than ten times that of a normal person, as if he had activated a three-tomoe Sharingan.
The moment Muzan's barbed whips shot out, Ren sensed it in advance and retreated violently.
However, the two barbed whips followed closely, stabbing toward him relentlessly, intent on piercing his heart!
Ren dared not underestimate them. He hurriedly swung his spiked club to knock the two barbed whips away, only stopping once he had maintained a distance of eighty meters from Muzan.
'Worthy of being the Demon King. I smashed his head and torso, yet his limbs can still move!' Ren thought with lingering fear, then shook his head.
'No, Muzan cannot be judged by common logic. He has five brains and seven hearts. No matter what strange movements he makes, it isn't surprising!'
[Detected host engaging in battle with an evil demon. Strength +2, Speed +2, Constitution +3, Five Senses +1]
Hearing the system notification, Ren was overjoyed. As expected, actual combat was the best way to improve his strength!
In just this short moment, his attributes had increased by 8 points. Ren even felt his strength and stamina improve significantly.
'No problem. As long as I can keep this up, I can hold out until dawn!'
"Brat, you've really pissed me off!" Muzan spoke in a rage. A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure makes him guilty.
He knew the boy before him was not Tsugikuni Yoriichi, but he had already shown the potential to become a second Tsugikuni Yoriichi. This was the source of Muzan's resentment.
"I must kill him in the cradle. If he becomes a second Tsugikuni Yoriichi, I will go mad!"
While Muzan was thinking, his body fully recovered. Simultaneously, his arms suddenly shot out countless thorns like iron wires, launching overwhelmingly toward Ren.
"Blood Demon Art: Black Blood Brambles!"
"Finally using a Blood Demon Art?"
Ren frowned. Controlling the opponent with thorny vines of blood—this Blood Demon Art's spectacle was far inferior to Akaza's Destructive Death or Doma's cryokinesis, and couldn't even compare to Hantengu's emotion clones.
But a Blood Demon Art was like a weapon; weapons themselves had no hierarchy, their strength depended entirely on the user.
Muzan was the Demon King. Even the most ordinary Blood Demon Art could display extraordinary power in his hands!
Seeing the black blood brambles stabbing from all directions, Ren pushed off with his legs, leaping into the dense forest behind him to use the trees as cover against Muzan's attack.
'Although these trees might not be able to block the black blood brambles, as long as Muzan's attack hits the wood, I can use my superhuman hearing and the flow of air to predict the direction of the attack in advance. Moreover...'
Ren looked ahead, the system notifications constantly echoing in his mind.
[Host dodged the evil demon's attack. Agility +2]
[Host perceived the evil demon's attack direction in advance. Five Senses +3]
[Host...]
As his basic attributes continued to rise, Ren became more composed while dodging attacks!
'I can break my limits in actual combat. No problem, I can win!'
"Brother Ren..."
Just as Ren was feeling confident, a beautiful pink figure suddenly appeared before his eyes.
"Nezuko?!"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]