Under the morning glow, Lu Li sat cross-legged beneath a peach tree. With every deep exhalation, thick, white vapor billowed from his lips like swirling dragons.
"Truly rapid progress. As expected, your hard work all these years hasn't been in vain," Jigoro Kuwajima said, walking up the grassy slope and looking at Lu Li's condition with profound gratification.
"It is all thanks to your excellent teaching, Teacher," Lu Li opened his eyes and replied modestly.
This was only his second morning in the Demon Slayer world. Although the Breathing Styles were profoundly mystical to the natives, Lu Li didn't find them particularly difficult to master.
In his eyes, if he had to categorize this power system, it functioned exactly like the 'Inner Qi' (Neigong) martial arts he had always imagined. Having possessed absolute, transcendent talent in that specific domain, it only took him a few hours to grasp the absolute basics, and exactly one day to perfectly master Forms One through Six of Thunder Breathing taught by Jigoro.
"Although you've finally had your breakthrough, you absolutely must not slack off in your training. You need to constantly practice Forms One through Six and strive to achieve the state of Total Concentration: Constant as soon as possible," Jigoro instructed.
Truthfully, seeing Lu Li master the entirety of Thunder Breathing's sword katas in a single day had shocked him to his core. But beyond the shock was an overwhelming surge of joy. He felt that his years of patient cultivation had not been wasted. This seed had finally sprouted, and it would rapidly grow into a towering, insurmountable tree at a speed no one could have predicted.
The stronger Lu Li became, the more people he could protect—and most importantly, the better he could protect himself.
"Gramps—I really can't do this! Just let Senior Brother go to the Selection..."
Zenitsu stood behind Jigoro, looking like a pathetic, beaten dog. He clearly wanted to turn and run away, but Jigoro had literally tied a thick rope around his waist to leash him.
"Zenitsu, believe in yourself. You can do this."
Hearing Zenitsu's whining gave Jigoro an instant headache. He genuinely had no idea how to build this boy's self-confidence. A few days ago, his resolve had actually wavered; despite knowing Zenitsu's Thunder Breathing was up to standard, sending a boy with such a cowardly disposition into the Final Selection genuinely risked his life.
But now, Jigoro wasn't worried in the slightest. His eldest disciple, Lu Li, had finally mastered Thunder Breathing and would be participating in the exact same Selection. In Jigoro's eyes, the demons imprisoned on that mountain posed absolutely zero threat to Lu Li, and he knew Lu Li would fiercely protect his junior brother.
"But I only know the First Form..." Zenitsu started to throw another tantrum, but Lu Li interrupted him.
"Zenitsu, just follow me. I will make you understand your own strength."
Lu Li's voice was steady and absolute, instilling an inexplicable sense of profound security in Zenitsu's heart. He swallowed all the excuses he had prepared.
Looking at the deeply expectant gazes of his senior brother and his grandfather, Zenitsu felt that throwing another tantrum would be a massive betrayal of their faith in him. He finally gritted his teeth and resolved to attend the Selection.
But, he had also made up his mind—he was going to stick to Senior Brother Lu like glue! After all, Senior Brother Lu was incredibly strong. Right now, he was probably even stronger than Senior Brother Kaigaku, right?
"Mmm. If the two of you look out for each other, my mind is completely at ease. Once you pass the Selection, make sure to send me a letter," Jigoro said, smiling warmly as Zenitsu finally stopped whining. He unslung two wrapped bundles from his back. "Ah Li, this is yours. I packed your favorite fried rice cakes. I made them fresh this morning."
He handed the second bundle to Zenitsu. "Zenitsu, this is your pack. There are two sets of fresh clothes inside. You are always so careless; try not to cause too much trouble for your senior brother once you're off the mountain."
Lu Li took the bundle and peeked inside. Along with a neatly folded change of clothes, there was a heavy, oil-paper-wrapped portion of fried rice cakes.
For a brief moment, Lu Li felt a profound warmth bloom in his chest. His actual favorite food wasn't fried rice cakes, but he did genuinely enjoy the crispy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside, lightly salted snack.
He also knew that despite Jigoro being a former Hashira, he didn't live a wealthy lifestyle. In this generally impoverished era of Taisho Japan, glutinous rice was a highly expensive luxury. They almost never ate mochi or rice cakes on a normal day.
"Ah Li... even though you possess innate superhuman strength, once you officially become a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, you must be incredibly careful..."
Jigoro paused, seemingly unable to find any more words of advice. Leaning heavily on his cane, he slowly reached up, wanting to pat Lu Li's shoulder.
Looking at the diminutive, one-legged old man, Lu Li deliberately lowered his stance so Jigoro's hand could easily reach his shoulder.
A deeply nostalgic, emotional look washed over Jigoro's ancient face. "Time really does fly... I can't even reach you anymore... Take good care of yourselves."
"Rest assured, Teacher," Lu Li replied softly.
As the morning sun fully breached the horizon, it was officially time for Lu Li and Zenitsu to depart.
Mt. Fujikasane wasn't exceptionally far from Mt. Momo, but it was still a full day's journey on foot. They had to leave immediately, or they risked missing the start of the Selection.
Before leaving, Zenitsu finally dropped his usual goofy, cowardly demeanor. He dropped to his knees and bowed deeply, pressing his forehead against the dirt before Jigoro. He genuinely believed his grandfather treated him with absolute kindness, and he knew that once he passed this Selection, it might be a very long time before he could return to visit.
Furthermore, for some inexplicable reason, Zenitsu felt a deeply ominous premonition settling in his chest—a terrifying feeling that this descent from the mountain would be the absolute final time he ever saw his grandfather.
The diminutive Jigoro Kuwajima stood silently beneath the peach tree as the spring breeze brushed past his wrinkled face. He watched the retreating backs of Lu Li and Zenitsu as they walked down the mountain path.
I do not ask that you boys change this era... I only ask that you survive.
Upon climbing the stone steps, Lu Li and Zenitsu couldn't help but marvel at the breathtaking scenery before them.
Cascading down the mountain slopes, vibrant wisteria flowers poured downward like a massive, glowing purple waterfall. The clusters of petals swayed gently in the evening breeze, exuding an elegant, intoxicating fragrance. The pale purple hue looked exactly like the softest clouds in the sky had solidified, leaving anyone who looked upon it deeply mesmerized.
Occasionally, petals drifted loose from the branches, dancing through the air like purple butterflies before gently settling onto the lush green grass, adding a profound sense of tranquility to the sprawling sea of flowers.
On the day of the Final Selection, Lu Li and Zenitsu had arrived at Mt. Fujikasane precisely on time.
There had been a minor incident during their journey. The previous night, while they were sleeping in an abandoned, ruined cabin in the wilderness, they were ambushed by a demon.
Fascinatingly, after the demon had silently slithered into the cabin and laid eyes on the deeply slumbering Zenitsu... it immediately turned around and sprinted away in absolute terror.
Naturally, Lu Li didn't let it escape. He silently leaped into the night and effortlessly decapitated it under the moonlight.
His primary intention had been to test whether his Zanpakuto, Qiu Mo, was actually lethal against demons. The results weren't just effective; they were absolutely astonishing.
Logically, because Qiu Mo wasn't forged from Nichirin ore, it shouldn't have been able to inflict a fatal, regenerative-halting blow on a demon. However, practical testing proved that a demon decapitated by Qiu Mo was instantly, permanently killed.
Lu Li deduced the mechanics behind this: because Qiu Mo was fundamentally a 'Soul-Cutting Sword' (Zanpakuto), its strikes inherently carried the property of directly severing the soul. It wasn't purely inflicting physical damage. Therefore, much like a Nichirin sword utilizing the power of the sun to halt cellular regeneration, Qiu Mo completely eradicated the demon's spiritual essence, rendering physical regeneration impossible. In fact, it was likely an even more absolute method of execution.
After all, Nichirin swords killed demons by replicating sunlight. A Zanpakuto directly annihilated the soul itself.
However, Lu Li couldn't yet confirm if this absolute 'soul-severing' execution effect would be equally lethal against the Upper Rank Moons, or against Muzan Kibutsuji himself.
Because he had purely been conducting a stress test, Lu Li hadn't used his full strength during the strike, nor had he even activated Thunder Breathing. Unfortunately, the wild demon had been far too weak and died instantly. Therefore, he still hadn't gathered any data on whether attacks buffed by Breathing Styles would inflict significantly more effective damage against high-tier demonic targets.
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