Sano had always considered himself a lucky man.
In the past, thanks to his naturally large and imposing physique, he was a notorious bully in his village, terrorizing the locals and throwing his weight around.
That was until recently, when he accidentally provoked someone he shouldn't have.
He thought he was going to die right then and there.
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. He caught the eye of Lord Muzan, who bestowed his blood upon him and transformed him into an immortal demon.
Although it came with the drawbacks of not being able to walk in the sunlight and needing to consume human flesh, compared to the eternal lifespan and immense regenerative abilities he gained, these flaws were nothing in his eyes.
And the luckiest thing of all was encountering the prey standing right in front of him today.
Just one glance was enough to make his mouth water.
He was absolutely certain that this prey was exactly what the other demons called a "Marechi"—a human with rare blood.
And not just any Marechi, but the rarest of the rare, the kind where eating just one person was equivalent to consuming hundreds or even thousands of normal humans.
As long as he devoured the man in front of him, he would undoubtedly ascend to the pinnacle of demonkind and join the Twelve Kizuki.
At the very least, he would rank high among the Lower Ranks.
Becoming an Upper Rank wasn't entirely out of the question either.
The only thing that surprised him was that the other party had actually noticed him watching.
But it didn't matter anymore. The guy was all alone and didn't even have a single weapon on him.
Barehanded? Could he possibly kill him in one second?
"Hehehe."
Sano approached the man with a sinister grin, his voice raspy. "Kid, if you want to blame someone, blame your own bad luck for running into the great Sano."
"Don't worry, the great Sano promises to eat your flesh bit by bit. I absolutely won't waste a single morsel."
With that, Sano swung his massive, pan-sized hand toward Su Yan.
Then, a dark shadow swiftly covered his face.
He was stunned. And then, he was on his knees.
*Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?*
Sano pondered the three ultimate questions of life.
He had absolutely no idea what had just happened. How did he suddenly end up kneeling on the ground?
"Challenging a Nen user without even understanding the gap in strength."
Su Yan shook his head. Looking at the demon he had just floored with a single punch, he sighed in disappointment. "Sure enough, trash is just trash."
If this were the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji, seeing someone like Su Yan—whose consumption would equal a thousand normal humans—his first reaction would absolutely not be to charge forward blindly like this useless fool.
Instead, Muzan would reflect: *Is this right? This doesn't seem right, does it?*
Then, at most, he would send other demons to deal with Su Yan while he stayed safely hidden in the background.
"Trash, tell me, do you know any Blood Demon Arts?"
Su Yan stepped heavily onto the pathetic demon's chest and demanded sternly.
In his eyes, the most valuable thing in this world wasn't the Demon Slayer Corps' Breathing Styles.
It was the Blood Demon Arts possessed by the demons transformed by Muzan's blood.
If he could use his initially awakened Equivalent Exchange ability to trade for a demon's Blood Demon Art, then Muzan's demon blood would essentially be an endless treasure trove for him.
"How... how do you know about Blood Demon Arts?"
Sano's pupils shrank drastically.
He looked at Su Yan in sheer disbelief. The intense pain radiating from his chest made it hard for him to breathe.
"Didn't Muzan ever tell you that there's an organization in this country called the Demon Slayer Corps that constantly hunts down trash like you?" Su Yan said coldly. "Alright, hurry up and tell me, do you know any Blood Demon Arts?"
"Don't... don't kill me."
Sano was dumbfounded.
This guy actually knew about Lord Muzan, the one who had turned him into a demon?
Of course, he should have guessed it. If demons were so powerful, why was the world still ostensibly dominated by humans? Why hadn't demons corralled humans like livestock—like cows, sheep, pigs, or dogs?
Perhaps it was precisely because a demon-hunting organization like the Demon Slayer Corps existed in the shadows.
He suspected that the man in front of him might be a member of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Thinking of this, Sano immediately begged Su Yan for mercy. "I was only turned into a demon a few days ago! I don't know any Blood Demon Arts!"
"It's true, I don't know any Blood Demon Arts, and I haven't even eaten anyone yet! Please, I beg you, spare me!"
"Tch!"
Su Yan clicked his tongue. "Who cares if you've eaten anyone or not?"
It wasn't like the victims were his people. If they died, they died; it had nothing to do with him.
What he cared about was that since this demon didn't know any Blood Demon Arts, he couldn't test whether he could acquire new abilities through Equivalent Exchange.
That drastically reduced the demon's value.
"Huh?"
Sano froze.
He hadn't expected the other party to not even care whether he had eaten humans.
But he could clearly see the chilling intent in Su Yan's eyes.
He had no doubt that this man might kill him in the very next second.
Yet, what else could he do right now besides beg for mercy?
Sano pleaded, "Don't kill me, please. I'm a good person, I really haven't eaten anyone yet."
A good person?
Su Yan scoffed dismissively.
What kind of good person would actively attack someone else?
Of course, even though this demon didn't know any Blood Demon Arts, he still had a little bit of utility left.
"Don't worry, not only will I not kill you, but I'll also give you a little something nice, just like Muzan did!"
Su Yan's tone was flat, devoid of any emotion, only slightly emphasizing the words 'something nice' at the end.
After speaking, Su Yan conjured a silver needle between his fingers.
This wasn't an ordinary silver needle.
It was a Transmuter ability he had developed over the past year in collaboration with Takagi Yuriko, utilizing the zombie virus.
Undead Overture!
As long as this silver needle pierced the brain, an ordinary person would immediately be infected by this Nen and turn into a zombie under his control.
So, what about the demons from this world?
Could they be transformed into demon zombies under his control?
Or rather, if he obtained Muzan's demon blood in the future, could he integrate the power of the demon blood into the Undead Overture, directly transforming people into beings that possessed Blood Demon Arts and were entirely under his control?
He was very much looking forward to finding out.
With a flick of his finger, the silver needle instantly turned into a streak of silver light and drilled into the demon's head.
Soon, Sano reacted.
His entire body began to emit a thick, black aura.
"Power... Power is endlessly surging out."
Sano grasped at the empty air with both hands, his aura erupting. His expression and demeanor looked exactly like a villain on the verge of a dark awakening.
"The effect is this good?"
Seeing the state of the 'darkened' demon in front of him, Su Yan was slightly taken aback.
This couldn't possibly be just because of the zombie toxin, right?
Was it because of the Nen?
Or was it a combination of both?
Meanwhile.
Somewhere else, a man with curly hair wearing a sharp suit elegantly pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped the blood off his hands.
With an indifferent expression, he muttered to himself, "A demon is still alive, but suddenly broke free from my control?"
"Is it you?"
Muzan Kibutsuji lifted his head, his gaze fixed in a certain direction as if he were staring at someone. "I didn't expect you to have reached this level already. It seems I really must find an opportunity to deal with you properly."
"Lady Tamayo?!"
With that said, Muzan Kibutsuji waved his hand dismissively at the newly turned demon kneeling respectfully before him. "Get lost!" he ordered coldly.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]