"Mr. Byakuya, we must report back. If you need anything, you can come find me."
Kamado Tanjiro bowed politely to Byakuya, then left with Inosuke and Agatsuma Zenitsu.
Byakuya, meanwhile, began to wander the old town alone.
Currently, the old town appeared sparsely populated, with only a few scattered figures on the streets.
However, this was hardly representative, as it was already late at night. Most people in the world were accustomed to being active during the day and sleeping at night.
This was also why Byakuya was unwilling to consume demon blood and turn himself into a demon.
While it was true that being active at night had its conveniences, it also had many inconveniences.
Most importantly, when necessary, Byakuya could be active at night, but if he became a demon, he would not be able to be active during the day when needed.
After strolling around for a bit, Byakuya found the Summoned Ones' market in the neutral zone.
Naturally, it was deserted in the middle of the night, not a soul to be seen.
Byakuya merely confirmed the market's location and then found an inn to sleep in.
As for money, Kamado Tanjiro had given Byakuya some when he left.
The Japanese-style inn had an open courtyard with wind chimes hanging by the window. A small bridge and flowing water within the yard added a unique charm.
It was just that the occasional snoring sounds from the room were truly disruptive to the atmosphere.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, Byakuya was awakened by a cacophony of noise.
Blinking his eyes open groggily, Byakuya leaned against the window, pulled it open, and looked outside. He immediately saw the once quiet street from the previous night now bustling with activity, filled with crowds of people coming and going.
Byakuya was not too surprised by this scene.
The Demon Slayer Corps headquarters was, after all, a very popular neutral zone.
The reason was similar to the Great Wall.
The Great Wall could accept a large number of missions, hunting bandits, barbarians, and demon beasts. One could venture into dangerous areas to search for treasures, and through these missions, accumulate merit to enhance their strength.
The Demon Slayer Corps headquarters was the same; a large number of missions were posted here.
However, the targets for hunting had changed from bandits, barbarians, and demon beasts to...
Demons!
Killing demons also yielded merit. Rewards could be collected from the Demon Slayer Corps, and one could even directly join the Demon Slayer Corps and become a demon slayer.
Furthermore, the caliber of this area was clearly lower than that of the Great Wall.
No forbidden zones had been activated on the Great Wall yet, as everyone's level was insufficient to trigger them.
However, this area was different; forbidden zones had already been activated, with Mount Natagumo serving as an example. Therefore, it was naturally more favored by the Summoned Ones.
If the Great Wall was considered a high-level map, where people entered in preparation for the future, then the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters was a normal map that could accommodate most Summoned Ones, making it suitable for current exploration.
After watching by the window for a while, Byakuya stretched and then got up to leave the inn.
To seek transactions, one naturally had to go to the Summoned Ones' market.
Upon entering the market, Byakuya was indeed taken aback.
Compared to the deserted emptiness of midnight, where not a shadow could be seen, the market was now an absolute sea of people.
There were all sorts of stalls and all kinds of display stands.
Moreover, order had already been established in the market, with even the transaction categories divided into zones.
Upon entering the market, the area near the entrance was filled with stalls, mostly selling small items. Further inside, small bidding auctions had formed.
Barter was the primary mode of transaction, but here, the items were of better quality, and many people desired them, so they could place bids, and the seller would ultimately decide who to trade with.
Two methods of auction were divided: open auction and blind auction. In open auctions, people would bid against each other. In blind auctions, the seller did not want others to know what they had obtained, so people would write their offers on paper, and the seller would finally decide on the trading partner.
Further inside the area were many display stands.
This was no longer a place for trading items.
It was primarily for acquisition and recruitment.
Acquisition was easy to understand. Recruitment was more complex; the most common example was when Jin Sha had previously invited Byakuya to play deadly soccer.
If no one contacted them, they could recruit people in the market through this method.
The rewards were usually calculated per person, with no room for conflict or dispute.
Thus, they could cooperate with each other.
In essence, there was a natural rivalry among the Summoned Ones, but as long as there were benefits, and those benefits did not conflict, cooperation was not impossible.
Byakuya browsed slowly, not in a hurry to make a transaction, and then...
Byakuya suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed ahead.
The Evil Spirit Group!
"The Evil Spirit Group..." Byakuya murmured. "Has the Evil Spirit Group already begun to be established?"
Byakuya's thoughts drifted.
After obtaining the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Byakuya had developed some new ideas.
When the unfortunate gacha machine had thrown Byakuya back to the beginning of the World Battlefield, Byakuya had accepted this fact, and his sole thought was – to become stronger!
To continuously become stronger, to rapidly become stronger, and to once again stand among the top Summoned Ones.
Then...
It would inevitably be a struggle for survival!
To await the final great battle, and to still be able to break through the encirclement, enter the central area, and ascend that tower, to see who was standing behind the World Battlefield.
However, the sudden appearance of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit had given Byakuya some new aspirations.
Ten years!
A full ten years!
In his previous life, Byakuya had struggled desperately in this damned place for ten years!
Was he going to spend another ten years in this place in this life?
Byakuya was unwilling!
Perhaps...
He could give it a push from behind, to accelerate the progress of the World Battlefield?
The thought involuntarily arose in Byakuya's mind.
Byakuya knew the development process of the World Battlefield very well. With this knowledge, could he interfere artificially and accelerate the process?
Byakuya really did not want to spend another ten years in this godforsaken place!
Sometimes, an idea was just a flash of inspiration.
But once an idea sparked, it was very difficult to suppress it.
Byakuya knew that it would be very difficult to accelerate the progress of the World Battlefield with his own power, but it was only difficult, not impossible.
Since that was the case, why not try?
Byakuya looked at the display stand for the Evil Spirit Group, lost in deep thought.
First, he needed to determine one thing: was the acceleration of the World Battlefield's progress driven by a specific event? Or by the exploration of regions? Or by a certain person? Or, to be precise, a certain expert?
No, no, no...
Byakuya knew that this was incorrect.
The progress of the World Battlefield was like a book, but this book could not be opened by just one person!
...