Demon Slayer: Starting with the Great Swordmaster System, My Master Is Tsugikuni

His lifelong wish, aside from forging an unparalleled blade, was to use his machinery to pass down the swordsmanship of a powerful swordsman.

That morning, he had already fulfilled his first wish. Now, he had come to fulfill his second.

As soon as Tie He finished speaking, Tie Ke immediately added.

"Yes, although I know my abilities are lacking, I will definitely do my best!"

"So, please!"

With a thud, Tie Ke slammed his head against the floor, his body trembling with excitement.

"I am willing to preserve your swordsmanship forever!"

Tie He simply sat quietly nearby without saying much.

Tonight, he was merely a spectator and guide. He would not interfere too much in the conversation between Scribe and Tie Ke.

Scribe fell silent, quietly observing Tie Ke, who was kneeling there.

Though he remained motionless in his kowtowing posture, Tie Ke's mind had already descended into chaos.

He knew his request was selfish, and he had nothing with which to bargain with the other party.

So all he could do was wait.

After an unknown length of time, Scribe's voice slowly rang out in the silent room.

"I think that if Master Yoriichi were here, he would agree as well."

With that, Scribe stood up, walked to the shelf at the side, and picked up the Nichirin Blade.

"You'd better watch the Sun Breathing carefully next!"

Moonlit Sword Demonstration, the Flame Pillar's Death

Pushing open the door, Scribe looked back at Tie Ke, who was still kneeling there.

"What are you still standing around for?"

Tie Ke suddenly raised his head and wiped the tears from his face, his expression filled with excitement.

Beside him, Tie He grinned broadly, folding his arms with a delighted smile.

Standing at the center of the courtyard, Scribe slowly drew the Nichirin Blade from its sheath.

As the blade left the scabbard, the clash of metal rang crisp and clear through the night.

"Sun Breathing is the Breathing Technique I inherited from my master, Yoriichi."

"Next, I will demonstrate each of its forms for you."

With that, Scribe swung the Nichirin Blade and began using Sun Breathing.

With a forward slash, an arcing strike wrapped in flames shot forth.

Sun BreathingFirst Form*Dance.*

As he performed each form, Scribe also called out its name.

From low to high, he swung an upward, circular slash.

Sun BreathingSecond Form*Azure Sky.*

With a horizontal slash, deep crimson flames spread like a wildfire, and even the air seemed to grow scorching hot.

Sun BreathingThird Form*Crimson Sun Mirror.*

From beginning to end, Scribe displayed all twelve forms of Sun Breathing that he had mastered.

Tie Ke and Tie He, standing nearby, had long since been captivated by this godlike swordsmanship. They were utterly absorbed, their bodies and minds deeply shaken.

The instant he finished the Twelve Forms, a spark of inspiration suddenly flashed through Scribe's mind.

A wondrous sensation flowed through his entire body, and his understanding of Sun Breathing unexpectedly deepened.

Though it lasted only an instant, he felt as though he had touched upon a fragment of Sun Breathing's Thirteenth Form.

Could it be that only by possessing one's own Nichirin Blade could one truly unleash the power of Sun Breathing?

Thinking back, Scribe realized that he had indeed always used either a Wooden Sword or someone else's Nichirin Blade.

His motion of sheathing the sword abruptly stopped, and Scribe began using Sun Breathing once more.

Just as he had guessed, each time he completed all twelve forms of Sun Breathing, his understanding of the Breathing Technique deepened further.

He did not know how much time had passed, nor did he know how many times he had used Sun Breathing.

He only knew that he thoroughly enjoyed this state.

His breathing seemed to resonate with heaven and earth, while his body and mind seemed to merge with the Nichirin Blade.

The sword was the man, and the man was the sword.

Scribe felt no fatigue at all, nor would he ever feel fatigued!

As he continued using Sun Breathing, his swordsmanship and Breathing Technique improved at a tremendous pace!

Every time he used Sun Breathing, both of their point values increased by hundreds, even thousands, of points!

Immersed in the Divine Sword Skill, Tie He and Tie Ke seemed not to notice the passage of time either.

The moon hung high above the starry sky, casting Scribe's shadow across the courtyard and onto the corner of the wall.

Tie He and Tie Ke stared without blinking, their eyes filled with nothing but the figure continuously using his Breathing.

Meanwhile, in another house within Swordsmith Village, Tsugikuni Iwashiro, who had already gone to sleep, suddenly opened his eyes.

This feeling... was it Sun Breathing?

As the creator of Moon Breathing, he was far too familiar with this sensation.

He also knew perfectly well that the only person here capable of using Sun Breathing was Scribe, who had come with him.

Yet this feeling was completely different from what it had been a few days ago.

If Scribe had previously felt like a somewhat flawed piece of jade, one that had yet to be fully unearthed, then now, Scribe felt like the sun hanging high in the clear blue sky.

Magnificent, vast, blazing—beyond all comparison.

It felt just like his younger brother, Tsugikuni Yoriichi!

Following that feeling in his heart, Tsugikuni Iwashiro looked toward where Scribe was.

Scribe, what exactly had you experienced?

Under the moonlight, the training continued.

Within those breaths, Tsugikuni Iwashiro sank into shock.

Upon the earth, the swordsmiths were utterly captivated.

By the time the sun rose once more in the east, the figures of Scribe and the other two had long since vanished from the courtyard.

Only the scorched patches on the ground and the lingering heat in the air proclaimed what had once happened here.

After handing the Nichirin Blade to Tsugikuni Iwashiro, Scribe set out with him on the journey back to the Demon Slayer Corps.

"The feeling you give me is different now."

After carefully observing Scribe for a moment, Tsugikuni Iwashiro suddenly spoke.

"Is it? I don't think so."

Without directly answering Tsugikuni Iwashiro's question, Scribe merely smiled and stopped paying him any attention.

Knowing he would get no explanation, Tsugikuni Iwashiro tactfully shut his mouth.

The journey went smoothly, and the two soon returned to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.

The moment he entered through the gates, Scribe quickly noticed that something was off.

Unlike the lively atmosphere from when he had left, the Demon Slayer Corps now seemed to have returned to how it had been in the beginning.

Quiet, lifeless, and somewhat gloomy.

There was even a trace of deathly stillness mixed in!

What exactly had happened here?

As he passed some of the buildings, sharp-eyed Scribe noticed ritual offerings placed outside several rooms.

A few sticks of incense, not yet fully burned down, had been inserted into them, with offerings left before the vessels.

This was a ritual for the dead!

Could Master have passed away?!

Remembering that Ubuyashiki Kagaya had been ill before he left, Scribe felt a surge of worry.

Parting ways with Tsugikuni Iwashiro, he hurried alone toward Master's residence.

"Kagaya is fine."

Ubuyashiki Amane was still the one receiving Scribe. She told him that although Ubuyashiki Kagaya's condition was continuing to worsen, he had not yet died.

"If that's the case, then what are all those rituals in the Demon Slayer Corps for?"

At the mention of this question, Amane's already downcast expression immediately darkened further.

After a long while, she slowly began to answer.

"It was the Flame Pillar, Rengoku Kyojuro!"

"Kyojuro is dead?!"

The instant he heard the news, Scribe shot to his feet from his chair.

Though the two were not related by blood, Scribe had held considerable goodwill toward Kyojuro.

How could he not be shocked by Kyojuro's death?

"What happened?!"

"Did he make a mistake while hunting demons?"

No, Kyojuro was not that kind of person. He had always been meticulous and serious when it came to his missions.

Just as the Scribe was considering every possibility in his mind, a sentence suddenly flashed through his head.

Kyojuro had also planned to celebrate his birthday early.

Without lingering, the Scribe left the residence at once and rushed toward the Rengoku Family estate.

As he drew closer, the crowds around him grew thicker and thicker.

Every face was downcast, and they carried paper money and other offerings for the dead.

"Make way! Move aside!"

Forcing his way through the crowd blocking his path, the Scribe finally arrived before the Rengoku Family's gates.

At the center of the courtyard sat a massive coffin.

Resting atop it was a Nichirin Blade with a flame-shaped guard.

The Scribe recognized it at once. It was Rengoku Kyojuro's personal sword.

In front of the coffin stood an enormous stone monument.

It recorded Kyojuro's life. From his birth to his death, his deeds had been listed one by one for future generations to admire.

At the bottom of the monument, a single sentence had been carved.

The Demon Slayer Corps' 38th Flame Pillar, Rengoku Kyojuro, died at the age of twenty-five.

The moment he saw those words, the Scribe knew his earlier suspicion had been confirmed.

He had learned the cause of Kyojuro's death.