Time flew by; a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Early morning in Peach Mountain was filled with the scent of leaves, grass, and earth.
Uzui Tengen stood bare-chested, his knotted muscles taut as iron under the sunlight, each swing of his nichirin blade accompanied by a tearing whoosh through the air.
"Hmph!"
With a fierce roar, his wooden sword slammed into a half-human-sized rock beside him.
Boom!
Shards of rock flew everywhere!
Spiderweb-like cracks instantly spread across the rock's surface, and in the next moment, the entire boulder exploded under his brute force.
Dust filled the air as Uzui Tengen exhaled deeply, looking at Ryosuke with a furrowed brow.
"This so-called Breathing Technique still isn't flowing elegantly and smoothly enough! It feels like something is firmly stuck!"
Uzui Tengen's voice carried a hint of frustration.
Ryosuke's eye twitched, his gaze shifting from the pitiful pile of shattered rocks.
After spending so much time together, he realized his understanding of Uzui Tengen from the anime was far too superficial!
This guy was a beast in human skin!
His speed and strength were impeccably perfect, far exceeding normal human limits!
Even with the basic training on Peach Mountain, his daily intensity was no less than, if not more than, his own and Shota's!
Yet, Uzui Tengen was making no progress on the most crucial Breathing Technique.
Thunder Breathing emphasized explosive power like a flash of lightning.
In simple terms, it was about compressing all the body's power into a single point and releasing it instantly.
First Form: Thunderclap and Flash was the most fundamental of fundamentals.
It could be combined with other sword techniques to create the offensive chain of Thunder Breathing sword skills.
As for Uzui Tengen… he was taking a different path.
Crushing everything with absolute strength and physique, somewhat similar to Himejima Gyomei.
Simple, direct, overbearing!
No technique, just immense power! A pure stat monster, especially his wrist strength!
One hand could overpower his and Shota's four hands combined!
Just like his strike earlier, he purely relied on brute force to smash the rock.
"The essence of Thunder Breathing is instantaneous explosive power at high speed."
Ryosuke slowly began, "Your approach… well, it could be considered… hmm, a novel approach?"
He genuinely couldn't find a more fitting word.
The swiftness and agility of Thunder Breathing on Uzui Tengen were like dressing a mammoth in a ballet tutu!
Abstract!
It was incredibly abstract!
"Potential will be limited."
Kuwajima Jigorō, who was overseeing the training, leaned on his cane and concluded.
He glanced at Uzui Tengen and said plainly.
"Your bones, strength, and reactions are all top-notch; you are naturally suited for a fierce and powerful path."
"Forcing it into the framework of Thunder Breathing is like stuffing a bull into a doghouse; it will only result in mutual harm. Perhaps… you should change direction, try to evolve Thunder Breathing, and forge your own path."
Uzui Tengen was silent for a moment, tightening his grip on the wooden sword.
He was not someone who couldn't adapt.
His experience of leaving his family made him deeply aware of the importance of choice.
"Even if I want to elegantly create a branch, I must first profoundly understand the foundation of the mainstream."
Uzui Tengen said in a deep voice, "Otherwise, it would just be a castle in the air, flashy but impractical."
He picked up his twin nichirin blades, his eyes regaining their resolve.
"Keep practicing! This magnificent me refuses to believe it!"
Ryosuke shrugged and didn't try to persuade him further.
Professional matters should be handled by professionals.
Jigoro was a very capable Trainer, with sharp insight, and he would naturally worry about the subsequent guidance and path planning.
Days flowed by amidst sweat and the sound of sword swings.
Ryosuke went on several more missions and was naturally promoted to Kinoto Rank.
In any case, promotion was always good.
This meant he could access higher-level missions and had a greater chance of encountering high-level 'life span packages'.
During training breaks, Ryosuke didn't idle either.
He actively approached Uzui Tengen and his three wives, humbly asking for tips on throwing ninja tools and techniques for stealth and concealment.
The ninja's meticulously honed killing techniques were highly useful in the life-or-death battleground of demon hunting.
An extra skill meant an extra life.
Uzui Tengen was also generous about this, even having his ninja mice bring several delicate wrist crossbows and poisoned kunai for Ryosuke to study.
Hinatsuru gently explained the ratios of different poisons and explosives, as well as their activation times.
Makio, with her arms crossed, occasionally made sarcastic remarks about Ryosuke's clumsy techniques.
Suma nervously reminded him not to accidentally injure himself.
Of course, Rika was always present during these times, watching eagerly from the side.
Later, when Ryosuke went on missions, he also tested the poisons on demons.
However, while the poison was effective on humans, its effect on demons was very poor, breaking down within a few minutes.
Ryosuke was helpless.
Since the Butterfly Mansion had not yet been established, developing demon-killing poisons would still require Kochou Shinobu and Kanae.
Helplessly, this matter was temporarily put on hold.
Soon, Uzui Tengen's strength improvement hit a bottleneck.
His own foundation was too solid; his basic physical fitness and combat techniques had already been honed to human limits.
On Peach Mountain, only Ryosuke and Shota could currently spar with him to their heart's content.
But after many sparring sessions, their respective moves and habits were already well-known to each other.
Ryosuke's triple combo was astonishingly fast, but Uzui Tengen, relying on his beast-like intuition and reactions, could always avoid vital points.
Shota's Thunder Breathing sword skills were even more unrefined, lacking both power and speed, and couldn't pose a true life-or-death threat to Uzui Tengen.
Simulations on the training ground, after all, lacked the deadly sense of crisis that came from dicing with death.
"No! This is not flamboyant enough! I'll never cross the threshold of the Breathing Technique this way!"
After a sparring session, Uzui Tengen wiped off his sweat, looking at Ryosuke and Shota, who were also slightly out of breath.
"Next time you two go on a mission, I'm coming along! Real combat is the best whetstone! Flamboyant improvement happens on the battlefield!"
"Alright, then we can look out for each other."
Ryosuke nodded, seeing the fighting spirit ignite in Uzui Tengen's eyes.
Jigoro had no objections to this idea and provided Uzui Tengen with two nichirin blades.
He wanted to improve too much!
There was no stopping him.
Furthermore, Uzui Tengen had high talent and a good foundation.
Even if he had only simply learned the Breathing Technique, after acquiring nichirin blades, ordinary low to mid-level demons would be no match for him.
Jigoro had no need to worry.
Similarly, by helping Uzui Tengen grow faster and learn his musical score, Ryosuke could also secretly learn a trick.
Although this move had a significant wind-up, it was miraculously effective against powerful enemies.
Once completed, it would be a sure kill!
However, the musical score skill relied on Uzui Tengen's superb hearing and reaction abilities, and even required a certain sense of rhythm.
For Ryosuke, who had been a shut-in in his previous life, let alone a sense of rhythm, just singing in tune was difficult enough for him.
This was a major flaw that needed practice.
Ryosuke pondered for a moment, then thought of something else.
"However…"
He paused, adding a request that would seem extremely peculiar to others: "The demon heads must be left for me to cut."
Uzui Tengen scrutinized Ryosuke from head to toe, as if meeting this always lazy yet sharp individual for the first time.
"Your request is flamboyantly unique."
He stroked his chin, his silver ponytail swaying with the motion: "Alright! This magnificent me isn't interested in demon heads. As long as my nichirin blades can drink enough blood from powerful enemies, leaving the head-chopping as a finishing touch to you is fine!"
He laughed heartily, agreeing generously, and didn't delve into the reason behind this strange request.
In his eyes, Ryosuke's action might just be some kind of eccentric habit.
Or perhaps an obsession with the killing blow.
It didn't matter, as long as it allowed him to fight and break through.
His main thing was being a battle maniac! Enjoying the fight!
Soon, a few days later, a Kasugai Crow brought new instructions.
"Caw! Yasui Ryosuke! Kinoto Rank mission!"
"Thirteen young people have gone missing in Ine Town, Hokuriku. Large patches of clay remain at the scene."
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