Just then...
"Click."
Footsteps, almost drowned out by the sound of wind and snow, came from behind him.
Tanjiro's pupils suddenly contracted! His nose, dozens of times more sensitive than a hunting dog's, immediately detected a murderous aura!
"Danger!"
Instinct reacts faster than the brain can process; Tanjiro had no time to look back, and with a push of his feet, he rolled forward five or six meters!
"Sizzle--!"
Just as he left his original position.
A sharp, pale blue blade of light pierced through the swirling snow and struck precisely where he had just stood!
The frozen soil was cut with terrifying sword marks up to three feet deep!
"His reaction speed is decent; he didn't just stand there like a wooden statue."
An aged voice echoed through the wind and snow.
After Tanjiro got up from the snow, he immediately turned around and grabbed the hilt of the sword at his waist.
Snowflakes were flying about a dozen meters away.
The old man wearing the crimson Tengu Mask, Sakonji Urokodaki, stood there quietly.
In his right hand, there was no longer the wooden sword he usually used for sparring, but a real Nichirin Blade that emitted a chilling, sinister light!
The pale blue ripples on the blade exuded a terrifying killing intent amidst the heavy snow!
"Grandpa Urokodaki... Grandpa Urokodaki?!"
When Tanjiro saw his master take out the Nichirin Blade and emanate a strong killing intent, he immediately felt his scalp tingle and cold sweat break out on his forehead.
"What are you trying to do? Isn't today's training supposed to be sword fighting?"
Enough with the nonsense.
Beneath Sakonji Urokodaki's ferocious Tengu Mask, there was no change in his emotions; even the kindness he usually displayed was completely gone.
"There's less than a week until your selection for Mount Fujikasane."
Sakonji Urokodaki held his Nichirin Blade, pointing the tip at Tanjiro's forehead.
"After a year of training, your physical fitness has reached an astonishing level. But in a life-or-death situation, if you don't know how to use your body effectively, you'll just be a walking piece of meat in the selection exam!"
"Draw your sword, Tanjiro!"
Urokodaki's voice, like thunder, echoed from the mountainside of Mount Sagiri!
"This is your final test before you graduate! I will show no mercy! If your skills don't satisfy me, then don't bother going!"
There's no room for bargaining, and no gentle words to guide the conversation.
"Gulp..."
Tanjiro swallowed hard. He knew that Grandpa Urokodaki would never joke. That tangible killing intent had reached the point where he wanted to kill him!
"I understand! Please give me your guidance!"
Tanjiro pushed the tsuba (sword guard) out with his thumb without hesitation!
"Clang--!"
The sound of metal being drawn echoed across the snow.
Tanjiro lowered his legs, assuming the standard stance for facing an enemy.
"Boom!!"
The battle has begun!
Sakonji Urokodaki in a blur, like an invisible stream of water gliding eerily through the snowstorm.
"Too fast!"
Tanjiro couldn't catch that pale blue afterimage at all!
"Water Breathing - First Form - Water Surface Slash!"
A seasoned swordsman doesn't need any fancy moves; even the most ordinary sword techniques become terrifying in Urokodaki's hands.
A sharp, blue ripple shot towards Tanjiro's neck at an extremely tricky angle!
"We can't stop it! We have to get out of the way!"
After Tanjiro's brain issued an alarm, he immediately mobilized all the muscles in his body, trying to create distance by pulling back.
But!!
Just as he was about to retreat, Urokodaki's blade strangely rotated in the air. What was originally a horizontal slash down on the Water Surface Slash turned into a diagonal slash that rose up from below, without any obstruction!
This is the terrifying aspect of the older generation of Water Hashira: water has no fixed form and flows endlessly! All the moves in his hands have broken through the fixed routines and become an instinctive killing technique that can be used at will!
Damn it!
Tanjiro had no choice but to use his Nichirin Blade to block!
"Clang--!"
The two Nichirin Blades clashed in mid-air, sparks flying!
Tanjiro felt as if his blade had struck a whirlpool in the sea, the powerful force following the whirlpool's trajectory and completely deflecting the original direction of his strike!
"Bang!"
Tanjiro immediately lost his balance, his feet leaving long tracks in the snow, and he slid back seven or eight steps before barely managing to regain his footing.
However, this was only the beginning of the nightmare.
"Too slow! Your reaction speed is slower than a hibernating tortoise! You dare to participate in the selection with a skill level like that?!"
Sakonji Urokodaki gave Tanjiro absolutely no chance to adjust.
"Water Breathing - Third Form - Flowing Dance!"
The old man's figure transformed into the turbulent blue sea amidst the blizzard, disappearing like a ghost into Tanjiro's blind spot.
"Water Breathing - Fourth Form - Striking Tide!"
The continuous blue sword light was like a series of tsunamis in the ocean, rushing towards Tanjiro wave after wave!
"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Tanjiro is in dire straits!
In just two minutes, Tanjiro had seven or eight wounds of varying depths on his body.
[No! If I keep going like this, Grandpa Urokodaki will definitely kill me!]
[Grandpa Urokodaki's Water Breathing is already very mature; it has reached its pinnacle.]
To break the deadlock and escape this endless deep sea... there is only one way...
In Tanjiro -red eyes, a blazing flame capable of incinerating everything immediately ignited!
Abandon the complicated movements! Ignite the fire within your bones!!
"Boom!!"
Just as Sakonji Urokodaki's blade was about to leave another bloody gash on his shoulder!
Tanjiro gave up on defense.
"Sun Breathing--!"
In the blink of an eye, the temperature of Tanjiro's ordinary Nichirin Blade rapidly rose to a level visible to the naked eye!
A dazzling golden-red flame appeared on the blade!
This flame was extremely domineering and violent, and it also possessed a divine majesty that threatened to incinerate everything in heaven and earth!
The swirling snowflakes hadn't even had a chance to hit the ground before they vaporized into white water vapor!
"What?!"
"This oppressive aura... this intense heat that can melt everything..."
Urokodaki emotion stirred within Urokodaki.
There was no extra time to think. Relying on his combat intuition, Urokodaki forcibly interrupted the rhythm of his attack. With a push of his feet, he turned into a blue lightning bolt and retreated more than ten meters!
And in the instant he retreated...
"Sun Breathing - First Form - Dance!!"
Tanjiro gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands, generating a powerful twisting force at his waist, drawing a perfect circular arc of fire in the air.
The golden-red wall of fire crashed down with overwhelming force on the spot where Urokodaki had just stood!
"Boom--!"
The powerful shockwave sent the flames soaring into the sky and spreading outwards.
The snow that was just piled up to knee-high has been completely evaporated within a radius of dozens of meters, leaving not a single drop of water behind!
"This... this kind of power?!"
Having retreated to a safe distance, Sakonji Urokodaki looked at the severely damaged terrain before him, and his fingers gripping the hilt of his sword began to tremble slightly.
[This kid, without any teacher's guidance, has mastered the legendary Breathing Style to such a level within a year?!]
Shock filled Urokodaki's heart.
However, he was a seasoned veteran, and this initial shock was quickly replaced by an unprecedented fighting spirit.
"Haha! Good! Very good! Tanjiro! Is this your true power?!"
Urokodaki laughed loudly in the wind and snow.
"Now that you've taken out this Blade of Emergence, I'll personally test today just how far your flame limits can go!"
"Water Breathing - Tenth Form - The Constant Flux!!"
Sakonji Urokodaki no longer held back any of his strength.
His figure spun rapidly in place. Each spin created a streak of azure water-like light in the air, which would then overlap.
"Buzz--"
A massive water dragon, composed of deep blue sword energy, roared and coiled above Mount Sagiri, gradually taking shape! This water dragon exuded a very oppressive aura, opening its gaping maw and charging towards Tanjiro's burning flames!
"Come on, Grandpa Urokodaki!"
Tanjiro's eyes were burned red by the flames of war, making him look like a war god emerging from a sea of fire.
"Sun Breathing - Sixth Form - Burning Bones, Summer Sun!!"
Tanjiro did not retreat. Facing the roaring water dragon, he unleashed a wide-ranging, swirling fire slash.
"Boom--!"
The azure waves and the golden-red flames collided fiercely in the air, devouring each other!
The weather on Mount Sagiri has undergone minor changes after being impacted by two terrifying forces!
The chilling blizzard was torn apart by the sea of fire. The snowflakes that were flying all over the sky turned into a torrential downpour in an instant, but before the Heat Haze could hit the ground, it was swept up by water dragons and evaporated into a thick white fog that covered the entire mountain!
"Sun Breathing, Fourth Form - Mirage Sun Rainbow!"
Tanjiro transformed into five or six afterimages radiating intense heat within the thick fog, surrounding Urokodaki from all sides.
"Water Breathing - Eighth Form - Waterfall Basin!"
Urokodaki remained steadfast amidst the ever-changing tides, its massive waterfall cascading down from above, extinguishing all the lingering flames.
"Sun Breathing - Second Form - Blue Heaven!"
Tanjiro burst out of the waterfall like a rocket, drawing a large circle of fire from bottom to top, transforming into a crimson sun that shot straight toward Urokodaki's face!
"Water Breathing - Seventh Form - Drop Ripple Thrust!"
After creating a series of blue ripples, Urokodaki tip immediately pierced the center of the blazing sun and detonated!
The battle between the two continued without pause, completely transcending the scope of ordinary swordsman sparring!
The trees that would take two people to encircle were repeatedly ignited and extinguished by the force of their fight, finally snapping in half in the fierce wind and collapsing with a crash.
A whole hour!
This intense battle lasted for sixty minutes!
Tanjiro's skin had turned completely red, like a boiled shrimp.
His blood vessels throbbed beneath his skin, as if they were about to burst. Large drops of sweat evaporated as soon as they appeared; he had reached the limit of what his body could withstand.
[This won't do... The pressure from Sun Breathing is too much...]
Tanjiro's vision began to blur, his legs became extremely heavy, and even the hand holding the sword began to twitch uncontrollably.
Even if this body has been modified, maintaining this explosive state for a long period of time... will eventually be hindered by the limitations of human physiology...
But... I must deliver this final blow!!
Tanjiro bit his lip until it bled, squeezing out the last bit of strength he had left!
"Ahhh--!"
"Sun Breathing, Eleventh Form - Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance!!"
Tanjiro's body transformed into a raging fire dragon formed from burning golden-red flames, carving out a vacuum passage through the thick fog and charging towards Urokodaki!
Although Sakonji Urokodaki was wearing a mask, his rapid breathing indicated that the old man's physical condition was also nearing its limit.
A fire dragon was seen flying towards them.
Urokodaki showed no intention of retreating, channeling all the remaining Water Breathing power in his hands into the blade.
"Water Breathing - Tenth Form - The Constant Flux! The Final Strike!"
The deep blue water dragon roared once more.
Red and blue!
At that moment, an earth-shattering collision occurred!